In need of general advice/critique - What is my best path?

Hi all,

First, I want to say thanks to all the people that spend there time replying to posts in this forum. I have gained a lot of information from reading archived posts on WSO. This seems like a great community where people give honest advice to each other.

About me : I just turned 30 and am currently enrolled in a regionally accredited Accounting program (undergrad). I graduated in 2011 with a BFA (Music) from a reasonably well known school in my area. I was too young at the time to realize the importance of my gpa and subsequently put little effort into my gen-ed classes, resulting in a gpa slightly above 3.5, almost entirely carried by good grades from classes related to my major.

After graduating I continue to follow my interest and ended up living and working abroad for about 2.5 years in Taiwan. While there I worked for a year (teaching) and received a scholarship given by the Taiwanese government to study Mandarin in a college there for a year after that. I gained fluency in mandarin Chinese and took several proficiency tests to prove it. I returned to the states after this and took a service industry job, mostly out of desperation, and resumed teaching music to private students.

My fascination with the world of Finance began around 3 years ago when a friend encouraged my to open a brokerage account. I subsequently became consumed with analysis of stocks and later with quantitative finance, which I still practice to this day. I knew that I wanted to go back to school to find a better paying job and ended up deciding on enrolling in an accounting program to gain enough credits to potentially sit for the CPA exam in my state.

So far I have taken a bunch of economics courses and several courses in Accounting. I like Accounting a lot but feel as though a career in finance would be more engaging. I figure that, at my age, I only have one shot left at getting on the right career path, which is what has brought me to this board in search of opinions. In my mind, I have several options

A - Continue taking credits in my current undergraduate program. Accumulate enough credits to sit for the CPA exam and hopefully pass it. Enter into the world of Accounting

B - Use the credits I have already taken in accounting/economics to gain entry into a Macc program, giving me enough credits to sit for the CPA exam and a graduate degree, albeit at a greater cost

C - Go for broke and try to get into an MBA program, potentially giving me more flexibility in the future and the option of pursuing a career in finance, not just accounting

D - Complete pre-reqs to get into a MSF program and try to enter into the world of finance.

I know that I have some small things going for me and a ton going against me. I want to be completely realistic and have no interest in chasing an opportunity that doesn't exist for someone with my background. Fellow WSO members, what are your thoughts? Please don't be afraid of giving me harsh critique ; I have no interest in wasting my own time and really want to give myself the best opportunity under current circumstances.

Thanks for reading!

-Ian