My advice is always to leave yourself as much time as possible for the SIMs and to not get overwhelmed by all of the requirements/wording/attachments. When I do SIMs I rarely read ahead. I read the directions at the top, answer the first question identifying which attachments, if any, are necessary and making sure any extras are closed. I then move on to the next question or the next set of directions if there are more directions before the second question. Doing the SIMs this way keeps me from getting overwhelmed with all the information that is provided.
I didn't practice SIMs before my tests, other than the ones that were on the AICPA practice exam. I follow Jeff's advice in that you're better off devoting more of your time to understanding concepts than you are spending a ton of time practicing SIMs. You could practice 20 SIMs before your test and it's likely that none of those you practice will be related to the ones you see on the actual exam.
Hope this helps and good luck.
AUD - 88 BEC - 81 FAR - 81 REG - 77
I'm not superstitious, but I am a little stitious.
I couldn't agree more! Time management is key. Like you I got a 73 on my first attempt (bummer btw) my next attempt was a 66! This was purely due to poor time management, I didn't finish the final testlet. Meaning I left 3 entire sims blank. I got way too bogged down in the details and blew my time budget. I'd say a good rule of thumb is to leave yourelf 2-2.5 hours for sims. I'm a very slow test taker and would have prefered to have 2.5 hrs on this attempt, but I was able to complete all sims with seconds remaining.
Guys, today is the last day of the grading period for next score release. I’m getting nervous again… I really hope for an early release – November 1st.
I took AUD today and I pretty much walked out of the testing center feeling not extremely good nor bad. I think I was frustrated because I couldn't really gauge if I passed. The SIMS were easier than I thought which made me wonder if I did horrible on the MCQ's. The first part of the MCQ testlet was medium and the second testlet was medium with a few straight forward MCQs. I recalled a question I thought I got right and looked it up after the test and got it wrong–by the way, I don't recommend looking up answers after the Exam! Anyway, has anyone had a similar experience where the SIMS were easier than you anticipated and you still passed? I remember the REG SIMs were hard as all get out but I passed. Although REG material is much different than AUD.
@FUTURECPALAWYER, yes, they released August 6th score on August 1st 😃. Based on their official score release schedule, once the testing period closes, they release scores in about a week. However, there are times when they say it’d take two weeks. If they can normally grade them in a week, it makes sense for scores to be released early during the two weeks grading period. For example, those who took the exam up until July 20th were supposed to receive scores on August 6th, but the scores were released earlier (August 1st). This time, it’s everyone who took the exam up until October 20th should receive them on November 5th. If they release them early again (since the grading period is so long), it might again be on November 1st 😃. I know this is just a theory and we don’t have a pattern yet, but the hope is there. If they can normally grade them in a week after the last day of the testing period, I hope they don’t need the full two weeks to grade them this time.
@cpa1872 I hope you passed! I keep checking the eyeball trick every day. Just in case the score shows up, and I’m slowly going crazy. How did you feel about BEC when you took it?
@elenitta I felt like it could go either way, basically thought I got between a 68-75 so was right on target with that one. I wasn’t prepared enough for my first FAR take, skipped three chapters (Assets, Liabilities, and Equity). This time around I made it through everything and went into the exam all macho, but walked out feeling unsure. How did you feel after FAR?
AUD - 84 BEC - 76 FAR - 79 REG - NINJA in Training
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