[recpa]

Wiley Question –

Hello,

New poster on this board. Was wondering if I could get some input regarding the CPAExcel course from anyone on this board? Thank you.

Link: Current CPAexcel Discount Codes

[Anonymous]

I used cpaexcel. Program is pretty good, they have made a lot of improvements to the videos. But they also increase the price. If you are a student you get a 20% discount. I like how they constantly listen to feedback and adjust the program for their weakeness. For example, a while back lots of people complain about the REG section. But now they have revised all of the REG videos to make it easier to learn. Cpaexcel is 1/3 of the price of becker and pretty darn good. So I highly recommend it.

[Anonymous]

I bought it and used it sparingly for notes.

I found that the $40 Wiley books were light years better than CPAExcel. CPAExcel is good for those who want a condensed course but I found it SUBSTANTIALLY lacking in MCQ's. I knew from previous experience with FAR, for instance, certain topics are heavily tested and CPAExcel skipped right past those topics. There were also gaps between notes CPA excel gave (which were very good) and their own MCQ's. I also found their questions to be too simple–although representative of what you will see on the exam. I prefered to study with Wiley's extra difficult questions.

I think it's good for people who want to take a risk that they will cover enough. I would not trust it, IMHO

[nbad311]

(slightly off topic, but) @CPApending, I agree the MCQs in the Wiley books are silly hard compared to those in Becker & Bisk. Especially for many of their calculation questions, I feel as though they often cram every possible piece of a scenario into a question and you have to factor in everything to get the right answer. Many of the computational Qs on the actual exam are simply not that in-depth. But, better to be prepared I suppose!

REG - 65, 70, 80!
BEC - 35, 62, 79!
AUD - 73, 75!
FAR - 65, 73, 70, 75! DONE.

[recpa]

Thanks for the responses everybody. I don't know much about this course, but I find it very appealing that the course is supposedly very good for people with very hectic schedules such as myself. I also LOVE the fact that they are much chepaer then Becker and give you unlimited access to their software, which most other courses, including Becker, don't.

Given that, however, I am concerned about CPAPending's post regarding their substantial lack thereof of MCQ's and skipped topics. Can anyone else substantiate what CPAPending said?

CPAPending – what, specifically, are they lacking in MCQ's? Don't they give you over a couple thousands of MCQs to practice with?

I don't want a course that gives me just enough. I want to be fully prepared and am willing to invest the time to do so.

Appreciate any follow-up responses.

[Anonymous]

They give you a bunch of questions but they are not thorough IMHO.

If you read through the notes, they are very thorough. I like their notes. But then you go to the MCQ's and you may have only 8-15 MCQ's over that section. I knew for a fact that many of the topics I encountered on the exam were skipped.

Once I went onto Wiley, there were many questions across all topics that should have been covered.

I too chose CPAExcel for the free continuing support. I would say that if you are bent on using CPAExcel, I would use the CPAExcel for the notes, do all the Wiley printed book questions multiple times and only then would I go on to the CPAExcel MCQ's. I would also use CPAExcel for the research SIMS.

[recpa]

CPAPending – would you recommend this course? Do they really miss a lot of things that other courses teach?

[Anonymous]

If you are only going to use CPAExcel, I would advise against it.

I personally don't advocate any single course. The best advice is to combine Becker or CPAExcel with Wiley. I'm a big Wiley fan, I passed pretty much using Wiley only. It works for me but it is a huge amount of extra work. But with the exception of one SIM, I encountered nothing that I hadn't been prepared for.

If I had to only use one, I would use Wiley printed. I also highly recommend Ninja for the summary of the notes as well. But that's me.

[Anonymous]

I have used CPAExcel so far for BEC and AUD and passed both on my 1st attempt. I supplemented BEC with the Wiley Book and AUD with the Wiley Test Bank and CPAreviewforfree SIMs.

