[NickyV]

Hello everyone!

I am new to the forum and to the CPA journey and I’m excited about the road ahead! I’ve already had my credentials evaluated by my state board and have been approved to begin applying for sections of the CPA exam. A few big decisions…

1. My first dilemma….which review course to choose!?! My company will pay for whatever I want upfront so my initial thought was Becker. A few of my colleagues have used Becker and passed. After watching a few of the sample videos online, I don’t think the lecture style will hold my attention. I’m leaning toward Rogers USB course (w/6 month extention) since the instructor is dynamic and supplements with Wiley materials which I was planning to do with Becker anyway. Of course I’ll probably throw in some Ninja Notes for good measure! 🙂

What has been your experience with either Becker or Rogers?

2. The next big decision is which part to take first and which order to take the remaining parts. I completed my undergrad BS in Accounting back in 2004 so no one part is going to be fresher in my mind than another. I recently completed my MBA in Aug. 2011.

Does any one part better prepare you to take the others?

3. I’m planning to sit for the first part in May 2012. I know that I’ll get little studying done during Jan/Feb due to year-end workload, and a transition to a new team at work. Should I at least crack the books in Jan to get a feel for the material or just wait until March? Is four and half months study for one part over-kill?

Any thoughts, feedback, or suggestions are greatly appreciated!! 🙂

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Ethics - 98 (Jan 2013)

[KasiaS]

Hi and welcome!!!

I don't have any experience with Becker or Wiley, but I used NIU Correspondence CPA Review and I absolutely loved it. The professors write the study materials. This is an audio course (you get a ton of mp3s) but I also heard that they have added video lectures for the 2012 review courses. I worked for me and I was able to study on my own terms without completely giving up my social habits (although I did cut back). I was able to pass all 4 sections on first attempt within 2 testing windows, which really speaks to the course effectiveness.

For the order of taking the exams, there is really no good answer because everyone is different but if I had the chance to do it all over again, I would have taken them in the following order: REG, FAR, AUD, BEC. I chose this order because I hated REG the most and think it was the toughest. Next FAR because that is also a toughy but it feeds very nicely into AUD (some SIMs have FAR mateirals), and BEC was easiest to me and there is plenty of overlap from AUD so it should be fairly painless to study for and pass – especially since you'll likely be pretty burned out by the time you take the last section.

FInally, I do think 4.5 months is a bit of overkill – but then again that also varies by person. I studied approx. 6 weeks for each part about 15-20 hours per week. Although, I would recommend you at least casually peek in the books so you're not overwhelmed when you get serious about your studies.

Good luck!!

FAR 88 (07/15/11)
BEC 83 (08/31/11)
AUD 81 (10/15/11)
REG 83 (11/26/11)

Used NIU Correspondence CPA Review

[NickyV]

Thanks Kasia!! Judging from your scores it looks like NIU did the trick! 🙂 I'll have to look into that one as well.

I kinda like taxes so I'm not as anxious to get it out of the way as FAR…I definately want to get AUD out of the way especially since I don't even REMEMBER taking it in undergrad!! I must've blocked that traumatic experience out of my head! 🙂

4.5 months is alot…perhaps I'll wait until late Feb to begin studgying.. Decisions…decisions! 😉

Thanks again for your suggestions!! 🙂

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[jomarie]

@NickyV – I've taken both Becker and Roger. I orginally did Becker, passed FAR, REG, & BEC in 2009 and early 2010. I couldn't get AUD with Becker for some reason. For me, I should have changed review courses a long time ago. Once I added the NINJA notes and Wiley TestBank to Becker for Audit I passed, but only after losing FAR, REG, & BEC. Did get my REG back with Becker and now working with Roger for FAR and BEC. I find Roger more entertaining and he explains more than Becker ever did. He reminds me of my college professors that explained things and wrote things out for you rather than just reading it from a book and showing it on a powerpoint slide.

I'm not saying Becker is a bad review course, but Roger fits my learning techinque a bit better. I hope this helps and good luck as you start your journey. 🙂

Started sitting in May 2002, on and off. But since 2008 I've been nonstop and my scores are....
AUD - 39, 48, 56, 65, 68, 73, 76!!! (Finally passed in Oct 2011!!!) Becker, NINJA, & Wiley
REG - 75 (Lost Credit) 72, 68, 73, 75 (Passed again in Aug 2011) Becker, NINJA, & Wiley
FAR - 65, 68, 75 (Lost Credit) 68, 73, 73, 80 (Passed again in May 2012) Roger, NINJA, & Wiley
BEC - 65, 68, 71, 72, 72, 71, 76 (Lost Credit)- 70, 76!!!! I AM DONE!!! - Roger, NINJA, & Wiley
After 10 long years of studying, I AM DONE!!!! Finally a Licensed CPA in the State of New York!!

[Anonymous]

For everyone that depend on Yaegar or Roger (who both use Wiley's books) — is it worth paying a premium for having someone else explain it to you?

I'm currently using Becker — but I went on Amazon and read Wiley's books — to my joy, they remind me very much of the style taught in my college textbooks.

I'm thinking about just picking up the Wiley books to supplement Becker..

[NickyV]

@ Jomarie – Thanks for the well wishes and insight. Question – Since you passed FAR, REG, & BEC with Becker, what prompted the change the second time around when taking FAR & BEC over? Did you not want to sit through Peter Olinto a second time? 🙂

@ CannotPassAgain – I'm not certain about Yeager, but Roger has Roger branded textbooks AND uses Wiley materials to supplement. How is the Becker working out for you? Do you like the teaching style?

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[jomarie]

@NickyV – I did pass all four parts with Becker, but Becker was boring me. I wanted this time around pass all the parts on 1st, 2nd, or 3rd try rather than 5th, 6th, or 7th try that it took me with Becker. Roger doesn't bore me like Becker did. With Roger I feel the way I felt when I started college. Excitied and looking forwarded to a lecture. I feel like I'm actually learning with Roger than just reviewing.

Started sitting in May 2002, on and off. But since 2008 I've been nonstop and my scores are....
AUD - 39, 48, 56, 65, 68, 73, 76!!! (Finally passed in Oct 2011!!!) Becker, NINJA, & Wiley
REG - 75 (Lost Credit) 72, 68, 73, 75 (Passed again in Aug 2011) Becker, NINJA, & Wiley
FAR - 65, 68, 75 (Lost Credit) 68, 73, 73, 80 (Passed again in May 2012) Roger, NINJA, & Wiley
BEC - 65, 68, 71, 72, 72, 71, 76 (Lost Credit)- 70, 76!!!! I AM DONE!!! - Roger, NINJA, & Wiley
After 10 long years of studying, I AM DONE!!!! Finally a Licensed CPA in the State of New York!!

[NickyV]

@ Jomarie – Ahhhh….I see! Point well taken! Thanks again!

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Ethics - 98 (Jan 2013)

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