[Anonymous]

I am currently USAF stationed overseas and looking to go for a online MSA/MAcc. My top choice as I am from California is CSUS, does anyone have any experience with their online program? I have a BS in management, thus I am limited to schools with minimum prerequisites or try and go get into a program that allows completion of the prerequisites through them. Stetson, SUNY Utica/Rome and UCONN are good program as well, however, they require a lot of prerequisites which cannot be completed through them. Let me know what you guys think?

[Study Monk]

I will be attending “remotely” CSU Sacramento for their online masters if I can't find work after completing my CPA exam. CSU Sacramento's accounting program is accredited by ACCSB. I personally don't find their curriculum very exciting. Golden Gate University has a program that is pretty much all accounting electives and would be my choice if it didn't cost $8,000 or so more and if it was accredited by ACCSB.

Tough Kitty, a serial poster like me, went to CSU Sacramento for their MAC program and I have been wanting to ask her about the quality of the online material and software.

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"

[tough_kitty]

Hey, that's one of my favorite topics 😉

I graduated from Sac State with an MS/ACCY degree in May 2011. I really liked the program!

However, by looking at the website, I can see that they made a lot of changes since then.

Most importantly, looks like they changed almost the entire curriculum by adding more useful classes. Here is a schedule for newly admitted students (Spring 2015):

https://www.cba.csus.edu/graduate/documents/Spring2015Admits.pdf

As you can see, they are trying to make it a cohort, so you have a pre-determined schedule for the entire group of admitted students and you take one 6-week long class at a time, back to back. Of course, you can adjust your schedule if you need a break by looking at the master schedule:

https://www.cba.csus.edu/graduate/documents/MSAMaster_009.pdf

..but if you do that, it may delay your graduation date, so plan carefully!!!

It was easier to adjust a schedule before, so I ended up taking 2 classes at the same time and had a 6 week break from that program, while I was also enrolled in the MBA classes, so there was no real break for me….

They also changed a lot of professors, so it's hard to say what the program looks like now, but all I can say is, I am sure they are trying to make it better each year.

Usually the way it works, you get a syllabus with all the details and you do everything online, where you have access to all the materials and a forum for all classmates to communicate. The new material is usually posted twice a week – lectures & notes, but it doesn't mean you have to watch the lectures on those specific days.

I normally would NOT touch anything until the weekend, but then I'd spend the entire weekend studying. I did read the textbook during the week, because you will be covering 2-3 chapters per week, if not more, so it's a lot of studying, no doubt…but definitely not as crazy intense as CPA exam preparation.

Sometimes they assign graded homework, sometimes the final grade is based only on 2 exams – midterm and final. Sometimes you have to participate in a forum and you get points for that. Some exams are online and timed, some (for tax) are take-home exams.

I really liked the program and I think I learned a lot, provided I did not have an undergrad business/accy degree.

I am sure it will be pretty easy for someone who a) has a B.S. in accountancy and/or b) was studying for the CPA exam 😉

Any other questions – feel free to ask!

@Study Monk: I thought you decided against a degree, since you are getting your missing credits via CPAExcel?? But I am glad to hear you are considering CSUS 😉

Honestly, it's the fastest, most convenient and most affordable MSA program I've found so far.

FAR: 81 (May 2013)
BEC: 81 (July 2013)
REG: 83 (August 2013)
AUD: 82 (November 2013)
California CPA since 1/30/14

[Kenada]

Tough Kitty, a serial poster

^^ LOL 🙂

FAR 05/27/14; 786/110 - Done !

[tough_kitty]

…at least I am not a serial killer ;-P

Also, when/if you decide to go with that program, I strongly suggest contacting each professor via e-mail ahead of time and ask if it is OK to purchase an older edition of the textbook, because usually it's OK and you will save TONS of $$$!

