Mcdz

Which one's better, UIUC or IU? (Taking into account their accounting program and overall.. as in social, campus, etc...)

taxguy

Bentley is very good as is most of the other schools noted in the top 25 rankings. However, I have said this before in other posts and will say it again: It doens't matter which school you attend as long as the Big 4 recruit there, which they do for most of the top 50 accounting programs.

The VASTLY more important criterion for jobs is your GPA. A strong GPA will get you a good accounting job over a mediocre one from the top school. The stronger the GPA, the better.

iforgotmyoldname

If there is a top feeder school near the office you want to work in I would go there. After interviewing in San Diego (grew up there) and Los Angeles (go to school here) for all the big 4, I found that they give heavy preference to local students.

Dawgie

Ask an employee working at a Big Four which schools most 1st year or interns came from and you will get your answer (Location wise).

miss_autumn123

Personally, I think Lehigh is a very good school in accounting. I have found out that Lehigh ranks at 6 in the BusinessWeek 's ranking of the best undergraduate University in accounting major , and even ranks higher than CMU.
So, what about your opinion about this school?

inyczreflex

I don't really get how the rankings work. Let's say a school like Univeristy of Texas has an accounting program ranked higher than the program at UPenn or something, does that mean the UT candidate has a better chance of being recruited to a better company?

RangersFan

if you're talking IB or consulting UPenn wins hands down. and im just guessing but i dont think many kids who major in accounting at UPenn want to work at a Big4 firm.

leo187um

Indeed. Anyone thats lucky enough to be at a target would be shooting for IB or consulting, with big 4 as a super backup. As long as you know that the Big4 recruit, I wouldn't worry about not getting hired. Accountants are in HEAVY demand.

ldmom06

"While Texas is the top ranked school for accounting, the salaries in Texas are notoriously low compared to other places in the country--and since most of the people graduating stay in Texas, I'm guessing that the average salary for Univ of Texas accounting graduates is only around $43,000 to $45,000. I'll let someone else look the exact number up and post it here."
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Ah...but when you can buy a 5000 square foot custom mini-estate loaded with amenities for under $100 a square foot, the notoriously low salary scales for those who choose to make their career in the State of Texas isn't really a crucial factor. Furthermore, as one who chose public accounting as a career in Texas and Louisiana, I can tell you the first 8-10 years you are paying your dues. Once you have been deemed to be on partner track, the compensation takes a definite turn for the better. And many go into public with no intention of remaining in public; they are just building their resume for the eventual switch to a lucrative position in private (usually with an audit client).

One other thing, UT-Austin has always had an incredibly strong accounting program. And it looks like caps on top ten percent auto-admits will finally be approved by the Texas Legislature which should open up more spots for oos candidates.

Superman123

Illinois is really good

Omniscient1

Pretty much everyone in UConn's accounting program gets in with a big four firm. It is considered a target 35 program by the big four, and gets a ton of money from the big four every year to do research. Also, some of the faculty are advisors to the IRS.

Vyse

I go to #6, texas A&M.

Im thrilled with our accounting setup. Im going to enter the "Professional program in accounting", whereby I get an BS in finance and an MS in accounting all in 5 years. I get an internship after JR year, and can sit for the CPA right out of school. 80% placement with top 4 acct firms.

ldmom06

^Texas A&M has a great business school and very strong accounting program as well. And you can't beat the powerful Aggie network which is not just confined to the State of Texas. I cannot stress enough how important Aggie contacts can be.

Again, top ten percent caps are going to free these two top accounting schools (UT-Austin and Texas A&M) to look at more oos and international candidates.

fener_sk

does anyone have any idea about recrtuiting at Boston University? i asked a professor of mine and he said they had a strong accounting program but this may have just been out of bias.

Can anyone compare BU's recruiting to fordham's because im thinking about transferring to Fordham but i still want to do some research. thanks guys.

Dawgie

BU's recruitment in Boston for Big 4 is pretty weak compared to Northeastern, or Bentley (Colleges in the Boston area).