[Topo30]

Hello All,

I am highly considering switching my review course. Why? Well, I am very dissatisfied and frustrated with a major course which is endorsed by the Big 4 firms. These lectures instruct one to ‘highlight this, circle this, and underline that.’ Also, they tend to focus on ‘how to do it’ and instead of ‘why it’ is.’ Hence, leading to a poor understand of the concepts, in my opinion. I have failed AUD 4xs with this famous ‘highlighting’ course and I have had enough!

That said, I would like the input of those who were successful with Northern Illinois University-NIU-review course. More specifically, did the professors actually ‘teach’ the material in their ‘live’ section?

Otherwise, I may just forfeit this CPA thing. Seems like the market is becoming saturated with this ‘prestigious credential’ anyways.

Sacrificed time away from family and friends and this CPA thing is starting to loose its novelty!!

Thank you for your time!

AUD-FAILED X5
FAR-FAILED X1
BEC-FAILED
REG-FAILED

[Anonymous]

C'mon man, don't try and justify your reason for potentially quitting the exam process because you believe the market is “saturated” with CPAs. And don't quit! Although you were sarcastic when referencing the CPA credential as prestigious, that's exactly what it is. You're proving that true by failing numerous times and contemplating quitting. If it was easy, everybody would be a CPA (okay not everyone, but you know what I mean).

Even though Gearty's lectures are extremely boring and highlight intensive, you should focus more on the m/c questions. My friends who've passed audit have said, and I'm sure many people on this forum would agree, that audit can be conquered by pounding out m/c questions day and night. And why not purchase Jeff's new Ninja product for audit to supplement? $47 is a great investment for the potential return you'll receive by exposing yourself to 1000+ new questions.

Excuse my french, but suck it up, get your head out of your ass, and get it done!

[Anonymous]

C'mon man, don't try and justify your reason for potentially quitting the exam process because you believe the market is “saturated” with CPAs. And don't quit! Although you were sarcastic when referencing the CPA credential as prestigious, that's exactly what it is. You're proving that true by failing numerous times and contemplating quitting. If it was easy, everybody would be a CPA (okay not everyone, but you know what I mean).

Even though Gearty's lectures are extremely boring and highlight intensive, you should focus more on the m/c questions. My friends who've passed audit have said, and I'm sure many people on this forum would agree, that audit can be conquered by pounding out m/c questions day and night. And why not purchase Jeff's new Ninja product for audit to supplement? $47 is a great investment for the potential return you'll receive by exposing yourself to 1000+ new questions.

Excuse my french, but suck it up, get your head out of your ass, and get it done!

[MustPass1988]

I have to disagree- they don't just say highlight this and underline this the entire time. They do go through examples that I think are really helpful. You can't expect a study course to hand you a passing grade without work. They tell you what to highlight and underline so that you go back and focus on those items because they're heavily tested. The passkeys are also incredibly helpful, as well as their mnemonics. I remember when I took my first exam (AUD) and couldn't believe how many questions I ran into that I knew the answer to because of the passkeys. Passing the CPA Exam is hard work, no matter which course you use. If you don't understand a topic, you have to work your ass off…go find youtube videos on the subject, get access to the wiley test bank, ninja notes, whatever. I've even gone back to my old professors from college to get their help with a particular topic because I couldn't understand it. I wholeheartedly disagree with your assessment of Becker…I think it's the best study course, coming from someone who's used Becker, Rogers, and Wiley.

AUD: PASSED [81]; Expired, retaking August 23rd
BEC: PASSED [83]; Expired, retaking July 11th
REG: PASSED [83]
FAR: FAILED [64]; Retaking May 23rd

[MustPass1988]

I have to disagree- they don't just say highlight this and underline this the entire time. They do go through examples that I think are really helpful. You can't expect a study course to hand you a passing grade without work. They tell you what to highlight and underline so that you go back and focus on those items because they're heavily tested. The passkeys are also incredibly helpful, as well as their mnemonics. I remember when I took my first exam (AUD) and couldn't believe how many questions I ran into that I knew the answer to because of the passkeys. Passing the CPA Exam is hard work, no matter which course you use. If you don't understand a topic, you have to work your ass off…go find youtube videos on the subject, get access to the wiley test bank, ninja notes, whatever. I've even gone back to my old professors from college to get their help with a particular topic because I couldn't understand it. I wholeheartedly disagree with your assessment of Becker…I think it's the best study course, coming from someone who's used Becker, Rogers, and Wiley.

AUD: PASSED [81]; Expired, retaking August 23rd
BEC: PASSED [83]; Expired, retaking July 11th
REG: PASSED [83]
FAR: FAILED [64]; Retaking May 23rd

[Anonymous]

Did you expect to just sit there and somehow gain the knowledge? You're supposed to go back to review what you sat through with those highlights and underlines to help you focus. The key to the CPA exam is HOW TO DO IT and not WHY IT is. You should really change your expectation altogether.

[Anonymous]

Did you expect to just sit there and somehow gain the knowledge? You're supposed to go back to review what you sat through with those highlights and underlines to help you focus. The key to the CPA exam is HOW TO DO IT and not WHY IT is. You should really change your expectation altogether.

