[K Legub]

First off this site is great. I was just hoping to get some feedback. I took the FAR portion of the exam two days ago. I felt really good about the first three testlets. I took a break, before the fourth, and sat down with 50 minutes to complete the fourth booklet. Boy did I wish I have more time. I panicked a bit, and my cool confidence immediately changed to nervousness. I was able to complete five out of the seven sims, but left a lot of blanks on one big sim. Can I still pass? Plus I have three weeks to study for the REG test. I already took the course, and don’t have a full time job at this time, so I have ample time to study for the REG test. Just looking for encouragement and advice. So frustrated. I spent so much time studying for FAR, and I’m bummed about slipping up on the simulation section. Thanks, and best of luck to everybody.

[hilaryh_88]

Hi K Legub

As you can see, I'm not an expert on FAR, but I can tell you that there is a good chance one of those SIMS was a pretest SIM and I wouldn't be surprised if it was the longer one. The fact that you were able to get through five out of the seven is still quite good, especially if you also felt good about the MCQ. Since you only have three weeks to go before REG, just try to forget about it. Scores won't be out until September anyway and you'll have more luck studying for REG if you can put FAR behind you.

AUD - 82 Becker
BEC - 75 Becker
REG - 71, 82 Becker
FAR - 66,61,71,74,70 and #6 80!!!! FINALLY DONE!!! 9/20/12
Yaeger and Yaeger CRAM for the final battle!

[IwannaBaCPA]

@hilaryh_88:

I seriously beg to differ when you claim you are not a FAR “expert”. I know you may feel like that, but actually I am sure you know way more then people that pass on their first try. This exam has more to do with luck than people who pass want to admit. I know luck had a lot to do with my FAR pass on my first try…sorry it doesn't seem to be going your way…

@K Legub:

So what happened to you on your exam has a lot to do the fact that you were not well prepared for the structure of the exam. I don't know if you have taken any other parts, but studying hard and being prepared in that way is only 3/4 of the battle…I think I have posted at least 5 times on here how important I think TIME MANAGEMENT is when it comes to actually taking the exam. Here is my advice so you avoid this problem on the next exam:

~Make a plan BEFORE test day and stick to it! Decide how much time you are willing to spend on each testlet and how much time you want/need for the SIMS. Of course you can't know for sure, but practice exams and the advice of others on this forum should help you determine that. For myself, I decided 45 minutes per testlet max on FAR so I would have 1.5 hours for the SIMS. When I was struggling with a MCQ or two I forced myself to guess and move on if I was getting close to my time limit. Wasting 10 minutes to get 1 MCQ right is far less beneficial than having that time to use on a SIM.

I ended up having just under 2 hours for the SIMS and let me tell you, I needed every single second of it! I was able to use the Research function to help me with a few of them as well…I ended up passing on my first try with a 78 last window. I know it is not a superstar score, but a pass is a pass IMO. TIME MANAGEMENT saved me big time!

All in all, the past is the past and you can't change what happened. You won't know how you did until September, so forget it for now and move on. Use your experience though to better prepare for REG. I mention again how important TIME MANAGEMENT is…

BEC: 79 - April 2011
FAR: 78 - May 2011
AUD: 81 - May 2012
REG: 79 - October 2012
Ethics: Passed - March 2013
I am finally DONE!

[RedRage00]

I have my FAR exam on Sunday morning. I'm going to take a practice exam on the AICPA website tomorrow. I'm taking the advice of many on here and saving 1.5 hours for the SIMS which will leave about 50 minutes per testlet.

Texas CPA
Licensed, March 2012

[Author]

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