[Booner17]

I’m sure I’m jumping the gun here but I’m just curious. I finally began my journey and started studying on 1/1 for the FAR exam. I know I’m only 3 days in but I’m wondering if a beginning trending score of 40% is normal? I’m doing MCQ’s and writing notes as I go for each question (right or wrong) and also copying the ninja notes as well. In my spare minutes I do a few MCQ’s from a different app on my phone and am not doing so well there either. As with all of us I just really want to pass this exam and move onto the next one so I’m hoping this is normal and that some of you can attest to similar situations with positive outcomes and how you overcame this feeling and/or tips on how you improved your scores.

[itooshallpass]

Hello! Low scores starting out are absolutely normal. It takes practice first of all just to get used to how the questions are asked and how to go about choosing the answer. What I learned from my Roger course is if the answer choices are numbers, always read the last sentence first so you know what to look for, cause often there is extra unnecessary info thrown in. With other questions, when practicing, you should not only pick the correct answer, but know and explain to yourself why the others are wrong.
I believe copying notes like you said you're doing is a great strategy. I didn't use the ninja notes but I wrote my own notes and re-wrote them like 3 times, making them clearer and more useful each time. That was a huge help to me and really helped streamline my final review.
Best of luck to you 🙂

[Booner17]

Thank you @itooshalpass.

[chitown87]

My trending score at the beginning of REG was less than 50. It's now at 96, with multiple practice exams above 90%. Don't let it discourage you.

[Skynet]

Sacrificing a Junior College student who is both a Marketing Major and a Virgin will help please the CPA exam gods.

[jenpen]

COMPLETELY normal. Don't fret. Just keep pushing forward. It sounds like you've got a solid plan. Make sure you take time to understand the questions you get wrong and why the correct answer is correct. That will help you get a grasp on the concepts. My plan of attack is to choose new questions until I get out of the assessment phase, and then just start doing random sets. After awhile, I can clearly see where my weak areas are, and I'll go back and beef those up with extra reading or videos before hammering some questions to raise the scores there. Then go back to random sets. Rinse and repeat. Good luck!

AUD - 56 - 68 - 61 - 9/8/16
REG - 75
FAR - 7/15/16
BEC - TBD

Wiley CPAexcel and NINJA 10 Point Combo

[Alex]

My scores were usually somewhere in the 50s in the beginning for every section. Near test day my trending scores were in the 90s and overall average ending up being in the 75-80 range.

[Booner17]

You are all awesome! Thank you for the advice and encouragement.

[Recked]

I remember cursing at my laptop on more than one occasion after a dismal MCQ quiz score.
FAR made me feel like an idiot.

[Radez]

By all means, do your research, get educated, but I would also add depending on the amount in question and your own relative age and experience, you might consider engaging a qualified financial advisor who has experience dealing with these issues. If you've never seen it before and the amount is significant, then it's probably not the best time to dive into estate planning/wealth management all on your own.

[Author]

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