[needhelpfar]

Hey there.

This is my first post – I have one last exam to go – FAR, the beast, as it’s rightly called.

My initial view of FAR was “oh, how hard can it be?! It’s accounting, I should be able to manage.” Of course the material was huge, thus intimidating, but I thought I would stick to the plan of breaking it down to small parts and would be able to do it.

Here I am, three weeks away from my exam, and I’ve not even finished the material once!!! This is very unlike my usual preparation where I ensure to give myself 3 weeks of revision and only practice. So for obvious reasons I’m freaking out.. and I desperately need your help/advice/suggestions…

My problems –

1) I haven’t finished the material fully even once

2) I’m scoring around 60ish in the progress tests/practice

3) I’m working full time so I have barely 2-3 hours

4) Finding it real hard to retain the information

5) EXTREMELY DEMOTIVATED!!!!!!!!!!

Can anyone tell me how I should go about it for the rest of the 3 weeks?

[Anonymous]

I would kick into high gear at this point. Assume you have no life, at all. Go to the store and stock up on healthy frozen meals and snacks so you don't have to cook. You will need plenty of brain food. Streamline you life and skip everything unnecessary. With ELL you should easily be able to get in 4 hours a day. Could you take a day or two off here and there? Maybe create a 3 day uninterrupted study weekend .

Map out your plan for the next 3 weeks and stick to it. Skip SIMs. Your plan should include finishing the material and going through all MCPs at least once. Your weak points should be apparent and you can do more MCP's on those points in the last few days. Don't skip stuff you don't think is important or is unfamiliar. Nonprofit and government are often underestimated.

Since you've passed the other 3 exams I don't think there is any harm is taking this one in May, even if you are unsure. You will still have one more opportunity for a retake. But study as if this is your last chance! That way you can enjoy your summer exam free 🙂

[Anonymous]

double post

[Anonymous]

I would kick into high gear at this point. Assume you have no life, at all. Go to the store and stock up on healthy frozen meals and snacks so you don't have to cook. You will need plenty of brain food. Streamline you life and skip everything unnecessary. With ELL you should easily be able to get in 4 hours a day. Could you take a day or two off here and there? Maybe create a 3 day uninterrupted study weekend .

Map out your plan for the next 3 weeks and stick to it. Skip SIMs. Your plan should include finishing the material and going through all MCPs at least once. Your weak points should be apparent and you can do more MCP's on those points in the last few days. Don't skip stuff you don't think is important or is unfamiliar. Nonprofit and government are often underestimated.

Since you've passed the other 3 exams I don't think there is any harm is taking this one in May, even if you are unsure. You will still have one more opportunity for a retake. But study as if this is your last chance! That way you can enjoy your summer exam free 🙂

[needhelpfar]

Thanks a lot for all your responses! Motivating myself everyday consumes half my energy, so this is great support 🙂

I don't have kids, I live with my family so cooking ain't a problem either, touchwood! I am working full time however, and these days I have been getting brain-dead by like 9pm. I used to be able to study till 11pm easily, but I've been studying non-stop for months now, last exam was REG, so pretty taxing as well.

Anywho, absolutely no excuses, of course. Lauren, I stopped at F5, and then revised F1-F5, now on to the latter half of the material. I'm using Becker, and thinking of getting the WTB which I used for all my other sections and was really helpful.

Just a bit concerned as this is not how I prepared for the other exams, I had more time for the rest, so the paranoia is starting to kick in!

Always appreciate your suggestions and advice! Let's do this 🙂

[needhelpfar]

Thanks a lot for all your responses! Motivating myself everyday consumes half my energy, so this is great support 🙂

I don't have kids, I live with my family so cooking ain't a problem either, touchwood! I am working full time however, and these days I have been getting brain-dead by like 9pm. I used to be able to study till 11pm easily, but I've been studying non-stop for months now, last exam was REG, so pretty taxing as well.

