[krokofilen]

Hi all

I’ve put 180 hours into studying for FAR now, and enterered my review phase 5 days ago. I do 120 NINJA MCQs a day, which I generate through the “new questions” function. I did an average of 76% my first day and was up on 77% one of these days, and thought that I would see a steady increase during my review phase as I continue to review my notes and do more and more MCQs. What occured though was a steady decline in my average, and today I’m down at 70%.

I am now really panicking over this and with a week to go I am worried I will not make it. If I cancel my exam now, I will not be able to take it until early next year due to work. I am still considering cancelling it though, since I am not gonna go all the way to the U.S. to fail on an exam and with 70% it seems like I will.

Any recommendations on what I can possibly do to improve my scores the last week? It seems like everything I need to know is in my notes and I have gone over it over and over again but it just won’t stick. I know lots of this stuff, it’s just the details (like criterias for a particular accounting treatment, or the government specific accounting rules) that messes it up for me. I honestly don’t know how I would be able to learn all this in just a week.

Big 4 Audit Manager from Europe here to pass the CPA in the U.S. of A in 2014! Niiice!

AUD - 95 / Jul 15 / 130h over 4 weeks
FAR - 86 / Aug 14 / 240h over 4 weeks
(11 week break)

REG - 81 / Nov 14 / 200h over 4 weeks
BEC - 87 / Nov 17 / 30 h over 2.5 days

[Anonymous]

My average score in NINJA MCQ was a 71. Made an 84.

My advice is to have confidence in your knowledge. I didn't study the last 36 hours leading up to my exam, and it was the best testing decision I've ever made. I have never been less stressed during a long test.

[jpowell31]

@kroko i've seen your posts and think you're doing fine. you're putting way too much emphasis on your hours..STOP. a week is plenty of time to brush up on some things. everyone is in the same boat and FAR is a beast…you can't know everything. you need to take breaks and let your brain relax a bit as well. judging by your AUD score i think you're overreacting a little, anyway 🙂

this is what i'm saying to myself as we're sitting on the same day….so i need to take note as well…panic mode definitely setting it..but you do NOT need to reschedule. i on the other CANNOT reschedule. take note from me…i waited too long to resit/take the next exam because i wanted the break or didn't want to do what i needed to get it done (life changes also affected this). and now i'm about to lose AUD. you don't want that pressure. get it over with if you can!

-__-

[Anonymous]

If 70% is your lowest trending score you are doing just fine. I took FAR two days ago and although it was a tough exam the process in preparing for the vast about of material is worse than the actual exam itself IMO.

Half the battle in this thing is confidence. Leave yourself solid time for the SIMs so you aren't in panic and can think with a clear head and really put your knowledge to work.

Cross the pond and go crush this thing. Cheers to joining me and others in the FAR – Aug 21st release date wait…

[Kimboroni]

The real exam is not graded the same way as your practice sessions. Stop focusing on your percentages. Review notes, write out T accounts & JEs, etc. Do things that will help the info stick. This hyperfocus is not helping you. The prep for FAR is a beast, but you've put in the time for your prep and you should take confidence in that. The actual exam isn't nearly as awful as the prep.

AUD 84 (1/9/14-Wiley books/TB + free materials)
FAR 83 (5/21/14-the above + NINJA 10 Pt Combo Lite)
REG 84 (7/9/14-Wiley books/TB + NINJA Audio/FC/Notes)
BEC 76 (10/5/14-Wiley books/TB + NINJA Audio/FC)

Disclaimer: My ninja avatar is not meant to imply that I have any affiliation with this site other than being a forum member. That's a pic of a T-shirt that my daughter gave me for my birthday. 🙂

[krokofilen]

Brian: I had confidence in my knowledge a few days ago, it's just that I can't see why I can't break that 80% barrier on my MCQ sessions. That would make me feel a whole lot better.

jpowell31: I do not focus completely on hours. But I view it as a “fact” how many hours I have left. No matter what, I know that I have just a week left. You're right though that I might be overreacting a little, I'm a perfectionist to the bone and I hate not being able to be on the top of things. What's your average / trending in NINJA MCQ?

Just did a MCQ session of 30 in the adaptive learning mode and got an 86%, however I do not find it representative as it keeps giving me MCQs I have already seen (like 75% of them I recognized from previous sessions).

Big 4 Audit Manager from Europe here to pass the CPA in the U.S. of A in 2014! Niiice!

