DavidB1990
offlineMember
Just got back from FAR..
I'm now wondering if I got a 30 or 40. Considering the fact that the testlets were all medium (and I still had no idea what I was doing) and the SIMS were brutally impossible.
That is all.
Tobias-Germany
offlineMember
Just got back from my first section of the exam.... FAR.
1. MCQ - Easy (knew every one)
2. MCQ - Hard (flagging and guessing on about 8-10)
3. MCQ - Hard (flagging and guessing on about 8-10)
Simulations - Easy (without any difficulties)
I did really well on all those Becker MCQ, but the ones in the exam were somehow different. The simulations were easy going, I finished all 7 in about 60 Minutes with rereading.
Afterwards I need to say, I should have spend more of my 4 hours test time for the MCQ. I leaved for the simulations with 2 hours left and this was way too much time... I sometimes rushed to much through the MCQ to have enough time for the simulation, but in the particular exam I don't need that much time.
Overall I think I passed this section, I hope the wrong MCQ in the 2. and 3. testlet will be compensated by the simulations. Also I guess a good portion of the MCQ in the 2. and 3. testlet where pre-test ones.
Now on to BEC on tuesday! Now time to think about what my FAR score will be.
(Tobias-Germany)
kts1010
offlineMember
Well just gone done with first attempt at FAR this morning. What can I say all my testlets seemed like they were medium(which I assume means I failed??) and very very heavy on conceptual. I felt like 6 of the 7 SIMS were fair so I am hoping the one I had no idea on is a test question. Overall feels like I got maybe a 60 it just wasn't what I was expecting and was not heavy at all on some of the topics I have heard in the past.
I wish everyone luck who has taken it or plans to this quarter. Now for the long wait and to start BEC on Monday.
badger_2012
offlineMember
That was unpleasant!
Testlet one: No big problems- straightforward questions.
Testlet two: Holy cow! The worst testlet I have ever hit on any section of the CPA exam. I felt at least a good third of the questions (could be more or less.... fuzzy memories) were completely out of left field. Some were based on stuff I didn't even know existed... let alone how to do the accounting for it. I had to make educated guesses far too much for my liking. Hopefully its difficultly is a sign that testlet #1 was very strong.
Testlet three: A little more straightforward, although there were still several tricks and on many questions I was able to narrow it down to 2 choices and just had to try and make my best guess at what the AICPA was asking for. I *think* it was a hard testlet, but can't be sure.
SIMS: Not as terrible as I had feared, though I do worry that I may have missed some traps that were lying in wait for me. Overall, I think I held my own. Definitely nailed the research tab though.
Overall, I was just as confused as ever when walking out of the test center. If anyone has any predictions/thoughts on if I passed or not, I welcome them. In the meantime, let the waiting game commence and I will being studying for my (hopefully) last section, Audit!
kts1010
offlineMember
Did you guys find your test more math or coceptual based? Mine was the later and I have a feeling this means that I failed. I started in testlet one with mostly math questions and I thought I did alright. I guess not though since after that I just got rocked hard with conceptual stuff that I didn't really cocentrated on since I was expecting more math. I am just really discourage right now that my test didn't get harder I really wanted to pass this one bad.
Tobias-Germany
offlineMember
There were a lot of conceptual based MCQ, more than I expected, only about 40% - 50% math based. I have really now idea if I passed or not, because I've no experience with any section yet. But I really knocked out the simulations and they grade 40%, so I think I will get my 75 or better.
I take all of the four parts within 11 days, my goal is to nail a minimum of 3 at the first try.
kts1010
offlineMember
I used becker and I had questions coming in from all the sections. I don't think I can give any more detail than that but good luck just you gotta be well diversed in everything.
badger_2012
offlineMember
Good mix of conceptual and math. I couldn't say what the percentages were (can't really recall), but it felt well-balanced between them.
Tobias-Germany, here's hoping your prediction is correct! Would love to have FAR all done and out of the way. Best of luck to all!
Anonymous
offlineUnregistered
I feel a little better after reading the recent posts. I took my exam this afternoon and did not feel very well after.
I was really confident after nailing Becker's practice exams, but the real exam asked simple questions in a non-simple way. It would be like a Becker question with a small added twist to make me doubt myself. I narrowed down to 2 choices and guessed on quite a few.
I will say I think i nailed the first testlet, because the 2nd one was extremely difficult. The 3rd was less difficult but still harder than the 1st. Sims weren't as bad as everyone was telling me. I finished the exam with about 45 minutes remaining, although I am a pretty fast test taker.
FAR is probably my 2nd strongest subject of the 4, so I will be really discouraged if I don't pass this. Hopefully I won't have to look through that encyclopedia of information ever again.
Jobless2CPA
offlineMember
@ajelias-----I took my first FAR exam this afternoon as well. My second and third testlet were both very hard, and there were a few questions from those 2 testlets that the Becker practice questions haven't touched on. The SIM portion was very manageable, which included 3 easy questions dealing with depreciation expense and consolidated income statement. I studied intensively for Governmental and Not for profit, but at the end there were only a few (maybe less than 5) questions popped up on the exam.
k1zuna
offlineMember
I'm taking FAR next week and don't really know what to expect... seems like there were a few tweaks to the 2013 exams: SIMs are a bit easier/shorter, fewer GOV/NFP questions.
