[lancebvs]

I wasn’t sure which sub-forum it would be best to place this topic, so please forgive me if it is in the wrong area.

With that being said, I will be starting grad school this fall semester. I will be a full-time grad school student so I am considering taking 5 courses in the fall and 5 in the spring. I met with my academic advisor the other day and she explained they really frown upon taking so many courses (they recommend 3). She made it sound like 5 is too much and very difficult to do. So I guess my question is, do you think it is possible to take 5 classes in one semester?

And a second question would be (and this question only applies if you answered yes to the one above) would there be any time left to study for the CPA exam while taking 5 classes? Again, I know the difficulty of classes varies but I would mix it to where I have several hard classes and 1 or 2 easier classes each semester. So say study for 1 section per semester (which equates to 1 section per 4 months)

Thanks in advance for your input!

[Anonymous]

I don't have a MACC, but I have an MBA and the most I could do as a full time student was 4 classes. There were just too many projects, papers, and tests, not to mention various other aspects of the classes for me to fit in anything else. I had to write two 60+ page papers, 3 tests, homework, and an hour long professional presentation in one semester for one class if that gives you any indication on the workload. It really depends on what is going to be expected. Is there any way you can get a syllabus for each of the classes and judge based off of that? As far as 5 classes plus studying for the CPA, my vote is no. It's a completely different mindset and unless the classes you are taking coincide with the section of the CPA you are taking then there isn't going to be enough overlap to make the stress worth it. If you already have enough credits to sit, then my suggestion would be to take 3 classes at a time and study for the CPA simultaneously. You'll be adding another semester, but you'll be knocking out the CPA at the same time. OR do the 5 classes per semester (if you judge from the syllabus that it is doable) and then take the CPA next summer/fall.

[thechapman]

Is the masters program 30 hours total? Here's how I did mine.

Last semester of senior year – 3 masters hours

Summer before masters full time – 3 masters hours

Fall – 12 hours

Spring – 15 hours

If your program is just 30, it would definitely be possible. The only reason I took 3 hours over the summer instead of the fall was because there was an opportunity to, so why not. I absolutely could have done 15 each semester and finish (assuming I didn't need 33). Ended up with above a 3.5 so that was fine.

However, I am not so sure about studying for the exam also. Assuming you mean a masters in accounting, 15 hours of master level courses is much different than 15 undergraduate level courses. They are much more time consuming/demanding, and it looks like CPAmommyof3 and I had similar experiences in that regard

TL;DR version = 15 hours a semester – doable if you are willing to put in the time. Studying for the exam on top – debatable. I'd ask someone in the grad department what he/she thinks and go from there.

Passed - 2014

[mla1169]

I'd rank 3 classes as the equivalent of a slightly more than full time job. 5 is entirely possible if you're the type of person who could work a desk job all day then go bartend for another 4 hours. And yes plenty of people work that hard. To add the CPA would likely be the equivalent of working 80+ hours a week. For less than a year I'd say you could pull it off but there would be sacrifices. Even if you're ok with missing your favorite tv show and night out with friends, are you willing to have a sub par GPA or possibly have to pay for multiple retakes of the same CPA exam?

I had a similarly demanding schedule as you're proposing and knew going into it something would give. For me it was 2 failed AUD exams and one failed REG exam. Looking back I wouldn't have done anything differently but it was an exceptionally tough 12 months. Be aware of how very hard it will be.

FAR- 77
AUD -49, 71, 84
REG -56,75!
BEC -75

Massachusetts CPA (non reporting) since 3/12.

[MrCPA2B]

To OP! I just recently finished my MS in Accounting and I must say that it was the most painful experience ever. Considering you would be doing this full time, I still see that you may run into some issues. As CPAMommyof3 stated it all depends on what is to be expected. MY program was 10 courses and I took 4 courses my first semester and I was already burned out by the end of that semester by the many exams, papers, and case projects, it was absolutely ridiculous. To basically answer your first question, it is possible, however you would be doing more damage than you think. Taking a smaller amount of classes will place more focus on the subject at hand and will maximize your chances of getting higher grades and retaining information. IF you take a course load of 5 courses, the employer that's planning to hire you will wonder if you really know what you're supposed to know. As far as taking 5 classes and the CPA, good luck with that, it is possible but you have to be dedicated and plan to be a full time stay at home professional student. I promise you will not like it one bit. I'd recommend staying at a steady pace focus on your education first then jump right into the CPA exam while trying to get a job. Some companies will pay for your CPA test prep, so keep that in mind going forward because its not cheap to study for the exam. I wish you the best of luck on whatever you decide.

