Help on TESC Residency Requirement for International Students

[heidi08]

Thanks for the feedback. The reason for transferring 120 credits is that, I sent my transcript for US CPA evaluation for my state board and the requirement is to have a bachelor of 120 credits. My bachelor is 90 credits and masters with 30 credits. However, the US state board requirements is that I need bachelor of 120 credits and to be license, candidates must have 150 credits, thus the reason for my transferring to TESC.

Also, I was thinking of using PF for the additional 30 credits to meet the state residency requirements and would like to complete the couses asap. Any feedback on this is appreciated.

[Yanji]

Well, you have a couple of options... If you have one year of work experience as an accountant that can be verified by a CPA and you don't need public accounting privileges, you can take the CPA in Colorado (the last 120 hour state) and get licensed before they become a 150 hour state on July 1. (Some states do not let you use the CPA designation as an out-of-state CPA, but that does not prevent you from making the factual statement that you are a CPA in another state on your resume) You don't have to actually physically go to Colorado to do this, but you must have all requirements met and your paperwork filed by the end of June when the door closes. Once you get your 150 hours you can convert back to your home state, which is a much easier process than transferring exam scores. If you don't want to do public, you can actually just stop here.

Otherwise, most states (including MA, my state board) allow CLEP credits to count towards the 150 hour requirement, as long as they are on some sort of college transcript. Taking 30 credits worth of CLEPs in non-duplicative subjects and then paying to Credit Bank them at Excelsior should be much faster/easier/cheaper than messing around taking fluff courses at TESC. However, if you have any courses you've been wanting to take, now is a good time to take them for "free" while you need the credit anyway. Do not take any courses from non-RA institutions like PF under any circumstances - IMO for accounting you should seek to earn the "highest-quality" credits possible (e.g. AACSB business courses, RA other courses) because doing otherwise could geographically limit you, which is another way of saying it could harm your career.

[EI2HCB]

Well, you have a couple of options... If you have one year of work experience as an accountant that can be verified by a CPA and you don't need public accounting privileges, you can take the CPA in Colorado (the last 120 hour state) and get licensed before they become a 150 hour state on July 1. (Some states do not let you use the CPA designation as an out-of-state CPA, but that does not prevent you from making the factual statement that you are a CPA in another state on your resume) You don't have to actually physically go to Colorado to do this, but you must have all requirements met and your paperwork filed by the end of June when the door closes. Once you get your 150 hours you can convert back to your home state, which is a much easier process than transferring exam scores. If you don't want to do public, you can actually just stop here.

Otherwise, most states (including MA, my state board) allow CLEP credits to count towards the 150 hour requirement, as long as they are on some sort of college transcript. Taking 30 credits worth of CLEPs in non-duplicative subjects and then paying to Credit Bank them at Excelsior should be much faster/easier/cheaper than messing around taking fluff courses at TESC. However, if you have any courses you've been wanting to take, now is a good time to take them for "free" while you need the credit anyway. Do not take any courses from non-RA institutions like PF under any circumstances - IMO for accounting you should seek to earn the "highest-quality" credits possible (e.g. AACSB business courses, RA other courses) because doing otherwise could geographically limit you, which is another way of saying it could harm your career.

This is excellent advice. Remember too that American Accounting uses GAAP which may cause issues. In Illinois the State board examines the foreign credit themselves so regardless of what TESC or Excelsior award for it they reserve the right to make their own evaluation. What state are you seeking to become a CPA in?

[heidi08]

@Yanji, thank you for this excellent advise! I am planning to take the courses via PF and have my ACE transcript sent to TESC since this is an accredited institution and the state board will accept. Is TESC not accredited? My transcript was evaluated by NACES and it listed a few state boards to which I can apply and I am thinking of NH. Also, I may not be able to meet the Colorado July 1 deadline since I need to complete 8 courses, I already completed 2 courses via Straightliner and UOP (I find UOP very expensive) thus why I am considering PF.

[Yanji]

I have yet to see a state board's requirements explicitly say anything about ACE credits, although some states definitely accept NA credit. I mentioned CLEPs because they are almost universally accepted by state boards, while PF credits showing up on a TESC transcript are not RA credit - they are NA courses accepted for credit at a RA institution.

