[Anonymous]

Alright gang, I should be done with my first review of FAR. My first go around consisted of the following routines:

Nailing the videos — this was easy because I just watch Tim Gearty and Peter Olinto and mimic whatever notes they jot down/instruct us to write on our books.

After watching the associated videos of each topic within a particular chapter, I would do the MCQ’s. Then, I’d watch the next video lecture and do the MCQ’s.

Then, I’d do the supplemental questions.

So after the end of this month, I should be done with all 9 chapters of Becker.

What do you guys suggest I do this point on?

I have already gone through Jeff’s NINJA notes for FAR — and they provide a great framework for keeping all the ideas together. I plan on going through them again and perhaps re-writing the entire NINJA guide.

As for the MCQ’s, do you guys suggest I do all the MCQ’s within each chapter (250+ MCQ’s per chapter) and then type up the notes from the questions I’m not comfortable with or got incorrectly?

Is it sufficient to compile notes only from the MCQ explanations alone? Or would I have to go through the book and provide additional detail?

I also plan on making flashcards for mnemonics, equations, and journal entries, and maybe even IFRS differences.

After each 1-2 chapters, I was recommended to do a progress test consisting of a pool of questions in order to refresh my memory about what I just learned.

Finally, after making all the flashcards, writing notes from the MCQ explanations, I will set aside 4 hours of uninterrupted study and take the final review exams. I will also try to find time to do the simulations, which I have not yet touched.

I am currently working full-time and can manage maybe 2-3 hours of study on the weekdays. I plan on taking the exam at the end of January.

Do you guys think I can manage to do all I’ve mentioned with my time constraint? Are there any more efficient strategies you guys could provide? Perhaps instead of doing all the 250+ MCQ’s within each chapter and taking notes on the missed questions (even though this will be my 2nd go around, I have a feeling I’ll still miss a good portion), just do a fraction of those MCQ’s? But then if I’m taking notes, shouldn’t I do a comprehensive review of all the MCQ’s?

I’m committed to taking and passing my first and reportedly most difficult part of the CPA exam. I feel like my pass/failure will set the mood for the rest of the tests. If I fail, I know I will really get down on myself and that’s going to hurt my studies after.

I’d appreciate all your input. I’d like to make the best use of my time and nail this exam on the first try! I have no problems putting in the time, I’m just concerned that my study strategy thus far is not as effective as it could be.

[Anonymous]

@CannotPassAgain..Hi my story is same like yours i have completed all Lectures upto f8 and have done Mcqs but i havent done supplemental questions for most of Lectures and not even touch simulations…Kindly suggest me about Jeff'f Ninja notes for FAR..How they helped you??…

[Anonymous]

The NINJA notes give you a basic overview of all the concepts of FAR. I think they align very well with the subjects taught in Becker.

If your situation is like mine, by the time you get to F8, you have already forgotten all the details from even the beginning of the chapter. By going over the NINJA notes, they helped me “trigger” thoughts and memories about past topics which I've covered and give you some direction in deciding what topics you're weak and strong in so that you can go back to your book and obtain details.

[smuppane]

Just stick to Becker. Read the text again and again. I like read the entire book 3 times. Though I was scoring only between 70-80 with MCs in Becker the exam was totally different.

REG - 07/01/2011 - 93
AUD - 08/25/2011 - 95
FAR - 10/29/2011 - 94
BEC - 11/28/2011 - 90

[Anonymous]

@smuppane you recommend I read the text and take notes instead of doing the MCQ's over and over and taking notes off the answer explanations?

What do you mean the actual exam was different from Becker? By looking at your scores, it seems to me like you're saying the exam was easier than the Becker questions?

[smuppane]

Yes exam questions were easier

So if you score less than 80% in Becker mcs you will still score better on the exam

I mean read the text book including ancillary material thoroughly

REG - 07/01/2011 - 93
AUD - 08/25/2011 - 95
FAR - 10/29/2011 - 94
BEC - 11/28/2011 - 90

[Anonymous]

@cannotpass – I have to say I disagree with smuppane, I did pass all 4 parts on the first try although my scores weren't near as impressive as smuppane. While I do agree that reading the material is needed, I usually did this while going through the homework the first time, I think the practice of the MCQ is what helps you actually understand the material. And IMO in order to pass the exam, understanding the material is the key. My process was listen to the lectures, read back through the notes and then do the homework for that chapter. Once I went through all of the chapters and started my reveiw I just started doing MCQ's over and over. If I ran into a question that I didnt remember (which happened alot!) I looked it up in the book and re-read the section relating to that question. I think what you've done so far is great, now if I were you I'd just start doing MCQ's and reviewing the material that you can't remember or that is giving you trouble. And don't forget to do some practice SIMs. I wouldnt worry to much about them because most of the time the ones on the actual exam are totally different than the practice ones but I would at least look at a few of them since this is your first exam. And be sure to practice a few research SIMs just so you know how to use the reseach tool.

[ppierce]

If you took Yaeger make sure you practice all of his MCQ that he tells you to do. After you are so sick of those that you can't stand to look at them, practice the Wiley online questions (if you have Wiley). Do not get discouraged if you don't know the answer to certain questions. Its the reading of the explanations that really helps.

FAR 80
REG 76
AUD 85
BEC 85
Ethics 98
DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Anonymous]

@smuppane did you write notes at all or did you just read the book 3 times to digest the material? would you say your study would work for “normal” people? your scores are pretty high so you're obviously pretty smart. there are a few people on this forum that whine and complain about how their test was so hard or how they missed 90% of the sims just to fish for compliments when their signature says they scored a 92. what i'm saying is, do you think your study method would work for the average student?

@ANA9816 hey thanks for the feedback. i do appreciate hearing advice from several people. i definitely plan on redoing the MCQ's over and over again. i've just completed my first round of reviews and trying to come up with the best way to go about my final review. i still have a few weeks, but i want to spend it as efficiently as possible. i don't plan on jumping into the MCQ's right away (even though I went through them once already in the past 2 months) because I have a feeling I'm going to miss a lot of them since everything is likely forgotten by now.

since i never took heavy notes the first go-around. do you think i should go through the entire book and take notes from it? i imagine this will take me a week to do 2 chapters, at most (since i work fulltime and commute 40+ hours a month). or do you think i can just dive directly into the MCQ's and take notes from the answer explanations?

i feel like the answer explanations may be enough to take notes on, and could easily replace having to take notes off the book.

[smuppane]

It would work for anyone as The last reading I do is in the last one week. So I remember most of my reading on the exam day. If I was just practising questions I would not remember what I read a month ago. I use practising earlier in my studies. Now I know how to apply what I learned, so in the last few days I try to read as much as possible to remeber the stuff on the exam day.

REG - 07/01/2011 - 93
AUD - 08/25/2011 - 95
FAR - 10/29/2011 - 94
BEC - 11/28/2011 - 90

[Anonymous]

@cannotpass – That is how I approached it. I didnt take notes during the lectures (other than what the Becker lectures told you to take in the book) nor did I go back and take notes over the whole book. When I started my final review I just jumped right into the MCQ's and took notes over those. If I didnt remember the topic I would find it in the book and read the section relating to that area to refresh and take notes if needed. One thing that I didnt do with FAR as much but did do with BEC was everytime I had a MCQ that required a formula, I wrote the entire formula down and then filled in the numbers. Rather than just reading the formula from my notes or books. Writing the formula over and over again really helped me and I didnt have problem recalling formulas on exam day(now that was with BEC so it isn't as many formulas as FAR).

[Author]

Replies