[Anonymous]

I started studying for FAR early August, and I would say I am a little more than half way through the material currently. I’m afraid I am spreading out my study time….I know Jeff recommends taking the test within 8 weeks, but I just do not see how that is possible with FAR. I work full time, try to do MCQ’s during slow time at work, and go home and study for atleast 2 hours. I feel if I do any more than that during the weeknights, it would just be a waste since I am so exhausted and burnt out. I try to get a good 12+ hours on the weekends, which I know I bump that up (studying during football season is killer!!). I always bring in previous sections MCQs, so I still understand the bulk of the material. Just afraid I will forget details when it’s test time. I want to take the test late October, early November. Any advice would be welcome.

[zieba]

I don't mean to go all blowhard on you but…

1. Who cares what's on TV? I don't think I turned mines on for months. Eventually, I stopped desiring to watch is as everyone was up to speed and one or more seasons ahead.

2. I don't have down time at work, and therefore during my two years at this, never studied at work. Ever.

3. I did however study a lot on the weekdays. I would get home at 6-7PM, eat, make coffee and sit down. I would then study until midnight, give or take half an hour. I swear I did my best work between 9 and 11PM. I did this 4-5 weeknights.

4. I opted against weekend study marathons. Instead choosing to study the usual amount, and a bit more on the other weekend day. If I took one of the weekend days off, the other day would be a full day.

5. Sitting and failing is better than not sitting at all. Right? I mean you get to have the test experience, AND you get to take a peek at actual, current MCQ questions. It's really money well spent if you think about it. You're never really ready. Finish prep (admittedly, step on the gas a bit) and sit for an exam.

6. I did not study more than 3 months for any exam. I went through lessons at a rate of one to two per week (Becker) and spent the remainder drilling and doing WTB. Weeks leading up to the exam I studied literally around the clock.

AUD - 75*, 88 done 5/14! (*exp)
BEC - 74 , 77
REG - 65 , 76 (10 point combooo!!)
FAR - 69 , 75

Dr: perseverance
Dr: intelligence
Dr: luck
. Cr: . advisory score

[ShelahV]

I say if you're learning are retaining it, and can get thru all 4 parts in 18 months then do it the way that works for you! I started studying FAR after I funished BEC and I'm almost 1/2 way thru and plan to take in January because with my commitments the end of November wont leave quite enough time for me to review how I want to (December would have been perfect). I CHOOSE to take time for thing I enjoy while I'm taking the exams. I'm not going to miss spending time with my godson, hanging out friends/family or watching my Cowboys play. I focus better when I've had a break and life is just too short to just study & work. BUT this is my choice on how I choose to take the exams.

Do the exams your way – you know how you study best and when! My only advice would be to continue to do reviews of prior chapters as you go thru. This will likely lessen the review time you need later on. I know I couldn't study constantly and do nothing but studying and work while I do these exams so I'm taking a slightly slower path.

“The race is not for the swift but for those that can endure!”

BEC 8.14.14 - 87!
FAR 1.8.15 - 89!
REG 4.15.15 - 86!
AUD 7.2.15 - 90!

Application submitted 8.6.15
Licensed CPA 8.19.15

Benefit in living in a small state SD!

[mla1169]

What zieba said. It's perfectly manageable to do this while working full time. If you feel you need longer than 8 weeks it's ok but I don't think it's likely to give you that much of an edge if you're REALLY studying 20+ hours per week.'

Watching football for a few hours a week isn't going to make or break you. But if you have to watch every game that's on you're using it as a cop out.

FAR- 77
AUD -49, 71, 84
REG -56,75!
BEC -75

Massachusetts CPA (non reporting) since 3/12.

[Anonymous]

If you are getting 12 hours on the weekends at 2 hours per night then you probably should be more than halfway through the material. That's around 20 hours of study time per week.. FAR is a drag..I'm just finishing up my last section in Becker. Studying during football season is a killer, but just watch a game or two, and it won't be that big of a deal. You can do this!

[005]

“studying during football season is killer!!”

aint that the truth !! =(

BEC - ✔
REG - ✔
AUD - ✔
FAR - 11/29/14

CPAExcel, Ninja MCQs, and a sh*t ton of coffee

[Skynet]

^ Unfortunately I live in SoCal and we have the Raiders and Chargers. *Puts head down in shame*

And USC just got their butts handed to them by BC.

AUD - 90
BEC - 78
FAR - 84
REG - 87

World Domination Plan

Phase I : Pass CPA Exams - Complete
Phase II : Megan Fox - In Progress
Phase III : Megan Fox & Scarlett Johansson Lingerie Pillow Fight
Phase IV : Form the new Charlie's Angels with Megan Fox, Scarlett Johansson, & Gal Gadot
Phase V : TBD

BEC : 78
REG : 87
FAR : 84
AUD : 90

World Domination Plan

Phase I : Pass CPA Exams - Complete
Phase II : Megan Fox - Initiated
Phase III : Bring back 8-Tracks
Phase IV : Megan Fox & Scarlett Johansson Lingerie Pillow Fight
Phase V : TBA

[y_u_no_pass]

I don't think you should be spending time going back and reviewing. Just get through all the material once then spend a day or two at the end reviewing it. Up to a week depending on who you ask. I would never finish if I was attempting to review as I go.

Florida CPA!
Took final exam 2/25/15.
Sent in Application 3/12/15.
Issued License 3/20/15.
Used CPA Excel solely for all exams.

[Hustle Darling!]