FAR: 81 (May 2013)
BEC: 81 (July 2013)
REG: 83 (August 2013)
AUD: 82 (November 2013)
California CPA since 1/30/14

[Study Monk]

@toughkitty The plan is to hopefully not have to go to grad school at this time. I would prefer to go after this IFRS/GAAP convergence thing is figured out(so in like 20 years). As you know I am unemployed, but I also have no recent accounting experience. I am going to start looking for accounting work in June hopefully after I passed the exams. However if I can't find work by August(the application time for CSU Sacramento) I am going to apply to the MSA program. Once enrolled I will still continue to look for accounting work and use my Cal State University membership to go to the meet the firms at San Jose State and Cal State East Bay. I am taking the cpaexcel classes so I won't have to worry about the units if I somehow land a job and decide to save the $22,000 for a Europe vacation instead of the MSA. By the way the new schedule looks like it designed to basically overlap with the content of the CPA exam.

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"

[tough_kitty]

Study Monk: Sounds like a plan! Just remember – don't ignore state agencies 😉 You can always keep looking for a better/different job later….

FAR: 81 (May 2013)
BEC: 81 (July 2013)
REG: 83 (August 2013)
AUD: 82 (November 2013)
California CPA since 1/30/14

[Study Monk]

I would love to work for the state. It just has to be the Bay Area.

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"

[tough_kitty]

Board of Equalization has offices there but the pay is probably way too low for Bay Area….but I have a friend who works at BOE San Jose office.

FAR: 81 (May 2013)
BEC: 81 (July 2013)
REG: 83 (August 2013)
AUD: 82 (November 2013)
California CPA since 1/30/14

[tough_kitty]

Take the exam now (after FAR!) and start applying – they probably don't hire that often since it's a smaller office… but the exam results are valid for 9 months – it's just an assessment of your skills, etc. Nothing fancy, just make sure you give yourself “more experience than less” when they ask about your skills because it's all BS and you need at least 95% on this test to be reachable.

https://jobs.ca.gov/Bulletin/Bulletin/Index?examCD=1EQ31

My friend with B.S. degree was way too honest and scored only 85% so she didn't get any interviews, and this position doesn't even require a B.S. degree!

They are currently hiring an ATA in SJ, so their TA position should be open soon!

https://jobs.spb.ca.gov/wvpos/more_info.cfm?recno=537950

FAR: 81 (May 2013)
BEC: 81 (July 2013)
REG: 83 (August 2013)
AUD: 82 (November 2013)
California CPA since 1/30/14

[Anonymous]

Thats really good new to hear about the program! I don't know of any other people that have attended CSUS as I am from San Diego area. I am hoping to be able to make the transition into accounting a little bit easier with a MSA.

How does CSUS look to employers? Has anyone questioned it's quality tough_kitty? I know it is AACSB, but it isn't ranked.

Does the school have good recruiting opportunities? I do not have any experience in accounting outside of two years military VITA program.

[Anonymous]

4eyelove

Have you looked into Liberty University? Active military and veterans get a rate of $250 per credit hour.

[Anonymous]

CPA_AnyDayNow

I have looked into their program, but it seems that they lack AACSB and that is kind of a deal breaker for graduate school for me. I already have an undergrad from University of Phoenix, which has a bad reputation associated with it, thus I want to make sure that I go to a good AACSB school that will hopefully get me an entry accounting position without any experience. I was looking into SNHU as well as they look like they have a good program, but again not AACSB.

Did you go to Liberty? Have you had any issues obtaining a job?

Has anyone heard of the reputation that SNHU has in the accounting field?

[Study Monk]

@Tough Kitty,

San Jose is a two hour commute from me unfortunately since I live in Marin. Sacramento would be less of a commute. Thanks for the advice though:)

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"

[Anonymous]

@4eyelove

Have you looked at American Military University? I am not sure who there are accredited by, but there MSA program looks pretty good. I took some undergrad accounting class while I was still on active duty and really enjoyed doing so. After I was out I, transfered to a good school and they accepted all my credits.

AMU also gives all new books for every class while you are active. I think as long as you do well you won't have too much of a problem with employment. Everybody that I interviewed with really liked that I had been in the military and the experience you can gain from that can sometimes outweigh things like GPA and school ranking.

Gook Luck!

[tough_kitty]

Study Monk, then you can try SF office. Sorry, I didnt know your exact location in Bay Area 🙂

But these are mobile worker positions so you'd be driving around more than driving to/from your office.

FAR: 81 (May 2013)
BEC: 81 (July 2013)
REG: 83 (August 2013)
AUD: 82 (November 2013)
California CPA since 1/30/14

[Author]

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