[Excel14]

Wiley Question –

I have been studying since around June 1, and my test date is 8/31 for FAR. I have heard from one person using CPAexcel who thinks it prepared them well, but I am just curious what others think of how well it prepared you for exams. Anyone? I realize opinions will vary.

What do they call an accounting person, who only managed a 75 on all four parts of the CPA exam....you got it, CPA!!!

BEC (2/28/16) ----- 78
FAR (09/10/16)-----
AUD
REG

CIA, CGAP, CFE

[John Tucker]

Which version of CPA Excel are you using? It has everything (in my opinion) that you will EVER need to pass the exam. At that point, it comes down to you going through the content and doing quality preparation, practice quizzing, practice SIMS/WCs, and the Replica Exams.

* State of MA CPA Exam Candidate
- BEC: Sunday, August 24th
- FAR: Saturday, November 29th
- AUD: TBA for February 2015
- REG: TBA for May 2015

[Anonymous]

I've use it for 3/4 of the exams and I found its best used when combined with the Ninja notes and Wiley Test Bank. Once I get through the Cpaexcel material, I honestly don't reference the software when doing Wiley Test Bank I will just use the ninja notes and google to figure out wiley test questions.

[Monkey Wrench]

I recommend using Ninja MCQ instead of wiley test bank 😛

[Excel14]

I have yet to utilize the NINJA Notes for FAR. Seems that there is way too much material to go through, to have the time to even write much in terms of notes. I have been writing brief notes when I get MCQ wrong, and learning from the correct/incorrect answers, but that is about it. Not sure which version this is, but I bought the program in '10, and have been updated to current material (busy studying for other certs first).

I have purchased NINJA MCQ and Gleim, so as to have extra practice questions. So far, it is all I can do to get through CPAexcel. 🙂

What do they call an accounting person, who only managed a 75 on all four parts of the CPA exam....you got it, CPA!!!

BEC (2/28/16) ----- 78
FAR (09/10/16)-----
AUD
REG

CIA, CGAP, CFE

[Anonymous]

Monkey Wrench – Funny you say that, I was actually trying to figure out whether to get Wiley or Ninja Mcq.

Have you used it for any exam parts yet?

[Excel14]

I went over this in another thread with a guy who uses the program as well, and he stated his review didn't come until 2 weeks before the exam. I am a bit worried, since I've been desperately trying to keep up with the current lessons to cover it all, and at the halfway mark haven't “reviewed” at all. I have a feeling that may spell failure for sure, but I'm trying to stick it out. My FAR test is scheduled for 8/31, and I began studying on 6/1. I'd rather not move the test date, since I wanted to get it taken in this testing window.

What do they call an accounting person, who only managed a 75 on all four parts of the CPA exam....you got it, CPA!!!

BEC (2/28/16) ----- 78
FAR (09/10/16)-----
AUD
REG

CIA, CGAP, CFE

[Anonymous]

I used it and passed 3/4 on my first attempt, with a 74 on my other exam.

REG – CPAExcel only, got a 82

FAR – CPAExcel only, got a 74 (but I didn't do nearly enough MCQ before my test)

FAR Retake – CPAExcel plus NINJA Audio and Wiley TB, got a 77 (I took this during busy season)

AUD – CPAExcel plus NINJA Audio and Wiley TB, got a 76 (also took this during busy season, 2 weeks after I did my FAR re-take)

BEC – CPAExcel plus NINJA Audio and Wiley TB, got a 81

So needless to say, it worked for me. I really liked CPAExcel. Much more than Becker which I used on my first try back in 2009. The only thing I wasn't a complete fan of was their MCQ database I had CPAExcel prior to being bought out by Wiley, so I bought the Wiley TB from Jeff instead of doing the practice questions in CPAExcel. I'm not sure how the test bank is now that Wiley owns CPAExcel.

[Excel14]

@k917:

Thanks. I plan to try and get tons more MCQ in before the exam, if I can find the time to squeeze in reviews. Like I said, so far it's been a struggle (with a FT job), just keeping up with current material. I have the NINJA MCQs/SIMS, as well as Gleim MCQ/SIMS, but it is only a matter of getting to them to work more. Would you say if I'm halfway through and have done zero review thus far (forgotten a LOT), I'm doomed? I am trying to remain positive, but I feel like I'm going through the motions, rather than learning this stuff.

What do they call an accounting person, who only managed a 75 on all four parts of the CPA exam....you got it, CPA!!!

BEC (2/28/16) ----- 78
FAR (09/10/16)-----
AUD
REG

CIA, CGAP, CFE

[GuitarSalad]

I used CPAExcel for my review and passed all four sections the first time through.

