FAR Q3 2019

  • Creator
    Topic
  • #2522997
    Wingdings
    Participant

    I took FAR today for the third time and OH BOY was it rough. My first attempt I literally took just to see the exam in person and got a 54. Second exam I was dedicated and busted my butt using only Roger, I got a 73. I was heart broken, but I took everyone’s advice and pushed forward. I continued listing to lecture until it was nearly memorize, and I got NINJA. At first I HATED ninja because it seemed to be so much harder than Roger’s test bank. But I learned to love it and I very much love the metrics that ninja gives to gauge your progress and proficiency.

    So there’s the background, I’m through lectures about 3x’s by this point, 2,000+ MCQs, and hundreds of SIMS (these were my downfall in the 73 attempt).

    So all that said, after today’s attempt I’m completely defeated! It was like I was there for the wrong section! The MCQ’s were not anything like those I saw on Q2, these seemed much more obscure. I still think I gave the MCQ’s a fair shot but didn’t submit the second quizlet with a smile like I had during the Q2 attempt.

    Now on to SIMS, I was fully prepared for the first sim to be my research question as it had been on every previous attempt (FAR x2/REG x1). Instead it was 2 exceedingly long FS questions that ate up about an hour. I felt that I did ok on these two but that’s when everything went to hell. Fourth quizlet came and more exceedingly long FS questions. These were the million exhibits for no reason kind of questions. By the end of this quizlet I literally had 15 minutes remaining for the final 3 questions, luckily it was my research question to start (I’m normally about 99.99% on these) NOT THE CASE TODAY! This was the most obscure back of the book garbage question I’ve ever seen it took every second of the 15 minutes frantically searching every corner of the codification, to no avail! I couldn’t find it! So I essentially left 3 full questions unanswered on the SIMS and have very little confidence on the others and am so-so at best on the MCQs.

    I’m very bummed. I’ve put a ton into FAR and thought today would be the day! Sadly I made a rookie mistake and let the clock get the best of me!

    I can’t wait for continuous testing in June 2020! Then these missteps won’t sting so bad and I could be signing up for my new NTS in a few weeks!

    Best of luck all!

Viewing 15 replies - 1 through 15 (of 24 total)
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    Replies
  • #2527329
    Tncincy
    Participant

    @deandreckman, Sorry to hear about your encounter with far. All you can do at this point is get a new study plan, set your test date and go at it again. Sometimes the best laid out plans have to be changed. So change your approach. Go at it again with more determination. You seem to have the will, just fell short. So don't give up, take a deep breathe and go at it again. Hey, keep those fingers crossed for the rest of us. I am attempting far in about 6 to 8 weeks. I do not see an easy way to do this, so I am going to break out the books and go step by step. Study hard, you got this.

    It begins with a 75
    Been here too long as a cheerleader.....time to pass

    It begins with a 75
    Been here too long as a cheerleader....ready to pass

    #2528220
    Wingdings
    Participant

    Thank you so much for the support and positivity! I am definitely changing up my strategy a bit. My new approach is going to consist of really hammering on SIMs to the point that I no longer get that “sinking” feeling when one comes on the screen. I'll continue MCQ's between Roger and Ninja to maintain my proficiency here. Most of all I am going to create and STICK TO a time budget to ensure I allow myself ample time for the SIMS. Best of luck to you on FAR!

    #2536887
    gcb3990
    Participant

    What do you mean by obscure MCQ? Which subjects should we focus on?

    #2538225
    shiri
    Participant

    @ Deandreckman
    I had the same experience as you. I took FAR yesterday and this was my 3rd attempt. Sims were the hardest and couldn’t do the last testlet because I left with only 24 min and my mind was frozen looking at the exhibits 😓. I don’t think I can finish FAR ever.
    Let’s wait for August 6th. Good luck all!

    Shiri

    Focused and hard work is the real key for success!

    #2538714
    gcb3990
    Participant

    @shiri

    How many MCQs and SIMS did you do prior to the exam? What were you trending?

    What made the sims more difficult this time than the previous 2 times you took the exam?

    #2538780
    46inchvert
    Participant

    You never know! Maybe since the questions were obscure is a good sign. I left one sim completely blank and made an educated guess on three other using the authoritative literature. I left the place just like you, thinking that i would be retaking it soon. Got the score back and it was an 80. Keep your head up OP!

    If someone with a Georgia "edumucation" can do this, you can too. Stay positive and work hard!
    AUD 78
    BEC 80
    FAR 80
    REG 81
    #2542701
    icandoit
    Participant

    Just took FAR today. I skipped studying for NFP, and Govn't accounting, pension and derivatives. I know I should have studied all the topics mentioned above before taking the exam. But I had to take this exam before my NTS expires. there were NFP and Govn't about 15% of mcqs which I had to guess on. And of course pension, derivative were on mcqs and sims. Among 8 simulations I am only confident on 2 sims and maybe 50% correct on 4 sims and the reaminng 2 sims I didn't have time to do it so left them all blanks 🙁 I am already thinkging about retaking FAR. Since retaking the same section within the same testlet is prohibited by nasba policy the earliest date I can retake the FAR is October 1st. That's about 3 months later. It seems too long for me. Should I study FAR along with new section? and take the new section first and then FAR? I've never studied two sections at the same time before. Is this a realistic goal?

