[Anonymous]

I have FAR left- passed the other three with about 3-4 weeks studying each. at this point i know how to study efficiently, but im hearing FAR is different.

Ive been MIA on the forums because of an especially brutal tax season about 80/hrs a week of work. that ended today.

i got two options:

1) should i schedule FAR for end of May? (note: I will be out of the country mid-may for about a week so will lose 7 days of studying) and start studying now. NOT looking forward to immediately going from busy season grueling schedule to balancing full-time work (albeit 40/hr weeks) coupled with another 4hr/s studying every day.

2) just take it easy until my trip may 10th-17th and then just buckle down for a month in a half and take the test early July.

ughhh, This decision would be a lot easier if June wasn’t a blackout month- I would just schedule the darn thing for mid June 🙁

thoughts?

[jm962011]

How long do you have until your first passing score expires? If you studied for 3-4 weeks for each exam, surely you have some time unless you put a lot of space in between each exam? Just schedule it for first thing in July.

[Anonymous]

Presuming that you have awhile till you have to worry about expiring exams, it's really just a call of whether you'd prefer to be done with it soon but not get a break between busy season and study season, or whether you'd rather have the break. From looking at a few prior posts, it looks like you passed BEC as your first exam around October or so, in which case expiring exams aren't an issue for you at all. So, if my conclusion on that is right, then if I was in your spot, I'd probably take the break till May 17th and take the exam start of July. Of course if you fail it in July, then you'll have to wait till October to re-take, so that drags things out, but looks like you've had a good passing record so far, so no reason to borrow trouble. 🙂

However, both plans are viable. Given that you have established good study habits, cutting down to 60 hours of accounting per week (40 hrs of work plus 20 hours of study) for the next 6-ish weeks should be sufficient for you to pass FAR. So, if you'd prefer to get it done and over with, I think testing at the end of May or the first week of June (if seats are still open) is a fine plan, if that's your preference.

I guess my point is, I don't think this is a right vs. wrong. You've got lots of tries before expiring exams is a concern and a track record (from what I could briefly gather) of passing first-time or at least passing quickly, so the question comes down to how soon you want to be licensed, and not much else. If a couple weeks off is worth a months' delay in licensing to you, then go for it. If I was in your spot, I'd probably take the break, cause I was one of those that took like a month or 6 weeks or something like that to get my paperwork sent in after I completed the requirements, just cause I had to get some signatures and wasn't in a rush.

[Anonymous]

my exams dont expire until 2017 nice investigative work Lilla

[Anonymous]

I would suggest taking it in July. I also passed my first three exams on my first attempt…but studying for FAR and trying to retain all of the material is on a whole new level. If I were you, I'd enjoy a break and start studying after your trip.

[Nessie]

eesti,
Nice to see you back! I suggest you have a look through the Becker FAR phonebook and base this decision on how familiar you are with the topics. I know you have been strong in most areas, but I think the people who can generally do well in FAR with shorter study periods are people who have seen the majority of these topics before, or who pick up the concepts quickly. I am on F-6, and I am finding that even with going back and reviewing, I am forgetting the little nuances that make an answer correct, only because there are so many. I admit that the FAR material is my personal weaker area, but that doesn't mean it is yours. Look at the book and go from there.

I agree with the others. Take AUD, multiply it by 4, and there you have FAR.

Also, I heard you can schedule up to June 10th??

AUD - 80
BEC - 84
FAR - 80
REG - 88

Using Becker Self-Study, Final Review and NINJA MCQs
Sat for BEC Dec 6th, 2016 !!!! 84!!!!!

REG Aug 20/15: 88
AUD: Feb 29/16: 80
FAR: Jun 10/16: 80
BEC?

Becker self-study, Becker Final Review & NINJA MCQS

[Anonymous]

“I admit that the FAR material is my personal weaker area, but that doesn't mean it is yours” Actually I'm with you on that, it is my least favorite area, that's why I left it for last. I have a MAcc degree but that was from a while ago, and while i was exposed to most of the concepts in the Becker book, I most likely forgot them. Another issue is that while I have the book, like my signature says, my Becker online portal access expired. I am planning to get NINJA MCQ to supplement the Becker book.

[S1CPA]

eesti, I will give you a slightly different response…

…Assuming that you don't want to take FAR in the beginning of June (as they have now apparently opened up some days to take exams in the beginning of June).

