Roger CPA Review 2014 study materials & HELP!

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    Topic
  • #184866
    moriartyb86
    Participant

    For anyone out there using the UWorld Roger CPA Review program, has anyone used only the material that Roger gives out and passed an exam yet? What I mean is Roger switched things up this year and is no longer using the Wiley homework book or the Wiley test bank. Instead, he is using his own questions in his own book and along with the lecture videos he is now using a test bank of his own which mostly consists of the questions that are in his book. I am not sure that this material alone is enough to pass the CPA exams–especially FARE.

    I have been using his program for a few months now and am scheduled to take the FARE exam at the end of May. I am now going through the questions again for the entire book and also taking notes which I did not do the first time going through the material. I now have the Wiley test bank and have found the questions to be much more difficult than the practice questions that Roger provides and am wondering if I should just stick with his program and not worry about the fact that when I see Wiley questions I feel almost overwhelmed because they are presented in a much different manner.

    With all that said, I work full-time and can devote about 20 hours per week to my studies and now that I am approaching the final weeks I want to make sure I am doing everything possible to be prepared for the exam. Should I continue on the path I am on now which is continuing his program and utilizing Wiley if I have time? Or should I take the position of questions questions questions! and more practice questions? Also, has anyone actually passed using ONLY his new program?

    FAR - 78 Aug 2014 (second attempt)
    AUD - 87 Nov 2014
    BEC - 84 Feb 2015
    REG - 85 May 2015
    Roger CPA Review & Wiley test bank for each section & added NINJA MCQ for BEC and REG.

Viewing 11 replies - 1 through 11 (of 11 total)
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  • #674282
    jeff
    Keymaster

    Do you know the source of his questions?

    AICPA?

    Did he author them?

    AUD - 79
    BEC - 80
    FAR - 76
    REG - 92
    Jeff Elliott, CPA (KS)
    NINJA CPA | NINJA CMA | NINJA CPE | Another71
    #674283
    Guti
    Participant

    I have read many posts about how Roger CPA is the best review course for Audit but I don't know about the other 3 parts. I'm using Becker now but will get Roger for Audit.

    FAR-84
    AUD-
    REG-
    BEC-

    #674284
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    It might just me, moriatry, but I find Roger MCQ iS easier than those of Wiley.

    Not that Roger's MCQ is bad, I use it to make sure I understand everything Roger explained in his lecture.

    Now here is the tricky part.

    He cuts all the fat and therefore fat can be something you need to know to get through the exam sometimes.

    But you might not need to get all the fat, but helpful if you want to pass.

    I am speaking of AUD, I use Roger MCQ after watching the lecture, usually I get close to 90% right. That makes me feel confident, which is good.

    Then I do Wiley MCQs that Roger didn't really cover in his lecture(and there comes a shock, but don't worry).

    Consider them some filling job to do.

    Just like playing drums(I am a drummer by the way), you don't need to play the fills ALL THE TIME, but if you know how to fill in, that makes the whole song more exciting.

    After you master the minimum that Roger believes you need to master, you start have to fill in the rest of the gap on your own.

    It's not easy to take several steps and not one step solution, but it's definitely better than grabbing the Wiley book from the beginning of the journey and take it from there.

    #674285
    alecia18210
    Participant

    I purchase the complete Roger Review and currently studying FAR. I started using his MCQ, but early out I decided to purchase the WIley Test bank for the MCQ. Additionally, another great tool is the NINJA audio. Jeff really did a great job in making FAR audio friendly. I want to pass the exam so bad that I purchase Roger recently advertised audio. Forget it, I really wish I could get my money back. It was literally the audio from the live lecture. It wasn't done to make it audio or commuting friendly. So, you should definitely get WIley Test Bank and if you need extra questions go to cpareviewforfree.com. Best of luck.

