Very fed up with college scene.Want to test out (Accounting major, FSU)

[pilze]

Hi everyone,

I'm new to this forum. I'm a previous CLEP taker and CLEPed my way out of 18 or so credits in community college. I then transferred to FSU to complete my degree.

Although I'm quite young, I'm already shocked at how immature college (university) students are compared to what I have gotten used to at community college. I don't think I want to stay here much longer.

Are there ways to test out of upper level undergraduate courses in accounting and business? I attend Florida State. I asked in my College of Business, but they seemed very hesitant to want to help me test out. Obviously, they want my money. I can imagine that there is an option that they are not telling me about. Uxcel's website (from Excelsior) seems to mention that FSU accepts their credit, but my advisor did not want to talk to me about it.

I am not learning much here and would rather like to self-study to test out, receive my degree, and get an internship/job as quickly as possible.

I'm very grateful for any replies here and I apologize if any of this material does not belong on this specific forum or website.

[dfrecore]

I noticed that myself when I went back to college. The whiny 18-yo's who constantly complained about how much homework there was. I worked full-time by then, and thought school was a piece of cake compared to dealing with the corporate world.

My first question for you is, do you want to get your degree from FSU, or are you open to getting one from one of the Big 3 we discuss here? If you only want to get a degree from FSU, then you will be a little more limited, but your school does accept CLEP exams (no DSST). FSU Admissions | Credit | CLEP Credit Are there more CLEP's you can take?

The problem with trying to test out at a traditional B&M school is that many are unfamiliar with the test-out process, so it may be difficult to get advance information on which courses would transfer, and as what. It makes it really hard to test-out at that point, because who wants to spend money on testing if you're unsure if the school will accept it as what you think it should be. They may also have strict requirements about if you can test-out AFTER you've already started on your degree program, and have other rules. In looking at FSU's requirements, the following is down at the bottom of the page:

"2. Students should plan to take all upper-level accounting courses in residence at FSU."

"4. Students must not enroll in any course at another institution without first receiving approval from the College of
Business Undergraduate Programs Office. Once enrolled at FSU, students should plan to take their upper-level
business courses at FSU. Any exception to this policy must be approved in advance by the College of Business
Undergraduate Programs Office. Transfer of upper-level business courses completed prior to enrolling at FSU must
be from business colleges at other 4-year, accredited institutions. These courses must be approved for course
substitution by the College of Business Undergraduate Programs Office upon entering FSU."

So I think you are very limited in what you could transfer over. Maybe the rest of your GenEd's if you had any, but not your business/accounting requirements.

If you are truly fed-up and want to get your degree in a non-traditional manner, then one of the Big 3 might be right for you. But only you know if that's what you want to do.

If you are interested, you can post any of the courses you've taken (name, course number, number of credits, and where you've taken them, especially if it's a CC) and we can help determine which of the Big 3 could get you your degree fastest.

[pilze]

Thanks for replying.

I saw that FSU said that on their website, as well. I was just hoping that their website might be outdated (as it often is, due to lack of proper maintenance), because Uexcel listed FSU as a school that takes their credits.

I am only wary of attending a big 3, as I am not sure if accounting firms want to hire an intern who does not come from a traditional school with contacts. However, a Big 3 school seems far more organized. It is only the first week of university and I was already almost removed from the College of Business due to administrative errors in the Admissions and Business offices. I can't believe I'm paying for this.

I've got approx. 60 credits (maybe 63-65 or so). 45 came from traditional classes at community college. The rest were CLEPs in American Government, Microeconomics, Humanities, German, and Computer Applications Tech (or whatever it's called). I passed every single CLEP I took, never had a fail. I think my average study time per test was around 5 days of about one or two hours per day. Lowest score was a 55, highest was a 79.

Thanks again

EDIT: I calculated that I have 69 credits. 45 from base courses and 24 from CLEP (German level 3 gave me 12 credits).

However, I have to retake an accounting course that I already took (and passed with an A+) in community college. I could get out of it by doing a competency exam, but I would need a score of 75% and it is only being offered one last time tomorrow. I don't have any time to study for a test covering a whole semester's worth of material in just one night...

[selash]

Thanks for replying.

I saw that FSU said that on their website, as well. I was just hoping that their website might be outdated (as it often is, due to lack of proper maintenance), because Uexcel listed FSU as a school that takes their credits.

I am only wary of attending a big 3, as I am not sure if accounting firms want to hire an intern who does not come from a traditional school with contacts. However, a Big 3 school seems far more organized. It is only the first week of university and I was already almost removed from the College of Business due to administrative errors in the Admissions and Business offices. I can't believe I'm paying for this.

I've got approx. 60 credits (maybe 63-65 or so). 45 came from traditional classes at community college. The rest were CLEPs in American Government, Microeconomics, Humanities, German, and Computer Applications Tech (or whatever it's called). I passed every single CLEP I took, never had a fail. I think my average study time per test was around 5 days of about one or two hours per day. Lowest score was a 55, highest was a 79.

