[MaLoTu]

I am thinking about pushing back my BEC test from the 10th of July to the 20th. That will give me approximately five weeks to prep for a FAR retake on the date I scheduled which is August 28.

My fear is that FAR was so comprehensive, but at the same time, I went through all the other sections and feel some of my accounting skills have improved (FAR was my first exam and review section).

[Determined CPA]

I think 5 weeks for a FAR re-take is completely manageable. Focus a lot of your time on understanding the topics you aren't very comfortable with and doing as many mcq's as possible.

A - 75
B - 78 God is good.
F - 77 Answered prayers.
R - 84! Done!!

Paperwork sent - waiting for license!!
Still on a cloud and in shock. Through God, all things will happen.

[Missy]

Is it enough time, sure it CAN be. That said, I'd think long and hard about how long you studied for FAR the first time and what your score was.

If you studied 7 weeks the first time and failed, I wouldn't recommend trying to do it in 5. In fact I would recommend 8 weeks if 7 wasn't enough the first time.

Licensed Massachusetts Non Reporting CPA since 2012
Finance/Admin/HR Manager

[MaLoTu]

I studied for a really long time. I went to classes for 5 weeks and then probably studied an additional 3 weeks beyond that. I felt stifled by the Keller/Becker setup though … I cannot explain it exactly, but I was under weekly time constraints and I couldn't focus on weak subjects because my work had to be turned in by a certain time. I feel that I can do it in 5 weeks, but I do agree that there are benefits to waiting. However, September is a nontest window and that puts me another 5 weeks out on top of the remainder of July and August. I feel like that is too long for short-term memory retention and I still need to retake AUD. I don't want to waste time (although it will happen if I fail anyway).

[KCCPA13]

I had a little over 4 weeks to re-study for the FAR retake. FAR is a really long topic. I did self study for 2 months before attempting it for the first time. It really depends on how much time you will spend studying in those 5 weeks. For my retake, I basically focused on doing MCQs – it's how I learn best. I couldn't study full time since I have to work, but I did what I could. When I took my retake, it wasn't a far point jump, but I just made it (thank god). It's do-able, but I would study as much as you can to ensure a passing score.

FAR ✓
AUD ✓
REG ✓
BEC ✓

I CAN'T BELIEVE I'M DONE.

[MaLoTu]

KCCPA13 – you are closer than I was! I got 61. I guess I will play it by ear. Am am trying to focus on BEC now.

[Determined CPA]

I don't necessarily think you need to study longer this time around to get a better score. This is a cumulative process (everything you studied before still happened). You don't want to cut corners with your studying and you definitely want your time spent to be productive! if you can commit a lot of time during these 5 weeks to studying, I think it's more than enough time for a re-take.

A - 75
B - 78 God is good.
F - 77 Answered prayers.
R - 84! Done!!

Paperwork sent - waiting for license!!
Still on a cloud and in shock. Through God, all things will happen.

[Missy]

I'm going to respectfully disagree determined. There is nothing cumulative about this, at all. A person is highly unlikely to remember a single thing they studied for this exam 2+ months ago and because the exam will be completely different from window to window a candidate should treat each retake as if it was the first time.

Been here for 5 years, and the general consensus is that it is not cumulative.

Licensed Massachusetts Non Reporting CPA since 2012
Finance/Admin/HR Manager

[Determined CPA]

A person is highly unlikely to remember a single thing they studied? I don't agree with that.

I said you don't necessarily need to study longer to get a better score, and that is based off my experience with this exam. For my FAR re-take there was a lot of material i remembered even though a few weeks/a month had passed. I think it's different for everyone and @MaLoTu was looking for different input. My belief is that you should most certainly study like you know 0% of the material for a re-take because you don't know what will be tested. However, I do think you retained some information the first time through and can definitely pull off a re-take in 5 weeks. In fact, I pulled off my FAR retake in 3 short weeks =)

A - 75
B - 78 God is good.
F - 77 Answered prayers.
R - 84! Done!!

Paperwork sent - waiting for license!!
Still on a cloud and in shock. Through God, all things will happen.

[MaLoTu]

I do feel that I retained some stuff. I certainly do not feel that the learning curve is going to be so steep the second time around. I can definitely see where both of you are coming from and to a great extent it is very dependent on the individual. I had a hard time with FAR because I essentially had to teach myself a lot of the concepts from the ground up (thanks Keller/DeVry!, lol). This time around I feel that my study will be more geared towards refining my skills and knowledge rather than obtaining it. Don't know if that makes sense. I must admit that FAR is quite the beast in terms of the load of information. And mla mentioned, you have no idea what they are testing that window!

I really appreciate all the responses/feedback. I think that I will keep my appointment scheduled for 8-28 a little bit longer and see how I am studying FAR once I am done with BEC. I have BEC scheduled for the 10th of July and I am going to see if I am ready by then.

I will be so happy when this is over!

[Determined CPA]

MaLoTu – best of luck to you!! When this journey is over, you will feel so amazing!! Do you have the ninja MCQ's by any chance? I found those extremely helpful for my retake because there were a lot of new questions I hadn't yet seen.

A - 75
B - 78 God is good.
F - 77 Answered prayers.
R - 84! Done!!

Paperwork sent - waiting for license!!
Still on a cloud and in shock. Through God, all things will happen.

[MaLoTu]

Determined – no I don't have the Ninja MCQs, but it is definitely something I am going to look into. I felt that a lot of my success with REG was that I did random free questions online and solicited help on this board, as well as from others who had already passed. I feel that each time I take the test I am becoming a better test taker. I was completely lost the first 2 times (FAR and AUD). I didn't feel confident with REG, but obviously the diversification paid off. I also relied less on Flash Cards …. I still made some, but I felt that with AUD and FAR that I spent too much valuable time writing them out. I still have them so I guess that is good!

[thehip41]

It's not cumulative in whole. However, by studying for FAR the first time around, your knowledge base will increase.

It's not going to be enough (because if it was you wouldn't have to retake FAR)

I don't think 5 weeks is enough for someone that aready failed FAR once.

Take 7-8 weeks, study 120 hours, re take the test. You will probably pass doing that.

FAR - 83
AUD - 73 92
BEC - 83
REG - 88

Licensed CPA in the state of Michigan

[Author]

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