<p>I am in the early stages of researching BBA programs with an Accounting specialty. US News & World Report names: 1. Texas 2. Illinois 3. Wharton 4. Michigan 5. BYU & USC (that's as deep as the magazine goes-I didn't purchase the online version). The Public Accounting Report lists: 1. Texas 2. BYU 3. Illinois 4. Notre Dame 5. USC 6. Texas A & M 7. Indiana 8. Michigan State 9. Ohio State 10. Wisconsin 11. Northern Illinois 12. Miami U 13. Florida 14. Virginia When it comes to recruiting, does a top accounting program out-trump a top BBA program? Why didn't Michigan make The Public Accounting Report's top 25?-yet it was #4 with US News and World Report? Does a better ranking source exist?</p>
<p>For accounting, don't worry about school prestige. Any school is enough to get you into a Big 4 firm. Also, note that many Big 4 firms hire regionally, so if your school is near any one of their offices, you can get in regardless of school. Michigan's accounting program isn't the best because the coursework is very limited at the undergraduate level. (I go to Michigan.) You will need to get a MAcc (fifth year) to prepare for the CPA. While other schools offer MAcc-like courses during the BBA, Michigan does not. Michigan still has a solid BBA program that will allow you to pursue any type of business career.</p>
<p>Since students are rarely set on a career, it's probably best to go to a school that is well-rounded (and prestigious if possible, since investment banks and consulting firms have a limited number of target schools). So, to answer your question, a top BBA program is probably better than a top accounting program.</p>
<p>Don't focus on program rankings for undergrad. Prestige of the school is what matters (unless your child is dead set on accounting, in which case he should go to a school that has an accounting focus).</p>
<p>U of M is our neighbor, so I was fascinated to read your impressions and feedback. It sounds as if their new preferred-admit program for incoming freshmen has attracted a terrific pool of candidates. </p>
<p>It does seem reasonable to assume that a 17-year old wouldn't be properly prepared to 'pick' a specialty--and reaching for the best BBA program would put you in good stead from a recruiting standpoint. Thanks so much for your words of advise.</p>
<p>I think Michigan is an excellent program if you're looking for a very broad-based management education. And I agree that the preferred admit students are some of the most qualified students around. Many probably have a decent shot at Wharton.</p>
<p>Just to elaborate a bit more: To take the CPA exam, a student needs 150 credits of education (in most states). Even if a Ross BBA takes 150 credits in their undergraduate years, the accounting coursework will not be sufficient because undergrads can't take federal taxation, corporate financial reporting, auditing/assurance, etc. Therefore, if Ross BBA students want to take the CPA exam, they pretty much HAVE to get a MAcc, whereas at other schools, the MAcc is an option. Other schools have sufficient undergraduate coursework to prepare for the CPA exam without having to get a MAcc.</p>
<p>I'm not an accounting student, but this is the overall impression I get from our BBA program. By the way, only 7% or so of our graduates go into public accounting. Hope this helps.</p>
<p>Thanks a bunch, Redhare. Yes...your comments helped me to gain (even more) useful insight into this BBA whole world. My brother graduated from Michigan with an Econ degree 25 years ago (and a MBA later) and went on to become a wildly successful investment banker. So, I do understand there are many paths to success in the business world. I have a maternal inkling that my son will land in the accounting/managerial accounting world; hence the inquiry. Good luck to you--and Go Blue!</p>
<p>I think it's way too early to assume your son will go into accounting if he's still a senior. A lot of people's career interests change during college. I would recommend going to a good school for undergrad and if he really wants to be a CPA, get a Masters of take some summer courses to be eligible.</p>
<p>Trust me on this: First, most undergraduate degrees in accounting are very much alike because the curriculum is prescribed by the American Institue of CPAs.</p>
<p>Second,The major accounting firms will recruit at most decent schools. The real secret is that you must get a top notch GPA! Most major firms want at least a 3.4 overall and at least that in accouting and preferably higher! It isn't the school that is important, but it is the GPA that is king.</p>
