[Anonymous]

Hello!

I am new here and I must say I love the site. I just started studying for FAR last week and I have to say the amount of material is overwhelming (as almost everyone here has already said lol). I am trying to dedicate at the very least three hours a day of solid studying. I just feel at this point I am jumping all over the place and it might be counterproductive. My first question would be if what would be a good way to tackle this? I currently have CPAexcel, Ninja Notes, and Wiley Test Bank. Should I take an hour of each per day; a week off Test Bank, week of CPAexcel, etc; or one a day? Also, I work full-time which is why I don’t have hours upon hours to study; given only three to four hours a day (and much more on weekends, hoping 5-6), I would just like an opinion on how long it might take to get through all this material. I feel like I am learning everything from scratch and don’t feel particularly strong in any one section.

[nbad311]

I don't have any stellar advice for you but wanted to say I'm in the same boat as you with FAR. Between full-time work/often-crappy commute/dogs/etc, I consider getting in 3 hours on a weekday good and 4+ on each weekend day good. For the last 6 weeks, I have only gotten 8-12 hours a week. I'm taking it on Saturday but only as an expensive teaser-look, if you will. I wanted to get in one sit this quarter because my REG expires in Feb 2014, so I really only have two quarters/tries (minus this Saturday – which I won't pass but I accept that) to pass FAR. Looking to take it again in November and hunker down from now til then.

I bought Gleim and the Wiley book. I started the whole FAR studying process with Gleim but didn't like it so I switched to strictly the Wiley book – which I used to pass my other sections – but for me, the Wiley book is very overwhelming and I'm not sure if I'm making much headway with it. I've gotten through about the first 33% of the textbook (once-through all MCQs and SIMs) but it's sooooo much info and Wiley goes into deep detail. What I've started to do in the past week is go back to the first chapters I did, and re-do the MCQs I got wrong to stay “current” in those chapters while not taking too much time to do ALL the questions again. This might be helpful despite what medium of study material you're using.

I've bought the Ninja notes and they're great, but I personally wouldn't use those to LEARN the material – more as supplemental info and final-week review notes. What if you used CPAexcel/textbank for a few hours at a time, and when you get through a certain section, find that section in the Ninja notes and re-write those notes? That might be a good mini-review plan of attack and it might give you a “break” from the tedious-ness of cranking out MCQs .

ok, I'm just rambling now. I feel the same exact way about FAR as you do in that even though I feel like I have a solid study plan for it (minus the fact I haven't been putting in enough hours), I feel like I'm learning NOTHING. I took FAR twice back in 2008 and 2009 and honestly, the material looks familiar but I have not remembered how to do ANY of it. 🙁 How long will it take me to really be ready for this? My guess, for me personally given the time I have available to study, 3 months realistically. (I work in a 2-man group at work and my co-worker just went on 3-month maternity leave, AWESOME!) I have put in about a “month's” worth at this point so I think once November comes, I'll be ready! You might be much better at tackling FAR than me though and might not need all that time 🙂 Either way, good luck!

REG - 65, 70, 80!
BEC - 35, 62, 79!
AUD - 73, 75!
FAR - 65, 73, 70, 75! DONE.

[nbad311]

I don't have any stellar advice for you but wanted to say I'm in the same boat as you with FAR. Between full-time work/often-crappy commute/dogs/etc, I consider getting in 3 hours on a weekday good and 4+ on each weekend day good. For the last 6 weeks, I have only gotten 8-12 hours a week. I'm taking it on Saturday but only as an expensive teaser-look, if you will. I wanted to get in one sit this quarter because my REG expires in Feb 2014, so I really only have two quarters/tries (minus this Saturday – which I won't pass but I accept that) to pass FAR. Looking to take it again in November and hunker down from now til then.

I bought Gleim and the Wiley book. I started the whole FAR studying process with Gleim but didn't like it so I switched to strictly the Wiley book – which I used to pass my other sections – but for me, the Wiley book is very overwhelming and I'm not sure if I'm making much headway with it. I've gotten through about the first 33% of the textbook (once-through all MCQs and SIMs) but it's sooooo much info and Wiley goes into deep detail. What I've started to do in the past week is go back to the first chapters I did, and re-do the MCQs I got wrong to stay “current” in those chapters while not taking too much time to do ALL the questions again. This might be helpful despite what medium of study material you're using.

