[gennatay]

I have tried other CPA review course to he point that it fells like I’m collecting them. I have the option of purchasing Becker for 1/2 off retail. My question, is it really worth it? I suck at self studying, which is probably why I haven’t passed yet. I am marginally attracted to the fact that Becker will make me read (or at least skim) the book as I do all the highlighting. Any suggestions or feedback will be appreciated.

[Normal_Person]

@katerina2665 – I was in public accounting audit for a national firm at the time and worked exclusively on audits/reviews. Also, audit was the LAST class I took in college. So, while I 100% promise you my actual CPA review course study hours were a MAX of 12 (probably closer to 10), my experience in audit, having taken audit as my final accounting class in college (freshest in my memory), and having done a couple CPE events relating to the clarified auditing standards (when they first rolled out in late 2012), I had more than 10-12 overall prep hours.

Also, I just found the material for audit to better fit the way I think – logic, processes, etc., so I picked up on it easily. I knew I was ready when I started reading the material and felt like I knew most of it already – started taking random exams (covers all topics) and was passing in the 90s consistently, so decided not to spend any more time studying. Most of that 10-12 hours was spent over 2 days taking random exams in the study software.

Edit: It took me 18 months because I lost 4 close relatives, moved out of state, got married, bought a house, switched jobs, traveled a lot for work. Certainly not making excuses for myself, but the combo of all that definitely threw a wrench in the gears of my study habits for my last section, and tax/law is not my strong suit anyway.

FAR: 1/12/13 ... 82
REG: 8/30/14 ... 75
AUD: August 2013 ... 89
BEC: July 2013 ... 84

DONE

[Anonymous]

As much as highlighting may seem like a drag when you're doing it. When you go review they really help A LOT.

[Anonymous]

Becker is definitely not a waste of money. If you're not going to put the materials to proper use, then YOU are wasting money. That being said, there are other ways to pass the exam, in my somewhat uninformed opinion (see below).

I chose Becker pretty much solely because my company was paying for it, and my boss (who is a CPA and took Becker himself way back in the day) told me to pick whatever program I wanted. I had done some research into other programs, and I just thought Becker was the most comprehensive, but I wouldn't have picked it had I been paying for it myself, even at 1/2 off. I probably would've bought the Ninja 10-point combo and the Wiley test bank and called it a day. And I ultimately did buy the Ninja 10-point combo, as well, because I didn't want to leave anything to chance.

I have only taken one section (FAR) and haven't gotten my score back yet, but I can say that the exam experience was not nearly as bad for me as people make it out to be. I didn't leave the testing center feeling numb or overwhelmed. I didn't see any MCQs or SIMS on the exam that completely blew my mind (although there was 1 SIM that was on a topic I had not seen in SIM format in either Becker or Ninja systems, so I didn't really know how to approach it). Maybe I got lucky with the questions (or maybe I failed miserably and am so clueless about the material that I don't even realize it). But I think the depth of the Becker material had a lot to do with me having a relatively positive exam experience.

But I will add that now that Ninja comes with textbooks that go into more depth, I think the 10-point combo is a really great buy. I have seen MANY of the Ninja MCQs in the Becker software (verbatim), so I know from personal experience that the quality there is the same. The audio provides a way to study when you're on the go. The notes and Blitz provide a great high-level summary. Plus, you get free updates until you pass the exam. If you're not sure self-study is for you, I think this is a better way to go than Becker for the time being. Leave Becker as the last resort. I am glad to have both, but I'm very fortunate to have someone else paying for Becker.

[Kimboroni]

My tax and business law professor's advice to us about passing the exam was that Becker was overpriced, and that there are several cheaper options out there that are just as good. So his very experienced viewpoint was that it is not worth it.

But I've also gotten several comments at work about not using Becker, such as, “You're passing without Becker? You must be smarter than me,” and “Without Becker? But it walks you through everything to do.” That has been interesting. It seemed worth it to them, and our firm doesn't pay for Becker or any other review course, although there is a small discount.

I decided to try the first section without an expensive review course as a test, and that worked, so I've kept doing it.

If I used a full, expensive review course, it would be Roger. I've previewed videos on YouTube, and I like his style of mania. That would work for me. The Bisk guy was mildly interesting, too. Definitely check out YouTube before buying anything.

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 Becker worth it? Yes! You have to put the time and effort in to, but it has helped me immensely in reaching my goals so far.

[Guti]

Becker is good for FAR if you do a ton of simulations from Gleim. Becker sucks when it comes to Audit. I really liked Becker for REG too.

FAR-84
AUD-
REG-
BEC-

[Zhaba]

It is worth even if you take accounting stuff, Olinto, Brown, and just keep Gearty's jokes.

[fuzyfro89]

If self study does not work for you, have you looked into any live instruction courses?

[Anonymous]

I've used Becker self-study and it's been great! You get lots of flexibility as you can study at your own pace, plus I didn't pay for it so what have I got to lose?

The lectures are entertaining enough to keep me engaged and are adequate as a refresher for topics I haven't seen since school. My only complaint is I wish Gearty in particular was a little bit less apologetic about his sense of humor.

As for the MCQ's, you gotta love it. My strategy is to drill those until I've got them down cold (ie the 90% Becker requires for their “guarantee”). There are enough questions to cover most everything you'll see on the exam but more importantly they focus on the concepts that are most important/likely to appear on the exam. Someone else said Becker will over-prepare you for the exam, and I agree.

That said I know people who have been greatly successful using the other review courses, so it isn't a matter of which review course you use so much as your dedication and willingness to put in the time to adequately prepare for the exams.

[Author]

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