Thinking of Going Back to School...

Because you earned your BA that locks in the classes you already have taken, if you hadn't gotten your degree, after a certain amount of time you loose those core classes. Go to the college of your choice and sit down with a counselor and ask questions. I went back to school 6 years ago, took one class the first semester and worked up to full time. I am a single mother of 4 and 48 years old. You can do this and it will be worth it, you will get a return in higher wages. Years ago I asked someone what the difference in a bookeeper or accountant, they said salary. Today I am drawing that higher salary. You go girl!

I wrote a paper on how to get through college on a budget, if interested e-mail me personally and I will send to you or anyone else interested.

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First off, I'm going to recommend you call an academic advisor at a university in your area...you'll be able to share the specifics of your previous education AND your career goals with that person and find out exactly what you would need to do to get a degree in accounting. I could also put you in touch with an accounting professor at Texas A&M Corpus Christi if you want specific advice (I teach business but not accounting)...

Some things to consider...

Your "general education" classes from your BA should transfer into the university of your choice...enough to eliminate the first two years of "basic classes". Some universities will simply waive the first two years for anyone that has already has a bachelor degree no matter what the field or how long ago you earned it...others will evaluate transfer credits on a class-by-class basis...and the age of those classes may require you to repeat a few of them. (Note: if that happens, you can often test out of those classes in some way...CLEP tests for example).

Accounting is a special case because of the 150-credit rule in Texas...students need to have 150 credits of college course work to sit for the CPA exam...a regular degree only requires 120 hours. Thus, an accounting degree leading toward the CPA requires THREE years after the first two years of basic classes...many students earn the additional credits by doing a year's worth of graduate work...others decide to go with a different certification after the normal two years of accounting/business classes. It is possible that some of your BA credits will count toward this requirement...it just depends how much they can transfer! (BTW, different institutions have different rules...it may be worth your time to shop around a bit to see which one would give you the most credit for your previous college work).

CPA isn't the only certification available for accountants...others don't have the 150-hour rule...but most accountants have some kind of certification beyond the degree if they want to find employment!

Here's a link to a summary that may provide some information to help you get a feel for the accounting degree:
http://www.cob.tamucc.edu/prstudents/undergrad/major-acct...

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I will have a BS in psychology in May, but want to go on to get a RN-BSN, which is basically a BS in nursing. All I am going to have to do is go in and complete the 2 years of actual nursing stuff and I will be done. So, check with the school, but all you should have to do is take the accounting requirements. Either way you go, GOOD LUCK!!! I know how hard it is.

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I have also gone back to school and was taking prereq's for a nursing degree. I already have a BS degree and the only classes that were in jeopardy of not counting were my science classes. I think there is a 5-6 year date on those, but it all depends on your degree. I don't see why that would affect anything for an acct. degree. I have also, taken a lot of classes via on-line through Montgomery/the lone star college system--including acct a few years ago. It worked well with having kids and trying to work another job. You are already going to spend the time in taking the classes, go ahead and get the degree whether another Bachelors or a Masters it will be worth it in the long run. Good Luck and Happy studying!

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I thought I was reading about myself. hehe
I have a BS in Animal Science and I am a bookkeeper. I didn't take a single accounting class in college. :-)
Long story short, I took a part-time job with a CPA in the small town I lived in. I have always been good and enjoyed math so the job was great. I learned how to use Quickbooks and started keeping books for several people. I then moved and decided to go back to school. First, take you college transcript up to the school you want to go to and have someone in the Acct. department tell you what you need to take. You should also consider getting your Masters since there is only a few credits difference. That plan did not work for me so I decided to take online classes with Louisiana State University (I live in Tx). The school was recommended by the Professor at ASU where I attended college. They have an "Acct. Certificate". It is not a degree but you get a handful of Accting classes under your belt and get a certificate. I figured at this time, that was better than nothing. Once my boys get older I hope to go back for the actual degree. I hope that was helpful.
Good Luck!!!