Anywho, absolutely no excuses, of course. Lauren, I stopped at F5, and then revised F1-F5, now on to the latter half of the material. I'm using Becker, and thinking of getting the WTB which I used for all my other sections and was really helpful.

Just a bit concerned as this is not how I prepared for the other exams, I had more time for the rest, so the paranoia is starting to kick in!

Always appreciate your suggestions and advice! Let's do this 🙂

[needhelpfar]

bluegirl – loved your advice! Thanks a lot, I do have a week off from work before the exam, so hopefully I can make something out of that time as well.

As for the sims, I've heard a lot of people say that the sims threw them off on the exam. Shouldn't I practice those then?

My plan is to finish the remaining 3 chapters by May 18, and then do the Becker Final Review, practice exams, and revise the whole material.

Do you think I should re-work the questions in the passmaster? (Don't know if any of you are familiar with Becker material here). Also, how many MCQs do you suggest I do in a day?

[needhelpfar]

bluegirl – loved your advice! Thanks a lot, I do have a week off from work before the exam, so hopefully I can make something out of that time as well.

As for the sims, I've heard a lot of people say that the sims threw them off on the exam. Shouldn't I practice those then?

My plan is to finish the remaining 3 chapters by May 18, and then do the Becker Final Review, practice exams, and revise the whole material.

Do you think I should re-work the questions in the passmaster? (Don't know if any of you are familiar with Becker material here). Also, how many MCQs do you suggest I do in a day?

[ChristieF]

@needhelpfar, like I said, I'd make sure to work sims. Not everyone thinks they are helpful, but no matter what, they reinforce what you should know in a manner opposed to just mcqs. I would definitely work them.

As for how many mcqs in a day. I would say do as many as you can comfortably fit in. Everyone is different, but I know alpt of people do anywhere from 50 to 120 a day. It's all a matter of how quick you go through them and what you have time for each day.

[ChristieF]

@needhelpfar, like I said, I'd make sure to work sims. Not everyone thinks they are helpful, but no matter what, they reinforce what you should know in a manner opposed to just mcqs. I would definitely work them.

As for how many mcqs in a day. I would say do as many as you can comfortably fit in. Everyone is different, but I know alpt of people do anywhere from 50 to 120 a day. It's all a matter of how quick you go through them and what you have time for each day.

[Anonymous]

You should definitely practice SIMS!

[Anonymous]

You should definitely practice SIMS!

[needhelpfar]

So I'm halfway thru Governmental Accounting, just the govt wide reconciliations left. I've heard a lot about it being the toughest chapter and etc in FAR. However, it seems pretty okay to me, so I wanna make sure I'm not missing anything…

The funds seem pretty straightforward – modified accrual accounting seems to be easier than our usual accrual accounting cuz everything goes to expenditures, no LTD, no FA, no depreciation!!!

Am I missing something? Why are people so terrified with this???

[needhelpfar]

So I'm halfway thru Governmental Accounting, just the govt wide reconciliations left. I've heard a lot about it being the toughest chapter and etc in FAR. However, it seems pretty okay to me, so I wanna make sure I'm not missing anything…

The funds seem pretty straightforward – modified accrual accounting seems to be easier than our usual accrual accounting cuz everything goes to expenditures, no LTD, no FA, no depreciation!!!

Am I missing something? Why are people so terrified with this???

[Anonymous]

Thats a relief to hear at least one person say Govt accounting is straightforward!! as I hv also heard that it might be the hardest topic. I am still on F4 so I hv no idea and never took Govt non profit in school :-/.. Although I must say that Govt accounting section in Audit was a bit of a pain but since it was not a huge part of the exam, I did ok with a very high level understanding.

[Anonymous]

Thats a relief to hear at least one person say Govt accounting is straightforward!! as I hv also heard that it might be the hardest topic. I am still on F4 so I hv no idea and never took Govt non profit in school :-/.. Although I must say that Govt accounting section in Audit was a bit of a pain but since it was not a huge part of the exam, I did ok with a very high level understanding.

[Author]

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