———

If you are trying to finish as soon as possible, you could consider taking it at the beginning of July like other people on here are suggesting. Then, if you pass it, you are totally done, and a huge weight is lifted off of your shoulder.

However, if you were to fail it in the beginning of July (and you get your score back in the end of July?), now you have two whole months that you will have to retain the FAR data that you already learned before you are eligible to re-take the exam in October.

I would at least give consideration to taking FAR later in the Q3 period. Then, if you were to fail, you would still have a lot of time to continue studying, while not an extraordinary amount of time where you may worry about forgetting topics that you already learned in taking the first exam.

——-

If you want to get it out of the way and you are confident you can pass it on the first try, then go for it as soon as you feel you could be prepared for it…good luck!

AUD - 80 April 2015
FAR - 77 August 2015
REG - 60 October 2015, 73 May 2016, 75 July 2016
BEC - 79 January 2016

[monikernc]

eesti, go for it by june 10 if you can. that way you are not waiting for 4th quarter to retake if you fail. which you will not do. taking by june 10 means you will miss all those changes they will start throwing into exam in july in advance of 2017 changes. you have learned to study so efficiently with becker i know you can knock this out by june 10 and pass and be done and have a great life filled with many more vacations that do not include any thought of this.

AUD - 93
BEC - 82
FAR - 76
REG - 88

How have you been?
Ninja book and MCQs and the forum, all first try! 2016
Licensed State of Montana April Fool’s Day 2020
State of Colorado June 2020 - AICPA Ethics 93
Experience was the worst part of the journey for me. You?
If you want things to change you have to do something different.

FAR 7/25/15 76!
AUD 10/30/15 93
BEC 2/27/16 82
REG 5/23/16 88!
Ninja Book and MCQ and the forum - all the way!!!
and a little thing i like to call, time and effort!
if you want things to change, you have to do something different

[Anonymous]

wait are you guys saying if i fail i cannot redo my NTS and schedule for august? i have to wait until the NTS expires in October? i am not sure how that works.

…not like failure is an option, but you never know i guess with FAR.

[ericl2]

@eesti, I think they are saying that if you wait until July and take it…if for some reason you don't pass it, you have to wait until October to take it again. It has nothing to do with your NTS, but you can only take each section once per testing window. If you take it by June 10th, that still counts for the 2nd qtr, and then you still have the 3rd qtr and 4 qtr testing windows to re-take if needed.

[Missy]

You can take each section only once per testing window. So if you can squeeze it in by June 10 thats Q2, If you take it July 1 that is your only shot for Q3.

Old timer,  A71'er since 2010.

Finance manager/HR manager

 

 

Licensed Massachusetts Non Reporting CPA since 2012
Finance/Admin/HR Manager

[Anonymous]

thank you for the clarification, just checked– june 8th is open in my area. decisions, decisions….

[Nessie]

I'm in the same boat eesti. I think there were a few good points mentioned here. Maybe best to schedule for as late in June as possible. You will get your score soon after and could re-book in July if necessary. I think you will do fine, but that is really good advice just in case.

AUD - 80
BEC - 84
FAR - 80
REG - 88

Using Becker Self-Study, Final Review and NINJA MCQs
Sat for BEC Dec 6th, 2016 !!!! 84!!!!!

REG Aug 20/15: 88
AUD: Feb 29/16: 80
FAR: Jun 10/16: 80
BEC?

Becker self-study, Becker Final Review & NINJA MCQS

[monikernc]

go for it june 8. if you do have to retake you have a month to study and can retake early july. if you wait until july and fail you cannot retake until october – crazy to risk such a long wait – you know how becker works to prepare you. trust the process that has worked so well for you till now.

you can only take a particular section once per window. if you fail that section you have to get another NTS before you can sit for that section again.

AUD - 93
BEC - 82
FAR - 76
REG - 88

How have you been?
Ninja book and MCQs and the forum, all first try! 2016
Licensed State of Montana April Fool’s Day 2020
State of Colorado June 2020 - AICPA Ethics 93
Experience was the worst part of the journey for me. You?
If you want things to change you have to do something different.

FAR 7/25/15 76!
AUD 10/30/15 93
BEC 2/27/16 82
REG 5/23/16 88!
Ninja Book and MCQ and the forum - all the way!!!
and a little thing i like to call, time and effort!
if you want things to change, you have to do something different

[Anonymous]

So 4 weeks for FAR is feasible? I finished the other three in about that timeframe but FAR is much broader in scope!

[Author]

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