Best CPA Exam Review Courses
Choosing the right CPA review course is a decision that should not be taken lightly, as it will dictate much of your life for the time you will be taking the exam. You will be spending countless hours studying with it, so it is very important to find the one that best fits your personality, learning style, and background.
Here comes the good news – As a successful candidate of the CPA exam and a current member of the public accounting community, I have had experience with every major CPA review course on the market, either by first hand use of the product, or through the insight of friends and colleagues.
The comparison below is aimed at helping you figure out which one is best for you. By choosing the right CPA exam review program, you will be able to use your time most effectively and pass the exam on the first try, and be able to get your professional life on track. If you need guidance, feel free to leave a comment and we can take on this task together.
Becker
This is the program that you have most likely heard of, as they spend tons of money to get their name out in the CPA review world, and have gotten in with the big four firms. That doesn’t necessarily mean that they are the best, though. They are the most expensive program by far, and the amount can be extreme if you are paying out-of-pocket.
Pros:
Good instructors
Becker has some pretty knowledgeable and entertaining instructors for the online video series. They manage to keep your interest pretty well. The live classes, on the other hand, can be hit or miss, as noted below.
Flexibility of programs
Becker offers in class, self-study, and online classes. This makes it easy to choose an approach that works best for your study style,
Cons:
Expensive
This is the most expensive program by far, requiring a cash outlay of $3,393 right now when you buy all four parts. In addition, this doesn’t include supplemental material such as flashcards ($179) or the final review program ($99), which adds to the cost. This is a good amount of cash to output when you are starting your career, so if this is an issue, it would be worth considering some of the alternatives noted below.
Live classes sometimes lacking
In my experience, depending on where the courses are taken, “live” classes are only live in the way that you are going to a classroom for each section. In some cases, a proctor will play the instructional videos that you would get with the other programs. This will negate much of the advantage of the live class, as there isn’t the chance to ask additional questions throughout the lesson.
Materials expire
Much of the usefulness of the Becker material come from the multiple choice software that is included in the package. Unfortunately, this software is accessed online, and has a finite useful life, after which additional payment is required for use. From the time that you start the program, you have 18 months until the program expires. This really isn’t that long of a time period, as life can sometimes catch up to you and cause you to spend more time than planned to complete the exam. This deadline causes unnecessary stress on top of that already caused by the tests themselves.
Overall, Becker is a good choice to use as study materials if you use the self-study course and are self motivated to finish the program at an appropriate pace, but costs much more than competitors and eventually expires, characteristics that can be avoided with other programs.
CPA Excel
CPA Excel is a program backed up by Wiley, a leader in the professional education field. They offer a flexible program that allows individuals to pass the exam at their own pace, and the program boasts an impressive pass rate of 87%. This is spectacular compared to the national average passing rate hovering around 47% for each section of the exam. In addition, CPA Excel also offers standalone study guides that can be used to prepare for the exam.
Pros
Easily digestible lessons
Unlike some programs, which take 2-3 hours for a section, this program focuses on smaller lessons that can completed in as little as 30 minutes. This allows you to nail down a subject without having to sit through a long lecture, which sets forth the risk of you losing focus and wasting precious study time.
Ability to study on the go
On the bus, during your lunch break, even sitting in traffic: these are some of the situations where you can squeeze in a few minutes of study time and can solidify your understanding. CPA Excel offers convenient eBooks and smart phone apps to take advantage of this downtime.
No limit to access
Unlike with Becker, there is no time limit on when the program will expire, so you can take your time to study at your own pace and ace the exam. Not only that, but you have access to FREE updates over the life of the program. This is important as the exam sometimes goes through changes from year to year, and you don’t want to be stuck with an outdated version of the program when you are trying to study for the new version of the exam.
Price
CPA Excel is up to half the price of its competitors, which is a good chunk of change. This extra money is useful in the early days of your career, and can be put towards things that would otherwise take up your time such as the occasional take out meal, helping to keep your stress levels low throughout your time studying.
Cons
Flexibility
Unlike Becker, which offers the choice for live courses, this program is only available online. If you are the type of learner that needs structure in your regimen, this may not be optimal. However, I think that being able to access the materials at any time makes up for the lack of diversity in options.
Lack of publicity
Unlike some of the bigger programs, CPA Excel isn’t as widespread in use, but this doesn’t mean that it isn’t as effective. As noted above, it boasts a pass rate of 80%. Also, you won’t be able to commiserate with any of your fellow test takers about the incessant highlighting or banter of the Becker instructors, but this can be seen as a good thing in some cases.
Overall, CPA Excel makes a pretty good case by being an affordable, flexible choice for CPA exam review.
Yaeger has been around since 1977, and has been able to build up a solid following of candidates that have tackled the exam using the program. Yeager strives to teach the student “Y” each thing is being done, which has become their catch phrase.
Pros
Simple and Effective Lessons
Yeager uses old school techniques within its lesson, performing most of the lessons in front of white boards, with the instructors going through concepts step by step within the material. This differs form some of the other programs, in which the instructors go through the materials on a line by line basis, which can get very monotonous.
Easy Access to Materials
Yeager used the Wiley CPA books as resource for the materials, which are easily obtained and a very reliable source of information. This means that they can be obtained on sites like Amazon.com, which is pretty convenient when compared to the proprietary resources used by other providers.
Cons
Lack of Support
As Yeager is a family run operation, it lacks some of the customer service capabilities that are offered by some of the bigger budget review programs. However, you are still able to contact support, it just takes a few more days for your problem to be handled.
Overall, Yeager offers a unique experience to the CPA exam process. Its old school approach provides a different perspective on the materials, and can help you truly understand some of the concepts.
Best CPA Exam Review 