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HOCK International CMA vs. Gleim CMA Review: Simplifying the Decision

If you're wondering if you should choose HOCK International CMA or Gleim CMA Review, you may think the choice is difficult. But we are here to help you, and we have great news: this information makes the decision much easier!

What's more, we’ve used our experience with these courses to construct an unbiased, easy-to-read comparison of Gleim CMA vs. HOCK International CMA. So, use this simple and free guide to decide to purchase either Gleim CMA or HOCK CMA.

Gleim CMA vs. HOCK International CMA Comparison Chart

CMA Review Attribute

Attribute Importance

Gleim CMA Review - Premium Course

HOCK International CMA Review Complete

Access Until You Pass

High – Without access until you pass, you will incur additional fees once your course expires, regardless of your exam completion status.

Included

Included

Video Lectures

Medium – Visual and auditory learners will appreciate this very helpful feature.

70 lecture hours

62 lecture hours

CMA Test Bank

High – The more practice questions and essays your course includes, the better you'll be able to apply the concepts.

Over 4,500 questions included

Over 4,000 questions included

CMA Essay Practice

High -- The CMA exam's essays are notoriously difficult, especially if you haven't worked through a few dozen or so.

130+ unique scenarios

83 unique scenarios

Mobile App

Medium -- If obtaining internet access is a problem where you live, having a mobile app that you can use without being connected to Wi-Fi could be a highly important factor.

Not Available

Not Available

Expert Guidance on Accounting Subject Matter

Low -- For some, figuring things out on their own might lead to better memory retention. Conversely, not understanding a concept could send others into a tailspin. With this feature, you'll be able to contact the teams at both Gleim CMA and Wiley CMAexcel with any questions you have. However, we don't think this feature is a must-have.

Included

Included

Detailed Final Review

High -- The final review is where you test all your understanding of the concepts. Furthermore, it's also where you can drill down on your weak areas. Your final review typically occurs 1-2 weeks prior to sitting for your exam.

Final review includes a mock exam called the Exam Rehearsal that tells you how exam-ready you are. It then provides adaptive quizzes that help you improve your scores, building confidence leading to exam day.

A Final Review study is included with the HOCK CMA Review Complete course.

Books

High – The books provide you the ability to learn the concepts, which is especially helpful if you don't have access to video lectures as well.

Digital and physical books included

Digital or physical books available

Flashcards

Low – While flashcards are a nice tool for reinforcing the concepts you’ve learned, they are more effective when you create them yourself.

Digital flashcards included

Digital flashcards included

Who Wins? Gleim CMA Review or HOCK International CMA?

Gleim CMA only narrowly wins the title here because both Gleim and HOCK are excellent courses. The biggest factor that sways us ever so slightly to Gleim is that it has a larger test bank. Also, Gleim includes far more essay questions, and candidates report that the essays are the toughest part of the CMA exam. 

However, HOCK CMA Review is also a great course. Personally, I find the HOCK CMA lectures more helpful than Gleim's, so if you're an auditory or visual learner, HOCK should be at the top of your CMA course consideration list. Also, HOCK is more affordable than Gleim, especially when you use our HOCK CMA discount, so this course gets high marks for its quality and price point.

HOCK International CMA vs. Gleim CMA Review History

HOCK International CMA has been around for over 19 years. In contrast, Gleim has over 45 years of experience helping candidates pass accounting certification exams. Also, Gleim CMA published the first CMA review course ever, and it continues to be the course more candidates use than any other course.

Dr. Irvin Gleim, CPA, CIA, CMA, EA, founded Gleim in 1974. Since then, Gleim has published the leading accounting courses in CPA, CIA, CMA, and EA reviews. Gleim creates these courses by enhancing its review courses with top-notch content. Additionally, Gleim produces video lectures featuring highly-awarded professors who have also achieved top scores on the CMA exam. Furthermore, the IMA and the CMA community have recognized the Gleim professors.

Brian Hock, CMA, CIA, developed HOCK International CMA. He is also the face of most of the HOCK CMA video lectures. Furthermore, Brian does have over two decades of experience teaching for the CMA exam. So, his expertise is very targeted on getting you to pass the CMA exam on your first attempt. Plus, the HOCK course is very thorough and definitely within the right niche for creating a very good CMA review course. 

