[Anonymous]

Hello friends,

I am seeking some advice on a new course of action to tackle the CPA exam. I began my journey about a year and a half ago using Gleim materials, and passed AUD and BEC on my first try. I was feeling real good about myself and walked in to FAR last October only to score a 74. It was mildly depressing but I still felt OK about my study habits and the material. Fast forward 8 months to now and I have taken FAR an additional two times without passing, my scores getting increasingly worse with each take. I have also taken REG twice and not passed, my highest score being a 62. I have about 6 weeks left before my AUD credit expires.

A little background…I am in my early 30s and work full-time. I am also getting engaged soon so there is just a lot going on personally and professionally. I am by no means using that as an excuse. I usually studied 2-3 hours on weeknights and 6-8 hours on weekends. I put in the time and the work. However, there have been distractions and I’m just not sure Gleim has prepared me well for what the general consensus considers to be the two toughest parts of the exam. I feel like it would be foolish and a waste of money to try and retake FAR for a 4th time and REG a 3rd time before July 28 when my credit expires. My confidence is pretty much toast at this point.

I am considering biting the bullet and just starting over with new study materials. I feel like a live review course might give me some more structure and help reinforce what I’ve already been studying for the last 1.5+ years. It really sucks to start all over again but I just don’t know if I can take another two fails in the next 2 months only to see my credit expire. I realize this journey is a marathon (slowly turning into a super-marathon) and feel like this may be the best approach to take for my psyche. Does anyone have any experiences similar to mine and have any thoughts? Also, for those who have taken live review courses…what do you think? Becker is expensive but seems to be best in class. Does anyone have any experience with Bisk? Does anyone think live review is a waste of time/money? Thank you!

[mrogovitz]

Hi cashball. I highly recommend taking the live Becker courses. I failed FAR more than once and the course definitely helped me get over that hump. I was lucky and my work paid for the courses, though. I was getting 73s and 74s on FAR and I was able to eek out just enough information from the course to push me into the 75+ range. Whatever you put into the course is what you get out of it. I watched each respective chapter prior to the live course, sat through the live course, and then did the MCQs. I'd review each chapter prior to doing the MCQs, though.

My first AUD score was a 60. I just couldn't keep anything straight in my head and the live course really gave me a great way to organize all of the information. That was the biggest challenge for me with AUD – keeping everything straight in my head.

Unfortunately, I had a pretty crummy BEC lecturer but I was comfortable enough with that material where I knew my time was better spent studying on my own. And as far as REG goes, I passed it on my first shot (didn't take the live course and lost credit), failed the second time (took the live course), and then passed the third time. For the tax portion of the live course, the lecturer was ok, and the law lecturer was really good. I chalk the roller-coaster scores for REG up to luck of the questions I had on the exam.

I guess it all depends on whether or not you get a good lecturer, but I was fortunate enough to have lecturers for AUD and FAR who really helped me out a lot. It was just little things – a good process to approach bond questions…things like that.

Hope this helps!

AUD: Attempt 1: 60; Attempt 2: 78
BEC: Attempt 1: 75 (lost credit); Attempt 2: 80
FAR: Attempt 1: 74; Attempt 2: 74; Attempt 3: 78
REG: Attempt 1: 76 (lost credit); Attempt 2: 68; Attempt 3: 80

Finished 11/01/2013!!!

[Anonymous]

I am currently in Becker live course for FAR in Dallas. Its GREAT! She is probably the best Becker teacher in the nation. I have heard horror stories from other locations though. Some teacher just pop in the DVD of the lecture (which you already get for signing up for Becker). Depending on your location, go for the live course.

[Kimboroni]

One thing on retakes is to make sure not to get trapped in the “I just need X more points” mindset and just studying that amount. You really need to study the full spectrum again so that you will be prepared for any of their current tests for that section. That may be why your scores for FAR kept getting worse, so that is just something to keep in mind going forward as you embark on a fresh start.

Don't be discouraged– these are really hard exams. I think you have a good plan for moving forward.

AUD 84 (1/9/14-Wiley books/TB + free materials)
FAR 83 (5/21/14-the above + NINJA 10 Pt Combo Lite)
REG 84 (7/9/14-Wiley books/TB + NINJA Audio/FC/Notes)
BEC 76 (10/5/14-Wiley books/TB + NINJA Audio/FC)

Disclaimer: My ninja avatar is not meant to imply that I have any affiliation with this site other than being a forum member. That's a pic of a T-shirt that my daughter gave me for my birthday. 🙂

[Anonymous]

Is there a way to look up instructor reviews or determine who is going to be teaching your course? I've perused the Becker website but didn't really see anything like that.

[Anonymous]

Guess do a shout out on the board. Sure someone has taken the class where your located at.

[mrogovitz]

As far as I know, it's luck of the draw. One of the instructors told me that the feedback is really important. Becker takes the level of its instructors seriously, but the only way that they really find out if there is a bad instructor is when the students give feedback. I have not heard or seen anything about being able to see who will be teaching when. My AUD instructor told me that she wanted to teach BEC but she had no idea if she would be chosen or not. To me it seems as if the lecturers just put their name in a hat and hope for the best.

AUD: Attempt 1: 60; Attempt 2: 78
BEC: Attempt 1: 75 (lost credit); Attempt 2: 80
FAR: Attempt 1: 74; Attempt 2: 74; Attempt 3: 78
REG: Attempt 1: 76 (lost credit); Attempt 2: 68; Attempt 3: 80

Finished 11/01/2013!!!

[Java230]

I did Becker live, i thought they are great if you need structure. I am the opposite, I don't like structure so I ended up missing a few lectures and just watched them online. But the instructors are good, they give you their contact info so you can follow up after class, which is nice. I also did the online class for BEC (not the self study), i liked that one the best but it is not as structued. What is cool about that one is that my instructor sends any question a student asks to the entire group, that is nice AND she put together notes for each chapter. So if i had to do it again, i would have just done the online (not the self study).

I think self study is the worst option, since you don't get the benefit of having a contact. With live or online, you still get all the self study things.

Licensed WA CPA 2/2015
Government Auditor Since 2007

[Anonymous]

I'm probably planning on taking my live courses at UCLA in Westwood. Anyone taken them there?

[Author]

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