37 on FAR how to regroup?

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    Topic
  • #2945037
    Silent
    Participant

    I took way too many months to study for FAR with Willey and got extremely low score of 37. I know i made mistake of not doing SIM’S much but as far as studying i didn’t read the book at all and just watched the video’s and then did many MCQ. Am i making a mistake by not reading the book? Should i rewatch the video’s?

Viewing 15 replies - 1 through 15 (of 19 total)
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  • #2945073
    Bobby
    Participant

    I think you should read the book. What i noticed with wiley is that the lectures doesn't cover the topic thoroughly. so when i get to MC i see questions where it wasnt't mentioned in the lecture but it was in the book. Also by many MCQ how many did you do? did you take notes from lectures?

    Whether You Think You Can Or Think You Can’t, You’re Right.”  -Henry Ford
    #2945115
    DocJ
    Participant

    “I know i made mistake of not doing SIM'S much”

    No it wasn't.

    First of all, Wiley's SIMs just plain old suck. While they will give you an idea of how SIMs work or what to expect from them, the actual material or the way that Wiley does them almost never matches what you can actually expect on the exam. You just need to know how to do the Research question quickly, understand the kinds of SIMs you can expect (supplemental materials, fill in the blanks, etc), and then just focus on getting knowledgeable about the subjects which can easily be done by MCQs and other stuff.

    IMO, SIMs are more a test of patience and discipline than anything else. Can you keep cool under the time pressure while reading the 10 million supplemental pages the AICPA very stupidly expects you to read within say 20 mins? Work on that while also building your knowledge base of the material.

    #2945559
    Jimmy Dugan
    Participant

    No disrespect intended at all, but a simple change in how you are studying (like more sims, more reading, less watching videos) won't take you from a 37 to a 75. Study more, like shoot for 2 hours a day and then half days on weekends. I know you said you studied for a long time, but there is no way you were hitting it as hard as you need to with a 37.

    AUD - 95
    BEC - 87
    FAR - 84
    REG - 90
    You're killing me Smalls

     

    #2945679
    turo9992000
    Participant

    @Silent, How much time do you think you actually studied? Jimmy is right the CPA exam covers such a wide range of information that intense focused studying is best.

    AUD - 64, 80 Passed on 10/09/17

    BEC - 75 Passed on 12/09/17

    FAR - 69, 71, 73, 83 Passed on 06/10/18

    REG - 81 Passed on 09/10/17

    #2945697
    Tncincy
    Participant

    You'll have to tear it down and build again. Which means start from scratch and study everything. Find better videos if the ones you have is not sufficient. I hate reading the book because it seems to go on and on, but if you need to read the book, chapter by chapter do it. The main thing is give yourself enough time and cover everything before taking far again.

    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

    #2946009
    bigstakk
    Participant

    I personally do not find any value in watching videos. Reading and writing notes/flashcards are the only way that information sticks with me along with practicing a ton of MCQs AND SIMs. Most people neglect practicing SIMs, but getting the format down is so key especially the advanced search function and practice with various types of input instructions (positive vs negative numbers, zeros vs blank, etc). I would start over from scratch and get another study platform to supplement. I used GLEIM and passed all 4 with first try and I know others that did the same, so I highly recommend it. Good luck!

    AUD - 81
    BEC - 87
    FAR - 80
    REG - 82
    ______________

    Ethics Exam - 90%
    Licensed CPA in CA

    #2946171
    vbmer
    Participant

    I used Roger and never touched a textbook. Videos, MCQ, and a very small number of sims. Everyone is different.

    A score of 37 means you did not grasp the exam at all. Fortunately, accounting is not hard, so you can definitely do this. I think it's actually better to start from a 37 than a 67, because you can just go into every section with a completely blank slate and learn everything from the ground up. You can't memorize accounting, you have to study it until it clicks and the concepts make intuitive sense. I would really spend time focusing on how the 3 statements interact with each other. It may not all make sense at first, but once you see the big picture, everything will be a lot easier.

