UW_Husky88

Hi,

I've decided that I'm going to major in accounting now, and since I'm going to probably need a MAcc because of the 150 hr requirements (I know it varies state by state, but I just want to knock that off and not have to worry about it), I was wondering what are some good programs in the NE and Southern California area? Yes, I'm aware that they are literally on opposite sides of the US, but those are the two areas I'm targeting, particularly Boston, NYC, San Diego, and maybe Chicago (in that order). Obviously, for so cal, USC is tops, but are there any other solid programs? As far as the NE is concerned, I'm absolutely clueless though, so I mostly need help with that.

Also, generally speaking, how much does the prestige of your MAcc matter, and are there 5-6 schools that are clearcut national leaders that are known everywhere? For example, HYPSM are known throughout the nation as probably the elite schools for undergrad, so is there something similar for MAcc programs?

thanks

Dawgie

Prestige doesn't really matter if you don't already have an offer at Big 4. Otherwise go for the highest ranked if you want to solidify your offer.

openedskittles

McCombs at UT Austin is the #1 ranked accounting school. If you go to UT and do the 5-year Masters in Professional Accounting program, you'll basically get a big 4 offer unless you don't want one.

I don't know how much difference it makes, but I'm a freshman and I've got an invitation from E&Y, Deloitte, and KPMG to go out to dinner and bowling. Networking opportunities are all over the place here. Even if you don't want to work for the big 4, there will be plenty of companies trying to market themselves to you at McCombs.

As a plus, UT Austin also has the highest pass rate on the CPA exam of any university.

UW_Husky88

Any more ideas?

shametospeak

I am international. I applied UMICH, UTA, USC, UIUC, BC, ND,WUSL .But none of them have given me any replies. I am sitting on the pins and needles. So sad

openedskittles

There was actually a thread about where to go to get a big 4 job in Boston not too long ago. Apparently, you have a better shot coming from Texas than Boston College. Since you'll only be in the program for 1-2 years, it might be worth it to just go to the best one you can get into so you will be more likely to get better offers and can choose where you want to work at that point. A friend of mine from Chicago wants to work there after she graduates and the recruiters from E&Y basically said since she's coming from Texas, she can pretty much go wherever she wants.

sigkapaccountant

Basically, you can go to a top program and get a job anywhere in the country, regardless of where the actual school is located, or you can decide which city you'd like to work in, and go to a program that gets locally recruited. BC is a target school in Boston for sure, I have friends that went there. I'm not in the Boston or NYC market though, so I can't tell you much more.

Things are particularly difficult for international students. I graduated from a top MAcc program, and they were pretty much the only students that struggled a bit to find jobs.

BTW, shametospeak: While WashU in St Louis is a great school overall, they are not really known for their MAcc program. I know some of their students ended up taking classes at my undergrad school because their program didn't have the variety of Masters levels classes necessary to be a CPA in some states.

sp1212

If you are international then sorry to break it to you, but you have to be one of the best students out of your school and HIGHLY competitive to get offers.

That's just the way it is.

And it's not that way for US citizens. Thank god.

Cyan34

ya basically the career placement people have told me that international students have 100 times more difficulty than US accounting students to get jobs...be forewarned if your going to spend 50K US on tuition from USC/BC/Texas and 20K of living expenses...