whonis2002
offlineMember
Wow p_prince5 your scaring some of us using the BECKER review....Are saying there was nothing even close to what you reviewed with the BECKER material?? surely there must have been something based on some of the concepts BECKER put out in there study material. I am taking FAR on 8/31 and am really trying my best to understand the basis concepts.
whonis2002
offlineMember
p_prince5 in my opinion I believe becker devotes alot of time to the most difficult and tricky questions. I believe that simplicity sometimes is the key to doing everything right. Just last week a friend of mine took her the FAR exam and was very surprised at how few of the calculation questions she got in the MCQ's section. It was more of concepts being tested. But who knows, one can never tell what they may or may not get, I guess bottom line is study everything and be prepared.
cpa journey
offlineMember
whonis2002
It is my uderstanding the review materials cover the most likely topics that we will see on the exam.
Also, I have noticed many of us come out of the exam shell schocked. I think FAR sees a higher number of numbed minds - but we do recover andmost try again if we need to . As Peter Olinto says - we can pass the exam - just look at some of folks who have already passed.
Desert_Life
offlineMember
This idea of the harder vs easier testlets kind of plays with your mind doesnt it....Yes you can have three of the exact same level of questions and pass FAR. If I looked real hard on FAR I might have been able to guess if the difficulty changed but to me each section had its share of easy/hard questions...I thought I did well on all three as well as SIMS and I got an 83. On REG the test started off super difficult (lots of calcs, long questions) and never changed for three sections. I got an 89....I just took audit and for the first time I could see a noticeable difference....Section one was a joke...so easy im sure i got them all correct....section two really changed and was harder......bad news is section three came on easier but maybe harder than sect 1.....based on my experience i dont know exactly how to relate that change to grades since both REG and FAR did not follow a predicatable pattern that indicates passing/failing....All I know is sections one and three were easy and the middle section was harder....i think i got a lot of quesitons right so I choose not to worry about the changes in the questions...The SIMS were somewhat reasonable and I write well so I'm optimistic that I passed....but with the grading system who really knows....when i get my email with my grade then I'll know and we can try to analyze the three different ways I have seen the MCs go and how they affected my passing.or failing
For me the whole dang thing is crazy so you just gotta study hard, put your best foot forward on the test and hope it all turns out ok......
Hope this helps
Chris
GSU Josh
offlineMember
I used Becker as well, and almost all topics I studied were on the test. The problem was that almost always the question was twisted in such a way that I had not seen with Becker, and many times I ended up choosing between two answers. The testlets did not seem to get harder, and I was certain they weren't since I felt so bad about the test. I expected to get a grade back in the mid to low 60's. I was overcome with joy when I got my 78 back. It's not that I didn't prepare enough, it's just that they hit you with so many things you most likely didn't cover while studying. Believe me, they are going to expect you to infer a lot of things.
Most recently, I took Audit and felt like all three testlets were very easy. I think this is possible, though, if you are very prepared which I was. I expect a score back at least in the 80's and will feel like it's the wrong score if it's anything below a 75.
joohj1187
offlineMember
ah...i have my test in about 13 hours. I hope that all the studying i did with becker pays off! I must've put in close to 200 hours going to class, watching lectures, taking notes, doing MCs....god, i hate MCQs now. I used to love 'em in college.
FARbehind
offlineMember
I had similar experience, however, all of my testlets except the last simulation seemed hard. The questions were tricky and wordy and a lot of calculations (if calculations are considered hard on this exam). I know for sure though that the first testlet is supposed to be easy, that's why I am worried. I try not to think of it but the thought comes to me sometimes in the middle of the night... I think all of you who say the first testlet was easy, second hard, and the third like the second or a little easier, have a good chance of passing. This is a classical "passing" pattern... In my case I think I just got topics I wasn't that good at, unfortunately, and I did a lot of guessing. I hope I am wrong. I still think the adjustable feature is not that fair....
cpawannabee
offlineMember
It's always interesting when someone posts that certain testlets were "easy." Part of passing these exams is getting questions on information you're already familiar with....(similar to the game show Jeopardy...)