Thanks again

EDIT: I calculated that I have 69 credits. 45 from base courses and 24 from CLEP (German level 3 gave me 12 credits).

However, I have to retake an accounting course that I already took (and passed with an A+) in community college. I could get out of it by doing a competency exam, but I would need a score of 75% and it is only being offered one last time tomorrow. I don't have any time to study for a test covering a whole semester's worth of material in just one night...

I totally feel your pain!! Ugh. This. This is why I did not end up pursuing accounting. I'm in Texas, and the board here is just now beginning to accept online/alternative degrees, rather than traditional brick and mortar schools only. When I was 18, I was already tutoring 40 year olds in their second year of their accounting degrees. Also kids that actually go to universities tend to be on someone else's dime (i.e., mom or dad), which I never was. They're there for the "college experience"--I was always there to learn, get good grades, and then go back to work to pay for it all!! Lol. I started working/college at 17 and paid my own way. These kids that get their school handed to them...and wanna complain about it. Lol.

Keep studying hard and ignore the "college experience" folks. It'll be worth it!

[pilze]

Thanks for the encouragement. I suppose it would be best to stick to it.

[dfrecore]

So, I'm not sure why you would need to get an internship rather than a job in your field after getting your Accounting degree? I have friends who got degrees in accounting and then went straight into the corporate world and worked as accountants/analysts for larger companies. So the internship was not a major requirement for them. I guess my question is, what is your ultimate goal? If it's to become a CPA, and you want to stay in FL, then your best bet is probably to stick with the track you're on. BUT, if it's to work in accounting, but not to ultimately get your CPA, then you could always rethink your plans.

[tesu-acct-student]

Hi everyone,

I'm new to this forum. I'm a previous CLEP taker and CLEPed my way out of 18 or so credits in community college. I then transferred to FSU to complete my degree.

Although I'm quite young, I'm already shocked at how immature college (university) students are compared to what I have gotten used to at community college. I don't think I want to stay here much longer.

Are there ways to test out of upper level undergraduate courses in accounting and business? I attend Florida State. I asked in my College of Business, but they seemed very hesitant to want to help me test out. Obviously, they want my money. I can imagine that there is an option that they are not telling me about. Uxcel's website (from Excelsior) seems to mention that FSU accepts their credit, but my advisor did not want to talk to me about it.

I am not learning much here and would rather like to self-study to test out, receive my degree, and get an internship/job as quickly as possible.

I'm very grateful for any replies here and I apologize if any of this material does not belong on this specific forum or website.

Which accounting courses are on your transcript? Why did you have to retake an accounting class?

It sounds like you may have the basics under your belt so I may be offering info that you don't need. There aren't a lot of test-out options for accounting at either the upper or lower levels. Here is what I've found.

Regarding lower level required courses: ACC-101 and 102 (financial and managerial) are available by TECEP. There are other ways to test out of these courses as well. For example CLEP has financial accounting.

Intermediate Accounting I and II may be available at your cc. If not, check around to other cc's in your area. They use different course numbers so don't go by that. For example, TESU uses ACC-201 and 202 for Intermediate I/II. My local cc also has courses with those same numbers but those courses aren't Intermediate I/II. So go by the course title. I've found that most cc's in my area do not offer Intermediate I/II but one does. Be sure to check with your four year school that these are the correct courses and that they will transfer in correctly.

Upper level: ACC-421 Individual Income Tax is available by TECEP. Straighterline has a Managerial Accounting course that transfers into TESU as an upper level course (ACC-303 Cost Accounting). Those are the only two upper level alternatives that I know of that aren't either formal classwork or portfolio.

[barbeque22]

I would be very hesitant to pursue a non traditional route if you want to work at one of the Big 4 accounting firms. Internships are key and internship candidates are almost always recruited from the campus. If you have no interest in a Big 4 firm and don't mind a small or regional firm then it would work. Check out CSU global as you can test out of upper level accounting courses.

Just remember that if you ever want to work in the accounting department at a large fortune 500, you will most definitely need Big 4 experience. I regret not following that path. I did the non-traditional route and have only been able to pursue small firms.

[sanantone]

I would be very hesitant to pursue a non traditional route if you want to work at one of the Big 4 accounting firms. Internships are key and internship candidates are almost always recruited from the campus. If you have no interest in a Big 4 firm and don't mind a small or regional firm then it would work. Check out CSU global as you can test out of upper level accounting courses.

Just remember that if you ever want to work in the accounting department at a large fortune 500, you will most definitely need Big 4 experience. I regret not following that path. I did the non-traditional route and have only been able to pursue small firms.

Aren't the Big 4 also looking for graduates from top schools? Would a traditional accounting degree from Podunk State U get you into the Big 4?