Victory at last! Passed all 4, each are first time scores!
BEC- Did this first since I didn't have confidence in my writing skills. Used only Gleim.
AUD- Did this second to “level myself up” since I had heard it was harder than BEC but less so than FAR and REG. Added NINJA MCQs, Notes, audio, and ROGER audio to Gleim.
FAR- Did this third to get “the beast” out of the way…. again added NINJA MCQs, notes, audio, and Roger Audio to Gleim. Also added the Wiley Test Bank and the Wiley study guides.
REG- Originally intended in the spring, I decided to take a swing at it in December so I'd at least have another shot at it should I fail before the big 2017 changes hit….. started studying in mid November as I “ripened” on FAR and couldn't get anything out of it anymore, while still maintaining my FAR knowledge. Again had NINJA MCQs, notes, audio, and Roger Audio as well as Gleim. Also added the Wiley Test Bank and the Wiley study guides.
Ultimately I think the Gleim review course and the NINJA MCQs were the most helpful in me passing the exams.
The audios (both ROGER and NINJA) were good on the theoretical stuff (all of audit and the BLAW portion of REG), but not so great for the calculation/math portions (FAR and the tax portion of REG). The Ninja notes were too bare-bones for my taste. I can see where if someone was out of school they could find it useful as a framework to hold everything in, but I'm more of a go in and dig up all the details guy…. want to make sure my defenses are ready for anything come test day. I always get myself worried that the next test I take is going to be some freak of nature exam that the best of the best could only hope to make a C on… like some sort of Dark Souls level with tons of traps and everything. Which is good in terms of motivating me to study and get ready, but not so great for my psyche.
At any rate, I did not find the Wiley study guides and test banks to be too helpful. It's mainly how they word their questions and the lack of explanations (especially on Wiley Test Bank where the explanations are basically “It's incorrect because it's incorrect”) that make it less helpful, especially compared to Gleim with NINJA as a supplement.
Glad this part of my life is over!
BEC- 94
AUD- 8/9/16
REG- 10/15/16
FAR- 12/3/16