[Scared-cpa]

I’m only a week into studying for the FAR exam (my first section – never taken the exam before) and I’m currently finishing up SEC info and moving onto balance sheets. I’m using Wiley CPAexcel.

Should I just do the assigned MCQs and TBS’s right now and wait until I’m done with the material to do MCQs in the test bank or what? Is there a point of doing MCQs right now over information that I haven’t covered yet? I’m just afraid it will confuse me. But y’all know better than me!

"The more I practice, the luckier I get."

FAR - 67, 82 (Expires 07/31/18)
AUD - 68, 79
REG - 75
BEC - 82

Wiley CPAexcel + Ninja

I cannot believe I am done.

[.]

I don't think there is much point in doing MCQs on information you haven't covered yet. The test bank is organized differently from CPAExcel. You could wait till you are done with say all the mini-lessons on inventory before doing the test bank questions on that topic. Depends on how much time you have to study for the exam and if you have a good memory or not. Personally, just reading the lessons and doing the assigned MCQs took forever, so I didn't do any review until the end. Some people do like to do MCQs on topics they covered a couple weeks before, to jog their memory. Otherwise by the time you get to Not-for-Profit, you will have forgotten how the hell to do Dollar Value LIFO (I totally forgot). Either way, plan for at least 2 weeks of review after you finished with all the reading and assigned questions.

FAR- 88- 6/16- (Ninja Avg. 74%)
REG- 89- 7/16- (Ninja Avg. 77%)
AUD- 95- 8/16- (Ninja Avg. 81%)
BEC- 82- 9/16- (Ninja Avg. 75%)
[Wiley CPAExcel + Ninja MCQ]

Finally licensed.

FAR - June 2016 - 88
REG - July 2016 - 89
AUD - Aug 2016 - review phase currently
BEC - Sep 2016 -

Wiley CPA Excel & Ninja MCQ

[Scared-cpa]

Thanks for the answer! I just mailed in my application to sit this past Monday, so I'm on no real time crunch to finish the section.

I don't have the greatest memory as I can forget little topics I covered yesterday! I planned on studying about 3 months and taking the exam mid-November since I'm also in school.

Do you think 3 months is too long? At the rate I'm completing assignments right now, that's my estimated time to complete. I agree that the assignments take forever as I watch the video lectures, take notes over it, read the assigned text, highlight stuff I don't know, then do the assigned MCQs. A daily assignment estimated to take 2 hours can easily take me longer than that. It's unfortunate but I guess I've just got to keep pushing.

May I ask if you've taken FAR and if so, if you passed? Since my clock won't start until I pass the first section (which will be FAR), I'm really wanting to pass on my first time. I don't want to draw the process out longer than necessary and take the exams more than I have to, so I'm willing to study a little longer.

So you think I should just do the assignments and maybe after I finish each section do MCQs over that section only? The review during the last couple weeks – should that consist of only MCQs?

"The more I practice, the luckier I get."

FAR - 67, 82 (Expires 07/31/18)
AUD - 68, 79
REG - 75
BEC - 82

Wiley CPAexcel + Ninja

I cannot believe I am done.

[.]

I took FAR in June and got 88. I didn't watch videos and took very little notes. A lot of people on this forum like Ninja notes. I've never used them, so can't say. I did it in 8 weeks, but I wasn't working. CPAExcel just goes bonkers with FAR. If you do everything (videos, 1200 pages of text, MCQs, flashcards, PQs, etc.), it would probably take 6 months. The other sections aren't nearly as crazy.

I used Ninja MCQs for review. I didn't have access to the Wiley test bank at the time. Yeah, the last 2 weeks should be mainly MCQs. I also did the simulations that Ninja has (only takes 2 days).

FAR- 88- 6/16- (Ninja Avg. 74%)
REG- 89- 7/16- (Ninja Avg. 77%)
AUD- 95- 8/16- (Ninja Avg. 81%)
BEC- 82- 9/16- (Ninja Avg. 75%)
[Wiley CPAExcel + Ninja MCQ]

Finally licensed.

FAR - June 2016 - 88
REG - July 2016 - 89
AUD - Aug 2016 - review phase currently
BEC - Sep 2016 -

Wiley CPA Excel & Ninja MCQ

[Trele6]

I took a similar path for FAR. I used Becker. Watched the videos, worked the MCQs. Didn't take notes or read the book. Just worked the MCQ multiple times and practiced a few SIMS. Ended up with a 79, however I felt there was no way I passed when I left the testing center.

You better know IFRS, FX, Journal entries for inventory/percentage completion etc.

B - 80 Jun16
A - 74 Aug16, 77 Oct16
R - 87 Nov15
F - 79 Apr16
Ethics - 98 Nov16
Licensed in New Mexico Dec16

First go at the CPA! Only using Becker
Reg / Nov 2015 - 87
Far / Apr 2016 - 79
Bec / May 2016 - 80
Aud / Aug 2016

[Scared-cpa]

Gosh, I'd kill to get an 88 but I will be more than happy with a 75 haha. The book for FAR is literally twice the size of the books for the other sections so it's quite daunting. Especially to consider getting through all of the text in 3 months.

