I took FAR today. The MCQs were easier than Backer but all 7 of my TBSs were extremely hard and they didn't look like any I practiced on Becker. I felt unsure with every answer I put. I do not think I passed due to these TBSs. I had to scramble at the last TBS cuz I only had 5 minutes to do it, but time ran out anyway. 238 hours of studying and I feel so defeated. If I fail what do I do? How do I study??? I know I definitely have to practice those TBSs right?

ME1: 100%

ME2: 74%

ME3: 83%

SE1:74%

SE2: 70%

First cpa test (FAR) coming up this friday (6/24/26). I have just under 200 hours in Becker & have my undergrad in acct from Loyola Uni Chicago.

Took all 3 Becker sims, felt decent abt them.

Any tips or strategies for test day @ prometric?

The left side shows the calculations with formulas hidden; the right side reveals those formulas. Memorize the green and yellow sections, plug the blue numbers into the top (given in the question), and the formulas will generate the correct answers. Even without the formulas, the layout still guides you to the right solution.

i feel so dumb like i studied a lot but i was like v unsure of myself. ANYONE ELSE feel this way 🤔

Well it’s my second attempt at FAR. First attempt I scored 70. I spent an extra 150hr studying and of course my tests had quite a bit of my weak topics on it and barely had any of the big “heavily tested” topics on it 🤦🏼‍♀️ MCQs I flagged 16 most I was like 75% sure on, some I was stuck between two options, and few i did an educated guess. TBS wasn’t bad but I know I bombed at least one the others I felt decent on there was one I know I got 100% correct. Idk I hope I did enough to pass because I’m over FAR. So I keep studying FAR for the next two weeks or move to audit?

For reference SE scores were 72 and 76 but those also weren’t testing my direct weaknesses 🤦‍♀️

Just got back from the test center for FAR. MCQs were surprisingly easier than I thought they would be. Still had 2:30 left when moving to the third testlet. The TBSs, though, OMG. I think 6 of the 7 sims had at least 5 exhibits, if not more. Felt 80-90% confident about 3 of them, the rest I just honestly had to make educated guesses by that point and hope for the best. If I could give advice, give yourself one and a half hours MAX for the MCQs. It should be about 45 minutes per testlet. I finished with 5 minutes to spare. Second, if you're using Becker, know the ever-living shit out of F2. Now just gotta wait until 8/7, but feeling surprisingly optimistic!

What’s the maximum amount of time you will spend studying in a single day? Curious if you guys have a certain threshold of say like after 4 hours where studying longer than that just overloads your brain and you don’t really retain anything. And if you do study for a long period of time in a day what strategies do you use to make sure you’re actually learning the content, not just cramming it in your head and also not burning out of a study session.

I mapped Becker FAR v1.5 modules to the AICPA FAR Blueprint (approximate priority)
Tier 1 (Highest Priority / Most Tested)
F5 M3 – Consolidated Financial Statements ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
F6 M5–M6 – Governmental Accounting ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
F3 M2–M5 – Trade Receivables, Inventory, PP&E ⭐⭐⭐⭐
F4 M3–M5 – Long-Term Liabilities & Bonds ⭐⭐⭐⭐
F4 M7 – Leases ⭐⭐⭐⭐
F5 M6–M7 – Income Taxes ⭐⭐⭐⭐
F5 M5 – Statement of Cash Flows ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Tier 2 (Very Important)
F5 M1 – Financial Instruments ⭐⭐⭐⭐
F2 M1 – Revenue Recognition ⭐⭐⭐⭐
F1 M3–M4 – Stockholders’ Equity ⭐⭐⭐⭐
F6 M1–M4 – Not-for-Profit Accounting ⭐⭐⭐⭐
F4 M2 – Contingencies ⭐⭐⭐⭐
F3 M6 – Intangible Assets ⭐⭐⭐
Tier 3 (Moderate Priority)
F5 M2 – Equity Method ⭐⭐⭐
F1 M2 – EPS & Public Company Reporting ⭐⭐⭐
F2 M2 – Accounting Changes & Error Corrections ⭐⭐⭐
F2 M3 – Adjusting Journal Entries ⭐⭐⭐
F2 M6 – Fair Value Measurement ⭐⭐⭐
F3 M1 – Cash & Cash Equivalents ⭐⭐⭐
F4 M1 – Payables & Accrued Liabilities ⭐⭐⭐
Tier 4 (Lower Priority)
F2 M4 – Notes to Financial Statements ⭐⭐
F2 M5 – Subsequent Events ⭐⭐
F4 M6 – Troubled Debt Restructuring ⭐⭐
F2 M7 – Special Purpose Frameworks ⭐
F2 M8 – Ratio & Variance Analysis ⭐
F5 M4 – Partnerships ⭐ (almost never tested under the current FAR blueprint)
Approximate Becker Unit Priority
F5 (excluding Partnerships)
F6
F3
F4
F2
F1

I’m not sure honestly this is just from chatgbt , as I’m currently studying for FAR , If anyone has taken FAR recently, I’d love to know if you’d change anything based on your exam experience.

Took FAR today and MCQ felt manageable and unexpected easily but TBS were surprisingly difficult compared to what Becker prepared me for. Not feeling great about it overall because I felt somewhat lost on the TBS.

Anyone else experience the same thing?

The MCQs started off really wordy and much more in detail than what Becker has, however, going into the later questions, they started becoming much simpler.

The first 2 TBS cooked me, I went into testlet 3 with 2 hours and 15 mins remaining and it took me 70 mins to do the first two due to how complex and foreign in concept they were.

I thought I was cooked cause I had 65 mins for the remaining 5 TBS but surprisingly I finished them in 60 mins and found them to be really straight-forward.