    AUD - 72
    BEC - 92
    FAR - 75
    REG - 77
    I can do everything through him who gives me strength [Philippians 4:13]

    FAR: 74, 80
    BEC: 70, 68, 2/28/15
    REG: 75 Expired; 72
    AUD: TBD

    "And all things, whatsoever you shall ask in prayer, believing, you shall receive". Matthew 21:22

    #2542887
    shiri
    Participant

    @Gcb3990, this time I didn’t allocate time properly. Concentrated more on MCQs and left with no time for sims. When I found that there was no time for sims, I was tensed and unable to put my mind in sims. 🙁
    Whoever is planning take in this quarter at least they have to allocate 2 1/2 hours for sims – this is just my thought.

    Shiri

    Focused and hard work is the real key for success!

    #2544030
    Andrew
    Participant

    Made an account just to post in here.

    Took FAR for the first time yesterday and felt absolutely horrible after. I have already passed BEC, AUD and REG on my first try, and finished all 3 of those exams with an hour to spare. For FAR, I had a little less than 2 hours to do all of the sims. I had about 30 minutes left and still had 3 full sims to go, so I had to put random numbers in. Even the research question was difficult to find in the auth. lit. Sims were nothing like I studied for in Becker. After reading some posts on here, I do feel better seeing as people had similar issues. Praying for that 75 and I'll be done! GL all! These next few weeks of waiting will be torture.

    #2546253
    Wingdings
    Participant

    Andrew- I'm sorry to hear that you had a bad experience with FAR, but now might be the time to stay positive! It sounds like the AICPA opted to try out an incredibly challenging version of FAR this quarter and unfortunately we were all caught off guard! I find it very interesting that you also had a difficult research question. Historically these are more of a “give-me” and I can usually knock one out in under 10 minutes. Amidst my panic I think I lost track of time and may have taken my last 20-24 minutes, primarily because I was frustrated to not be able to find the answer.

    Shiri- I couldn't agree with you more! Leave 2.5hrs minimum for the SIMS this quarter! and maybe look into some obscure sections of the codification (if you have ARM at your firm). I think the running out of time this quarter must have been by-design. Considering your performance is graded individually and against fellow candidates, hopefully the last testlet or few SIMS get thrown out since no one got to them.

    #2550399
    IWILLDEFEATFAR
    Participant

    I take FAR on July 23rd, and have been preparing since about May 25th. I have already passed two exams so far (BEC and AUD), but feel the least prepared by far for this one. I am in desperation mode trying to find a way to memorize the breadth of material there is for this exam, but feel as if nothing is sticking. I have spent my ENTIRE summer studying for this exam and cannot fathom having to retake it again. Is there any suggestion as to how to focus down on topics or ones I could eliminate from studying? I have my weak areas that I focus on but when I enrich those, it seems to hurt other areas. Whatever I am doing right now is not working, so any help is much appreciated!

    #2550525
    icandoit
    Participant

    I dont know whether i passed FAR or not yet. But from my experience i recommend you to not skip any topic especially NFP and Govn't. Because they looked relatively easy on exam as compared to other topics (easy points). I regret that I did not study those topics before exam due to the time shortage. In addition to that I had some stockholder's equity, debt securities and equity securities questions. I spent quite long time to understand and master those topics but on the exam I made a mistake on some of them which I still can't believe. lol. I had one research question that I've never seen in the textbook but luckily I was able to find the answer. Practice as many questions as you can and try AICPA sample test. FYI, i am using Becker and felt like becker itself was not sufficient for FAR. (Some people might disagree.) Since you already passed two I can tell you will do good job on FAR as well. Good luck!

    AUD - 72
    BEC - 92
    FAR - 75
    REG - 77
    I can do everything through him who gives me strength [Philippians 4:13]

    FAR: 74, 80
    BEC: 70, 68, 2/28/15
    REG: 75 Expired; 72
    AUD: TBD

    "And all things, whatsoever you shall ask in prayer, believing, you shall receive". Matthew 21:22

    #2551680
    CM8
    Participant

    Took FAR yesterday and holy cow! I had taken FAR about a month ago in Q2 and got a 74…This really bummed me out because I knew it was my chance to pass, and I came up one point shy. Anyways, The exam I took yesterday was among other words very very obscure. I remember opening up the MC testlet and being like is this the FAR exam? or something else. Man was I upset. Nothing like Q2 exam. And to ElkGuy the research question was a joke, legit back of the book garbage that was ridiculous to find. I knew after the MC that this exam was not going to be a “oh i definitely passed moment” I walked out and was just depressed. Lots of EPS, and FS simulations. Only thing we can do now is wait. But to all retaking the exam, study topics that you would not normally study because that is what they will test you on. Best of luck to everyone for FAR Q3.

    #2551737
    Parker
    Participant

    As someone who is currently trying to finish F10 and testing at the end of the month, this thread is killing me lol. This would hopefully be my last exam and its not looking good 🙁

    AUD - 82
    BEC - 91
    FAR - NINJA in Training
    REG - 87
    Keep the faith
    #2554992
    jso49428
    Participant

    Made a profile just for this thread.

    Can you all who already took this please share your 3 Becker mock exam scores? I’m hoping this will help me ballpark where I stand, as I’m sitting for FAR in 2 weeks.

    Much appreciated!

    AUD - NINJA in Training
    BEC - 85
    FAR - 83
    REG - NINJA in Training
    Head down, Eyes up. Keep going.
Viewing 15 replies - 1 through 15 (of 24 total)
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