[Anonymous]

Hello,

So I have decided to take my CPA exams. I’ve been reading a lot of posts here and I still have some questions that I was hoping someone could assist me with!

I decided to take the Becker review course (Saturdays Starting March 2014). The way the Becker course falls, I can take two exams within each test window or one test on each test window (except in one test window two will be taken).

Audit – Becker in March and Test at beginning of April

Regulation – Becker in April and Test end of May

Business – Becker End of May and Test in July

Financial – Becker July-August and Test end of August

OR

Audit – Becker in March and Test at beginning of April

Business – Becker End of May and Test in July

Financial – Becker July-August and Test end of August

Regulation – Becker in October and Test in November

I just wanted to get some input from people who have dealt with this…

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

yea I'm doing the live classes. I need to be held accountable and ensure I get all my hw done etc. I think I'm going to go with the more spread out schedule to ensure I give myself plenty of time to study etc. Thanks for the input.

[Anonymous]

This is my personal opinion, but the live classes are THE WORST. I don't know how anyone is able to sit, stay focused, and keep up with everything for four hours! I tried doing live classes for FAR and I ended up giving up and going back to Self Study. The best strategy I've found is you watch one section of each chapter and then immediately do the MCQ for that section vs watching the whole chapter and then doing all the MCQ for all the sections. Breaking it up in this way ensures you do all the MCQ too. Trust me, save yourself the frustration of live classes and go with self study. It might seem hard to motivate yourself, but I found that I was wasting my time going to the lectures bc I'd have to rewatch the lectures anyway bc it was impossible to retain info from the lecture. Hope this helps.

[Anonymous]

This is my personal opinion, but the live classes are THE WORST. I don't know how anyone is able to sit, stay focused, and keep up with everything for four hours! I tried doing live classes for FAR and I ended up giving up and going back to Self Study. The best strategy I've found is you watch one section of each chapter and then immediately do the MCQ for that section vs watching the whole chapter and then doing all the MCQ for all the sections. Breaking it up in this way ensures you do all the MCQ too. Trust me, save yourself the frustration of live classes and go with self study. It might seem hard to motivate yourself, but I found that I was wasting my time going to the lectures bc I'd have to rewatch the lectures anyway bc it was impossible to retain info from the lecture. Hope this helps.

[Study Monk]

I agree with cpadrone2 completely so I won't add to his points.

I would just add two other things for you to think about:

Commute time to and from the lectures would be potential hours lost that could be better used to study. Plus commute time and 4 hour lectures will be exhausting and could affect the quality of your study time when at home.

Also I believe you have 6 months more access to the software with the self study.

If you have to choose one of the above two plans i would go with your instinct and choose the one that is more spaced out. That being said self study is the way to go. The live classes may hold you accountable to doing some work but who is going to hold you accountable for the hundreds of hours required to pass these exams when your not at live classes?

I spoke to an ancient wise man who sent me on a mushroom induced journey through an ancient forest to find the key to passing the CPA exam. A talking spider monkey told me to throw the last of my drinking water in the dirt to find what I was looking for. So I followed his instructions and the following message appeared in the soil:

"Do 5000 multiple choice questions for each section"

[Study Monk]

I agree with cpadrone2 completely so I won't add to his points.

I would just add two other things for you to think about:

Commute time to and from the lectures would be potential hours lost that could be better used to study. Plus commute time and 4 hour lectures will be exhausting and could affect the quality of your study time when at home.

Also I believe you have 6 months more access to the software with the self study.

If you have to choose one of the above two plans i would go with your instinct and choose the one that is more spaced out. That being said self study is the way to go. The live classes may hold you accountable to doing some work but who is going to hold you accountable for the hundreds of hours required to pass these exams when your not at live classes?

I spoke to an ancient wise man who sent me on a mushroom induced journey through an ancient forest to find the key to passing the CPA exam. A talking spider monkey told me to throw the last of my drinking water in the dirt to find what I was looking for. So I followed his instructions and the following message appeared in the soil:

"Do 5000 multiple choice questions for each section"

[lsp2361]

@cpadrone2

How was your exam experience?

BEC 80
FAR 86
REG 80
AUD 73, 68, 72, 90!!

DONE!!!

[lsp2361]

@cpadrone2

How was your exam experience?

