Cowpatty
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I felt like a lump of coal.....it was insult on top of mental injury better yet I felt like I was tossed into a den of starving lions covered in chicken blood
no breaks almost none what so ever even easy crap they made me doubt....this is got to be some cruel joke
Jeff - another71.com
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Well...it sounds like you were doing well. If your questions were easy...that's reason to worry.
Cowpatty
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maybe I just felt like dang I wanted to be a little more on the money for once......like with BEC........it really was hard.....for real this time.......I guess everyone is in the same boat as me......all I can do is hope for the best and go back to page one and start over on Monday just incase.......
Dominate
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Just awful. I couldn't imagine even feeling worse. I studied heavily and was still lost on a few questions. They put wicked twists on them and it was just something I didn't really expect. Got to the simulations with just 40 minutes left. Had to rush through everything. Finished both memos but couldn't really work the calculations in one of them sims. Just threw in numbers quickly hoping for something. Finished all but the last question on the second sim. First testlet didn't seem horrible, second was just brutal, third was easier than the second. I guess I will hope that the second two being tough was a good sign and that I did a good job guessing. I hope that I passed this section because I really do not want to study for it again. FAR needs to be two sections its ridiculous trying to retain all of this information and to have them test you on such petty minor topics with cruel twists tossed in. Oh well! When do we expect second wave to start being released. Do you guys think I should continue studying for this section to retake or move on to audit. Also do you think its a good idea to finish FAR before REG due to the differences between tax and financial? Just searching for advise. Thanks!
TampaAccountant
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Oh Ok, you make me feel better! I thought I was the only one feeling pretty lousy after the exam! Only, I think I felt like I failed big-time, maybe as low as 40 or probably 50to60. I did OK on the 1st SIM, I only finished the Communication and one tab in the second SIM...?
Worse part is family and friends looking at me like if I'm some kind of idiot for studying so-much and probably failing...lol.
Cowpatty
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I am not going to try and fool myself into maybe passing; it is not worth it; I really don't know.....all my testlets were not as easy as I wanted......first one was not as bad as the other but still harder then I thought it would be......second and third I wanted to throw the cpu out the freaking window.....I got to sims ,,,,and well I nailed the research on both and did fine with the written but the tabs were like crap no time over welmed wore out and blah tic tock ya know timed out on it put something everywhere even if I new I might be wrong and prob was but just did it........
stjohns796
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cowpatty - you need to take the night off and relax. its a tough exam, don't let it get to you. It's a great sign that you had such hard questions. I have talked with a lot of people and the worse you feel afterwords, the better the chances you passed. I am on the other side of the spectrum - I know I didn't do well because my questions were not increasing in difficulty.
TampaAccountant
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I thought FAR was going to be like REG or BEC where I kinda new I was doing good during the MCQs. For example, in REG the first testlet was easy and 2nd hard and the 3rd hardest, but I knew I was doing good. But, FAR NO WAY did they throw an easy 1st testlet.
I don't think any review course would have made a difference!
Oh well, good luck, I'm getting ready for REG again for next week
BEC 77, REG 74, AUD 70, FAR (hahahaha)
cfcpa
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I honestly felt terrible after I took the exam on October 28th. The multiple choice didn't seem really complicated, but the way they worded them was tricky. The sims were nothing that I didn't study, so I felt fairly confident on them. In the end, I ended up passing, so you can't always go by how you feel. After taking BEC, I felt like I definitely passed and I did. After taking REG and FAR, I felt like I failed, but ended up passing.
I think it's hard to get a feel for whether or not you passed because of the way the exam is graded. While using the review programs (I used Becker), you are graded based on how many you get right and wrong. But on the exam, it's impossible to determine which problems are worth more than others. If the testlets are getting harder as you progress, you are most likely doing very well.
