[LStevens225]

So I’m not posting this to trash talk. I’m posting this because had I known I would have an interaction with the instructor of a review program I would not have spent $1,600 on their program. I would have liked to have known this before.

I failed FAR with a 60. Not proud or saying I did everything right. Clearly I need to find a better study method. I have e-mailed Jeff (from this site) at the end of November to ask for his advice after getting my score at 3 am (I couldn’t sleep) and I haven’t heard back. (If you see this Jeff, I REALLY value your opinion so I’m not sure if you’re busy and I don’t want to call you out but after this conversation with Cindy I’m pretty much spent)

So I saw that Cindy would call and give advice so I figured since I spent the money… why not… I told her my score and she asked if I even studied…. Ouch. That’s my biggest problem here. Yes, I studied. I watched ALL of her videos and took intensive notes. I did multiple choice questions (clearly not the right way). Like I said I never said I did everything prefect… I know I messed up somewhere. For her to add salt to the wound of a 60 fail… I’m not sure why this hurt my feelings so much but it did.. I actually cried… I don’t cry too easily… I did Jeff’s ELL plan by the way. I didn’t do as well as I should as I did slack off at time but I DID study…

Has anyone had an issue such as this? You spend all this money and when it is their one chance to help you out they just make you question whether I or you can do this? Because that’s where I feel I am at. I don’t know if this is for me… Silly right?! What all did you do? I need my support from the people who know the tests best…

Thanks

 

 

[Spur]

IMHO, drop Yaeger and just read the Wiley book. That's what I did for my FAR and AUD passes. The videos were just a waste of time. If you take the time to try to understand the material yourself rather than passively watching someone on a screen you will do much better. Of course, it does take a lot of hard work to do that and you have to put some faith in yourself and your learning ability.

So sock it to her and just don't buy the Yaeger stuff for any more sections.

FAR - Bad Fail '11, Fail '12, Fail '13, PASS It's a miracle!
AUD - Fail, PASS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
BEC - PASS!!!!!!!!
REG - PASS!!!!!!!! And I'm done!

[Spur]

IMHO, drop Yaeger and just read the Wiley book. That's what I did for my FAR and AUD passes. The videos were just a waste of time. If you take the time to try to understand the material yourself rather than passively watching someone on a screen you will do much better. Of course, it does take a lot of hard work to do that and you have to put some faith in yourself and your learning ability.

So sock it to her and just don't buy the Yaeger stuff for any more sections.

FAR - Bad Fail '11, Fail '12, Fail '13, PASS It's a miracle!
AUD - Fail, PASS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
BEC - PASS!!!!!!!!
REG - PASS!!!!!!!! And I'm done!

[Not a Quitter]

I haven't had an experience like yours because I am not using an instructor led program but I will tell you that I made a 60 on REG and yes, I did study. If someone had asked me that it would have felt liek a punch in the gut. Did I sudy enough? No. Did I study the right way, probably not. I so sympathize with your feelings.

Hang in there…you can get your score up to a 75 or more!

FAR- 85 I'm DONE!
BEC- 75
REG- 60,60,75
AUD- 74,74,83

CPAExcel used for BEC, AUD, REG
Exam Matrix used for FAR plus NINJA Blitz, cpareviewforfree and a little CPAExcel

[Not a Quitter]

I haven't had an experience like yours because I am not using an instructor led program but I will tell you that I made a 60 on REG and yes, I did study. If someone had asked me that it would have felt liek a punch in the gut. Did I sudy enough? No. Did I study the right way, probably not. I so sympathize with your feelings.

Hang in there…you can get your score up to a 75 or more!

FAR- 85 I'm DONE!
BEC- 75
REG- 60,60,75
AUD- 74,74,83

CPAExcel used for BEC, AUD, REG
Exam Matrix used for FAR plus NINJA Blitz, cpareviewforfree and a little CPAExcel

[mla1169]

You're that upset because she asked you if you even studied? look at my scores below, even for the 49 I studied very hard, and plenty of people asked if I even studied. To which I answered yes, and moved on.

Seriously if you ran a business and a customer called with a complaint wouldn't you want to know all of the facts to determine what course of action would satisfy the customer. Finding out if and how they used your product is a pretty significant fact to determine. Plenty of people don't study at all and score a 60 (again I studied and got a 49, so I'm not giving you a hard time about your score). Plenty of people study over 100 hours and end up with a 60. I hardly consider it inappropriate to first want to know which of those groups you belong to.

