[Nereida2]

How Long do you recommend to retake far? it was my first attempt and I am using becker. I admit my study schedule wasn’t on point. should I do 6-7 weeks and should I focus on MCQs only and start from scratch.
thanks

[Recked]

What was your score this time around?
How many hours invested? How many MCQ's for the first try?

[Nereida2]

My score first attempt was a 59. I studied for two months. I went through the whole 10 chapters did sims and practice test. Which I left these to do at the end of my my review. I didn't feel ready as I felt like I rushing to get through it. I completed the 150 hours of study

[Anonymous]

Would you say you were kind of just going through the motions with Becker? That is what I did with my first attempt, and I also got a 59. For my retake, I dove into the MCQs and wrote out notes for everything I was getting wrong as well as all the journal entries mentioned. Got an 18 point jump.

[SchruteBeet]

@curlygirl1213 I scored 59 on FAR as well. I am using Becker. I am wondering what study material you used and if you complemented it with another material for your second attempt? Also, did you do anything besides taking notes, JE and MCQ for your second attempt (i.e. SIMs, rewrite notes etc.)?

[Anonymous]

I used Becker as my main review material for FAR and bought Ninja Notes for the retake. For my FAR retake, I went back and hit everything like I was seeing it the first time but skipped the lectures and went into the notes I'd taken before. Then I hit MCQ for days and look at the SIMs and then move to the next chapter. I also purchased Ninja Notes back when you could buy things separately, I didn't rewrite them but read through them. It helped to hammer in any concepts I felt Becker was lacking in.

My advice would be to really understand journal entries, which you probably already know. But I had sheets and sheets of journal entries written out and additional cheat sheets of formulas and walkthroughs (i.e. arriving at gross profit in installment sales, how to calculate bond amortization, etc). Any time I had an MCQ that involved even a single calculation, I wrote it all out in journal entry form so I could see how it would hit the financial statements and / or wrote out the formula and walked myself through it to really make sure I got it. Hope that helps.

[Nereida2]

yes, my thought was just get through everything. and I was following becker study plan so when I saw you are not on track all the time I kept freaking out. I have the ninja audio. do you think the ninja notes are good as the becker outline or better? I am not sure if I should get supplement material as some people have said that they pass with just becker.

[SchruteBeet]

@curlygirl1213 That was extremely helpful! I will get Ninja Scout for my review period once I get through my Becker material again.

[Anonymous]

You shouldn't just do the review course just to get through the review course. Take your time. The software gives you the tools to pass, but you are in charge of making sure you understand it all. Which means if you need to spend more time on a section, then hone in on that section until you are comfortable enough to move on.

You don't need to purchase supplemental materials, Becker does provide a good amount of tools to help you pass. I purchased the Notes so I had another way of looking at something since I personally couldn't understand everything in the textbook. It is all about what will personally benefit you.

[msquared17]

This is very helpful. I have Becker and felt like I was just going through the motions. I hate when the study plan says you’re not on track. Lol!

We can do this!

[alabe]

I failed FAR with a 59 on the last score release. I had solely used Becker. Once I failed, I felt completely defeated and wasn't about to give up. I ended up using the Rodger Cram Course, the NINJA MCQ, and then continued to use my Becker. I didn't re-watch any of the lectures as I didn't exactly have time on my side. The first round I studied over 300 hours and about 7 weeks. Looking back the reason I failed is because I didn't completely understand some of the major topics and felt good because I had memorized a lot of the Becker MCQ, but didn't actually understand the topic.
So for my retake I would read the Becker lecture, do the MCQ, and then do the SIMS associated with the lecture. From there I would then supplement and watch the Rodger Cram Review Lecture on that same topic, then work 10-30 NINJA MCQ on the same topic. Then would move on. I only took 5 weeks to study because I wanted to take it again before the 2018 changes in hopes I would pass. I ended up passing with a 75. I know that the score isn't an amazing score, but it's still passing and I never have to look at a FAR book again.
Another tip that I think really helped is I memorized all JE from the Becker book. I wrote them on flashcards and read through them every night.
Hope this helps! Goodluck!

[SchruteBeet]

Thanks @alabe. That was very helpful! I’m using Becker now and I just bought ninja scout. I plan to do something similar where I study the Becker text and McQs and then do the Ninja MCQ. The JE tip is really useful!

[Author]

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