[Anonymous]

Hey Everyone…new member here…taking fisrt test, (FAR) Friday April 16th and starting to stress out.

I’m using Becker which seems to be ok altho for me the lecture discs are kind of a waste….if i have to hear the bozo on the disc call himself the “italian ice” one more time I’m going to melt him. Anyhow i found this place and wanted to pick some of your brains who have some experience with this. I saw a post where someone said that after doing section 1 of the MC 2 and 3 got harder and that was a good thing. They also mentioned they only finished pieces of the sims but made sure to do the writing section. A lot of folks thought that they would pass based on this info. I guess my question really is, can someone tell me how they score this thing?

Does anyone have any advice on last week prep as well….I have worked all the sims….the mc;s and read the entire book as well as watched all the lectures on Becker….I am trying to work the becker flashcards every day thru the test and then go back and keep repeating the MC’s as well as do a final or two…there is just so much material i never feel prepared no matter how many times i go over something and it drives me nuts…

Thanks for any info

Chris

[NY GT girl]

Scoring… I don't think anyone except the AICPA really know how its scored… Check out http://www.cpa-exam.org. What I can tell you is that for every test except BEC, your MCQ testlets are 70%, the written communication is 10% and the rest of the simulations make up 20%. If you're in a time crunch when you get to the simulations, it is recommended to focus on the writing portion. The MCQ testlets are adaptive by testlet, so the better you do on your first testlet, the harder your second will be, etc.

The front of your Becker book has the breakdown of topics and their percentages on the exam. Keep that in mind when you are reviewing. F1 & F2 will make up only like 10% of your exam, if I remember correctly…

As far as preparing with Becker… I know Peter and Tim are really annoying, but they do suggest helpful things to remember the material. I am using Becker and I think it would be a lot harder to pick out what to focus on if I was just studying from the book and not watching the lecture. They tend to highlight what is actually on the exam.

I think you are doing the right thing working MCQ. That is what is most beneficial, in my opinion. Also, in my opinion, the Becker MCQ are generally harder than the MCQ on the exam. If you get those questions and you are scoring 70%+, you should be in good shape!

Good luck and don't stress!

NY Candidate using Becker: FAR (2/20) - 81, AUD (4/3) - 92, REG (5/3) - 95, BEC (5/29) - 89 DONE!!!

[rahulcpa]

Its been over 2 months that I have been preparing for FAR. UNfortunately, this is my third round of solving all the multiple choice since February 4. I would say that BEC, AUD, and REG are on one side and FAR on the other side to balance the amount of study materials in these sections. For some reason, I keep on forgetting the material and do not know how to control my anxiety. As this is my last section, I hope that I don't fail so that I am not stuck for another 2- months. I will also do the final review and I hope that I will be able to gather all the confidence on the test day as I am taking it in April 30.

BEC - 82 Reg-87 Aud - 86 Far - 81 (THANX THE LORD)
(Dr CPA (Asset)
Cr Life) 😉 (revenue)

[Anonymous]

Peter and Tim have some really cheesy humor at times. Some of that cheesiness though does make a point stick. I almost wanted to kick myself when I saw a question on the exam and immediately recalled a horrible joke from the lecture. The point though is that I did remember the horrible joke and how it applied. It is painful to sit through, but it did help come test time.

The questions in Becker so far have been harder than what I've seen on the exam. My actual scores have been 12-17 points higher than what I was doing in the Becker software. BEC the spread was 20 points (homework questions there were just insane). The insanity of the homework questions and reading the solutions really does help fine tune your knowledge of them. I'm always nervous going into the exams and feel like an idiot coming out of them. The Becker materials have prepared me though for the exams and my scores have reflected that (AUD-94, REG-97, BEC-93).

[Anonymous]

Today at work, I actually remembered Tim's “no freeloading friends” when it came to a quick HOH/dependency decision.

[Anonymous]

Desert_Life – The one thing I would recommend is that if you haven't done so already. Take the Becker Practice Final Exams since this is your first exam. Becker Practice Final Exams are exactly like the real exam. Also, you should come up with a time management strategy. FAR is the worst in candidates running out of time. The 4 hours will be gone before you know it. You should try to leave at least 45 minutes per simulation otherwise you risk not finishing. That leaves 2.5 hours for the multiple choice testlets or 50 minutes per testlets. This may seem like a lot of time to do 30 questions but FAR has a ton of calculations at least mine did. Be very cognizant of the time but do not rush through the multiple choice questions since they are worth 70%, and the simulation minus the written communication is only worth 20%. The multiple choice questions can make or break your exam. I have read many CPA candidates post that they did not complete tabs of the simulations but did do both written communications and still pass. I agree with Dale on average most candidates score anywhere from 10-20 points higher on the real exam compared to the Becker Practice Final Exam. So do not get discourage if you do poorly. Just review every question you missed to see if you can identify a weak area and then hit it hard..

Last thing forget about trying to figure out the scoring, it will drive you insane. If you put in the quality study time, stay focused during the exam, and have proper time management, you will give yourself the best chance of passing. Good Luck, FAR is a beast.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the great posts everyone, I appreciate it. I have definetely given up trying to figure out their scoring system.

I did come up with a strategy for time managment that gives me the best chance of finishing everything. It does include no more than 50 mins for each MC section. I plan to write the comm first and pick the standard and then answer the easier questions in the sim before the harder calcs..I have done every mc becker gives 2x as well as all the sims and read the chapters 2-3x plus lecture. If i score 10-20 percent higher on the actual exam as opposed to becker I think i will be fine. My plan now is to do the final this weekend and do the flashcards every day as well as re touch upon some weak areas and more mc's. I think i finally have relaxed into realizing the work i am doing is giving me the best chance i can to pass. Seems like a lot of folks walk into the exam nervous they did not do enough and walk out thinking they failed only to be suprised by a passing grade. Even my boss, who came to the states a few years ago and was already a chartered accountant said that he felt the same way when he did his cpa here three years ago.

Thanks everyone

Chris

[Anonymous]

Next time, I am not going to allocate the same amount of time for the first three testlets. Last time I did 50 minutes each. Next time I will still watch the clock. The first one will be the easiest, but the second one will take more time, and hopefully the third one too.

Last time, I thought I was doing great on time with the first testlet, so I went back and reviewed. Bad idea. I could have used that time for my sims.

[rahulcpa]

FAR

F – frustration

A – and

R – regret 🙂

BEC - 82 Reg-87 Aud - 86 Far - 81 (THANX THE LORD)
(Dr CPA (Asset)
Cr Life) 😉 (revenue)

[Anonymous]

Definitely do the Becker Final exams. I was getting scores of 75-95% on the “simulated exam” from the simulated exam tab at the bottom with all 9 lectures included.

Then I discovered the “Final Exam” in the simulations tab at the bottom right. It has two exams that are set up exactly like the FAR exam (3 m/c testlets, 2 simulations, timed etc). I got a 66 on the first and 61 on the second.

The Final Exams in Becker are harder than the simulated exams or just the questions in the HW and supplemental.

Almost all of the posts said that the actual exam is easier than the Becker Simulated exam, but I took it today and I don't think it was any easier.

[Guti]

These were the days the CPA exam was not that hard to pass=

NY GT girl

What I can tell you is that for every test except BEC, your MCQ testlets are 70%, the written communication is 10% and the rest of the simulations make up 20%. If you're in a time crunch when you get to the simulations, it is recommended to focus on the writing portion. The MCQ testlets are adaptive by testlet, so the better you do on your first testlet, the harder your second will be, etc.

FAR-84
AUD-
REG-
BEC-

[Author]

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