Overall, I found the exam to be really fair, and some questions were even the same as in Becker.

The MCQs were "easy" and very similar to Becker's formatting. If you're comfortable with the material you can get through 40/50 confidently (which I think is where I landed).

The SIMS on the other hand... They totally screwed me. I got one where the format was nothing like I had seen before and I know I guessed and possibly got a 0 on.
I have an impending doom of failing mainly from the SIMS... I didn't get a single consolidation JE, nor bank rec. All of the things I heavily studied for there was maybe 10% of that on the exam, and the rest I basically skimmed lightly had 2-3 questions each. I need to do some yard work to not feel this numb anymore. I can't believe I paid money to feel humbled like this.

130 Hours Study Time:
ME1: 50%

ME2: 64%

ME3: 59%

SE1: 56%

SE2: 59%

I took FAR today and walked out feeling absolutely defeated.
I honestly feel like I bombed at least 5 of the 7 SIMs. My MCQs felt okay, but the SIMs completely destroyed my confidence, and the exam felt very different from what I expected based on Becker.

For reference, my Becker Sim Exam scores were 62 and 69, so I went into the exam feeling cautiously optimistic. Now I feel like I failed.

Has anyone had similar Becker SE scores, walked out convinced they failed because of the SIMs, and still ended up passing? I’d really appreciate hearing your experience because it’s hard not to overthink everything.

Holy smokes I have never encountered sims so wordy. Felt good on MC but the sims were worded so weird.

Anyone else feel this way on TCP? Wanna hear everyone’s thoughts.

I have been “studying” (life happened so it wasn’t serious until recently) for a year now and I swear I still know nothing. In all my past schooling I just learned to memorize things but there is so much more than I can memorize. I’m using universal and super fast cpa but I feel like it’s in my head and then I lay down and it all falls out. At this point the only thing I need to be a cpa is to pass this test 😭😭

Genuine question: I’ve seen people say they don’t study at all the day before their exam, while others study harder than ever. Then there are people somewhere in the middle.

What do you usually do the day before an exam?

I’m taking my exam tomorrow. I get out of work at 5:00 p.m. and should be home by around 5:15. I’m trying to figure out the best way to spend the rest of the evening.

Should I do a final review, crank out some MCQs, or just relax and get a good night’s sleep?

Curious to hear what has worked best for everyone.

So far - I’ve been blessed to have passed FAR and Audit, and only have REG and TCP remaining in the next few months.

Even though I know I am more than halfway there (based on difficulty) - it’s still so difficult finding motivation and perseverance especially when it’s already cost so much (from a time/energy/relationship perspective).

It’s hard having to be selfish and carve out time, when it’s not even something necessarily enjoyable. It’s one thing to get in trouble with the wife/family for golfing on a Saturday - but at least in that case, i am getting something enjoyable out of the equation.

Anyone else have similar thoughts/feelings? I can’t help but to think that even after this journey is finally over, as relieved as I will be to have that license, I wouldn’t ever say I’d do it again or recommend it

Coming off FAR where the material was engaging and somewhat interesting, the AUD material is the most incredibly boring information I’ve ever consumed. I would literally rather watch paint dry. How do you even engage with this material so it sticks with you?

I am recently 3/4 studying for AUD. I asked newt to average all my simulated exams across each section (mini and se). And funny enough they were within one of all my real scores. Odd thing to find but cool to know.

I just started studying for FAR. Any tips I should know that will help me out for my future exam? Specific sections I should make sure I know? Any study tips?

I got 83% on my first simulated exam, but just got a 68% on my second.. based on the pass w Jack Becker bump it looks like most people do worse on the second but idk how to feel? I actually felt decent about that one haha. For those who have taken ISC - what are your thoughts? Should I just continue to review until my exam on Monday as normal?

How does Becker tbs compare to actual AUD exam? Mcq has come easy to me so far on AUD. TBS is another story. Some make sense with concepts taught but others feel like tomfoolery where I literally have to be a mind reader. What are your experiences with this?

My exam date is Aug 4 and I just took SE1 and got a 47%. testlet 1 is 68% testlet2 is 52%, testlet 3 is 64% testlet 4 is 31% testlet 5 is 29%.

one Tbs for depreciation in testlet 4 I got 0%, after review, it’s more a formatting issue than a foundation issue. Another tbs in testlet 5 that i got 0% is a specify fund type. I was so pissed because it was such an easy point to get but I only remember the mnemonic but not know what function of the fund.

Any tips for studying would be appreciated!!!!

Study around 240hrs now and im so scared. I want to get this done so bad 😭😭😭t

Sitting for Aud in 8/15 and it is my LAST EXAM!! Just started studying for it which gives me little over 3 weeks. Is this doable? And if anyone could give recommendations/tips/tricks please let me know.. I am desperate to finish all of this :(

I felt like the MCQs were very fair but does anybody else feel as if the SIMs were super difficult? I didn’t have a single short TBS and most had 5+ exhibits

I already failed ISC once in april with a 72 and really not trying to have to retake it again. I’ve clocked 60 hours for my retake and have been doing random sets of 41 MCQ practice tests on exam mode and am getting consistently above a 95. So far I’ve done over 70 practice tests. I guess I’m not sure what I should be doing now whether that be keep hammering MCQ, writing out certain topics on paper, watching lecture videos, or any combination of these. I try to study 2-3 hours before work and watch i75, and farhat lecture videos after work. What would you do differently if you were in my shoes? So far my scores are ME1: 80 ME2: 77 SE1: 89 SE2: 74 SEFR: 70. I’ve even started re-doing some of the multiple choice from the simulated exams to get more practice.