[Anonymous]

Hi,

This is for people who has done the Becker Live classes…

So, I am starting the Becker Live classes starting in September (BEC) and doing the classes for all parts straight until February ending with (REG). I wish I starting prepping earlier or I would’ve started on tomorrows start date for REG…

anyways.. I’d like to know is the start of the live classes the 1st day you should start the process of studying the exam? I mean obviously you can start well in advance, but I’m taking the live classes as a benchmark to prepping..

basically, I want to know, will they tell you when you should take the test and help you with the scheduling (because after every section of live classes, there is a 2 week or so gap before starting the next section) or is this something you need to figure out yourself?

1)

[junpark]

adhkim, I am not sure if your live class is structured the same way as mine but mine was something called FastPass and I had to go to lecture EVERYDAY during the summer, as soon as my school got out. We had 4 hours of lecture everyday and we had to do all the homework THAT day. Basically, it's a month of bootcamp. In hindsight, I wish I didn't do it because I forgot EVERYTHING about FAR, REG, BEC. All I remember was AUD because that was the last section of lectures we watched. I'm not sure if you actually get an instructor but we just watched the lecture video and the “instructor” was there to work the multiple choice questions with you and give you any helpful tips (my instructors, were also the professors/lecturers at my school and they've all taken/passed the exam so they gave us the little helpful tricks, hints and “data dump” you can do on your scratch paper before the exam). However, if I had to do it again, I'd just do a lecture/homework in a same day and study one section at a time, take the test. That's just me though.

[Anonymous]

I'm bumping this back up because I have the same question. Should the live classes be the study outline or should we be prepping well in advance. Mine start in the beginning of Oct until the end of Nov. Then its test time (1 of the 4). After this, classes start for the 2nd test, same process.

I've thought about studying before the classes start, but to be honest, I don't know what to study. I'm not going to pay for prep material if I'm already paying for the classes. Perhaps I just answered my own question.

[sputina]

Live lectures are the same as the CD lectures. Except with live lectures, you can't pause and get distracted. It is great if you are distracted easy or can't keep focused at home watching the CD.

They go over the material in detail and discuss most examples in detail. They don't expect you to be knowledgeable about the section prior to class, but they encourage you to do the homework before the next lecture. For example, in FAR, we spent a good 20 minutes discussing all of the depreciation methods even though most are engraved in our minds from schooling.

If you are a recent graduate, expect to be bored. They will go over stuff that may still be fresh. If you have been out of school for a while, it is a great study kick starter.

I have taken 3 sections with Becker live lecture and none of my lecturers spent class time discussing scheduling for exams. They are more than happy to discuss those in the break or before/after class. They do breifly provide suggestions regarding planning your study schedule and the like.

REG - 5/18/12 75
BEC - 7/15/12 83
FAR - 8/24/12 88
AUD - 10/13/12 90

[Anonymous]

sputina,

Thanks for taking the time. As I'm sure you can see, the OP and I are just a little apprehensive about the process. I'm sure once we get our feet wet, these questions will seem less important. I personally feel a little guilty, like I should be doing something to prepare before the classes start but your reply makes me feel a little bit better about that 🙂

I am a recent graduate and the idea of feeling bored is welcomed. I need all the help I can get!

[sputina]

No problem DEPBrain. Best of luck to you both on your CPA journey!

REG - 5/18/12 75
BEC - 7/15/12 83
FAR - 8/24/12 88
AUD - 10/13/12 90

[Anonymous]

I went through the Becker program and the live classes. On my blog (link in signature) I showed how/what I studied day by day. Typically I did not do much before the lecture for those topics. In my first section I did read the section prior to class. By my third section I wasn't touching the materials before the live classes.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the feedback Dale. I'll check out your blog too!

[Author]

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