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Yaeger CPA Review
Our in-depth and comprehensive review of the Yaeger CPA Review course
Yaeger CPA Review prides itself on its student-first, personalized learning experience. While other review courses have a sterile, commercialized feel, with Yaeger CPA Review you get personal coaching, direct access to instructors, and even two calls with founder Phil Yaeger himself. This level of support and personal touch gives Yaeger CPA a true “mom & pop” type feel that you just don’t get elsewhere. But does a personal support system and more intimate learning environment necessarily mean better scores? Our detailed review guide covers everything you need to know about Yaeger CPA Review, including its strengths and weaknesses.
Yaeger offers several different course options for students to choose from. You can purchase courses for individual sections for around $340 each, or the entire bundle for just over $1,000.
Alternatively, you can purchase three different monthly subscription options ranging from $95 to $155 per month.
Compared to other CPA prep options,Yaeger’s course selections are quite affordable.
These price points are cheaper than just about every major review company, including Becker, UWorld Roger CPA Review and Surgent CPA Review. If you’re looking for value pricing and maximizing bang for your buck, Yaeger is a close second behind Gleim.
Course options and pricing current as of date of publication.
Evaluation Of The Yaeger CPA Coursework
For those learners who prefer a straightforward and linear course structure, you will enjoy Yaeger CPA’s curriculum. For each section of the exam, Yaeger breaks the relevant material down into chapters.
There are generally about a half-dozen chapters per section, with each chapter having multiple parts (for example, Chapter 4.A, 4.B, 4.C, etc.). This keeps the content neatly organized and grouped in very logical fashion.
Each subchapter serves as a learning module, consisting of a video and text lesson, and practice problems. When you click into the subchapter you are first taken to the lesson, which generally revolves around the video instruction. Phil Yaeger appears on screen in the video lesson, sitting before a whiteboard.
The lesson he gives tracks with the Yaeger coursebook, and to make learning as easy and efficient as possible, an interactive version of the text populates on screen. The digital textbook sits right beside the video and tracks with the verbal lesson, syncing up perfectly so you can read and listen at the same time.
One of Phil Yaeger’s video lectures
The video portion of the lesson itself isn’t very exciting. Phil sits on screen and reads from his text, occasionally jumping up to write out some notes on the whiteboard behind him.
There are no graphics or digital effects, and the quality of the video production is fairly average. To be honest, it’s kind of reminds me of an undergrad online only class. Everything is just kind of basic.
That said, while there are no frills, it is effective. I found myself jumping back and forth from the interactive text to the video and back. And occasionally the text will disappear from the screen and a quiz question will pop up, and Phil will walk you through the answer choices after you’re done.
Together, this combination of interactive text, visual lesson and pop quiz makes for a powerful instructional tool. I like the varied approach to information presentation – this really helps with content retention.
You are also offered some additional tools onscreen to aid in your studies. You can bookmark the video segments with custom notes or a quick flag to note important sections for recall later. In addition, there are optional “comprehension check” quiz questions in the bottom right corner to test you as you go. Of these features, I found the quick bookmark to be the most useful.
If Phil says something that catches your ear and you want to review it again later, just quickly hit the “quick bookmark” button and it will record the exact second of the lecture into your log for later review.
After each lesson, you are prompted to take a quick assessment, generally consisting of a few multiple-choice questions. These quizzes test what you just learned and help to reinforce the material.
They are not long or difficult, and in fact, I wish there were a few more questions per subchapter. Oftentimes 4 questions didn’t feel like enough to quiz my brain on 30 minutes worth of material.
A quiz question from Yaeger’s lesson plan and coursework
That is really it in terms of course structure. You work through the video and text lesson portion of a subchapter, knock out a few problems, and move onto the next. And you keep knocking them down one at a time until you finish a chapter.
It is a straightforward and linear approach to material, but it is effective. And perhaps most importantly, it covers everything you need to know for the exam. Both the textbook and video lessons are very detailed, so there is never any feeling of brevity in the instructional material.
Beyond the learning modules of each subchapter, you can optionally create practice sessions in the quiz generator at any time. These quizzes are customizable by question type, number of questions, timing and more.
This tool provides a great opportunity to get some extra practice in and specifically target some of your weaker areas. However, the number of practice questions in the test bank for quizzing is one area where Yaeger lags behind its competitors.
While Gleim boast over 10,000 multiple choice questions, Yaeger offers just 5,000 or so questions. Whether 5,000 practice questions will be enough for you generally depends on the time you plan to commit to studying.
If you’re going to be studying 60 hours per week for a month, there’s a chance you may start seeing questions a second time. But if you’re just studying a few hours each night around a work schedule and just trying to get into a position to get a 75 on each section, there’s a good chance you’ll never need all 5,000 questions. The same quantity limitations apply around simulations, where Yaeger offers just 200 or so task-based simulations.
