Is it possible to pass FAR with 2 months of study while working full time?

  • Creator
    Topic
  • #202402
    Jackobe24
    Participant

    I have the whole July and August to study for FAR,

    but I’m working full time right now, although summer hour only require me to work 4 days a week.

    Each day after work I can get about good 4 hours of study.

    Friday and the weekend each day I can get about 8 hours.

    So that’s about 40 hours a week, and 320 hours for 2 months.

    Is enough time to prepare for FAR?? This would be my first attempt, and I know FAR is the hardest and has the most materials.

    FAR - 9/8/16 (Hopefully it's my last CPA exam, God bless me!)
    REG - 80
    BEC - 81
    AUD - 69, 81

Viewing 15 replies - 1 through 15 (of 19 total)
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  • #779464
    wombataholic
    Participant

    I did it last summer, so it's definitely doable as long as you stay focused on studying.

    AUD - 91
    BEC - 85
    FAR - 91
    REG - 92
    CPA, CFE
    Passed all 4 CPA exam sections with Ninja Notes/MCQ/Audio

    Licensed CPA
    Passed each section on the first try with Ninja Notes/MCQ/Audio

    #779465
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    Absolutely if you can stick with that study plan for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday

    #779466
    perezc3910
    Participant

    320 hours is definitely overkill. Most people pass with 150 hours or even less. Working full time plus studying 40 hours a week is tough. I'd say to cut it down to 25 hours a week. It is more about quality than quantity I feel. You should focus on getting study materials that will fit your learning style.

    BEC-July 2016
    REG-August 2016
    FAR-October 2016
    AUD-Nov/Dec 2016

    #779467
    lunar.estra
    Participant

    @wombataholic

    I have a couple of questions for you if you don't mind. Been reading your posts lately. I recently graduated and purchased my materials today.

    1) What's your GPA in college? Cumulative and Major if possible.
    2) What do you normally get in your accounting exams?
    3) When did you start studying and when did you finish taking the exams?
    4) Did accounting make sense to you while you were in college?

    I'm aware that you only did Ninja. I'm planning to do Ninja and Wiley TB, but I'm not sure if I should spend the extra $450 on Wiley for more questions. Doing Wiley is also added time to my studying, which I'm not sure if it's going to be also added value or not. I graduated with very high honors but I half-assed my accounting classes (I'm more of an IT person). I'm also pretty good in memorizing, but understanding concepts for me takes time.

    Thanks!

    #779468
    Sang
    Participant

    Yes. You can study for FAR in 2 months.

    Some people here recommend 200 hours of study time, and doing 3,000-5,000 MCQs.

    Since FAR has so many chapters, the exam won’t be able to test you on all of the chapters.
    There are some chapters that are tested on more than others.

    Roger CPA Review course said that Government and Not-for-Profit make up about 20% of the exam.
    He also said that IFRS makes up about 10% of the exam.

    I think the Ninja Notes and Audio cover many of the more important chapters that the exam might include.

    This thread mentions some of the more important topics to focus on.

    you know you'll pass FAR if you…

    FAR: (5/24/16) | (7/16/16)

    AUD: (9/07/16)

    BEC: TBA

    REG: TBA

    FAR: (05/24/16) | (07/15/16) | (10/22/16)
    AUD: (09/07/16) | (11/29/16) |
    BEC: TBD
    REG: TBD
    Using Roger CPA Review + Ninja (MCQs, Notes, Audio)

    #779469
    SaveBandit
    Participant

    Yeah that's plenty of time. 320 hours is overkill, though. I probably studied 250 for FAR which was 50-75 hours too much, honestly.

    I would recommend breaking up your studying. One hour before work, an hour during lunch, two at night.

    AUD - 94
    BEC - 86
    FAR - 85
    REG - 90
    If you pray enough, you can turn yourself into a cat person.

