Hello!!! As college application season begins it’s full bloom I have began wondering whether I’m limiting myself by applying to solely in-state schools (UT Austin and Texas A&M). Most of my graduating class within the top 10% attends either one of those institutions or goes out California. I however I am intrigued by the idea of applying to schools further North (as no one in my school does) like Cornell, UPenn, Notre Dame, BC, etc…
Here are my stats:
ACT: 30 (taking it again soon)
GPA: 4.3 W (one 79 in Honors Precalc which later improved to 89 and I couple of B’s in AP Bio and Chemistry)
Class Rank: 44/630
I attend an urban high school with low graduation rate and stats but moderately competitive top 10%.
For my EC’s I currently have a paid corporate internship at a Credit Union which gives a lot back to the community, President and Founder of Debate Club and class (met with my principal to start both), I’m also involved in FBLA as the President for my school and Treasurer of the Area, participate in UIL Accounting (led team to state for the very first time), adoption counselor for animal shelter, and other fluffy stuff like NHS, key club, and SNHS.
My goal is to major in Accounting (attended highly selective camp at UT Austin with 6% acceptance) and in the future start my own accounting firm in order to help the Hispanic community. I came to the US at the age of eight and had to learn English and for a period of time walked the US-Mexico border everyday in order to get to elementary school.
Yes, it sounds like you have more than a shot.
What is your family’s financial situation?
Have you looked into Questbridge?
My daughter applied to top colleges through QB and is now matriculated at liberal arts college. She has to pay about $1500 annually towards college costs (freshman year was free). Family contribution is $0.
This is much cheaper than her living at home and commuting to a state school.
I will tell you, though, the accounting major is considered similar to trade school. Most Ivies and most top liberal arts colleges don’t offer a business or accounting major. Closest major is probably economics.
I had a friend attend Princeton, don’t remember what she majored in, econ or poly sci. She went to work for a Big Four accounting firm after graduation, which paid her to do her masters. She does have a CPA now.
Accounting is a great major. Many double major in accounting & finance.
US News ranks the top 5 undergraduate accounting schools as:
- Univ. of Texas at Austin
- BYU
- Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- Indiana University–Bloomington
- Notre Dame
Villanova University in the beautiful suburbs of Philadelphia is another to consider.
In my opinion, Both UT-Austin & Texas A&M offer tremendous value & opportunities for Texas residents.
P.S. Univ. of Texas at Austin also ranks among the top 5 undergraduate programs for finance.
UPenn may be a bit too intense. Better to save Penn-Wharton for an MBA.
If you’re planning to take the CPA exam, you don’t want to go out of state, unless you intend to get your license and stay there. If you plan to live in Texas, you need to study here, because the classes are designed for the Texas CPA exam.
I don’t know where some of this advice is coming from. NO, accounting is NOT like some sort of trade school. To pass the CPA exam, you need to have a bachelors AND masters degree specifically in accounting. It’s not an easy exam to pass, so you want to choose a school that has a high pass rate. UT and A&M consistently score the highest. But be warned, that these are hard programs to get into with these schools. There are plenty of great accounting schools in Texas like University of Houston or Texas State University. Even then, the first-time pass rate even with a top school is about 65%, so don’t be discouraged if you don’t pass it the first time. Good luck!