What courses do you intend to take with PF? If you're planning on taking accounting courses, you can take them online through LSU instead for around $550. They'll be accepted anywhere, the courses are popular in the CPA student community and they're not reputed to be difficult. If you're planning on taking electives, CLEP is just better in every way.

[EI2HCB]

I have yet to see a state board's requirements explicitly say anything about ACE credits, although some states definitely accept NA credit. I mentioned CLEPs because they are almost universally accepted by state boards, while PF credits showing up on a TESC transcript are not RA credit - they are NA courses accepted for credit at a RA institution.

What courses do you intend to take with PF? If you're planning on taking accounting courses, you can take them online through LSU instead for around $550. They'll be accepted anywhere, the courses are popular in the CPA student community and they're not reputed to be difficult. If you're planning on taking electives, CLEP is just better in every way.

Yanji, great discussion contributions is that LSU Louisiana State University? Some of us foreigners still haven't got all your American Acronyms down

[Yanji]

Yes, LSU is Louisiana State.

OP, regarding which state to seek licensure in, if you can't make the Colorado deadline by July, there's still several good choices if you don't care where you're licensed. NH is one of the better states, but there's even better out there.

Maine will probably let you take the exams earlier than any other state because they only require 15 accounting credits, but passing all four sections with that level of accounting education (typically something like: Intro FA -> Intro MA -> Intermediate I -> Cost Accounting -> Intermediate II) is rather unrealistic. You need at least 24 credits to have a solid foundation anyway (previous 5 courses + Tax/Audit/Advanced), and that puts a lot more states into play. Montana is definitely the best state for international applicants but Guam and Illinois are good too.

[heidi08]

@Yanji, I only need courses to fullfill TESC international student requirements. I have already completed all accounting/business courses for the CPA.

For TESC I need to complete,
Strategic Business Management
Principle of Finance
International Business
English II (advanced)
4 other courses will be electives.

On my evaluation, the state board did have Maine, Montana etc. and I will definitely take a look at their work experience requirements as you recommend.

[Yanji]

I don't understand why you feel so strongly about TESC. Do you want an American degree? Once you become a CPA, nobody cares where your degree's from unless maybe it was from a highly-ranked business school, and even then it's the CPA part that matters most. Even MSA degrees don't mean much once you're a CPA since everyone needs 150 hours now anyway. If you have good general knowledge and know another language, you could literally walk into a testing center tomorrow morning, do 30 credits worth of CLEPs in one day, set up an Excelsior Credit Bank when you get home, and before the month is even over you would have your 150 hours in the bag. Let's compare the costs:

PF/TESC Route:
PF Tuition (30 @ $79/cr) - $2370
TESC Enrollment Fee - $3154
TESC Technology Fee - $125
TESC Graduation Fee - $300 (optional if you don't want a degree... but then what's the point?)
Total - $5949

CLEP Route:
CLEP Fees (4 @ $80) - $320 (easy with a second language... e.g. Spanish, Humanities, A&I Lit, Social Sciences)
Testing Fees (4 @ $20) - $80
EC Credit Bank Fee - $270
Total - $670

That's a difference of over $5000 and at least 6-8 months. Even if you don't live in the US, for that kind of money you could fly here, rent a Mercedes, take the exams in 1-2 days, stay at a Four Seasons, fly home and have money left over for a bottle of Dom Perignon to celebrate when you get your CPA. Even better, you could take that money and register in a good CPA review course, spend those 6-8 months preparing for the CPA and have your CPA in hand (assuming you meet the experience requirements) as early as August or September. You could even buy yourself a case of Dom Perignon to celebrate with the money you had leftover.

[heidi08]

@Yanji, I did look into the CLEP courses, but how do I get 120 credits since my bachelor is 90 credits? Even with my masters of 30 credits, the state evaluation said I require a US bachelor of 120 credits. My only option is to transfer my credits to a US college. If there is another way I can do this without spending $5k, that would be great, since I do not know the US schooling system very well.