[Needs Advice]

I have taken FAR a total of six times now and know matter what I do I can get over a 72. The sadness I have today cannot be articulated in this post accurately. I have been studying for 2.5 years and finally had passed REG, BEC, and AUD only to have REG expire now after this sixth failed attempt at FAR. I felt great leaving the facility thinking there was zero chance I did not pass. I have used Wiley and Ninja, the full sets of both premium programs. I always am trending at 80% or higher before every exam and I read the Ninja Notes so much I begin to be able to quote them. I listen to the audio and study the flash cards from both Wiley and Ninja. I am so defeated right now. I will lose BEC 10/31 next and that’s not enough time to retake FAR and REG anyway. Also I only have 88 days to the proverbial end of the next window. That means in order to get FAR and another test in I would only have 6 weeks to study each again. I don’t know what to do differently. How are people getting such high scores. I use the materials I have purchased, I feel prepared, and yet I’m still failing. I was an excellent student in college. This is so embarrassing and demoralizing. It is effecting my decision making in life and work as I am losing confidence in myself. Maybe I am not as smart as I thought. Maybe I’m an idiot. I’m so frustrated and discouraged. My kids miss me and we thought this would be all over and yet its like I haven’t even started.

I HAVE a life now.

AUD - Passed

BEC - Passed

FAR - Passed

REG - Passed

BEC: 7/31/16 (Awaiting Results)
AUD: 9/8/16
REG: 10/22/16
FAR: 12/3/16

[lizardh7]

Please don't be too hard on yourself! I failed far 6 times before passing on the 7th try…..Do not give up! You can do this. Maybe you are beginning to memorize the questions on wiley? Have you thought about supplementing with Becker at all or final review of becker? I did flashcards too which helped. You can do this!! If I can you can I promise you!

BEC - 67, 80(lost), 70, 79
FAR - 62, 71, 67, 70, 70, 73, 79
AUD - 66, 77
REG - 69, 76
Ethics -95, Licensed in ID

[Anonymous]

I would supplement with Ninja and utilize the AICPA blueprint to study-any task listed as analysis or application is a fair game for a SIM, you have to know those topics and tasks COLD…Ask yourself this-can you describe what bonds are in simple terms to yourself, with journal entries? What does a bond sold at a premium mean? what does a bond sold at discount mean? how do you create an amortization schedule (for example)…If not, there are holes in your knowledge enough to keep failing… Also, i would focus on SIMS…Those are 50% of your and stomp most candidates…Becker SIMS were great in preparing me… I used Becker and supplemented with Ninja… Good luck-you can and you will do it!

[jennijill]

I just passed FAR on my third attempt. I noticed on my exams a trend in what areas were heavily tested in the SIMS and what was heavily tested in the MCQS. I will not share what that was but you may have noticed it yourself. I used Wiley first and second attempts and failed. For my third attempt I focused heavily on the SIMS trend and was prepared for the SIMS I received. I still did not get them 100% but was ready to tackle them. I still felt lost leaving the exam but I think that was the key. I got an 81.

AUD - 79
BEC - 76
FAR - 81
REG - 77

Almost there...

[SuperAccountingGod]

-deleted-

AUD - NINJA in training

BEC - NINJA IN TRAINING

FAR - 74

REG - NINJA IN TRAINING

[Needs Advice]

@iceman I work full time at a small CPA firm as a staff accountant. Every time I get my score notice the sections change on what I get for comparable and stronger. Nothing is ever the same. The one constant is that I NEVER do well on SIMS according to these things. It sickens me because I thought I got a great test pull of SIMS this time and an easy research question. I literally don't understand how I did bad in Govt and NFP either because I always do amazing on those sections using my review materials (Wiley and Ninja) and the questions on the exam seem straight forward enough. I have thought about switching to a new set of materials like Surgent to get a new perspective but that's just more money that I don't have.

I HAVE a life now.

AUD - Passed

BEC - Passed

FAR - Passed

REG - Passed

BEC: 7/31/16 (Awaiting Results)
AUD: 9/8/16
REG: 10/22/16
FAR: 12/3/16

[Iceman]

What do you do for work?

For me, the best way to pass an exam is to see the big picture – understand the “why” behind everything, not just memorizing lists and being about to quote back. You should be able to read thru an example problem on page XX of the Wiley FAR book and realize they made an error in the book and got the DR and CR backwards (yes, that happened to me).

Granted this was difficult sometimes because I had to memorize certain arbitrary terminology like Govt audits and such. I have zero Audit experience and zero Govt experience, and I don't even have an accounting degree. But I do have a finance degree, MBA, CFA, 7 years teaching experience in finance courses, 12 years professional work experience, 15-20 years experience in individual and small business taxes (mostly self-taught). I can pretty much adjust financial statements in my head, because I know stone cold the relationships and effects that different types of transactions drive in the IS and BS.