My last FAR exam had more questions on topics I wasn't familar with and nothing on certain other topics I'm proficient at.
Can I get one of those "easy" testlets......pleeeeease! :-)
FARbehind
offlineMember
cpawannabe,
I agree with you that "easy" - "hard" classification has some subjectivity to it. But the questions are classified as easy or hard according to scale and that is totally objective. You might get topics you are familiar with but still a difficult question that is hard to solve... I think an example of a hard question would be a question that asks you: "What will be the effect on net income and inventory?" and gives you 2 columns of possible answers. This question is a combination of 2 questions that you have to answer correctly in order to get the whole question right. The probability of a person getting a question right is less than if it was just one straight question even if the topic is somewhat light...
Similarities with a real exam questions are completely accidental...lol
spqr105
offlineMember
I hope what you say is correct concerning dual column questions. I took FAR yesterday and had several of those types of questions. However most of them were conceptual. I couldn't really notice an extreme difference in Multiple Choice testlet difficulty but I did notice my second testlet took about an extra 15 minutes than my first one did. The third seemed similar to the second but not quite as easy as the first. The simulations were a nightmare excluding the written communication and research portions which were pretty easy. I think out of the other 6 tabs I had, I'll be lucky if 1 of them was correct. Do they assign partial credit to these portions? Any input would be greatly appreciated.
financeguy
offlineMember
The easy and hard classification is completely subjective. For instance, on this forum I read a lot about people having a hard test that was full of calculations. For me, most of the time, I looked forward to questions w/ calculations...I was good at those, and I knew for sure if I had a correct answer most of the time.
spqr105
offlineMember
I agree that question classification is subjective. You're either familiar or not familiar with the material. However, it would be nice to know the types of questions that the AICPA considers to be difficult. I don't think it's as simple as calculation or no calculation questions. Unfortunately I know of 8 multiple choice questions that I definitely got wrong. However, these were all questions I had marked so hopefully those were most/all of the questions I got wrong. Anyone think there's still a shot if one got, let's say 15 multiple choice questions wrong assuming mediocre simulation performance?
Anagha
offlineMember
For FAR, my book says that 15 out of the 90 questions are pre- test. If you think you've got at the most 15 wrong, I think that's not bad at all, and hopefully some of those were pretest!
With the classification I think if it's a relatively "easy" calculation but involves some hard core analysing or understanding of the material it falls in the hard category.
spqr105
offlineMember
I appreciate the insight. I think I ultimately got somewhere in the 15-20 questions wrong range. I'm unable to tell if the difficulty really changed during the testlets. I flew through my first one in 30 minutes and my second and third ones took about 45-50 minutes each so I don't know if it's because they were more difficult or if I was getting burnt out. I know that there were definitely more in depth calculations in the second testlet than the first. In addition, I had several questions in the second that consisted of 2-3 part responses (e.g. Something that would ask about the effects of a particular transaction on Assets, Liabilities, and Revenues).
Note: The aforementioned example is specifically for presentation purposes, it was not a question on my examination.
tcpa85
offlineMember
Ok. A lot of people seem to claim that the only way that a question can be difficult is if you get long drawn out calculations or two-step calculations. Even though I agree that those can be classified as difficult they are not the ONLY ways for a question to be difficult. I actually went to the AICPA website shortly after I took the FAR Exam because I was worried that the testlets were not getting more difficult and wanted to know more about how they determine difficulty. It turns out that 'difficult' is defined as questions that CPA candidates miss on a regular basis. In my opinion that goes for concept questions and calculcations. If you end up with a primarily conceptual exam don't assume you're failing. There are ranges of difficulty for concept questions as well as calculcations.
