[Ben]

Hello everyone,

I started my CPA exam journey this week by taking FAR. I’ve been using Wiley CPAExcel and the Ninja notes. After taking the exam, I felt pretty good about the MCQ but not good at all about the TBS. Based on the low pass rate for the exam and the fact that I got some very though TBS, I think it’s fair to assume I will be retaking the exam in January. The grades will be available in 10 days or so. I don’t really want to waste the next ten days waiting to find out if I passed, if the odds are that I didn’t pass.

With that, my plan is to continue to work through MCQs, really focus on the practice TBS, and go back through some of the material (video lectures) that was tested heavily.

Any other suggestions or advice?

Thanks,
Ben

[Recked]

I would agree that spending 10 days continuing to study is a solid plan, but also realize that just because one area was heavily tested on your exam this quarter your next exam will probably be completely different. I would suggest focusing on your trouble areas, vs what you saw on this exam. The big ticket items will usually appear on most exams, but the SIMs are fewer in numbers so you never know what you're going to get.

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)

[Wannafree]

Ben ,SIM is really becoming Achilles' heel of FAR candidates .”work through MCQs, really focus on the practice TBS, and go back through some of the material (video lectures)” is the way to go .I would just add Blueprint documents to it.

WannaB

[Wannafree]

@Reckedrace ,I am surprised how NASBA finds out the weakest area of an CPA student and double down SIMs of that area ? Someone also pointed out that he got 3 sims from his weakest area too.

WannaB

[Recked]

/tinfoilhat – I make sure not to write about my weak areas on public forums.
The NASBA knows ALL!!! lol

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)

[Anonymous]

Don't tell NASBA but my weakest areas are Cash Flows, Inventory, AR calcs and Bond Calculations! I would HATE to have a SIM on these areas!

🙂

[Recked]

LOL – I like the way you think!

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)

[Wannafree]

@cpa3rd ,too late ,SIM set has been assigned to you.LOL .

WannaB

[mynameistim7788]

I took it on Monday and I was defeated when I walked out of the testing center. The MCQ was fairly easy and I did not noticed the difficulty increasing. However, some of the SIMs were really out there. What really help me was making a list of every possible journal entry that could be tested and just rewrite them whenever I got a chance. Knowing the journal entries help me navigate through some of the clutter in the MCQ's and SIMS. Hopefully we passed.

AUD - 73
BEC - 76
FAR - NINJA in Training
REG - 67

"The moral of this story is...Don't leave things in the refrigerator"

[Wannafree]

@Tim so you think you aced SIM due to knowledge of JE ?

WannaB

[mynameistim7788]

@wannafree, I mean I think I have a shot lol. But knowing JE and using T-Accounts helped me out a lot on the second testlet and some of the SIMS.

AUD - 73
BEC - 76
FAR - NINJA in Training
REG - 67

"The moral of this story is...Don't leave things in the refrigerator"

[Andrew808]

i'm not liking what i'm hearing about these SIMS, I sit Friday. I have both Becker and NINJA, are any particular modules of Becker or NINJA helpful to prepare for these SIMS? Or should I just double down on MCQ at this point

AUD - 76
BEC - 75
FAR - 80
REG - 77

scoring > 75 means I studied too hard, right?

[Wannafree]

@Andrew double down on MCQ that is what I am doing too as want to cover as much as possible.

WannaB

[Ben]

@wannafree What are the Blueprint documents you mentioned?

Thanks everyone for the suggestions.

Also, is the Notice to Schedule good for one test or for multiple test within the window provided?

[MeanJoe]

https://www.aicpa.org/becomeacpa/cpaexam/examinationcontent.html

BEC - Passed September 2016

AUD - Passed December 2016

REG - Passed May 2017

FAR - Passed March 2018

[MeanJoe]

The NTS is good for one attempt up until expiration.

Each attempt needs an individual NTS.

Lets say you request and receive your NTS for FAR… you schedule, take the exam, wait for score and you passed yayyy. You need to get a new NTS for your next section (BEC, AUD or REG).

Same example except the result is you need to retake FAR. You need to obtain a new NTS for the FAR retake.

The AICPA and Prometric need to make that $$$

BEC - Passed September 2016

AUD - Passed December 2016

REG - Passed May 2017

FAR - Passed March 2018

[Author]

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