[mla1169]

Honestly it doesn't sound like you are ready to tackle this yet and it may be time to walk away. Not every review course is right for everyone, and it may well be time to switch but after failing multiple times (which I have done as well) if there's not a sense of personal responsibility and a solid determination to conquer you're wasting your time.

Saying things like the market is saturated anyway and probably not worth doing it demonstrates that you just aren't fully committed at this time.

FAR- 77
AUD -49, 71, 84
REG -56,75!
BEC -75

Massachusetts CPA (non reporting) since 3/12.

[mla1169]

Honestly it doesn't sound like you are ready to tackle this yet and it may be time to walk away. Not every review course is right for everyone, and it may well be time to switch but after failing multiple times (which I have done as well) if there's not a sense of personal responsibility and a solid determination to conquer you're wasting your time.

Saying things like the market is saturated anyway and probably not worth doing it demonstrates that you just aren't fully committed at this time.

FAR- 77
AUD -49, 71, 84
REG -56,75!
BEC -75

Massachusetts CPA (non reporting) since 3/12.

[Pandarama]

Oi, a little too much negativity so far. But I do have to agree with others.. The nation is not saturated w/ CPAs. If that was the case, you'd have your license already and there'd be way less opportunities out there for CPAs.

Obviously everyone is different. It is important to find out what works best for you.

@ Topo30 – Have you tried supplementing your program with something else? I highly suggest using MCQs for AUD. Go through the MCQs and answer the question and then take the time to understand why the other answers weren't right. You've taken AUD 4 times, I think it's about time to put down the highlighter and switch your approach. If you're not understanding a concept or why something is done…. look it up. Sometimes I'll look up a topic in Google and open 5 different pages all on the same topic just to get 5 different views on the same topic. I then determine which one makes the most sense to me and I either write it down or add it to my typed audit notes.

BEC - 80
AUD - 64, 75 - credit lost, 90!!
REG - 73, 74, 83
FAR - 61, 72, 85

Feels good finishing on my best note. Time to watch the mailbox.

[Pandarama]

Oi, a little too much negativity so far. But I do have to agree with others.. The nation is not saturated w/ CPAs. If that was the case, you'd have your license already and there'd be way less opportunities out there for CPAs.

Obviously everyone is different. It is important to find out what works best for you.

@ Topo30 – Have you tried supplementing your program with something else? I highly suggest using MCQs for AUD. Go through the MCQs and answer the question and then take the time to understand why the other answers weren't right. You've taken AUD 4 times, I think it's about time to put down the highlighter and switch your approach. If you're not understanding a concept or why something is done…. look it up. Sometimes I'll look up a topic in Google and open 5 different pages all on the same topic just to get 5 different views on the same topic. I then determine which one makes the most sense to me and I either write it down or add it to my typed audit notes.

BEC - 80
AUD - 64, 75 - credit lost, 90!!
REG - 73, 74, 83
FAR - 61, 72, 85

Feels good finishing on my best note. Time to watch the mailbox.

[Anonymous]

WIley Test Bank + Ninja Audio + Roger = Great Results.

But then again I studied pretty hard for this section (3000+ mcqs). I also had a very thorough understanding of the material and didn't just study the mcqs.

The reason most people don't pass audit their first try is because they don't read the damn question 🙂

[Anonymous]

WIley Test Bank + Ninja Audio + Roger = Great Results.

But then again I studied pretty hard for this section (3000+ mcqs). I also had a very thorough understanding of the material and didn't just study the mcqs.

The reason most people don't pass audit their first try is because they don't read the damn question 🙂

[Anonymous]

Gearty is absolutely brutal to listen to for Audit, no doubt about it. I just finished those lectures. He reads entire sections of the book out loud as though I am not able to read it myself. “Highlight this paragraph, and also underscore this sentence, and also double underscore this word, and triple underscore this letter.” I feel your pain.

That being said, the exam is quite passable. I haven't taken Audit yet, but the material feels more like memorization than other sections. MCQs are clearly the most important thing. Do them multiple times. If you already have and you're still having trouble, perhaps you should purchase additional questions from another program. I don't think listening to more lectures will help though, from any program.

[Anonymous]

Gearty is absolutely brutal to listen to for Audit, no doubt about it. I just finished those lectures. He reads entire sections of the book out loud as though I am not able to read it myself. “Highlight this paragraph, and also underscore this sentence, and also double underscore this word, and triple underscore this letter.” I feel your pain.

That being said, the exam is quite passable. I haven't taken Audit yet, but the material feels more like memorization than other sections. MCQs are clearly the most important thing. Do them multiple times. If you already have and you're still having trouble, perhaps you should purchase additional questions from another program. I don't think listening to more lectures will help though, from any program.

[Anonymous]

I never follow Gearty's highlighting. Sometimes he covers something I've missed in my own highlighting, but that's about as far as I go. I do follow all of his underlining and circling, because that tends to help.

I'm 2 chapters into AUD so far, and I think they're doing a great job. Just use the review course as a review; you're ultimately responsible for what you learn or don't learn. The point isn't for you to follow directions to the teeth and pass, it's to give you an approach that should supplement your own learning method, not substitute it. Don't be afraid to deviate a bit with Becker.

[Author]

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