Now, this is not to be confused with someone finishing every testlet in 15 minutes and then thinking the exam was a piece of cake. If that happens then you might want to question how you did on the first testlet. However, if you breeze through testlet 1 and then feel like the difficulty did not change all that much because you are getting short questions, take a look at the clock. If it's taking you longer than the first testlet then it's probably safe to assume that it is harder (although, if you are having equal trouble with all sections it could be hard to tell). Please don't freak out about testlet difficulty, because I spent 3-4 days stressing about it and it was 3-4 days too many. I breezed through the first testlet and then felt disheartened when the second did not seem to have super long wordy problems and when the third also was not super wordy I was cursing the AICPA because why not just tell me I failed after the second one and let me go home. We'll have to see how I actually did, but if I pass then I'm an example of the fact that the definition of difficult is not always wordy.
FARbehind
offlineMember
I agree that the wordiness or calculations by itself do not make the question difficult. I personally had some very short, half line questions that were extremely difficult and I still don't know how to answer them now. On the contrary, some very wordy questions are very easy when you take the time and read them properly. The many words are just shells that cover very simple core. I also consider myself a math person and I generally enjoy calculation. And the calculations on the CPA exam come down to simple math. All I meant is on average, the calculation questions take more time to read, sort through useful and unuseful information, solve and not fall in the traps of the wrong answers.... With conceptual questions it is more of that you either know it or don't know it and move forward... You don't spend the time... Just on average, no absolute terms....just an opinion...
tcpa85
offlineMember
Yeah, didn't mean to sound accusatory. I actually completely agree with you, my post was directed more towards the original poster who was worried. I just don't think it's really worth worrying about since it's not always easy to gauge difficulty if your test doesn't have a lot of calculations. He or she still might have passed even it the testlets felt about the same. I'm hoping we all do!
Jeff - another71.com
offlineadmin
Up to 20% can be pretest, so FAR could have 18 pretest questions.
spqr105
offlineMember
That's good to know. I was always under the assumption that it was 5 per testlet. Is there partial credit on the simulations? I know I bombed a few tabs. I commend anyone who has gone through this process and especially those who have taken parts multiple times. My biggest fear at this point in time is that I will move onto AUD and forget most of FAR and then have to retake that portion. My hat goes off to you that have had to deal with this. Unfortunately people in my predicament are severely pressed for time considering the upcomming changes in the exam. Most of my 2010 study materials will essentially be rendered obsolete.
joohj1187
offlineMember
Yeah I was also wondering if there is partial credit on simulations. I really hope there is.
Also, how big is a mis-spelled word in the communications tab? I forgot to click the "spell check" button, so I'm kind of wondering if one mis-spelled word would take away a lot from a relatively good answer...thanks all.
gabe1475
offlineMember
I think a difficult question will give you more characteristics of the theory they are testing for example treatment of a Capital Lease. They could give you a lease list the lease term, payment, bargain purchase option and you have to pick if this is direct financing lease, operating lease, or capital lease...
With an easy question they may just say which of the following is a capital lease and give you 4 choices. You have to know the rules much better in the first question. With the easy question just looking at the 4 choices may jog your memory.
If I had to guess they probably would not deduct more than a point for spelling. I actually forgot to put a heading and a signature, which I am not sure if we had to.
tcpa85
offlineMember
I thought all my testlets were similar in difficulty and was terrified I had failed. I passed FAR with an 89! Others have said this, but I would recommend not worrying about testlet difficulty. I blew through the first testlet in about 20 minutes and thought I was off to a good start, but became disheartened when the 2nd testlet didn't seem all that difficult. I had no long, drawn out, complex calculations and had 2 hours and 45 minutes left to work on sims. I don't think I did all that well on the sims but I do think that I did well on the MCQs and the written communication.
cupcakes
offlineMember
I took FAR a few weeks ago and did not feel like the difficulty of the questions changed very much, and I was also not getting any long, calculations questions...and so I have been stressing over it a lot.
This thread has made me feel a lot better. Thanks to those who posted on their experience with the exam and being able to pass despite not getting your typical "hard" questions!
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