[Anonymous]

Just starting to do my homework on what review provider to use. Know there are a ton of personal factors like budget and learning style (which are in my control) but I’m curious as to what others have found important. How important are the instructors? Do they actually make a difference or do most people end up learning on their own so much that it doesn’t matter who is presenting the materials? Who are the best instructors?

[Tux]

When you ask about instructors, do you mean the live, in-person classes?

Or, the instructors in the videos?

FAR - 86 - 2/27/14
AUD - 75 - 5/29/14
BEC - 80 - 8/31/14
REG - 89 - 2/27/15
Praise Jesus! I'm done!!

Study resources:
Becker
Wiley test bank

[Anonymous]

Look at Demos on YouTube, that should give you an idea of how important instructors are. Personally, I never excelled in a classroom environment, it was nice being able to watch an online clip over & over until it finally sank in.

[Anonymous]

I used Roger for BEC and he's definitely an engaging lecturer, but I still wasn't retaining the material very well and was having a hard time applying it to the test bank MCQs, so I personally switched to the all reading + test bank with no lectures route for my remaining exams. As I progress, I'm focusing more and more on utilizing the NINJA MCQs and the majority of in-depth material I'm learning comes from those. I also use the NINJA Notes pretty heavily as base material and I go through the Wiley Focus Notes at least once for each section to pick up any major topics that may not be in the NINJA Notes.

This combo prepared me fairly well for REG and I think for AUD, as well, although I'm actually anticipating needing a re-take for that particular exam as the SIMS were brutal. I started off on this journey thinking I needed to utilize all of the learning methods and materials available to me to fully grasp all of the concepts but as I've come along I now just like to have the basics from the NINJA Notes and Wiley Focus Notes memorized and then just go through the NINJA MCQs as much as I can before an exam.

Good luck with whichever path you decide on!

[thechapman]

I didn't think so at first. Now, the only word I hear come out of Gearty's mouth is “again”. If part of the CPA exam sections was on inappropriate/excessive use of the word “again”, that would be free points for all Becker users.

Passed - 2014

[syoung123]

I definitely recommend checking out the demos. That's how I chose mine. Since I do well in the traditional classroom environment and tend to pick up material best from lectures, I went with Yaeger.

I'm starting with REG and I'm happy with the content delivery, but I've watched about 65% of the 38 hours of lecture and I can't wait for a new lecturer. It drives me crazy when Phil goes off on tangents or tells jokes that are not funny. Sometimes he confuses himself or makes minor errors in the demo problems (not sure why they don't edit these out?).

As much as his personality can annoy me (in one of the reg videos I watched today, he asked if we knew what a vase was), I do seem to be picking up the topics and find the structure and his explanations easy to understand. If anything, he may break it down too much, but I guess that is a good problem to have.

REG (July 2014) - Pass
AUD (Aug 2014) - Pass
FAR - (Nov 2014) - Pass
BEC - (Dec 2014) - Pass

Licensed Colorado CPA (February 2015)

DONE!!!!

[taxgeek83]

Definitely definitely definitely check out video demos – and make sure you watch demos of each instructor (some programs use different instructors for different topics). I went with Yaeger after watching one of Gary's videos and loving it – found out later that he only teaches AUD (and some NFP accounting in FAR), and I have a really hard time getting through a lecture with either Cindy or Phil. And don't even get me started on the two of them teaching together…ugh.

I've heard Roger is good – I personally couldn't take him seriously because he reminded me too much of a high school football coach. If you think you can get away without an instructor, check out the Ninja materials. Jeff has some good demos out there. By my understanding, it's pretty much a standalone course for BEC, and the FAR book should be out soon to make that section standalone. Just make sure you really do your research before dropping a couple thousand dollars on a course, though it sounds like you're already off to a good start. Good luck! 🙂

[Anonymous]

Thanks everyone! I'm looking to study online primarily and try to avoid anything in-person so will be sure to check out some demos!

[Author]

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