[viertelasiat]

Becker vs. Wiley CPA – My Experience – So I felt like I should post here since I just passed all four parts of the exam in December and I wanted to pass along my experience. To give some background, I work in tax and have no audit experience whatsoever. I worked for two and a half years out of college at the same firm I’m at now and I signed up for Becker because everyone said it was the best but it cost $3,500 for the full package. I went to every class and did 95% of the homework, studied every week, and took FAR and AUD first got a 74 and 73. Classes continued and I felt so behind and unsure whether I should study for the next exam or try to study and retake the ones I had not passed. I was so discouraged that I left my job to attempt a different career path so I went back to school and got a master’s degree in another field (no regrets about it).

When I finished my graduate degree, I looked for a job but couldn’t secure one. My old boss hired me back, temporarily at first, and I have worked there for another two years and have also gotten married. I saw the license requirements were changing in 2014 so I told my boss that I wanted two and half months off to go and pass all four parts of the exam. Now I realize this was risky but I figured I had to try and if I failed miserably then I would g back to looking at pursuing another career path.

I decided not to waste my money on Becker and I heard Wiley was good so I bought the books to study on my own and the total cost was $450, I also read online that CPAExcel was a good tool and supplemented Wiley well so I bought their online question materials. I just got my last test score back and in a period of 10 weeks, my scores were 87 FAR, 85 AUD, 84 REG, and 81 BEC.

Now I thought I should share my experience with Becker and why I now think it was the biggest waste of money. The program focuses too much on stupid mnemonics instead of actually learning the material. There is not likely to be tons of questions asking what one of the elements of the control environment is yet they have you trying to memorize all these types of things. Becker also focuses on what you need to study to get a 75. The problem with this strategy is it leaves out material and even topics that may be covered on the exam. Further, students often are inclined to take what is taught as everything that could be tested and therefore learn 80-90%, but what they teach only attempts to get you to a 75%, and if you do not know all of that 75% forward and backward you will likely fail. When I studied with the Wiley books I tried to go over the concepts and practice simulations to reinforce what I was learning instead of trying to memorize things for a test, I focused on learning the materials and practicing the simulations and multiple-choice questions.

It may be that I changed my method of studying this time around, however, looking back on the advice that the Becker instructors give you I now think that their advice is bad. You should not study to simply get a 75, rather study to get a 95 and learn the material. If you study to get a 95 and can only get 80 you still passed and you can move on. Covering substantially all of the material that makes up the exam and having more topics available at your disposal is the key to success in my mind and I feel that Wiley and CPAExcel provided exactly that at a much much cheaper price.

 

 

[evesocal]

I attended the Becker live classes and was fortunate to have excellent professors, one in particular who I had for thee of the four classes. I passed all four parts on my first attempt while working full-time and not having been in college in decades.

I will say that for FAR, I supplemented with CPAExcel and got my highest grade.

Becker was expensive but my firm paid for part of it and I really wanted the live classes.

Link: Current CPAexcel Discount Codes

B: 75
R: 80
A: 77
F: 81
Ethics: 84, 92 and done!
Licensed in California

[evesocal]

I attended the Becker live classes and was fortunate to have excellent professors, one in particular who I had for thee of the four classes. I passed all four parts on my first attempt while working full-time and not having been in college in decades.

I will say that for FAR, I supplemented with CPAExcel and got my highest grade.

Becker was expensive but my firm paid for part of it and I really wanted the live classes.

B: 75
R: 80
A: 77
F: 81
Ethics: 84, 92 and done!
Licensed in California

[JOECPA]

I found CPAexcel + Ninja Notes quite useful. I passed Both AUD and FAR on first attempt, and both REG and BEC on 2nd attempt. On the other hand, i have two co-workers that had Becker Review expire after 18 months of many exams attempts without passing. They have now moved on to Becker live classes, at 50% re-purchase cost, and swear that the Becker promise to pass is the way to go. Personally, I think it depends on how much effort you put in. I have looked at Becker text books, and also some of the Wiley texts and questions, and i believe the material is comparable, just the way its taught might be different. I suggest that you best research for a course that delivers in your preferred method of teaching and stick with it. All courses have its pro's and cons and you will only be wasting your money by jumping from one review course to another.

Link: Current CPAexcel Discount Codes

AUD - 89 JAN 2012
BEC - 69, 75 MAY 2012
REG - 69, 76 NOV 2012
FAR - 75 FEB 2013 DONE 🙂

[JOECPA]

I found CPAexcel + Ninja Notes quite useful. I passed Both AUD and FAR on first attempt, and both REG and BEC on 2nd attempt. On the other hand, i have two co-workers that had Becker Review expire after 18 months of many exams attempts without passing. They have now moved on to Becker live classes, at 50% re-purchase cost, and swear that the Becker promise to pass is the way to go. Personally, I think it depends on how much effort you put in. I have looked at Becker text books, and also some of the Wiley texts and questions, and i believe the material is comparable, just the way its taught might be different. I suggest that you best research for a course that delivers in your preferred method of teaching and stick with it. All courses have its pro's and cons and you will only be wasting your money by jumping from one review course to another.

AUD - 89 JAN 2012
BEC - 69, 75 MAY 2012
REG - 69, 76 NOV 2012
FAR - 75 FEB 2013 DONE 🙂

[Author]

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