Do you need extra credits to make up to the 150 semester hour requirement? Here are a few suggestions on how you can do that.
CPA Exam Requirements: An Overview
As you may know, most State Boards require candidates to fulfill 150 credit hours. For a typical bachelor degree holder, this means 30 credit hours of extra courses is necessary.
The good thing is that the State Boards are relatively flexible in this regard: as long as you take courses from accredited college, university and other educational institutions you are all set. In other words, it can be online / long-distance or on campus.
With that, let’s take a look at where you can fulfill these credit hours…
Local Community Colleges
If you like a classroom setting, I would recommend that you first check out the community colleges in your area. Here is the pros and cons of taking classes in a community college:
Pros
- Traditional Classroom Setting: You may get more comfortable with the traditional on-campus instruction versus, say, an online course
- Big Saving: Most community colleges offer a substantial saving to the other 4-year conventional colleges
- Extra Benefits: you might be able to enjoy benefits such as the library, the athletic facilities and other activities that you may be interested in
Cons
- Inflexible: If you have a busy schedule, it’s very hard to attend the courses
- Not good for bachelor / masters degree: If you are aiming for getting a bachelor degree, then you probably shouldn’t go through community colleges (which gives out associate degrees), although credit transfer is possible if the college has an articulation agreement.
Local Colleges And Universities
If you are aiming for a Masters degree program to fulfill one of those CPA exam requirements, then I will encourage you to explore nearby universities.
They won’t be as affordable as community colleges but their programs will most likely be able to be recognized by the Board of Accconting in your state.
It’s worthwhile to check but they may have evening classes or even online courses that give out the same credit too.
How To Pick The Best Program For Your Needs
Here are some suggestions for your research on the local colleges and universities:
- Check out the flexibility: As most of you have work and/or family commitment, it is very important to find a school that meets your lifestyle. For example, do they offer evening classes? What is the attendance policy?
- Compare the price: Your goal is to get the credits, not access to a state-of-the-art library in expensive colleges. In other words, tuition fee can vary greatly depending on the facilities. bYou can also see if you can qualify for any scholarships or financial assistance
- Arrange a campus visit: it’s always good to get feel of the campus by going on a tour. Check out the class size, the professors and teaching style, as well as the facilities around the campus
- Gather feedback: do you know anyone who took courses at the school? Do they have a positive, and more importantly, any negative experience that you should be aware of?
Bottom Line
There are two levels of qualifications you need to fulfill for the CPA exam. The first one is the “degree” eligibility and the other one is the number of credit hours required.
If you don’t have a 4-year bachelor degree or equivalent, there isn’t really a way to work around it and you have to get an additional degree that is 4 years at a minimum.
But if you have a 4-year degree but not the full 150 credit hours requirement, then things are easier because all you need to do is to make it up with additional classes. For this as long as the school is accredited then its courses will be qualified.
Do You Have Any Recommendations?
For federal taxation courses I do have a page that you can refer to here.
For other subjects e.g. general accounting and auditing classes, I would say any course in the relevant that is offered by an accredited educational institution is fine.
Good luck in getting your NTS ASAP!
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