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发帖数: 135 | 1 网上看到的，不知道是不是作者的广告贴，仅供参考。
http://ipassthecpaexam.com/cpa-exam-review-courses/
CPA Exam Review Courses Comparison
Becker CPA Review
Strengths
Excellent lecture notes, MCs and software. The materials are comprehensive
and user-friendly.
Big 4 endorsement. The live lectures are recommended by the Big 4.
Materials constantly kept updated. Becker has a professional team to update
the materials on a very regular basis. Their proof-reading is also done well
so there are few typos and errors. If there are errors, Becker does a good
job in posting in their website and letting everyone to see.
Weaknesses
Overpriced. If you are paying full price on your own you are subsidizing
those who get deep discounts from their employers through Becker’s partner
program. Not Fair!
Live classes way overrated. They show you a DVD in a classroom, tell you to
“circle this, highlight that” for 8 hours straight. Quality of “lecturers
” (whose main job is to turn on and off the DVD) is really mixed. Check out
my experience at the Becker CPA Review Course.
Expensive re-take. Software license expires in 12 months and this is often
not enough time for many candidates. Re-take of classes costs $1,000+ (50%
of retail price) with harsh attendence rate which I find ridiculous.
Recommendation
SKIP Becker. They do have great notes, but so do Yaeger (for lectures) and
Wiley / Gleim (practice tests). Live classes are a waste of time, for me at
least.
Bisk CPA Review
Strengths
Recommended by Big 4. Recommended by 2 of the Big 4 for self-study courses.
Bob Monette, one of the instructors, is legendary and is a nationally
recognized CPA expert.
Money-back guarantee is available for the software products — if you
complete the course and fail the exam, you can get all the money back (see
limitation below).
Interesting features on CD on exam test customization and diagnostics.
Weakness
Really mixed reviews: especially on Bisk CPA’s classic series. Many
students believe Bisk is not enough to prepare for the exam and that the
materials are not updated as frequently as other competitors (notably Becker
and Wiley).
The text book is exactly the same as the CD — so make sure you don’t buy
both (CD is better)
The other lecturers aren’t as good
The money-back gurarantee is very restrictive — so restrictive that I don’
t think many of us can ever qualify
Recommendation
Can’t think of a reason to pick Bisk when competitors are offering more at
a better price — make sure you read the pros and cons of all programs below.
Check out my evaluation on Bisk CPA Review
Wiley CPA Review
Strengths
Authority in practice tests. The homework and simulations are very popular
and proved to be useful for many CPA candidates. Even competitors (Yaeger
and Roger) choose Wiley to bundle-sell as supplementary material.
It’s cheap! The software costs $79 (all 4 costs $229) — a good bargain in
the world of CPA exm prep course.
Weaknesses
Book is overwhelming. Especially when there is no guided review, it is very
discouraging to go over the entire guide. Too much material in my opinion.
Recommendation
Get the software, not the book.
If you are an accounting major you may be tempted to get yourself only a
Wiley book. But in order to pass the CPA exam, you need both knowledge AND
tactics. There is no tactics in the Wiley book.
Check out my evaluation on Wiley CPA Review
Gleim CPA Review
Strengths
Great practice tests. Practice tests being very organized. Good
supplementary to lecture-heavy courses.
Affordable – see price comparison for details.
Weaknesses
No lecture — the Gleim online is simply a voice reading the text on the
powerpoint slides.
Books and audios not useful — as quoted from a forum member, Gleim “reads
like a dictionary”…
Recommendation
Good for the disciplined and those who are good at self-study.
Otherwise, forget about the full pack (which looks like a great deal) and
opt for the practice test only if Wiley is not enough or not for you.
Check out my evaluation on Gleim CPA Review
Yaeger CPA Review
Strengths
Champion of the old-school approach. If you like someone who writes on the
board and explains concept to you in the old-fashioned way, you’d
appreciate Yaeger. I personally like the way they “hold your hand” and
explain the multiple choice questions and possible tricks.
Live phone support. This is quite unique, and you can often reach and talk
to the owner (Phil Yaeger) himself.
Good value for money. One of the most affordable guided review courses out
there.
Weaknesses
Old school. Obviously this can be a turn-off for some people.
Somewhat disorganized. There are times when you would expect the team to
retape the video (e.g. a typo on the white board, or the guy accidentally
talked to his wife…) but Yaeger just let it go live. The ones I spotted did
not affect the quality of the course itself but I can see some candidates
find it annoying.
Recommendation
Great for people who need help in accounting concepts, or a “real person”
that can explain things to you (by phone).