In any event, the quality of Yaeger’s questions is top notch. They are well-written and test the material in a way that is incredibly similar to real AICPA exam questions. So you never feel as if you’re being cheated with questions that are too simple or easy. And the same goes for simulations. Given the variety in which simulations appear, they can be hard to mimic, but Yaeger does a fine job.
A sample Yaeger CPA Review practice question with text explanation
Another nice feature of the Yaeger coursework is their “AdaptaPASS” software, which analyzes your performance on practice questions. This technology tracks your progress and tells you where your strengths and weaknesses lie, so that you can shuffle your study schedule around as necessary (somewhat like Surgent CPA).
It is not the most powerful adaptive software I have seen in CPA review (as other courses’ tech actually updates your study plan automatically), but it is helpful.
All in all, the Yaeger CPA Review coursework is well-designed. It is not the most robust curriculum I have seen, but it is highly effective. The straightforward approach will be very appealing to students who prefer to handle new content in a linear and methodical fashion.
Additionally, I was a big fan of how they sync their textbook to the video lessons, which makes for a powerful learning experience.
The Final Review CRAM Course
For students that choose to purchase the full Yaeger CPA course, Yaeger offers a final review crash course. This is not a separate offering, but instead is included right along with the other course materials for those premium students.
This intensive and condensed review session is designed to get students a quick point boost. In fact, Yaeger claims that reviewing all of the cram courses in the week leading up to the test can get you a 5 to 15-point score increase. If you’re hovering around the high 60’s consistently on practice tests, that could be music to your ears.
Inside look at another of Phil Yaeger’s video lessons
There is no text in these final review sessions, just video. Phil again appears on camera before a whiteboard, hammering all of the high yield topics. He runs through all of the most heavily weighted areas of the exam and hits the high points.
These sessions do not get into the weeds. Phil keeps it fairly high level and gives you only the detail most likely to appear.
I really liked these sessions and found them to be one of the biggest benefits of the course. If I had one complaint, it’s that you don’t get a separate attack outline like you do with the normal course, but the cram sessions were still super helpful. I would highly recommend watching these in the last 3-4 days before the exam.
Yaeger CPA Simulated Exams
Supplementing the main instructional materials and practice work, you also get access to unlimited simulated exams with Yaeger CPA. Their exam simulator tool will pull from their bank of practice questions and simulations to generate a practice exam. This exam matches the real CPA exam in terms of both test length and timing.
As the exam questions pull from Yaeger’s bank of practice questions, they are very high quality, as discussed above. The Yaeger team does an excellent job designing questions to mirror the real exam and I would have difficulty deciphering the two in a side-by-side comparison.
However, while the quality of the exam questions is first-rate, I do take issue with the testing software.
The Yaeger CPA quiz generator
Yaeger testing interface is nothing like the real CPA exam. Whether this will be a big deal to you totally depends on how closely you want to practice under exam-like conditions.
While structurally they work roughly the same, the aesthetics are all off. This is a little disappointing given that most other CPA review companies offer a true exam-like experience.
It seems to be fairly commonplace to have a testing interface that mirrors the real CPA exam these days, so I’d like to see Yaeger step their game up in that regard. All of that said, the substance of their simulated exams is spot on, and that is the most important thing.
Yaeger’s CPA Review Books
One of the highlights of this course, Yaeger offers a set of fantastic textbooks. When you sign up for the standard CPA Review Bundle, you get access to digital copies of all 4 texts, but you can optionally buy print versions of all 4 books for roughly $80 a pop. That is not cheap, but if you prefer learning from a paperback, I would suggest considering it.
And for students taking the upgraded CPA Review Bundle Plus, these print books come standard with your package (as well as the digital versions). Either way, these books are an incredible resource and alongside the video lessons, are at the heart of your learning experience.
The content of these books is a true strength of the Yaeger course and they stack up toe-to-toe with both the Gleim and Becker books. They are well-written, thorough and provide countless excellent examples. If you prefer to learn by reading a text (like myself), you will love these books.
My favorite aspect is the numerous examples that permeate the material. There is often no better way to learn material than through a clear example, and Yaeger nails this part. These books get an easy five-star rating.
Digital Platform & User Experience
I would say Yaeger’s digital platform is average in terms of interface. There are no eye-popping graphics or must-have features. Like the course itself, it is pretty straightforward and simple. The good old meat and potatoes.
The one exception to this assessment though is the video and textbook sync. This is a pretty nifty little function that many courses don’t have. The textbook is keyed to the lecture and scrolls through in unison with its video counterpart.
I really liked this feature of the Yaeger course and found it be extremely beneficial for both visual appeal and actual learning.
The user experience is otherwise fine though. The portal design is pretty basic, with a navigation bar at the top that guides you through your main study resources.