BEC (77) – I was running out of time and finished the course 2 days before I sat for the exam. The final 2 days I went through almost all of the MCQ's in the Wiley Book. I felt like CPAExcel covered everything pretty well but the Wiley book was definitely a good supplement to get additional MCQ's to go over. Considering this was my first exam so I didn't know what to expect and that I didn't give myself adequate time to review, I was happy with the results.

AUD (95) – This time I finished the course about a week and a half before I was scheduled to sit for the exam. In that week and a half, I continued doing as many MCQ's and SIMS as possible in the Wiley Test Bank. I also did most of the CPAreviewforfree SIMs – I paid the $10 for these based on the recommendations from a few different people on this board but I really felt like I didn't get much out of them and they were not worth the $10. Obviously my results for AUD were great and I felt more confident going into the exam because I had already passed BEC and I had plenty of time after finishing the course to do a final review.

I purchased the Wiley Test Bank for all 4 sections through the Another71 website since it was cheaper than buying the 3 I needed individually. I have been using CPAExcel and the Wiley Test Bank for REG, which I will be taking in February. So far, I have been happy with CPAExcel. I originally bought BEC and UD a couple of years ago when they had a BOGO promotion and finally started using it this summer. I ended up purchasing REG and FAR about a month ago since it helped me pass the other 2 sections. You can't beat the price or the guarantee but for around $200 extra, I think it's definitely worth supplementing CPAExcel with the Wiley Test Bank because as others have pointed out, the Wiley questions are often more difficult/in depth so they really test that you know the material even though in my experience the actual exam questions have been more like the CPAExcel questions.

[jw_83]

I used CPAExcel for Reg. The first time I took it I knew I wasn't prepared and I got a 64. So I went back through all the material again and was scoring in the 80's on the MCQs and practice exams. I left the prometric center feeling confident that I had passed. I failed again with a 72. Looking back, I probably memorized many of the answers from CPAExcel, instead of actuall learning. I agree with CPAPending, the MCQs were sometimes too easy and I don't think there were enough. Sometimes there would be only 3 questions for one lesson. However, I heard that they did make some changes and Wiley bought them out. So it may be different now.

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

[recpa]

Thanks everybody. What do I need from Wiley? The books or testbank or both?

[Anonymous]

JW,

I could see that AUD and BEC are doable using CPAExcel.

I looked at CPAExcel for FAR and REG and they were disasterously incomplete. I really truly don't know how I could have passed due to the lack of coverage in the MCQ's.

[NoOrigins]

I've only used CPA excel. It's a decent course. Passed FAR, REG, and BEC with quite a bit of leeway on all of them on the first try.

FAR: Passed
REG: Passed
BEC: Passed
AUD: Passed

[recpa]

CPAPending – what Wiley books should I get? Thx.

[Tncincy]

I used CPAexcel, and I still kinda use it. I am not confident with it. For me its too much. in bite-sizes.I want to get to the meat and really get into it, but cpaexcel is too bland. I agree that the price is doable compared to becker. But once the money is spent on a review course, it's spent. I have wiley books and test bank and ninja notes and audio because I can't seem to get into CPAexcel. I have been tempted to switch to Roger but I just don't have the money to buy any more materials…besides, the test cost enough. It is good to check out the program before you buy any programs. I went for the CPAexcel because of the free stuff but it took me too long to figure out how to use the program. By the time I figured it out, I had rescheduled far, rescheduled Reg, then canceled far and focused on reg and then failed reg. I simply was not ready. I was not sure even though I used cpaexcel. So my advice is to find the program the fits your learning style and stick with it. One thing I have learned though is if I don't study I won't pass.

So…back to the topic….I vote Wiley books, test bank, Ninja notes and audio.

It begins with a 75
Been here too long as a cheerleader....ready to pass

[vpattison]

I am using CPAexcel, Wiley, and Ninja. I found that CPAexcel is good for a quick overview, but lacks in the MCQ's and Simulations. I picked up the Wiley testbank and books to go into more detail on weak topics and for practice MCQ's and Simulations. I use the Ninja notes and Audio for when I'm working and commuting back and forth to work and running errands as well as the gym. Overall, I study all the time every little chance I get.

[Author]

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