[kyleman323]

I am finishing my last semester of college and preparing to take the CPA. Someone I spoke with mentioned I should take FAR as my first section due to the 18 month rule. I have gotten more than halfway through FAR and I find the material very difficult and I cannot seem to fully grasp the material. I was thinking about stopping studying for FAR and start studying for AUD or BEC just because this will be my first exam. I am regretting taking one of the harder sections as my first exam. Please give me some feedback or advice.

FAR: April 2016
AUD: May 2016
BEC: TBD
REG: TBD

[monikernc]

If far is proving difficult I suggest you stick with it before you start the 18 month clock and really put pressure on yourself to pass it. They are all difficult in their own way but starting with far is a good idea. A good foundation in gaap will help you with the rest. Post questions and read through the far thread to aid in your understanding.

FAR 7/25/15 76!
AUD 10/30/15 93
BEC 2/27/16 82
REG 5/23/16 88!
Ninja Book and MCQ and the forum - all the way!!!
and a little thing i like to call, time and effort!
if you want things to change, you have to do something different

[Stilgoin]

I agree. I took Becker FastPass as a class last summer, so I took the exams in the order they told me. I am totally regretting not taking FAR first. I only have 3 testing windows left to pass FAR before my first one expires. It will be all downhill after you pass FAR. When you get exhausted doing MCQs, do flash cards, notes, or something to switch up your routine, but stick with it. If you change now, you are throwing away the time you have spent studying for FAR.

B | 62, 78
A | 73, 67, 79
R | 82
F | 59, 59, Waiting

Ethics | 93

"Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts."
~Winston Churchill

“In a world full of critics, be an encourager."

[Spartans92]

Hey Kyle, I would highly suggest not to stop! FAR is actually not too bad a lot of the material are nothing new, most of it are coming from intermediate. I understand it may be hard to grasp initially since it has been a while from when you last took intermediate class. But it is very helpful for AUD because FAR would be a good review for it. I kinda regret not doing FAR before AUD, if I have I may have even passed.. who knows. But for certain the SIMS gave me trouble and 4/7 were FAR based. The more you do the MCQ the better you would get. Also, it would feel great to have one of the harder, if not, the hardest sections done first and not worried about the 18 months rule. Good Luck!

I am also half way through and I can tell you for sure I am struggling as well.

BEC- PASS

[MaLoTu]

The first time through the FAR material is very overwhelming. I am with the others, do not stop now and take it from me, BEC is just as overwhelming to study and I do not know why it is considered “easy”. Trust me, the second time you revisit the material it makes more sense.

Stick with a study plan and definitely go through the material twice. For the chapters that gave you trouble, go through them a second time like you did the first (watch the lecture, take notes, do MCQ) and for the topics you have a good grasp on do a high-level review (review your notes, do MCQ).

[sar_rah]

Stick with FAR. you already started, and its not like its gonna get any easier if you save it for later! Do the material twice if need be, either way, if you take FAR first, it wont eat into your window. KILL THE BEAST FIRST!

AUD: 98
REG: 91
BEC: 86
FAR: 83

DONE DONE DONE and DONE all on the first try! It IS possible, just keep on studying!

[Sir Ivalis]

Have to echo the advice of everyone else. I started studying for FAR without any background in accounting and, like you, it was about halfway through where I really questioned what the hell I was doing. However, I knew that if I pushed FAR back, I would just have to confront it later. Stick to your guns, keep studying, and if the materials you're using aren't working for you, try something else (I had a hard time with Becker for FAR and Roger Cram and Ninja Notes are helping a lot).

REG - 81
FAR - April 13th (73), TBD
AUD - July 6th
BEC - TBD

[Anonymous]

I'm actually glad I saved FAR for last. I'm having so much difficulty with it, that I'm afraid if I started with FAR, I might have just quit and given up on the entire exam. But, I agree with what others have said…if you're more than halfway through the material at this point, you might as well at least finish it and take a shot at the exam.

[Jdn9201]

I will echo everyone else – now that you've started FAR, you need to finish it. Otherwise, much of your time will be a waste. Try to get a good understanding of all of the material the first time through, but also realize you do not need to know everything – just enough to get you to a 75. It's impossible for them to ask you detailed questions about everything in 4 hours. For the exam order – you have to pick what you think is best for you. Almost everyone told me to take FAR first, but I intentionally saved it for last. My problem was motivation and I knew I'd be motivated if I could pass the first 2 without putting a ton of effort. I did not have the mental disclipine to tackle FAR first. I do think though if you take FAR later, you need to stay on a quick exam schedule so you can give yourself some wiggle room in case you have to retake FAR (or another). I knocked out my first 3 in 5 months, because I did not want the pressure of having to pass in 1 shot to keep something from expiring. Keep at it and good luck!

BEC - 88 8/29/15
REG - 82 11/14/15
AUD - 83 1/8/16
FAR - 80 2/29/16

[Excel14]

Studying FAR now. Just started last week, and I am wondering already, how people pass this thing. Wow, is all I can say. I'm sure the answer will vary, but what amount of time should I leave for the SIMs?

BEC (2/28/16) ----- 78
FAR (09/10/16)-----
AUD
REG

CIA, CGAP, CFE

[marqzho]

Excel14

If you are talking about the exam time :
The exam is 240 mins
Normal target would be 45 mins for each MCQ testlet. 45*3 = 135 mins for all MCQ and 1.5 min for each MCQ
That leave you 105mins for 7 Sims or 15 mins for each sim

If you are talking about study time:
You don't necessary spend much time on the SIMs. As you go through thousands and thousands of MCQ, the thing you need to answer SIMs is already in your blood. I spent two days to prepare the SIMS.

REG 90
FAR 95
AUD 98
BEC 84

[Excel14]

@marqzho,

I was referring to the time on the actual exam, when referring to SIMs. I was trying to get a consensus on how long the majority of you left to complete the SIMs. Thanks!!

BEC (2/28/16) ----- 78
FAR (09/10/16)-----
AUD
REG

CIA, CGAP, CFE

[marqzho]

I had two hours left for SIMS and I used 1 hour to answer all 7sims. It left me 1 hour to go through all the questions again and make sure I dot the i's .

REG 90
FAR 95
AUD 98
BEC 84

[Jdn9201]

Roger recommends 45 mins/testlet, which leaves you with 1:45 for the SIMS. I was worried about not having enough time, so I aimed for 2 hours on the SIMS (which turned out to be more than enough). As far as studying – I practiced research SIMs earlier to get a sense of the AL, but I didn't practice content-SIMs until a couple days before my exam. Good luck!

BEC - 88 8/29/15
REG - 82 11/14/15
AUD - 83 1/8/16
FAR - 80 2/29/16

[Excel14]

All good advice!!!! Thanks everyone!!!

BEC (2/28/16) ----- 78
FAR (09/10/16)-----
AUD
REG

CIA, CGAP, CFE

[Anonymous]

They are all hard. Having passed them all, I struggled the most with BEC , but I thought AUD was the worst one. I studied the most for that exam and passed with a 75 on my second try. Start believing that they are all super hard and put your best foot forward on all of them. Do not switch out of FAR at this point.

[Author]

Replies