I've bought the Ninja notes and they're great, but I personally wouldn't use those to LEARN the material – more as supplemental info and final-week review notes. What if you used CPAexcel/textbank for a few hours at a time, and when you get through a certain section, find that section in the Ninja notes and re-write those notes? That might be a good mini-review plan of attack and it might give you a “break” from the tedious-ness of cranking out MCQs .

ok, I'm just rambling now. I feel the same exact way about FAR as you do in that even though I feel like I have a solid study plan for it (minus the fact I haven't been putting in enough hours), I feel like I'm learning NOTHING. I took FAR twice back in 2008 and 2009 and honestly, the material looks familiar but I have not remembered how to do ANY of it. 🙁 How long will it take me to really be ready for this? My guess, for me personally given the time I have available to study, 3 months realistically. (I work in a 2-man group at work and my co-worker just went on 3-month maternity leave, AWESOME!) I have put in about a “month's” worth at this point so I think once November comes, I'll be ready! You might be much better at tackling FAR than me though and might not need all that time 🙂 Either way, good luck!

REG - 65, 70, 80!
BEC - 35, 62, 79!
AUD - 73, 75!
FAR - 65, 73, 70, 75! DONE.

[sonygal57]

I passed FAR first time using Yaeger…This is what I did you can apply it however you like:

I worked Monday-Friday 10-5. When I came home from work I would study approximately 3 hours and would spend a minimum of 8 hours on Sat and Sun. When I came across chapters that gave me difficulty or felt like I needed to re-review previous chapters I would study from 7:30 am until 9:30 am (I also did this for 2 weeks prior to test day and put in 10-12 hours the two weekends prior).

I used Yaeger review which came with Wiley text book and test bank.

I would watch a video and follow it by reading/skimming the text book and making notecards which would take approx. 3-4 hours (thought it did vary)

I would do the questions at the end of the chapter in the Wiley text book…(I skipped the sims first time through because I thought they took too long….I regretted this when I started doing them in my final review)…I tried to read the answers of all questions right or wrong….this took around 2-3hrs on average (kind of guessing here because each chapter varied significantly).

I would then do 30 MCQ in the wiley test bank which took around 45 minutes or so….

On Friday nights I tried to review my notecards/notes from previous chapters and would do WTB questions for the previous chapters.

My final two week review consisted of skimming chapters and re-doing Wiley text book MCQs and SIMS. It was during this point that I realized the practice SIMS really contributed to my understanding of the material. After reviewing the chapter I did insane amounts of the MCQs on WTB and various other free CPA review questions (such as fast forward academy).

On T-day I was surprised by only a small handful of the questions…I didn't know the answers to all of them but I felt like I had seen all of the subjects before (though a few were more in depth than what I had been exposed to).

My big problem was that I had to rush through a few chapters in order to maintain my 2wk review plan because I learned of a req. work trip the week I was originally planning to take the exam…this resulted in my having to take the exam a week earlier than originally budgeted for but all turned out well!

Good old Gandalf, "All we have to do is decide what to do with the time that is give to us."
"Not all those who wander are lost."

FAR: I slayed the Dragon!
BEC: I defeated the Siren!
AUD: I eliminated Medusa!
REG: ?????

[sonygal57]

I passed FAR first time using Yaeger…This is what I did you can apply it however you like:

I worked Monday-Friday 10-5. When I came home from work I would study approximately 3 hours and would spend a minimum of 8 hours on Sat and Sun. When I came across chapters that gave me difficulty or felt like I needed to re-review previous chapters I would study from 7:30 am until 9:30 am (I also did this for 2 weeks prior to test day and put in 10-12 hours the two weekends prior).

I used Yaeger review which came with Wiley text book and test bank.

