MAFORU wrote: late boomer, one more question for u... when in came to CPAexcel course which one were u recommending "Video Gold Medal Course" or the "Video Self Study Course"

Hi, MAFORU. Sorry, I coulld not respond earlier. As Jerry pointed out, I felt no single review program is sufficient by itself. I used those three programs and passed all 4 parts in first sitting (BTW, I graduated from college in 2001). Then again each persons ability to grasp the material is different. May be a single review program will work well for you.

Self-study version of CPAexel would be sufficient. The key feature of this program is simulated exam, bite-sized lesson, and PQ-EQ's. If you use Yaeger DVD, video lecture of CPAexcel would be waste of money. Also, GLEIM MCQ will cost you about $200.00 for all four parts and its one of the best investment for CPA prep. Yaeger DVD course, I think, is crucial to understand concepts tested in CPA exam.

The way I studied:

1. Study from CPAexcel and solve PQ & EQ

2. Listen lecture from Yaeger DVD

3. Answer Gleim MCQ.

I don't think any special preparation for simulation is necessary. If you can understand concepts, answering simulation questions are piece of cake.

I don't think Bisk is an effective program. Roger's review course is very expensive and its good for either 9 or 18 months.

Now, you need to determine which review method will be most effective for you.

My first CPA review program was CPAexcel Self-Study package.  I felt that it was extremely detail and I could never finish the many small sections. It took me way too long to grasp the critical points and I always found myself sleeping over the printed material.

Then I changed to Gleim and, although the Testprep CD was good, the book was awful; it was plainly an outline and didn't really teach the critical/key concepts for the exam.

I decided to supplement with Roger Phillip's cram and I learned a few things, but it was not detail.  Roger talked too fast and hand-worked the MCQs which made it difficult sometimes to understand the concepts, yet his lectures were very insightful and lively. His mnemonics are excellent - I like the SPIDER for Pension. I ended up rushing to sit for FAR in Jan 08; ill-prepared though I was and, as expected, got a 44.

A friend had earlier introduced Bisk's Intensive DVD lectures and the Book, but I ignored his suggestion when I looked in the book and saw that it was designed for recently-graduated college students - I was mistaken. He got his result the same time as mine and he got a 91.  He is now over with the CPA exam and only used Bisk materials. 

I am now using Bisk's materials - Intensive Videos (Robert lectures excellently), Book and a few Hot Spots for some troubled areas and realized that they have been great so far.  I under-estimated the Book which I found to be very good at explaining very clearly with a lot of worked-examples.  The Book also tells you which areas are heavily tested so that you can focus more on those chapters. I found out that watching the lectures works best for me so I always start off with Robert's lecture first, then go into the Book for more detail, work all the MCQs and write my own flashcard notes. That's all I do for FAR preparation.

MAFORU, I have found out that sticking to one course provider is the wisest choice as you will really get to focus on the material.  I have been exclusively using Bisk despite the many other materials at my disposal.  Besides that, the cost for Bisk's materials is cheap. Choose a complete package that gives you sufficient understanding of the subject and enough MCQs to work. You don't need to work a ton load of MCQs; just get the critical concepts and move on. Also, choose a package that fits your learning style.  I found out late that watching DVD works best for me. 

Additionally, choose a review program that teaches less, yet reinforces the key learning points for the exam.  My Audit Manager always tells me that "less is better" on the audit files so as long as you achieve the audit objective. Go with that in mind when choosing a course provider.