Studying for the CPA exam inevitably takes time, money, and persistence, but it can take much more of all of these things if you don’t choose the right CPA review study program from the start. I’ve met several people during my accounting career who totally gave up on sitting for their exams. Initially, it seemed like they had done everything right; they purchased a reliable study program or were provided one, studied under the advisement of that program, sat for four stressful hours, and yet, they didn’t pass. Or even worse, they passed a couple of sections but couldn’t pass the remaining sections in time and gave up, frustrated, and full of regrets.
Choosing the right review program from the get-go can be the difference between your CPA license being a dream or a reality.
I originally used a highly recognized CPA review program, but, a couple of thousand dollars later, a year of hitting my head against the wall, and two failed sections, I realized I had made a colossal mistake. Something was going to have to change. Studying for the CPA exams shouldn’t be so painful.
When I found out that I would have to study for the FAR exam for the third time, I met two different people who told me I needed to try UWorld Roger CPA Review. I wasn’t too familiar with the program, but both people swore by it, so I decided I had nothing to lose and signed up for a solo FAR package.
When I switched to UWorld Roger CPA Review, it was like eating a slice of thick creamy cheesecake for the first time compared to the mouthful of rocks I had been trying to choke down for the last year. Not all CPA review courses are created equal, and in this blog, I’m going to share with you my top four favorite features of UWorld Roger CPA Review.
- Entertaining lectures and great mnemonics – Roger Phillip, CPA, CGMA, is hilarious. He brings so much energy and livens up the material with his animated stories, jokes, and catchy mnemonics. We learn best while we’re engaged, and let’s be honest, this material can be a bit on the dry side. A great teacher can make a world of difference – they can make the material feel more exciting and relatable – and Roger accomplishes that.
- FlashCards – I think I’ve developed a slight obsession with the Uworld Roger CPA Review flashcards. It’s gotten bad…or maybe that’s a good thing. You can use the UWorld Roger CPA app on your phone and study on the go. While you’re initially learning the material, you can highlight a question that you get wrong, and the software will automatically pop up with an option to “add to flashcard.” It’s incredibly easy. I initially only did this for questions that I had gotten wrong, but more recently, I’ve started putting most of the questions into the flashcard app to give me a quick review of everything and stay sharp on both the straightforward questions and the harder questions. When you’re working full-time and have a busy life, it’s easy for two weeks to go by before you realize you haven’t seen a question from section one in a while. These flashcards will keep you sharp!
- SmartPath Predictive Technology – This is by far my favorite feature of UWorld Roger CPA Review. The old CPA study program I had used advised, “aim for a 75% per each section, then move on!” Well, I’m here to tell you that 75% doesn’t always cut it. With this feature, you can compare your scores with students who have passed the CPA exam. A target score and a target amount of questions are provided so that you can see what level other candidates achieved in order to pass. It takes a lot of anxiety out of the testing day to know that you’ve done more than enough to pass.
- Quality practice questions – Do you really need to be inundated with every possible question? Or is it better to have carefully curated questions that apply your time and energy more efficiently? I’m a busy gal, so personally, I need the latter. I felt a bit deceived by the first study program I had signed up for. They boasted about how many questions they had, and I thought, great, I’ll be exposed to more material. Well, I’m telling you from experience that it was not so great, especially when some of their questions were ancient. UWorld Roger CPA Review frequently updates their review questions and to keep them fresh and relevant.
There are so many other great features that UWorld Roger CPA review has to offer, and you can check out a summary of how it compares to other review courses here: The second time I took FAR, I only increased my score by 3% after an additional six months of study prep time with the old CPA review program. When I switched to UWorld Roger CPA Review, I increased my FAR score by 17%. Most importantly, I passed!
Trust me, don’t waste your precious time trying to make something work when it clearly isn’t, and please don’t give up. There’s a better study prep software out there, and if you’ve been struggling with the CPA exams, do yourself a favor and consider switching to UWorld Roger CPA Review.
Happy studying!
– Laura D., guest blogger for UWorld Roger CPA Review