    Roger CPA Review + Ninja Audio + Wiley Test Bank+Ninja MCQ

    FAR PASSED 7/14
    AUD 72(2x)- 8/2014, Rematch 04/15
    REG 02/2015
    BEC 06/2015

    "I can do all things through Christ Jesus who gives me strength". Philippians 4:13

    #674286
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    I recommend doing Roger's test bank for your initial homework. I like that the solutions include references to the material (pneumonics, text references, etc.) For the overall review, I suggest using Wiley Test Bank. There are more questions available, they are more challenging, and they provide better reporting on progress.

    I think Roger's test bank has potential to improve, and from what I've read on their message boards, they're continually updating the test bank.

    #674287
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    Alecia, I suspected that was the case with Roger Audio and am thankful I didn't buy it when given the option. I took advantage of the deal on offline lectures he had a while back (not sure it is still on) and can listen to the lectures on my laptop in the passenger seat during commutes when I want. Obviously not as convenient as the Ninja Audio on my iPod, but doable.

    #674288
    moriartyb86
    Participant

    Jeff, I called Rogers 1-800 number about 2 weeks before purchasing his materials which was right before Christmas. The kid that answered the phone did not seem to know much about where the questions came from initially but eventually went on to say that they are AICPA questions. If it weren't for this, I would have never purchased. At the time I did not know there was going to be some major overhaul to the review structure and when I got my materials in the mail, everything seemed fine to me. It took me two weeks to figure out how to interpret the study plans and the constant homework book references (which as it turns out was the Wiley book that he once used), but once I did interpret what was going on everything started to click. The whole process was disorganized and almost dishonest. If you have a format that works it might be important to tell the people purchasing the program–which I am sure were quite a few at the time because it was at year end–that the 88% pass rate is only applicable to the previous formula that was put into place. This new format may be a good change in the sense that the review program is much more integrated, but it's a change that seemed rushed and the practice questions literally didn't work until I was into chapter 10 of 32.

    All this said, I believe there is a balance of AICPA questions and Roger's own questions. I am not sure of the ratio, but the amount of questions available isn't even close to Wiley or any other program for that matter. I counted about 850 MCQ's not excluding repeated questions and 32 TBS. Definitely not enough. Roger is an amazing instructor and his high energy makes the studying doable. His book is also very well written and admittedly when it comes to CPA knowledge, this guy knows his stuff. However, I don't think there is a winning formula right now. The cut the fat approach is great but I agree with the other people posting that we do need exposure to some of the other areas that are not necessarily frequently tested. Maybe in a year they will get this thing together, but for now I am not sold until I pass the FARE exam. Which is scheduled for the end of next month. I will let everyone know how that goes.

    I think for now I will continue on the path that I am on and will definitely work in the Wiley test bank once I am through the review. I won't use Roger at all for the final review. The IPQ's just aren't challenging enough for a final review.

    I probably will purchase the NINJA audio as well. I like the idea of audio but was turned off from the idea when I heard a sample of the ROGER audio which is literally the lectures from his cram course. As entertaining as he can be it's not meant for just audio, he is constantly using the white board and it was frustrating to listen to!

    FAR - 78 Aug 2014 (second attempt)
    AUD - 87 Nov 2014
    BEC - 84 Feb 2015
    REG - 85 May 2015
    Roger CPA Review & Wiley test bank for each section & added NINJA MCQ for BEC and REG.

    #674289
    kmm1216
    Member

    I used Roger with the Wiley textbooks for my first two exams (BEC & FAR) and they went well. For REG, I skipped out on using the Wiley textbooks and used Roger's questions from his software. I did add the Wiley Test Bank at the end for my final few days of studying, but other than that it was Roger questions, and my grade was consistent with the first two.

    I do agree it's a bit unorganized as of now, but it's only been a few months. I see repeat questions often, and some questions seemed to be misplaced by topic within each chapter. I'm sure it'll be too late for me, but I imagine by the end of the year or so, it should be in much better shape.