    AUD - 79
    BEC - 88
    FAR - 89
    REG - 80
    Manager, Big 4 Corporate Finance, CPA (WA)
    #2946180
    John CPA
    Participant

    @Bigstakk, I am using Gleim too, did you also use Ninja? Also for Gleim, how many MCQs and SIMs did you practice per section? I am taking FAR in April and I am wondering if I should just stick with Gleim MCQs and SIM and spend most of my available study with Gleim or split my study time with Ninja MCQs. So far I have been doing almost all the MCQs available in Gleim for each chapter, I am at chapter 13 at the moment.

    #2946192
    John CPA
    Participant

    @Vhmer, If you didnt touch these things, how did you master the topics on the CPA exam?

    #2946213
    vbmer
    Participant

    @John, I watched the videos and did MCQs. It's not like I didn't study.

    AUD - 79
    BEC - 88
    FAR - 89
    REG - 80
    Manager, Big 4 Corporate Finance, CPA (WA)
    #2946216
    John CPA
    Participant

    @vbmer, around how many MCQs did you do per section? I am taking FAR and wondering how many I should do. Thanks

    #2946735
    lfranc8
    Participant

    I used Wiley and Ninja as a supplement. I only watched the videos my hard (paperback) books were out of date. If I was struggling with something for example like EPS, I went to look somewhere else for help. The plus videos on Ninja were much better at explaining diluted EPS and consolidations for me. I also think it depends on how you learn. Some people learn better by reading others watching lectures. I didn't work sims and made a 72. I just passed with an 81. I took the AICPA blueprints and worked everything that could have been a sim. Then I worked the AICPA released questions that ninja has, I worked MC in both wiley and ninja( Wiley I also worked the Test bank questions), and I also worked the AICPA sample test. Wiley keeps pretty good track of your time. But for FAR I probably put in close to 200 hours. I gave up most weekends and studied at night at least 2 hours. Hope this helps. After I failed I struggled a lot with the failure. For me, it was best to move on to a different section but everyone is different.

    AUD - 82
    BEC - 76
    FAR - 81
    REG - 82
    The darkest hour is always just before the dawn
    AUD-77*,72,82
    BEC-76
    REG-71,74,82
    FAR-72,63,81
    *-Lost Credit
    I did 2.5 year of night school then 2 years taking the exam!
    #2946801
    Puppykoala
    Participant

    How long were you studying? Took me 4 months for FAR. I feel like the more time you put in, the more familiar you will be with the topic (could just be me tho)

    Shoot for the stars!

    FAR 88 04/19

    REG 95 07/19

    BEC 91 11/19

    AUD 88 12/19

    #2947239
    Silent
    Participant

    Puppykoala I start studying in September but honestly was going pretty slowly. I honestly didn't think MCQ were hard but i guess maybe because i wasn't prepare for it? TBS on the other hand was extremely hard for me being i barely done any in Wiley. I never practiced researched so that was hard and pretty sure i missed that question

    #2947245
    bigstakk
    Participant

    @John.Dewitt I only used GLEIM and don't feel like I needed anything else. If you do all of the adaptive learning prompts you will pass each exam section. For AUD and FAR I didn't study as hard for those because I used to be an auditor and have a strong accounting educational/work experience background, so I somewhat winged it on those and did enough to pass. I would say my results for BEC are more reflective of how things went if you go through each and every suggested adaptive prompt. For REG I focused on MCQs and neglected the SIMs because I saw this tactic recommended, but I ended up scoring below average on the SIMs during the exam and must have scored over 90% on the MCQs, so while my MCQ score carried me I created a hole with the SIMs. For BEC I did every single adaptive prompt and only moved on to each section after it told me to move on. I took the mock exam and followed all of the adaptive learning prompts to study my weak areas and I scored the best on BEC and I believe it is because I actually followed every adaptive learning prompt. I did not want to gamble on my final exam section, so I didn't cut any corners. In short, GLEIM is all you need. Good luck!

    AUD - 81
    BEC - 87
    FAR - 80
    REG - 82
    ______________

    Ethics Exam - 90%
    Licensed CPA in CA

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