<p>Alright, so according to taxguy's accounting thread, what school you attend for accounting doesn't matter as long as it's accredited. My question is, what if it's not? How badly does this hurt your job prospects?</p>
<p>I'm going to UCSD which does not offer any accounting courses or an accounting degree. Would it be a terrible idea to take classes from a "continuing education" program nearby (UCSD Extension) to earn the credits to sit for the CPA exam? Will employers care about this? I don't know too much about continuing education, and the idea of attending the institution doesn't appeal to me that much, since I feel the quality of the classes/academics is questionable, and half the classes are online.</p>
<p>Also, I don't know if potential employers look too kindly on this.</p>
<p>In school, I will be majoring either in Computer Science or Economics. I possibly maybe might transfer schools after freshman year (depends on where I get accepted to), but it's not likely. I really want to do accounting.</p>
<p>Can I make it work? Are there alternatives other than going into a continuing education program? (Taking accounting classes at a local community college doesn't qualify as accounting credit, correct?)</p>
<p>AX3k, the key is that the courses will qualify you to sit for the CPA exam. Usually you have to take courses from an accredited institution. My suggestion is that your call your local State Board of Accountancy and ask them “whether taking accounting courses from non- accredited institution will still count?” I would bet that it won’t work.</p>
<p>I agree with tax guy and the state boards are getting pickier and pickier. Accredidation means alot. Also, does California have the 150 hour (masters) requirement? If it does, then the accrediation matters more, as you will need to get admitted to a masters program before you sit for the exam. </p>
<p>I would think that accounting classes from a community college that is accredited is better than the other option. In Connecticut, the state university system, MUST accept the credits for the classes at the state schools. they have worked hard to standardize the classes and so all the schools now accept the credits. Maybe CA has something similar?</p>
<p>Well okay, to be more clear, I went to the AACSB and could not find “University of California, San Diego” anywhere; however, the UCSD Extension school offers a “Professional Certificate in Accounting” and the site states that they offer all the classes that allow you to sit for the CPA exam. I’m fairly certain that a reputed institute such as UCSD would not go around making false claims such as that, but how can they offer these courses if they are not accredited? (Sorry I wasn’t clear about this earlier.)</p>
<p>And my main concern is having a B.S. in say, PoliSci, while applying for an accounting job. It doesn’t matter, does it? Will they be able to see that I took the accounting classes at an outside “continuing education” institution and will that matter? The quality of the classes there kind of worry me, in case potential employers see my accounting education as subpar… although the only reason I take it at a continuing education school is because I don’t have another choice.</p>
<p>CA doesn’t require a Master’s (I don’t think so anyway) and I think courses ARE standardized…however, if there’s not an equivalent of the community college course (i.e. accounting) at the state college (UCSD does not have accounting) I don’t think it is transferable.</p>
<p>Does just taking the courses at community college allow me to sit for the CPA exam? Or MUST they transfer over to an accredited school to be able to count?</p>
<p>(Sorry if I sound rather confused about the whole thing, or if I’m saying things that are blatantly wrong… I’m trying to understand my options better. I appreciate your patience.)</p>
<p>“Taking accounting classes at a local community college doesn’t qualify as accounting credit, correct?”</p>
<p>For some it does. I don’t know about California but in Texas I think there are four community colleges which qualify. Better check with the CPA board website in your state.</p>
<p>Alright, I’ve come to the conclusion that courses taken at UCSD Extension can count toward sitting for the CPA exam in CA–but only because their site explicitly says extension programs are okay. But other state requirements I looked up (i.e. Texas, New York) are really vague about this and it’s really frustrating.</p>
<p>I guess I should just plan on not moving out of CA. lol.</p>
lol.</p>