<p>I'm stuck... I live 20 minutes away from the campus and this is really the only college I would like to go to in the state. I was accepted into LSA for Econ and wanted to attend Ross second year. I have a feeling that I won't get accepted to Ross for accounting or finance. I've now also heard that LSA Econ does not place very well when it comes to career opportunities, especially accounting. I'm interested in going into the finance/business area (big 4 accountant, investment banker, management consultant, etc). I have no idea what to do right now. Please give me some advice.</p>
<p>First of all, you cannot major in Accounting or Finance at Ross. Ross offers a degree in Management. </p>
<p>At amy rate, what are your other options mike25? While LSA does not place as well as Ross in IBanking and Management Consulting firms, it still places better than any other university or program in the state of Michigan. </p>
<p>On the other hand, if your goal is to work for an accounting/auditing firm, and you are fairly certain that you will not get into Ross, you are better off going to a second rate Business school because accounting firms prefer to hire students who have taken several accounting courses. </p>
<p>Your best best is to enrol at Michigan, complete your first year and apply to Ross and to transfer to say Broad (MSU) at the end of Freshman year. If you get into Broad but not into Ross, and you are still mainly interested in working for an accounting firm, transfer to MSU. Otherwise, stay at Michigan.</p>
<p>Thanks for the reply, Alexandre. With all Michigan bias aside, what do you think about uMich’s Economics program? Does it place well in jobs? If so, what do most of these LSA-Econ graduates work as?</p>
<p>I have heard of a kid that did LSA-Econ and interned at Google in Mountain View, California but he had extensive leadership in extracurriculars</p>
<p>other than that, Econ is no where recruited as heavily as engineering or Ross</p>
<p>What kind of ECs should I do while at LSA in order to be competitive for Ross? I’m considering starting a non-profit charity organization with the help of some of my friends. I’m sure I can maintain at least a 3.5 GPA at LSA.</p>
<p>Hmm, I am a little freaked out by the statement that “you cannot major in Accounting or Finance at Ross”. You used to be able to have a concentration in the BBA program in those things, and Ross (before it was “Ross”) certainly churned about plenty of students prepared to pass the CPA exam. Could be things have changed (most certainly have in other areas). But are you saying you can’t get a good accounting education in Ross any more? My grandfather, dad, and brother all had degrees from Ross & worked in finance or accounting… I broke the mold and went with the marketing concentration myself. Are you just splitting hairs with the use of the word “major” vs. concentrations? Or can you truly not prepare to be a CPA at Ross any more?</p>
<p>Agree in general that you can’t really work effectively in accounting as an econ major. They are not the same subject, and you need substantial accounting coursework to prepare for accounting work and the CPA exam.</p>
<p>MSU and Grand Valley both have majors in accounting. I know two kids (25 my oldest son’s age) who just completed the CPA exam, one from MSU and one from Grand Valley and they were employed right after graduation and their companies paid for the classes etc… Are you a junior? You might want to apply to a couple schools while you figure out if you want to be a CPA in case Michigan feels off target for you. If you genuinely want to live in NY or Chicago and do investment banking, stick with Michigan.</p>
<p>intparent, I meant that there is no sub-major at Ross. Undergrads do not major in Accounting, or Finance or Marketing. Most do take a few elective courses in a chosen sub-field though. So students interested in Investment Banking will likely take several Finance and Accounting classes, while students interested in Management Consulting will probably take Stategy and Management classes etc…</p>
<p>Mike25,
You haven’t even gotten there yet. How do you know you won’t get in? You were smart enough to get accepted to U of M. My advice (if you go there) is to start thinking like a pre-med student. They don’t take a step without contemplating how it will affect their GPA. The only 3 required courses are calculus, writing and and microeconomics. Don’t take micro your first term. Going to college is an adjustment - a lot of kids are late out of the starting blocks and have tough Fall terms. Work your rear end off in calculus. Do some research and find professors who consistently hand out A’s in as many courses as you can. Then work your butt off again in micro. Show a little confidence and you might just surprise yourself.</p>
<p>Intparent - you are now required to have 150 semester hours to take the CPA exam. Therefore, the traditional four year college curriculum with a major in accounting no longer qualifies you to take the CPA exam:</p>
<p>[AICPA</a> - 150 Hour Requirement for Obtaining CPA Certification](<a href=“http://www.aicpa.org/BECOMEACPA/LICENSURE/REQUIREMENTS/Pages/default.aspx]AICPA”>http://www.aicpa.org/BECOMEACPA/LICENSURE/REQUIREMENTS/Pages/default.aspx)</p>
<p>Ross has a Master of Accounting program that is designed for students who want to become CPA’s. It was just forming when I was a student there but it has evolved since there increased the credit requirements for the CPA exam from 120 credits to 150 credits. A link to the website is below. I don’t know much about the current program but it appears you can be admitted even if you don’t go to Ross undergrad or even if you don’t go to U-M undergrad. There are prerequisite courses that need to be taken as an undergrad.</p>
<p>[Master</a> of Accounting - Stephen M. Ross School of Business](<a href=“Master of Accounting | Michigan Ross”>Master of Accounting | Michigan Ross)</p>
<p>If you are interested in accounting, I would also look into the University of Illinois. It has one of the top accounting programs in the country and I believe you are admitted into the program as a freshman. Tuition may be an issue because compared to instate at U-M, OOS at Illinois can be expensive.</p>
<p>^ Yes, at UIUC you are admitted in the program as a freshman. </p>
<p>You’re asking for advice but we don’t know what your other options are…</p>
<p>You can take additional courses in accounting and finance on top of the core curriculum. However, Ross does not focus on preparing its BBA grads for the CPA. That’s for the MAcc program. In the past, the MAcc is for people who want to change career. Now you need the extra credits and the more in-depth training to sit for the CPA.</p>
<p>Ross’ MAcc is not as intense in accounting as programs at UIUC or Texas, however, most if not all Ross MAcc grads who want to do accounting have no problem getting Big 4 offers.</p>
<p>There were a crap load of BBA’s that got accounting jobs in my day (the 1980’s). I also heard Ross was looking into having business minors. </p>
<p>No campus life but Walsh College (communter school) probably has the best accounting education in Michigan outside of U of M. They have campuses in Novi and Troy. Walsh is not well known outside of Michigan so GVSU and MSU would probably better for jobs out of state.</p>
<p>I have hired people from Walsh and my wife has a Masters in Finance from Walsh.</p>
<p>The problem is that you probably don’t know enough about accounting at this point to even know if it is your career choice. I’d go to Michigan try for Ross. If you don’t get in and that is still your career choice to can always transfer. In the meantime you can explore other options at Michigan.</p>
<p>My other career options are management consultant, investment banker, financial analyst, and trader.</p>
<p>Western Michigan University Fetzer School of Business has a five year BBA accounting major that is designed to meet the 150 hour requirement. Upside is you don’t have to apply to an MBA program after undergrad and pay graduate level tuition. Downside is you don’t have an MBA, but an MBA doesn’t count for much in the public accounting world. It’s all about the CPA. Full disclosure- I’m a WMU alum, CPA and Coopers & Lybrand (now PWC) alum.</p>
<p>But an MBA can count for something down the road when you invariably leave the public accounting world and go into industry.</p>