I don't want to rush through the MCQS and end up finding quick SIMs...
Can anyone else confirm?
Jeff - another71.com
onlineNINJA
Reminder: you cannot disclose even the "nature" of your exam
Example: "My exam was heavy in ___ but not as many ___ as I thought".
If I see disclosure issues, I will delete the entire post. The AICPA takes this seriously.
Just a friendly reminder,
Jeff
Path To CPA
offlineMember
I took my exam on 1/7/13. This was 100% different than the one I took on 11/30/12. I did not noticed any change in difficulty level of my testlets (we all know what that means). 2 of the sims were doable and I believe I found the research question. Of the 4 sims left 2 of the sims were in my weakest area and I just filled in the blanks with whatever came in my mind.
For this particular exam, I vowed to do something I never did before in any exam. I did it and it felt good. For each of my past exams prior to this one, time always run out on me and my screen shut off. This time, I decided to strictly follow a schedule of 45 minutes for each of the 3 testlets and 1h45mn for the sims. When a testlet time was close to the 45mns, I just guessed the remaining questions and moved on (no wonder why my testlets did not get harder).
With 1h45mns for the sims, for the first time ever, I was relaxed while doing them and I know that even with 4 more hours I wouldn't have done better or found the ones I didn't know. My guess is that my score will be between 50 and 65. For sure I know I failed it.
Since it's always better to give than received, here are my suggestions for those getting ready for FAR:
- If calculation problems are your strongest points and game plan, you might need to change your game and master the conceptual questions.
- If you're using Becker, know chap 2 like your living room.
- Please learn IFRS, GOV, NFP and JEs like if your life depends on knowing them (lol).
- Last and most important, take a deep breath and relax before walking in the testing room. After all, it's just an exam.
rebel5400
offlineMember
I took my exam yesterday on January 7th. Before I digress into what my thoughts were on the most recent exam, I had taken FAR twice before. The first time I only completed 2 out of the 7 sims and scored a 62%, and the second time I completed 3.5 out of the 7 sims and scored a 67%. If that doesn't scream curve, I don't know what does.
Anyway, I was able to allocate about 50-55 minutes towards the first three testlets, which I thought were reasonable. All the questions were really balanced (material and calculation v. conceptual) I had used the Becker software and book, had reread 85% of the book, worked all multiple choice questions, and then reworked about another 50% of the MCQ's between December 26th and January 7th. I work for a Big 4 and they shut down for the holiday, so it gave me time to really hit the books.
I found the first testlet tricky, flagged 12, flagged 4 in the second, and 9 in the final testlet. Though I would have some easier questions, most questions were pretty long and required a decent amount of concentration. Of those questions I had flagged, I was pretty much able to level the answers down to 2 potential answers. I wish this board wasn't monitored because I had five MCQ on a pretty small portion of the exam, which was surprising. I realistically think I completed at least 75% of the MCQ correctly.
Anyway, this time I completed all 7 sims. Two were pretty tricky and 4 were reasonable. Of the tricky ones, I probably bombed 1 of them, which was the first one. This specific question was covered pretty minimally in Becker materials, and after 4 years of work experience, I would have found it very difficult to see a recent college graduate nailing the question. I'm almost positive I nailed the research as well. Of all the exams I have taken, I think I had "quality" answers for most of the Sims, but wasn't always 100% sure. I agree with the previous post, and can't emphasize enough that understanding JE's was a present theme throughout the exam. I also found this interesting as the PCAOB and our firm has been heavily focused on substantively testing JE's, so it makes sense that these are a focus of the exam. I don't believe I violate any laws/AICPA rules by suggesting people who take the exam should understand their JE's as it is part of the foundation of accounting.
Anyway, this was my final exam, so if I don't pass I will probably be super disappointed. It took 3 times to pass reg (55, 73, & 78), and I passed BEC (82) and Audit (75) the first time this summer. I also have Level 1 of the CFA done 3 years ago, which I think is a very fair and reasonable test. I find that FAR, while fair on the MCQ, is rather unreasonable and highly subjective when it comes to the Sims as demonstrated by my previous scores. I am baffled that I could get a 62% and leave 5 sims blank. Anyway, I am keeping my fingers crossed and hoping for the best. I believe the results come 11 days after the 20th day of the month....should be right around January 31st.
Best of luck to people taking the exam. This is my first post on here, but I do read the forum pretty regularly.
proach33
offlineMember
For those that just posted about JE's. Yes we all know that they will be heavily tested. I work at a big 4 and the PCAOB is really stressing them currently. With that being said JE's are really sporadically placed all over the book. How did you guys study the JE's. Best practice would be much appreciated.
