Path Review: Accounting

[dennycrane]

Hello, I wanted to see if anyone had a similar path or advice. I don't have a degree so I am working through courses on Sophia to get as much credit as possible to transfer into the BA Accounting at UMPI. Upon successful completion then do the Masters of Accounting at WGU, then get the CPA, I am in TX and have read mixed reports about them accepting sophia courses, though it appears I can do the CPA exam in a more friendly state and transfer in to Texas. How does this plan sound, anyone done it before? Any advice? Thanks!

[bjcheung77]

That's a good pathway, you can check the WGU and your TX state requirements and verify. I recommend the UMPI BA Accounting to max the accounting credits, you ladder to the WGU MAcc to get the Masters degree. It really shouldn't matter about Sophia.org, Study.com, StraighterLine, or any other ACE provider you use, as I would only use these providers for general education, electives, and maybe some intro classes for the major if it transfers. The bulk of the credits would come from UMPI anyways for residency credits. I also suggest you provide a bigger picture by filling in the addendum and template here: https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...Area-works

[dennycrane]

I'm unable to edit the original post, so will add the template below. Thank you very much for your feedback!

One other thing I heard of was using FEMA credits instead of getting a masters - not a lot of info out there, but would love if someone could confirm this as well as being able to take the CPA in an "easy going" state and transfer to TX. Thanks!

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Addendum & Template (answer in brief, compact, concise phrases - don't need long sentences):
Your Location: Texas
Your Age: 35
What kind of degree do you want?: Accounting (ultimately a CPA)
Current Regional Accredited Credits: none
Current ACE, CLEP, or NCCRS Credits: none
Any certifications or military experience?: none
Budget: low - 5k
Commitments: Full time job and kids
Dedicated time to study: 2-4 Hours a night, more on the weekends and holidays
Timeline: 1-2 years
Tuition assistance/reimbursement: No

[turbotortuga]

Hello, I wanted to see if anyone had a similar path or advice. I don't have a degree so I am working through courses on Sophia to get as much credit as possible to transfer into the BA Accounting at UMPI. Upon successful completion then do the Masters of Accounting at WGU, then get the CPA, I am in TX and have read mixed reports about them accepting sophia courses, though it appears I can do the CPA exam in a more friendly state and transfer in to Texas. How does this plan sound, anyone done it before? Any advice? Thanks!

Hello. I actually did the exact path that you are attempting. I did the BA Accounting at UMPI, then went to WGU for the MAcc. I finished the MAcc this past April and am now in the DBA Accounting at South College. Since I did both, then I can save you some time and frustration. Skip UMPI for the Accounting portion. They gutted the Accounting transfer courses this past May, so none of the UL Accounting courses from SDC transfer any longer, therefore you will have to do a min of 15-16 courses at UMPI, which is the same number that you'd have to do at WGU. So I reccomend that you just do both the BSAcc and the MAcc at WGU instead over 2 terms versus doing 2 terms at UMPI and then going to WGU. Additionally, the accouting program at UMPI is so lackluster and tedious, you will be much better served at WGU anyway. Hope this helps.

[bjcheung77]

That's the one and done solution I would recommend, getting the undergrad and graduate program completed at WGU since they're endorsed in Texas (and several other states). You're going to still try to max your transfer credits using ACE options, so skip the FEMA and other non credit bearing classes, if you were 25, I'd get you to do a more balanced mix/match of the trifecta, certs, degree, experience. Having FEMA certs/courses won't do much in terms of transfer credit, if you were 25 and had less experience, it would be a good 'resume fluffer', again, skip them.

[Jonathan Whatley]

There used to be ways to convert free FEMA courses to transcripted college-level credit fairly cheaply, but those ways were closed years ago.

[dennycrane]

Hello, I wanted to see if anyone had a similar path or advice. I don't have a degree so I am working through courses on Sophia to get as much credit as possible to transfer into the BA Accounting at UMPI. Upon successful completion then do the Masters of Accounting at WGU, then get the CPA, I am in TX and have read mixed reports about them accepting sophia courses, though it appears I can do the CPA exam in a more friendly state and transfer in to Texas. How does this plan sound, anyone done it before? Any advice? Thanks!

