<p>Hi guys, I was accepted by USC for accounting and USB for undeclear, and I'm having hard time choosing between them. I live 30 min away from berkeley by bart, so I would like to go there if I got directly into accounting major. However, I can not take accounting class unless I get into HAAS as a junior, otherwise I'll have to choose another major. USC obviously has a good accounting program, and I heard its alumni network is also very famous. But I also heard that 75% of USC alumni is in SO CAL, so if I want to work outside of CA, berkeley reputation is probably more helpful on finding a job. </p>
<p>Can anybody give me any advice? I'd really appreciate it!!</p>
<p>Well… if you want to do accounting, you’ll probably want a CPA.
So you need to start taking courses for it.</p>
<p>Haas REQUIRES a core curriculum that you HAVE to take. CPA also requires certain courses… now… add those 2 together… </p>
<p>So starting your Junior year, you’ll have no freedom to choose your classes. Before that, you’ll be running around stressing about getting into Haas…</p>
<p>If you want it easy, just go to USC… college reputation is overrated… And accounting is all about work experience anyways. Get a job for 2 years at the Big 4, finish off your auditing hours and you can get a job anywhere.</p>
<p>On the other hand…</p>
<p>Cal > USC
Bears > Trojans</p>
<p>Cal doesn’t coddle you or hold your hand, but it’s a tough ride. If you are truly passionate, I’m sure you can do well at Cal, which will prepare you for future success…!</p>
<p>you can… but then all your other class choices are crappy. Especially your major classes… which should be your first priority.</p>
<p>Haas people get preference in Haas classes, so unless you want to wait on the waitlist and waste your phase 1… :S</p>
<p>Also, with another these classes won’t fulfill major requirements… and have 0 overlap with your other classes… That’s like 8 extra classes… o___O Which is equivalent to a minor… but Haas doesn’t give out minors…</p>
<p>And you won’t get a degree at the end of the day :S</p>
<p>Having been to a big 4 recruitment forum, everyone is carrying Haas portfolio, and the first thing they ask you if you’re not carrying one is if you are in Haas…</p>
<p>You are right about it being a pain with scheduling. </p>
<p>But for summer school, anyone can sign up without getting waitlisted. You could take care of your intro accounting (102a/102b) the summer after your 1st year. Then you can phase 1 one or two accounting classes for the rest of your semesters. It is not ideal as being a Haas major but it also is not that bad.</p>
<p>And a little piece of paper that says your minor and major doesn’t really matter and at the end of the day (though haas initially gets you some respect). I don’t have any personal experience like Starry Nights does but from what I heard, all you basically need a solid gpa and some charisma (aka ability to sell yourself).</p>
<p>To get a CPA, you need 24 units of Accounting and 24 units of Business. And that’s semester units. If all classes were 4 units, that’ ll be 12 classes. Business majors only need the 24 units of accounting extra, since they’ve already got the rest of the reqs down.</p>
<p>Hmm… I think cnat is right in that a degree is just a piece of paper to give you an initial boost after college. After that, it’s all about you and your hard work! :D</p>
<p>Getting a solid GPA in Cal is harder than at privates though… :S And you’ll need a solid GPA for haas… gah… it’s a cycle :D</p>
<p>Or you can go in, KNOWING you can get in! Confidence! ^_^</p>
<p>The mere fact that you want to be an accountant without having set foot on a college campus is quite depressing. There are millions upon millions of things you can do with your life that will make you <em>as much</em> money as an accountant, but are <em>far</em> more interesting. Do yourself a favor and don’t decide on a school depending on which one has a “better accounting program.” If you want to be an accountant later on in life, that’s fine…but until you’ve taken your first few accounting classes, don’t bet that the career choice you go into college with will be the same one you leave college with.</p>
<p>90% of Berkeley’s freshman class (I’m just making this number up, but it feels like it’s true) wants to either be a doctor, lawyer, engineer, or investment banker upon entering Berkeley…and I guarantee you that this number gets divided in half after the first year or two. (heck, in a lot of the pre-med cases, the number of students who want to be doctors gets halved after the first Chem 1A midterm, hahah).</p>
<p>So yea, moral of the story: go to whichever school you like, and the one that feels right…not the one that will turn you into a better accountant</p>
<p>Go to USC. There accounting is top notch. I plan on going there for my masters in accounting after finishing up at Cal. </p>
<p>Haas has good everything but if you know that accounting is what you want to do, then USC will be the best decision. </p>
<p>No need to stress yourself out about getting into Haas. Some of the classes you are going to have to take to get in are super competitive and super hard, and unless you are super dedicated and super smart, you will have a difficult time getting in.</p>
<p>If you end up not getting into Haas and taking another major, it will be hard to take accounting classes because Haas students get priority. Except for the summer.</p>
Confidence! ^_^</p>