Path To CPA
offlineMember
@proach33,
Since I did not pass FAR and I’m convinced that I will fail this time again, I don’t think I’m in a good position to be giving study tips because they are not proven effective yet. With that said, here is what I suggest based on my approach:
1) Write each chapter’s # in your notes and as you come across a JE, write it down under the corresponding chapter. That should allow you to have an idea on which chapters have the most JEs. If you’re using Becker, you’ll notice that chap 3 is full of them. Once you have them all written down by chapter, you can easily review them to refresh your mind before the exam.
2) Redo all the Sims in Becker and/or Wiley that have JEs, over and over again until you get them right with minimal effort. Hopefully that will help a little.
It looks like we all work for Big 4 because I do too. Good luck on your exam.
DEPBrain
offlineMember
I took FAR on the 5th. This was my first exam so I don't know how to feel about it. I felt pretty confident through all of the MC questions but yet, they didn't seem to get any harder. They might have even gotten easier. I didn't feel like any testlet was harder or more dificult than anything I saw in Becker. It was a good 50/50 split with calc questions being on the lighter side.
Testlets went Medium/Medium/Medium ...if thats possible...lol
Sims, I completed all of the sims, nailed the research question, but I felt like the rest of the sims were a guessing game.
Based on the experience as a whole, I think I failed. Probably pretty bad too.
k1zuna
offlineMember
DEPBrain, sounds like you passed with flying colors.
Question to all: What color and size was your laminated notebook? Was the marker Staedtler (the GMAT one)?
Also, how hard/sturdy is the notebook? I usually like to hold my scratch paper up when I solve problems in order to avoid wasting time and losing track by looking up and down... just a weird habit of mine.
Thanks in advance.
DEPBrain
offlineMember
k1zuna, thanks. I know people usually come on here and say they think they failed but I feel pretty confident that I did. Obviously I'm hoping for a pass though.
The note books were really just laminated sheets of yellow (card stock) paper, with grids on them. Then they give you a couple of fine point markers. You get two sheets of the paper and can use both sides of each. So its 4 sides total. I used maybe half of one, but I know that's subjective.
k917
offlineModerator
@kizuna - It was blue, about the size of a normal piece of paper, and you could use both sides. It had grid lines on it which I actually found to be a bit annoying, but really they didn't get in the way. Couldn't tell you what brand the marker was, and it's been a long time since the GMAT so I don't remember that one. But it was black and very fine tip. Mine wrote well and clearly, but I also took my exam 4 days after the new note boards came out.
Anonymous
offlineUnregistered
I left very strong feedback about the note boards. Mine were horrible. First of all, they were too small. Second, the entire left side of one of my boards did not work with the marker. Every time I wrote on it, the ink would instantly "evaporate," like there was no friction for it to hold on to. I found this very annoying, as no candidate should have to worry about scratch paper during a timed exam. Luckily I did not need the boards much, yet I still filled both sides of both my boards. I still finished the exam with 40ish minutes left so I didn't get flustered with the boards. However, if I was running short on time, the board issue would have been extremely annoying.
I found myself not writing as much as I did while studying because I didn't want to deal with the boards. I write small, and I still used up about a quarter of one side for each problem I used the scratch boards for. The boards themselves are the size of a normal sheet, but there is annoying text on the top of each side covering about 2 inches of space.
soxfan866
offlineMember
Well, that's one exam down. I honestly have no clue if I passed or not. I wouldn't be surprised if I get a 90 or if I fail. Anyway, here's how it went:
Testlet 1 - Medium - Honestly, it wasn't what I was expecting. I was a little caught off guard because the questions were more difficult than I expected.
Testlet 2 - Difficult? - I personally didn't think it was that much more difficult than the first testlet, but the questions got wordier for sure and there may have been more calculations.
Testlet 3 - Medium - It was definitely less wordy than the second testlet and about the same difficulty as the first testlet.
Simulations - 95% sure I got the research. They were longer than the simulations in the Becker practice exams and AICPA sample tests, but nothing really crazy. I'm pretty sure I had 2 close to 100% correct and another at least 80% correct, but on the other 3 I have no clue.
Overall, a little harder than I expected. Easily could have skipped two chapters from Becker and it wouldn't have affected my score at all. That's right, not a single question on them and, trust me, they are major chapters. In terms of where to focus your studies, I would echo the statements of Path to CPA.
WMK0877
offlineMember
Just got back from FAR....
It seems they figured out which section I wasn't as familiar with, and test the hell out of it. There were a lot of theory questions in my MCQ, very few solution questions. The Sims at the end were very long and tedious, but I don't think they were too difficult.
If the test had been evenly distributed over all the information I think I could have gotten a 90, but as it stands I'll be surprised if I passed.... It's like they knew my weakness and exploited it.... :(
bnrhilton
offlineModerator
@proach33, I have two notebooks that I am using in addition to my notes, one for journal entries and one for formulas. I am putting tabs labeled with the topics in the notebooks and writing down any journal entry or formula on every topic that I come across in those notebooks. I am keeping them separate from my notes so I don't have to go looking for them.
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