I would watch a video and follow it by reading/skimming the text book and making notecards which would take approx. 3-4 hours (thought it did vary)

I would do the questions at the end of the chapter in the Wiley text book…(I skipped the sims first time through because I thought they took too long….I regretted this when I started doing them in my final review)…I tried to read the answers of all questions right or wrong….this took around 2-3hrs on average (kind of guessing here because each chapter varied significantly).

I would then do 30 MCQ in the wiley test bank which took around 45 minutes or so….

On Friday nights I tried to review my notecards/notes from previous chapters and would do WTB questions for the previous chapters.

My final two week review consisted of skimming chapters and re-doing Wiley text book MCQs and SIMS. It was during this point that I realized the practice SIMS really contributed to my understanding of the material. After reviewing the chapter I did insane amounts of the MCQs on WTB and various other free CPA review questions (such as fast forward academy).

On T-day I was surprised by only a small handful of the questions…I didn't know the answers to all of them but I felt like I had seen all of the subjects before (though a few were more in depth than what I had been exposed to).

My big problem was that I had to rush through a few chapters in order to maintain my 2wk review plan because I learned of a req. work trip the week I was originally planning to take the exam…this resulted in my having to take the exam a week earlier than originally budgeted for but all turned out well!

Good old Gandalf, "All we have to do is decide what to do with the time that is give to us."
"Not all those who wander are lost."

FAR: I slayed the Dragon!
BEC: I defeated the Siren!
AUD: I eliminated Medusa!
REG: ?????

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the replies. I'm about to start plugging away at the Wiley Test Bank. Sigh…I know I can do this but just starting out it seems like it will take me forever to learn all this material.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the replies. I'm about to start plugging away at the Wiley Test Bank. Sigh…I know I can do this but just starting out it seems like it will take me forever to learn all this material.

[evesocal]

CPA2014Dream – I also work full time and more, as deadlines approach. It's miserable to work full time and prepare for this exam. I took the Becker live classes and left different amounts of time between the end of class and the exam. For FAR, the class started mid October, 2012 and I took the exam Jan. 5, 2013.

I hardly studied during the week as I'm just too tired when I get home from work. I did what I could on the weekends.

The volume of material in FAR is truly overwhelming. I was positive I failed the exam but I passed and you can, too. They do not test *all* the material. It's not possible. So there is an element of luck that you'll get questions you studied for. And the exam is curved, I really believe that no matter what the AICPA says.

Good luck to you.

B: 75
R: 80
A: 77
F: 81
Ethics: 84, 92 and done!
Licensed in California

[evesocal]

CPA2014Dream – I also work full time and more, as deadlines approach. It's miserable to work full time and prepare for this exam. I took the Becker live classes and left different amounts of time between the end of class and the exam. For FAR, the class started mid October, 2012 and I took the exam Jan. 5, 2013.

I hardly studied during the week as I'm just too tired when I get home from work. I did what I could on the weekends.

The volume of material in FAR is truly overwhelming. I was positive I failed the exam but I passed and you can, too. They do not test *all* the material. It's not possible. So there is an element of luck that you'll get questions you studied for. And the exam is curved, I really believe that no matter what the AICPA says.

Good luck to you.

B: 75
R: 80
A: 77
F: 81
Ethics: 84, 92 and done!
Licensed in California

[Anonymous]

does anyone know how long it takes to finish reviewing for FAR using cpaexcel. im almost 2 months in and im still on the first book

[Anonymous]

does anyone know how long it takes to finish reviewing for FAR using cpaexcel. im almost 2 months in and im still on the first book

[Jennifer Wade]

I've also just started studying for FAR while using CPAExcel, Ninja notes/audio/flashcards, and the Wiley Test Bank.

I'm only one weekend in so… here's my current plan.

I watch the lecture/review the slides – take down any notes that seem important. Then I read the study text for more detailed info. I'll look through the flash cards and see if I need to add anything to my notes. This is where I prefer the NINJA flash cards, as I don't have to drill down as far to see them. I move on to the proficiency questions, then exam. I review any I miss, and add to even more notes. I put my hand-written notes behind the appropriate page of the NINJA notes, and keep trucking through. That's for my study time at home (for now). I'll also start looking at SIMS as I get through large chunks of material – just to let it further sink in.

