[Anonymous]

For anyone who studied with Becker…I’m taking the exam (FAR) in less than 2 days and I just finished a Becker Final Exam. I am devastated because i scored a 60% overall. I’d been scoring in the mid 70s with the Progress Tests and was starting to feel semi-confident, however this 60% just totally killed my confidence. I dont think the questions were THAT hard however i rushed through the MCQ sections finished with over an hour left thinking the Sims would take more time. I didnt think the Sims were terribly hard either but i didnt even get partial credit for some of them! Is it just that Becker’s grading of them is much more brutal? would there theoretically be a curve and added judgement in the real exam?

At this point i’m not sure if i should bother taking the other Final Exam or just focus on notes and MCQs for the next day or so…any advice is appreciated.

Taking FAR on Wed…
 

 

[stephw4763]

I took FAR a couple weeks ago but I haven't gotten my score back so I know I can't help you much but I do want to tell you a couple things. I too got around a 65% on the final exam in Becker so I was FREAKING OUT. However, I found the multiple choice to be easier on the exam than Becker. But you are right to leave yourself plenty of time for the Sims- you might want to leave youself even more than an hour- because the sims on the exam are much harder than Becker.

B- 82
A- 84
R- 67, 72, 78
F- 83

[Anonymous]

I thought it was right on par…I scored in the 80's overall on FAR, knocked out an 86; was scoring in the 70's for REG, took it down with a 78…high 80's for BEC and AUD and well…you get the picture. A lot of people on this site will try to convince you that the real thing isn't as difficult as the Becker Final Exams, but I think that does more damage than good. It will only lull you into a false sense of security and you'll be blown away when you get a failing score. I think the Final Exams are a great prep tool because they are highly representative of what you'll see on the actual exam. Just figure out what your weak areas are and pound those into your brain until you know them like you know the back of your hand. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Umm so i just finished going over all the questions i got wrong and looking at the SIMS, if i didnt have the JE's in order, meaning all the debits first and then the credits, then it was all marked wrong, numbers and account names. This happened in 3 of my SIMs, please tell me the exam graders dont care whether you have debits or credits in random orders as long as the JE is right. Without those issues i probably would have gotten a few more points added…makes me feel a little better i guess…

[momto5]

Don't look at the Final Exams like they are completely representative of how prepared you are – look at them as more practice! While they help simulate the screens you will see, their order, and the length of time you will be working, they also allow you to see new questions maybe worded a little differently than the ones you have been practicing up to that point. I would definitely not skip the last Final Exam because of the value of the extra practice – just don't let it freak you out!

So far I have usually scored 10 or more points higher in the real exam than I did in those finals. Becker does not use weighted grading – it is just how many correct out of the total. Not completely sure about the order of JE's, but I think the real exam must has more sophisticated grading than Becker does and would give credit as long as they were all there. (Who really knows all the details of the way the real exam is graded though?)

FAR - 92 (4/27/12)
AUD - 96 (7/17/12)
BEC - 92 (8/30/12)
REG - 91 (11/12/12)

[spongfunk]

I wouldn't freak out. I got right at a 67% on both of the Becker final exams for FAR and ended up scoring an 85 on my first attempt. I would say add at least 10 points to your Becker final exam and that would give you a better idea for your actual score. Remember the scores for the CPA exam are not percentages, they are instead simply representations of how you did against the average. While they say the exam is not “scaled” in the strictest sense of the term, it's pretty much scaled.

FAR: 85
AUD: 80
REG: 78
BEC: 82

[msgolds]

Becker likes to present worst-case scenarios.

BEC - 90 PASSED
FAR - 84 PASSED
AUD - 93 PASSED
REG - 84 PASSED

I DID IT!!!!

Using Becker Self-Study

"If we were put here to carry a great weight, then the very things we hate are here to build those muscles."

[Anonymous]

I did the second test and got a 70%. Went back and looked through my answers and i was sloppy in some of the calcs so if i just trust LESS in my head math i will be fine, i think. i hope…we'll see!

[jeff]

Taking a final exam is a waste of precious study time in this ninja's opinion.

AUD - 79
BEC - 80
FAR - 76
REG - 92

Jeff Elliott, CPA (KS)
NINJA CPA | NINJA CMA | NINJA CPE | Another71

[tru1316]

I've never scored higher than a 58 on a Becker final exam and I am 3/3 so far with the real exams. I almost pushed back BEC when I got a 55 on the review but I can assure you the real test is NOT as hard as those final exams. Just keep doing the multiple choice questions and you will be fine.

BEC- 80
AUD- 85
REG- 83
FAR- 85

[make_yourself]

I've never taken any actual Final Exams within Becker, but in my experience the Becker MCQs are far more convoluted and detailed than the MCQs on the real exam.

I actually think it ends up working out in your favor, because as @msgolds said, Becker presents worst-case scenarios, so the MCQs you encounter on the exam don't seem nearly as daunting as what you see in Becker.

FAR - 81 (07/24/2012)
BEC - 92 (10/06/2012)
AUD - 92 (11/29/2012)
REG - 88 (02/28/2013)

Ethics - 90

California Licensed CPA - 12/2013

[Sassy]

Becker's final exam is definately harder than the real exam!!

[spongfunk]

@Jeff how is taking a practice exam a waste of time? It's just more multiple choice questions that you haven't seen before and it gets you used to managing your time like you will have to do on the real exam.

FAR: 85
AUD: 80
REG: 78
BEC: 82

[Roxwella]

I think it is a waste of time because of the format. You answer the questions, and then, only after four hours of answering them, do you reinforce your correct/incorrect answers…which is far to late to help your understanding. Its a lot like practicing for life.

[RARCPA]

I always take final exams because they help me identify my weakest points. In addition, I get some extra MCQ practice. I don't really look at the final exams as the exam per se. I look at them as additional practice. In addition, some of the questions in final exams were in fact in par with the actual exam. I personally think it is NOT a waste of time. On the contrary, final exams reinforced some concepts and helped me with various “twisted” simulations.

FAR 7/10/2012 - 93
AUD 08/28/2012 - 93
REG 10/16/2012 - 93
BEC 11/26/2012 - 88
ETHICS 12/01/2012 - 93
Done!!!!!!!!

[Author]

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