Gleim CMA vs. HOCK CMA Course Interface

Gleim CMA recently updated its adaptive CMA platform to make it even more user-friendly for CMA candidates. This new interface allows CMA candidates to effectively and efficiently navigate all the important learning tools and practice questions. And you can also use the detailed analytics within the course to target your weak areas.

What's more, Gleim informs candidates what they need to focus on, as identified by SmartAdapt, the proprietary adaptive platform.

Additionally, Gleim includes a personalized study planner that is integrated into the course.

In comparison, the HOCK course is slightly less user-friendly. The interface is not as seamless, but it's been recently updated to include a personalized study planner. We don't think users will have any difficulty navigating the course, though. Consequently, the HOCK course is certainly simple to use and includes everything you need to pass.

While HOCK CMA does populate its course with some analytics, most of them include only basic, high-level information. But HOCK recently added an ExamReady Progress Bar to its courses. Basically, the bar rates your progress from 1 to 360; when you reach 360, you should be ready for the CMA exam. However, in the Gleim CMA course, candidates receive guidance and can access highly detailed analytics on demand.

HOCK CMA Course or Gleim CMA Review Materials

Video Lectures

HOCK CMA’s video lectures are only included in their top-tier option (we highly recommend you go this route). However, you can also purchase video lectures separately. Either way, you’ll get 62 video lecture hours, most of which Brian Hock, CMA, CIA leads. Brian gives the video lectures a classroom feel so that you can enjoy the student-teacher experience from the comfort of your own home. And again, Brian has been teaching CMA courses for over 20 years. His approach is very straightforward and easy to understand. 

Gleim also limits the availability of their video lectures by only including the lectures in the Gleim Premium CMA Review course. But, Professor of Accountancy Amy Ford, CMA, CPA, who is part of the teaching faculty at Western Illinois University, leads the Gleim CMA video lectures. She won the IMA Certificate of Distinguished Performance for earning one of the top CMA exam scores in the world. Also, the IMA selected her as IMA Faculty Member of the Year in 2011. Finally, she also leads many IMA webinars and is highly regarded in the CMA community.

But most importantly, Professor Ford does an especially great job helping candidates learn the critical concepts on the CMA exam. She’ll provide you with many mnemonics and memory aids so that you can remember everything you need to know. The Gleim video lectures also guide candidates step-by-step through difficult multiple-choice and essay questions. You’ll learn how to approach CMA exam multiple-choice questions and essays and be well prepared for exam day.

And while the Gleim lectures are excellent, HOCK's are incredibly helpful as well. I do prefer Brian's approach better than Gleim's, as I was able to stay more engaged overall when watching the HOCK lectures. It's just a matter of personal preference when it comes to video lectures. If you prefer a higher production value, you'll maybe lean more toward preferring Gleim's lectures. However, we find that Gleim's lectures follow their books, so it's a bit redundant in this aspect. Whereas with HOCK, you're getting fresh content that doesn't only cover what's in HOCK's books (a huge value-add, in my opinion).

Access Length

Both HOCK CMA and Gleim CMA give candidates unlimited course access. Therefore, you’ll only have to pay one time for your course. Other review providers charge costly fees to candidates when their course expires, regardless of exam completion.

In fact, the I Pass Team often hears stories from candidates who need additional course access time due to personal circumstances. And, if our candidates did not purchase a course with unlimited access, then they have to pay more fees to regain access to their expired courses.

But since both HOCK and Gleim CMA provide access until you pass, you won’t need to worry about your course expiring or having to pay additional access fees!

Finally, when you purchase a course with unlimited access, you’ll also receive free course updates. So, if the exam syllabus changes at any point while you’re studying with the course, you’ll automatically receive the updated materials for free.

Help from Experts

HOCK CMA provides you with access to exam experts who can assist you when you have technical accounting questions. Additionally, HOCK also provides you with mentors who facilitate your exam plans. HOCK CMA is the only course we know of where you can call or email your professors directly to ask accounting questions.

Similarly, Gleim CMA affords you to be able to ask questions. Should you run into any learning obstacles as you study the materials, you can ask one of their experts for help by using a convenient feature within the course. However, you are not able to call or email their professors directly.