Do you all think I should not read the entire book? I've heard people just doing MCQs and writing down the ones they get wrong and using that as their tool for learning and studying, but I don't know if I'm cut out for that!

@trele6, I'm actually reading about IFRS right now and just skimmed through it. There were only 11 assigned questions for the IFRS structure and I got all but 1 correct. Should I know it inside and out?

Are there any sections that I should skip or should I go through everything?

I want to be thoroughly prepared as I tend to not do great on exams like this, but I also don't want to devote my entire life to a test.

"The more I practice, the luckier I get."

FAR - 67, 82 (Expires 07/31/18)
AUD - 68, 79
REG - 75
BEC - 82

Wiley CPAexcel + Ninja

I cannot believe I am done.

[Trele6]

I wouldn't advocate skipping anything because you just never know what they are going to test you on. I felt like I saw IFRS more than GAAP. When you get to governmental it is pretty boring but you will need to know some of the simple down in the details things about it. I had some very obscure detail questions on governmental. Things that were not overly hard but it was just a very detailed question to something really obscure so unless you memorized every bit of governmental it was kind of a guess for me.

I'm a visual learner so writing notes etc does nothing for me. I watched the video lectures and then worked the MCQ’s then progress tests.

B - 80 Jun16
A - 74 Aug16, 77 Oct16
R - 87 Nov15
F - 79 Apr16
Ethics - 98 Nov16
Licensed in New Mexico Dec16

First go at the CPA! Only using Becker
Reg / Nov 2015 - 87
Far / Apr 2016 - 79
Bec / May 2016 - 80
Aud / Aug 2016

[Scared-cpa]

@trele6, may I ask how long you studied?

I'm trying to figure out if I'm studying correctly. I've never sat for any portion before, so I really don't know what to expect and make sure I'm doing everything right. I guess the only way to tell is to do it!

"The more I practice, the luckier I get."

FAR - 67, 82 (Expires 07/31/18)
AUD - 68, 79
REG - 75
BEC - 82

Wiley CPAexcel + Ninja

I cannot believe I am done.

[.]

If you remember your intermediate financial accounting and governmental accounting classes, maybe you can get away without reading the book/watching videos. I didn't remember too much from those classes, so I read all 1200 pages of the Wiley book. In order to get through all that material in a decent amount of time, like I said before, I had to cut out watching videos and didn't bother with taking notes. And I didn't go crazy if there was some little thing I just didn't really get or had trouble memorizing….like sale leasebacks or dollar value LIFO.

Everyone on this forum kept saying government was a huge portion of the exam (they were right), so I decided to do that section and NFP before doing “Specific Transactions, Events and Disclosures.” I thought I'd be burnt out by the time I got to government otherwise.

FAR- 88- 6/16- (Ninja Avg. 74%)
REG- 89- 7/16- (Ninja Avg. 77%)
AUD- 95- 8/16- (Ninja Avg. 81%)
BEC- 82- 9/16- (Ninja Avg. 75%)
[Wiley CPAExcel + Ninja MCQ]

Finally licensed.

FAR - June 2016 - 88
REG - July 2016 - 89
AUD - Aug 2016 - review phase currently
BEC - Sep 2016 -

Wiley CPA Excel & Ninja MCQ

[Willpower]

my approach was to watch the videos from becker and take notes. Now if I watch a video and did not get the main idea of it, I would definitely go to the book and re-read the section multiple times. Then after each section, I would start right away on MCQs. I found this was the best method for me to retain the info! Now, my best advice is not to skip any section. The exam is very broad in the sense that any type of questions can come up.

Good luck and hope it helps!

Passed 4 parts

[Trele6]

I did one becker chapter per week then a one week review before the test. FAR was the longest study time I did for any of the four tests

B - 80 Jun16
A - 74 Aug16, 77 Oct16
R - 87 Nov15
F - 79 Apr16
Ethics - 98 Nov16
Licensed in New Mexico Dec16

First go at the CPA! Only using Becker
Reg / Nov 2015 - 87
Far / Apr 2016 - 79
Bec / May 2016 - 80
Aud / Aug 2016

[Scared-cpa]

@circadian malfunction, would you suggest I do govt and NFP earlier on in my study time? It is one of the last couple sections that I'm supposed to do in my current schedule, but I thought it would be best if I waited to do it until the end so I would be more likely to remember it?

@Willpower, I find that the videos in CPAexcel do not hold nearly as much material as the text does. Most of them are only 5-10 minutes long unless they're more detailed, which can sometimes make them up to 20 minutes long. So I find it more useful to read the book and highlight what I need, then take notes over the videos as well. After all this, I take the MCQs and any TBS that there may be. This is taking me longer than it should, so I may have to readjust my study habits, but I'm afraid that will compromise my retention rate.