Check out the demo to see if you are fine with the old-school teaching style
. No worries on lecture notes etc because everyone says it’s good. They
also provide quality supplementary materials from Wiley.
Check out my evaluation on Yaeger CPA Review
Lambers CPA Review
Strengths
The ipod format is a “must-buy” if you are busy and want to utilize all
your “dead time” during commute and between meetings and children’s naps.
Weaknesses
Low key or not good? You don’t see a lot of past students actively
promoting their products other than the ipod format, but it could be a
reason of its low-key approach. Afterall, 200,000+ CPA candidates have
picked Lambers for the past 43 years.
Recommendations
Get Lambers if you like the ipod idea.
Check out my evaluation on Lambers CPA Review
Roger CPA Review
Strengths
Entertaining lectures: Roger Philipp (the founder) writes his own notes and
lectures for every class. He is a good speaker.
Weaknesses
Lots of access and viewing restrictions. Only 9 month access for online
format — even worse than Becker.
Slow response in message forum (main help channel) and no live phone help.
It’s essentially a one-man band. Can he keep up with the expansion and
quality?
Check out my evaluation on Roger CPA Review
Kaplan CPA Review
Strengths
Established name: Kaplan is well known for standardized test preparation,
and its Schewser brand is an authority in CFA exam preparation.
Free BEC course: believe it or not, Kaplan is offering their full BEC course
for free if you are willing to pay the shipping cost (around US$15 if
within the US). The audio course and flash cards are among the most popular
study tools.
Weaknesses
Too comprehensive: If Wiley / Gleim book is a dictionary, Kaplan is an
encyclopedia.
No one talks about Kaplan CPA: If you are good, people talk about it. But it
is difficult to find any discussion at all on Kaplan CPA…
Recommendations
If you have extra time, you can check out the BEC freebie first
Check out my evaluation on Kaplan CPA Review
CPAExcel
(Updated on Aug 18, 2010)
Strengths
Bite-sized lectures: This is a god-send for those who hate long lectures as
much as I do. The lecture length ranges from a couple of minutes to ~ 30
minutes. A more efficient way to learn in my opinion.
State-of-the-art technology: CPAexcel fully utilizes the online capability
and churns out personalized exam plan and a collection of diagnostic charts
and analysis for you, which I (as a financial analyst by profession) finds
very attractive.
Unlimited upgrade: no more pressure of not finishing within 12 months and
have to pay an extra $1,000 for a retake!
Weaknesses
You’ve got to be a PC-based learner. Since everything is delivered online,
if you are a type of learner who needs “live support” (a real person to
explain something to you, either in person or by phone); or if you are
accustomed to highlighting, circling and dropping notes on the side of the
textbooks, then CPAexcel may not fit your learning style.
Would expect more past students to talk about the program. Given how unique
and efficient the program seems to be, I am surprised that no many people
talk about CPAexcel. There are good reviews, just not much. This may not
necessarily be a “weakness” per se but it impacts the level of confidence
I have on their products.
Possibly underprepares candidates. Based on the limited number of comments I
gather, it seems like many candidates decided to get Wiley (and to a lesser
extent, Gleim) as a supplementary study material, and even a full set of
Yaeger to complement CPAexcel. It seems to me that CPAexcel alone may not be
sufficient for the CPA exam preparation.
Recommendations
Depending on your learning style, CPAexcel could be a great choice, but
expect the potential of getting Wiley / Gleim / Yaeger as supplement.
Check out my evaluation on CPAexcel
CPA Review For Free
Strengths
The questions are quite comprehensive and signing up is easy. There is no
string attached (they may promote an ebook or something but they aren’t
annoying)
Some of the practice questions e.g. Information Technology within BEC are
very helpful.
Weaknesses
You can’t work on the questions in the Exam Mode: that is, do all the
questions, time it, and
I may not have spent enough time to make a firm conclusion, but I think the
overall “usefulness” or relevancy of the questions is not as high as Wiley
, Gleim and Becker.
My Recommendations
OK. I try to keep this list as objective as I can, but since many of you are
asking which provider I generally prefer (and I have a hard time keeping it
with responding to comments, let alone emails), here you go…
Go For Yaeger CPA If You Want To:
Understand concepts and tactics at the same time
Get the best value for money (good lecture, unlimited access, live phone
help, quality homework)
Learn from someone with the best record (88% passing rate)
OK! Thanks for going through this long post with me. I hope you will be able
to make a decision today with this information. Let me know how it goes.
Good luck! | y**y
发帖数: 74 | | B*********e
发帖数: 263 | | r******y
发帖数: 12263 | 4 有这么多家啊。。。
不过是不是主流就那么几家？
看了以后更矛盾买什么了。。。。。。。 |
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