Phase 1: My general strategy was to set a timeline that let me get through all the videos/MCQs with 4 weeks left for review. This way I had a little bit of a cushion when I only had 3.5-3 weeks for actual review due to missing a day or getting behind. I would start prep for a section with about 7 weeks to go before my exam date and basically force myself to get through all the videos/MCQs in the course of 3 weeks. It really sucked for those three weeks, but it was worth it.

Phase 2: My review was moving from CPAExcel to WTB to do tons of MCQs and SIMs. I spent my entire time leading up to the exam doing MCQs/SIMs and looking up the reasons for wrong answers. I would set a goal of about 60 MCQs per night and mix in SIMs when I got bored with the MCQs. This was before WTB went way up in price, so it would probably be better to use Ninja MCQ instead of WTB.

Phase 2b: During the review phase, I started listening to Ninja Audio (only did this for the last couple of sections) in my car to and from work. It helped get a couple things in that I would have missed and also pointed out that CPAExcel's FAR does not include anything related to partnership accounting even though it should.

Phase 3: I took the day before the exam off of work to do a practice exam and/or more MCQs as well as reviewing any videos I thought would help. Then I got up the next morning, ate my Wheaties, and kicked that damn test in the jewels.

The biggest part of the process is on you to make sure you're soaking in whatever prep you use. CPAExcel certainly has everything you need. Good luck!

BEC 7/12/13 - 84
AUD 8/31/13 - 86
REG 4/11/14 - 84
FAR 5/30/14 - 88

Licensed AZ CPA - 10/2014

[mady_cs]

I just purchased the Wiley CPAexcel Self-Study Course. Can anyone tell me if this is enough to study with? I am also planning on purchasing the Ninja Notes. I am a bit worried because in all my intermediate accounting courses my grade was a C, so I want to make sure that I put in plenty of time to refresh myself with FAR which is the first section I'm going to take.

Wiley CPAexcel

FAR - 4/02/16
REG - 5/26/16
AUD - 66
BEC - TBD

[Monkey Wrench]

I used it for BEC, I like it—I am also using CPAexcel and supplementing with NINJA MCQ and NINJA Notes. Although, honestly I never really have time to do much with the ninja notes. I have also used the audio for BEC and AUD—although I made a 72 on audit 🙁 if MCQ would have been out then I would have probably made a 102 🙂 —-The test bank is good though, it has good explanations, and a lot of questions. CPAexcel covers a lot of ‘obscure' topics, and MCQ also covers some weird things. I recommend it not only bc its better than wiley (I have used both) but its cheaper 🙂

[Monkey Wrench]

I think it is enough Mady, although most of us like to have a supplement test bank for more questions to practice on. and to my above reply ^^^ i don't have my BEC exam grade yet. but when I took BEC i didn't have any like “where did that even come from???” type questions—so thats a good sign.

[Anonymous]

@Excel – I didn't really do any review until I was through all the material. The only “review” I did concurrently was when I re-wrote my notes. I would do a few days work of videos while taking notes, then I would type up all my notes from that section at once. So it was a bit of review, but I wasn't going back to past topics MCQs until the end. Then I spent the last week or 2 doing all review at the end.

As for it being a struggle because you're working – that unfortunately is just something you need to figure out. During REG and BEC studying I was working 8:30-6ish with a 45 minute drive on either end. During both FAR attempts the hours were about 8:30-7, then during AUD I did a couple weeks of 8:30-8. Each night I then went home and studied until 11, 12, 1am some days. It sucked. But that's what I had to do. Full disclosure – I'm more of a “night owl”than a morning person. But all my studying was done after I got home from work. Thankfully I managed to avoid having to work weekends while I was studying, so I put in 6-8 hour days usually on weekends to catch up.

I assigned myself specific tasks each day based on how long the lectures for a specific section were. Under no circumstances did I allow myself to not finish a day's “assignment”. It kept me on track and helped fit studying in around work. If I still had my old schedules I'd send them to you, but unfortunately I don't anymore.

[Excel14]

@k917:

Yeah, I realize that I'm one of many who work and try to do this; however, it still makes trying to do more than just “keep up”, next to impossible. I'm hanging in there though. I just have to figure out what works best, as you have stated.

What do they call an accounting person, who only managed a 75 on all four parts of the CPA exam....you got it, CPA!!!

BEC (2/28/16) ----- 78
FAR (09/10/16)-----
AUD
REG

CIA, CGAP, CFE

[Anonymous]

Sorry if the “need to figure it out” came across harshly at all. That certainly wasn't the intended tone!! And I wasn't implying that I thought you thought you were the only one working and studying. I meant “figure it out” as literally needing to figure out what worked for you.

Just wanted to clear it up in case it came across mean at all!!

Good luck!

[Author]

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