Is using the Wiley Review books and the Wiley Practice Software enough? Or do you need the lectures too? I'm trying to figure out what to purchase! Feedback appreciated!!
CPA Exam Review Forum » General CPA Exam Forum » After You Pass: Ethics Exam, Certificates, Work Experience and Licensure
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Anonymous
offlineUnregisteredYes, they worked for me.
Posted 1 year ago # -
75 CPA
offlineMemberThe Wiley software is great because when you run it in exam mode (not study mode), you can get a full score report that shows you how you did overall and also breaks down your performance by module, meaning you can go back and brush up on the sections you need more work in by choosing only those questions in study mode.
But as a standalone, it isn't enough. As others on this board have said, you're going to need something in addition to it. Yaeger Homestudy includes the Wiley book and the Wiley software. Just reading the Wiley book is the most inefficient way to study. Go with Yaeger for FAR, REG and BEC.
Remember, it's easy to look at the cost of preparing for exam review and try to look for shortcuts but if you factor in the cost of having to retake exams you were poorly prepared for, it ends up costing less in the long run to have a real preparation plan in place.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Anonymous
offlineUnregisteredI disagree with 75CPA. If you study the Wiley text, you will pass. As far as it being the most inefficient way to study, dont believe that either. Many people tell you to do Yaegar, Becker, etc. because they are lazy and do not want to read. They would rather watch videos. You should have aleady had your lectures in college, videos are extra. When I actually studied using the Wiley text I passed, check my signature. Im done and it did not take as long as some of those with videos. I have head great things about Yaegar, but if you can read why pay someone else to do it for you? I am a believer in reading. I think the material sticks better and longer. Think about it, how did you learn accounting in college. You had to read the text to really understand. The powerpoints and lectures was not enough to truly grasp the material.
Posted 1 year ago # -
dwadecpa
offlineMemberAs Jeff would say: "make sure the course matches your budget and learning style (do you learn best watching power point style videos are an instructor lecturing college-style in front of a dry erase board?)"
At the very least, the videos will help you sort through the material (i.e. show you what parts are very important, which parts are not very important), and give you a good breakdown/run-through of the material before you start studying the text. I personally don't learn well from someone telling (I learn from doing, i.e. doing problems and referring back to applicable text in the book), so watching lectures certainly wasn't enough for me (even though others claimed they never had to read the book after the lectures). Although it seems that I could have done without the lectures, I do not underestimate the helpfulness of someone walking you through the material and speaking informally about the exam, which will help get you comfortable about the format and will prevent you from getting overwhelmed in general.
Posted 1 year ago # -
75 CPA
offlineMemberlkbcpa2b
I stick to my position: Only reading the text is the most inefficient way to study. I think that you need to have a realistic evaluation of your background. If you had 3 auditing college courses, just reading Wiley might work. On the other hand, if you only had one lousy correspondence course in auditing, like me, reading the Wiley book is just going to put us to sleep. There is no substitute for a good teacher.
Posted 1 year ago # -
laurab512
offlineMemberSometimes listening to someone talk about the topics can help the information stick in your head a little better than just reading alone. Also, I've noticed that examples given during lectures tend to stick with me and help me remember concepts. It has been my experience that just reading isn't enough - it's a combination of reading, watching lectures, and most importantly practicing as many questions as possible.
Posted 1 year ago # -
bakagal
offlineMemberI think part of the problem here is that you guys are forgetting that everyone learns differently so different things work for different people! Some people are auditory learners, which means that they learn best by hearing someone explain the concepts to them. Others (like me!) are completely visual learners and learn best by reading through the material. I don't bother to watch the lectures (unless I'm stuck on a difficult concept in the book which has only happened several times between the 3 sections I've studied for) since every second I end up pausing them because the info just isn't penetrating (and also cuz they skip a bunch of things). But clearly, reading through the chapters is enough for me, as I scored decently on the 1 exam I got my score back for (still waiting on REG), which was a 92 on BEC.
(And no, I did not have many classes on the subject matter in college).So I think it's sort of pointless to say one method is better than the other. I think what matters the most is hitting the right concepts when studying and practicing a lot of m.c. questions. All of the people who have successfully passed the CPA did not all study the same way..I'm sure some just read the book and some just listened to the lectures. But clearly, their study methods suited their needs since they passed!
BEC-92(02/2010) REG-90(04/2010) AUD-86(05/2010) FAR-??(08/2010)Posted 1 year ago # -
75 CPA
offlineMember"What Books/Review did you use ?. I am a reader myself. Don't really like learning by Video."
The Wiley book is the best, followed by the Becker book. I read the entire IT section in the Wiley book, and I answered all of the multiple choice questions in the Wiley book for BEC.
Posted 1 year ago #
CPA Exam Review Forum » General CPA Exam Forum » After You Pass: Ethics Exam, Certificates, Work Experience and Licensure
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