You need to take inventory of what worked for you and what didn't work for you. Obviously you are capable of doing this but you're going to need to look internally instead of externally for your answers. Think about whether handwriting and rewriting notes would work best for YOU. Think of how to squeeze in more multiple choice questions. Ask how others improved their scores by 15+ points (for me it was Jeffs ninja notes).

Even though you were exhausted, frustrated and overwhelmed it IS a legitimate question. This exam is a test of stamina as much as it is knowledge, don't let yourself get weighted down by such nonsense.

FAR- 77
AUD -49, 71, 84
REG -56,75!
BEC -75

Massachusetts CPA (non reporting) since 3/12.

[mla1169]

You're that upset because she asked you if you even studied? look at my scores below, even for the 49 I studied very hard, and plenty of people asked if I even studied. To which I answered yes, and moved on.

Seriously if you ran a business and a customer called with a complaint wouldn't you want to know all of the facts to determine what course of action would satisfy the customer. Finding out if and how they used your product is a pretty significant fact to determine. Plenty of people don't study at all and score a 60 (again I studied and got a 49, so I'm not giving you a hard time about your score). Plenty of people study over 100 hours and end up with a 60. I hardly consider it inappropriate to first want to know which of those groups you belong to.

You need to take inventory of what worked for you and what didn't work for you. Obviously you are capable of doing this but you're going to need to look internally instead of externally for your answers. Think about whether handwriting and rewriting notes would work best for YOU. Think of how to squeeze in more multiple choice questions. Ask how others improved their scores by 15+ points (for me it was Jeffs ninja notes).

Even though you were exhausted, frustrated and overwhelmed it IS a legitimate question. This exam is a test of stamina as much as it is knowledge, don't let yourself get weighted down by such nonsense.

FAR- 77
AUD -49, 71, 84
REG -56,75!
BEC -75

Massachusetts CPA (non reporting) since 3/12.

[Ajaz0810]

I used Yaeger for FAR. Cindy is the Alpha female. I'd imagine she would talk to someone like that. I wouldn't let it hurt your feelings. You're probably going to get treated worse by people in the business world. As far as their program I really think it is overrated. Videos themselves aren't what teach you it's working through countless problems. Don't sweat it.

FAR 62, 66, 78
AUD 66, 55, 74, 72
BEC 79
REG

[Ajaz0810]

I used Yaeger for FAR. Cindy is the Alpha female. I'd imagine she would talk to someone like that. I wouldn't let it hurt your feelings. You're probably going to get treated worse by people in the business world. As far as their program I really think it is overrated. Videos themselves aren't what teach you it's working through countless problems. Don't sweat it.

FAR 62, 66, 78
AUD 66, 55, 74, 72
BEC 79
REG

[whopper]

Yes, I encountered something similar. When I asked Cindy for help with BEC, she told me I probably wasn't going to do well because I should have taken FAR first. I responded ‘too late, I already applied for NTS, let's move on & help me with these problems'. So after beginning the first problem, maybe two min later, she starts up again on how I should have taken FAR first and her rant continued throughout the conversation. It was really annoying and not encouraging. I also felt like I had to scream over her a few times to get her to listen/understand my question. I've encountered the same behavior with Phil. But, I will say they really know their stuff and seem to truly care about you passing. Since you already bought Yaeger, I would complement with Gleim SIMS and MCQs. Personally, I felt like Wiley was a difficult read and did not explain things in enough detail. Best of luck on your journey!

REG - 89, 04/29/13
BEC - 81, 08/06/13
FAR - 84, 12/19/13
AUD - 82, 10/05/13

[whopper]

Yes, I encountered something similar. When I asked Cindy for help with BEC, she told me I probably wasn't going to do well because I should have taken FAR first. I responded ‘too late, I already applied for NTS, let's move on & help me with these problems'. So after beginning the first problem, maybe two min later, she starts up again on how I should have taken FAR first and her rant continued throughout the conversation. It was really annoying and not encouraging. I also felt like I had to scream over her a few times to get her to listen/understand my question. I've encountered the same behavior with Phil. But, I will say they really know their stuff and seem to truly care about you passing. Since you already bought Yaeger, I would complement with Gleim SIMS and MCQs. Personally, I felt like Wiley was a difficult read and did not explain things in enough detail. Best of luck on your journey!

