[Excel14]

I have been a CPAexceler for a while now, and while I haven’t taken an exam yet, I am wondering if I might have been wiser to go with Gleim (used it for the CIA and passed). I’m sure that this is a redundant question, but can the Gleim users out there give me an idea of how well it prepares you for the exam? Just curious…..

BEC (2/28/16) ----- 78
FAR (09/10/16)-----
AUD
REG

CIA, CGAP, CFE

[roni11]

I did Gleim for review. I think it's great if you study well by reading and doing MCQ/sims, rather than watching or listening to lectures. It splits each exam part into 20 manageable chapters with questions and sims available for each part. I liked the way everything was systematically and thoroughly explained.

Obviously, it worked for me. 🙂

FAR August 2013 - 90
AUD October 2013 - 86
BEC March 2014 - 89
REG - May 2014 - 81
Ethics - 98

I am done!

Licensed in CO since September, 2014

[Excel14]

Thanks Roni. Did you find that you had enough time to complete each lesson? I am able to average about 2 hours a weeknight on my studies (3 on Friday), and about 5 per day on both Saturday and Sunday. I noticed when setting up a “mock planner” in Gleim, the lessons are spaced pretty close together. Thoughts?

BEC (2/28/16) ----- 78
FAR (09/10/16)-----
AUD
REG

CIA, CGAP, CFE

[M.O.D.]

Gleim breaks down the 20 chapters into 5-6 sections each. Which you can test individually after reading/note-taking.

So if you have 2 hours, aim to finish at least 1 section, both reading and MCQs. That is what I do.

BA Mathematics, UC Berkeley
Certificates in CPA and EA preparation, College of San Mateo
CMA I 420, II 470
FAR 91, AUD Feb 2015 (Gleim self-study)

[jw_83]

I started with CPAExcel for Reg and failed twice. I then switched to Gleim. I passed the next three tests on the first try. I liked how Gleim grouped lessons together and their steps to follow had me doing more MCQs than CPAExcel. I felt like CPAExcel “bite sized” learning was too “bite sized”. I gave myself about 2-3 days to do each lesson and a week or so to review, so about 8-12 weeks per section.

REG - 64, 72, 81!
FAR - 77
AUD - 79
BEC - 72, 79! And Done!

[Anonymous]

TL;DR: Gleim MC test-bank is great. Gleim textbook is bad.

Started with only a Wiley text for FAR. Passed. Employer vouched for the full Gleim kit for me, so I switched over to Gleim only for AUD. Used the online lectures (pretty much a power point lesson with a voice-over), the text and the test bank. Left the Wiley AUD book on the shelf the whole time. Failed. Switched back to Wiley text + Gleim test bank, neglecting the Gleim texts and online lectures, and passed the remaining three in a row.

So in my opinion, the Gleim text books were bad and the online lectures were so slow and boring. The Gleim test bank, however, was incredibly useful. And obviously, I really like the Wiley texts. Long and dry with newspaper-type pages and small print, but at $150 for all four texts containing just about everything that could be tested on, it's hard to pass up.

[roni11]

Excel14, I did a lesson per 1-2 hours, total 8-12 weeks per section prep without pushing myself too hard. I only used books and online question and sim banks, no lectures, no presentations. But that's my personal study habits – I learn better by reading.

I really like the way Gleim explains MCQs in book and online, both the correct and wrong answers, as well as sims.

FAR August 2013 - 90
AUD October 2013 - 86
BEC March 2014 - 89
REG - May 2014 - 81
Ethics - 98

I am done!

Licensed in CO since September, 2014

[klink24]

CPAExceler too. I think CPAExcel is awesome, especially if paired with a good test bank like @debitink said. I use WTB but I probably would have gone with Ninja MCQ had it been around at the time. I've done every single MCQ in WTB but no SIMS.

FAR: 4/19/2014 - 85!
AUD: 5/27/2014 - 90!
REG: 7/18/2014 - 81!
BEC: 8/13/2014 - 84!

4 up, 4 down, in 4 months.

Licensed 9/22 in NC.

[Skynet]

Currently using Gleim right now. I love their test bank. You can tailor your study on the mcq's any way you want. The text books are also fairly easy to read and understand. Compared to Wiley's, they are so boring. Gleim is also fairly economical in price too.

[Excel14]

Great input everyone. Thanks! I liked CPAexcel, but with the insane amount of lessons (good coverage though, I suppose), I was beginning to fall behind using it. Not to mention as someone here stated, the “bite sized” lessons in CPAexcel, seemed to test on an average of about 5-10 MCQ, and then quickly moved on. I too, was feeling as if I wasn't learning efficiently. There is no “magic bullet” I realize, but much of this is feeling out how we individually learn best.

BEC (2/28/16) ----- 78
FAR (09/10/16)-----
AUD
REG

CIA, CGAP, CFE

[Anonymous]

I use the Gliem test bank for comprehensive review after finishing Becker. Once I can consistantly score in the 70's on random 30 question quizes I'm ready to test. Done it for the 3 sections I've passed thus far.

[Anonymous]

I used Gleim for 2 tests. After I went through Becker lectures+hw once, I set Gleim to show every single question and I worked on them for a few weeks until they were all completed. Then I would do a little review a few days before my test. I noticed once I did ALL the questions for that cpa section in gleim, my actual test score was at least 20 points higher.

I stopped using gleim for my next 2 tests, because I thought some questions were unnecessarily hard. Failed both.

Coincidence? Who knows. I should start using Gleim again, but now with NINJA MCQ, I don't know what to do…

[Excel14]

@etcetera:

I have the NINJA test questions also. I'm figuring I will use them as a “fresh set” of questions, once I'm done with Gleim. We can't work them all!

BEC (2/28/16) ----- 78
FAR (09/10/16)-----
AUD
REG

CIA, CGAP, CFE

[Author]

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