[Anonymous]

I will have my 150 hours to sit for the CPA exam in May 2014. I plan to start sitting for the exam in August 2014. I want to take an online review course, but I can’t afford to pay for Becker or Bisk. Are there any other review courses out there that are just as good but are not as expensive as Becker or Bisk?

[Jennifer241]

Cheapest is the Wiley Book(35 each section on Amazon) and the Wiley test bank (87 per section or 237 for all 4, here https://www.another71.com/products-page/wiley-software/) This is the cheapest because there are NO LECTURES, no help, its purely on your own.

Here is a thread on some discussions about the review courses from a month ago that might be helpful.

https://www.another71.com/cpa-exam-forum/topic/best-cpa-review-course-1

AUD - Jan 9,13 Pass
REG - Aug 30,13 Pass
BEC - Oct 26,13 Pass
FAR - Dec 4,13 Pass

Licensed CPA in the state of Oregon

[jeff]

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[Never_Give_Up1]

I really liked Exammatrix… I was using that before I started my new place of employment and they bought me Becker. I think Exammatrix and supplement with the 10 point combos in your weak areas will get you passing if you have a solid foundation to start from. I purchased the $1,800 CPAExcel… and it is just collecting dust. I tried using it about 3 years ago after I graduated… It was a complete waste of time for me I felt like… having to go over TONS of crap that I already knew just so I could get the “pass guarantee” I ended up hating the program so bad I stopped using it and stopped the CPA exam for like a year and a half. Came across the Exammatrix program… purchased just FAR to see how I liked it. Used it for about a month before my new employer signed me up for the Becker in class program. Lucky FAR was the first so I had already been studying that and I passed it my first try. Going forward I just used the Becker program and failed REG and AUD so I picked up the Wiley questions and the 10 point combo for the other and passed both.

I have used a lot of different material, in college I used the Gleim books for a capstone class also. To me the best method if you have an undergraduate in accounting and also a masters in accounting is to go Exammatrix and supplement with like the 10 point combo. Doing that method too, you could have your entire CPA material for under $1,000.

But everyone learns different and you have to do what will work for you. Exammatrix before you even start to study makes you take test after test on questions, not giving answers on how you are doing and once you have answered 1,000 questions it breaks it out for you where you are strong, where you are weak and where you just need a little help, and then it tells you the material to study.

These other programs make you start at the beginning of the book and work your way through the book. Hitting things you already know along the way.

My 2 cents

FAR - 81
REG - 81
AUD - 82
BEC - 81

Ethics - Done
State License Exam - Done

License - Licensed CPA in Utah

[acamp]

Wiley Test Bank ($100'ish) + Ninja Notes ($100ish) got me through almost four of them… damn 73 on AUD

Test bank to drill MCQs, Ninja for review and to help me remember topics and see what I needed to Wiki for deeper review

Ninja + Wiley Test Bank: [FAR - 81] [REG - 76] [BEC - 88] [AUD - 73](doh!)

Becker Videos: [AUD - 82]

California CPA

[Anonymous]

I've used Wiley books and test bank and not had a problem. From what I've gathered, Wiley books are 10000x more boring than some of the review courses (like Rogers – I saw a couple sample lectures and he seemed entertaining), but if you can stomach the dry, boring books, they're highly effective. I love Wiley test bank, because I hate doing problems out of the book…but in all honesty, you could probably skip the test bank for reasons of cost-effectiveness, and still be OK.

See if your library has some Wiley books – if so, you can get a taste for them and see if you'll be able to pass with them. The way I see it, I can fail all the exams several times for the price of buying something like Becker, so I'm willing to risk it with Wiley! So far, I haven't failed, but I'm only 50% of the way through, so we'll see if that continues to hold true. 😛

If you're fairly recent out of school, acamp's method with Ninja Notes & Wiley test bank might be sufficient. I would caution you, though, that the notes are more like summaries or notes (duh lol) than teaching material, so if you don't think you'll be familiar with much of hte exam content, then I”d recommend spending a few $$ more and getting the Wiley books instead, since they do teach (hundreds and hundreds of pages of teaching 😛 ). Jeff himself says that these are meant to be used with a review course, not as a substitute for one, so they're not meant to teach everything you need to pass – just to highlight the important parts.

