As a professional, your knowledge is invaluable when you study for a University Exams. Unfortunately, they too, will have to take it in a different state.
The biggest dilemma faced by any potential candidate is whether or not they can take a CPA Exam in a different state. This of course has a lot to do with one's location. If you live in a state that does not allow CPA Exam candidates to use their home state CPA Exam training materials, then this could have a negative impact on your chances of getting accepted.
Luckily, there are many possibilities home-by-home and elsewhere, if you are allowed to study there. Once you find a school that offers a CPA training course, make sure you keep your head up and your eyes peeled!
For example, if you live in Colorado, a prospective college or university in New Mexico may be willing to send you information on the CPA Exam, in order to see if they will offer you a spot on their own board. It's important to check with them on the syllabus for the course. You want to make sure you can get through the test and pass it, because you will need to complete a CPA exam in New Mexico, and most likely someone in your state who is now doing the exam at the University, has already passed it!
What about a possible home state of Florida? Does a web site from the Florida board of examiners have the syllabus for their forthcoming exams?
Do the two syllabi I've seen for the University Exams they offer even overlap? If they do, you will have plenty of time to study, because you have to be on campus at a certain time, to do the actual Exam.
Good University Exams, which works in your home state, should always mention whether the class will take place on the specified date, or if it is open for study and testing. If they state a fixed date, you have the advantage of doing the Exams in your home state!
Just remember that even if you do study through the home state syllabus, it does not mean you are guaranteed your CPA license. Always check with the State Board and see what your options are for getting your CPA license, for the exact same exams that you could have easily studied through, in your home state.
Most students, who have learned how to take a CPA Exam in a different state, have also found out, how to pass the passing exam. This means that even if you were able to study to take a University Exams, as a home-state candidate, you will be doing fine, if you go back, and take the Test there!
Reverts back and forth between home state and another state may not be a possibility. It is very rare, to find one that has a class that is restricted to one and only one state, so taking more than one CPA Exam in one year could be impossible.
The only "free" alternative to a possible home state exam, is to buy the CPA training materials from the traditional source, and then purchase the books, and software that you can study through while you are at home. This may be expensive, but it saves you the time, of driving all over the place for the sake of getting an online CPA certification, instead of spending that money at a brick and mortar university or college.