REG - 89, 04/29/13
BEC - 81, 08/06/13
FAR - 84, 12/19/13
AUD - 82, 10/05/13

[zieba]

After reading your post and understanding the dynamics of an “instructor led course”, I would never in a million years sign up for this. I'm using different materials – graduated school 10+ years ago, was never an accounting whiz – and I have to say that there really isn't anything that my study materials don't explain. Why would I want to call someone who already pocketed my money, and is obviously “bothered” or views and additional interaction as “more work”? That kind of chemistry can't be good.

I sat for FAR without studying at all, though to be fair, I did read 2 chapters, no homework of any kind. I mean I paid for it already, why not sit, right? I received a score of 45. My strategy was to select C for all questions and I remember leaving most SIMS blank, and just populating the drop downs with something, anything. That's a score one gets when one does not study! I did however gain knowledge of the types of topics and questions being tested on, so it was worth the exam fee.

Anythow…

This Cindy sounds great! Just what I need; a bothered and condescending alpha female for my money. I read my study materials (the outline) follow it up with a functional comprehensive example. If I can't do the homework problem I call up that section of the book and re-read and “make it fit” into the example.

I too would be upset if someone came across as I think she did. I guess it depends on the personality type. From where I stand it's: You got paid, grin, provide the service and shut the….

AUD - 75*, 88 done 5/14! (*exp)
BEC - 74 , 77
REG - 65 , 76 (10 point combooo!!)
FAR - 69 , 75

Dr: perseverance
Dr: intelligence
Dr: luck
. Cr: . advisory score

[zieba]

After reading your post and understanding the dynamics of an “instructor led course”, I would never in a million years sign up for this. I'm using different materials – graduated school 10+ years ago, was never an accounting whiz – and I have to say that there really isn't anything that my study materials don't explain. Why would I want to call someone who already pocketed my money, and is obviously “bothered” or views and additional interaction as “more work”? That kind of chemistry can't be good.

I sat for FAR without studying at all, though to be fair, I did read 2 chapters, no homework of any kind. I mean I paid for it already, why not sit, right? I received a score of 45. My strategy was to select C for all questions and I remember leaving most SIMS blank, and just populating the drop downs with something, anything. That's a score one gets when one does not study! I did however gain knowledge of the types of topics and questions being tested on, so it was worth the exam fee.

Anythow…

This Cindy sounds great! Just what I need; a bothered and condescending alpha female for my money. I read my study materials (the outline) follow it up with a functional comprehensive example. If I can't do the homework problem I call up that section of the book and re-read and “make it fit” into the example.

I too would be upset if someone came across as I think she did. I guess it depends on the personality type. From where I stand it's: You got paid, grin, provide the service and shut the….

AUD - 75*, 88 done 5/14! (*exp)
BEC - 74 , 77
REG - 65 , 76 (10 point combooo!!)
FAR - 69 , 75

Dr: perseverance
Dr: intelligence
Dr: luck
. Cr: . advisory score

[jeff]

I apologize – I literally have 1,000 emails to respond to right now and am majorly backlogged.

I answer as many as I can and do podcasts and answer questions on the forum.

Not giving an excuse – just a reason 🙂

I looked up your email and found it – I will respond today.

In regards to the post topic, I will tell you that when you interact with a lot of people either via phone or email, it is possible to come across as rude when you don't mean to be.

Jeff

AUD - 79
BEC - 80
FAR - 76
REG - 92

Jeff Elliott, CPA (KS)
NINJA CPA | NINJA CMA | NINJA CPE | Another71

[jeff]

I apologize – I literally have 1,000 emails to respond to right now and am majorly backlogged.

I answer as many as I can and do podcasts and answer questions on the forum.

Not giving an excuse – just a reason 🙂

I looked up your email and found it – I will respond today.

In regards to the post topic, I will tell you that when you interact with a lot of people either via phone or email, it is possible to come across as rude when you don't mean to be.

Jeff

AUD - 79
BEC - 80
FAR - 76
REG - 92

Jeff Elliott, CPA (KS)
NINJA CPA | NINJA CMA | NINJA CPE | Another71

[10keyLeah]

I don't know if this has anything to do with it, but new englanders can come across as being rude. It's just their way. No offense to anyone to anyone in the north east USA. Yaeger is based in Maryland.

Try not to take it personal. They talk to many, many people. Although, it wouldn't hurt them to be nicer to their customers.

Ninja Combo, Yaeger, Wiley -- Licensed CPA, May 2015

[Author]

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