Looking to get a degree to get my CFP

[CFPhopeful]

Your Location: Illinois, United States

Your Age: 23, 24 in a couple months.


What kind of degree do you want?: finance/economics/accounting/business

Current Regional Accredited Credits: 
BUS 230 Principles of Finance

EGL 101 Composition I

MKT 131 Principles of Marketing

PSY 101 Introduction To Psychology 

(12 credit hours total)



Current ACE, CLEP, or NCCRS Credits: none, but willing to take as many

Budget: No budget 

Commitments: no current commitments 

Dedicated time to study: I can study as much as is needed

Timeline: Finishing the courses required for the degree as fast as possible would be ideal. 

Tuition assistance/reimbursement: none.

I’m really looking for a school where I can “quickly” get a degree to someday get CFP designation. 

I plan on being a financial advisor and don’t want to spend years waiting to get a degree. 

I also want to graduate from a school that is somewhat known. I’m well aware of like WGU, but that degree isn’t seen too reputable in the finance community. I have seen someone say Penn State here, but I’m unsure how long that’ll take. 

[etirflita]

There are quite a few Business and Accounting courses available on Study.com if you want to transfer ACE or NCCRS credits. Their Accounting courses in particular cover 100-300 level courses. If you're willing to put in the time and study, you can quickly earn college credits that could knock out a number of required courses.

[freeloader]

If your goal is to work as an advisor (as opposed to other jobs in high finance), you really just need a check-the-box bachelor’s degree.

If I were in your shoes, I would likely consider University of Maine-Presque Isle’s accounting bachelors. Good degree from an RA, brick and mortar school that is part of the state university system. Reasonable tuition, generous transfer policies, can be completed pretty quickly. No reason you can’t have your degree in a year from now. Plenty of threads related to UMPI, maxing out transfer credits, etc. https://online.umpi.edu/degrees/undergra...arts/acct/

Or

https://online.umpi.edu/degrees/undergra...ccounting/


I would also seriously look into University of Wisconsin-Parkside self-paced BS in Business Administration. Probably will take a little longer than UMPI, might cost a little more, and a “general” business degree as opposed to a more focused degree, BUT… the school is in Kenosha, WI. If you are in the Chicago/Northern Illinois area, it’s likely within a couple of hours of you. Your degree won’t say that you earned it online and nobody will know if you don’t tell them. They will just assume you went to a nearby state university. You also might be able to tap into an alumni network, given that Kenosha and Racine are basically bedroom communities of Chicago. We don’t have as many people on the board who have done Wisconsin-flex degrees, but it might make sense for you: https://flex.wisconsin.edu/degrees-progr...istration/

[bjcheung77]

@QuickBachelorss, Welcome to the board, you've done the addendum and template, we now have the basic details of what you're looking for. In addition to what was mentioned earlier in the replies, you can work on the first 90 credits using alternative credits from the Sophia.org/Study.com combo. My suggestion is the double major BA Accounting and BABA with PM & IS concentration, this way you would be well versed in Accounting & Business Administration. You can then ladder up to the MAOL by taking 9 extra classes through them, you can finally decide on where you want to 'end' that journey afterwards...

[rachel83az]

UMPI is a good choice. There are degree plans available here: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Category:UMPI

If you'd rather not write papers or do the whole competency-based thing, TESU is also an option. There are degree plans for them here: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Sa...ts_Roadmap

Take a look at all options and see which one you think would be a better fit for you and your needs.

[CFPhopeful]

If your goal is to work as an advisor (as opposed to other jobs in high finance), you really just need a check-the-box bachelor’s degree.

If I were in your shoes, I would likely consider University of Maine-Presque Isle’s accounting bachelors. Good degree from an RA, brick and mortar school that is part of the state university system. Reasonable tuition, generous transfer policies, can be completed pretty quickly. No reason you can’t have your degree in a year from now. Plenty of threads related to UMPI, maxing out transfer credits, etc.  https://online.umpi.edu/degrees/undergra...arts/acct/

Or

https://online.umpi.edu/degrees/undergra...ccounting/


I would also seriously look into University of Wisconsin-Parkside self-paced BS in Business Administration. Probably will take a little longer than UMPI, might cost a little more, and a “general” business degree as opposed to a more focused degree, BUT… the school is in Kenosha, WI. If you are in the Chicago/Northern Illinois area, it’s likely within a couple of hours of you. Your degree won’t say that you earned it online and nobody will know if you don’t tell them. They will just assume you went to a nearby state university.  You also might be able to tap into an alumni network, given that Kenosha and Racine are basically bedroom communities of Chicago. We don’t have as many people on the board who have done Wisconsin-flex degrees, but it might make sense for you: https://flex.wisconsin.edu/degrees-progr...istration/

Is there anyways to further expedite the Wisonsin-flex degree - Sophia Learning?

[CFPhopeful]

There are quite a few Business and Accounting courses available on Study.com if you want to transfer ACE or NCCRS credits. Their Accounting courses in particular cover 100-300 level courses. If you're willing to put in the time and study, you can quickly earn college credits that could knock out a number of required courses.

What schools will I be able to transfer ACE/NCCRS credits into, that fit my plan?

[rachel83az]

There are quite a few Business and Accounting courses available on Study.com if you want to transfer ACE or NCCRS credits. Their Accounting courses in particular cover 100-300 level courses. If you're willing to put in the time and study, you can quickly earn college credits that could knock out a number of required courses.

What schools will I be able to transfer ACE/NCCRS credits into, that fit my plan?

Either TESU or UMPI would be solid choices. TESU will generally cost more, but you don't have to stick to any set schedule except during the final capstone/cornerstone classes. UMPI is a competency-based subscription-type model. It depends on what you're more comfortable with.

[CFPhopeful]

There are quite a few Business and Accounting courses available on Study.com if you want to transfer ACE or NCCRS credits. Their Accounting courses in particular cover 100-300 level courses. If you're willing to put in the time and study, you can quickly earn college credits that could knock out a number of required courses.

What schools will I be able to transfer ACE/NCCRS credits into, that fit my plan?

Either TESU or UMPI would be solid choices. TESU will generally cost more, but you don't have to stick to any set schedule except during the final capstone/cornerstone classes. UMPI is a competency-based subscription-type model. It depends on what you're more comfortable with.

Do you know of any other schools that I could accelerate my path? I don’t mind doing any hula hoops - go to TESU then transfer credits to a different (local) school. 

I’m just a bit scared if these degree’s don’t look too well on my resume and adv2b. I don’t mind if it takes a year+

[davewill]

Do you know of any other schools that I could accelerate my path? I don’t mind doing any hula hoops - go to TESU then transfer credits to a different (local) school. 

I’m just a bit scared if these degree’s don’t look too well on my resume and adv2b. I don’t mind if it takes a year+

It really doesn't work like that. What makes UMPI and TESU cheap is their willingness to accept large amouts of alternative credit like ACE. You can't transfer alt credit to a school that doesn't accept it. You can use UMPI or TESU to get you into grad school.