After college, I plan on moving to California after living in New Jersey my first 18 years. I would attend college out west, but my parents want me to stay close for college for visiting purposes. Right now I plan on applying ED to Wake Forest. Would going to WF give me a hard time landing a Big 4 Accounting job out west? Would it help me if I attended a UC or USC?
Assuming that you have taken rigorous and relevant courses and received stellar grades, spent your sophomore and junior summers interning at well regarded private or public firms that are known to the Big Accounting firms, and can rely on strong references then it really doesn’t matter where you went so long that the college is highly regarded in the area that matters to you.
It’s been a gazillion years since I went through this process. I will say that a Big 8 (yes, there used to be eight!) accounting firm referred my application to a different state when I went through the application process. However, the state I desired had different (5th year) requirements at the time than my home state (no 5th year required) to sit for CPA licensure. I believe that most states now require a 5th year in order to sit for the CPA exam. Back in the dark ages (when, you know, we couldn’t use calculators on the CPA exam!!!), the requirements varied a lot more from state to state. I would make sure that you know what CA requires going in. Otherwise, I doubt it matters much, though being local in CA might help.
wake forest is a top notch school, and your plans may change between now and when you graduate college. (they may change multiple times) do not try and plan out your life so far out. first get into college, go to college learn and enjoy yourself and your senior year you will see more realistically what you want to do and where you want to live and work.
I am a CPA and my S is a CPA who went through the recruitment process a few years ago. My first suggestion is since you have targeted one school for ED (Wake Forest) I suggest you talk to someone in their accounting/career placement area to see what their history has been and if their students get Big 4 jobs in other parts of the country, including CA (and if they think as a NJ resident you may have trouble getting offers in CA).
In general at a school like Wake Forest I’d expect that a regional rep from each Big 4 firm would do the first round of interviews. If you get through that round and want to work elsewhere they will refer you to a firm in your desired location. However you may have a bit of a hard time convincing firms that you want to live in CA (and not just get a free vacation there) since you are not from that part of the country. I think going to college in CA would help you in that regard.
The other option is to go to undergrad at Wake and then try to get into a MS Accounting program at a CA school. I believe USC has a program and there are probably others as well. The downside is you may have a hard time getting a summer internship at a Big 4 firm in CA between senior year and the start of your masters program which is a big way that firms hire these days. Still, going to CA for a MS in accounting may be a good compromise with your parents.
And one update to @Hoggirl post - While I am from hoggirl’s no-calculator Big 8 era, my son’s has gone through the process of taking the exam and becoming a CPA very recently. Although more and more accounting students are getting masters degrees, you actually need 150 credits (not necessarily a masters or a fifth year if you have APs, overload on classes etc.) to become a CPA. However, one can sit for the exam prior to finishing up the 150 credits as long as they have completed certain coursework completed (which probably varies a bit by state).
^^^sorry for typos…I was typing too fast and didn’t proofread particularly well. Still, hopefully the information helps.
Yeah I thought and liked the idea of getting my MS in CA. I think Stanford or USC would provide me with what it takes to get a job out there.