And within the chapters of the lesson work, the modules are efficiently stacked in a vertical manner. All things considered, the user interface and experience is just fine for what it is and gets the job done.
Extra CPA Study Resources
Despite its uber approachable price point, Yaeger CPA review offers a smattering of genuinely helpful resources. The list of supplemental study tools includes:
Personalized support and coaching
Audio lectures
Student forum / community notes
Instructor hotline with direct access to Yaeger CPA instructors
Custom study planner
Digital flashcards (2,000+)
Two 15-minute calls with Phil Yaeger himself
This is hefty list of resources for a course that costs a fraction of what the big boys charge for their prep packages. My favorite resource on the list is the personalized support. This is what sells Yaeger CPA Review.
You truly never feel like you’re alone in your studies. If you’re feeling crummy about your prospects of passing or have a question about a particular issue, you can speak with a Yaeger expert.
This is where Yaeger separates itself from the crowd. It is this “mom & pop” personal feel that gives Yaeger CPA Review true value. If you are the type of student that needs personalized support and some close guidance, think hard about Yaeger CPA.
A second resource worth noting is the Yaeger flashcards. These 2,000+ digital flashcards are extremely helpful for students on the go.
Like most flashcards, the front of each card references a key term or principle and the back provides a detailed definition or description. For some quick hit studying, I really like the breadth and depth of these Yaeger flashcards.
Yaeger Private Tutoring
While Yaeger does not provide direct 1-on-1 private tutoring packages, they do have an “instructor hotline,” which is available for an additional fee. If you need more support than the basic channels provide, this instructor hotline provides unparalleled access to the Yaeger CPA experts around the clock.
Simply shoot Yaeger a message that you want to set up some time with with an expert to talk, and they can schedule your appointment with as little as two hours’ notice. That is truly unheard of in terms of immediate feedback in the tutoring world.
Reviewing questions with the review function is key
If you need immediate 1-on-1 help frequently, this may be a very helpful resource, particularly if you plan to get through all 4 sections in a short time span, like 3 or 4 months. Otherwise you’ll need to rely on their normal support channels, which are still pretty good in their own right.
Content Access Duration
The duration of your access to Yaeger’s content is simple and easy to remember: 24 months. This should be more than enough time to study for the CPA exam.
Is There A Mobile App?
Disappointingly, Yaeger CPA Review does not provide a mobile app (UWorld Roger CPA review does though). Given that most other CPA review companies provide a mobile at this point, it would be nice to see Yaeger CPA catch up to their counterparts in this regard.
Having or not having a mobile app isn’t going to affect whether a course makes our best CPA review courses list, but it is definitely a nice bonus.
Refund Policy And Guarantees
Yaeger CPA Review takes a pretty strict stance on returns and cancellations. That is, they don’t accept them. So if you purchase Yaeger CPA and change your mind a few days later, it will be too late to go back.
This is fairly onerous, especially as other providers give at least a few days for a cool down period. But Yaeger does provide a short trial period for you to kick the tires before you buy.
Likewise, Yaeger CPA Review does not provide a form of guarantee around their course. If you fail all four sections, some other courses offer your money back. Instead, assuming you meet some requirements, Yaeger will extend your course expiration date so you have continued access to your study materials.
Verdict: Yaeger CPA Course Review
The Yaeger CPA Review course can be summed up in a couple words – they care. It is evident in Phil Yaeger’s instructional video lessons, through your personal coaching with Yaeger instructors, and even in your personal calls with Phil Yaeger himself. It is clear they place students and their success over everything.
This personal “mom & pop” type feel is what epitomizes Yaeger CPA – you’re never alone. But Yaeger CPA is more than just warm fuzzy feelings. They also provide some excellent video lessons which are synced up with their even better coursebook. The curriculum is comprehensive, smartly organized and plenty thorough to get you across the finish line.
This course is not perfect though. My primary beef lies with the quantity of practice material. Offering just 5,000 multiple-choice questions and 200 or so simulations, the level of practice material lags behind their peers. And to compound this, the testing software interface does not match what you will see on the real exam.
Therefore, while I do like certain aspects of the Yaeger courses, ultimately I think there are better options on the market to help you prepare for the CPA exam. I would suggest checking out Becker or Gleim for your CPA prep needs.
FAQ
How much does Yaeger CPA Review course cost?
Yaeger’s flagship course costs a shade over $1,000, which is one of the most affordable packages in the CPA prep space. Alternatively, students can choose between three different monthly subscriptions as well that range from $95 to $155 per month.
How is the personal support with Yaeger?
The personalized coaching support you get with Yaeger is what makes this course. You can speak with their expert instructors about anything exam-related and you’ll always get an insightful and helpful answer.
Is Yaeger CPA Review worth it?
Yes, if you are working with a limited budget. However, if you are looking for the best CPA review course period, then our team recommends other courses ahead of Yaeger.