AUD- FEB 2014
BEC- APR 2014
FAR- MAY 2014
REG- AUG 2014

Using Wiley CPA Exam Review and Ninja Notes
May the "Force" be with me!

[IWPGirl]

I would finish Master's first and then sit for the exam. I took 2-3 classes per semester when I was studying for my Master's and I worked full time. There was a lot of planning and sacrifices. The toughest time was always the end of semester but it was doable. And Master's courses did help me to pass the parts I've taken so far.

AUD - 90
REG - 78
BEC - 84
FAR - 91 woo hoooo!!

Becker and Ninja MCQ

[floacct]

I think some of it depends on where u r enrolled in school. If u r talking an aacsb program absolutely do not attempt to take that many units at a time. There would not be enough time in the week to do all your work even if u dedicated every waking hour you had. My advice would be to take like 2-3 per semester and take the cpa exam concurrently. In grad school ur gonna be analyzing cases, statutes, and asc until ur eyes bleed.

[thechapman]

@floacct – One advantage of going through the codification until your eyes bleed during school is it helps out on research sims quite a bit 🙂

Passed - 2014

[Anonymous]

Is summer an option? I did mine with four classes in spring, three in the summer, and four in the fall for a 33 hour degree.

[Sir Study Alot]

I think 4 classes with a good GPA per semester can be achieved by a very motivated individual, but the CPA exam would be very hard to achieve at the same time. I think 5 classes would result in a low gpa for an intelligent person and utter failure for the average individual. I think that the latter approach ignores one of the primary reasons a person should get a masters, which is to get an education.

Passed all 4 exams in 2014!

[impska]

I was a non-trad and I wanted to be done with my MAcc as quickly as possible. I did 5-6 classes in each semester (15-17 hours), plus a Summer (I had some catch-up to do on accounting classes). At every turn, I was also advised that it was “too hard.” I achieved one B and the rest A's.

If you did your undergrad full-time, 5 classes at a time and did well, then you can do your MAcc that way.

I probably could have studied for a section if I was taking only 30 hours (it would have been very difficult to do at 30+). Especially if there's overlap (I took a lot of tax – I could have studied REG simultaneously).

You know yourself better than your advisers do. I found it odd that despite the fact that an undergrad degree is a 4-year degree and a MAcc is designed to be only one year more, there was a push from on high saying “it's too hard.” The program timeline is designed for you take 15 hours per semester. Maybe a little less if there's strong Summer semester support.

For the CPA exam, I'd say see how it goes. Do the full courseload in your first semester and then make a decision about whether or not you think you'll have time to study a section. Over a 15 week semester, if you can commit 10 hours a week to the CPA exam, then I'd say you're good to go.

REG - 94
BEC - 92
FAR - 92
AUD - 99

[jobach_lsu]

It is definitely do-able in two semesters, but I don't think it would be wise to try that and study for the CPA exam at the same time. My masters was 30 hours and I completed it in two semesters (5 classes each) while also working part time (around 24 hours per week). It definitely affected my performance though, as I got both of my allowed C's in the first semester and had to work that much harder in the second to make sure I did not have any more. Compare that two 2 C's total during my undergrad.

It can definitely be done in two semesters but it is not easy by any means. I know it will also differ depending on where you are getting the masters.

AUD 4/4/2014 - 97
FAR 5/29/2014 - 97
REG 7/10/2014 - 90
BEC 8/1/2014 - 89

[GuitarSalad]

It sounds like the program isn't designed to be done in 2 semesters like a lot are these days. My MAcc program was 15 credits in the Fall and 15 credits in the Spring. I was able to work about 20 hours per week while doing so. However, this is how the program was meant to work. In your situation, it may not be advisable to go to the full 5 classes, but as someone else suggested, maybe it's possible to shorten the time with a summer class or two and do 4 classes per semester?

BEC 7/12/13 - 84
AUD 8/31/13 - 86
REG 4/11/14 - 84
FAR 5/30/14 - 88

Licensed AZ CPA - 10/2014

[Anonymous]

I did my MACC right out of undergrad. I took 4 classes the summer after graduating undergrad, 1 in the fall semester while working full-time, 1 in the spring semester while working full-time + (busy season), and the remaining 4 classes the following summer.

I had planned on starting to study for the CPA exam, but my classes took up much more time than I expected.

I decided I didn't want to give up the free time I had left to study.

And since maintaining a good GPA was important to me, I never would have added a 5th class to my schedule.

[lancebvs]

Thank you everyone for your input! I definitely have some decisions I need to come up with and choose how I want to approach this.

And yes, I can do 4 in the fall, 4 in the spring, and 2 in the summer (this would be in place of doing 5 and 5) while also studying for the CPA (say 1 section per semester). I guess I need to decide what approach I want to take.

[Author]

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