<p>Do they recruit as much as they do with tax/audit? What about getting in from an average target university? Any gpa requirement? Is CPA necessary/helpful? Best business major?</p>
<p>I doubt you can draw any universal conclusions, but I will provide some details about my DS’ recent experience. </p>
<p>DS is graduating magna cum laude in a couple weeks from a Top 20 PAR accounting program and will be starting a Top 5 PAR MAcc/MSA program in the fall. He has an advisory internship with one of the Big 4 starting in June. </p>
<p>He interviewed on campus and was selected to attend special two-day program - everyone at the program had good stats from target schools and obviously did well enough with the on-campus recruiter. It was basically a two-day informal interview. There are large group sessions and then small sessions where he met with various managers and seniors. There were also evening events so they could see you in a casual setting. If you did well, you were asked back for formal interviews. DS indicated that during this process, if you were alert, you could definitely see who was thriving in this enviroment and who was floundering. Just because you are book smart, doesn’t mean you will do well. I was during the smaller sessions he was asked what he would like to do and if he had any special interests. At this point he expressed his interest in advisory. While advisory was hiring, assurance definitely accounted for the lion’s share of recruits.</p>
<p>Long story short, before he could even get home from the two day session, he had a message that they wanted him to come back for a formal interview. A few days later he met with two partners in advisory, including the partner-in-charge, and had an offer the next day. </p>
<p>I’m sure his grades were an important factor in getting the position, but I think there were some other things in-play. How you handle yourself in a crowd, in a small group, can you make small talk, can you carry a conversation, ask relevant questions, are you perceived as a leader or a follower, etc… In this regard, DS is very lucky that he takes after his uncle (my BIL), who has “the gift of gab”. That gift, along with technical ability, has made him a managing equity partner at one of the largest law firms in the country. </p>