[Anonymous]

This exam is horrible. The wait is ridiculous. After coming out of the BEC exam (which I was confident before entering) I was seriously considering quitting. I stopped reading the questions halfway through the third testlet. I got an 84. Thus, the exam has a sick curve. Granted I'm accustomed to knowing everything on exams (college exams) but the CPA does not call for perfection. You just need study a lot so you will be able to answer some questions.

I'm currently waiting for FAR. (I would pay $100 to escape another week of waiting) The first testlet was amazingly easy. The 2nd and 3rd were much harder but I definetely believe I put together enough to pass those. The Sims came out of left field. I'm a VERY slow writer, thus time was a huge issue. I'm curious to as how much you need to write and how strictly graded are the written communications. (A readable memo should be sufficient.. since the exam is testing if you can protect the public .. i mean you don't need to write amazingly to detect fraud or be an adequate accountant) Overall, I wanted to quit again after leaving that exam. (I felt raped) I didn't answer all the sims and research components but now feel optimistic because you don't have to be "that" good to pass. There's still hope even after you think you undoubtedly failed. Does anyone agree with me about still having a shot at passing despite not answering all sims? .. Also, someone posted they budget 30min for each sim and that is sufficient. Good bless you! I wish I could do that. I need to think before I go at it. I'm a ridiculously slow reader as well .. kills me during the whole test. Good luck to everyone. Hopefully we pass so we can call ourselves CPAs and go to parties where we'll be known as people who can fill out a tax return.

[Anonymous]

hey aloe, i take fare next. if you dont mind me askin…what were difficult about the simulations? was it that your review you are using didnt touch upon that material or was it just too detailed? i am using becker and hoping they prepare me for the sims thanks for your help

[Anonymous]

This exam is rough. I think one of the biggest challenges is maintaining an adequate level of stamina throughout. I was never rushed for time but I was starting to feel worn out by the time the simulations rolled along. This was especially true by the 5th testlet; as I was walking home I recalled a mundane error made on counting months for an EPS calculation due to fatigue.

To be honest a few of the simulation tabs could have been written better. I knew how to do the accounting for the situation (what to record, where it goes, etc.) but the way it was structured made it more difficult/ambiguous than it should have been. First testlet was a breeze, the second was considerably more difficult, and the third was somewhere in between, gauging by the number of "marks" I had. The written communication was pretty straight forward and if you are well versed in most topics then this should not be a problem.

And yes, the waiting game is going to suck!

[halfCPA]

I felt the same way about the simulations, but more so for Audit. They were either easy or I was totally off. I had to spend time thinking about what they were asking me to answer, and felt they could have been worded a lot more specifically. It was the first time out of all 4 tests that I wanted to raise my hand and ask a question!

[Toddie00]

Hello Everyone,

I passed FAR the first time I took it 🙂 in late August. My study plan was not the end of the world but it was not fun either…..

I used Becker software and would study from 7 – 10 every night (yes even Friday) and on the weekends would study MAYBE 2 – 3 hours in total, so approximately 20 hrs a week. This was not hard at all, THANK YOU DVR. Sometimes I studied until 11 if I need to catch up. I gave myself 8 weeks for a 9 chpt book. The week before the exam, I used as studying one chpt per day. Also, after every 3 chpt I would review the three so they stayed fresh since it is so much information. I did approximately 1 1/2 chpts a week, which consisted of, watching the lecture, reading the chpt, then doing the M/C, the reading the chpt again. During the last week (9 days), I would review each chpt (one per day) and then do the review questions Becker had….

And the night before I stopped at 7 pm, relaxed enjoyed myself up at 6 am to make a good breakfast, take the exam at 8 am and halfway through it, I got a migrain and I told myself, I worked to hard to not pass this exam. Worked through the migrain and walked out knowing I passed, I got an 84….

Very possible and FAR "the monster" is not as bad as it sounds

I AM A CPA 🙂

[Toddie00]

Big4Luv – I used Becker, see my post above. If you are spending significant time to study using Becker you will have it made. See my study plan above and on the HW, I was constantly getting between 60 – 80% on the HW and thought I would bomb. I ended up getting an 84% on the exam. Some of the Becker questions do show up on the exam – EASY POINTS!!!

I believe Becker is much harder than the actual exam, which is good and helpful assuming you do not get discouraged.

I AM A CPA 🙂

[Anonymous]

Big4luv, sorry for the slow response. The simulations that I had the most trouble with had to do with governmental and not for profit accounting. I didn't have as strong of a base knowledge there so they were harder. Also having unrelated tabs made it hard to get a flow going. As soon as you finished one, you move onto another completely unrelated subject. I couldn't really tell you any way to study for the sims, just know something about everything, that's the only solid advice for FARE.

