@Curtis – thanks for the insight. I was told that there is a +10/-10 impact to the score, so I understand what you're saying, but man is it not frustrating to see some kind of movement.
@Jeff – I emailed you directly today, so I don't want to waste your time on the email and this message board, so this may be the best for future candidates to see.
First attempt 2022 – most of my weekends were family time
1) Started studying in April '22 – reviewed all videos from Roger
2) After each Roger chapter, I'd do 10-30 MCQs, regardless of how well I did (mostly guessing) and using the tutor option without the timer.
3) Note: I had some personal health issues come up during this early period (Apr) and I had to move across the country, one month (Jun) before my exam. I honestly wasn't getting through the prep as fast as I had wanted.
4) One week before exam, I was still trying to finish learning/reviewing material for the first time (e.g. the complex consolidation problems).
5) I attempted comprehensive quizzing and was roughly scoring averages of 40s-60s. I felt that using tutor more than timing on Roger hurt me because I was running out of time on questions.
6) Took exam, thought I was going to fail, but hoped for the best. Got my 70.
Second attempt 2022 – again, most of my weekends were family time as I'm not working.
1) Late August – I moved again and settled in early Sept. Relearned some test taking strategies (e.g. go for easy, non-math questions first through the entire 3X question testlet and answer those first, then hit the harder questions next). I was aiming to get my answers within the 60-75 second mark.
2) Sept – Started rewriting my notes from all the sections and trying to hit and signed up for the exam, I did this for 3-4 weeks
3) For 8 weeks, I was quizzing to get to my smart path targets and recommended amount of questions per section (using the timer function).
4) It took me a few days to fully understand tough areas like bonds, leases, Stockholder's equity, & Stmt of CF.
5) Two weeks before exam, I was still trying to get to my SP targets, but I was running out of questions. I was redoing my incorrect ones that I had learned and practiced, but I felt like I was memorizing more than anything. I was averaging 60-70s and some 80s.
6) I did 4-5 SIM prep and got a 60 or 70 on that. Prior to walking in the test, I had seen 95% of all MCQ on Roger's FAR and revisited questions that I answered incorrectly 2,3, or 4 times.
7) Finished my studies with one before the exam and did some comprehensive questions where I was scoring 70s-80s. I was hitting 30-85 seconds per question which I thought was respectable given that Roger's MCQ require you to finish the unused questions up before you can see the old ones again. same day before, I was running through notes, making sure I my concepts down.
8) Walked into the test and I thought I was owning the MCQ. Timing was dialed in, and I was thinking I'd see harder questions in the second testlet. I saw a lot of Gov & NP which I felt prepared for, but my prometric computer screwed up, and they had to reboot my computer. I lost 5 minutes that I never got it back. Nothing to be done or anyone I could speak to on this matter (Prometric, board, or NASBA). Very frustrating and distracting during the exam.
9) SIMs – Instead of spending the expected amount of time on the 3rd testlet, I spent more because I was trying to figure out the recon. Even though I spent more time on it, I know I nailed it. Remaining SIMs, I started running out of mental juice and time.
10) Got my score last night of 70 and waiting on my diagnostic.
Overall, I thought my latest attempt would show some progression of success, and it's extremely demoralizing that I kept the same score, again. Am I over studying or being inefficient? I am not working, and I've trained myself to sit and do multiple hours of studying/mcq testing, but I don't know what isn't sticking. I was recommended to move to BEC for the quick win, but given my investment in time for FAR, I feel that I'd lose some of the knowledge from ~6 months of studying & 2 attempts under my belt.
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