My notebook and phone will now go EVERYWHERE with me. To/from (and sometimes at, when I have to do a bit of admin things) I'll play the audio. Only going up through where I left off studying, so I don't get ahead of myself. I'll use my notebook to review notes on car rides when I'm not driving, during my lunch break, waiting on appts, etc. On my lunch break I'm also going to go through questions from the cpa review for free website. And flash cards can be flipped through while waiting in line, or any other time I normally pull out my phone to check facebook. =0)

Once I've gone through CPAExcel info, I'll hit WTB HARD. Make even more notes on where I get stuck. Then I'll re-write my notes, and start my final review with simulated CPA exams and more SIMS.

I also work full-time… and I'm hoping to get in 3-4 hours of CPAExcel study time. I am lucky in that most days I get off around 4:30pm, and have a minimal commute. I also have a super awesome supportive husband who is willing to step up with dinner/household chores. We don't have any kids. (He just finished his licensing exams for architecture, where I took the brunt of cooking/cleaning).

I fully expect to get burnt out on all of this – so we'll see how it goes. I know I run the risk of having to re-study certain things, but I've given myself four months to study for FAR (taking it in Jan 2014). If this doesn't work… back to the drawing board!

Good luck to you!

FAR - 73, rematch in early April
AUD - 5/14
REG - 8/14
BEC - 11/14

[Jennifer Wade]

I've also just started studying for FAR while using CPAExcel, Ninja notes/audio/flashcards, and the Wiley Test Bank.

I'm only one weekend in so… here's my current plan.

I watch the lecture/review the slides – take down any notes that seem important. Then I read the study text for more detailed info. I'll look through the flash cards and see if I need to add anything to my notes. This is where I prefer the NINJA flash cards, as I don't have to drill down as far to see them. I move on to the proficiency questions, then exam. I review any I miss, and add to even more notes. I put my hand-written notes behind the appropriate page of the NINJA notes, and keep trucking through. That's for my study time at home (for now). I'll also start looking at SIMS as I get through large chunks of material – just to let it further sink in.

My notebook and phone will now go EVERYWHERE with me. To/from (and sometimes at, when I have to do a bit of admin things) I'll play the audio. Only going up through where I left off studying, so I don't get ahead of myself. I'll use my notebook to review notes on car rides when I'm not driving, during my lunch break, waiting on appts, etc. On my lunch break I'm also going to go through questions from the cpa review for free website. And flash cards can be flipped through while waiting in line, or any other time I normally pull out my phone to check facebook. =0)

Once I've gone through CPAExcel info, I'll hit WTB HARD. Make even more notes on where I get stuck. Then I'll re-write my notes, and start my final review with simulated CPA exams and more SIMS.

I also work full-time… and I'm hoping to get in 3-4 hours of CPAExcel study time. I am lucky in that most days I get off around 4:30pm, and have a minimal commute. I also have a super awesome supportive husband who is willing to step up with dinner/household chores. We don't have any kids. (He just finished his licensing exams for architecture, where I took the brunt of cooking/cleaning).

I fully expect to get burnt out on all of this – so we'll see how it goes. I know I run the risk of having to re-study certain things, but I've given myself four months to study for FAR (taking it in Jan 2014). If this doesn't work… back to the drawing board!

Good luck to you!

FAR - 73, rematch in early April
AUD - 5/14
REG - 8/14
BEC - 11/14

[SourPatchKids]

I'm also starting FAR, my first CPA section. Repliers above have given great advice but I noticed some of you plan to study for MONTHS! I remember reading that it is best to study for 6-8 weeks so that you won't forget things you learned months ago.

[SourPatchKids]

I'm also starting FAR, my first CPA section. Repliers above have given great advice but I noticed some of you plan to study for MONTHS! I remember reading that it is best to study for 6-8 weeks so that you won't forget things you learned months ago.

[Anonymous]

yes that's ideal but working full time makes it hard to study that much in such a short time span

[Author]

Replies