He can check with career services and see if he can get that information. In my experience, the variable for starting salary at Big 4 firms is the office (due to cost of living differences) one works at and not the college.
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Iāve been quietly following this thread because Iām a CPA and my D is going to major in accounting. We had the schools you mentioned on our list at one point or another. I donāt think the quality of education is going to change much between some of these schools. Iāve interviewed and hired accountants who have gone to schools ranked in the Top 50 to Top 200. Each school has their cohort of smart, driven kids.
What I have noticed is that each schoolās overall business program is slightly different, and they do tend to make sure their accounting program meets their state requirements to sit and obtain the CPA. I hate posting this part because it triggers so much reaction, but I also noticed different companies recruit from different schools. So you may want to look at that.
My D is ultimately deciding where she wants to go, but I basically just got comfortable with the type of companies sheād likely work at and the geographic area where she would get licensed in.
As for cost, it would be nice for my D to attend an in-state school. But the schools sheās choosing between are in very different areas, and the environment is important to her. So for us, itās coming down to more location than cost. But Iām okay with this being a big factor in the decision over money because I did notice a slight difference in geographic placement of the kids from each schools.
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So as an accountant your daughter is seeking to go corporate vs. a public accounting firm?
I assume that saves one from having to go further after their Bachelor (for CPA, etc.)
Thatās what my nephew decided to do - and he moved from Las Vegas to take a job with a retailer in Eastern Virginia (at their HQ). When he decided to leave Vegas and sent out resumes, he was getting bombarded with responses - Texas, Ohio, Virginia, California, etc. - which to me speaks to the demand of the degree.
Ultimately he chose what he did and I made have it wrong - but works for a publicly traded company and thought that all the stuff heās doing - whatever the federal rules are - that heād get a bump up in experience because of the standards they have to report toā¦he does what he calls ālease accounting.ā
Itās interesting though because many think KPMG, PWC, BDO, etc. and yet all companies have accountants, etc. and of course are options too.
Iām not sure yet. Accounting is very versatile, so you can really carve a unique path for your career. The standard path is Big4, CPA, then industry. But for me, it was regional public, industry, CPA, Big 4, and government. I went in this direction because the regional firm hired me as a full-time auditor for more than a Big 4 when I hadnāt even graduated from college, whereas the Big 4 only offered me an internship at intern pay.
So the path my D ends up carving for herself might be different. But if she doesnāt really know what she wants, Iād probably advise her to take the standard path. Sheās actually really interested in the health industry and global matters, so she might use the degree to crack into that industry instead. I heard of accountants that worked at a vaccine company that made tons of money off employee issued stocks.
But one thing I really liked about the school she is choosing is that they really seem to care about getting the students working. They get them immediately plugged into business clubs the first year and business internships their first summer. None of this Hunger Games, fight for your spot in the business school, nonsense.
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We are in NJ, my daughter graduated from Rutgers with a 5 year masters in accounting (in 4 1/2 years). She couldāve been hired pretty much anywhere (top of her class) but definitely didnāt want big 4. Got her junior internship at a larger local firm (awarded one of the best accounting firm to work at in NJ), received a job offer (same as big 4) afterwards, after graduation decided to take a year and pass the exams, her job was waiting for her. Itās accounting, go with the cheapest tuition. I donāt see different outcomes with those schools.
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What classes does he need to take at each before heās allowed to designate his major?
Will his AP scores waive anything in Gen Ed or in his premajor pre-req classes?
Are there requirements to get into Accounting and what are they at each university ?
Did he get into the Honors college at any of the 3?
If he changes his mind about Accounting, which other major would he be interested in?
All these answers would let him see whether Kelley really is his best choice.
One big point for Kelley is that it is direct entry.
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Why is Direct Admit to Kelley such a big deal because thatās the first question everyone asks me when I tell them that my son is considering Kelley? Iām asking this for my own academic knowledge since Iām not aware of a similar thing for Smeal or Pitt. TIA.
Pitt CBA and PSU Smeal both have direct admit, too.
Pitt CBA is a more true direct admitā¦you are indeed in the program.
PSU Smeal still requires prerequisites and a GPA, so a Smeal direct admittance is a bit of a misnomer.
As an aside, Pitt gives credit for a lot of AP/DE, and they also double count a lot of classes for the major (meaning an elective can count for both the supply chain and the BIS major, as an example). My daughter went in with 13 credits and is on track to graduate a semester early with a double major and a non-CBA minor without taking summer classes. I canāt speak for the other schools in this respect.
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IU has done a brilliant job with marketing the āKelleyā brand including its Direct Admit process and now other colleges are trying to mimic this with naming their business program and adding more explicit Direct Admit process (ie Michigan State Broad).
Is the $50k for IU correct? Assuming you did get some merit money?
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Agreed - accounting firms all over the country are dying for junior resources - jobs will be there regardless of the specific program, Iād go with cheapest tuition and best fit.
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Could this be helpful in getting to 150 credits within a normal bachelorās degree (i.e. without having to take additional classes beyond that)?
Yes, I believe the AP/DE credits need to appear on the college transcript to count towards the 150 threshold (OPās S should confirm this is the case).
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Yes, he did get a Deanās Scholarship.
When thereās a secondary process thereās always a risk. That secondary process can be selective but non competitive (all students with a C or higher in Economics, Accounting, Business Calc, and a 3.2 GPA get into Accounting at Smeal) v. Kennan Flagler at UNC or McIntire at UVA which is selective and competitive, ie. all students with the required courses and grades compete against each other based on (selective) business club participation, networking events, get-together shindigs, etc. which may require having a specific habitus, access to tailored clothing, etc.
The risk with Smeal exists but isnāt very big: getting a C in the pre-reqs isnāt hard, however students need a 3.2 GPA meaning As and Bs only, with As that can offset Cs - thatās harder to get and Econ 102 or Calculus are weedout. The 1st year seminar is an easy A, students shouldnāt turn their nose up at it and make sure they do get that A to cushion other grades.
Pitt is Direct Entry - C+ required in each of the various core classes but no minimum GPA.
Kelley has 2 paths, direct entry (the stronger students) or non direct, selective/competitive with tough weedout classes (riskier).
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Wowza! My Pitt S19 has a BS Neuroscience and BA Philosophy (150 credits) a Chem minor and certificate in foundations of medicine but he did need 2 summers of classes. Not full-time summers though.
After attending the admitted students day at both IU Kelley and PSU Smeal, my son had really set his heart on Kelley. We tried convincing him that going to PSU Smeal was a smarter decision due to proximity (3 hours versus 11 hours drive to Bloomington) and lower costs ($16k/year cheaper than IU Kelley due to PSU being in-state). After a lot of discussions, arguments, thinking and analysis, to our great relief, he finally decided to accept PSU Smeal. My older son, who graduated from PSU Engineering last year, was elated to hear the news. Thanks everyone for sharing your thoughts and advice.
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Congratulations! Iām sorry that it was such a struggle, and I hope someday he realizes that it was a wise decision.
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Congrats
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Congrats skarekat
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