Notre Dame: What might I be able to take advantage of here?

gr2l · 10-17-2009, 10:18 PM

I'm currently a freshman at ND and I'm leaning towards majoring in accounting. I know that ND isn't a target school or anything, and the accounting will probably suit me. But I'm wondering if anyone may know of anything that Mendoza offers that I may be able to take advantage of. All I know is that the big 4 recruits here, but then the big 4 seems to recruit at many schools.

Also, I plan on double majoring in Chinese because I want to work with international firms in Hong Kong (Already fluent in Cantonese) and China in the future. Does anyone know how the job usually is for an accountant working for international firms? Thanks.

XX55XX · 10-17-2009, 11:09 PM

If you can get your 150 credit hours and pass the CPA test, I can't imagine that you won't be unemployable as an accountant anywhere. For accounting, it doesn't matter what school you come out of of.

openedskittles · 10-18-2009, 02:08 AM

Notre Dame isn't bad. They might not be a first target for many firms, but BusinessWeek is obsessed with you guys so you'll get good offers. That said, if you don't do accounting, go with finance, because you still want a marketable major.

bthomp1 · 10-18-2009, 03:36 AM

Notre Dame is ranked fourth in the country in accounting. I'm guessing that makes ND's accounting major pretty marketable.
http://mason.wm.edu/news/documents/p...veyresults.pdf

Dawgie · 10-18-2009, 10:21 PM

gr2l, you got it all wrong, Notre Dame is highly regarded for accounting.

gr2l · 10-19-2009, 01:11 AM

So there's one thing I don't quite understand. If it really doesn't matter where you get your accounting degree from, then why are there rankings for it? Is there one thing a highly regarded school can do for a student while a school that's not highly regarded can't?

Also, what do you guys think about double majoring accounting with Chinese?

Dawgie · 10-19-2009, 02:36 AM

No, it does matter. Typically the higher ranked schools have it a lot easier in terms of placement. I think majoring in accounting with Chinese is not very beneficial since you are very fluent in the language anyway. Get more benefit and reward from another major for sure.

taxguy · 10-19-2009, 08:21 AM

Doesn't anyone read the threads here especially, "Everything you wanted to know or should know about accounting?"

Where you attend school for accounting is generally irrelevant. Partners generally recruit from their local schools. Yes, going to a nationally ranked school might bring in a few more firms recruiting and it might even provide you with a few thousands more to start ( and I mean a very few thousand);however, it will even out in both the short run and long run.

The key is to get a strong GPA and to interview well. Thus attending Notre Dame vs. Maryland, vs. Baruch vs. purdunk U etc. won't make much of a difference. My suggestion is to attend the school that is located in the state that you want to practice in. In addition, going to an in-state school will guarantee that you meet the requirements for that state's CPA exam.
Moreover, if you get a good enough GPA, you will get interviews for firms in other states too.

I'll say it again: rankings are irrelevant for undergraduate accounting education.

sryrstress · 10-19-2009, 08:36 AM

Rankings might be irrelevant for accounting (tend to agree; I'm a CPA), but I also feel ND offers many intangibles that are beneficial to the student, regardless of major.

Dawgie · 10-19-2009, 12:22 PM

Rankings matter, better experience and education typically. Also if you want a top MBA, definitely looked more favorably. Never aim for the lowest, always highest.

taxguy · 10-19-2009, 01:23 PM

Dawgie notes,ever aim for the lowest, always highest."

Response: Maybe. However, since accounting job offers are not contingent on school rankings, why would someone pay 50K plus for education where they can get the same benefits, same courses, same pay and same job offers from a much less expensive school? I can get a degree in accounting here at University of Maryland or Towson for about $20,000-25,000 per year ( which is all inclusive of room, board and fees and books), without taking any financial aid into account. To pay 50K to another schools because it is more highly ranked in accounting is crazy.

However, for some other majors such as law school, MBA programs etc., it probably is worth the cache to pay the difference.

a_mom · 10-19-2009, 01:25 PM

I tend to agree with Dawgie on this one. While you can get your CPA no matter where you goto school; it seems the chances of get into big-4 is different. During the process of looking for the accounting program for my child, I've noticed the placement into big-4 is not the same between all the campus, at lease in my area. However, it's not solely due to ranking, either. Physical location to the office, where the partners/hiring manager graduated from also play important roles. Some campus place a wopping 50% while others only place a handful.

Of course, big-4 is NOT everything of accounting.

gr2l · 10-19-2009, 07:54 PM

Dawgie: What majors would go well with accounting? I am not fluent in mandarin chinese which is why I am considering Chinese as the double major.

Also another reason I am choosing accounting is because I've heard that accountants can do anything Finance majors can. It's more flexible to me and I think that I have more options open to me if I want to go for a change in the future. And I do hope to apply for a top MBA in the future.

bthomp1 · 10-19-2009, 08:14 PM

What is a high gpa for accounting grads? At IU Bloomington the graduation gpa for accounting graduates is about 3.3, and probably considerably lower in accounting courses alone, probably no better than 3.0. Yet they are always ranked in the top ten in the Public Accounting Report survey, and are heavily recruited by big four and other companies. Surely the program's high ranking is offsetting the low gpa's relative to the gpa of accounting grads at the gazillion podunk U's that offer the accounting major.

Dawgie · 10-19-2009, 09:01 PM

High GPA's are typically 3.5+. Gr2l you don't have to worry about the top MBA part. You are at a pretty respectable school. If you want a top MBA be 3.7+ to be safe, and around 700+ GMAT. If you really want to do accounting in China, then yea you would probably want mandarin. Go for the chinese major. But if you aren't commit to it, I don't think its worth doing. I always recommend quantitative majors because almost EVERY employer values it. Not to mention it's going to help you out big time on the GMAT.