[suzieemac]

So I’m about to undergo my fourth attempt at FAR. I’m giving myself excuses to my poor performance on the first two attempts but I really thought I had it this last time around.

My issue is that when I have to study for a retake I tend to start from the beginning, which is obviously an enormous waste of time. I’m going into this one with a new attitude – I’ve been advised to work on trouble areas, while throwing in some adaptive learning as to not get left behind on what I’ve already somewhat “mastered”. I’m nervous that concepts are going to get lost but at the same time, I have to change something. Just curious as to how you all approach studying for a retake (or 2 or 3 or 4 lol).

AUD - 8/12/16
REG - 10/7/16
BEC - 11/18/16
FAR - TBD

#300before30 - Pass the CPA exam before my 30th Birthday.

[DoubleBogey]

I know that bonds give people a lot of trouble. If that is the case for you, make sure you know how to use the TVM formulas in Excel, as that will now be available to you. When in doubt, it's probably fair value. Not sure who you're studying with but Wiley's test bank has very good explanations for MCQs.

[DoubleBogey]

Make sure you know basic GNFP. It's becoming more and more tested than the AICPA wants to admit.

[MaLoTu]

I don’t think your problem is over studying. I also took multiple attempts at AUD, BEC, and FAR.
Everytime I studied, I studied the entire book as if I hadn’t seen it before. I actually put in more effort with each additional try. It is a lot of work, but if you aren’t passing you are not studying effectively and or enough.
Some alterations I made was to work on the sections I had the hardest time on first.. so I did not go in order. I would do sets of 5-10 questions on completed sections in between other sections. A day or two before the exam I would just randomly answer questions from each unit. My general tactic was if I got the answer right I would skip ahead 3 or 4 questions and if I got it wrong I would just continue to the next question.
Good luck, I know it’s hard.

[Tncincy]

@MaLoTu: Those are good points. My problem is trying to stay in order until I am not getting to the meat of the materials. I guess it's not wrong per say to move around. I don't feel like I am getting any where, so switching approach is going to be different. Good points.

It begins with a 75
Been here too long as a cheerleader....ready to pass

[Dro]

it took me 4 times to pass FAR. the 4th time, I wrote notes on my board at work and hung up sheets of “Summary” papers all over my house. I.E. Title the page with Leases I would have the formulas, JEs, and other quick tips to remember. I think it was a way to help organize all the information as well and i had to look at it every day so I was always studying. I also re-wrote my notes for the 20th time and pounded MCQs. I also worked through several SIMS.

I too usually start over from the beginning with a retake but I wanted the beast out of the way so I gave it my all. I felt I had a decent grasp on concepts that at this point is what about repetition, practice, and having it constantly in my face. I'm not much of an auditory learner so I never listened to lectures.

Good luck! 1 more to go, slay it!

REG: 69, 73, 80!
FAR: 62
BEC: TBD
AUD: TBD

[Steph]

What is everyone's thoughts for prepping for the simulations? FAR is my last exam as well and I'm short on time.

My strategy:
-Know the 4 statements forwards and backwards
-Know the Notes to the F/S's
-Study J/E's like my life depended on it.

Should I take the time to do the sims in NINJA?

Desperate for some direction on how to effectively study for these.

REG: 60, RETAKE MAY 2016
FAR: AUG 2016
AUD: APR 2016
BEC: 68, RETAKE PENDING

[Dro]

@Steph I actually used Gleim for the SIM study and NINJA for MCQ. Gleim is brutal in the MCQ market but I felt like their SIMs were more realistic to the exam. I also took the practice AICPA test too. Any SIM is fair game, so I used it mainly to focus on my weak areas like Cash Flow. You best believe I had Cash Flows for private, gov't and non-profit on lock before i went into my 4th attempt. 🙂

REG: 69, 73, 80!
FAR: 62
BEC: TBD
AUD: TBD

[McGeeAndMe]

You mention studying, but not MCQs. Is it that you still don't understand a lot of the material, or that you're just getting hit with unexpected angles on questions?

Once you understand the concepts, further reading may not be as useful as challenging your application with as many questions as possible.

[Steph]

@Dro: Good notes. Make sure I have C/F down for NFP and Gov't, got it.

REG: 60, RETAKE MAY 2016
FAR: AUG 2016
AUD: APR 2016
BEC: 68, RETAKE PENDING

[jdub]

I had to take REG 4 times to pass and I studied it from the beginning every single time. Becker has “pre-assessments” so if you score high enough it recommends you skip the lectures. This was a life saver for me because I have no tax experience I wasn't confident so it felt like everything was a struggle.

But if I scored high enough on the pre-assessment (and I often did, especially with individual) I would go straight to the sims/multiple choice questions for that material and practice those. If I didn't score high enough, I would re-do the lecture and then move on to the sims/MCQ.

[get_away06]

@suzieemac it’s never a waste of time to start from the beginning. I took BEC 5x and learned something new at each pass through. I would suggest taking a break, if time permits, so that you are not burnt out. Try to harness what helped you pass the other parts and apply it to FAR – it is definitely a beast. Try switching it up too, get supplements, try other test banks, etc. I had Roger then decided to get NINJA which eventually did it from 70s to 83. Lastly, don’t give up! You are almost done! Good luck!

[suzieemac]

Thanks everyone for your thoughts. Sorry for being so late to respond, tax season kind of gets in the way haha.

@McGeeAndMe at this point my studying is doing MCQs and then going back on where I messed up to fine tune the topic. I'm trying to move around from topic to topic because I'm afraid that I'm memorizing the answers (which may also mean I have to find some new test banks). I'm focusing a lot on government accounting because no matter how many times I tell myself I've got it, I'm not even close.

Starting from scratch this time around may be a little difficult because of time constraints. I will however, make sure to at least run through all of the subjects quickly to get refreshed.

I know I'm not completely grasping certain concepts (par value vs cost method, and government wide FS may be the death of me). I may need to start hanging visuals everywhere like @dro mentioned, I swear that was what helped me pass AUD on the first attempt. Mnemonics for days.

I think part of the negative thought pattern I started to develop was “oh well its such a large amount of information, they may not even ask a question on this” and i'd move on and focus on what I was already good at… but obviously I have to have certain grasp on every single topic =\

AUD - 8/12/16
REG - 10/7/16
BEC - 11/18/16
FAR - TBD

#300before30 - Pass the CPA exam before my 30th Birthday.

[Author]

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