[mds86]

I’m writing this post to see what others think in regard to my overall feeling on FAR.

I felt good about the 1st testlet, pretty good about the 2nd testlet, the 3rd was a bit of a challenge, but in comparison to my past FAR exams, I would say I felt OK on the 3rd testlet. OVERALL, I felt GOOD on the MCQs. I gave myself an hour for the sims and by the time i got halfway through, I was scrambling through them due to time. They were tough. Only one of the sims did I feel absolutely sure that I knocked it out. The others, I felt like I was just kind of putting as many right answers as I could. I couldn’t even do the research questions.

Has anyone been under the same experience?

AUD - 64, 75
BEC - 67, 75
REG - 33, 58, 76
FAR - 41, 73, 84
DONE.

Tip: If you don't feel like you're studying hard, you'll probably fail. Study harder.

[Minimorty]

Just wondering if you left yourself an hour on the sims on purpose or did you lose track of time?

I am always confused when candidates spend only 25% of their time on a section that is worth 40% of your overall score.

[Peanut]

@mds86, If you feel good about the MCQ then that is great! I left most of my SIMs blank on my first attempt, AND felt terrible on the MCQ–I pulled a 67. Score report said weaker for both MCQ and SIMs. So If you have even the slightest confidence in your MCQ, you have a very very good chance of passing FAR beast–even if you didn't finish one SIM. Good luck! Keep your head up, take a couple of days off, then get back to the grind on the next beast!

AUD 81 (X4) Previous scores 59, 72, 72
REG 80 (X3) Previous scores 59, 60
FAR 75 (X2) Previous score 67
BEC 79 (X2) Previous score 58

[mds86]

@Minimorty – It was on purpose…It seemed like each testlet was taking me about an hour so I just thought that an hour for each testlet would be OK. You're right, I'm guess I should have left myself an extra 30 minutes, but I honestly think that I moved as fast as I could through the MCQs. I felt like I wasn't going slow and going at a good pace. Also, I know they say the exam is 60% MCQ and 40% SIMS, but does that actually translate to your score being split 60/40? I've read that the exam is on a “plus point” system, so I don't think your score is 60/40 exactly, it's just that in terms of all the points put together, the content on the exam is 60/40. Correct me if I am wrong.

@Peanut Thanks for your kind words. I've read elsewhere of people bombing sims but still getting great scores because they concentrated (either on accident or on purpose) on the MCQs.

Would love to hear if anyone else has any thoughts.

AUD - 64, 75
BEC - 67, 75
REG - 33, 58, 76
FAR - 41, 73, 84
DONE.

Tip: If you don't feel like you're studying hard, you'll probably fail. Study harder.

[Anonymous]

I gave myself only 1 hour to do the FAR Sims and felt that it was just enough time. But based on what I've been reading, it looks like the FAR Sims keep getting harder every quarter, so I'd advise people to give themselves more time. The 1 hour I gave myself was risky.

[Minimorty]

@mds – Out of all of the points available on the exam, 60% come from MCQ and 40% come from SIMS. Your final score will likely not reflect this percentage because you may do better in one area than you do in the other. My point is that too many people spend 75% of their time (3 of the 4 hours) chasing only 60% of the available points. For example, you skipped the research question. The research question is worth about 6.67% of the total points available on the exam (40% x 1/6) and it usually doesn't take that long to find. So you likely would have been better off skipping a few multiple choice questions to make sure you got the research question right. Just make sure you have a solid game plan entering the exam.

[mds86]

Thanks. Yeah, I basically just ran out of time and decided to put the research question last out of everything. For me, the research question takes me the longest because you have to spend a lot of time looking around. I tried to grab as many points as I could off all of the other simulations by putting in the debits and credits I thought reasonable.

I guess my real question now is – if you do well on the MCQ and bad, not horrible of the SIMS, is it still possible to pass?

AUD - 64, 75
BEC - 67, 75
REG - 33, 58, 76
FAR - 41, 73, 84
DONE.

Tip: If you don't feel like you're studying hard, you'll probably fail. Study harder.

[Minimorty]

Yes, definitely possible.

