[Anonymous]

Hi all,

I’ve lurked here for awhile and now I come to you for some advice. I passed my final section in February, so the exam is done with (whew!). I have 149 hours from college, so I need 1 more measly hour in any subject I desire. I’m currently employed in governmental accounting and have been since I graduated undergrad about 3 years ago. I have enough qualified work experience under a CPA to meet the requirement to license, although I have no public accounting firm experience. But I want to go into public accounting, specifically auditing. I would love a big four position. Originally, I planned on taking the cheapest, fastest online course from a local community college to fulfill the 150 hour rule and licensing as soon as possible. But after thinking about it, I’m tempted to enroll part-time in a large, local university (U of South Carolina) and seek their resources in recruiting for public accounting, including big four firms. My alma mater is not U of South Carolina. My GPA is 3.36.

So… if you were in my shoes, what would you do? Quick credit and license as soon as possible and hope to land an associate job through a big four recruiter on linkedin or something, despite lack of public accounting firm experience? Or hold off on school until the fall and enroll part-time to take advantage of on-campus recruitment? Or some other course of action? Does anyone have experience with enrolling part-time in a different university a few years after completion of their undergrad for the purpose of taking advantage of recruitment? I’d like all of your thoughts! Thanks

[MrsBunny]

Since you only need 1 units, if I were you, I would:

#1) take the cheapest and fastest online course from a local community college to fulfill the 150 hour rule and licensing ASAP

#2) apply Audit position with Big4 or other CPA firms

#3) You can always go back to school if #2 doesn't work. If you are planning to enroll part-time, are you planning to get a Master is Accounting or Taxation? It doesn't make sense to get a Master in Accounting if you already have a bachelor's degree in Accounting and it doesn't make sense to get MST if you want to do Audit

BEC - 80 (10/27/2010)
REG - 82 (11/30/2010)
FAR - 75 (04/01/2011)
AUD - 82 (05/27/2011)
CA Ethic - 90 (12/15/2013) * I am such a procrastinator
CPA Licensed

[MrsBunny]

Since you only need 1 units, if I were you, I would:

#1) take the cheapest and fastest online course from a local community college to fulfill the 150 hour rule and licensing ASAP

#2) apply Audit position with Big4 or other CPA firms

#3) You can always go back to school if #2 doesn't work. If you are planning to enroll part-time, are you planning to get a Master is Accounting or Taxation? It doesn't make sense to get a Master in Accounting if you already have a bachelor's degree in Accounting and it doesn't make sense to get MST if you want to do Audit

BEC - 80 (10/27/2010)
REG - 82 (11/30/2010)
FAR - 75 (04/01/2011)
AUD - 82 (05/27/2011)
CA Ethic - 90 (12/15/2013) * I am such a procrastinator
CPA Licensed

[Anonymous]

I do not plan to pursue a masters degree. I will enroll part-time just to earn the one credit hour I need. I'm assuming enrolled for one class worth one credit hour qualifies as part-time since it's less than 12 hours (Is there a certain minimum number of hours needed to be considered part-time?). Regardless, if I were to go for the larger school, I would take some pyhsical education class or something along those lines just to be enrolled so I can take advantage of career services resources. I'm worried that it will be difficult to get a big four recruiters attention without the help of a large university to provide the opportunity to do so.

[Anonymous]

I do not plan to pursue a masters degree. I will enroll part-time just to earn the one credit hour I need. I'm assuming enrolled for one class worth one credit hour qualifies as part-time since it's less than 12 hours (Is there a certain minimum number of hours needed to be considered part-time?). Regardless, if I were to go for the larger school, I would take some pyhsical education class or something along those lines just to be enrolled so I can take advantage of career services resources. I'm worried that it will be difficult to get a big four recruiters attention without the help of a large university to provide the opportunity to do so.

[fuzyfro89]

It will be tough to use career services if you are not a full-time student. You may have access and be able to apply, but that just gives you permission and access to drop your resume.

Getting an interview and offer may be a difficult process if you're “applying” as though you attend USC, even though you're only attending for 1 unrelated class.

I am just guessing though, so someone correct me if I'm wrong. My hypothesis is that you would need to be a degree-seeking student at USC to truly get the benefits of being a student, and appearing to be one.

[fuzyfro89]

It will be tough to use career services if you are not a full-time student. You may have access and be able to apply, but that just gives you permission and access to drop your resume.

Getting an interview and offer may be a difficult process if you're “applying” as though you attend USC, even though you're only attending for 1 unrelated class.

I am just guessing though, so someone correct me if I'm wrong. My hypothesis is that you would need to be a degree-seeking student at USC to truly get the benefits of being a student, and appearing to be one.

[Anonymous]

“My hypothesis is that you would need to be a degree-seeking student at USC to truly get the benefits of being a student, and appearing to be one.”

This crossed my mind too and I'm trying to get a straight answer from USC advisors before I bother applying. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

“My hypothesis is that you would need to be a degree-seeking student at USC to truly get the benefits of being a student, and appearing to be one.”

This crossed my mind too and I'm trying to get a straight answer from USC advisors before I bother applying. Thanks!

[CPAPASS]

I am in a similar situation.

I need 3 more classes and was also considering getting my masters in order to benefit from on campus recruitment.

Can someone advice if it is worth it for the purpose of getting into big 4, my undergrad gpa is not ideal and that is why I was thinking this would be a good route.

Also, is on campus recruiting not the same for full time and part time students?

[CPAPASS]

I am in a similar situation.

I need 3 more classes and was also considering getting my masters in order to benefit from on campus recruitment.

Can someone advice if it is worth it for the purpose of getting into big 4, my undergrad gpa is not ideal and that is why I was thinking this would be a good route.

Also, is on campus recruiting not the same for full time and part time students?

[Study Monk]

https://www.another71.com/cpa-exam-forum/topic/earn-accounting-credits-to-meet-150-hour-cpa-exam-requirement-475three-cr

If you take a class from cpaexcel on your most recent exam you could probably get 3 units in a weekend. April 1st is the deadline to apply for the spring semester to be able to send the transcripts in May otherwise you might have to wait until August to get the transcripts sent. You could enroll any day of the year to begin the class.

I spoke to an ancient wise man who sent me on a mushroom induced journey through an ancient forest to find the key to passing the CPA exam. A talking spider monkey told me to throw the last of my drinking water in the dirt to find what I was looking for. So I followed his instructions and the following message appeared in the soil:

"Do 5000 multiple choice questions for each section"

[Study Monk]

https://www.another71.com/cpa-exam-forum/topic/earn-accounting-credits-to-meet-150-hour-cpa-exam-requirement-475three-cr

If you take a class from cpaexcel on your most recent exam you could probably get 3 units in a weekend. April 1st is the deadline to apply for the spring semester to be able to send the transcripts in May otherwise you might have to wait until August to get the transcripts sent. You could enroll any day of the year to begin the class.

I spoke to an ancient wise man who sent me on a mushroom induced journey through an ancient forest to find the key to passing the CPA exam. A talking spider monkey told me to throw the last of my drinking water in the dirt to find what I was looking for. So I followed his instructions and the following message appeared in the soil:

"Do 5000 multiple choice questions for each section"

[Author]

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