AUD - 95 / Jul 15 / 130h over 4 weeks
FAR - 86 / Aug 14 / 240h over 4 weeks
(11 week break)

REG - 81 / Nov 14 / 200h over 4 weeks
BEC - 87 / Nov 17 / 30 h over 2.5 days

[krokofilen]

Bobcat87: OK, good to hear. However, 70% is not my lowest trending score. That's just my average today, when doing 60 new MCQs. I am not using the adaptive learning function the same way as everyone else here. So if I look at my trending scores on the dashboard, it looks like this just now: gov 58%, NFP 68%, specific transactions etc 73%, FS accounts 80%, concepts 85%. Not sure though if these figures are all right, since I do new questions in every session I do.

Kimboroni: Doing all that. Sims is not a problem, I know the JE:s etc by heart. My problem is the theory, like “which one of the following criteras apply to X…”.

Big 4 Audit Manager from Europe here to pass the CPA in the U.S. of A in 2014! Niiice!

AUD - 95 / Jul 15 / 130h over 4 weeks
FAR - 86 / Aug 14 / 240h over 4 weeks
(11 week break)

REG - 81 / Nov 14 / 200h over 4 weeks
BEC - 87 / Nov 17 / 30 h over 2.5 days

[Kimboroni]

Those were just examples of possible things to focus on other than percentages– I'm just suggesting that you write yourself notes on whatever areas you are having trouble with. Also, I keep using my resources as I practice MCQs so I can reinforce the material, rather than feeling insecure since I don't know something. The only score that matters is on exam day.

AUD 84 (1/9/14-Wiley books/TB + free materials)
FAR 83 (5/21/14-the above + NINJA 10 Pt Combo Lite)
REG 84 (7/9/14-Wiley books/TB + NINJA Audio/FC/Notes)
BEC 76 (10/5/14-Wiley books/TB + NINJA Audio/FC)

Disclaimer: My ninja avatar is not meant to imply that I have any affiliation with this site other than being a forum member. That's a pic of a T-shirt that my daughter gave me for my birthday. 🙂

[CPA50]

Hiya Kroko – You and I have much in common! I am putting a lot of emphasis on “Oh God, don't make me have to take this again.” I want to make certain I pass. Well, we have to let go of some control, since the only control we have is to have some faith in ourselves. There are no guarantees, some of it is preparation, some of it is luck I think. Do your best on what you can control – use your time wisely and efficiently and then relax and let your brain surprise you 🙂

And, yes, I am in complete and total freakout mode myself and thinking there is no way I'm going to be ready. So, I will try to follow my own advice 🙂

AUD - 80
BEC - 77
FAR - 80
REG - 80

3 years

+ 16 tests

+ 2 expired sections

= DONE FOREVER!

AUD 88 (expired), 80 retake
FAR 64,69,67,73,67,73,73,73, August 3
REG 75 (expired) September 7
BEC 72, 77

The adventure continues...

[krokofilen]

Kimboroni: Clear. Not sure what my problem is. I am doing the whole notes revisit thing properly, I think. Just been out of college for too many years to get back into that real hardcore study mode that I used to control really well.

CPA50: Good luck you too, let's kill FAR!!

Just did a 95% on 30 MCQs within the adaptive learning pool in NINJA, so all though I recognized a lot of them from previous sessions, I feel a little better. I know numbers is not everything in this game but hey it gives you an indication of how well you know the content, as good as any indication if you ask me.

What I still don't get is how I can go from 95% on one session to 65% on another. In the same day.

Big 4 Audit Manager from Europe here to pass the CPA in the U.S. of A in 2014! Niiice!

AUD - 95 / Jul 15 / 130h over 4 weeks
FAR - 86 / Aug 14 / 240h over 4 weeks
(11 week break)

REG - 81 / Nov 14 / 200h over 4 weeks
BEC - 87 / Nov 17 / 30 h over 2.5 days

[How many letters do you need]

Krok: government and NFP were my weakest topics by far going in and I ended with an 85. They are a chunk of the exam but it looks like you are trending so well in everything else. When all else fails…memorize! Do what you can to memorize the main topics for government/NFP and trust that the rest of the topics will pull you along.

MBA,CMA,CPA, CFF?, ABV?

[krokofilen]

How many letters do you need: Thanks, yes, trying to do that now. I was doing good in NFP in the beginning, so will pick up on that again easily. Gov is just such a huge area and quite different from Gov accounting in Europe (which I have, while very limited, at least some experience from). So I guess that's why I am struggeling with gov. I think I will be able to pick up on that though, will put it in focus for the next few days.

Big 4 Audit Manager from Europe here to pass the CPA in the U.S. of A in 2014! Niiice!

AUD - 95 / Jul 15 / 130h over 4 weeks
FAR - 86 / Aug 14 / 240h over 4 weeks
(11 week break)

REG - 81 / Nov 14 / 200h over 4 weeks
BEC - 87 / Nov 17 / 30 h over 2.5 days

[Author]

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