What that means on test day is that I don't have to “know” the answer. I just need to be able to reason and deduce what the answer is because I know the framework and what adjustments will result from the action being put forth in the exam question. Again, for certain topics like Audit and govt this can be frustrating, but I was at least able to reason thru to the right answer enough times to get a 93 on AUD.

To me, the best way to pass the test is not by learning, but by doing.

AUD - 93
BEC - 90
FAR - 90
REG - 92

CFA charterholder (2009)

[Cheeks Malone]

You can't give up on yourself, that is definitely going to hold you back. Stay positive and do simple things to improve.

1. Don't study all night before the test, you won't learn anything at that point. Take the day off, exercise, eat healthy and go to bed early.
2. Handwritten calculations during practice MCQs and SIMs are key to understanding. It's different than typing, writing helps imprint in your brain. I went through 3 spiral notebooks, front to back, for FAR.
3. Every question you get incorrect during practice is a great candidate for a handwritten flash card (I wrote nearly 100 flashcards). Practice them daily. It will help you remember these things in your own “voice.”
4. The day of test, I show up early and go to the restroom, look in the mirror and repeat, “I'm prepared and trained. I'm ready to do my best,” over and over again for a minute. Positive mantras will help you relax.
5. I also rub lavender oil on my wrist to help calm me during the test. Scents can help diffuse anxiety.

I'm three years into this process. It hasn't been easy, but I keep showing up and trying my best.

You can do this. It's about effort and determination. It doesn't measure intelligence or self worth.

AUD - 86
BEC - 82
FAR - 86
REG - 82

Ethics - 100

 

"We lib a play anutha day."

-Farmer Fran

[El]

If I didn't pass AUD this time around I was planning on quitting Roger and choosing another review course. I was like you and started memorizing answers and when new ones popped up on AICPA practice exams I often answered them incorrectly. It may be time for a fresh perspective on how to pass FAR. Sorry about the other exams. I can tell you–if you passed three exams already you are definitely not an idiot.

B - 83 (expired), 91

A - 68, 81

R - 75

F - 82

[Nate]

Serious question, are you aiming to get a 75 each time you take it? I know so many people who try for that, it will never work. If you truly are aiming just for a 75, that's why you haven't passed. You truly have to aim for a 99 on each exam to pass. However you've passed three so clearly you know how to pass. I'm not sure what to say, just remember that FAR is more conceptual than memorizing. That's why I loved Roger for FAR, first he gave an overview of the material, then through each section tied it back to the original chapter, so you can see how all of the sections relate. That for me was helpful.

AUD: 54 (10/31/15); 83 (12/02/17)
BEC: 70 (01/31/16); 90 (07/02/17)
FAR: 73 (10/03/15); 88 (02/17/18)
REG: 83 (06/09/18)
AICPA Ethics: 91 (06/28/18)
Licensed: 08/16/18

[Anonymous]

Keep cranking out retakes – up to one per month. Keep learning and perfecting your knowledge. If you know enough you will pass, it's that simple.

[Anonymous]

dude FAR is all about cramming everything. if u studied for 2.5 years that is way too long, you should be trying to cut down that time to 6-8 weeks otherwise you are going to forget everything. focus on your weaknesses.. first time i took FAR i got a 52 dead serious. i didn't approach studying the right way by not doing sims and clearly just memorizing without applying and just trying to gloss by with a 75. that was wrong, i should have went above and beyond because that f*cked me over hard, i spent 6 weeks for my retake to actually understand everything, watch every lecture, write notes, do ALL MCQ, do ALL Sims, do ALL mock exams. i passed on re-take with 78. I wasn't even an accounting or business major in college. if i could do it then you can definitely too. oh and please master statement of cash flows.. like seriously. this is a huge hint. you need to master statement of cash flows and cash/accrual basis like your life depended on it. you will never pass if you do not get statement of cash flows. after all, it is an accrual world.

[RazorBoy]

I've lurked this board for a long time, and for whatever reason, this is the first time I've ever been compelled to post.

