My son has been admitted as a freshman for the Fall 2026 term at Indiana University (Kelley School of Business Direct Admit), University of Iowa (Tippie School of Business) and Iowa State University (Ivy School of Business) with the intent to major in accounting and hopefully obtain a position in audit with a Big 4 accounting firm in Chicago upon graduation. He would also like to intern with one of these firms during college.
We live in the suburbs of Chicago, so we are out of state for all three schools. The net price per year at each university, after applying scholarships and financial aid grants is as follows:
Indiana: $51,006
Iowa: $39,550
Iowa State: $25,952
Of the three, if net cost were not a consideration, my son would choose to attend Kelley. We went to Direct Admit Days last weekend and he had a fantastic experience. Given Kelley’s number four ranking in accounting and its status as a target school for Big 4 and large companies, it is hard to let this offer go. We know that the school is very strong in placing graduates with investment banks and consulting, but does it have enough of an edge in Big 4 audit placement to justify the higher investment?
Is it a consideration and if so, how much? For example, would IU require loans beyond the $27K total undergrad student loans? Impact parental retirement savings? Other? ‘
If there are financial constraints, did you talk about them with your S before he applied to these schools?
Have you looked at each school’s outcomes for accounting majors? If the school doesn’t have them posted, contact the career centers and ask.
Lastly, accounting has required 150 hours to sit for the CPA test (which is typically a masters degree) in the recent past. But, 20+ states have changed this and/or added other pathways to sit for the CPA test with just a bachelors degree. Something to research, based on where he wants to live when he gets out of school. I believe this resource is up-to-date, but you should double check each state’s website to confirm: CPA Exam Requirements by State | Becker
The truth is you can achieve your goals from anywhere. My nephew at UNLV had recruiting from both Denver and SF.
On paper, yes, Kelley is the easy answer - but on paper costs another $100K.
And Iowa State won’t hold him back. Congrats on his academic achievements - they earned him that savings if needed.
You can get specifics from Iowa State but this will provide a great start. Given Des Moines prominence in insurance/finance and Iowa State’s proximity to Des Moines, I’m sure many end up there as the data shows but in Illiniois too, which is its third most represented state from the B school - after Iowa and Minnesota.
And they have a great knowledge rate (139 of 148 reporting) and a high success rate (64% employed and 33% continuing school).
So the data on Iowa State accounting reflects well overall - although no firm or location are assured. And then there’s the extra credits CPA thing (that might account for the continuing education). You can ask the school.
For accounting, here is who hired - in this particular class. Again, some kids seek certain locations - so one can’t say if the Big 4 didn’t hire, they don’t recruit there. It’s possible - but you’d want to find out from the career center.
Thank you for the excellent suggestions. Cost is not a prohibitive concern, but if outcomes are similar it makes no sense to me to spend significantly more. I’ve researched placement information for each school and it clearly shows that Kelley is an elite target school for Chicago Big 4, while the other two also place graduates in those firms to a lesser extent. I just wanted to hear from others with firsthand experience to complement the research we already completed.
Thanks for the thorough response and valuable information. The Big 4 placements for Iowa State seem quite low, but I understand that many graduates choose to sign on with the large regional employers such as John Deere and Principal Financial Group.
Just for fun, here is Tippie, likely more aligned to Chicago than Iowa State given ISU proximity to Des Moines and likely more Illinoisans at Iowa than ISU (I didn’t look but I know many head there).
Kelley is the largest feeder for Big 4 audit nationally, annecdotally over 80+ each year to each of the Big 4 (this is especially since very few Ivy Leaguers want to do audit)
Another factor to consider is that there are more Illinois students (30%) than in-state Indiana students (25%) at Kelley, with Chicago and NYC being the top 2 destinations for postgraduate employment, above Indianapolis.
If you are out of state for all 3, I would strongly recommend Kelley if the additional cost would not be an undue burden. Many on this forum are debt- and cost-adverse (and so am I) but it would be unfair to downplay the significant placement difference especially to Chicago between the 3 schools
Yes, the IU accounting hires list seems firm heavy (although I don’t know the actual jobs) and salaries are more than 10k more than the Iowa schools, although some of that may be location driven.
If CPA requires more schooling, I wonder how the 69% working and 29% continuing figures in - really for each school.
Big 4 audit is all about one’s GPA in accounting courses.
If any of the Big 4 accounting firms recruit from a specific school, then the question is not whether the school is good enough,but whether the student’s accounting GPA is good enough.
Accounting majors are in great demand. Even students with below average GPAs. Many firms are even considering finance majors for tax consulting/staff jobs as well as audit jobs, be it in the big 4 or elsewhere. The shortage of accounting majors is behind the rollbacks in number of education hour requirements in many states to take the CPA test as well.
I do think this student can achieve their goals from any of these schools. With that said, I also lean toward IU provided it doesn’t significantly negatively impact parent or student finances.
Nope. Not sure why I have to repeat what I said…that even accounting majors with below average GPAs are in demand. I didn’t say anything about where. And I’m not really sure it matters….there are more audit/tax/consulting opportunities outside the big 4 than within.
I am a CPA as are my H and S (all started at Big 4) Keep in mind that in many states one needs 150 credits to become a CPA. A typical bachelor’s degree is about 120 credits. Some can get this done in four years with a combination of APs, overloading, summer classes, etc. but others go on for a one year Masters degree. Many get the Masters at their undergrad institution, but others go on to a different university. (ETA: Google the requirements for your state.)
One can get to the Big 4 from all of these schools. I imagine you could get historical data. There may be some differences – eg. one may need a higher GPA coming out of Iowa State then Kelley to get interviews. Overall, there is a shortage of accountants so if a student does well in academically, has some ECs, etc. they should be fine.
I do imagine there will be more Kelley alums in the Chicago offices as compared to Iowa or Iowa State.
Does the student have a preference? Are all options comfortably affordable?
