<p>I'm currently living in the Cayman Islands and am interested in going to the United States for university. I finished my O-levels last year and got six grade 1's at CXC/CSEC (the equivalent of an A in the US system) and 4 A*'s at GCSEs (for a total of 10 O-Level passes, or 10 A's). However, I have not taken the SAT/ACT as of yet. I've currently just turned 16 and have the option of beginning community college this spring and pursuing an Associates in Accounting, or taking 4 GCE A-Levels. </p>
<p>If I work hard enough, I'm confident I could achieve a 3.8-4.0 GPA at the CC or 3 A's at A-Level.</p>
<p>Also, I've been offered a scholarship from my local Ernst and Young firm to pursue my degree after I have done some tertiary education on island as they have an age requirement. </p>
<p>If it is of any help, my local community college has successfully transferred students to AACSB accredited institutions, however, I doubt I would be able to get into a 'top' university. </p>
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<li><p>If I want to obtain a Bachelor's in Accounting in the US and become a CPA, would it be better if I go to the community college, get my Associates when I'm around 17-18 and transfer to the US to finish my Bachelors, or take GCE A-Levels for 2 years, and then go to the US to begin my Bachelors? </p></li>
<li><p>Besides Big 4 Recruitment (I'm bonded to work for them for 3 years when I return) would going to an undergrad that isn't well known affect me heavily?</p></li>
<li><p>Would attending a low-tier undergrad affect my chances of later on pursuing an MBA from a top 20 school?</p></li>
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<li><p>I assume your local community college is not in the US and does not follow an American curriculum? Given that accounting procedures, tax laws etc vary by country, it might be in your best interest to pursue your entire accounting education in the country where you plan to practice afterwards. </p></li>
<li><p>I can’t tell you much about business careers. What I can tell you is that in the technology sector, a surprisingly large number of businesses care about prestige and will not hire students from anything other than a top 10 or top 20 university. Going back to business, a guy from a finance company based in Philadelphia (I don’t recall the name, but it was not a big one like Goldman Sachs) gave a “how to interview for a job in consulting” workshop at my liberal arts college. (He worked in consulting before he went into finance; apparently that’s quite common among consultants.) At the end of the workshop, a student asked him if his company had internships or entry-level positions for college students. His response: “Yes, but we hire exclusively from Princeton and Wharton.” </p></li>
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<p>I have the impression that prestige may help you tremendously if you are coming from a top 10 or top 20 university. Outside of that, it doesn’t seem to matter whether your graduated from a “good” or “average” university.</p>
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<li>Indirectly. MBA programs do acknowledge that they will weigh your undergraduate institution (it provides them with more context to estimate your academic strength, for instance); but they generally care much more about your employment record and GMAT scores than the university that you got your undergraduate degree from. However, your undergraduate affiliation might be important in securing that first “prestigious” job, as mentioned earlier.</li>
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<li><p>My local community college does follow an American curriculum and the accounting procedures that are taught are also the same as the US. </p></li>
<li><p>I already have to work for the Big 4 for a certain period to able to pay for my degree so employment isn’t an issue. </p></li>
<li><p>I won’t be able to get a “prestigious” job as I have to work for the Big 4, and I honestly don’t have an interest in going into i-banking either. </p></li>
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