<p>Let me say this again, it isn't the school that you attended for your undergraduate degree in accounting. It was your overall GPA and GPA in accounting courses that will determine whether or not you get the interview and maybe even the job.</p>
<p>Go the the school that you like and feel comfortable with. With this in mind, consider some schools that have good nurturing but strong accouting programs. Schools like Texas and Illinois will have a very different feel than from a much smaller and still well-ranked school such as Bentley.</p>
<p>Also, some accounting programs offer some concentrations that others don't have. For example, Towson university offers a concentration in financial planning as part of the accounting major. Other schools have other options too. You really need to check out what programs and facilities are available at each school. You need to check out how available professors are at each school. Don't go by the ratings, especially for accounting.</p>
<p>Also, the CPA exam requires 150 credts but only 24 credits in accounting for most states.Thus, you can get an undergrad in accouting and a graduate degree in something else. You are NOT locked into geting both an undergrad accounting degree and Masters in accounting too. This is a falacy. If you don't have an undergraduate degree in accounting then you will need to get a masters in accoutning in order to have the course requirements for the CPA.</p>
<p>I noticed that I made a few typos since I typed this at 2AM in the morning.</p>
<p>Thank you so much for you time and thoughts, taxguy...especially since I seem to have compromised your sleep! I was very interested to read that the 'ranked' school was less of an issue than personal academic success. Somehow, I visualize these recruiters trying to minimize the number of their college visits and worried that if you weren't at a top school, you wouldn't even have the opportunity for a decent interview. </p>
<p>Could I trouble you with one more question? Do you think that a school's geographical location will provide linkage to it's regional job opportunities? That is, if you go to Wake Forest or William & Mary, are the job offers more likely to be in North Carolina? My son is just a sophomore....and will be interning with a regional accounting firm next year. Hopefully, that will either confirm this direction or send him into a tailspin! </p>
<p>Having already nudged two kids off to college, I'm trying to help him prep his resume/course load for the college application process. He's a straight-A kid, taking the max number of AP/AC classes....but, he comes from an average, un-disadvantaged family....so, I think compiling a decent transcript is his best first step. He won't enjoy the same advantage of his older sisters, who were both highly recruited athletes.</p>
<p>Wake Forest has a lot of kids hired in Charlotte. W&M has a lot hired in Richmond or DC.</p>
<p>Michigan mom notes,"Do you think that a school's geographical location will provide linkage to it's regional job opportunities?"</p>
<p>Response: Unless things have changed greatly, interviewing partners normally recruit in or near the area of their office. Thus, if you go to school in Wake Forrest, you will get more North Carolina firms and partners from those offices than if you attended school in New York for example. However, we are in a world wide environment. If you have top grades and want to work someplace other than where the partner has his or her office, I am sure that they will put you in touch with the right folks in the cities of your interest.</p>
<p>This happend to me years ago. I graduated from a school in NY with a top notch GPA. I interviewed with the predecessor of Deloite Touche, Touche Ross at the time, who sent their NY partners to recruit folks. I told them that I was interested in working in Miami since I was going to law school there,and they set up an interview with the Miami partners. Top grades will open doors whereever you are. </p>
<p>However, even with that said, I would go to at least a school ranked in the top 30 or so. If you go to a lower ranked school, you may not have firms recruting there. However, you can call up the offices that you are interested in working for, and if you have top grades, they will probably interview you for future positions.</p>
<p>Everyone I know who had something special going for them such as top grades, underrepresented minority, female etc. got interviews and then job offiers. I can't imagine that this situation has changed a lot considering the increased demand for accountants.</p>
<p>All this dialogue sure helps to tweek the plan. I'll continue to research top schools with accounting programs....and we'll begin visiting campuses in the next year to find the right fit. </p>
