[Shane]

Hello Everyone

I am currently thinking about taking FAR on May or July. I wish prep myself with the hardest exam so I know the amount I time I need to dedicate on other subject. I tried to study for it back in 2011 but didn’t have enough time to dedicate so I backed off but finally decided to get back to it. I know much of the exam have changed and I need some general advice on study material.

One of my biggest factor is finance. Everywhere I go, it seem like Becker is the hottest CPA review material but 3.4K for material w/ 18 months limitation is out of my reach. In the past, I did use Becker 2011 (Borrowed) to study and the wording and organization seemed quite well. Also, purchased Gleim for School as well as checked out Wiley in Barnes and noble.

As far as I can tell, it seem like Wiley Test is widely used a secondary source while most candidate uses Becker to study. So my question is, do you guys have any advice for someone with tight budget? I was planning on purchasing 2 subject at a time from Gleim or Wiley and study on my own. Will lecture DVD’s from Becker really make that much of a differences or does everything come down to MCQ?

Since most of the candidates used becker to study, I been having difficulty finding feed backs on other review.

If you can help, I can start my CPA marathon once again.

[Anonymous]

I guess I won't be much help as I'm using Becker. I have to admit I was kind of irritated that even the downloaded portion of Becker expires after 18 months (I am understanding this correctly right?). What's the point of downloading it?

I recently took my first CPA Exam which was FAR and I purchased the Ninja notes in a moment of panic and feeling unprepared about a week before the exam. I read through the notes every night and I have to admit it helped me a great deal. Becker can become confusing at times and the simple, straight forward summary was very helpful.

I wouldn't recommend Gleim though. My school had it for free and I had professors point out how many of their questions' “correct” answers were flat out wrong.

[Anonymous]

2 words – Ninja Audio!

[Anonymous]

i have Becker i bought it because everybody here talks about it

and really Becker is good, but now if time back to me i will go for roger for sure

really I like his way of teaching and about half the price

even they were same price i will go for Roger

[the.law.van]

I just wanted to chime in quick on this one because I went through the same review material search process not too long ago. My employer was willing to purchase review materials for me (just not able to spend as much as Becker would cost – $3,000+). My wife works for a large CPA firm and she thought I was crazy to go with anything but Becker (her firm gets the big firm discount and only pays $2,000 or so for the complete Becker set). I went with Yaeger and have not regretted it at all.

Highlights:

$1,500-$1,600 for all 4 sections

The videos NEVER expire

You get the Wiley books and test bank, so if you think about it, you are not really spending that much on the video lectures

If you purchase the complete set (since it is cheaper than piecemealing) and you plan on spreading it out over 2 years, they will wait to ship you the ones you need during the next year, i.e. If you take AUD and REG in 2013, they will ship you FAR and BEC in 2014

Online access

You get direct instructor interaction – I sought guidance on BEC and Cindy (instructor) was very quick to respond

Online access to streaming videos so you can study from where ever – I think this comes with the purchase of the videos

You can get the files on USB drive or dvd

They have some new online text book access which I have not tried

A crapload of MCQ in the book and test bank

BEC – 85

REG – 84

AUD – 65 (I only studied 10 hours due to familial issues but will be retaking next month)

FAR – Waiting on the score but confident

Just my .02

[jeff]

Current CPA Review Course Discounts & Promotions ($2000 or Less)

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[Shane]

Thank You Everyone for your kind support. I am just looking for the best possible route so I need another assistance on this matter. I normally understand material just by reading and sometimes video do help. So here are my questions.

1. Lets say, I have decided to get Wiley Test Bank and Use the Used Book (2011 Version). Will not having Becker Lecture video will make a huge differences in the studying if my knowledge is fairly OK in Accounting (FEB 2011 Grad) or does the lectures boost you're understanding skill (I first bought Gleim but some stuff threw me off a little and after reading Becker, I really loved the flow of the material in Becker).

2. How much differences does Lecture video's make when it comes to understanding and learning. Also, I believe Roge, WIley and Yaeger are the top lecture video. Which do you think will work best in my situation, since I am using different review material.

