[728daniel]

So I have been studying for far for about a month now and have just finished f7 in Becker.

Have done most of the homework with scores ranging from 70’s to 80’s. Progress tests after each chapter are consistently in the 80’s and 90’s

Now my concerns: I have literally skipped all the sims in Becker because they are very lengthy and I felt they are kinda testing the same things as in the MCQs. Is this going to hurt me significantly? How representative are they of the actual exam?

Exam is scheduled for 3/10. Still have little over a month (with ~25hrs weekly) to finish f8,9,10 and review. How does this sound? And what should I expect from these chapters?

Any suggestions will be appreciated!

[Namstut]

Good question. I am interested to hear what those who already took FAR say.

I am also studying with Becker and I am behind the schedule. I am just starting on Chapter 4 and the exam is on 3/9. I am leaving progress tests for my review week and only doing homework MCQs and SIMs after each chapter. FAR SIMs cover multiple concepts in one SIM and aside calculations you also have to figure our journal entries, which you do not get with MCQs.

I took a different approach during my REG prep – I left SIMs for my review week. They definitely helped me identify my weak areas. I would not skip them and you definitely have enough time to finish all of them if you chose to do so.

I am not sure if this is the right approach but based on my experience with BEC, AUD and REG, Becker SIMs were a very good representation of what showed up on my exams.

AUD 7/6/16 Passed
BEC 9/3/16
FAR TBD
REG TBD

[tg7174]

I only had 7 weeks for FAR and wish that I had at least another one. There is too much material. Personally, I did a few SIMs with REG, but I mostly just did MCQs for all of my attempts. I did not do a single SIM for FAR. Just keep up with the MCQs.

[CPA788]

Becker user here. Took me 3x to pass FAR (IDK if I was a lazy studier or what it was, it's just a lot of material), but I always saved SIMS for my review phase. I felt like SIMS really helped knock home all of the concepts or helped point out what I thought I had nailed down but clearly didn't. I never did them all – I usually just did a few per chapter. But I think you would benefit from doing some vs showing up on test day with not doing any. SIMS can be a killer way to secure your passing grade – MCQ can be play tricks on you but I never see SIMS as overly complicated, and if you can master them all on test day you can walk out feeling like a champ. After sitting for FAR 3x, I have seen some pretty ridic SIMS – give them a glance.

BEC - 74, 77
FAR - 72, 71 (retake 7/29)
REG - 69
AUD - Q4 '16

CA Candidate

[CPA788]

Also – don't ignore Govt and NFP, just in case you haven't seen prior warnings in the threads here.

BEC - 74, 77
FAR - 72, 71 (retake 7/29)
REG - 69
AUD - Q4 '16

CA Candidate

[Anonymous]

Do NOT ignore the Sims. That would be a Critical Mistake – especially with the FAR exam. I almost skipped reworking the Sims in my Final Review Stage. Thank God I spent the 3 days prior to my exam reworking the Sims. Otherwise, I am positive I would have failed and would have not squeaked by with a 77. Some of Becker's Sims are very lengthy, so click on the solution to give u an idea of what you need to do. Then, try reworking the Sim without simply memorizing the answer. Goodluck!

[Cheeks]

Do at least one sim testlet from each chapter. Substantively, the sims hardly prepare you for what's on the actual test. But emotionally, you'll feel like you tried and prepared for it and as a result feel less guilt going into the exam. Less guilt = a more positive attitude. A more positive attitude will lead to a “more better” chance of passing the exam. Once you pass, you'll forget it all and life goes on. Ju Got Dis.

[728daniel]

Thank you for all the suggestions given. I will definitely pay those sims a visit..at least to get a feel for it.

Hopefully it will work out time wise..

[cpaMD86]

I didn't work on many SIMs, if any, and that worked for me [might not work for everyone]. I would review the SIMS Roger did in his lessons, and also look at those in Ninja just to be comfortable with the format and what not. It is my opinion that if you can nail the concepts and journal entries that you will be ok for the SIMs.

FAR: 9/3

[728daniel]

My thinking is that I do have most of the basic journal entries still fresh in my mind (haven't been out of school for that long). I think I know enough to pick from the drop downs..like I know what NOT to use and by eliminating them I can figure out what to use. If that makes sense lmao

[mitchvols]

Everybody is different. You are on a good pace with a month left and that is it. Personally, I never touched a sim, nor was I completely positive on how to format the research question. And it looks like your scores are better now than when I was finishing up my review. You'll be fine.

If you know your JE, then that should really help you on the sims, though the JE there can be pretty difficult and obscure.

[cpaMD86]

You've done well in your other exams. Just go in with confidence and nail the concepts. know Govt and NFP. If you get an anxiety attack or nerves on the SIMs just take a step back, slow down, and start from the top. I do the same thing…sometimes when I don't know the answer I look for patterns, or just play with the numbers until something clicks. I am sure you'll do great. Just prepare. Best of luck!

FAR: 9/3

[acardone51]

I used Becker as well for my FAR exam…Becker lets you print out the answers for each of them Sims. I made sure to print them and and go through all the Sims over the course of a week, after first going through all 10 chapters and their MC (chapters 8 and 9 are really important by the way.) If you get stuck on something, just look at the answer and make sure you understand why it makes sense. I agree with what other people are saying, it helps nail home certain topics that you may not have even known you were iffy about.

The Sims in Becker probably aren't going to help you specifically pass any of the Sims you see on the exam (other than just being more comfortable with the format of how Sims work.) However, it really does just help summarize and stabilize the materials as a whole. At the very least, literally just print out the answers and read over them while looking at the blank Sims on your computer. Good luck!

[Author]

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