[Anonymous]

Hi guys,

I’m hoping to get some feedback on your thoughts on the Gleim lecture videos. How would you rate them in terms of being meaningful or adding value to your studying? Also how do you incorporate them into your study plan. Is a either or in terms of the watching the video vs reading the book?

I would really appreciate any feedback or advise.

Thanks

[Anonymous]

Hi Bobby,

I like the Gleim videos. They don't try to cover all the material in the textbook (outline) and the professor does a good job of explaining some of the harder to understand material. My method so far (SU1-9) has been to read each sub-unit and highlight, watch the video and take notes, and then do study sessions comprised of all the MCQ for each sub-unit. Then I take adaptive quizzes and simulations. This is more time consuming, but I am syncing my CPA Review material with my graduate classes so I am taking longer than really needed to do the whole course. The review for REG will take me three months, but I think most people do it in 6-8 weeks.

[Anthony]

They are probably the weakest part of Gleim IMO and not really a surprise because when Gleim first started selling their products they didn't have lectures. They are long and boring. Depending if you are a fast reader, you can probably fly through the material by reading than watching.

[nalratoss]

I have Gleim videos and Roger CPA videos.

TBH, the Gleim videos is nothing different from reading the Gleim textbook for me. I use Roger's videos as supplement to understand difficult Gleim concepts.

My 2 cents.

[mccarta7]

I don't use the Gleim videos at all because they are mainly a repeat of what you read in the study unit, but more condensed – in a bad way. The videos are basically like someone reading an outline of the chapter out loud. I would not use the videos without reading the chapter.
When I need additional help on a chapter I will use the Ninja audio or YouTube videos on the subject I am struggling with to get a different explanation of the same topic.

[mccarta7]

Agreed that Roger videos are great! I found some Roger videos on YouTube on DEPS when studying for FAR and it was the only way that I understood DEPS.

[Lauren]

I agree with Anthony that the videos are the weakest part of Gleim's package. If you're a person who learns best by watching lectures, Gleim might not be for you.

That being said, I have been using the videos to whittle down the content a bit. Gleim covers EVERTYTHING in the text, but not in the videos. So I read the text and, if I feel overwhelmed (which I usually do), I watch the videos and highlight through the text the information that was covered in the video. The lecturer often quotes the book word for word, so it's easy to follow along.

I figure that if it's covered in the book AND the video, it's likely important. We'll see how well that strategy served me when I get my REG score in a week. 🙂

[Recked]

I would rate the videos from best to worst, Roger, Wiley, then Gleim.
I only used the trial periods for FAR for all 3 and thought the Gleim videos were painful. Both dry and just slow in general.
I was strongly leaning towards using Gleim for the exams, but I feel I need something with better videos to get me up to speed since I have been out of school for 15 years.
My 2 cents. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

I used Gleim for all 4 sections and liked it really well. But I would have to agree with what everyone is saying – if you learn by watching videos, Gleim isn't for you.

The videos are not good for learning by themselves because they don't cover everything. I can learn either by reading or lecture, but I get really bored reading for long periods of time. So what I did was watch the video, then read the subunit. That way I could get through the reading faster since I had a base knowledge and it helped to break it up.

Once I did that for a whole study unit, I would do one “study session” quiz with immediate feedback. Then I would complete the Adaptive learning quizzes and sims until it said I completed the study unit. Repeat 20 times!

[Anonymous]

Also, if you have been out of school for a long time or didn't major in accounting, I wouldn't recommend Gleim. Gleim is extremely detailed and thorough, but it truly is a REVIEW system, and not as much of a teaching system. If you don't already have a good base knowledge of accounting, Gleim will probably be very frustrating.

[Lauren]

To Allie's point on it being a review, I agree. I'm finishing up my accounting coursework at school this semester, but even then I had to take to the internet to teach myself some of the concepts in Gleim. It would be exponentially harder if I'd been out of school for a long time.

I do recommend Gleim, though. It's a lot to deal with, but I chose it because I thought it would be better to try to be overprepared for the tests (and because I like to learn via reading and practicing problems). If you have the stomach to get your behind handed to you with the multiple choice and sims, it's a good system.

Not sure how I did on my first test, REG, but it was nice to take the test and have literally only one MC out of the entire 4 hours that was something I hadn't seen before.

[Ag12thman]

I've used some of Gleim's system and think it's great. Just wanted to mention that I have always heard that Yaeger is a great TEACHING course. I have not used it personally, but have talked to others who have.

FAR: July 2016

[Author]

Replies