<p>Hey guys I am applyng for universities in California this coming fall and was wondering what are some excellent schools for Accounting? I have done my research so far and my preference is in the order of UCLA, UCSB, and Cal Poly Slo. I eventually plan on studying for the CPA and hopefully landing a internship / job at a Big 4. Any input would be greatly appreciated, as I need schools to fall back on!</p>
<p>From what I gather, CSU Fullerton is good, SDSU is good, CSU Long Beach is good…I’m not entirely sure on Cal Poly Pomona, but it is really close to LA, which has Big 4 offices nearby, so I’m assuming recruiting would be decent there. Obviously, in terms of “excellent” Accounting schools, one cannot forget to mention USC - Leventhal…</p>
<p>Hopefully others can give you better insight on other CSUs/UCs but it is my general understanding that so long as Big 4 recruit for the school, it’s a good enough school.</p>
<p>University of Southern California</p>
<p>Take a look at UC Irvine - the Paul Merage School of Business is excellent.</p>
<p>I’ve heard that CSU’s are better for a degree like Accounting but I thought why not spend a little more to go to a UC. Although USC is undoubtedly a very prestigious school, I think private schools are too expensive for me. Thanks for the responses</p>
<p>SDSU has an excellent accounting program, but to get any luck in getting into BIG 4, you will need to become a member of Beta Alpha Psi. The problem is Big 4 is mostly LA based, and they recruit more heavily from the local schools and University of San Diego. </p>
<p>For northern California, Cal Poly SLO is one of the most heavily recruited school for accounting by the Big 4. In fact, both KPMG and EY has designated Cal Poly as a targeted school, and is the only CSU to receive that designation. </p>
<p>San Jose State is also a great school with a good program, and is smack in the middle of Silicon Valley and a lot of firms. However, it does fall behind Cal Poly in terms of recruitment for Big 4 from the NorCal area.</p>
<p>Are you OOS? This adds a level of difficulty for acceptance.</p>
<p>EVILteddie- actually the Big 4 have large offices in OC and some smaller ones in SD so you could conceivably be recruited all over Southern CA.</p>
<p>gldaveman- I can speak re:OC as I know the Managing Partner of a Big 4 there…they heavily recruit from CSU Fullerton. UC Irvine has recently added Accounting concentration to their Masters program and will soon become a heavy hitter so it would be a great place to start now. Starting next year you will basically need a Masters in Accounting to sit for the CPA in California. So…for those who have less credits, get your test done by the end of 2013!</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/business-major/1506573-csu-uc-schools-best-big4-accounting.html#post15991967[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/business-major/1506573-csu-uc-schools-best-big4-accounting.html#post15991967</a></p>
<p>DD currently interns at big4. Her observation of her intern class matches this post.</p>
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<p>No. The requirement for sitting in exam is still the same , 24 business/24 accounting + Bachelor degree. The extra requirement is for licensing. Evan that, a master is not a must.</p>
<p>Sorry, meant licensing. No a Masters is not a must but why not if you need the extra credits? And, for UC Irvine, the changes to their programs will make those grads quite desirable. Just adding an option for the OP.</p>
<p>IMHO, a student can save time and money by overloading , taking classes in summer or do one more quarter/semester to fulfill the extra credits. DD has been overload and did one summer class only. She will graduate in 4 year with a bachelor degree and has 225 quarter units.</p>
<p>I hope houshyomamma can chime in to comment if MS candidate is more desirable than BS candidate when both meets education requirement.</p>
<p>On the assurance side, there isn’t much advantage of one having a MS vs a BS in the event each candidate has 150 semester/225 quarter units. Getting one’s foot in the door ultimately comes down to networking, not about what degree they have AS LONG AS they have the required unit total for their CPA license. Once the candidate gets through to the in-house phase of the interview process, none of the interviewers care about whether that person has a MS or a BS.</p>
<p>I will say that in tax, there’s been some shift in the firms’ recruiting strategy, pursuing the attorneys with the JDs and the LLMs for the staff/associate positions in addition to hitting the schools with the MS Taxation programs. I’d say there’s some advantage in having that MS Taxation (or MBT at USC) over a person straight out of undergrad since most undergrad programs offer one or two tax courses, tops. Frankly, none of the students who come out of undergrad know anything about tax and some offices do in fact take that into consideration. </p>
<p>But even in tax, despite there being a bigger focus in hiring attorneys or MST students, the advantage isn’t materially significant over a student straight out of undergrad. Believe it or not, despite many people submitting their job applications, firms still have a hard time finding quality candidates to join their firm so they’ll hit target schools and interview people who have the potential to become future leaders. Ultimately, finding future leaders is the top priority (leadership activities, involved on campus, good grades, the way they carry themselves in networking events, etc), not what degree they hold. Hope that helps</p>
<p>^ Thank you so much for such a detailed response.</p>