Hello. I actually did the exact path that you are attempting. I did the BA Accounting at UMPI, then went to WGU for the MAcc. I finished the MAcc this past April and am now in the DBA Accounting at South College. Since I did both, then I can save you some time and frustration. Skip UMPI for the Accounting portion. They gutted the Accounting transfer courses this past May, so none of the UL Accounting courses from SDC transfer any longer, therefore you will have to do a min of 15-16 courses at UMPI, which is the same number that you'd have to do at WGU. So I reccomend that you just do both the BSAcc and the MAcc at WGU instead over 2 terms versus doing 2 terms at UMPI and then going to WGU. Additionally, the accouting program at UMPI is so lackluster and tedious, you will be much better served at WGU anyway. Hope this helps.

Hello, thanks for reaching out, I really appreciate the info.

I actually got it down to 14 courses needed at UMPI which I think is doable over 2 terms? which would work out much cheaper than WGU, right?

The reason I ask is, I already applied for UMPI for fall 2. I guess, I can pull out and try change to WGU - but I've researched and really like UMPI.

Can you tell me more about the Accounting program, I know you say its lackluster - can you tell me more?

Honestly, I learn best with a combination of watching video, reading and just problem solving - so even if the material isn't great - I am very good at going out and learning things on my own!

Congrats on doing the DBA!

Btw - did you ever look into getting a CPA? were there implications from Sophia credits? I think as long as its recognized by a college, it should be ok, right? and worst case I can do my CPA in a friendlier state and trasfer, right?

Thanks again!

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That's the one and done solution I would recommend, getting the undergrad and graduate program completed at WGU since they're endorsed in Texas (and several other states).  You're going to still try to max your transfer credits using ACE options, so skip the FEMA and other non credit bearing classes, if you were 25, I'd get you to do a more balanced mix/match of the trifecta, certs, degree, experience.  Having FEMA certs/courses won't do much in terms of transfer credit, if you were 25 and had less experience, it would be a good 'resume fluffer', again, skip them.

Thank you for this - ok, I'll not worry about the FEMA stuff! 

I'm currently running through all my sophia courses, and will do straigher line, just finished my IBM data analyst cert, so I am rapidly earning credits and excited to get going. I appreciate your help!

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There used to be ways to convert free FEMA courses to transcripted college-level credit fairly cheaply, but those ways were closed years ago.

Good to know! thank you!

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Just had another thought- can I do a bunch of extra courses on Sophia, transfer them to UMPI and end up with 150 credits, negating the need for a masters? Then just doing the CPA exam right after in Maine?

Idea would be, get a related job, which I'd assume I'd be a more attractive candidate because I've completed the CPA?

[Jonathan Whatley]

Just had another thought- can I do a bunch of extra courses on Sophia, transfer them to UMPI and end up with 150 credits, negating the need for a masters? Then just doing the CPA exam right after in Maine?

It's plausible. Check what Maine or any other state you're targeting requires specifically.

[tesu-acct-student]

Just had another thought- can I do a bunch of extra courses on Sophia, transfer them to UMPI and end up with 150 credits, negating the need for a masters? Then just doing the CPA exam right after in Maine?

Idea would be, get a related job, which I'd assume I'd be a more attractive candidate because I've completed the CPA?

The CPA license is indeed an attractive qualification to have on a resume. It will open doors for you for accounting and finance jobs that would not open otherwise.

The contents CPA exam itself are the same in every jurisdiction. The requirements to sit for the exam, and the requirements to obtain the license, vary between jurisdictions. Since your jurisdiction is Maine, I looked up some info about that.

Info about obtaining a CPA license in Maine from Maine's state Accountancy Board: 

https://www.maine.gov/pfr/professionalli...untant#cpa

NASBA administers the CPA exam for all jurisdictions: 

https://nasba.org/licensure/nasbalicensing/maine/

I'm not aware of any jurisdiction that REQUIRES a master's degree to obtain the license. 150 hours was required (to either sit for the exam or to obtain the license), but some states are relaxing this requirement back to 120 (undergrad degree). Many people obtained the 150 hours by obtaining a master's degree after the undergrad, but the 30 addl credits beyond the undergrad did not need to be at the graduate level, so the master's was just a beneficial thing to have on a resume rather than a strict requirement for the license.

Even though some states are relaxing the 150 hour rule, I read through the links above and Maine does not appear to be one of them.

HTH!

[dennycrane]

That really helps, thank you!

I'm actually based in Texas, which I know is very strict, but will be going to UMPI, so will get CPA certified there and transfer to TX after.

So if I took an extra 30 credits at Sophia, transferred everything to UMPI - they'd display 150 credits (30 beyond the need 120 for my BA in Accounting) is that correct?

Thanks again