[job895]

Hey guys,

I’m studying for FAR as my first part and I just wrapped up chapter 3 of Becker’s FAR course and I’m beginning to get extremely paranoid about FAR. I have it scheduled for August 29th, and I start at a Big 4 on August 14th. Thankfully, I have time to study due to it being training the first two week.. I’ve been studying for about 3 weeks, and I’m starting to get very worried about my success on the exam.

I’m a pretty gifted student (3.7 college GPA without really trying, went to a very competitive private high school) but the amount and complexity of the material is starting to mortify me. The studying is extremely time consuming and I’m not making as much progress as the friend I’m studying with.

I’m getting in the 60’s on the MC, and I write down how to do the questions I get wrong. When I study the SIMs, I kind of reverse engineer them and write how to do them from finish to start. I’m just getting sick to my stomach about everything and that I’m not studying efficiently. The clock is ticking and I’m worried that I’ll be underprepared.

In essence, I just want to know how you guys stay calm, efficiently and effectively use your time, and how thoroughly you guys review, and what you use to review. I’m getting overwhelmed, paranoid, and just really want to pass on the first go more than anything in the world. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks you!

[Dman1]

Sounds like you are on the right track. These exams are meant to be intimidating and discourage people. If it's difficult for you, what would it be like to most people who struggled to maintain 3.0 GPA while at school? You can never master every single topic but there is a reason the passing score is 75 not 99. Learning how to manage stress is important for the exams and life in general. Best of luck on the upcoming exam!!

[Spartans92]

These exams are tough. FAR is my last but my 3rd time taking it and Im still scoring in the 50's and sometimes in the 40's on these MC questions. My highest was Chap 1 scoring in the 80's but that was it. Im also wrapping up F3 and I totally got killed on those questions. As Dman1 mentioned, we all struggle and if you as a 3.7 student struggle so will others. However, GPA doesn't really tell us much (not saying it isn't important) it only shows the effort. For instance, Ive had a friend who 2.5 all his accounting classes but passed the exam on his first try with the minimum passing scores. Just wanna offer some other perspective; try your best I think it is normal to feel discourage with FAR and scoring low on MCQ the first round. You will eventually score higher. Best of luck!

BEC- PASS

[Holly]

I agree with @Spartans92 on the GPA thing. These tests are all about learning to study and pulling out the important info. Don't make them bigger in your head than they really are.

BEC - 79
REG - 85
AUD - 5/27/16

[BBHYX]

One thing I will point out is that you CANNOT study for the CPA exams like you would study for a college exam. Since you had a good GPA, I'm assuming you got As in college. For an college exam, you're aiming to understand every little thing and get every question right. For the CPA exam, that is pretty much impossible, especially for FAR because there is so much material and they can literally test you on one little paragraph from the review or things not covered in the review book. It's really important to remember that you're not trying to get 100, or an “A” but simply to pass with a 75. That does not mean understudy or take it lightly because it really is a hard exam, but you have to accept that its hard and you're not going to get everything right. You're not going to get every MCQ right and that is OK. Not going to get every sim right and that is OK. With that in mind, study hard and try your best!

[Anthony]

High GPA and didn't really try? Sounds like grade inflation or easy professors if you haven't busted your rear in school. As others has said, do your time and you'll pass. This isn't a high school test that you think can come in the night before and guess.

[rhayder]

Just go through your review materials and make sure you understand the questions you get wrong. Understand the only cost of failure is the time and money you will spend to retake the test. Keep reviewing what you get wrong until you understand the why and move on.

[Author]

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