Accounting Student Loans

One of the hardest things about becoming an accountant is figuring out how to cover the costs of schooling. The price of four years of undergraduate study is high enough, but to become a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), you'll also have to find the additional funding for graduate courses and license examinations. Fortunately, there are loans offered specifically to accounting students that can help you cover the cost of school so that you can get out into the workforce and start making money as an experienced CPA.

Aside from federal loan programs such as Stafford, Perkins, and PLUS loans that can each cover a small portion of your costs, you may also find that there are a number of other resources for student loans that often go untapped. For example, you may often find that accounting firms and large corporations who can benefit from your future skills will offer scholarships and loans toward accounting degrees. For those who plan to work full time while earning a CPA, your employer may provide funding opportunities if you decide to earn your degree online.

Another place to find financial support is through your school or accounting degree program. A loan may not even be necessary if you can obtain a scholarship from a professional accounting organization such as the American Institute of CPAs. Some other national accounting and auditing organizations offer loans and sometimes scholarships to students who attend programs accredited by AACSB - International. You can also seek alternative loans through private lenders to fund your accounting degree, keeping in mind that some loan programs even offer incentives for on-time payment or direct withdrawal from your checking account, usually through the reduction of your interest rate.

We always recommend exhausting your federal funding options before turning to private loans, and this holds true even for graduate school, since there are even Stafford, Perkins, and PLUS loans for graduates. In fact, the PLUS loan is available to graduates without the assistance of parents, so long as the student has a good credit history. When you decide to borrow student loans to finance a degree as an accountant, make sure you investigate every available resource to make your higher education as affordable as possible.

Paying for school is not easy, but we are here to help. OEDb's student finance section will help you find the money you need to pay your tuition and other college expenses. We cover scholarships, college grants, and student loans. Scholarships and grants are both forms of "free money", meaning they don't need to be paid back. Scholarships are typically awarded by businesses or individuals, with the money being earmarked specifically for tuition. They can be awarded based on a student's location or by religious affiliation, such as Catholicism or Islam. Grants are typically awarded by governments or non-profit organizations and the money often can be applied to several different expenses a student may incur, not solely tuition. They can be awarded based on location or ethnicity, for instance African American or Hispanic. Loans are not considered "free money", because unlike scholarships and grants, they do need to be paid back after graduation. Common federal loans include Perkins and Stafford. Loans are also available by location.