As you may already know, last July I graduated from Kaplan with a BS in paralegal studies.  Well, I am back in school.  I submitted my application over the weekend to Souhern New Hampshire University's online BS in acounting.  I'm going through the transfer credit evaluation process right now, and it looks like I will be able to transfer in 29 credits.  Right now they only accepted 26 credits, but once they verify that my history class was focused on Amerian history, they should transfer that too.

My first choice was Northeastern University, but they have this silly rule where if you have already used credits to earn a  degree, you cannot transfer them to earn a second degree.  If I went to Northeastern, I would have to start from scratch!  Has anyone ever heard of such a policy, or is this unique to Northeastern?  Accredidation cannot be an issue since Kaplan and Northeastern are both regionally accredited.  Well, since there is no way I'm going to start from scratch, I went with SNHU.

My ultimate goal is to get into the online MS in Accounting program at the University of Connecticut.  I'm not sure if I will just take the required foundation courses at SNHU to be admitted to UoC, or if I will do the whole degree and then go to UoC.  I'll decide that next year once I have the required 24 accounting credits. 

I should also add that my SNHU degree will be nearly a third cheaper than getting the degree from Kaplan.  At Kaplan, I would have to pay nearly $30,00.  But at SNHU, it will come out to about $11,000, although it might cost a bit more with textbooks.  So I would NEVER again attend a for profit school.

Donald congrats and good luck on your new chosen program.  And yes, Liberty University has a similar policy that does not allow credits that have been applied towards another degree to be transfered.  This is to prevent credential stacking.

As for profit status of a school affecting the price tag, read my most recent blog post. 

Great blog post Cajun.  However, there are some important things to consider as to why many non-profit schools can be expensive.  First off, they spend a lot of money on research while for profit schools don't spend any.  Also, not for profit schools use tenured professors who make more money and get benefits  For prfits use adjuncts who have no benefits and make less thn a high school gym teacher. Fianlly, you mentioned the MBA program at the University of Texas.  I don't know about all of the UT campuses, but the McCombs Business school at UT AUstin is considered to be one of the most prestigious MBA programs in the country and students from all over the country compete to get into it.  Hence, they can charge more for the program without sacraficing demand.

Congratulations Donald!

Yes, Northeastern's policy is very peculiar on this.  Yes, one cannot usually apply credit to more than one degree, but when one has a Bachelor's usually the requirements to get another from another school are significantly reduced, sometimes just to completing 30 additional semester-hours. If you were get a Bachelor's from Excelsior College, for example, you would only have to earn 30 more credits.

-=Steve=-

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B.S., Info Sys, Charter Oak State College
M.A., Educational Tech Leadership, George Washington University
Doctor of Health Education, A.T. Still University, in progress

Thanks everyone.  I enrolled a bit too late to start this semeseter, so I don't start taking classes until January.  I don't mind because I can use a break from school.  According to my admissions advisor, the program will take me 2.5 years to complete thanks to my transfer credits. 

Out of curiosity Don but why not go for a graduate degree?

I considered a graduate degree, but most schools require me to have certain foundaion courses in accounting to enroll and I don't have them. So I might take 8 classes at SNHU and then apply to the MS program at the University of Connectcut.

donald11:

I considered a graduate degree, but most schools require me to have certain foundaion courses in accounting to enroll and I don't have them. So I might take 8 classes at SNHU and then apply to the MS program at the University of Connectcut.

I would much rather do that than spend more time getting a second Bachelor's degree.

-=Steve=-

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B.S., Info Sys, Charter Oak State College
M.A., Educational Tech Leadership, George Washington University
Doctor of Health Education, A.T. Still University, in progress

I understand Steve.  However, in order to sit for the CPA exam, I have to have 24 credits in business and an MS in accounting will not give me that.  Most MS in accounting programs only include accounting classes. So the graduate degree will not allow me to become a CPA.

and besides, I did the math and getting a 2nd BS degree will only take an extra year or so.  An MS with the foundation courses will take 3 years (2 years without).  The BS and MS will take a little over 4.

If you have to take the courses for the CPA exam anyway then I guess it makes sense, however I would almost always recommend a grad degree before a second BS, on a resume a 2nd BS can sometimes look odd.

donald11:

and besides, I did the math and getting a 2nd BS degree will only take an extra year or so.  An MS with the foundation courses will take 3 years (2 years without).  The BS and MS will take a little over 4.

To me, saving at least a year is an excellent reason to forgo a second Bachelor's, especially when one's ending up with a Master's either way.  But, to each his own.

-=Steve=-

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B.S., Info Sys, Charter Oak State College
M.A., Educational Tech Leadership, George Washington University
Doctor of Health Education, A.T. Still University, in progress

I can see your point. But I'm a bit concerned that having a master's in accounting with no undergraduate in accounting might hurt my hiring potential.  So rather than go down an uncertain route, I would rather do the extra year and have both degrees.  In fact, on the websites of many major employers, I see the requirements listed as having a bachelors degree in accounting and I'm not sure if having a master's with no undergrad in accounting will be good enough. 

donald11:

I can see your point. But I'm a bit concerned that having a master's in accounting with no undergraduate in accounting might hurt my hiring potential.  So rather than go down an uncertain route, I would rather do the extra year and have both degrees.  In fact, on the websites of many major employers, I see the requirements listed as having a bachelors degree in accounting and I'm not sure if having a master's with no undergrad in accounting will be good enough. 

Do those job ads specifically say both a Bachelor's and a Master's in accounting?  If not, I'd think that your having a Master's in it would still exceed their requirements, not be a problem, especially since you could include the foundational coursework on your resume as well.

But we're both speculating.  Why not contact some HR departments at the sort of places you'd like to work and get their opinion?  Then you can make a better informed decision.

-=Steve=-

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B.S., Info Sys, Charter Oak State College
M.A., Educational Tech Leadership, George Washington University
Doctor of Health Education, A.T. Still University, in progress