Starting to get cold feet about going to TESC

[Can219]

I don't think I have ever been so frustrated as to making this decision about online schooling. I don't have a choice it has to be online. I have picked accounting but it's one of those things I won't really know If I like it until I take a few classes. But then if I do pursue it I will want to run with it which is my character and have at least the option to take the CPA. But these CLEPs, SL, DSST and penn foster classes are questionable. TESC is great because it's quicker and I'm getting credits from my previous degree. I think we will be moving to NC but I have checked and all the "main" colleges there do not have Accounting programs online. I guess my fear is getting this degree from TESC and having the floor fall out from beneath me. I guess If i could settle with a regular accounting degree ( no CPA ) then TESC would work out fine. Sorry for the drama but I have spent so much time researching and I'm still not feeling like this is a solid step for me. But the pressure is on because this is the only 2 years I will have to do this! Opinions?

[cooperalex2004]

I don't think I have ever been so frustrated as to making this decision about online schooling. I don't have a choice it has to be online. I have picked accounting but it's one of those things I won't really know If I like it until I take a few classes. But then if I do pursue it I will want to run with it which is my character and have at least the option to take the CPA. But these CLEPs, SL, DSST and penn foster classes are questionable. TESC is great because it's quicker and I'm getting credits from my previous degree. I think we will be moving to NC but I have checked and all the "main" colleges there do not have Accounting programs online. I guess my fear is getting this degree from TESC and having the floor fall out from beneath me. I guess If i could settle with a regular accounting degree ( no CPA ) then TESC would work out fine. Sorry for the drama but I have spent so much time researching and I'm still not feeling like this is a solid step for me. But the pressure is on because this is the only 2 years I will have to do this! Opinions?

The choice is yours, but I will say if you don't like it once you begin you will be on a great path to get any of the other BSBA areas of study. With how far you've come I don't see it as a lost cause to finish what you've begun. Give it a try and if all else fails you've still got a bachelor's degree which is more than the majority of people. Only 27.9% of Americans have a bachelor's or above (2009 American Community Survey/US Census, http://www.census.gov/prod/2012pubs/p20-566.pdf), whatever you decide you will still be ahead of most people in terms of education.

[cookderosa]

I don't think I have ever been so frustrated as to making this decision about online schooling. I don't have a choice it has to be online. I have picked accounting but it's one of those things I won't really know If I like it until I take a few classes. But then if I do pursue it I will want to run with it which is my character and have at least the option to take the CPA. But these CLEPs, SL, DSST and penn foster classes are questionable. TESC is great because it's quicker and I'm getting credits from my previous degree. I think we will be moving to NC but I have checked and all the "main" colleges there do not have Accounting programs online. I guess my fear is getting this degree from TESC and having the floor fall out from beneath me. I guess If i could settle with a regular accounting degree ( no CPA ) then TESC would work out fine. Sorry for the drama but I have spent so much time researching and I'm still not feeling like this is a solid step for me. But the pressure is on because this is the only 2 years I will have to do this! Opinions?

It's called "analysis paralysis" when you think and re-think and re-think until....well, until you've decided you can't make a decision for fear that something will be wrong so you make no decision.

Since only 26% of people in the USA hold bachelors degrees, but 86% of all high school graduates WILL START college, completing a bachelor's degree puts you in an elite group. Starting a bachelor's degree, ehhhh not so much. You have to grasp this first, because it is my opinion that people (in general) over-inflate the "idea" of a degree so much, that they become intimidated by the "idea" and feel that anything less than Haaarvard is a failure. Seriously.