Dominate
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It was brutal. Every question had a twist. The lease questions threw something in the bond questions threw something in. I even had a inventory question that had something I had never seen before. It's really hard to give advice. I guess I would just say make sure you know EVERYTHING inside and out. I didn't have many not-for-profit or gov questions. My deferred tax questions were easier than I thought they would be. Everything is kind of fuzzy right now. It's funny how I walk out and barely remember any of the questions that I had. Same thing after BEC I left the testing center and 10 minutes later couldn't remember what I had just been tested on. With BEC I felt better about my answers though. I used Becker for my review and I don't think it prepared me very well. I think next time (if there is a next time) I will buy a Wiley book although it seems every review was missing something. Maybe the AICPA switched their questions up quite a bit. I know come score release I will be freaking out. I don't want to give up hope that I passed, but until then I'm going to be second guessing everything I did. It's impossible to just not think about it.
Amethyst8
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I felt horrible. I questioned my sanity about taking the CPA exam since FAR was my first. I was a bit shocked when I got my passing score. So, on the positive side, even if you think you bombed it, it's quite likely that you passed. Said another way: it's normal to feel like a failure afterwards!
Shawna
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I feel good after reading all these posts! I took FAR for the second time yesterday and did not feel good. The first section was easy, the second section more difficult, the third....URGH! The first SIM I did fairly well on...the second SIM was a disaster. So bad that I actually complained in the survey at the end. I did the written section of both with no problem and the research of both. But the spreadsheets on the second SIM were ridiculous. I could not even toggle between the tabs to get the information and I did not know what they were asking. But my test definitely got increasingly more difficult. There were actually items I had never even heard of on the exam and I did Becker!
FAR 70; REG 91; FAR (second attempt waiting)
kmcauliffe
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I felt like I was attacked by an inanimate object. I swear every time I clicked to the next question it was like a wave smashing you when you just got up from the last one and still haven't caught your breath. I didn't even feel like it was testing my knowlege of the material, I felt like it was testing how adept I am at avoiding trickery. On all the other 3 I actually felt challenged, but like I was being given the opportunity to apply the knowledge I had learned, on this one I just felt like everything was a set up. UGH!
TimetoBeDoneWithThis
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I'll share my story about FAR, maybe make some people feel better. I studied as much as I possibly could for FAR, and this was my first test taken. The first MC testlet wasn't bad, then the second and third got progressively harder So I had a feeling that I had to be doing at least decent. Then came the simulations. I definitely rationed out enough time for them, but let me tell you, they were next to impossible. The amount of answers necessary per tab was ridiculous. It even covered material that I have never even see before. I lost focus because I could feel this test slipping away. At points I starting panicking. For days after, I was just constantly bothered by it. It turned out I got a 90 on the exam. Based on how difficult the questions are, there's gotta be more points allocated to right answers.
So to all who are worried, there is hope. Having very hard simulations can't mean an automatic fail. Good luck to all who have taken exams this month and still will be taking this next week.
Cowpatty
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thanks for all the stories folks; I hope I pass either way I won't give up I am in it for the long haul........I just want a 75 pts if I pass I am going to never ask for anything else from the big Balance Sheet in the sky........
man I bought a keg........... the judge told me I couldn't have more then two beers unless I was at home
CPAinPA
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Okay, you guys are making me really nervous, because I didn't feel real bad after taking it. Yeah there were some questions I know I missed, but I didn't feel awful. and both my SIMS were fairly straight forward and simple. Now i'm worried that if the test wasn't hard enough I failed? Is this typical? Should each testlet get harder?
RyanK
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stjohns796:
Haha I agree with the PTSD comment! You harp on the ones you think you missed and forget all of the questions you flew through. And it may not seem like the content is more difficult although it actually is. My 2nd and 3rd seemed much easier but had more technically challenging questions, which leads me to beleive they were the higher difficulty testlets.
