74 getter :(

That sucks. Hang in there. Remember that 90% plus of people eventually pass. Just keep studying and keep taking the exams. Eventually you will pass.

I agree with monsterchiz. Whenever I did a question I made sure that I knew why the right answer was right and the other answers were wrong. Do you have the Wiley testbank? Those questions are the best for studying.

@FeartheBeard — I don't think it's a function of the AICPA “giving” someone a 74 as much as them distributing the grade that they earned.

@OP — Hang in there, dude. Getting a 74 has got to sting like a mofo, but now it's rally time. You gotta put on a little “Eye of the Tiger” music while you're studying…maybe with the number “74” in your mirror…and at the end of the montage (in my mind), you'll rip the 74 off the mirror in a totally Rocky-esque way and dominate the exam like someone you met at an S&M conference. Good luck, brotha!

Sick.of.this,

Sorry about those scores. Appealing would be an emotional strain from what I have heard (likely results is 1% of 1%). However, the positive is that you are very close. Sometimes I think the AICPA scores are crazy but we cannot do anything about that only study harder, retake and pass. Make use of notecards (write down key concepts and formula) and it just take a minute to look at anywhere you go. If you took FAR in early 2012 you still have at least 6 months to pass the other parts, as for Becker you may want to ask them for an extension.

I struggled with FAR it was my last exam and got 70 a number of times. Not that I did not know the material, but once I heard the words, “exam” I am one nervous wreck then add in time constaints and I will make simple errors. I made sure to build up my weak areas after I was done with Becker I went on cpareviewforfree and try some of the questions in my weak areas and “calm the hell down for FAR”

Look at your score report(s), focus on your weak areas and make them your own do not ignore your strong areas. Focus more effort on your weaker areas.

Follow those advisors above and you will pass those parts early in 2013. Motivate yourself by saying you don't ever want to face FAR again(..that monster) and you have at most 6 month to accomplish pass.

Yes you can.

You can get the Wiley in Jeff's store. It is the best. cpareviewforfree is ok but there are a lot of mistake in it. Wiley is going to be a bigger help.

@sick I am sick for you. Yuck.

What kind of feedback have you received on the written communications? That could be what the difference is.

I feel for you about the Becker expiring. I had to repurchase the FAR section. Wasn't easy but I had three parts behind me at that point so I had no choice. If you passed FAR once, you can pass again.

If you give up now, you will regret it. My AUD was set to expire on 1/31/13. I took FAR on 1/28/13. And passed. However, as hard as it would have been to BUY AUD AGAIN (passed in 2011) I was going to do it.

I was NINJA blogger Karen. In my last blog, I wrote about the 4D's. Take a look at it.

Good Luck and never, ever give up.

Wow… @Sick.of.this… 5 separate results of 74??!?! I certainly wouldn't have made it as far as you; I would have stopped after the first or second so you can take the following for what it is worth, but I commend you for your push and perseverance to keep moving forward.

In terms of advice, it's really difficult to suggest anything that universally works; it just depends on the particular candidate. However if I may offer one thing that seems to work for me (in contradiction to what others might say). It is often said that you should take your weak points and make them your strengths; I just don't see the logic in that. There is a reason that a person is better in certain topics than others. Instead, I think that you should build on your strengths and just try to get up to par in terms of the material with which you struggle.

For example, I didn't study much at all for BEC for various reasons (I only had three weeks to study; the second week I was away for Thanksgiving and the third I was sick), but I knew that my strengths would be economics and finance and I first concentrated on those, making sure that I would get the vast majority of available points. Then I just wanted to make sure that I was “good enough” for the other parts… i.e. cost accounting, corporate governance, etc. I ended up with an 85 and sure enough, I was “stronger” in economics and finance and comparable in everything else (stronger on both the MC and WC as well).

While I did relatively better on FAR (“stronger” in everything), my focus was the same… concentrate on my strong topics and then move to those in which I didn't feel as comfortable. I'm doing the same thing now with REG… starting with taxation and then moving to business law concepts where I don't have as much experience.

Anyway, that's what I can offer to this thread, but once again I commend you for your resilience and I hope that you find whatever it is to put you over that 75.