1. You clearly are NOT an idiot, and I can tell simply based on the writing style and mechanics in your post.
2. You are not even an idiot when it comes to accounting or taking the CPA exam because it sounds like you've passed the other 3 sections.
3. If you scored a 72, you are only 3 points away from a passing score. It may be a mysterious 3 points, and maybe this is the wrong attitude to take, but I would still view it as only 3 points.
4. Although people in this thread have made recommendations based on study habits, I would think your study habits are solid, given that you passed three CPA sections and were an excellent college student. I will say that IF you are simply memorizing things – that's probably the wrong approach (for the most part – certain things just have to be memorized) – but I don't think that's what you're doing.
5. It's incredibly annoying that the grading process is shrouded in mystery in the sense that we (or I at least) don't know exactly what comprises the ultimate score you receive and that we can't see what we got right and wrong (as an innately curious person, this annoys me to no end). I've passed BEC and FAR so far but did not feel great either time after leaving the testing center, so I have no idea how or why I passed. It's incredibly frustrating – though I'm not complaining I passed – and I'm sure it would help you out to see what you're missing and what you're struggling with on the actual exam.
6. Having said that, are there any areas you can self-identify as weaker points and areas you can identify as stronger points? For example, although I passed, I didn't feel great about state/local government and some of the complexities of leases (as well as a few other areas), but I felt great about SEC/public reporting topics (EPS), basic financial statements, intangibles, and inventory (among other areas). This advice is probably pretty obvious – and maybe you're already adhering to it – but if you can cut down study time for areas you feel you're strong at and increase study time in what you perceive are your weaker areas, it would probably be helpful.
7. I know you have a limited window, and I feel kind of like it's not my place to give general life advice (especially not knowing every or any specific circumstance of your life), but maybe take a few days off to relax, spend time with your family, and meditate on things. Maybe doing something like this could be refreshing for you, and you'll have renewed energy in studying again.

-

[Needs Advice]

I greatly appreciate all the comments and posts here.

Iceman: I work for a small CPA firm as a staff accountant
Nate: I NEVER aim for a 75 when I study. I follow every program to its fullest and always allow for two full weeks of final review studying (i.e. MCQs, Notes Review, Flash Cards).
Swolpeter: I took FAR 6 times over that stretch not once.
Razor Boy: I have completed 100% of all the MCQs and SIMS in both the Wiley test bank and the Ninja test bank more than once. The messed up part is that I was trending very high like 95%+ in financial reporting framework, NFP, and government. The amount of crap I can quote from those sections is mind numbing, yet on my score notice I just received I got weaker on those areas and stronger on my weaker areas??? It messes with me some badly not knowing what exactly I am missing on these tests. I read through each question and try to be decisive.

What component is missing. I work 50 hours a week during off season and studying 4+ hours Monday – Thursday, 5+ hours on Friday and 7-10+ hours on Saturday and Sunday. I study so much and it doesn't payoff.

I HAVE a life now.

AUD - Passed

BEC - Passed

FAR - Passed

REG - Passed

BEC: 7/31/16 (Awaiting Results)
AUD: 9/8/16
REG: 10/22/16
FAR: 12/3/16

[fsugirl2005]

DeMo – I'm sorry to hear about this. Hey, I've been on this journey for almost 10 years off and on.

This is what I do to study. It worked 8 years ago when I took FAR and I passed on the first try. Of course, I lost credit because I didn't finish the other parts. Anyway, here's what I do/did.

Get Gleim Mega Test Bank. It is friggin awesome and also very hard. I like hard questions because I rather be overprepared. Then, I go to CPAreviewforfree website. Then, I use Ninja. I love the lectures that come with Ninja.

And what really helps me and this may sound silly. I use a dry erase board to work out all my computational problems and pretend I'm teaching a class. Yup, I sound like a nut but IT WORKS! I'm not sure if I passed REG because I hate taxes and I just cannot comprehend that crap but I was able to stand back, look at the problem I worked on the board and think through it.

Good luck my friend and it ain't over until it's over.

REG - 78
FAR - 79
AUD - 76
BEC - 75

I have been on this journey off and on for over 10 years. I think it's about time that I wrap this up.

AUD - 10/21/16 (75----07/2010 expired)
FAR - 10/28/16
BEC - 11/2016
REG - 01/2017

Using Gleim CPA Review, Ninja Audio, Ninja Book

[lurking_CPA]

A lot of people have commented positively. I took 4 tries to pass FAR. You can see it in my signature. I didn't commit fully until the 3rd attempt because it was my first section. I experienced the same hopelessness and you just have to by tooth and nail COMMIT to the exam. Log off. Study. Drill until it becomes muscle memory. I didn't even get a 72 on FAR before passing. You can see it yourself below. I even got a 47 after studying which is utterly embarrassing to admit. I have no idea how I scored so low honestly to this day.

It turns out during the exam process I had moderate sleep apnea. All of my fatigue in public accounting was exacerbated too by poor quality sleep. It wasn't until I already passed that I took a sleep study and was prescribed a CPAP. My life has changed amazingly – my memory is sharper than my 20s at age 34 and my energy level is boundless again.

If mothers with baby's can pass and a sleep deprived sleep apnea patient so can you.

It's not IQ and it's not time. It's commitment. Sometimes posters here really do need “tough love” advice.

Good luck.

AUD - 85
BEC - 85
FAR - 76
REG - 75

FAR  - 67, 47, 60, 76
REG - 55, 56, 75
AUD - 59, 73, 85
BEC - 63, 74, 85

Ethics - 92

[Author]

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