[Anonymous]

I have failed FAR twice using Yaeger and I was considering taking a live class from Becker. It will be a pretty big sacrifice because I will have to pay for it out of my own pocket, not to mention drive an hour to attend a 6-10 pm class after work. For those who have experience with both, do you think live Becker is worth the money? Are you ready to test right after you finish the class or are there more self study hours involved after the class?

This is my last one to pass and I just want to get it over with, even if it is a great sacrifice for 5 weeks. I would really appreciate input. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

If you're disciplined then I definitely think doing the self study would be the best use of your time. How long you take is completely up to you. I just don't think sitting in a room watching a DVD is that much better than doing it on your own with the same videos. BUT since I haven't taken a live course then I'll let someone else comment on that. Regardless of how you do learn the material I would agree that a short time frame would help with the memorization aspects and not having to retain the information as long. If I could fit everything in to 5 weeks I would go that route because you forget what you learn in the beginning weeks as you stretch out your studies. Unfortunately I work full time and have 3 kids that I can't ignore for 5 weeks and that is what it would take for me to do it in 5 weeks. It sounds like you know what you want to do. Good luck!

[NicoleL]

Becker has a final review product that you can purchase (it's substantially less than the full course but I don't know if you can buy it on its own without the full course). I'm pretty sure that the live version will have time set aside for a final review…my online schedule had that…they set aside 2 weeks which I did need. 20 hours a week is probably also not going to get you through everything in those 5 weeks either. The lectures are about 4 hours, homework 5-6, sims 1-2 and they want you to do 2 chapters per week.

FAR - 93 (YAY!!!!)
REG - 93 (Double YAY!)
BEC - 87 (Whew!)
AUD - 96 (DONE!!!!!)

[NicoleL]

Becker has a final review product that you can purchase (it's substantially less than the full course but I don't know if you can buy it on its own without the full course). I'm pretty sure that the live version will have time set aside for a final review…my online schedule had that…they set aside 2 weeks which I did need. 20 hours a week is probably also not going to get you through everything in those 5 weeks either. The lectures are about 4 hours, homework 5-6, sims 1-2 and they want you to do 2 chapters per week.

FAR - 93 (YAY!!!!)
REG - 93 (Double YAY!)
BEC - 87 (Whew!)
AUD - 96 (DONE!!!!!)

[Anonymous]

Nicole, are you saying that its about 24 hours per week at the high end because it is 12 hours per chapter? Were you ready to test after the the 2 week review or did you have to study beyond that?

[Anonymous]

Nicole, are you saying that its about 24 hours per week at the high end because it is 12 hours per chapter? Were you ready to test after the the 2 week review or did you have to study beyond that?

[NicoleL]

For me, I needed more than the 12 hours of time they suggested for each chapter. I was lucky to get through one chapter in 20 hours. I did feel the 2 weeks of review was enough to go over the materials a second time and refresh myself. But…I had to learn a bunch of stuff…it had been 25 years since the last time I saw any Governmental Acctg, Pensions, and there wasn't even such a thing as IFRS when I got my degree.

FAR - 93 (YAY!!!!)
REG - 93 (Double YAY!)
BEC - 87 (Whew!)
AUD - 96 (DONE!!!!!)

[NicoleL]

For me, I needed more than the 12 hours of time they suggested for each chapter. I was lucky to get through one chapter in 20 hours. I did feel the 2 weeks of review was enough to go over the materials a second time and refresh myself. But…I had to learn a bunch of stuff…it had been 25 years since the last time I saw any Governmental Acctg, Pensions, and there wasn't even such a thing as IFRS when I got my degree.

FAR - 93 (YAY!!!!)
REG - 93 (Double YAY!)
BEC - 87 (Whew!)
AUD - 96 (DONE!!!!!)

[Anonymous]

Nicole, I really appreciate your input. It doesn't sound like this is the way to go for me. Even though I have studied and tested it twice, I think it will still be like starting from scratch. I have read several blogs where people have said that they just couldn't do 2 chapters with Becker while working. I think as we get older we are able to juggle family/work/studying better but I think this might be beyond my ability!

[Anonymous]

Nicole, I really appreciate your input. It doesn't sound like this is the way to go for me. Even though I have studied and tested it twice, I think it will still be like starting from scratch. I have read several blogs where people have said that they just couldn't do 2 chapters with Becker while working. I think as we get older we are able to juggle family/work/studying better but I think this might be beyond my ability!

[Anonymous]

Hi there, I am faced with a similar dilemma. I failed FAR twice. The 1st time I took it I deserved to fail given my lack of thorough preparation due to some stressful events. However on this last occasion, I really worked hard and was hoping for the best but coming out of the exam, I didn't feel very confident. I am at a lost as to what to try next. I have the Wiley book and test bank and even though I have passed AUD and BEC using Wiley…for FAR the volume of information feels like too much. I like the Becker online lectures as it helped me a great deal in understanding some concepts but even with all that preparation I still could not pass. I have been looking at reviews of other review courses and none of them have jumped out at me as being suited for my study style…

[Anonymous]

Hi there, I am faced with a similar dilemma. I failed FAR twice. The 1st time I took it I deserved to fail given my lack of thorough preparation due to some stressful events. However on this last occasion, I really worked hard and was hoping for the best but coming out of the exam, I didn't feel very confident. I am at a lost as to what to try next. I have the Wiley book and test bank and even though I have passed AUD and BEC using Wiley…for FAR the volume of information feels like too much. I like the Becker online lectures as it helped me a great deal in understanding some concepts but even with all that preparation I still could not pass. I have been looking at reviews of other review courses and none of them have jumped out at me as being suited for my study style…

[Anonymous]

I have read the reviews of CPA Excel but I am still on the fence…

[Anonymous]

I have read the reviews of CPA Excel but I am still on the fence…

[jeff]

If you end up going with CPAexcel, you can save $100 on a section.

Jeff Elliott, CPA (KS) | Another71 | NINJA CPA | NINJA CMA | NINJA CPE

[jeff]

If you end up going with CPAexcel, you can save $100 on a section.

Jeff Elliott, CPA (KS) | Another71 | NINJA CPA | NINJA CMA | NINJA CPE

[Author]

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