[Guppy]

As the title says, I’ve decided to purchase Becker study material but I am worried about the 2017 update to CPA exam material. I’ve read on Becker’s website that they offer for you to re-take the course at no extra cost (except for the price of the books) if you meet certain requirements such as watching 100% of the lectures and doing 90% of the multiple choice questions. However, this confuses me a bit as I’m sure I won’t be able to do all of that for every course as I do not know if I will be studying for my last section by the 2017 update. For anyone who has experience with Becker, is there any advice you could give me on the route I should go with buying their material? I’ve looked at maybe just buying each individual section, but it will cost considerably more if I went that route. Thanks for any input!

 

 

[JT Shaw]

It really depends on where you are in the process of studying and passing exams and if you are single or have a family, along with if your job is demanding of your time. You have 7 months until January….some of those months are non testing months…. If I were single and didn't have a demanding job, and was committed to studying 3-4 hours a day every day of the week, in your situation, I would probably buy the individual course for FAR and focus on passing FAR in that seven month time. Then buy the whole system for 2017. It took me a year to pass FAR, but I work full time and have a large family. If I could pass any exam before the 2017 changes, It would be FAR. Becker by far has some of the best materials, but if you just started your adventure, then I would highly recommend Roger for the FAR exam, particularly if you are an Auditory learner. Becker is pretty technical and may be a bit discouraging in the beginning with major information overload. Roger seems to lack in providing enough info on the other tests, in my opinion, but he seems to help simplify FAR in comparrison to the other programs out there. If you are married and or have a family and a full time job and not able to study 3-4 hours a day every day, then you may just want to buy the program and then buy the new books in 2017. That expense will be a drop in the bucket in comparrison to what you will probably spend in the end.

[Dantrick]

I personally bought Becker first and I don't like it. And yes you have to follow their rules to the t. I find their MCQ for FAR anyway, way too long and I just couldn't stay focused to study.

[Spartans92]

Becker will update its software to reflect the changes at no cost. They have already added in the drs which are in effect this coming july. One thing I'll say is there's a schedule u can see where they will update the books, you can buy all 4 section at once but hold off on the books and have them ship to you after the update. But to my knowledge all of the sections have already been updated recently. As to the Becker promise you have 18 months to use the software and to fulfill the promise you have to watch all lectures and complete 90% of the hw. But each section will still cost 195 per which is still quite expensive. So try your best to pass as many within the 18 month. Hope this helps!

BEC- PASS

[livealittle]

I'm using Becker and it really works with how I learn. IMHO if you don't do at least 90% of the homework, you won't pass. If the consensus is 4000 MCQ from Ninja, in addition to Becker, you will need to do at the very least 90% of the homework.

I needed to extend my study time on Becker past the 18 months for FAR. I called to try to purchase an extension or just buy FAR and they asked if I had a test date. I do, so I said yes, They then said if i would email them the NTS confirmation of scheduling, they would extend to my test date at no charge. I'm studying on that extension now.

yes, it's a lot of money. yes, they release updates. Yes, you can buy an updated book ($15) if they update before you finish with the material. I've bought 2 updated books since I started this process.

If I had it to do over again, I would only buy 1 section at a time. Yes, it's more expensive, but I think it would have been better for me. I wouldn't have those other books waiting on me and it might not have seemed so overwhelming.

I've passed 3 sections, but have lost BEC. I will have to retake it. Once I pass FAR (later this month) I will order the BEC self study and go through it again and then pass BEC and I will be DONE!!! – see what I did there?

positive thinking, visualizing myself with a passing score, seeing CPA after my name on my business cards and signature at work.

we can do this!

BEC - 8/8/16
REG - 66, 77
AUD - 81
FAR - 9/8/16

[1koolcat]

I'm with livealittle–I wish I hadn't bought all 4 sections at once. Even though they give you 18 months, I wasn't ready and everything expired except AUD. So I had to hurry up and make sure I fulfilled the “Becker Promise” in order to get the renewal at a 50% discount. So here's what I did: I muted my computer and I just let the video lectures run and I walked away. I'd check back every so often to answer a question, because the videos stop on the questions. For the MCQs I wouldn't even look at the question, just the answers. First time through, I'd select the shortest answer. Any question I got right didn't come around again. Next pass I selected the longest answer. Then one of the other two. I'd keep going until I had all the questions answered correctly. Then you print out a page that shows all the videos played and all the homework done. Now please keep in mind this was just my strategy for fulfilling the Becker Promise quickly before my access expired. This is not how I study (although looking at my scores you might think it is.)

Also, I'm not sure where Spartans92 is buying Becker. It cost me way more than 195 per section.

AUD - 77
REG - 73, 80
FAR - 69, 73, 79 and DONE!
BEC - 82

[Spartans92]

@koolcat, that is how much you have to pay per section even fulfilling the becker promise according to their website.

