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I took Becker, and it was one of the best investments I ever made. I went to one of the best undergrad business schools in the country, but they left some glaring holes in the accounting curriculum, such as government accounting (I’m glad I didn’t have to take it - it would have been a total waste of my time). Becker summarized and condensed the incredible amount of info needed for the CPA exam, thus streamlining my studying and covering any holes in my school’s curriculum. I took the exam during my last semester at school and passed all 4 parts. I did study very hard and did everything that Becker said to do. At the time it was a 19 hours exam over 3 days; I even studied after coming back home after taking part of the exam (I would study the topics that were not covered by the part that I had just taken-worked like a charm!).
I don’t know anything about Yaeger, and I’m sure it is also very good. Regardless of what you chose, I would highly recommend taking one of the different prep courses. They are money well spent. The last thing you want to do is to keep taking the exam over and over. Whatever you decide, just push the pedal to the metal and make it count. Study to get a 95, not a 76! Then, if you fall short, you would still pass instead of missing passing a part by a couple of points! Also, while taking the exam, remember that it is graded on a curve; therefore, if you find yourself struggling on a particularly difficult part, remember that all students are struggling, so just push forward while others are getting discouraged. The results will shock you! As an example, I barely passed on the part that I thought I did best in, and did my best on the part that I was absolutely certain I failed!