CPA Exam Prep Course Reviews

Lauren W on February 7, 2017 at 9:02AM said:

Becker is not great, and its highly overrated.

1. They contradict what they say in the book with the answer explanations for MCQ and TBS

2. They are terrible are preparing you for reg. I could not beleive the content in R6-R8. They could not give you the main points

3. They are terrible in sections A3 and A4 of audit. It seems like they don't even understand the controls for transaction cycles. In addition, they don't explain in A4 what effect certain ratios have on accounts and other ratios, which is extremely important.

4. The flash cards are pointless. You are way better off making your own.

5. The paper in the books is extremely thin. I would underline something in pencil and flip the page over and you could see the pencil markets which was extremely annoying.

I wish I would have done more research into other study materials.

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Rogenie H. on August 17, 2015 at 8:08PM said:

Horrible way to review if you need support/motivation from other reviewers. On top of that the cost is outrageous and you better be not doing anything else other than review for the whole year or you don't get no second chance. I do not recommend at all. There are other better far cheaper reviewers out there.

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Safiya A on July 8, 2015 at 2:07AM said:

I choose the full package of: live classes + books + online access with videos and MCQ & Sim practice. I especially LOVE their book because it's very comprehensive. Compared to others like Roger's CRAM CPA review and MDS CPA review, this was by far the best one. It has explanations and examples with summarized charts at the end of the chapter to round up your knowledge of the topic. Also, the questions that are on the online portal (can also be accessed via a download to a computer or Iphone) are the same as Roger's & MDS because they're all released from the AICPA. The lectures are accessible offline when downloaded to the computer or the Iphone. The cost here in my country for all parts is US $4,620.

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Paul M. on June 4, 2015 at 4:06PM said:

Becker's course adequately prepared me for the exams. The lectures are precise and only touches exactly what you need to know in order to pass the exams. The longest i spend studying for any exam was 3 months only because I missed an exam window. For all the other lectures my preparation using "only" Becker averaged 5 weeks.

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Mary R. on September 17, 2013 at 3:09PM said:

I really don't like the Becker review material. I received it as a prize for an accounting quiz while in college. I find that it is overwhelming and hard to stay focus. After working 8 hours a day, it is so hard to feel like I ever get any where with the material. The lectures are boring and the constant comments by the Peter and Tim are enough to make you want to bang your head against the wall. When you get problems wrong in the mcq the explanations are really hard to follow. Also there is no way anyone could possible remember all of their mnemonics, there is one for everything. They also seem to nickle and dime you for everything. Allowing only 18 months for use of the software, extra questions on the far section and the expense of the flash cards is ridiculous. I have taken 5 sections and I have not passed one. I would not recommend this to anyone who has a short attention span and has trouble following lectures.

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Leisa S. on December 6, 2012 at 3:12PM said:

I used Wiley, Bisk and finally the Becker. Becker made all the difference in my scores. If you follow the guidelines that Becker outlines and commit to the program you WILL PASS.

Hands down the best review course that I used!

Good Luck!

P.S. I worked for McGladrey and we got a huge group discount and the firm actually paid the $1,700 for me. Check to see if they offer a discount for your firm!

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Suzanne H. on January 17, 2012 at 11:01AM said:

My brother and I purchased the Becker study course after weighing all our options and upon finding a reasonably priced used package on e-Bay. Out of the two study programs I used to prepare for the exams, I have to say Becker was definitely far better than the other program.

In the home study option, the lectures are basically the text being read by the instructors. However I liked how they added little examples, put emphasis on what concepts are more important, didn't ramble on, and also give little hints as how best to memorize principles.

The software includes practice questions for each chapter as well as sample test exams. Personally, I worked as many problems as I could since that's how I learn best and remember things. I found their questions to be very helpful in learning the material more in depth and even saw a few very similar questions on the exams.

I didn't really use the flashcards and just found them to take up space. I actually made my own flashcards and would review them.

Overall, I would highly recommend the Becker program. After passing all my exams using Becker and failing exams just narrowly using the other program (same study time, same time spent doing questions and supplemental material), I felt Becker helped prepare me better.

If money isn't an issue in purchasing a study program, I would highly recommend Becker. Also, check out used materials for sale on sites such as e-Bay because people will pass their exams and then sell the material as Becker gives 3 licenses with their PassMaster software and most only use 1-2 of the licenses. That is the most expensive part of the purchase, otherwise books aren't that expensive. I purchased a 2009 version (prior to the 2011 change as I took the bulk of exams in 2010) and paid about $945 online for the books, lecture dvd's, data discs with the questions, PassMaster and flashcards.

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Qi L. on September 22, 2010 at 4:09PM said:

I chose Becker because it ranks highest among CPA exam-prep materials – by cost! Jokes aside, the self-study course is quite robust and has prepared me in passing FAR and BEC. (I’m waiting to take REG and AUD in about a month.) The course is divided into four modules, matching the sections of the exam. Within each module, the content, specific to the exam curriculum, is further refined into chapters that are taught in a logical order.

I paid $3325 in December 2009 for the 2010 course material after a $300 VSCPA member discount. The package included the four course books, four final review books, passmaster software, and flashcards. I did not realize that I could have gotten the flashcards as an ipod/iphone app. I would have much preferred carrying around the app as opposed to all the index cards.

The course books are very detailed. While I encountered few minor concepts that needed additional research, majority of the material is explained very well. The pneumonic devices are invaluable. The lectures are not the most effective. Majority of the lectures involve the instructors reading actual text from the course books and indicating what to highlight and all at a very quick pace. Students are definitely expected to apply considerable time to study the materials independently. There are occasional, explanatory videos that discuss tougher concepts. These are very helpful. The instructors do try to incorporate humor when they can, to help numb the pain. The passmaster software offers multiple choice questions, simulations, and sample exams. The sample exam software mimics that of the actual exam.

The final review program contains highly summarized text and good practice questions to be used at the last minute before sitting for an exam section. It is a fast paced, high level review. While this is not entirely necessary it is definitely helpful. Flash cards are the least helpful of the tools in my opinion. The information is fairly dry.

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Ashley M. on September 20, 2010 at 7:09PM said:

I chose the classroom method and supplemented it by reviewing the lectures on disc later. The Becker Passmaster software is great and I think that is the most helpful portion of the program. It is not a fail proof method - you still have to invest a lot of time going through all the lectures, multiple choice questions and simulations to expect to pass the exams. Overall, I would choose Becker again for my course and would certainly recommend it to others.

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