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Every university that I looked into required certain classes that are core to that school. Any school should be able to look though your transcrips and resume to find out what you should get credit for. They probebly will not be able to tell you before you are actually enrolled, as this is a long process. There are also many classes that you should be able to test out of in any school also. Choose a school- or I would suggest lots of schools, and set up some interviews. Remember, you are interviewing them. Make them spell everything out because when it all comes down to it, they are delivering a product and they will try to upsell you. It is their job to see that you graduate, not that you graduate in any amount of time.
I chose UOP-online. I have a family and the setup is exactly what I needed. It is extreamly expencive, (alomost 2x Ut) but after sitting through some of my (much) yonger sister's traditional classes, (and having 3-yes THREE! classes canceled in one week for no reason and with no warning) I feel that my money is being put to very good use. I also would be paying this at UT since we just moved to Texas and would have had to pay out of state for the first year anyway. Be sure to weigh your options. You get to choose this time, make them work for your business and be informed.
I wish you the best of luck and congrats. It was the best choice I ever made.

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Most college credits from a 4 yr university are good for 15 years. As long as you took courses and completed within 15 yrs you should be good. Otherwise you will have to repeat. Some colleges have a exit exam for some classes and you could do those too. College has changed in the last few years and when I looked into going back my degree credits were valid, although some courses had been changed! Good luck!!!

V.

Congrats on even THINKING about going back to college. I believe that we all have a lifetime of learning to do. Since you already have a BA, you probably won't have to go back and take all the basics. Just all the classes in the degree plan that you haven't had already. Most of them will be in accounting, if that is the degree that you want to get. Just get your college transcripts and go up to the college that you will be attending and talk to the counselor. They will be able to tell you exactly which classes you will need to get an accounting degree. I bet that it is not many since you already have a BA. Good luck!!

from my experience, as long as you know accouting backwards and forwards, it doesn't matter what your degree is in. (sometimes)as long as you have one. my old company would hire an accountant that has a marketing degree and put them in a degreed, executive position.

A., It depends on where you got your BA degree from. If it is a Regionally Accreditted University or College then most of those "core" classes would transfer over to a accounting Degree. I know here at Lamar University in Beaumont we have a Accounting Degree. Also at Lamar Institute of Technology in Beaumont we have a Associates in Accounting. Any degree you go for has to have the core classes. You shouldn't have to retake any classes just take the ones for your major and go from there. Once you apply a transcript evaluator will put the classes you have taken on your account and you will talk to an advisor and go from there. Good luck with whatever you decide!

You should not have to start over, especially if your basic classes are all less than 10 yrs old.
You should be able to jump right in with your business and accounting classes, contact the school you want to attend and they will be able to heip you more specifically.

I believe that your basic classes should count toward your degree. Electives would also count. What you would have to take are the subjects which you did not take the first time which relate directly to the accounting degree. My husband did this. It took him approximately 1 1/2 years to get his accounting degree. his first degree was in Ag Education with a BS. Just contact the university which you want to go to and let them look at your former transcript. Tell them that you want to know what courses could count. Good luck!!

Hi A.,

I work full-time and have an 8 month baby boy and a supportive husband, therefore, I decided to go back to school (full-time) to earn my MBA with a concentration in Accounting. I too earned a BA in Business and depending what school you apply to they might have you just take a preliminary class if you don't have sufficient business classes(which don't count towards GPA, but prepare you for the Masters' core classes. The best way for you to find out is by submitting your transcripts to the university(s) you are interested in. I am a student at the Unviersity of St. Thomas and I really like it.

If you're in Texas, and you simply want to take the accounting courses, there are lots of options available to do that. To specifically get an accounting degree, you'd need to check with the schools in which you're interested. Most of your courses from your BA should be accepted. In addition to the specific accounting courses you would want to take, you might need to pick up a couple of additional courses, i.e., math or statistics. (All of this information is coming from my husband who is an accounting professor at DeVry University in Houston.

Where do you live? If you're in Houston, there are several colleges that offer an accounting degree. You might want to look into St. Thomas and Houston Baptist in addition to the U of H. (Of course, DeVry would be an option, too!)