<p>If you attend UIUC and study accounting, you will have no problems finding a job afterward–the Big 4 accounting firms hired around 400 Illinois graduates last year. Finance majors also do quite well too, but tend to have more variation in the type of companies they go to work for. Check the Business School website, but at admitted student day I think they told us something like 89% of all Bschool graduates had jobs in their intended field within 3 months of graduation. Those are not the exact numbers, but they are close.</p>
<p>One thing to be aware of is that while not all Illinois Business grads head to the Chicago area, that is were the vast majority of on campus recruiting comes from. So, if you are thinking of going to another part of the country, a little extra effort is required. Sometimes this is a simple as talking to the Chicago based recruiters about potential opportunities in their other offices. But, if you find employment in the Chicago area, the UIUC business school has a huge influence on most corporate accounting/finance departments. On my office floor of about 50 people, there are at least 20 Illinois graduates.</p>
<p>If you study accounting, your most likely career path is to start at a large accounting firm, later move into an accounting management role at a business and after that it is up to you. The fun thing about accounting is the we are generally the people who need to interact with everyone in the company at one point or another. Plus since most accountants are organized and understand business processes well, we often get pulled into cross functional projects. While they might seem like extra work at first, these project are the way you make a name for yourself and earn promotions.</p>
<p>If you study finance, you generally have two paths either working in the financial services sector (banking, investments) or going the corporate finance route. If you go the corporate finance route, you will probably start in either an entry level accounting job (yes, this happens a lot) or a financial planing role. Financial planning is a great place to start because you end up working with business leaders right away and if you work hard they will often take the time to mentor you on how your company works.</p>
<p>Finally, you have one other alternative which is to double major in finance and accounting. This can easily be done in four years if you plan ahead because there is a large overlap in the course requirements.</p>
<p>But, one caveat is in order, if you take the accounting route and want to become a CPA, you need 150 hours of college credit to sit for the CPA exam–this means 5 years unless you have a lot of credit walking in the door. One nice thing about UIUC is that they do offer a 5 year program that allows you to finish with a BS and an MS. Usually it takes 6 years to get both degrees.</p>
<p>In thinking about choosing between BU and UIUC, you should realize that both are fine business schools and either would be an excellent choice. However, the environment is quite different. BU is in the heart of Boston which is one of my favorite cities outside of Chicago. This comes with all the plusses and minuses of being in a big city.</p>
<p>UIUC is in the middle of Illinois in what is essentially a large college town (about 100K residents not counting students). There is lots to do including sports, theater, music, etc. But most activity revolve around the university. It is also very midwestern, which means a slower pace than Boston, but the people are very friendly and there is a stoing sense of community.</p>
<p>Sorry to have rambled on, but i hope this helps. Good luck in whatever choice you make.</p>