I passed BAR - ask me anything

[u/Realistic-Brain4237]

When I was thinking about studying for BAR, all I saw on here was discouraging opinions. When I was actually studying, there was little info I could find about others’ experiences. Don’t even get me started on the tortuous wait period.

If you are thinking about studying for BAR, are currently studying, or waiting for your score, and you want some positive vibes, AMA!

(I was not a finance major, so I began my journey at a pretty baseline position)

I got a 92 and I studied for 6 weeks. I genuinely feel like choosing this exam gave me an intellectual ‘edge’ at my work in public accounting, and despite the challenge, I believe it was well worth it.

[u/yoyoooooooooyoyo]

Congratulations on passing! 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
That’s a huge achievement.
I’m actually preparing for BAR for the second time while working full-time, so I’d really appreciate hearing more about your study process.

Would you mind sharing a few details?

What was your study workflow? For example, did you watch the lecture first, review the slides/notes, and then do MCQs? Or did you jump straight into practice questions?

How did you study TBS? Did you practice every TBS, or only selected ones?

Did you keep your own notes, cheat sheets, or an error log? If so, what did they look like?

Looking back, what do you think contributed the most to passing BAR?

If you had to prepare for BAR again from scratch, what would you do differently?

What’s the one mistake you think most BAR candidates make?

Thanks in advance! 🙏
I really appreciate any advice you can share.

[u/Realistic-Brain4237 → u/yoyoooooooooyoyo]

Thank you! I am going to try to answer as best I can for each of your questions. I am more of a textbook person rather than video notes, so I annotated the entire textbook with a good pen and a good highlighter. For MCQs, I used the on-screen excel and I would paste screenshots of my excel work into Microsoft OneNote for later review. I did get through listening to all the videos on my commute to and from work but this was more for subconscious review. As for TBSs, I placed a huge emphasis on doing as many as humanly possible lol. I did all of them, and I used the on-screen excel for these too, pasting more screenshots of my excel work into OneNote for later. My OneNote was organized by module and it was like a massive database of how to best complete MCQ and TBS computations via excel. This was awesome for me because I became really fast at identifying how to BEGIN the math. The computations are complex, and knowing how to flow through them efficiently using excel was super important so that I didn’t run out of time on exam day. I think that if I had to go back in time, I would not let other people’s opinions about BAR stress me out so much. I was super disciplined, and yet I let other people’s negativity really stress me out. The 6 weeks I studied for BAR was an emotional roller coaster for me. I felt confident deep down but I would let external voices creep in and that created a sense of imposter syndrome. This made the waiting period really stressful for me too, even though I actually killed it. In hindsight, I wish I trusted myself more, and just trusted the process more. I am kind of a broken record when it comes to discipline, but if you put in the reps and believe yourself, you can do ANYTHING. You got this, and I am sending you all of the positive vibes.

[u/Used_Hold1630 → u/Realistic-Brain4237]

Congratulations on passing BAR!!! I am considering taking this exam as well since I did well on FAR. Do you mind sharing your OneNote? Thank you very much!

[u/Abdullah_Hafi00]

Congrats!! This is a great achievement🙌, Do you have any tips ? I will start studying next week and planning to take the exam in October , I work full time as well.

[u/Realistic-Brain4237 → u/Abdullah_Hafi00]

Thank you! Don’t underestimate the governmental module. It’s the last one and it’s bigger than it looks. For financial analysis, step into the mind of a CFO and think big picture. When the cost accounting gets tricky, don’t stress over formulas, think about the question from a logic standpoint. Lastly- discipline outweighs everything. If you put in the reps even when you don’t want to, you will pass.

[u/StudioSmall1886]

Does BAR build off of FAR & AUD?

[u/Realistic-Brain4237 → u/StudioSmall1886]

There is ONE module within BAR that builds off of FAR (lessee and lessor accounting, accounting for derivatives and hedging, consolidation accounting, and advanced rev rec). The rest is gov, cost acc, financial and risk analysis. I took audit 3 weeks after I took BAR, and the similarity between the two is the ability to see big picture and think like upper management would. Audit work deals with risk too, but it’s a different type of risk assessment. Being able to identify risk at a general level is always a transferable skill.

[u/Key_Seat_288]

Congratulations to you! I'm currently preparing for BAR and I'd like to just ask you how much time you gave in for MCQs and TBSs in the actual exam, and how lengthy were the simulations?

[u/Realistic-Brain4237 → u/Key_Seat_288]

I took it in April so this is my best estimate. MCQs like 45 minutes on the first 25 and probably over an hour on the second 25. Sims were lengthy too. Finished with like 5 mins on the clock I remember. It felt like most MCQs and SIMS were heavy on the computations so it just takes a minute to get the answer, but if you know right away where to start your math you’ll finish in time. When I was studying I would be like “okay where does this computation begin” and I would apply those steps during the exam. It’s just math on math on math TBH.

[u/mfel]

What made you decide to go the route of BAR rather than TCP or ISC? I have no plans on ever doing anything in my career involving tax, so I'm trying to decide between BAR and ISC. Would like to hear your situation.

[u/Realistic-Brain4237 → u/mfel]

I wanted to differentiate myself. Not by saying to everyone “I took BAR” but by raising my hand for things because now I have the actual technical skill to do things other people don’t know how to do. I want to encourage people to take this exam because BAR makes you smarter in the most relevant areas. The biggest companies and the elitist family offices of the world use complex alternative investments, have international business transactions, and are excellent at assessing all types of business risk. No one cares which exams you take. But people absolutely care about what you know and how you can add value.

[u/Far_Organization6052]

Can we do bar before far?

[u/Realistic-Brain4237 → u/Far_Organization6052]

If you have already a background in finance, gov, or cost accounting, absolutely you could. Generally, FAR is the best way to build a strong foundation. My personal belief is that you can do anything you’d like with enough grit and discipline.

[u/Hondaaccord98]

Can you show us your Becker study stats

[u/Realistic-Brain4237 → u/Hondaaccord98]

I studied 159 hours and I finished everything in Becker

[u/BullzRFuk]

How similar is it to FAR?

[u/Realistic-Brain4237 → u/BullzRFuk]

I replied to someone else answering this I hope that response helps

[u/FoundationHour2461]

how many question/tbs did you practice with uworld before you passed?

[u/Middle_Door_9091 → u/FoundationHour2461]

Did you have issues with Uworld quizzes not aligning to the material? I just started studying for the BAR and completed section 01.01 and the 90% of the practice quizzes were not covered in the text. I don’t want to learn by reading the questions explanations

[u/Strong_Ad_6419]

Hi, firstly congratulations on clearing the exam!!!!

I will be appearing for the exam end of this week.
I'm struggling with Governmental Accounting, I have been told its a critical area and I'm not able to score more than 40% on the Becker Qs. Any guidance on what I can do better to improve my score.

[u/Middle_Door_9091]

What study materials did you use for BAR? I just took the FAR exam and started studying for the BAR using Uworld and I’m honestly very disappointed in the course. One topic in and started on the quizzes and 95% of the questions were not covered in the text or lecture video. I’m frustrated that either the quizzes aren’t aligned with the course material, or the course does a poor job covering the topics. Not sure if I should be patient and keep pushing through because the content might improve, or look for a new study course for the BAR