<p>What are some standards that the big 4 look for in applicants coming from a decent public school like UMD? (GPA,EC,internship, etc)</p>
<p>at least 3.5 in accounting classes and overall. some EC or internship, nothing too big. to be honest, the requirements aren't that high</p>
<p>overall i would say down to a 3.2 and your ok as long as your accounting classes are 3.5 and higher</p>
<p>It's going to depend a bit on your location. There's a lot more competition at some offices than others (such as New York and Boston) where there are a lot of great students for them to pick from.</p>
<p>Generally, to get an interview:</p>
<p>-you should have at least a 3.3 overall, that's not strict cutoff, but the higher your GPA the more likely
-you need to demonstrate that you are well-rounded
-you need to demonstrate interest in accounting
-you need to demonstrate team and leadership skills</p>
<p>To get an offer:</p>
<p>-need to communicate well
-need to think of ways to demonstrate your abilities on the spot (interviews tend to be behavioral)</p>
<p>They tend to look more for your ability to work in a team, learn quickly and communicate more than anything. Specific extra-curriculars aren't important (they aren't very important for anything once you leave high school)--what is important is that you can demonstrate the things that they are looking for. Read through the job description and try to match up the qualities they list with things that you've done. When they are looking for leadership abilities, for instance, that can be demonstrate through an extra-curricular, or a job or an academic team project experience--you choose whichever applies to you.</p>
<p>I'm a freshman at UMD and I don't know what exactly it takes to get recruited by one of the big 4 here but I know a lot of people do. Look at the statistics on this page</p>
<p>At the bottom it lists the top hiring companies for undergrads and the top 5 are
PriceWaterhouseCoopers
Deloitte
KPMG
Accenture
Ernst & Young</p>
<p>I am assuming they are in order of most hired just because there is no alphabetical order. The top 3 are part are part of the big 4 and ernst is right at 5. </p>
<p>Also you can ask the recruits when they come here. I am pretty sure deloitte was just here last week at the front of the business school and they also gave a presentation in the evening that lasted a while.</p>
<p>accenture is an accounting firm, so it is not part of the big 4, ernst and young is</p>
<p>"accenture is an accounting firm, so it is not part of the big 4, ernst and young is"</p>
<p>I'm assuming you meant to say that Accenture is NOT an accounting firm, which is correct--in its present form it is just consulting. I think that the poster was just listing the top five recruiters on his campus and indicating that the Big 4 make up four of the five, not that Accenture is an accounting firm.</p>
<p>leo187:
Notice also that Grant Thornton also recruits at your school, in addition to the Big 4.</p>
<p>in order to get into a top 10 business school(MBA), will big 4 auditing experience be the best? (excluding man. consulting and IB)</p>
<p>yes i meant to say NOT, sorry about that. Big 4 is a plus because of the name recognition, but that is all. Starting at a smaller or midsize CPA firm offers more responsibility on your part, and i feel that is better, but pay is slightly lower, and your higher level contacts will be minimal compared to those that can and should be created while working at a big CPA firm and the insuing interactions that take place with your clients.</p>
<p>Also dont count out places like Grant Thornton, Moss Adams etc as their client lists are including bigger and bigger companies due to sarb ox. They are regional accounting firms, but they are moving higher up they chain and are rejecting the smaller companies that they use to serve and are moving up to the midsize/large companies that the big 4 arent able to work with</p>
<p>I used to help in recruiting for Deloitte Touche many years ago. It is astounding how many kids with top GPAs interviewed with us. I would say that you certainly need at least a 3.5 in accounting to get in with the Big 4 and probably a 3.4 or better overall GPA. You will certainly need good interviewing and communication skills too.</p>
<p>Be advised, although the big 4 firms pay well, they expect a lot of hard work. However, if you make it to partner, you should be able to earn in excess of 1 million per year.</p>
<p>i dont plan on being an accountant forever. I want to become a management consultant for mckinsey, BCG, etc and I want to use the big 4 as a resume builder and to get into a top business school. So in order to get into a top MBA will there be need for big 4 experience? Any other top MBA-worthy experience possible?</p>