Preparing for Financial Careers at Mercy College
Mercy College appears in our ranking of the 50 Best Online Master of Finance Degree Programs.
Mercy College is a liberal arts college on the shores of the Hudson River. It offers many degrees in finance and accounting to both graduate and undergraduate students. There exist both Certified Public Accountant and Certified Management Accountant tracks in the undergraduate finance program. A CMA differs from a CPA in that CMAs can perform strategic forecasting and management functions over and above their accounting tasks. Mercy College offers both Bachelor of Science and Master of Science programs in each of these disciplines. Both degrees are designed as 150-credit, five-year programs and focus on the various aspects of the world of finance and accounting. Students at Mercy College can also study data analytics, entrepreneurship, and international accounting, along with others, at the undergraduate level.
Graduate students may select from four other such business degrees, including the Master of Arts in Public Accounting, Master of Business Administration in Accounting, and Masters of Arts in both Human Resources and Organizational Leadership. Mercy College also provides extensive online study in the fields of finance and business, including the Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance, Marketing, or Management and the Master of Business Administration in the following categories:
- Finance
- Human Resources Management
- International Business
- Management
- Marketing
- Organizational Leadership
About Mercy College
Mercy College was founded in 1950 by the Sisters of Mercy. It began life as a two-year institution but began awarding four-year degrees in 1961. By 1968, it had received regional accreditation from the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. Since then, it has expanded and began awarding graduate degrees in 1981. The year 2006 marked the first time it had awarded Ph.D.s.
The college is ranked in the top 250 schools in the United States for online study by U.S. News and World Report. The student body is the sixth-most diverse in the country too. Mercy College’s snug, riverside campus has nearly 7,000 students enrolled. The college has other campuses than the one in Dobbs Ferry, but the Dobbs Ferry campus is the only one with on-campus housing.
Mercy College Accreditation Details
Mercy College is still regionally accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. Similarly, other accrediting organizations have bestowed awards on several of the college’s departments. They include the:
- Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine
- American Occupational Therapy Association
- American Physical Therapy Association
- American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
- Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education
- National Association of Schools of Dance
- National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education
- New York State Board of Regents
- National Association of Schools of Art and Design
- Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant Inc.
Mercy College Application Requirements
Mercy College considers both the SAT and the ACT to be optional for admission to all programs except that of nursing. They take a holistic approach to student evaluation and consider many things. They place a premium on leadership qualities and a student’s service to the community in addition to a student’s academic record. Students must submit transcripts. Graduate students must have a four-year degree from a regionally accredited college or university or a foreign equivalent. Certain graduate programs require entrance examinations, letters of recommendation, and a resume. Students should check with the applicable department to find out what is needed before applying.
Tuition and Financial Aid
Undergraduate tuition is $9.200 per semester for full-time students. Part-time students pay $774 per credit hour. Registration fees come to $321 per semester for full-time students and $161 for part-time students. Certain programs have other fees attached, such as $800 for assorted items in the design and animation program.
Graduate students pay by the credit hour. All students pay between $872 and $1,001 per semester, depending on their chosen degree program. Graduate students’ registration fees are the same as those of undergraduate students. Some programs have associated fees, too, such as $330 for Occupational Therapy or $62.50 for Nursing.
Students may apply for financial aid through the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA. The college and the government will consider the information included on the form, which includes both students’ tax information and that of their parents, and then render a decision about which types of financial aid are available to the students and how much is applicable.
Financial aid comes in three basic forms: loans, grants, and scholarships. Students may qualify for one or more of these. There are two kinds of loans: subsidized and unsubsidized. A subsidized loan’s terms indicate that the government will cover any interest while the student is enrolled. An unsubsidized loan generates both interest on the principal of the loan and on the interest itself for the entire time that the student is in school.
Grants and scholarships do not need to be repaid, usually, unless the student does not maintain any academic or personal conduct requirements associated with such awards. Work-study programs are a kind of grant, and students must maintain certain standards to keep any work-study jobs they have.
In addition to need-based aid that comes from the FAFSA, students may apply for as many private sources of aid as they wish. Usually, private grants and scholarships are merit-based. Students may also secure funding from banks or credit unions separate from any loans, grants, or scholarships arising from their need. Sometimes, however, receiving such merit-based awards will result in lower need-based aid.
International students, particularly those who are interested in work-study programs, must have all of their immigration documents in order prior to admission. These documents should also include work visas and must be completed before a student can be considered for financial aid. When budgeting, students should remember that only the Dobbs Ferry campus has housing.
Mercy College is a force in the educational milieu of Westchester County, New York, and promises to be such for the foreseeable future.