    4 for 4

    FAR 85
    AUD 94
    BEC 86
    REG 90

    #779470
    maki
    Participant

    I'm attempting to pass FAR with only 14 days of studying with probably 50 hours study time by the time I sit. I might pass I might fail but I think anything over 3-4 weeks at 25-30 hours per week is way overkill for any part of the exam. They're gonna test 2-3 years of classroom time in 4 hours – see the big picture. Yes I work full time and no, I didn't just graduate (2013)

    Roger CPA

    AUD 02/01/16 91
    REG 02/27/16 79
    BEC 04/16 84
    FAR 06/04

    #779471
    Kelleyzt32
    Participant

    Yes, it is very doable. I passed FAR a couple of months ago while working 40 hours a week. My study schedule averaged about 2-3 hours of studying a night for about a month an a half months. I used Becker and I feel like I was very prepared for all the questions and sims I saw.

    REG - 91
    FAR - 86
    BEC - 84
    AUD - July 2016

    #779472
    Ag12thman
    Participant

    Kelleyzt32 – Did you follow Becker in the manner that Becker recommends (watch video then do homework for each section before moving on to the next section)? Just curious. Thanks.

    FAR: July 2016

    #779473
    Jackobe24
    Participant

    thanks for the feedback guys.

    I estimated 320 hours, but ya, I doubt I even get that many quality hours.

    let's hope I pass AUD next, then I can start preparing for FAR.

    FAR - 9/8/16 (Hopefully it's my last CPA exam, God bless me!)
    REG - 80
    BEC - 81
    AUD - 69, 81

    #779474
    wombataholic
    Participant

    @ChenQ

    >> 1) What's your GPA in college? Cumulative and Major if possible.

    My bachelor's is in mass communication and was earned 13 years before I took my first CPA section, though I had started out majoring in accounting. I had an original sad GPA of 2.48 due to the fact that in retrospect my alma mater was a terrible fit for me, but I was young and didn't know it at the time. My post-bachelor's GPA is 3.58, with a 3.38 in accounting classes.

    >>2) What do you normally get in your accounting exams?

    Mostly A's and B's. My interest in the material really dictated my grade in the class – that and fear of failure. I got a 68% on the 2nd of 3 govermental/NFP accounting class exams, which scared the beejesus out of me and caused me to study the heck out of the material for the final and got a 98% on it.

    >>3) When did you start studying and when did you finish taking the exams?

    I started prepping for FAR on Friday, May 1st 2015 and took REG on Saturday November 28, 2015. 212 days. I kept a spreadsheet of what needed to be done at minimum each day from start to finish, along with my trending score, average score, MCQs completed.

    >>4) Did accounting make sense to you while you were in college?

    Mostly yes. When it didn't make sense, I at least tried to understand the logic behind it.

    AUD - 91
    BEC - 85
    FAR - 91
    REG - 92
    CPA, CFE
    Passed all 4 CPA exam sections with Ninja Notes/MCQ/Audio

    Licensed CPA
    Passed each section on the first try with Ninja Notes/MCQ/Audio

    #779475
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    YES !!
    It is also possible to finish tax extension season on October 15, move for the second time in a 3 month window, and pass a FAR retake before Thanksgiving while raising two young children.

    #779476
    marqzho
    Participant

    Accounting never make sense to me in College. I had my accounting degree 7 years ago. I got B/C in most of my accounting classes. I prepared my FAR in 2 months with a full-time job. Hope that helps.

    REG 90
    FAR 95
    AUD 98
    BEC 84

    #779477
    Jdn9201
    Participant

    Agreed – 2 months is doable and 300+ hours is overkill. If I learned anything from these exams, it's how important it is to work smarter, not harder. It's also good that you've already taken and passed the other exams, as that gives you a feel as to the pace to study. Yes, FAR is a beast, but saving it for last gave me the chance to improve my study routine as I went along. I knocked out FAR in 3 weeks with a full-time job, so you definitely can do it!

    BEC - 88 8/29/15
    REG - 82 11/14/15
    AUD - 83 1/8/16
    FAR - 80 2/29/16

    #779478
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    really @jdn9201 that is impressive can you please share your strategy

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