[Tarheel83]

I took FAR on 5/19/18. Failed with a 71. I did not do this the NINJA way (read through the book and take thorough notes). However, with AUD I did follow the NINJA way and read all books, took lots of notes, and did a ton of MCQs. I take AUD on 7/1 and feel very confident going into the exam.

Anyhow, I planned to take REG at the end of Q3, by giving myself 7 to 8 weeks to study for it. However, now that I failed FAR, I am getting advice to retake FAR since it should still be relatively fresh. How long should I study for it? I am leaning towards starting all over doing it the NINJA way, reading and taking notes and pounding MCQs and giving myself about 6 or 7 weeks to retake.

I wanted to get some feedback from what you all think.

[Maggie]

I failed FAR with a 65… I'm planning on re taking it end of Aug/beg of Sept…

My plan is to start studying this weekend on areas I know that I could improve on (the areas I didnt quite get to the 1st go round). Once I get that notice of what I was weak in, I'll go from there, but honestly I'll prob review everything. I didnt get to do all the NINJA MCQ's. I did all of them for AUD and kept doing them for about 2 weeks prior to the test and passed.. I think doing that for FAR might help..

What does everyone suggest?

AUD- 74 (2012), 72 (4/20/16)
BED- 7/6/16
REG- TBD
FAR- TBD

[Tarheel83]

I think my problem has been dealing with the SIMs. I need to find some way of increasing my success rate with the SIMs. I know most everyone will say just to focus on MCQs and pound them in your head until you can't stand it. I am certainly increasing my MCQs and will keep that up; however, I also feel that because I dont do any SIMs in practice, I am not performing as well as I should be able to.

I hear that both the CPAExcel and NINJA SIMs are not all that great. Is there another way to study for SIMs? Is there a good test bank for SIMs?

[Nate]

Tarheel- The hardest part about sims is figuring out what they are asking. It takes time to look through all the documents and plan out what you are going to answer. Once you realize that its just a matter of taking your time and answering the best you can. The last two tests I took were reg and far and i had the same sim strategy for both. I had not gotten through all the material but whats good about the sims is usually they are asked on the main topics and even if they might be on one you haven't covered so well there is still a chance you can figure it out. My strategy for both was go as fast as possible (25 Min or so) on the first sim testlet (only two questions). I have always found these to be the most difficult so I don't get too hung up on them and I probably got them mostly wrong ( a lot of guessing). The next sim usually has the research question- I do this one immediately- the research is free points and you should not be getting that wrong. Then I look through the other two and see which is easier (or less information) and do that one. Then I get the last one done I take my time and keep my eye on the clock to leave about an hour for the last testlet. I find this testlet to be easier then the first one so i'm pretty sure I get them mostly right. Then I have an hour for the last testlet- more than enough time so I am not pressured at all and I go over each one 2 or 3 or even 4 times making sure i get them perfectly right (one of these is usually the correcting email one which is pretty much multiple choice). I remember on Far one of the last ones I had no idea what it was asking at first but because I had no time pressure I just read and though about it over and over and eventually figured it out and it was actually really simple. After the test I was confident I got four sims perfect (the last testlet and the research) and I got two of the middle testlet mostly right and the first two mostly wrong. I probably did better on the sims than on mcs for both tests. The MCS took me about an hour and 45 min, the third sim i spent about 25 min on and then the third I spent about 50 min and the last a spent the full hour on.

[Anonymous]

I failed in January with a 69 and retook in June and passed with an 80 after 3 weeks of studying while working full time. I went through each section of Ninja by topic, which was the biggest key. I really was able to hammer down on each topic and learn it. Did about 1,300 MCQ's and no sims besides AICPA practice sims. Also viewed some YouTube videos on topics that I struggled with (bonds, consolidations) and they really helped.

[LittleTimmy]

I failed FAR on May 21st with a 65, wasn't able to get through a good portion of my study materials as usual, but it was my highest FAR score yet. However, I was able to pass AUD two weeks later on June 9th, and wasn't able to get through all my Roger study materials due to the 2-week time limit and was able to pass AUD.

I am giving myself 6 weeks to study for FAR, starting today and taking the test on August 11, test is already paid for and scheduled.

My study plan is to watch all 46 hours of ROGER videos, read the 31 chapters of the Roger book, and try to do at least 500 MCQs all in the month of JULY. Then spend August 1-11 doing Ninja MCQs and practice AICPA tests and do a final review at the same time.

The final 4 chapters of Roger, (Statement of Cash Flows, Government, NonProfit, and Consolidation) are the chapters I had to gloss over fast last time I took the test and got the 65, so I think if I hammer those 4 chapters this time around, it should be enough to get me to a 75.

[Tarheel83]

Thanks everyone on the advice for restudying. I am definitely going to start going through all the material top down again. I am going to make sure I take more notes ahead of time and study more similarly to how I did for AUD on 7/1. Also, @Nate, thanks for the heads up on your strategy for SIMs and the timing of it. I actually tried to take that into consideration for AUD on 7/1 and I liked the strategy. I ended up getting through the MCQs in 1.5 hours and had 2.5 hours to finish the SIMS. I ended up having 10 or 15 minutes left at the end and I used the AL heavily during a few of the SIMs.

[Author]

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