Do I have to go to a top business school for a Master’s in Accounting (MSA) & CPA?
The first 3 schools have pretty good reputations, but the last one doesn’t seem to, not sure??? It only has the ACBSP accreditation.Do I have to go to a top business school for a Master's in Accounting (MSA) & CPA?
Hello,
For a career change, I plan on attending graduate school for a Master of Science in Accountancy/Accounting (M.S.A.) degree, then pursuing the CPA credential.
I have a BA in Anthropology. At the undergraduate level, I have one general Math/Algebra class and one Statistics class (both of which I received As in). I have no prior accounting or finance experience.
I would hate to incur more debt of $40k for a degree when a degree from a much more affordable school would get me “almost” the same type of job.
My question is; how important is the reputation or ranking of the school from which I receive my MS (considering that I also plan to become a CPA) when it comes to getting hired by a company?
UIC would be my top choice (good reputation and cheaper), but it could be very difficult to get into, so my fall-back in order to save money would be Roosevelt University…ACBSP accreditation only.
What do think I should do? Fork out the cash for a better school or go with the less prestigious cheaper school. As long as I have my CPA, will it matter?
DePaul (seems highly selective & expensive) AACSB
Loyola (seems less selective, but still expensive) AACSB
University of Illinois at Chicago (seems highly selective, but inexpensive) AACSB
Roosevelt University (less selective and inexpensive) ACBSPDo I have to go to a top business school for a Master's in Accounting (MSA) & CPA?
Thanks!
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Comment by OrangeKitten
You don’t necessarily need to come from a top accounting program but in general needs to be a fairly decent program that has the right connections to the big 4 and other top corporates. They will hire you right out of school. Lesser programs don’t have the connections so you simply will not have the same opportunities.
Focus less on accreditation and look more into the career services of the colleges.
By the way, if you don’t have coursework in accounting at the undergrad level you will need to complete the minimums first, which is at least a solid two years of make-up work. I’d suggest you take these courses at the most affordable institution near you that offers them and then think hard if this is the right career for you. Accounting often isn’t what some people crack it up to be.
Comment by JonDough
I am currently in the MBA program at DePaul. I struggled with the very question you are asking. Let me give you some sound advice:
1. Throw Roosevelt out the window. No one takes them seriously. Especially since you do not have an accounting degree, you want to go somewhere that is respected. The Roosevelt program in not!
2. I would suggest that you go sit through an information session at each school. I did it for the 5 major universities in Chicago (NW, UofChicago, DePaul, Loyola, and UIC). I think it will provide you with a much better idea of where you want to study.
3. If you are looking to go to school full time, DePaul, Loyola, and UIC are pretty competitive. You need to get at least a 600 (probably more like 620) on your GMAT. If you are looking for part-time, a 550 will do. Also, keep this in mind, at all three, you can go “part-time” but take a full time load. That is to say that you can just try and get into the program and take 4 classes. I know someone doing this very thing.
4. The $40K in debt you talked about comes out to be about $500 a month when you have to repay it. Just remember this. It is not that much money when you spread it out.
5. UIC is not as cheap as you may think. I thought that their program would cost approximately $20K – $25K. I was stunned when I saw that it would cost about $37K. Keep that in mind. Go to their information session and review the slides that talk about tuition. If you go full-time, it is definitely cheaper. But for a part-timer, there is not as much savings (due to tuition being calculated in number of hours – at UIC, whereas, at Loyola and DePaul it is calculated by the number of classes).
6. Review the rankings. Of the three schools left on your list (I am telling you that Roosevelt is that bad), I would order their reputation like this: DePaul, Loyola, UIC.
The faculty, facilities and alumni (who will serve as your backbone and hiring force) are much better at DePaul. UIC is just not as well known and their rankings put them WAY back. In Chicago, the general order of the schools in the rankings are:
1. NW
2. Chicago
3. DePaul
4. Loyola
5. Northern Illinois
6. UIC
7. IIT
In conclusion, I think you should go to each programs information session. Review the actual amount it will cost you to attend each program. Take the GMAT. Finally, the school you graduate from really does matter, especially in Chicago.
Good luck! I wish you the best of luck!