CPA2BinOH
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My time ran out just as I was finishing up the second simulation - I could have used just 30 more seconds. With that being said, the first testlet was fairly easy, but I had quite a few questions on Non Profit and government accounting. The simulations sucked - I used Becker but I had stuff on there that wasn't even covered in the review. I left the center feeling fairly well. I work in the industry so I am quite familiar with the concepts tested.
Good luck to everyone still waiting for thier FAR score.
cmb2009
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Well I just finished FAR and I am not feeling great either. I couldn't tell that my testlets were getting any more difficult, so I am pretty sure I failed. Plus half my questions were on one topic that I was praying I wouldn't get a ton of questions on! Never fails! Maybe I will get lucky, but I am feeling nervous reading about how complicated the questions in the second and third testlet were for everyone, because I couldn't tell if they were much more complex than the first!
shaina0707
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Wow...some of you are cracking me up on here. I took this exam yesterday and it was honestly the worst experience of my life. I passed the other 3 sections on the first try and used Becker AND Wiley to study for this one and felt like the examiners somehow knew my weakest areas and threw them at me on the exam to spite me. My simulations were the worst ever-I could not even tell you what I was supposed to do on them and did not even understand the wording of the questions. I just focused on answering the essays because they are worth the most points in the simulations. The calculation tabs were a joke and I frantically clicked on accounts (for all I know I clicked on accounts named 'I obviously don't know this' or 'I give up'-I didn't even look at what I picked just prayed for something to get me points). All I know is it is the first exam I have ever run out of time on and it makes me feel better knowing that people have passed without finishing simulations in the past. Also, my first questions were tricky, but my 2nd testlet was MURDER. Hopefully that's a good sign and my eenie-meenie-miney-mo game worked! I recommend a nice, strong martini afterwards...it's the only reason I made it to work today after the mental and emotional abuse I suffered during the exam yesterday.
ILoveCPA
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I sat for FAR last night and still have a headache. 200 hours with Becker and Gleim Test Prep CD and I felt I was super
prepared and laughed during my first testlet. Then came the second testlet which nearly caused a brain hemorrhage.
First testlet = easy, 2nd teslet = suicidal complete utter worst of the worst questions. 3rd teslet = much harder than 1st but comparable if not slightly easier than the second. WHich scares me that I bombed the 2nd testlet. Of cours eno I go back and look at my notecards and see some questions that I got wrong but cant recall any of the ones I am not sure about and possibly got right. Dammit
My sims were ridiculous too. 6 tabs all having nothing to do with each other for both sims. Even my research tab, which i always felt was easy, instead took some time on this exam. With 16 min life I still had 4 long tabs in my 2nd sim to completed, panicked...manned up and finished them with 1 minute to spare. I walked out thinking what a failure I am because this is my first part. I am still yelling because I felt this didnt test concept but only trickery....dammit I cant stop being mad at myself and the test administrators.
So to conclude yea I feel like crap just like everyone else on the discussion
yanks0607
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I just took FAR today. I didn't feel that my testlets got progressively harder or that the simulations were brutal. I left the test center feeling the same way I felt when I left for the previous three exams - feeling that it could go either way. You just don't know which questions carry more weight, or which questions are "test questions", or what the curve is going to be. In my opinion, too many factors to surmise a valid prediction,
TheAngryAcct
offlineMember
Took it today as well and I got rocked. To me there was just too little time. I agree with most, 1 was not bad, 2 was very hard, and 3 was not as hard as 2, but harder than 1.
The simulations were not too bad, except I did not have enough time to complete. Just going to have to caulk this up to a learning experience.
Some friendly advice.
Use 50 minutes per multiple choice section. That will leave you with 90 minutes to split between the simulations.
CPAinPA
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Let me ask this question a different way, are you all saying that if your testlets don't get progressively harder, then you failed the exam? I just don't understand why some are saying that based on having very hard questions, you would pass? Implying if the test didn't seem mind boggling hard, you must have failed. Someone please explain. I would love to understand the thought process here.
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