My suggestion is to first decide if you even want to be an accountant! Go volunteer along side a CPA accountant for no fewer than 40 hours. Break it down into 1 month or 6 months, but do it. Start today. I wouldn't also my kids to pick ANY field without getting exposure. Picking a career is a big deal, you need to know if you even like accounting! If you were my child, I'd also tell you to do another job shadow along side a non-CPA accountant for 40 hours, but that's up to you. I'd also make sure my kid had a job in an accounting setting, even if it was emptying trash cans. Information= easier decision. Network = job /job leads/ letters of rec upon graduation

After you know if you even want to be an accountant, go about becoming prepared for that field. Maybe TESC isn't the right school? But maybe it is. You don't have enough information, that's not the same as cold feet. I think you're intuition is telling you that you're jumping in without all your ducks in a row. Personally, I'd tell you to wait to ENROLL, but you can still take exams and work on gen eds for any degree. Also, don't take any FEMA. If you start taking accounting classes, and you decide not to enroll, then these can fill your FREE ELECTIVES and won't be lost. It'll cost more, but you'll not be out anything other than a few dollars- and you'll be smarter anyway, so that's a win.

[Yenisei]

OP having a CPA license is a lot more important that your undergrad alma mater. Just make sure that you are familiar with what the CPA licensing board will accept to meet their requirements and keep your costs at a minimum, especially since, after all, most people need to purchase a review course to pass the CPA exams.

[LaterBloomer]

Cookderosa has, as usual, hit the nail on the head. So many law clerks told me, "I've decided I don't want to practice law." While I firmly believe no education is ever wasted, the thought of going into debt for over $100,000 for a field you don't want to work in would make me crazy. Take Cookderosa's advice. Try to get into the field. During my first (of two) accounting courses, the professor told the class, "Accounting has the highest mortality rate." I thought that they all committed suicide, and I now realize that they changed majors. Get your gen. ed. courses out of the way, then start taking accounting classes until you realize that it's the best degree since sliced bread, or you decide it's not for you. Good luck.

[ryoder]

Hedge your bet. Get a transcript eval at TESC, fill in the gaps with CLEP and DSST first. Those credits are as good as your transfer credits from your RA institution, take TECEP and ECE tests next, and then consider Straighterline. Those are ACE credits and won't be useful at many schools but will work great at the big 3 and others. Stop analyzing and commit to a course of action.
Lets say you finish a degree at TESC and you don't like the field. I work as a programmer with accountants and psychology majors. Career changes do happen.

[mrs.b]

If I'm reading your concerns right in this and the other threads, you're not as concerned about Accounting being the right field for you as you are that getting a degree primarily through testing will limit your options down the line. You can get a TESC degree (or either of the other Big3) and take advantage of their generous transfer policies, without cornering yourself with the CPA licensing requirements that limit test options. As ryoder said, get a transcript evaluation from TESC, find out what courses you need to fulfill the degree, then hunt down actual online courses wherever you can find them that suits you (take the courses from random schools as non-enrolled student then xfer the credits to your TESC transcript).

The Big3 is great for study abroad due to its generous transfer policy, but you do not have to use CLEP, DSST, and ACE courses...most of us did/do because they're fast and inexpensive. If you do have CPA board requirements to meet, though, and are not sure which state's CPA board you'll need to qualify under, you can benefit from TESC's (or Charter Oak, or Excelsior) 100% transfer rate by using regionally-accredited online courses. You'll find quite of the prerequisite ones at community colleges for pennies and they'll be RA, which should be universally accepted by all states' CPA requirements.

[sanantone]

I don't know about your state and I don't know if this was mentioned before, but some states have limitations on the number of accounting credits that can be earned through distance.

[Can219]

Thanks so much! I had read some posts and felt a negative vibe. I don't think people are trying to be negative but sometimes it can be taken that way. Anyways....I am back and feeling very good about my decision to move forward with TESC and my original plans of Cleps...etc. You all brought up many good points and there's more options besides the CPA credential with accounting. There's another Certification (CMA) which is almost as good as CPA and from what I have searched the requirements are not as strict. I'm just in a peculiar position due to being overseas and not knowing which state we will settle in. But I'm not going to waste my time. As long as I finish the bachelors and can get a job that pays comparable to or more than my previous profession....then I have succeeded...Thanks again! Now back to my Aleks Statistics Class......Come on 70%