    BEC: 88 (8/27/13)
    FAR: 93 (12/3/13)
    REG: 92 (2/27/14)
    AUD: 95 (4/22/14)

    Roger CPA, Wiley Test Banks, NINJA Notes & Audio

    #674290
    Kimboroni
    Member

    That's too bad that Roger didn't make a special audio program. I really like his approach from what I've seen, but you can't tape the sound of a white board!!! Maybe he will rethink and design it better next time.

    Jeff's NINJA Audio is great– he really takes the time to make sure it's audio friendly. I've been listening to mine for FAR over and over, and it's clearly helping drive home certain points. He uses audio-friendly mnemonics that are generally different from what he uses in his products that are visual, so I haven't found it at all frustrating. I highly recommend it. I have a short commute (15 minutes) and it's always worth it to listen to it. It's very digestible, and I retain more info each time.

    AUD 84 (1/9/14-Wiley books/TB + free materials)
    FAR 83 (5/21/14-the above + NINJA 10 Pt Combo Lite)
    REG 84 (7/9/14-Wiley books/TB + NINJA Audio/FC/Notes)
    BEC 76 (10/5/14-Wiley books/TB + NINJA Audio/FC)

    Disclaimer: My ninja avatar is not meant to imply that I have any affiliation with this site other than being a forum member. That's a pic of a T-shirt that my daughter gave me for my birthday. 🙂

    #674293
    moriartyb86
    Participant

    I thought I would follow up on what I originally posted to this thread over a year ago with a review of my Roger CPA Review experience and hopefully this will help someone with their decision when looking at the review course options…

    Pros:

    -Video Lectures are second to none and his ability to break down difficult material is impressive

    -Textbook is very easy to read and cuts out just enough of the fat without removing critical material

    -Homework Help Center was always a solid resource if you had questions about anything related to the material

    -Cram courses were awesome and I highly recommend adding it to your final review

    -Cost is right on par with other providers (not including Becker)

    Cons:

    -The test bank that Roger made for his course is not user-friendly and lacks standard features in other test banks. For instance; there is no way to see questions you have not seen before so you never actually know how many are available and if you have actually seen them all. Also, don't with the SIMS using his test bank just do them in the book because they are the same anyway.

    -It's one thing to try and overhaul your website and create your own test bank, but it's another to roll out a product that is broken. The test bank did not work for the first 4-6 weeks I had the course and although it works now, it still lacks basic features 18 months later. A complete website overhaul was done 6 days before my final exam and once again the website is broken and is still broken to this day. You had/have to clear your cache so the test bank will work and all tracking of your course progress is lost and displays ridiculous numbers like you have gone through 350% of the regulation material and none of the FAR material even though you were at 100% for both prior to the overhaul.

    The cons were definitely bad and it left a bad taste in my mouth, however, the pros were there as well and at the end of the day I passed the CPA exam with Roger's help and of course WTB and NINJA supplements. I highly recommend the NINJA MCQ's for a supplement. It is far and away the best test bank that I've used and is great for use in identifying weak areas. Hopefully Roger is able to fix the problems that they are having because honestly if they had a comparable test bank to Jeff's and a working website the course would be just about perfect which sound absurd saying because these are problems that you should not have to deal with. Anyways, just my thoughts on the program.

    FAR - 78 Aug 2014 (second attempt)
    AUD - 87 Nov 2014
    BEC - 84 Feb 2015
    REG - 85 May 2015
    Roger CPA Review & Wiley test bank for each section & added NINJA MCQ for BEC and REG.

    #674294
    Last Chance CPA
    Participant

    I am loving Roger for REG right now…doing his cram course. But you have to know the material somewhat going into his lectures because he goes so fast. His energy and flamboyancy are second to none….

    I hear his TB is weak though…better to get WTB or Ninja, or even Gleim TB….

    AUD - 75
    BEC - 75
    FAR - 76
    REG - 76
    I want those initials next to my name!!!!

    FAR - 76
    AUD - 75
    BEC - 75
    REG - 76

    Now I need some experience!!! And some networking...

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