CPA Review Course - Which One to Pick?

1) Course Materials

Although all courses explain similar accounting concepts, every instructor teaches things in different manners. Also, a good lecturer will spend more time on difficult ideas and just touch on the simpler ones to make lectures more efficient. The best CPA review courses come with free lecture samples that you can evaluate before making the choice to buy. An alternative way to evaluate the value of a review course is by visiting CPA exam preparation forums and product review sites to read what people are saying about the lecture quality of individual review courses.
As well, the lectures can be made available through a range of media, such as live or recorded webcasts, CDs, DVDs, and/or USB. Also, when shopping around for a review course, be sure to note any expiry dates for the course materials. Some questions and simulations software will become disabled at a certain time after activation. The best kind of course materials and software is the sort that doesn't require access to the internet to view or use, and so doesn't expire.

2 ) Practice Questions

Having studied the study materials, the student is generally provided with practice questions to drill the knowledge into their memory as well as apply the concepts they have learned to actual case scenarios.

When it comes to practice questions, some CPA review courses take the exhaustive approach by asking the student to do every question that has the smallest chances of showing up on the CPA exam. Many students simply run out of study time, and never manage to finish many of the practice questions, which does not prepare them well for the exam.

Obviously, this situation is a long way from ideal also.

The best CPA review course will contain only questions that are most certain to appear on the examination. This may be done by analyzing past exams to spot questions that appear the most frequently. This will guarantee the highest rate of return for the student's study time by permitting the student to concentrate on areas which will likely matter the most.

3) Student Support

Different CPA review courses provide assorted levels of consumer support. If you have a tendency to be a question-asker and like to talk to instructors over the phonephone, then be certain to select a review course which has that kind of service. On the other end of the range are courses that have minimal support, and in the middle are courses that permit students to e-mail questions to the trainers. Before buying a review course, ensure that it will supply the level of support you want.

Due to changes in accounting-related legislature among other things, CPA examination study materials must be updated correspondingly on a consistent basis. Some review courses update their course materials and practice questions more frequently than others, so be sure to take this under consideration when choosing a course.
Considering that the average pass rate for the CPA exam is only 47.49-49.10% (pass rate for Uniform CPA exam in 2008 ), failing a number of sections is not unlikely. You won't want to re-study for and re-sit sections of the exam simply because you made a decision to save a couple of bucks by buying a lesser quality review course. The sole exception is when the course costs will be reimbursed by your employer, in which case you may need to take advantage of this, even if it would mean having fewer options to choose from.


For unbiased reviews of the top CPA review courses, including Yaeger CPA Review, please visit his CPA exam blog.