[Ivy]

I am still unsure, which review should I choose.
1) Gleim – MAYBE, but I am afraid of overwhelming material. No mobile version, only flash cards in the most expensive.
2) Roger – MAYBE, but I don’t like his book. I think it focuses on memorizing instead of on explaining.
3) Wiley – YES??? It looks quite perfect for me, but it’s expensive (I just missed a huge discount) and it doesn’t have audio, which you can download and listen to while driving.
4) Yaeger – NO – Their books look like short notes, too less exercises and I don’t like his accent (I’m not an English native speaker, so it’s important for me). It seems too be not enough.
5) Surgent – NO – I don’t trust this system.
6) Becker – NO – Great, but too expensive.
[I can be wrong I saw only trial versions of these courses.)
I’m very surprised because a lot of people say that Wiley doesn’t have too much explanation in books, but I think it and Becker have the most complete books.

I studied accounting, but not in the U.S., so I need explanations. The most important for me is a printed book with a lot of information which I need. I would also like to have mobile version and audio>/b>. I want to trust one review and focus on it, I don’t want to have any supplement. Any advice?

[monikernc]

Ninja was all I needed. Passed all first time within 10 months.

AUD - 93
BEC - 82
FAR - 76
REG - 88

How have you been?
Ninja book and MCQs and the forum, all first try! 2016
Licensed State of Montana April Fool’s Day 2020
State of Colorado June 2020 - AICPA Ethics 93
Experience was the worst part of the journey for me. You?
If you want things to change you have to do something different.

FAR 7/25/15 76!
AUD 10/30/15 93
BEC 2/27/16 82
REG 5/23/16 88!
Ninja Book and MCQ and the forum - all the way!!!
and a little thing i like to call, time and effort!
if you want things to change, you have to do something different

[Ivy]

monikernc wrote:

Ninja was all I needed. Passed all first time within 10 months.

I need printed books.

[jeff]

You can print them out 🙂

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

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

[Ivy]

It's like your book look

jeff wrote:

You can print them out 🙂

It's not for me.

[monikernc]

Ninja did the trick for me it was the full package – I read the books but all I really needed were the mcq’s – they provide all the info in the answers. Good luck!

AUD - 93
BEC - 82
FAR - 76
REG - 88

How have you been?
Ninja book and MCQs and the forum, all first try! 2016
Licensed State of Montana April Fool’s Day 2020
State of Colorado June 2020 - AICPA Ethics 93
Experience was the worst part of the journey for me. You?
If you want things to change you have to do something different.

FAR 7/25/15 76!
AUD 10/30/15 93
BEC 2/27/16 82
REG 5/23/16 88!
Ninja Book and MCQ and the forum - all the way!!!
and a little thing i like to call, time and effort!
if you want things to change, you have to do something different

[AndreA]

I use Wiley, it's not perfect, but good enough for me (they have everything + free continuing access until you pass). My biggest advice => try free trial first and then decide.

FAR - 73, 78 (WileyCPAexcel 3,000+ MCQs, 50 SIMs)
AUD - 73, 81 (WileyCPAexcel 3,000+ MCQs, 40 SIMs)
BEC - 71, 71, 74, 84 (WileyCPAexcel 3,000+ MCQs, 10 SIMs)
REG - 84 (WileyCPAexcel 2,000 MCQs, 15 SIMs)

CA Ethics Exam - 94%

NEVER GIVE UP.

[Ivy]

AndreA wrote:

I use Wiley, it's not perfect, but good enough for me (they have everything + free continuing access until you pass). My biggest advice => try free trial first and then decide.

Yes, I tried free trial. Why Wiley is not perfect. What is its cons?

[AndreA]

Sometimes MCQs don't match the lectures and you will fail post assessments, when you find yourself in that situation just keep going and practice as many MCQs as you can (Wiley MCQs are more difficult than on the actual exam and they will prepare you well). From 1 to 10, I would give 7.

FAR - 73, 78 (WileyCPAexcel 3,000+ MCQs, 50 SIMs)
AUD - 73, 81 (WileyCPAexcel 3,000+ MCQs, 40 SIMs)
BEC - 71, 71, 74, 84 (WileyCPAexcel 3,000+ MCQs, 10 SIMs)
REG - 84 (WileyCPAexcel 2,000 MCQs, 15 SIMs)

CA Ethics Exam - 94%

NEVER GIVE UP.

[CH89]

I have used Wiley to pass 3 out of the 4 exams, and now trying Gleim to pass AUD. Between the two, I feel their books are very comparable and detailed. I know you said you wanted explanations, and I feel in some scenarios Wiley does not do a good job of explanations. Sometimes you'll get a MCQ explanation that says “this is wrong, because this answer is right.” Where as for Gleim, I feel their their answer explanations are better. While this might be premature, if I had to do it again, I think I'd go with Gleim, I like their system over Wiley.
.
I know you do not want to supplement, but I would definitely recommend Ninja, at least for the Ninja notes and audio. Gleim has audio, but it is dry. Jeff, in my opinion, does an awesome job with the Ninja audio.
.
As mentioned already, be sure to try out the free trials and base your judgment on that, and pick the one that best suits your studying needs. Best of luck!

AUD - 84
BEC - 82
FAR - 76
REG - 79

What a journey! It took me 12 attempts, do not give up, keep going! Praise God!

