Roger CPA Review is founded and headed by Roger Philipp, a dynamic CPA instructor turned entrepreneur in the CPA exam review market. In the relatively short years since 2001, he has helped 80,000+ candidates to get prepared and pass the CPA exam. Roger is great, but is his course suitable for you? Let us take a look at the pros and cons of the Roger CPA Review program.
Roger CPA Review – The Pros
1. Dynamic And Entertaining Teaching Style
Roger has the talent making the most boring subject entertaining — don’t expect a Michael Jackson type of live shows, but he is probably the only instructor that can mingle teaching and entertainment with success. If you keep falling asleep in your accounting classes, you really should check out Roger CPA Review demo and see it for yourself.
2. Live Feeds In Satellite Classrooms Throughout the US
At Roger CPA Review, Roger Phillip is the only instructor and so the teaching style (the best-selling aspect of his course) is guaranteed. Since he can only be at one place at a time, there are live feeds available in a number of satellite classrooms throughout the US. Students can see him teaching in real time and they can ask question with the help of the teaching assistant and technology. In short, you can get the benefit of his teaching and at the same time a relatively interactive environment in a classroom setting.
3. Free Sit-Ins Allowed
Prospective students are allowed to sit in class for the first two hours for free. Also, you can retake the classes for free as long as you sign up for all 4 review sections in one go.
Roger CPA Review – The Cons
1. Roger Talks Very Fast — Too Fast For Many
I have come across at least two comments on Roger CPA Review — that Roger talks very fast in the lecture. If you are taking the course in the satellite classrooms, it is even worse because of the occasional live feed delays and technical glitches. A past student told me that one time the live feed was not available for 15 minutes and there was no live feed make up available. This could be a pretty frustrating experience.
I would also think that if you are not a “conventional” CPA candidate, i.e. a college student or recent graduate with an accounting degree, then you should think twice about signing up to Roger CPA review. In other words, if you are not used to the fast-paced, intense, Generation-Y type of style, or you have been out of school for more 5-10 years, a non-accounting major, or if English is not your first language, this course may be quite difficult to follow.
2. Lots Of Semi-Hidden Surcharges
If you purchase the online product, there is an 18-month access period and a limit of two viewing for each class. Given how fast he talks, this could be an inconvenient restriction. For live or live-feed classes, you will have to pay $10 if you need to rewatch the class for any reason. This is just a few examples of the surcharges so please ask for a fee schedule (if available) for your own protection.
3. Relatively Weak In Answering Students’ Questions
Another drawback of the Roger CPA Review Course is that students are required to rely on chat rooms for any questions from the homework or lecture. While I understand that it is impossible for Roger Philipp to answer every one of the questions in class (given he has quite a number of satellite classrooms), it could be quite frustrating if your questions get unanswered for the whole week, which is the typical waiting time.
Any Roger CPA Alternative?
If Roger CPA Review is the only review course out there, then you can’t complain but the fact is that there are other high-quality CPA exam review courses that can offer better customer service with virtually no restriction on viewing.
The pros definitely outweigh the cons. I have taken Roger’s full course and passed each part on the first try. I would recommend the course to anyone.