But, there's free demos of Ninja Notes, and at least a search inside feature for Wiley's books on Amazon, so if you can't find the Wiley books at a library, at least you can get a preview of them, and see which option covers things with the level of detail that you need.

Also, if you're really into dry reading, you can do some of these exams by reading things like the Auditing standards for Auditing. It's not at all exciting, but I think they can be found for free.

Most of all, though, the key is dedication and persistence, with a dose of finding something that works for you. But, if you get, say, Wiley books, and then decide they're not the best for you, you can still pass with them, it'll just take more hard work to do so. Any review course (not counting Ninja, since at this point it's not a complete review course) will have the information you need to pass it, and with Google and dedication, you can figure it out!

[Anonymous]

Since you are fresh out of school, look at the Wiley test bank, Wiley books, and everything Ninja! I learned more from the Ninja notes and audio for REG than I learned from 3 different review courses. 61 to 84! You can't beat those results for any amount of money.

[Anonymous]

Hi, I’m in the same boat here and would love some advice.

Jeff, What are the ninja blitz videos and coaching? Will they be like the other courses that offer videos? It says 1 month free then $47 a month.

I’m thoroughly confused like a lot of people on this forum. I’m waiting on my NTS and want to start studying this week for FAR but it’s so overwhelming on where to begin. I was going to buy an expensive course and supplement with Ninja 10 point combo or ninja notes and WTB. However, after reading some reviews, I’m wondering if I should just buy one section for whichever big name one seems to suit my learning style. I know it’s more expensive this way but what if I don’t like it and I just spent $1500 on a course that is not complete. On a thread similar to this a month ago someone recommended just buying 1 part. The recommendations I have are for CPA excel, Roger or Yeager. I found out I do better with lectures having just finished my 33 hours Alabama requires. My last class was GVNT/NFP through LSU and it was horrible! Got a C and I’m a straight A student. I basically taught myself so I think I need some kind of lecture.

My situation is I’m not working this fall while I study for the exam. I do have 2 kids in school but I can study 6 hours a day when they are gone and 1-2 more at night plus 4-6 hours either Sat or Sunday. It’s almost time for Bama football so Saturday’s are probably out.  Also for me, cost is not the issue. I want the best material.

I talked to a friend who used CPAexcel in the fall 2012 and it worked for her. She said the videos were basically the same as the workbooks. She passed everything but AUD the first try last fall but she had also just finished school. Another school friend is currently using Becker and loves it because the homework is thorough and she likes have a great professor to talk to once a week. She felt Becker prepared her for all the FAR multiple choice questions and she knew most of sims. She has not received her grade yet for FAR. Lastly, I interned at a CPA firm this spring that uses Yeager and some of the past interns just passed BEC and REG with Yeager. One of the interns took FAR 3 times but probably didn’t study like she should.

Sorry to ramble. I’d love any advice on where to begin and who do I go with???

[Tncincy]

Someone might have answered already, but go with ninja notes, audio and wiley. I think that's the cheapest you will get. Oh and I think cpafree is something to look into. Just depends on how you learn. Someone might now the web site for the free cpa questions.

It begins with a 75
Been here too long as a cheerleader....ready to pass

[Anonymous]

@bama_mom Ninja Blitz is currently an incomplete course. His goal is to eventually have it be thorough enough to be a replacement for other video courses, but at least word, it's just a supplemental thing. If cost is not an issue for you, then I would just try all the trials you can find, and see what suits you best – what really seems to explain things well. LSU's GVNT/NFP is not an easy class, lectures or no lectures. 😛 However, if you feel like lectures are really going to be essential for you, then by all means get something with lectures! Whether you get 1 or 4 is up to you, depending on how comfortable you feel with the lecturer. At the end of the day, though, you *could* pass with any of these. It's just a matter of how hard you work!

Link: Current CPAexcel Discount Codes

[Author]

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