<p>When defining which schools are 'top'....do you rely more earnestly on the USNews & World report list OR the Public Accounting Report? My USNews magazine only listed the top 5 programs....perhaps I need to pay for the online edition to access a deeper list.</p>
<p>The list has been posted here already michigan mom.</p>
<p>Thank you, Dawgie. This is my first visit to this site, so my time and depth are limited so far. I will now look around to find the posting that includes the top BBA Accounting programs. I did see the overall BBA top list...</p>
<p>Michiganmom, let me reemphasize, the list posted here is simply a good indication of overall quality. I wouldn't hesitate sending my kid to any of these schools wiithin the top 30 or so. The decision should absolutely not be based on how highly ranked they are on the list. AS long as they are in the top 30 or so, the school will be fine. As I noted, it is the GPA that matters. </p>
<p>Unless you have an absolutely brilliant son, I would check out schools that have more nurturing and maybe even student tutors in accounting. Accounting is a much harder major than many folks realize. Plenty of 700 math board kids flunk out of it because they don't realize that accounting is more akin to studing law than math, although it is a bit of a combination of the two.</p>
<p>Check out the facilities, the number of firms that come on campus for recruiting. Geography of the school does play a role but differently than you might imagine. If you have a son attending school in Boston, for example, he probably will seek employment and get interviewed in Boston. If you want your kids at home, they might be better off attending a school in your state unless you don't have a school with a top 30 accounting program.</p>
<p>Good luck on your choice. This may be a stressful time for everyone,but it can also be one of the most memorable and exciting of times.</p>
<p>taxman really describes things quite accurately and to the point.</p>
<p>As an example of how the recruiting goes here in the San Jose/Santa Cruz area, one of the local Big 4 office recruits primarily from UC Berkeley, Santa Clara, San Jose State (Cal State Univ San Jose), and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. </p>
<p>But who they take from which school is largely determined by GPA:
UC Berkeley 3.3. to 3.4+
Cal Poly SLO/Santa Clara 3.5+
San Jose State 3.7 to 3.8+</p>
<p>Now they do look at other things, like the student's previous experience and accounting grades, but these are the cutoffs given all other things being equal</p>
<p>Also, I do agree with the fact that accounting is more like studying law than studying math. As a former math major, it took me awhile to realize that (and it hurt my accounting GPA until I did). Hopefully your son will learn this at an earlier age than I did.</p>
<p>michigan mom,
The reason why Michigan was not ranked in the PAR's undergraduate ranking is because Michigan's BBA curriculum does not offer any concentrations ... "The BBA Program prescribes a required set of core courses to ensure knowledge of all the functional areas of business as a solid base for professional education. We do not designate or include ?majors? or ?concentrations? (e.g., Finance, Marketing, or International Business) in the
professional portion of the student?s undergraduate work. Rather, we encourage selection of elective courses that will help the student develop a broad understanding of business and integrate his or her liberal arts and professional education. Students who have taken three or more classes at the 300+ level in one discipline may indicate an ?emphasis? in that area on their resumes, however."</p>
<p>This makes Michigan not qualified for the PAR's undergraduate ranking, which specifies that "For the undergraduate and graduate programs, we ranked schools that offer degrees in accounting, or accounting programs in which the curriculum is comparable to schools that do offer accounting degrees."</p>
<p>I'm thrilled you posted, GoBlue81. Thanks for the clarity! IF my son were able to gain preferred admission to Michigan's BBA program, and continued to believe that accounting was his professional destiny, he could continue his studies with a Masters in Public Accounting at another institution. Thanks again for the info--</p>
<p>My apologies if I didn't make myself clear. Michigan does offer a one-year Master in Professional Accounting (MAcc) program. That's why Michigan was ranked in PAR's graduate ranking.</p>
<p>Your son will have to do a 5th year (150 credits) in order to sit for the CPA exam so this should work out well. I understand that Michigan's MAcc students will share some of the courses with the MBA students, so that should be a plus ... I think.</p>