[HustlinHustlin]

I have a friend who did not do ANY simulation for ANY exam and still passed them all first try in the 80's. I think it depends how well you do on the MCQ but it is possible to still pass. Always a good idea to save enough time so you can at least throw something in there and hope for partial credit though.

B 71 - 79 EXPIRED
A 69 - 75 EXPIRED
R 65 - 48 - 45
F 56 - 61 - 65 - 64

Becker, Wiley Test Bank, Wiley Text and Ninja Notes

"The fish who keeps on swimming is the first to chill upstream" -311

Experience - Done, like WAAAY done.
Still need 30 more credits, in basket weaving (gotta love new CA requirements)

[yankeeaccountant]

@hustlin

I am curious about your friend. did she take all the exams in 2011 with the new sims format? I know that in the old format, it wasn't unusual for people to pass without finishing the sims…I just hadn't heard of that very much with this new format.

[Minimorty]

@Hustlin – I call BS.

[jeff]

Not doing any sims = disaster, not 80's from where I come from …

To each their own 🙂

[mds86]

Yeah, reason why I'm freaking out so much is because if I pass – my CPA exams are done. If I don't – then 2 expire. I'll either have 0 exams to go, or 3 exams to go. I really hate that 18 month window!!!

AUD - 64, 75
BEC - 67, 75
REG - 33, 58, 76
FAR - 41, 73, 84
DONE.

Tip: If you don't feel like you're studying hard, you'll probably fail. Study harder.

[ImpossibleIsNothing]

mds86, wish you the best! I am in the same boat (took exam in the first window so should be finding the result soon). I ran out of time on the Sims like an idiot. Minimorty, I agree with you, why would I not have spent more time on the Sims which are worth 40%…and especially given that last time I got a 73 because of weaker in Sims (stronger in MCQs). Anyways, still, I guess during the test strategy/planning, I didn't give this much thought, and was focused on making sure I do well on the MCQs. On the Sims, I did 4 out of 6 (including research) to the fullest (as in filling everything; not getting everything right; two of them were hard for me). The other two, I had 3 minutes left, so I put in the journal entries (debits/credits) without putting in numbers to try to fill in as many cells as possible. Do you guys think I would get points for that?

I guess I'll find out if it was a deal breaker in about a week, wish I would've had 20 more minutes (so dumb on my part!). I lose BEC if I don't get this, or am a CPA if I do get it…Good luck to us

BEC 7/2010 - 77 (5 days of studying, thought CPA was a joke; expires 2/19/2012 :/)
AUD 8/2010, 11/2010 - 74,80 (2-3 weeks of studying, still thought CPA would happen)
REG 7/2011 - 59 (3 weeks of studying, started doubting myself), 11/29/2011 80 (rebuilding confidence, one more to go!)
FAR 8/2011, 10/2011 - 49(4 days of studying, just went and took it), 73 (one month of studying, will never underestimate this exam), 76!

Donezo. Impossible is nothing.

[Anonymous]

You can definitely pass if you run out of time on the sims.

I didn't feel so confident about how I did on the mcqs and I ran out of time on the sims. I had to guess on some and just stick answers in where I could, and was pretty sure I had done terribly, but I still passed.

Many people have this and some pass, some fail. But it is definitely possible to pass even if one runs short of time on the sims (of course it depends HOW short…)

[ImpossibleIsNothing]

Adding on to this – last time, I also ran out of time, and left the research completely blank. Couple other Sims were super rushed, and I know I didn't do well on any of the ones I completed. Ended up with a 73. That gives me [some] hope.

BEC 7/2010 - 77 (5 days of studying, thought CPA was a joke; expires 2/19/2012 :/)
AUD 8/2010, 11/2010 - 74,80 (2-3 weeks of studying, still thought CPA would happen)
REG 7/2011 - 59 (3 weeks of studying, started doubting myself), 11/29/2011 80 (rebuilding confidence, one more to go!)
FAR 8/2011, 10/2011 - 49(4 days of studying, just went and took it), 73 (one month of studying, will never underestimate this exam), 76!

Donezo. Impossible is nothing.

[Author]

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