While going through Gleim and coming across stuff that I hadn't seen in ages, I got a bit frustrated. Gleim doesn't quite go back to the basics; you have to already be familiar with the material to some extent.
I failed FAR using Gleim and an old version of Becker as my main review materials. However, Gleim is better than Wiley for a review of FAR AFTER you have taken another review course or AFTER you have failed to pass an exam. Buy Gleim Online, which also includes Gleim Test Prep.
Under the “Customized exam options” in Gleim you can select:
• Questions I’ve never seen
• Questions I’ve never answered
• Questions I’ve never answered correctly
• All available questions
Additionally, you can pinpoint the questions that you want to answer. There are 20 units and then there are subunits under each unit. If you have ever failed an exam, it is very easy in Gleim to put together those chapters that correspond to the breakout of your test scores. I did this for AUD. It is impossible to do this with Becker because Becker does not follow the AICPA outline for the CPA exams. Becker's book is all over the place!
I only used one review program at a time for FAR, REG, and BEC. I used the Gleim Test Prep AFTER I finished my regular review program. For AUD I used all of my review programs at the same time for the five major subject areas.
Let me state that I do not learn from books. I learn from a teacher and I use books as a reference, not as a substitute for a teacher. I learned that lesson the hard way when I failed FAR just using Gleim and an out-of-date Becker book.
I had the Becker books, Wiley books and Gleim books. The Gleim books can go into the trash. The only reason that I used the Wiley book was because Yaeger used it. The Becker book is like Cliff Notes, and it is a very good book in my opinion. However, the Wiley book is the better reference book because it has all of the details that you need.
Gleim is a powerful tool, especially their Test Prep. Gleim is better than just the Wiley software for organizing multiple choice questions. However, Gleim's books and audio were useless to me.
Reading the Gleim book was as much fun for me as reading the dictionary. I even had difficulty using it as a reference. My Gleim book sat on the shelf, gathering dust!
All of my accounting textbooks were out of date. I threw all of those textbooks into the trash after I failed FAR, my first exam. Additionally, I estimated that I wasted about 8 months trying to find answers to Gleim multiple choice questions in old accounting books. I also found out, after I failed FAR, that even the new textbooks were out-of-date by the time that they were published! Rule #1: Use only current materials to study.
I liked Yaeger and Bob Monette because when they came to a multiple choice question, I could stop the DVD and answer the question. I then listened to the explanation of the answer. Yaeger even went to the blackboard to show you the solution. I took notes if I missed the question. I found this approach more efficient and effective than the Gleim non-teaching approach.
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