BEC 80
FAR 86
REG 80
AUD 73, 68, 72, 90!!

DONE!!!

[HeartsMimiCPA]

I tried the live classes at first and I'm going to agree that they are the worst. I'd go right after work and it was such a nightmare. I was tired and hungry and bored.

I thought I'd have trouble committing to studying on my own but i find that with all the money i've paid for this course(and still paying) and the money I've paid to take the exam, I'm surprisingly dedicated. The thought of wasting $200 just because I didn't study hard enough is what keeps my going.

Also 2 chapters a week is a LOT if you work.

AUD - 65, 89!
REG - 70, 89!
FAR - 78!
BEC - 77!

Finally!
Experience 06/30/15
Ethics-Done

VA Licensed 09/15/15

[HeartsMimiCPA]

I tried the live classes at first and I'm going to agree that they are the worst. I'd go right after work and it was such a nightmare. I was tired and hungry and bored.

I thought I'd have trouble committing to studying on my own but i find that with all the money i've paid for this course(and still paying) and the money I've paid to take the exam, I'm surprisingly dedicated. The thought of wasting $200 just because I didn't study hard enough is what keeps my going.

Also 2 chapters a week is a LOT if you work.

AUD - 65, 89!
REG - 70, 89!
FAR - 78!
BEC - 77!

Finally!
Experience 06/30/15
Ethics-Done

VA Licensed 09/15/15

[jlough]

I'm going to echo some of the other posters— try to take FAR first. It will help you immensely on the other exams.

Also, I agree that live classes are the WORST. I had the same thoughts as you when I attempted the exam back in 2006— that the live classes were forced study time and that I'd be held accountable. But what I found was that I was rushing out of work each day to make it to class, I didn't have time to eat so I was starving, the lectures were scheduled from 6 to 10 but often lasted until 11, and the entire class was just a guy sitting there saying “turn to page 5 and highlight the entire third paragraph”. And if you don't understand something, there's no time to stop and figure it out. I ended up passing one exam and then failing the other three, two times each.

This time around I'm doing self-study via CPAExcel and I've been 3 for 3 so far.

I would highly suggest that you think long and hard before going the live class route. In my opinion, it's just a racket that Becker has to make more $$$$.

F- 7/13- 84
R- 10/13- 79
A- 11/13- 99
B- 1/14- 86

Licensed in PA- 3/20/2014

This exam ALMOST defeated me back in 2006-2008, but I came back and WON!

[jlough]

I'm going to echo some of the other posters— try to take FAR first. It will help you immensely on the other exams.

Also, I agree that live classes are the WORST. I had the same thoughts as you when I attempted the exam back in 2006— that the live classes were forced study time and that I'd be held accountable. But what I found was that I was rushing out of work each day to make it to class, I didn't have time to eat so I was starving, the lectures were scheduled from 6 to 10 but often lasted until 11, and the entire class was just a guy sitting there saying “turn to page 5 and highlight the entire third paragraph”. And if you don't understand something, there's no time to stop and figure it out. I ended up passing one exam and then failing the other three, two times each.

This time around I'm doing self-study via CPAExcel and I've been 3 for 3 so far.

I would highly suggest that you think long and hard before going the live class route. In my opinion, it's just a racket that Becker has to make more $$$$.

F- 7/13- 84
R- 10/13- 79
A- 11/13- 99
B- 1/14- 86

Licensed in PA- 3/20/2014

This exam ALMOST defeated me back in 2006-2008, but I came back and WON!

[Anonymous]

@lsp2361 Which one? I took AUD yesterday and I found the MCQ to be reasonable but the SIMS to be a little tricky. Who knows though. It was my first time taking AUD and I have no audit background.

[Anonymous]

@lsp2361 Which one? I took AUD yesterday and I found the MCQ to be reasonable but the SIMS to be a little tricky. Who knows though. It was my first time taking AUD and I have no audit background.

[Anonymous]

Oh also, when you sign up to do Self Study, you have access to the video lectures and homework probs for 18 months. When you sign up to do Live Classes you only get access to these items for 12 months. Just something to think about.

[Anonymous]

Oh also, when you sign up to do Self Study, you have access to the video lectures and homework probs for 18 months. When you sign up to do Live Classes you only get access to these items for 12 months. Just something to think about.

[Author]

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