A CPA Prep Course Comparison
If you’re planning on taking the CPA certification exam at some point in the next year or so, you will need to do some serious study, and get some exam practice in. There’s a lot of material to learn, and there’s a lot of skill to taking the test as well. Given the time investment, it makes sense to ensure that you are completely ready.
This CPA prep course comparison will help you to find the perfect course so that you can prepare yourself as well as possible for the test. There are many different course providers, and depending on how much time you have, the devices you study on, and the type of learning that suits you best you will find that some courses may suit you better than others.
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Wiley’s CPAexcel
Wiley is a popular, long-established company in the e-learning and print book space, and their CPAexcel course is a useful offering. It comes in a few different tiers, with the platinum tier being the most comprehensive.
They offer a ‘partner until you pass’ guarantee, which means that you can access to the course and get all the content updates until you pass the exam. There are thousands of pages of study texts, and there is more than 140 hours worth of video content. This is backed up by flashcards, multiple-choice questions, task-based simulations and more.
Lessons are broken up into short chunks, and you can take advantage of practice exams, professor mentoring, and a companion mobile app as well. The course is quite expensive if you want both the print and the ebook version, but there is a student discount available.
MDS CPA Review Course
The MDS CPA Review Course is prepared by Steve Martin and offers 72 hours of lectures, a free repeat for people who struggle with the exam, and a wealth of course materials. There are thousands of multiple choice questions to try, with explanations for the answers.
Subscribers can contact Steve Martin himself directly if they have any questions. There’s a study planner, and you can plan based on a block of 15 weeks, 6 months or 12 months to go through the content. Unfortunately, the study planner’s features are limited, so if you want to take more or less time than that to go through the content then you will have to work your own schedule out.
The course is less expensive than some rivals, and it’s a good choice if you want to study primarily online.
Becker CPA Review Course
The Becker CPA review course is a four-part course that is sold in a few different bundles, including an 18-month plan, and an unlimited plan. The basic package offers 18 months worth of access to hundreds of videos and thousands of questions, as well as more than 400 task-based simulations. There is the option of getting personalized guidance from CPA Faculty, and there are lots of practice exams and other tools.
This is an expensive course, but it is well structured and clear, and many people find that the presentation and the adaptive learning paths helps them to stay on track.
For a small extra fee you can enjoy unlimited access to the course, so you don’t have to worry about passing within the 18 month time frame. This is a good idea if you’re not planning on taking the test in the near future, or if you’re not a confident test taker.
The course does tend to produce good results, and it’s flexible enough that it should suit most learning styles. Be sure to keep an eye on the price, though, because they regularly run promotions so you may be able to pick it up for a nice discount if you buy at the right time.
This is not a complete CPA test prep comparison list. There are numerous other course providers, such as Roger, Gleim, and Ninja that offer materials. It would be impossible to provide a totally comprehensive prep course comparison, given the number of players in the market and how often the content changes. The above are some of the best CPA exam prep courses, however, that we can recommend.
If you’re on a tight budget then you can get started with free revision materials and forums. There are plenty of support networks online that are frequented by people who are preparing for the CPA or who have recently passed. It is worth saving up for some of the better prep materials, because they have a structure to them that helps to ensure that you cover the whole of the syllabus.
The price may seem high, but remember that you are investing in something that will help you get the career that you have always wanted, and it is well worth it. A little investment now will secure a very good future for you.