@AccountingGal28 – What is your process? Have you thought about applying the NINJA method to your study materials. Pretty PLEASE try take care of it now before you get married (if you're not already) and have kids … trust me 😉

EST

 

Roger CPA Review
FAR - 5/31/16

[michaelabs22]

AccountingGal28 –

I would suggest, especially with a section like FAR, that you do comprehensive progress tests after each chapter at least once a week (even if its just 30 mcq's on a Sunday). So much material is hard to retain, especially if you haven't even looked at Ch. 1 in 7 weeks and still have more to go.

Definitely give yourself a little bit of relaxing time, especially during football season, it helped me keep my sanity. At least watch your favorite team (PATS!) play each week (Unless it's Jets, in which case you should probably study it will hurt less!).

A - 10/28/12 - Passed!!!
B - 11/20/12 - Passed!!!
F - 11/12/13 - Passed!!!
R - 02/01/13 - Passed!!!

Work Experience - Done!
Ethics Exam - Boom! Done!

RI Licensed CPA.

[StephAV]

I would use the NINJA Method and put in some longer weekend hours. I think it is good that you are starting with FAR. That is what I did. I started studying FAR in May 2013 and you can see my scores and the dates in my signature. I work full time and have 2 kids. It has been a rough road. The real problem will be when your 18 month window starts running after you pass your first exam. hat is when you will really need to put the extra hours in to get it done.

FAR - 7/13 - 72, 11/13- 74, 2/14- 82!!! Best score ever (for me)!!!
BEC - 1/14 - 75!!! Perfect score! First Pass! YAY!!!
AUD - 8/14 - 80!!!
REG - 5/14 - 72, 10/14 - 66, 1/15 - 78 - DONE FOREVER!!!
I did 5 of the UNA and CPAExcel classes to earn units.

[Anonymous]

Thanks everyone for the advice! I'm currently using Yaeger and WTB, but am seriously considering incorporating Ninja in my studying. I read so many great things about it. I took BEC in July, did MUCH better than I was expecting, but just missed it by a few points. Studying for BEC, I mostly focused on the book material and not so much MCQs. Now I am watching videos, taking notes, rewriting notes, then MCQ crams. I think I just get caught up in trying to get each section perfect until I move on. I know once I do pass a section and my 18 month clock starts up, I'll have to kick it in the high gear and stick with a studying routine. If only my Saints would continue with wins, maybe I won't be as stressed (and bitter 🙂 )

[Kimboroni]

Yes, FAR has a ton of material. It's overwhelming!

What I did for FAR was to lay basic groundwork at first and not do all of the questions right off the bat. I just did a few in each little area, and if there were areas I had difficulty with, I skipped them and left nailing them for later.

I did go back and review past chapters occasionally, to keep fresh, but still did not do very many MCQs on them or try to nail harder concepts.

It wasn't until closer to test day (about 2 weeks) that I started going through all the rest of the MCQs and trying really hard to understand everything.

I think this was a more efficient approach than doing everything thoroughly and then having to restudy it all again thoroughly later due to forgetting. It was around a 7-8 week plan, and then I ended up getting an additional 10 days or so (that I didn't really use) due to tech problems at the test center. I work full time and have a pretty busy life outside of that. My study time each week looks about the same as yours, and I'm no JE genius or anything like that. FAR was my nemesis as far as I was concerned!

You won't walk in 100% confident that you know all of the material for FAR, which is fine. You just need to know enough. So step back just a bit and make sure you are studying efficiently.

Edited to add that I love the Ninja Audio and have it on pretty much whenever I'm driving. It really helps drive in the basic concepts.

AUD 84 (1/9/14-Wiley books/TB + free materials)
FAR 83 (5/21/14-the above + NINJA 10 Pt Combo Lite)
REG 84 (7/9/14-Wiley books/TB + NINJA Audio/FC/Notes)
BEC 76 (10/5/14-Wiley books/TB + NINJA Audio/FC)

Disclaimer: My ninja avatar is not meant to imply that I have any affiliation with this site other than being a forum member. That's a pic of a T-shirt that my daughter gave me for my birthday. 🙂

[zieba]

I wouldn't buy Ninja tomorrow, I'd get it tonight! if you drive to work, have the audio spinning in your car nonstop. If you commute via public transport have the MP3 on your device. Bam! That's probably two hours per day right there!!!

Ninja audio helps you to visualize topics really well. That way, when you get home to study you can worry about the minute details and drill already having understood the concept as a whole.

When I did Becker I did not backtrack to review much. I plowed through it as best as I could, and took care of parts which didn't click in chapter review. And even then, I moved on if it wasn't going in reserving it for pre-exam final review.

It's important not to get bogged down in one particular chapter.

AUD - 75*, 88 done 5/14! (*exp)
BEC - 74 , 77
REG - 65 , 76 (10 point combooo!!)
FAR - 69 , 75

Dr: perseverance
Dr: intelligence
Dr: luck
. Cr: . advisory score

[Anonymous]

Yea, I really need to remember to not get caught up on a particular chapter. Yaeger just dropped the ball when covering Leases, making it very difficult to comprehend. But for all I know, I won't have one single lease question on my exam! I need to just plow through and focus on REALLY understanding during my final review, like y'all suggested. I used the Yaeger audio for BEC. She was pretty much just reading right out of the Wiley book, which was really no help. I did download a sample of Jeff's audio and he seems SO much more relatable and much easier to understand. Thanks for all the help y'all! It's so much easier having a place to vent all the frustration!

[Hustle Darling!]

This suggestion from Iggy1985 helped me get focused and keep moving forward. Set a goal to get 70% in each area and then another goal to get 80%.

https://smg.photobucket.com/user/Vixia/media/spreadsheet_zps5f871507.png.html

EST

 

Roger CPA Review
FAR - 5/31/16

[Author]

Replies