What would you do?

I am not an accountant or even a money person (I am a college teacher), but I am not sure that college loans debt is necessarily a bad thing. If the better college means a better job upon graduation, you would be earning money and that could balance out the school-debt issue.

Hopefully you will get enough replies to this thread to help you make up your mind. Good luck!

I can only speak with my own experience in mind... I work in the graphic/communication arts field, and own my own design firm. Sixteen years after I graduated (ie: this year) I am still paying off the last few thousand of my student loan. Its definitely had a psychological impact, but in all honesty, has been very manageable, and in terms of my career, I am now exactly where I want to be. I cant say that can been attributed to the course I chose in the early 90s... in fact I tend to think my success has come from hard work, perseverance and focus.

60k seems extremely excessive to my ears. I think if accounting is truly the avenue you'd wish to go down, then you will make a success of yourself by being passionate, proactive and dedicated 100% of the time. Irrespective of the school you attended.

"Good luck" is when preparation and opportunity meet".

Best of luck with your decision!

My question might be stupid, but wouldn't it be interresting (and also cheaper) to to it abroad, e.g. in Europe ?

I guess the key question here is do you need your Master's and to be a CPA to do what you want to do?
If the answer is yes this is a no-brainer as breaking through glass ceilings that are in place because of degrees are difficult.
If your current degree can get you where you want to go then the decision is trickier. Taking on the debt versus making money over the next year is probably around a $100K swing.
I think you'll have to decide what the acceleration is you will get by having the advanced degree and whether it puts you more than a couple of years ahead. If it does then it probably makes up for the $100K difference.
On the otherhand if you're sick of school and the idea of another year just for financial purposes makes you weary. Join the workforce save some money and go back to school in a couple of years with some cash saved away.
Good luck with whatever decision you make.

okay, here's my take. I work in accounting and am a CFO without a degree in accounting or classes in accounting or a CPA and honestly I really don't get excited about accounting at all. I majored in Econ and Int'l studies, but my mom was a accountant/business manager, so she trained me as a kid and I had a boss that taught me t accounts while I was working as a student, everything else was on the job training. I am a fast learner and grasp concepts easily, so my first employer called me when they heard I graduated from college. With my second employer I learned about putting financial statements together because my boss who was the CPA went to europe for a month right before the audit. The accounting supervisor explained stuff to me and trusted me to help her put it together, this was a $12B operation. My point is, wanting to work in accounting doesn't necessarily require an accounting degree.

However, if you want to be a CPA, check out your states licensing requirements first to see what their education requirements are. Accounting classes are pretty much the same regardless of where you take them, there are rules and you learn them, unless you really want to specialize in something like forensic accounting, where you take those classes is not a huge deal, imo. If you want to be an auditor, obviously you need to get your CPA, but the knowledge you need could just as easily be acquired at a community college or state school. There are always jobs for accountants, always, with or without your CPA. If you have your CPA and can show a transcript with good grades, I think that will do just as well as a CPA from a top accounting school, although the school network/ contacts might be more helpful.

That said, you could look for finance/accounting jobs and get the experience you want but just need to get creative about where you look and obviously not expect a great salary fresh out of school, esp. in this economy - schools, federal, state and local governments, non-profits, non-governmental organizations, credit unions, banks, investment firms, restaurants, small businesses, etc. the possibilities are endless.

I'd also encourage you to work if you want to do a masters program, while in school. Having real world experience means much more when you are done with school. That will really give you an edge in the job market. Honestly my biggest gripe in dealing with external auditors is when you have to train them. There are some big firms out there that send you green auditors and you basically need to show them how to apply their book knowledge, next audit comes around and you need to train a fresh batch.

Overall, I think accounting is a good field and you will always be able to find a job somewhere.