Passed Exams: 8/25/2020

Licensed in Pa: 11/24/2020

[Kimberly]

I primarily used Wiley during my studies, and I do feel it did a good job. But as others have mentioned, it was not perfect. I can't comment on their recent connectivity issues, but I know in early-Spring 2018 they were having a lot. As just mentioned by a a few other posters, my biggest issue was questions not having anything to do with the lecture you had just completed. That was sloppy and confusing. But that didn't happen all the time, and once I got over the frustration I just made sure to go over the questions again when I had learned the appropriate lesson.

I also must say I did supplement with NInja on all, and that was immensely helpful. I know many people use one platform and that's it, but I needed to have more than one thing to look at so my brain would keep engaged. And their audio was very helpful.

Lastly, I liked Wiley enough, but I did not like it for FAR. I needed to get another course for FAR because I made it through their 260+ lessons but I didn't know what to focus on. I thought it was good for the other 3 exams though.

Best of luck!

BEC - Passed

AUD - Passed

FAR - Passed

REG - Passed

BEC/AUD - Wiley + Ninja / FAR - Surgent / REG - Wiley/Surgent

[fsugirl2005]

I've been using Gleim for years, since I was a college student. The teachers at my college apparently got a kick out of their materials too.

Anyway, I have been using Gleim to study for the CPA and as you can see, I have been coming so close to passing but missing the mark. It's not because of the material, it's because of my study methods and not getting enough practice with the SIMS. It has consistently costed me 1-2 points. =( For Audit, the Gleim questions came very close to the real exam as far as structure but the answer choices were a little easier on the test. I rather get harder questions during the review and be able to answer the test questions with a little bit of ease.

I've supplemented with Ninja but have always felt more comfortable with Gleim. I feel dumber and smarter at the same time with Gleim, if that makes sense…lol.

REG - 78
FAR - 79
AUD - 76
BEC - 75

I have been on this journey off and on for over 10 years. I think it's about time that I wrap this up.

AUD - 10/21/16 (75----07/2010 expired)
FAR - 10/28/16
BEC - 11/2016
REG - 01/2017

Using Gleim CPA Review, Ninja Audio, Ninja Book

[bigstakk]

I went with GLEIM and highly recommend it. I know a few others that have used it as well. All passed exams on first try. Studied between 3.5 – 7.5 weeks for exam section. The material is tougher than the actual exam but it ensures you are prepared. My goal was to pass the exams on first try all within the 80-85% range to minimize my study time and maximize my efficiency and I achieved exactly that. I was able to use GLEIM on my cellphone so it does have mobile function and it also has audio. Ultimately, if you study hard and focus any of the study material options can work for you. Good luck.

AUD - 81
BEC - 87
FAR - 80
REG - 82

______________

Ethics Exam - 90%
Licensed CPA in CA

[Recked]

It seems like you've done ample research.
Lots of people use all of the courses you mentioned and passed the first try.
You need to narrow your focus on what methods you use to study best and most efficiently.
Roger's strong suit is the lectures. Gleim is overwhelming and the book reads more like notes than a book, but it prepares you very well, their test bank is really strong.
If the book is the most important thing to you maybe see if you can buy an older version of the book used, just to get a feel for it before you drop the money on the full course.
A couple of years back Wiley was having issues with their online system and software. Lots of people were complaining about it on the forums, but I haven't heard much about it recently.
Good luck!

Memento Mori - Kingston NY CPA & EA (SUNY Albany 2002)

FAR-93 11/9/17 (10wks, 250 hrs, Roger 1800+ MCQs, Gleim TB 600+MCQs, SIMs)
AUD-88 12/7/17 (3 wks, 85 hrs, Roger 1000 MCQs no SIMs hail mary)
REG-96 1/18/18 (6 wks, 110 hrs, 1400 MCQs, no SIMs)
BEC-91 2/16/18 (4wks, 90 hrs, 1240 MCQs)

[jd]

I used only Gleim, and passed all sections first time. I was extremely nervous because I had some doubt regarding how much accounting I actually knew post undergrads. You are right, it is extremely detailed, but it leaves no surprises come test day. It has amazing mcqs, sims are respectable, and its testing breaks down what you are most likely to see on the exam (fe rarely tested subjects have 5 mcq, heavily tested have 20mcq). Gleim WILL make you rip your hair out at times, but it is not as expensive as Wiley and I had no regrets choosing it.

AUD - 81
BEC - 83
FAR - 81
REG - 85

Compete

[Mikey]

I used Wiley and passed all on the first attempt. I found it really helpful.

I used Gleim for my EA and was not impressed. It just felt really generic and the videos were really difficult to watch. the MCQs…I don't know if they made them harder on purpose or what, but I always failed the quizzes lol; but again, maybe that was intentional. I passed all three EA tests on the first attempt too, so maybe the harder quiz questions helped. In my opinion Wiley did somewhat of the same thing (some of their questions were just insane).

From what I've heard from several CPAs is that Becker is the gold standard, so that would probably be your best bet, but like I said, Wiley worked well for me.

AUD - 77
BEC - 90
FAR - 76
REG - 82

Michael J. Conard Jr. CPA, EA

Millhouse Accounting

[Author]

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