Might I suggest you graduate from college, move to where you want to live (beach), find a good job with tuition assistance and then attend the nearest business grad school.
As I understand it, State Universities are funded through tax dollars. If my kids choose, and get accepted to, a SUNY school, we get a cheaper rate because our taxes have supported those schools. If they choose, and get accepted to, a state school elsewhere, then we’ll pay the OOS price because our tax dollars have not supported those schools.
So, yes, you’ll pay more OOS.
And, to agree with others: the price is the price. No one “expects” you to pay anything. It costs what it costs.
Also, for what it’s worth, I live on Long Island. My 20 minute drive to the beach is about as far as you can get. We walked the boardwalk last night-- it was lovely.
My DD’s room-mate is getting accounting UG degree and said Belmont in Nashville has their graduate classes evenings for accounting students getting master’s and CPA education - work for companies during daytime. Something to look into. However she may stay put as she has a job that may lead into an accounting job and she has a program at current school in a big city.
Perhaps Nashville sounds more inviting for OP.
Serious but ignorant question from someone not in business/finance: an MS in accounting is a valuable degree? I didn’t even know people did that. Do you need one to sit for the CPA exam?
@iwannabe_Brown - Short answer, “no.” If you do not have the necessary education requirement from your undergraduate degree, a masters in accounting or business administration can be a short cut to getting the necessary education required to be a CPA. This varies from state to state. I got my MBA at Michigan. If I had taken one more accounting class, I could have sat for the exam. Here’s the Michigan rule:
Fulfill the state’s educational requirements by signing up for the right classes. In order to receive a CPA Certificate, you must have 150 total semester hours of college credit and a bachelor’s degree with a concentration in accounting. The educational requirement may be met in one of the following ways:
Method 1: Earn a master’s degree in accounting or business administration with:
12 semester hours of graduate level accounting courses (not to include information systems or tax courses)
Method 2: Complete an academic program including the following:
30 semester hours of accounting courses
Only 6 semester hours may be in taxation
39 additional semester hours, with at least 3 semester hours but not more than 12 semester hours in no fewer than 5 of the following subject areas:
Economics
Business law
Finance
Ethics
Marketing
Management
Statistics
Taxation
Business policy
@iwannabe_Brown : Beaudreau’s summary is correct and this a relatively recent change to the CPA requirements. Note that the 150 credits means that a student needs 30 credits beyond the traditional 120-ish for a Bachelor’s. Many schools are offering MS in accounting programs because if you’re going to pay for 30 extra credits, you may as well get another degree out of it. To reiterate to the OP, I think you are overly concerned about the name recognition of the school where you get your master’s. The most important thing is that you pass the CPA exam. Being a CPA is not like going into consulting or investment banking where pedigree can definitely make a difference. There is not a lot of reason to rack up a bunch of debt for your master’s of accounting.
Okay:( I just think it would be so awesome to attend MSU! I love the campus and they have such a good accounting program. However, my current university does too. I’ve just been living in Albany, NY for so long and I thought grad school could be my first chance at escaping; especially considering I will have no debt after my undergrad.
I am sure I will get into my SUNY’s master’s program because after all, I am in their bachelor’s program and I am doing pretty well. I guess I have just been digging for reasons to justify paying OOS tuition, whether at MSU or another uni
$40,000 per year in tuition at MSU vs. $7,000 at SUNY Albany. The MS in accounting is a one-year program. My advice is to hang on one more year in Albany, get your Masters degree, and then work your ass off to nail the CPA exam first time. You could buy a lot of review materials/tutoring for $33,000. You could also adopt MSU as your favorite NCAA team and use the savings to fly in to East Lansing for home games once you’ve graduated.
SUNY Albany is much cheaper.
–You are posting in the undergrad forum, not the grad forum
–NPC is for undergrads, not grad students
–grad students are independent and do not put parent info on FAFSA
–grads don’t need grad housing, most will share apartments or houses, rent a room etc
Jim: I’m gonna take a tongue in cheek jab for you — you’re seriously weighing $40K in Lansing for $7K in Albany – and you’re an accounting major. I dunno about you but I find that extremely funny and ironic!
Like Beaudreau said, for $33K, you can fly up to Lansing for football game weekends several times and still have $ to burn.
Like menloparkmom, I suggest you get a job at a good company after undergrad and go to grad school on their dime. My son got his MAA from Stetson University online and passed each of his CPA exams on the first try. He’s now doing an online MBA from Auburn, again paid for by his employer. The prestige of his master’s program didn’t matter to him because he’s already well employed, but he loves to keep learning.
@SUNYJMM Did you try the net price calculator for Univ of Michigan? They are much more generous with need based aid than MSU…at least for us.
@uwalummom Sunyjim is already in college…he’s a senior in college. He’s looking for grad school. UMich’s NPC is for undergrads.
oh, ok…thank you @mom2coIIegekids 
College costs are paid by your family’s income and assets, and your income and assets. If your family is not poor enough for the simplified needs test, any assets they have are considered as fair game to be used for college costs.
This is regardless of whether the assets are liquid (accessible to be used for college costs) or not (tied up for some reason or another - for example, a property is owned but a mortgage can’t be taken out based on the parents’ combined income).
BUT - if the OP is looking at grad school, the only viable options are to work and get the company to pay for a master’s degree, or apply to a PhD program that has tuition remission and a stipend, which many colleges do offer.
And if parents are paying anything towards grad school, that’s a shock, because many do not.
If we are talking a professional school like medical, dental, or veterinary, that’s totally different.
ALSO: I saw you were interested in law school but worried about the costs. A friend of mine was working as an engineer, and applied to law school under the auspices of a law firm program. She was accepted and went to work at the law firm as a clerk - they’d have her work there and they would pay for her law school.
This might be of interest:
http://ms-jd.org/blog/article/the-life-after-1l-year-making-the-most-of-1l-summer
plus this program:
http://www.equaljusticeworks.org/resources/student-debt-relief/law-school-lraps/list-law-school-lraps
@3rdX’s - Looks like your son didn’t do too bad on his MBA online choice - Auburn is ranked #10 by USNWR nationally for online MBA programs.