Jump to content
ATX Community

N/T Gleim Study Products


Terry D EA

Recommended Posts

Now that I will be officially retired from my teaching job in two weeks, I have been looking into taking my tax practice to a higher level and seeking a EA recognition. Have been looking at Gleim and want to know what others think. Right now, they are offering 20% off the premier package which is a good deal. Opinions please.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I used Gleim to study back in the early 2000's for the EA exam (back then, four parts, in two days, given only once a year and you waited three months for results).  Passed all four sections first try, thanks to Gleim.  I recommend them highly.  I recommended them to a young man looking to become an EA and he is very impressed and learning a lot both about the tax code but also about how to approach the testing.  That was also my experience; learning to recognize the no-right-answer questions, and learning to trust my FIRST response, were I think key to passing.  From Gleim I learned that every time I re-thought something, went back, and changed my answer, that 3/4 of the time the original was right and the change was wrong.  Far fewer overall wrong answers by not going back.  Phew!  Learning to trust that was a hurdle - that probably led to my passing all sections at once.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I used Gleim when I took the EA exam in 1999, and like Catherine, I passed all four parts in the first attempt.  I was part of a study group organized by the VASEA that was using Gleim and found it very helpful.  I like the organized study group for forcing the pace and for having others to work with.  However, some people are better at self-study than others, so the group might not matter to you. 

When I took the test, I think all of the study materials relied heavily on published copies of previous tests for the practice tests and to guide the materials used.  In fact, when I actually sat for the exam I recognized some of the questions as being identical and there may have been more that were but that did not stand out as much.

GOOD LUCK!

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I also used Gleim back in early 2000's and passed all the sections on the first try.  I found that I never used it to do representation work. In 2018 The IRS audited my CPE and disallowed one of my 8 hour courses because, even though the provider said they were an authorized CPE provider, they were not.  No mercy from the IRS and I would have to take the test again so I decided to forgo it.  Make sure you verify the credentials of the CPE providers! 

  • Like 3
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Good point, Patrick Michael. Now you can check on CEs uploaded to the IRS. Which reminds me that I haven't done that in a long time and should do it. Of course, keep your paper/electronic certificates, also. Look for the CE inside a square and the words IRS-APPROVED CONTINUING EDUCATION PROVIDER when registering for a course. But as PM says, make sure you know the provider or look them up to be sure. Also, CE usually means IRS/EA CEs while CPE usually means CPA CPEs, but that's just a clue.

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 5/21/2021 at 8:37 PM, Terry D said:

I looked for reviews of the PassKey courses and didn’t really find any. Pricing sounds good but is it comparable or close to Gleim?

I started with Gleim, the review materials are fine, I just thought the chapter and exam questions were confusing and I was bombing every exam, I joined the Facebook EA exam group and someone that was having the same issue as me suggested Passkey.  Unfortunately Passkey was not online back when I used it and I had to buy the exam question book separately for each section, my confidence level went up after I started acing (everything is in paper, so you need grade yourself 😂) every single exam.  And as I mentioned before, the EA exam questions are identical to Passkey.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 5/24/2021 at 9:15 AM, Gail in Virginia said:

some people are better at self-study than others, so the group might not matter to you

Very true.  I am good at self-study and crammed for five weeks before the exams.  The totally unexpected side benefit was I had zero complaints about homework from my girls that entire school year; they had seen up-close and personal what real studying looked like!   🤣

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Terry, I don't know if you checked out the North Carolina Society of Enrolled Agents website, but hey have a SEE prep class coming up in July using the Gleim materials.  I don't know how the price compares for the class and materials, and just the materials, and I don't have any idea how it is taught or how you learn best.  I am sure you will do well either way!

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...