I really, really, REALLY don't want to study for 3 months just to fail it. So I'd rather do it right the first time, I just hope I'm studying effectively!

@trele6, how many chapters are there for Becker? I can't tell how many chapters of whatever are in CPAexcel. In the review course, there are 5 sections, I think, with subunits. Then the subunits have subunits lol. At this rate, it looks like I will be done in about 11 more weeks (only studying 1 full week thus far). I'm just afraid once I get into the more difficult stuff, I will take a lot longer to actually complete them.

As you can tell, I'm afraid about a lot of things. That I won't be able to comprehend and understand the material, that I won't retain the material once I do know it, and just failing in general. I wonder if I'm cut out for this. There's just so much to know. I thought I was pretty good at accounting until I started studying for this exam!

"The more I practice, the luckier I get."

FAR - 67, 82 (Expires 07/31/18)
AUD - 68, 79
REG - 75
BEC - 82

Wiley CPAexcel + Ninja

I cannot believe I am done.

[.]

I go back and forth on that conundrum….whether it's better to do the hard stuff/important stuff first or last. If you do it last, of course, it will fresh in your brain and you won't have time to forget it. On the other hand, if you anticipate a time crunch, then doing the hard stuff/important stuff first might be better. You can take your time and won't be a rush to get through the material. Especially with REG, I chose to do the hard stuff first. Whether that helped or hurt me is hard to say. (I did tax before business law.)

FAR- 88- 6/16- (Ninja Avg. 74%)
REG- 89- 7/16- (Ninja Avg. 77%)
AUD- 95- 8/16- (Ninja Avg. 81%)
BEC- 82- 9/16- (Ninja Avg. 75%)
[Wiley CPAExcel + Ninja MCQ]

Finally licensed.

FAR - June 2016 - 88
REG - July 2016 - 89
AUD - Aug 2016 - review phase currently
BEC - Sep 2016 -

Wiley CPA Excel & Ninja MCQ

[FUBARFAR]

I'm going to interject here. I just took FAR on 7/19 and it was my first CPA exam. I would suggest going through and learning the material and then doing the MCQ for that section. I used Becker, and I covered 10 chapters in 2 months. I did 6 weeks of one chapter and 2 weeks of two chapters. I always answered the MCQ after each section. Also, it's normal to feel overwhelmed or that you lack the mental capabilities to conquer FAR. It's a big freakin' test with a lot of material, you are going to forget a lot of things. I would strongly suggest allocated enough time for a two week review period prior to your test and going over everything. You'll be shocked at how much clearer everything is the second time through.

AUD - 84
BEC - 88
FAR - 83
REG - 82

4 up 4 down!

FAR - 7/19/2016 - 83
BEC - 8/30/2016
AUD - TBD
REG - TBD

[FUBARFAR]

I'm going to interject here. I just took FAR on 7/19 and it was my first CPA exam. I would suggest going through and learning the material and then doing the MCQ for that section. I used Becker, and I covered 10 chapters in 2 months. I did 6 weeks of one chapter and 2 weeks of two chapters. I always answered the MCQ after each section. Also, it's normal to feel overwhelmed or that you lack the mental capabilities to conquer FAR. It's a big freakin' test with a lot of material, you are going to forget a lot of things. I would strongly suggest allocated enough time for a two week review period prior to your test and going over everything. You'll be shocked at how much clearer everything is the second time through.

AUD - 84
BEC - 88
FAR - 83
REG - 82

4 up 4 down!

FAR - 7/19/2016 - 83
BEC - 8/30/2016
AUD - TBD
REG - TBD

[Yolonge]

I will be the minority here but I went straight to ninja MCQ without studying.

Granted it was not a pleasant experience and I felt really stupid for getting wrong all the time but I read over the explanations for each question (either right or wrong).

I did not want to read the texts and since I do not have any review course with lecture so I really do not have any other option.

I did 5k ninja MCQ for Far and passed with 83. It was my first attempt so I did not know what I was doing in the beginning but it worked out for me.

I utilized just hammering ninja MCQ for other sections and got 87 on BEC and 92 on Audit. It is not for everybody but it works for some people.

I just hate reading.

FAR - 83 (1/7/16)
BEC - 87 (4/18/16)
AUD - 92 (7/2/16)
REG - 83 (12/5/16)
Ethics - 100%!

Licensed CPA in state of Maryland Feb 2017

Materials: Wiley book + Ninja MCQ

FAR - 83 (Jan 2016)
Study time: 6 weeks
BEC - 87 (April 2016)
Study time: 2 weeks
AUD - 92 (July 2016), (74 Feb 2016), (72 May 2016)
Study time: 4 (Feb) + 2 (May) + 3 (July) = 9 weeks total
REG - (70 April 2016)
Study time: 3 weeks

[Author]

Replies