Wiley CPA Review
If you are prepping for the CPA test then you are probably looking into which CPA exam review course to utilize.
Wiley CPA review has really built up their website to try to surpass Becker. They relabeled their domain to be efficient learning. Just to give a heads up this wasn’t only for the CPA exam. The efficient learning brand covered multiple professional tests.
Who is Wiley CPA Excel
Wiley is a publishing company that has been around for many years. In 2013 they acquired a company called Efficient learning and their primary product which was labeled CPAexcel. That’s how you arrive at the new name of Wiley CPAexcel.
They believe this new system that is inherent in the efficient learning solution is what will help students have higher pass rates.
Their sales pitch
The whole thing with Wiley is this efficient learning solution, but what is efficient learning. Efficient learning means they offer bite-sized modules to learn from.
They are aware that most individuals can’t sit down and just plow through 8 hours of test prep a day. This is especially true if you are trying to pass the CPA exam while working at a big 4 firm. I think it’s pretty unique and shows that they are actually concerned with their customers’ busy schedule. We all learn differently, so if you think you learn better in small snippets then maybe Wiley could be the right program for you.
Cost
You can try out Wiley’s 14 day free trial before you go all in on the complete package. Other than that they offer 3 review course packages that range from $1,590 to 2,295 for the complete course set.
| Platinum CPA review course | Gold CPA review Course | Silver CPA Review Course | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price Per Section | $765 | $600 | $530 |
| All Sections | $2,295 | $1,800 | $1,590 |
Their most popular product is the Platinum and that’s obviously because it comes with the most information, but let’s go ahead and compare all three programs.
| Platinum Course | Gold Course | Silver Course | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Partner until you pass guarantee | x | x | x |
| Online study materials - 7500 exam questions 4200 digital flashcards, 450 sims, 110 hrs of lectures | x | x | x |
| Flash Cards | x | ||
| Bite-sized lessons, exam planner, unlimited practice exams | x | x | x |
| Course outlines | x | x | x |
| Live virtual classroom | x | ||
| Focus notes with acronyms and mnemonics | x | ||
| 4,400 extra questions and 160 task-based sims | x | ||
| Professor mentoring | x | x | |
| Total Price for all 4 parts | $2,295 | $1,800 | $1,590 |
Looking at that table, I think you can get by with the silver package. Especially if you are going to be working at a firm while doing this test. I just don’t think you’ll have time to take advantage of all the benefits of the Platinum because of your busy schedule. Obviously purchase the platinum if your firm is paying for your course though. If you have to shell out your own money, I would go with the silver though if it’s your first time out and you are decent standardize test taker.
If you need tons of help and guidance though, make sure to go with the Platinum series.
What do all of these features mean anyway? Continue reading to find out
Free Until You Pass
According to their website the course updates are free until you pass. You can use the software even one year after you pass.
How can you utilize this feature to your benefit? They give a couple scenarios on their website, but the coolest one is that you can essentially test drive the software before you start taking the CPA. This means that if you are a total nerd you can start studying for the CPA in school before you’ve even registered for the exam. That seems pretty cool and could be useful if you plan on taking FAR first.
Other cpa test review courses have expiration dates. This means that you could have to keep paying money in order to pass the exam. I have a few friends who this happened to while I was in the big 4. They would have the firm pay for the initial course, but then they would have to pay for the course the second time around or whenever they needed updates.
Online Study Materials
The online study materials are the backbone of this product and this is where they are somewhat similar to other products. CPA Wiley offers
- 7,500 CPA exam questions
- 110 hours of video instruction
- 450 task based simulations
- 4,200 digital flash cards
- 2,600 pages of digital text
Bite-sized framework and other online course-ware
The bite-sized feature is where Wiley offers 30 minute lectures as opposed to watching hours and hours of Peter Olinto in his 1990’s photo studio. This feature is also where they offer the CPA exam planner, practice exams, and student discussions.
Professor Mentoring
This is a really neat feature. You will get support from experienced professors. If you ask them questions, you can get your answers back in 48 hours. There are also archives of previous discussions.
Wiley Test Bank
This is where you can access 4,400 multiple choice practice questions and over 160 simulations including the new document review simulation. This also tracks your strengths and weaknesses which will really help you. You can work on your weaknesses so you aren’t stunned when you take the test. You can also buy these test banks separately on Amazon if you want to try them out first.
Wiley BEC Test Bank App
Wiley FAR Test Bank App
REG Test bank app
Aud Test Bank App
Course outlines - Text books
You can have your course expertly outlined. You can get this in either text or eBook formatting. You can also buy Wiley's text books on Amazon separately to try them out. They are the best selling CPA books each year.
Virtual Classrooms
The virtual classrooms offer both live and pre-recorded settings.
Flashcards
Who doesn’t love flashcards when studying for the CPA. Wiley offers there own flashcards as part of their packages. You receive 250 flashcards for each section.
Focus notes
Focus notes are different from flashcards. They reinforce key concepts, they are easy to read and easy to carry. They also have key concepts and mnemonics to help you succeed on the test. You can buy these separately on amazon as well to test them out. You can even buy them as an App.
Wiley Focus Notes BEC App
Wiley Focus Notes Aud App
Wiley FAR Focus Notes App
Wiley Reg Focus Notes App
