[J119]

hello a new member here. im a senior in a university with about 100 units majoring in biology. after years of low gpa , i finally accepted that science is not my career of choice and want to become an accountant/cpa as i enjoy working with numbers. i have done some research and its not required to have an accounting major to take the exam but i do need to take a lot of accounting classes.

is it possible to take all these classes at a community college after graduation or do i need to take them at my university?

I have not done well in school but i can ace the classes and the exam, if given the chance. do i still have the chance to become a cpa and actually get hired, given my poor performance up to now?

Any insights are appreciated. thank you.

[Dantrick]

I would probably go to nasba.org website and pick your state and see if you could find the answer or call them or e mail them. In Minnesota I don't think you can go to a community college. I also have another degree and I did not need an accounting degree I just need a certain number of accounting classes and business classes to sit for the cpa exam. Have you taken accounting class before? Intermediate 1 and 2 and managerial accounting are pretty tough classes.

[J119]

I haven't taken any classes in accounting yet but ill do my best.

I found a lot online universities that offer accounting degree through their online program. Would that be a good option?

Is it possible to get a masters degree in accounting online with a science major and low gpa?

Can i graduate and get a new bachelors degree online? Would I need to tae all classes again?

I would prefer not to but is my only option to take the accounting classes here at my current university? I cant even add it as my major or minor at this point.

My hope was to graduate and get the degree online.

[M.O.D.]

In California yes, all cc courses are considered equal to four-year courses, but in Montana no. I learned this the hard way, they won't even let you sit for the exam. So it depends on which state you apply through.

And no, in CA don't need another BA degree, the units are enough, but you might consider a MAcc. It looks more prestigious and the degree itself satisfies some nit-picky class requirements with the board. There are many schools that will take you for a MAcc with a low gpa, especially private universities, heck if they send recruiters to China and India you know they are hurting for students. You should apply around.

But if you've never taken an accounting course, try intro to financial accounting at the local cc to see if it is your cup of tea.

BA Mathematics, UC Berkeley
Certificates in CPA and EA preparation, College of San Mateo
CMA I 420, II 470
FAR 91, AUD Feb 2015 (Gleim self-study)

[J119]

it seems that even if i end up taking those classes and pass the exam, i wont have a chance at getting a job offer due to my extremely low gpa of 2.1. is there anyway to start fresh? possibly get a new degree at an online university? should i even finish school? will the gpa keep following me?

[Dantrick]

I don't want to sound scary, but I have a BA and MS and then I started my accounting classes and I did half on-line and half at the campus and the accounting classes were harder then any other classes I have taken. And I was always pretty good in school, and now the cpa exam is kicking my butt. But I was also always pregnant and/or taking care of a baby during my accounting classes and now studying for the cpa exam, I also decided to change careers because I like numbers but it has been a long road and a lot of hard work. Your experience might be totally different but I would be prepared for that anyway.

[J119]

im now mature enough to put in the work but not exactly sure what to do or if theres even any hope. i only have a semester and summer left in school but with 2.1 gpa i dont think i can get into grad school. can anyone show me a possible solution? online? comminity college? is there no hope?

[M.O.D.]

@ J119,

Yes, community colleges are an option, and that will raise your undergraduate GPA.

Second, there are private universities, that will take anyone that can pay their tuition. You have to see it to believe it. So there is always hope.

However, the accounting courses are hard, especially if you don't have a ‘nose' for business.

And the CPA test is even harder, you have to either love it or want it really badly to stick with with it for the several years it takes.

So it is best to take one course to try it out.

BA Mathematics, UC Berkeley
Certificates in CPA and EA preparation, College of San Mateo
CMA I 420, II 470
FAR 91, AUD Feb 2015 (Gleim self-study)

[nolifecpa]

I'm not an acct major and took classes at cc in order to sit. Your cc will probably have some sort of program that specializes for nonacct majors who just need credits to sit. Talk to a councilor and check with nasba as mentioned above.

Everyones experience with the exam is different. I've seen members in this forum that are C students who passed in 6 months on their first try. I've also seen A students with master degrees that stuggled and failed multiple times. There are also people like me that are C students that struggle and A students who dont. This exam is so f'd up and no 2 stories are the same

Your gpa may be a big factor if its your first job but there are also other factors considered whether you get hired or not. A cpa will give you opportunities but it won't give you an automatic job

REG-65,71,74,73,70,74,79
BEC-60's,60's,69,71,76*,78
FAR-67,66,65,79
AUD-54,60's,65,83*,69,80
*expired

DONE

[Dantrick]

How about taking one accounting class at the school you are going to now, during your last semester. There is usually a first class in accounting you have to take before the rest. Probably principles of accounting, if you love it, then you will put in the hard work to finish until the end, if you don't like then you will know. I loved it, my first accounting class I took and was hooked and I knew accounting was for me and now I am willing to do anything to get my cpa license, especially not sleep, lol. Take that first class and it will let you know if it is for you. Like you said you are more mature now. I would NOT get a master degree if I were you I would look into in your state how do you get to sit for the cpa exam with another degree and maybe it is like me and 8 accounting classes and 8 business classes, but every state is different. If you love it, you can do it! Go the cheapest route you can. If you have a cpa I don't think a masters matters. One a side note, you may want to get a seasonal tax job at H&R Block, Liberty, Jackson Hewitt, etc… not that you want to work at those places but being a cpa is knowing taxes and that would get your-feet wet with taxes, and you need no experience with that. I did that and I love taxes now.

