[Anonymous]

I feel a bit stranded as I complete the MCQ’s for each of Becker’s section and I am generally unsure of where I should be.

1. Should we be using the book on the chapter’s MCQ’s?

2. What score should I be achieving on the chapter’s MCQ’s?

3. What about the progress quizzes, what score should I be achieving there to be on a good track?.

4. Are the optional MCQ’s useful as well?

[Anonymous]

I would love to offer some insight about your Becker MC experience but I would like a little more information about where you are in your studies to help me understand more about the situation.

First off, what course are you taking and have you passed any of the exams?

Second, have you scheduled your next exam yet, and when do you plan to take the next exam?

Third, how far are you in the course and how much time have you put into it?

Fourth, how much reading have you done and how much of the lectures have you completed?

Finally, what kind of scores are you getting on the multiple questions that make you question your progress?

You don't have to get 100% of the questions right to pass any of these tests. How do you feel you are doing?

[hneagle1]

I'll try to answer some of your questions!

1. I tried to complete the questions without the book. Sometimes I used the book to look up a few things, but in general, I didn't use the book. However, I READ every single explanation that Becker gave. This is a very important exercise which many people have probably already said on the forum. But, it's very true. You are unlikely to get the same question on the actual exam, but the concepts/theory are generally the same….Accounting is accounting, typically they test on the same topics.

2. You shouldn't really be too bothered about your initial scores on the MCQ…I had some sections where I was high 80s and some sections where I was in the 50s. Your first time thru is supposed to be lower… It is understandable. Once you are more comfortable with the material, those scores should naturally go up. I tended to go with Jeff's advice, during final review, I made sure that all sections I was scoring in the 80s.

3. Same as the previous question. If you are getting in the 80s during your final review, you SHOULD be okay (I say should because if you are memorizing answers, thats not good. Get the concepts! And try to not answer the questions by what the answers are)

4. I didn't touch the optional because I didn't have time! If I had time, I would have done them. These questions take up a lot of time.

Sorry for the long answers. Hope that helps! God speed and good luck with the exams. The whole experience is totally worth it in the long run.

FAR - 82 (8/30/14)
AUD - 95 (10/7/14)
REG - 82 (11/7/14)
BEC - 85 (11/26/14) - PEACE OUT!
Roger CPA, WTB, Becker, and Ninja Notes (with added prayer, tears, and hope!)

[Anonymous]

Depending on the section, Becker is considered to be more difficult than the actual exam. FAR is a good example of this. Becker MCQ tends to be much wordier with a lot more useless and distracting information thrown in.

As was said, expect to do poorly on your first time through the MCQ. And there are some chapters where nobody does well (F2, A4, B2/3) are ones where people really bomb the first pass. There's no real trick to it, you just need to work through it to identify weak areas and then keep on practicing.

Finally, I found that the Optional MCQ is much tougher than the regular MCQ. If you understand the concepts in the Optional MCQ, you're in good shape.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the replies everyone.

@DJR:

1. I am taking FAR and this is my first exam.

2. My next exam is likely REG but I have not scheduled it yet and frankly my entire focus is on FAR.

3. I just started F4 and I study 60% of my awake day. I do not have school or work as I begin full-time work later in the year.

4. I have only completed the reading up to F4. What I like to do is read/listen to the section, then take the MCQ's, then go on to the next section, etc.

5. I never get below 50% but I have gotten close. Some sections I'll get around 60%, others around 70%-80%.

6. I genuinely don't know how I am doing. I just got done getting my ass kicked by F2 and F3 and the sims seem rather hard too. I'll give it my best shot, I'll get half of it wrong, but the answer does make sense when I look at it.

[Anonymous]

Albo, you are right where most people are at your stage in the process. It's discouraging right now but you'll get better with time and practice. Just keep at it and note your weak spots.

[Anonymous]

Thank you for the answers to my questions Albo. You certainly didn't have to do that, but I'm glad you did. I feel like I have a good understanding of you study habits and your state of mind at this point in your preparation for the FAR exam. It's very familiar to me because at chapter four I was freaking out about my scores on the HW and trying all sorts of different ways of studying to try to get the most out of my time. I agree with Angelwatch that most people I have talked to, and I myself, have experienced the same apprehension about how well we are answering the questions. I was getting below 50% in some areas the first time through, but I passed FAR the first time.

I am not going to tell you that the exam doesn't throw questions at you out of the blue, because it does. Everything from the course is testable and there are some questions that aren't familiar thrown in as well. But you only need to get 75 on the test so don't panic. Make sure you understand the key concepts, then move on to the details.

The best advice I can give you is to do a very thorough final review because that is when everything starts to click into place. If you have time, try to learn how to do all the journal entries included in the book without looking at them first. If you understand the journal entries, you probably understand the concepts as well.

[Author]

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