Moreover, both the Gleim and HOCK teams also provide you with unlimited emails and calls to the exam mentors. So, you can both send them messages and talk directly to them on the phone.

Exam mentors are different than professors or accounting experts because mentors are not able to assist you with accounting questions. Rather, mentors put you on a path to prepare you for exam success by helping you to study more effectively, optimizing your use of the course, and providing you with motivation so you stay on track.

Flashcards

HOCK CMA Review contains digital CMA flashcards. HOCK doesn't print the flashcards for you, so you’ll need to study them digitally. However, these flashcards help you see which concepts are the most important to know and save you time, as they've been compiled for you. 

Similarly, Gleim CMA also supplies digital flashcards. This feature is new to Gleim—in the past, candidates studying with Gleim had to make their own flashcards. 

HOCK CMA Pass Rates vs. Gleim CMA Pass Rates

CMA review providers do not usually disclose their pass rates. They avoid doing so because validating the information candidates provide them is difficult. And while we’d love for the IMA to publish this information themselves, they unfortunately do not.

However, throughout the years, we have gathered CMA pass rates from our readers. So, we’ve found that candidates who visit the I Pass the CMA exam website and use the Gleim Premium CMA Review Course have a pass rate of 90%.

We’d like to share this same sort of information about HOCK CMA Review with you, but we haven't heard from as many candidates who use this course. Therefore, we can't determine an accurate pass rate from our small sample. However, we are collecting information now about how many candidates are passing and hope to have this information live very soon.

HOCK International CMA vs. Gleim CMA Review Learning Styles

Since both Gleim and HOCK supply candidates with video lectures, visual learners will likely benefit from either system. Furthermore, both HOCK and Gleim offer candidates access to auditory lectures as well. While HOCK's audio lectures are the audio from the video lectures, Gleim's audio lectures are distinct recordings. However, you can stream or download the HOCK audios and the Gleim audios so you can study when Wi-Fi isn’t available.

Gleim CMA Discounts vs. HOCK CMA International Discounts

I Pass the CMA Exam readers receive exclusive discounts for Gleim CMA Review and discounts for HOCK CMA Review. Therefore, no matter which course you choose, you can save big with our great offers!

Who Should You Pick? Gleim CMA or HOCK International CMA

After thoroughly evaluating each of the courses, we know that you can pass using Gleim or HOCK. But because Gleim CMA Review includes more essays and a few more features overall, this CMA course earns a few more points with us than HOCK’s. Furthermore, Gleim CMA also offers a more advanced course interface with granular-level analytical data about your performance. Finally, Gleim CMA Review is the most recognized and widely used course on the market, so it’s also the most reliable option.

HOCK CMA Review is a solid offering and has helped countless people to pass the CMA exam. Yes, HOCK has slightly fewer features, but the price point can't be beaten. Our favorite HOCK offering is CMA Complete because it includes the lectures. So, we'd highly recommend this option if you decide that HOCK is the best fit for you. And HOCK's course quality is very high, and their team is incredibly dedicated to helping you pass the CMA exam.

Because sitting for the CMA exam is expensive, you should select the best review course that works for you and your budget. If you fail, you’ll incur costly retake fees and may also have to purchase another review course that works better for your learning style.

Course Feature

Gleim CMA Review

HOCK CMA Review

Access Until You Pass

1

1

Professor-Led Video Lectures

1

1

Course Quality

1

1

Flashcards

0

1

Help from Experts

1

1

High Pass Rates

1

Not enough data

CMA Test Bank Size

1

.5

Total

6/7

5.50/7

From our summary, you can see that HOCK earns 5.50 while Gleim earns 6. However, we are confident that you can pass the CMA exam using either Gleim or HOCK. And you can save big on Gleim CMA Review with our exclusive Gleim CMA discount. Also, HOCK CMA discounts have been provided exclusively to our readers as well. So, it's a win-win as far as your CMA prep course choice is concerned!

Your CMA Review Course Next Steps

If you’d like us to expertly select the best CMA review course for you, please contact us. We’ll provide you with a completely customized recommendation. Also, if you need to learn more about becoming a CMA, you can also sign up for our free CMA exam course.

Also, you may want to read our in-depth analysis for HOCK CMA Review and Gleim CMA Review if you're still unsure of which CMA review course to choose.

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