[texassigma10]

Hello everyone!

I was wondering which of the two you would suggest I take. I believe they both have their pros and cons. Currently, I’m finishing the end of my final semester, and I plan on taking REG by the end of May. I do plan to start studying this April. My plan is to hopefully get REG over with in April and FAR by beginning of August. I start working for my firm mid-August.

They were kind enough to give me 2 options: CPAexcel or Becker. I’ve heard wonderful things about Becker, but people always said to do self-study and online. I don’t really have that option with Becker. I’m required to take a live class, and it must be finished within 18 months of start date. I feel that the flexibility of this review course may not be able to help me, in case my schedules get too tight up (ie: busy season in auditing). I haven’t heard much about CPAexcel and none of my friends have ever really mentioned it.

Which one do you think is more worth it and will help me succeed?

Thank you so much!!!

-texassigma10

[Anonymous]

I have no experience with CPAexcel but I did attend the live Becker classes. While the instructors themselves were decent, I have to admit that I felt it was a waste of time (and gas). They basically had to get through a whole chapter in less than 4 hours; at that pace, the information went in one ear and out the other and I had just wasted an entire day. The book and CDs for self-study have been really helpful, because I can take the time to really understand and absorb the information. This is just my own experience and method of learning. Hope you find the best fit for you!

[nashville79]

Agree with bhmnrhpsdy. With the Becker live classes, going through a full lecture in four hours is too much. Sure, it's good to hear an “actual human” present the information but the instructors pretty much just repeat what's stated in the video. Most effective way to do the lectures in my opinion is watch a section then do those questions before moving on. At best, the Becker live lectures give you a place where you have to be weekly or whatever – keeps you on track I guess.

Better method: Pair up with someone or multiple and split up the material. Weed out the nonsense and break the more difficult portions into learnable material. This scares most accountants. Too much coordination with others. If someone really wanted to nail this whole thing, someone would put a system together where they paired up people in cities together and give them guidelines to teach each other the material. Just sayin'.

[Getting a CPA]

I love CPAExcel. It is perfect for the self-study option. Don't buy the books, unless you learn better by reading textbooks. The lectures are boring, but are bite-sized.

Are you working for a Big 4? My Big 4 company offers both programs as well I believe…

[Author]

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