@Livelittle, it really depends I did all the hw on Becker for AUD and turns out I didnt pass but I guess because I hardly practiced the SIMS. I got stronger on MCQ and weaker on SIMS but the breakdown is quite useless.

BEC- PASS

[1koolcat]

OMG, Spartans92! Becker charged me 50% instead of $195. I am so glad that you posted, I think. Tomorrow I may wish that I never read your post, because I would not be the least bit surprised if Becker told me that I am not eligible for any type of refund. I have emails from Becker stating that I completed the “Promise.” There is a phone number at the bottom of the email (that I received, what, more than a year before I retook the course?) that I was supposed to call to register for another section, but I just went through the Becker website. When the courses in my “cart” were full price, I contacted Becker and they gave me the 50% discount. I don't remember if I knew the courses were supposed to be $195, I just remember that it should have been discounted. The I don't think it says anywhere on the email that I don't get the Promise price if I use another method to register for the course, so fingers crossed that I get somewhere tomorrow. If I don't, I can assure you that I will be posting my story every F*CKING day on this website so potential customers can see it.

AUD - 77
REG - 73, 80
FAR - 69, 73, 79 and DONE!
BEC - 82

[Guppy]

So If I'm reading some of these responses correctly, the Becker promise lasts 18 months, and the course material will be updated to match the 2017 changes?

[livealittle]

as far as I can tell, yes.

BEC - 8/8/16
REG - 66, 77
AUD - 81
FAR - 9/8/16

[Guppy]

I think that this will really fit with my study style as well, livealittle. I'd like to ask you since you seem to l think highly of Becker but said you would buy one section at a time and it has taken you the full 18 months to pass. How many hours a day of study have you put into this? I'm just wondering as, I'm currently single and I plan on spending 4-5 hours a day of studying Monday-Friday, and 6-7 hours a day on Saturday. I also may do a little study on Sundays, but I plan for those to mainly be off days. I'm just asking this as I know that right now I will have a bit more free time than a lot of people, and I would like to know if you think it would be worth it to buy each section separately I do put in that type of study time.

[1koolcat]

Spartans92–talked to Becker, no luck, I didn't read the fine print.

Guppy, this applies to you. My two cents. Stay single until you pass the CPA exam. We love our families with all our hearts, but they require a lot of our attention. Single means more freedom to stay up all night and study, or eat whatever you want without having to worry about feeding anyone else, or having to do any other kid or married stuff.

Becker came to my school and I bought everything–4 classes at once, flashcards, final review. I wish I hadn't purchased the flash cards or final review, I never used them (again, probably should have, see scores). I attended the face-to-face classes, every Saturday, 8 am – 5 pm, after working a full week. I was on medication that caused memory loss, so after taking the classes, I still felt I wasn't ready, that I hadn't retained enough material to pass.

Here's the important part–fulfilling the Becker Promise. If you are in face-to-face classes, you have 45 days after the last day of class to fulfill the Promise. If you are doing self-study, you have 12 months after the date of PURCHASE to complete the Becker Promise. Then, once you get the email that says you have completed the Promise, you have ONE YEAR from the date of the email to repurchase a section at $195. If more than one year has passed from the date of the Becker Promise email (as it did for me), you are charged 50%. Which can be over $600, instead of $195.

I think Becker can get kind of wordy in their material and MCQ's. I think they could make it a little easier to understand. However, I have been happy overall with the product and I am passing the exams, even if it's at my own pace.

Guppy, I lacked discipline, so I thought that face-to-face classes would keep me on track. But working full-time, being older, taking drugs that cause memory loss AND lacking discipline (real issue) helped me stretch this process out longer than I wanted to. You sound more disciplined, more focused, younger, and probably smarter than I am. You may be able to buy all the sections, study, and pass all exams on your first try. I really hope you do! But if you don't, no shame (see just about every other post on this forum) and keep an eye on your dates, so you don't overpay.

AUD - 77
REG - 73, 80
FAR - 69, 73, 79 and DONE!
BEC - 82

[livealittle]

@ guppy – I thought I would be able to study a couple of hours most weekdays and at least 8 hours each weekend day. That didn't happen. Several things happened that hindered me including a car wreck which knocked me out of commission for the better part of 6 weeks. I got promoted at work (yay) which increased my stress thus decreasing my ability to absorb more new information (boo), and then my 17 year old son was in a car accident as a passenger. All of these things really cut into my ability to study when I wanted.

The material is presented in a way that really works with how I learn. That doesn't mean it will work for you.

If you really can spend as much time studying as you have laid out here, you should be able to complete everything faster then I will be able to. You have to read the very fine print to use the Becker promise.

BEC - 8/8/16
REG - 66, 77
AUD - 81
FAR - 9/8/16

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