I got into all of my top schools as an intended accounting major. I’m not sure which one would be best for me though. I’m between UFlorida, Umiami (FL), UConn, Syracuse, Penn State, Clemson, and Bucknell. First off I’m from upstate ny. I’m not sure if the “southern” schools will be the best fit for me. I hope to get an internship at a big four in college also. I think Miami might be too expensive. Syracuse gave me merit so that’s in my range. I like Syracuse, UConn, Clemson a lot but idk how they stack up against the other schools academically (for accounting). Bucknell is also a little expensive. I also want a good party scene and basketball and football (if possible) I don’t really know anything about the Clemson, uf, Umiami, or Bucknell party scenes. Which school should I pick? Any input is very much appreciated!!!
Based on your criteria (including strength in accounting), I’d say Bucknell, Penn State and Clemson, plus a fourth school from the rest of your options, would probably offer you a quality group with obvious variety from which to choose.
Delaware has served our Accounting student really well. Got 7 offers from all 7 pre-internship programs and did them all. Graduated last May and works for the firm she interned with and has a deep appreciation for the University of Delaware. Can’t go wrong with any of the above, though.
You shouldn’t have any problems finding parties at any of these schools.
Bucknell University is the twin of Colgate University in several respects including parties. Lots of parties with alcohol.
Do you really have to ask about UF & UMiami ?
Getting hired by a Big 4 accounting firm is much easier if you want to be in audit / assurance than in the other departments / practice areas. Earn high grades through hard work & you are a match regardless of school.
The big time accounting schools are Texas, Illinois, Univ. of Mississippi, Penn, BYU, Notre Dame, Michigan, USC, Ohio State, Indiana, NYU, BC, Baylor, Missouri, Va Tech, ASU, Georgia, Villanova, and many others. But you do not need them for Audit / Assurance area work in the Big 4. You can attend a small state school which is almost unheard of, earn an accounting degree with excellent grades & land a Big 4 Audit / Assurance position. Best route is via an internship.
Audit / Assurance is the lowest paying practice area.
Just to clarify, and I assume the poster knows this from his or her research… Accounting is not a major at Colgate. Colgate is an elite, classic liberal arts college, distinguished by its very competitive entry statistics, graduation outcomes and size. It is larger than most liberal arts college. It differs from the other schools mentioned in that its Greek life is limited to 8 sororities and fraternities whereas e.g. Bucknell has more than twice that number. And yes, the party and sports scenes are vibrant, as you have heard.
Did you get into Bucknell through ED? I didn’t think they had an EA option. If so, ED is binding, so you are committed to go there.
Syracuse also has ED. Did you apply to both Bucknell and Syracuse ED?
I think Accounting is a lot like Engineering in that there are plenty of jobs and employers tend to value the degree from most schools. Sure the best accounting or engineering school is better, but it’s not massive. I’d recommend focusing on where in the country you want to work, what school is a good fit, and chances of an internship. The school that is best at those 3 things is where you want to go.
Don’t go to Clemson if you want to work in the NE or Bucknell if you want to work in Atlanta. Sure, you can make it work, but it’ll be an uphill battle.
Big state schools are great at churning out excellent accountants, but small schools tend to turn out more well rounded ones. Which will you excel at?
I graduated years ago from one of the schools (UGA) Publisher listed above and my nephew is an accounting major there now. Internships are plentiful, and a lot of that is because Atlanta is close. I don’t think UGA is unique in that regard.
Accounting programs are specifically tailored to pass the CPA exam in each respective state they’re in. You need to choose a program based on where you want to work. This means you’re better off in your home state. With accounting, rankings are misleading, because every state CPA exam is different.
Second, the college list is all over the place. You’re looking at $70,000 a year at some of these schools. You need to talk to your parents to find out what you can actually afford before you do anything else.
You can’t say “I’ll find a way to pay for it later.” That’s an irrational argument. Cost is a precondition
Consider Florida. Its one of the highest ranking public schools and if you are looking for parties and good weather, you can’t get much better. The campus is big and pretty nice (def better than PennState) and you can get a solid job. I think you can also get an Masters in accounting and a bachelors in 4 years, and get certified in only 120 credits I believe, which is a big plus. Personally, unless you are looking for a smaller school, schools like Syracuse will be very cold and won’t offer more opportunities than a big state school.
States have different requirements to become licensed sometimes (although they are typically not that significant, or at least used to not be) but the actual CPA exam is the same everywhere I think. It is called the Uniform CPA exam…I retired as a Audit Partner at 40, so there is plenty of money in Audit and Assurance. I am not sure of the salary scales any longer though so not sure how much more tax, etc are making these days.
I do agree that it is probably best to go to school in the same state that you hope to live after you graduate. It is certainly possible to graduate from Clemson and get hired in NY, for example, but it is much simpler to already be in NY.
The Big 4 firms are an excellent place for anyone that is fortunate enough to be hired by them and hard work is rewarded. Good luck!
How did you get into schools that haven’t released decisions yet?
You can also do the 5th yr (MS Accounting - called different things at different schools and the traditional path to 150 credits AND CPA test ready) at a different university than undergrad. Some Masters programs are known for outstanding performance in both passing the CPA test and career placement.
As an example, Wake Forest has the best first time CPA passing percentage of essentially any program and has led in that category for something like 15 out of the past 20 yrs. They also have a unique track (beyond audit / assurance/ taxation) in Transaction Advisory Services where kids place into those roles (which are much harder to get than the typical B4 assuarance path). 100% career placement, mostly at B4, yr over yr. Not bragging on WFU, just using it as an example of things to consider. There program is attended by WFU grads, accounting / finance grads from other schools, and grads without accounting / fin backgrounds (they take some prereqs the summer prior to get them up to speed).
You can look at industry periodicals to get a sense of the best programs for your situation.
No knock on WFU (great school), but $70k+/yr for an accounting degree is a poor financial investment.
Not necessarily. Some top firms recruit heavily from the best accounting schools in the country. Where you get your accounting degree can matter (e.g. USC, if you want a Big 4 summer internship and job offer).
In addition, the actual 4 year education can be just as important as the monetary ROI.
It a complex and personal decision when deciding if the cost of attending a Wake Forest is worth it.
Most of the best accounting schools are public schools and big 4 recruit widely. There is no pay differential. And the coursework is the same. Financially it makes no sense.
^ actually, that’s not accurate. The B4 may recruit at many of the same schools but they don’t recruit for the same offices and they don’t recruit for the same positions. The common spot is assurance / audit. They do recruit for those everywhere, but they don’t recruit for tax, transaction advisory services, corp fin and some other specialties at all the schools. They also don’t recruit for their top tier practices (Locations) at all the schools. Certain schools place better in say the NYC transaction due diligence practice than others (where most won’t place any kids in that line or that location).
Not arguing one should spend X or not spend X. Just saying there are differences.