[Northern_Tide]

Depends on the CC, Im in texas and the texas board only allows 3 CCs that have CPA eligible classes(2 in Houston, and the other in Austin)

https://t.me/pump_upp

https://t.me/pump_upp

[Anonymous]

First thing is to take the two basic accounting courses (agree with Dantrick), and see what you think. Financial and Managerial accounting are the two courses that all business majors must take. Next up would be Intermediate Accounting (I & II). I don't see any way that courses above Financial and Managerial could be taken at a traditional community college. I say traditional community college, because there are many community colleges that now offer four-year degrees (BA / BS), but still call themselves community colleges. I got my extra accounting credits at Post University because they gave me 50% off for military veteran, but I would recommend LSU and UAB from what I have seen recently.

So, you need 24 – 36 credits (8 to 12 3 hour courses) to even sit for the CPA exam. If you can't get a B or higher in those courses, then you really have no business even trying to pass the CPA exam. There are members of this forum who have BS Accounting degrees with good grades who still can't come close to passing the CPA exams in 18 months. Becoming a CPA is not like putting in the time at a tech / trade two-year school. It requires years of education and studying. I have a BS in business, an MBA, and I spent ten years as an Army officer, and the CPA exam was the hardest thing I have done in my life.

[fairylite]

I know that there are universities that offer accounting-accredited programs geared towards non-accounting majors/graduates where they tailor the program to fit exactly the requirements of the CPA. The downside is that they are more expensive (approx. $15-$20k since they are college classes), time-intensive (approx. 9 months), and you “graduate” with a certificate which doesn't really have any value to your job search or education background. However, once you're done with the program, you're eligible to immediately sit for the exam. I would suggest researching some local large universities near you and seeing if they have these type of programs available.

I wouldn't advocate for an MBA or MAcc for you right now, for two reasons: 1) it's alot of time and money invested into something that you aren't necessarily sure you like or can even get through yet (MAcc), and 2) you risk shooting yourself in the foot for future opportunities by enrolling into a program with lower stats (MBA).

To expand on #2, what I mean is that if you ultimately decide that you want to pursue an MBA, you're in a better position to enroll at a ‘better' school with a CPA and work experience under your belt. With your stats right now, I think you're aware that any graduate programs you get into will probably be less stellar. If you envision an MBA-oriented career, then I think you're better off waiting to apply to a better program when you are professionally ready for it.

Also, a CPA will help in your job search, but it will not give you that top-level accounting job with a large well-known company just yet. Employers for larger corporations/public firms tend to look for those who are well-rounded (CPA-licensed, public accounting experience, work experience in general), although having your license with little work experience will certainly still give you a leg up. You will most likely work for smaller companies/firms with lower-level jobs for a few years until you have the experience to ascend further in the professional food-chain. Also, be extremely diligent in checking the credentials of your potential employers – you need one year of work experience under an ACTIVE licensed CPA (ask me how much it sucks to find out your boss wasn't active…) before you can become a fully licensed CPA, so make sure that they are either currently active, or at least willing to put in the hours for CPE credits to reactivate their license.

You'll have a long road ahead of you, but it sounds like you are motivated to do it, so I don't think you will have any issues. If you can stick it through the accounting classes, apply yourself, and be motivated, I'm certain you will come out just fine.

BEC 11/12/2015
REG 1/1/2016
AUD 1/22/2016
FAR 2/28/2016

[jternida1]

It's funny cause I was in the same exact situation. I got a BS in Biology with a low GPA. Biology really didn't interest me, so I went to accounting because of my dad. I ended taking 24 units of accounting and 24 units of business classes to qualify for an exam at my local community college. 2 years later I passed all four parts and have my first big interview at a firm tomorrow. We'll find out if the GPA is a big deal to them

And in response to the previous poster (saying if you get less than a B you shouldn't even attempt the CPA exam), I received a C in my intermediate accounting class and a D in my taxation class (both teachers were not the greatest). I ended up passing the exams, but I had drastically change my study habits, so it is possible

AUD: 74, 67, 76!
BEC: 70, 75!
FAR: 76!
REG: 67, 73, 79!

Using Roger Review Course, Ninja Flashcards, WTB & book

[Author]

Replies