[Anonymous]

Can anyone share your test timing constraints with FAR? I am using Becker and the problems are really time consuming for me. If it is a theory-type question, I can answer it fast, but the long, number-crunching ones kill me because I try to analyze it to death. I will never finish FAR if it is mostly long, drawn out problems.

[Anonymous]

I took the FAR exam this morning and it was horrible. This is not the first time I've attempted this section, and I am quite sure it won't be the last. The multiple choice went from difficult to insane. The only saving grace was that the sims touched on a variety of topics, so it wasn't a “make or break” situation like it has been in the past. I ended up guessing on questions just to keep on the time schedule that I had set for myself. This is my last exam and I want to pass it so badly…but for now it's time to settle in and enjoy the waiting game.

I'm interested to hear how other people who have attempted this section before felt about it during this testing window. I found it considerably more difficult, which is discouraging considering the additional time and effort that I put into reviewing the material.

[OnePointAway]

Hopeful_in_NC,

If I may ask what did you score on FAR the first time?

[Anonymous]

CPAWannaBe – I took FAR in July after using the Becker study materials and felt that the multiple choice questions on Becker were way more in-depth than anything I saw on the exam. It took me forever to work a set of MC questions on the PassMaster software, but I finished the exam with 40 minutes to spare and passed with a 81.

When it comes to FAR, I feel Becker definitely over-prepares you.

[Anonymous]

OnePointAway – I scored a 72 the last time around.

[OnePointAway]

Hopeful_in_NC,

I am taking AUD again today. It is also my last exam. I got a 74 the first time.

[Anonymous]

OnePointAway – good luck! You'll do great!!

[Patrick909]

So I took FAR yesterday. For me, it was part 3 of 4, as I took REG and BEC back in April and May, scoring 90 and 85, respectively.

It was not easy. I always try to manage time so that I leave myself with at least 2 hours for the sims, in case I need to try to BS my way through a memo on a topic I don't know. I'll try to sum up my FAR experience:

Testlet 1 – Not too bad. It seemed reasonably easy. I'd be disappointed if I answered more than a couple wrong here. Even in my weaker areas, the questions were not that long and pretty elementary.

Testlet 2 – Noticeably more difficult, as I expected. I guess that means I did well on 1. I'm sure I got tripped up on a couple things here, but I ground my way through. I'm the type of test taker who puts his answers down and moves on….I don't go back and agonize over particular questions, I just keep going. I was stoked on coffee and felt like I was working pretty quickly.

Testlet 3 – About 2/5 of the way in, I started to have a crisis of confidence….these questions were difficult and I was getting tired. The words and numbers were starting to swim on the screen. Even questions that didn't seem that “long,” I could tell they were not straightforward, they had little twists and turns to them. Plus, one section seemed to be tested disproportionately heavy….and it was NOT a section I'd expected to be heavy-tested, either. I was really grinding 10-25 questions in. Sighing, exhaling…..I'd not felt that way in the REG and BEC multiple choice. I was coming up on 2 hours, so I needed to get in gear. I tried to work faster, making educated guesses on theory-type questions when I knew I didn't have much of a clue. Some of the computational questions were getting pretty extensive, too. At any rate, I was able to get into Sim #1 with 2 hours left on the board.

Sim 1 – After testlet 3, I was actually kinda relieved to get to a sim. It wasn't the simplest sim, but it wasn't the hardest sim, either. It was doable. I relaxed and went to work on the various tabs, which all seemed to be about something different. The memo was not on my strongest topic, but I felt like I knew enough to be able to write about it with some intelligence. Research tab – I'm pretty sure I found the proper SFAS and paragraph. I finished in a little over a half hour.

Sim 2 – Now I was really ahead of schedule, with about 90 minutes left to go. This sim was a lot like the first, actually….not laughably simple, but not too bad either. I pounded out my answers and went on to the memo. I was pretty strong in the topic upon which I was asked to write, so I banged out a reasonably decent memo. The research tab was pretty difficult, but I think I *might* have found the correct citation.

I closed out my exam in 3 hours and 10 minutes, leaving 50 minutes on the table. Did I pass? Who the hell knows. I just know that I will cry if I have to take FAR again. It would be pretty embarassing to pass REG/BEC with 90/85, and then fail FAR…..especially when it's FAR that most closely approximates what I actually do as a not-for-profit controller. And yeah, I LOVE the governmental/NFP questions….in the exam, I was like “keep 'em coming, baby”

[TampaAccountant]

Patrick909, thanks for your thoughts about your exam experience!

From what you are describing, you sure did pass! The more difficult questions gives everybody problems…..And the fact that you are stronger in Govt/NFP, you are well ahead of the curve……

How extensive was your study and which review course did you use?

Thanks

[Author]

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