Just back from Far.. It sucked

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  • #2734971
    Nbmorty
    Participant

    First of all the exam was “fair”, deep and inclusive.

    The exam was challenging but i sucked bigly coz i ran out of time.. Not because it was unmanageable
    I had like an hour and 30 min by the end of the break just to find another DRS! So 2 in total..

    The timer went below 1 hour, so hoping that i will find some hard but doable sims in the next testlet and capitalize on them,i laterally
    Picked the most logical answers for the drs and submitted (without even opening any exhibits).
    Just to realize i am looking at even more exhibits!!! And no time to properly check them, i panicked and i don’t even remember how i did.

    Mcqs were hard but fine, second testlet came harder than the first. I am sure i did at least 62-63 of the 66 right, and if i had more time i would have finished all the exam.
    4 hours really isn’t enough for me, i like to do things neatly and precisely, no matter the cost or time (that’s been an issue at my job) maybe coz i suffer from OCD and i feel the need to check and double check everything, even though i like accounting, i am always behind deadlines.

    So if you are about to set for far first 5 chapters of Becker are your friends that will turn on u if u go with latter 5!
    I put in 4 months of full time study into it, just for it to end like this i feel like shit, i planned to do so many things after the exam now i just want to die.
    If i am to pass that would be a miracle, even though we all know there aren’t any.

Viewing 15 replies - 1 through 15 (of 18 total)
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  • #2735490
    Biff Tannen
    Participant

    Sorry to hear about your bad experience – I had a similar experience with BEC and ended up passing, so I think you’ll be fine. Any last minute FAR topics that you recommend that I hammer down before exam day? Thanks

    AUD - 78
    BEC - 84
    FAR - 79
    REG - 85
    “An investment in knowledge pays the best dividends” - Benjamin Franklin
    #2735508
    bigstakk
    Participant

    Well if you got a 95% on the MCQs you really only need a 55% on the SIMs to pass with a 75%. I will say 4 months is way too long to study for any of these exams. You will more likely forget info you studied 4 months ago. The max I would study is 8 weeks for any of these exams. I would say 4-6 weeks is more appropriate. If you did that well on the MCQs than you likely passed. Time management is part of the test strategy. Just keep it in mind when you take the other exams. So far I have used almost every minute of each exam as I like to take my time and make sure I am not rushing anything particularly on the MCQs. The key is you have to allocate appropriate time to give yourself a chance to answer each SIM with at least 10 mins for each question. Good luck!

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

    Ethics Exam - 90%
    Licensed CPA in CA

    #2735610
    Warrior
    Participant

    Hey. Congrats on your experience. I hope you did well.
    Did you see any questions not covered by Becker? Did you see the concentration of the questions on any particular topic?

    AUD - NINJA in Training
    BEC - NINJA in Training
    FAR - NINJA in Training
    REG - NINJA in Training
    I believe in myself
    #2735985
    mb
    Participant

    New to this. Is two DRS unusual? Is it expected that there will usually only be one? Do you think one of them was a pretest question?

    #2736054
    alex260605
    Participant

    Try and relax and get some rest.

    I would not gauge how I feel after completing one of these exams as an indication of whether or not I passed.

    There are many people who have walked out of the exams feeling like they failed only to end up receiving a passing score.

    Also, there is no “perfect” time to study for any of these exams. Everyone has different abilities and should determine for themselves the amount of time they need to put in to receive a passing score.

    Good luck! Also, don’t forget this is just an exam and if you end up failing you can always retake it.

    #2736396
    Nbmorty
    Participant

    Thanks for warm wishes guys, my initial post was heavily edited by the moderator, maybe coz i gave spicefic topics which is unallwed, but now i am going to rephrase it;
    Guys gov and nfp got bearly tested (6 mscqs in total)
    Forget leases and bonds study pensions
    First 4 chapters of Becker are tested heavily like every small detail there.
    No inventory though @lifo the party

    #2736927
    Warrior
    Participant

    Could say that Becker questions are more difficult than actual exam questions? Many people say it

    AUD - NINJA in Training
    BEC - NINJA in Training
    FAR - NINJA in Training
    REG - NINJA in Training
    I believe in myself
    #2736951
    Paul
    Participant

    Unfortunately just because one topic isn't tested this time do not mean it's not tested next time.

    Jef has to play nice with AICPA If he wants to get released questions which is why he can't let specific topics being posted.

    #2736984
    Nbmorty
    Participant

    Yes they are more difficult. Way more.

    But they will prepare you for the TIME management aspect of the real exam e.g if u could solve a hard or a lengthy mcq by 1.5 min – 2 min mark max you would be able to allot the necessary time for sims..
    Not like what happened to me.. Took me 2.25 min avg each and that's why i probably failed
    Not coz i don't know the material ( hell i even know every small freaking difference between gaap and ifrs)
    But coz i didn't get enough time to go through all exhibits, just 1 more hour and they can take 10 marks off and i would still end up passing!
    Time is crucial
    So work on Becker's mcqs and don't look for easy way around it.
    Same applies to sims, Becker's sims have like 5 6 exhibits at most the majority of them have 3 or 4, overall they are focused on the concept with all the curveballs, while the real exam is more straightforward but all info is scattered in 7-9 exhibits and not time value or partnership agreement exhibits where u need just one number, no real lengthy ones with so much NEEDED info which (to make it worse) could be revised in other exhibit! By a realtor or an attorney etc.

    #2736987
    Nbmorty
    Participant

    @Paul i perfectly understand that.. I am talking about my experience and what i had gone through, but to be honest i doubt they change questions in a window, i mean what is the whole point of not releasing scores instantly if not to (weight the overall performance in that window).
    Same for the pretest questions, they are pointless unless the questions stay the same

    #2740209
    sdollen64
    Participant

    Well, I took FAR back in May and sucked badly on it – 60% and I had

      ZERO

    DRS sims. I had two research sims and the rest were completely blank, calculate and fill in the blank with 3-4 exhibits for each sim. It sucked. I was pretty surprised I didn't have even one DRS. At least with that, I could have looked at the choices and tried to select the answer that made the most sense.

    I really hate this format where you can't switch back and forth between all sims. It would be nice to be able to skim really quickly through all of them to see what you are looking at so you can allocate your time accordingly.

    Good luck on your score – may the odds be ever in your favor! 🙂

    My teenage son to me "If you don't pass, it isn't like you'll die or anything."  True.  Very true.  Just do your best, it's all you can do.
    #2779953
    Nbmorty
    Participant

    Update : ended up passing 83!

    #2781519
    Recked
    Participant

    Congrats on the pass!!
    I also ran out of time on FAR. It's a beast.

    Memento Mori - Kingston NY CPA & EA (SUNY Albany 2002)

    FAR-93 11/9/17 (10wks, 250 hrs, Roger 1800+ MCQs, Gleim TB 600+MCQs, SIMs)
    AUD-88 12/7/17 (3 wks, 85 hrs, Roger 1000 MCQs no SIMs hail mary)
    REG-96 1/18/18 (6 wks, 110 hrs, 1400 MCQs, no SIMs)
    BEC-91 2/16/18 (4wks, 90 hrs, 1240 MCQs)

    #2781846
    Nbmorty
    Participant

    Thanks @Recked really appreciated

    #2781912
    CH89
    Participant

    Congrats on passing FAR! I'm sure it is a huge relief, especially given your experience.

    AUD - 84
    BEC - 82
    FAR - 76
    REG - 79
    What a journey! It took me 12 attempts, do not give up, keep going! Praise God!

    Passed Exams: 8/25/2020

    Licensed in Pa: 11/24/2020

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