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5 Things You Shouldn’t Do When Studying Gleim EA Exam Prep
So, you’ve selected the Gleim EA prep course to help you study for the enrolled agent exam. Congratulations, you’ve already made a solid choice in terms of test preparation! Gleim gets consistently positive reviews from both students and critics. However, once you’ve invested your money and time in this resource, you want to make sure you get the most out of it. Gleim’s Enrolled Agent Study Guide offers some unique features you’ll love to use.
To make the most of your study time, take our advice and avoid the following five pitfalls. Whatever you do, don’t…
Skip the Gleim Enrolled Agent Diagnostic Quizzes.
One of Gleim EA’s major selling points is its massive bank of more than 3,500 test questions. Knowing this, you may be tempted to skip right to the practice exam and forgo the Diagnostic Quizzes. However, this would be a mistake. These quizzes help identify your areas of strength and weakness, letting you know where to focus your studies. You won’t even have to do this work — the software gathers detailed analytics on your performance as you go.
Specifically, you’ll take two 20-question quizzes at the end of each Study Unit, and the intuitive software will identify your problem areas and adapt accordingly. After you complete all Study Units for a part of the exam, the software will create more quizzes, drawing from all units and focusing on your weak points. As a result, you won’t waste time answering questions you already find easy.
Work only in the test bank.
Again, if you spend your time taking practice multiple-choice questions, you cannot fully explore all Gleim EA exam prep has to offer. Gleim is unique in its integrated review materials, including a textbook, audiovisual lectures, an online study planner, and a personal counselor. All of these add up to a personalized, guided learning approach.
If you’ve chosen Gleim, you’re already paying more than you would for most IRS enrolled agent exam study guides, so make sure you get your money’s worth. Access to a Personal Counselor- a real person who will act as your mentor and guide- is a huge advantage. Few other EA test prep companies offer this option. Additionally, you’ll have phone and email access to a whole panel of accounting experts to answer any questions you might have about the material.
Fail to complete a review of all the Study Units.
Although you do want to use your time wisely, don’t try to cut corners. Gleim breaks down the material for the three SEE test parts into Study Units. Part 1 contains 13 units, Part 2 contains 20, and Part 3 contains 7. All of these Study Units exist for a reason. Even if you’ve been working in tax prep for years, you need to ensure that your knowledge of the field is entirely up to date. Since Gleim’s materials are primarily online, the company can update them as necessary, meaning you won’t waste time on outdated material.
Gleim’s enrolled agent study material is extremely comprehensive, making the product an excellent choice. Unfortunately, it can also make the study process feel overwhelming. However, the solution to feeling overwhelmed is not simply to skip entire units. Instead, make sure you completely review all the material at least once. After that, you can take advantage of the software’s customizability to focus more effort on your areas of weakness.
Skip setting up your study planner
Gleim is very proud of the SmartAdapt technology that guides its interactive study planner. Be sure to set up this feature and use it. You’ll be able to track your progress and set your own pace of study accordingly. Gleim’s experts recommend studying at least 10 hours per week and spending at least five hours on each topic. However, this is a general guideline, so study time may vary by person.
Additionally, if you’re working full-time while studying for the enrolled agent exam, you’ll want to ensure you plan around your schedule. Otherwise, you may end up attempting to cram right before the exam. If you’re already working in the tax prep field, be aware Gleim’s study planner automatically takes tax season (January 15 – February 28) into account. During this time, the planner gives you more breathing room in your schedule.
Watch the lectures AND read the book.
To borrow an old cliche, don’t study harder; study smarter. Gleim’s EA video lectures and textbooks both relay the same material, so choose whether you’d prefer to read it or watch and listen. Some Gleim EA reviews state that the way textbook structures the material makes it a bit difficult to read (the books utilize an outline format). If you find this to be the case, it’s probably a good idea to depend primarily on the lectures. You can watch the 450+ expert-led videos and listen to lectures on the go while using the textbook as a reference.
Alternatively, others may find that reading while highlighting and making notes is more their speed. Gleim’s video offerings are more like PowerPoint presentations than actual classroom lectures, putting some students off. There’s no right or wrong choice here — it depends on your learning style. Whichever you choose, make sure you don’t duplicate your efforts and find yourself reviewing material you’ve already learned well. If you’ve taken #1 on our list into account, you should already be using the software to identify the material you’ve aced!
Gleim EA Conclusion
If you’ve shelled out the money for Gleim’s software to prepare for the enrolled agent exam, make sure you get the biggest bang for your buck. Gleim is one of the most popular EA test prep products on the market. Furthermore, it routinely ranks high for its thoroughness, guarantees, and convenience. Few other enrolled agent study guides include features like the Personal Counselor or SmartAdapt software. (If you don’t want to take my word for it, check out this comparison of Gleim EA vs. Surgent EA.) Take the time to use these features to their greatest advantage, and you’ll have a leg up on the competition when it comes time to take the exam.
You can access the best Gleim EA discount here (you must check out online and use the link, as Gleim has embedded the discount in it; no promo code is required). On the other hand, if you’d like more information about the Gleim discounts, I have created that resource on this site.
About the Author Stephanie
I am the author of How to Pass The CPA Exam (published by Wiley) and the publisher of this and several accounting professional exam prep sites.