THank You for your help

[the.law.van]

The lecture videos were helpful for me to pick up on some of the concepts. I am a visual learner so it was helpful for me to see someone work through all of the problems in BEC, REG and FAR. I can only speak to Yaeger, but I would assume all have that component. In BEC, the first half of the videos were basically reading the book, but the instructor started to shine while working through all of the cost/econ/fin material. And in FAR, there is a ton of material to work through.

Something important with Yaeger was that in the videos they skip some of the material in the Wiley books and emphasize other parts. Apparently, the Wiley books cover everything ad nauseum so it helps to cut down some of the extraneous information.

I think no matter which one you go with, use the AICPA resources to make sure you cover/learn any new topics that might be on the test since your materials were released (2011). I think that the rule is something like 6 months since the rule became active or something.

And one quick thought on your comment about mixing review courses…the lecture videos are based on specific books (at least for Yaeger and I think for Becker). It might limit the usefulness of the videos if they are referencing specific problems/facts/information in the book and you are using a book by a different review company. Just something to consider.

[gennatay]

I'll more than likely do a guest blog post on this somewhere, but here are my thoughts on review systems. I would suggest evaluating your study habits and style first. There are some review systems that will take you by the hand and guide you to the end, and others that give you the material and send you on your way. It took me while (and 2 failing scores) to realize that I was using a review system that just did not fit my studying style/habits. I get bored with lectures. I also dislikes answering MCQ that contained items that the review material didn't go over, but the question was assigned. I learn best by doing, I also like to have as much information as possible so that I feel properly informed. For those reasons, I am using Wiley textbooks, Wiley Testbank and Ninja notes for my review. If there is something that I just cannot grasp, I use CPAexcel. So far I feel as if I am retaining information and that my review is going better because I'm not dreading it.

I hope this helps.

[UCFCPA]

I used only the Wiley textbooks and Wiley CPA testbank online to study for the exams while I was in my last semester of the graduate program. Now that I'm working and having to re-take FAR, I purchased Yaeger for just this section. It is a lot cheaper than many of the other options, and it works through the same Wiley textbooks I already have… so it made sense to me. I also have the FAR NINJA audio to listen to in the car on the commute to/from work.

I believe the Wiley textbooks could be enough for any student dedicated to passing if you actually read every chapter, take notes, and do all the multiple choice questions. However, I got really busy with job hunting, moving, getting married, and finishing up graduate school so I didn't put in the necessary effort for FAR.

The Wiley online test bank served as my main source of studying for both BEC and AUD (meaning I hardly picked up the books but for reference). You can really mostly focus on the multiple choice questions once you get the hang of the exams.

REG (8/7/12) 77
FAR (10/4/12) 70 Retake 5/25/13 84!!!!!!!!!
AUD (11/2/12) 78
BEC (11/30/12) 82

[splinter1643]

Personally, I don't like the lectures for Becker-they often tell candidates to highlight and mark the book in addition to teaching you concepts. The Becker book by itself is useful enough. With that said, I highly recommend Roger. He gives shorter lectures on each topic that are easy to understand, and he is funny to boot. You'll also get lots and lots of questions, online and in the book.

CPA license in progress....

[Shane]

Thank you UCFCPA and Everyone.

My initial idea was to split the cost with my friend who has taken becker in the past but didn't dedicate enough time. We were going to split the cost in half and study different section. But upon speaking to my Co-Worker, he passed the exams using the Wiley Book only and Yaeger video, which he bought of Ebay.

After comparing the Wiley and Becker, I do like the flow of Becker book but I have one question for people who has taken Becker and Wiley. If you have studied 100%, at any point in exam did you feel that the review might not have cover certain section.

I think the usefulness of the video is throwing me off. Since I only have one person source I can ask for help. I was think I'll have to rely on lecture videos a lot if I do not understand the material in the book. Since $$$ is one of the factor, I am having a difficult time picking betweening Becker and Wiley, Since it all comes down to the Book and the Lecture for Both.

[Author]

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