[JHahn949]

I just graduated in December and I’m planning to sit down for the CPA exam this year and had some questions:

-What are some CPA prep courses you would recommend? (I have it narrowed down to Wiley, CPAExcel, and NinjaNotes)

-How long did you study before you felt prepared to take the first exam? I’m thinkin a couple of months??

-Which section did you take first and why? (I’m planning to take Regulations first, but not sure)

any help would be appreciated….thanks

[Go_Frogs88]

@JHan949 – Good luck on your studies this year! I would recommend using CPA Excel. With CPA Excel you get pass rates similar to Becker at about half the cost. Also, CPA Excel won't expire until you pass all four sections. I also supplemented this with the Ninja Notes and Wiley Test Bank. Although now I believe that CPA Excel comes with Wiley for no added cost and you get an iPad mini to study with too! I also have heard Roger or Yaeger to be very good study courses as well though if you don't want to spend Becker money.

I studied at least 2 months for every exam with the exception of FAR and AUD. I studied about 2.5 months for FAR and about 1 month for AUD. It all depends on how quickly you understand the material and how much time you can devote to studying. I had to work full time so I could only study about 2-3 hours a day.

Lastly I would try to take one of the harder exams (FAR or REG) first for a couple of reasons. 1) You get the harder exams out of the way first giving you more confidence and 2) If you fail your 18 month clock won't start yet. Personally I took FAR first and felt like I needed an ‘easier' exam to go after next so I did BEC second. Once again it all depends on your schedule, personal accounting strengths and weaknesses.

Best of luck on your tests. It's a lot of work but it will certainly pay off!

B 8/30/2012 - 83
A 11/29/2012 - 78
R 10/27/2012 - 73 - 1/5/2013 - 81 DONE!!
F 7/1/2012 - 83

CPA Excel, Wiley Test Bank, Ninja Notes & Audio

[acamp]

For most of my exams I did Wiley Test Bank + Ninja Notes–the notes helped give a good refresher and the Test Bank helped discover my weaknesses.

Ninja + Wiley Test Bank: [FAR - 81] [REG - 76] [BEC - 88] [AUD - 73](doh!)

Becker Videos: [AUD - 82]

California CPA

[Author]

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