UVa (McIntire) vs Georgetown (McDonough) vs UChicago (College) vs Duke (CAS)

College Search & Selection
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<p>I was looking at their profiles for the senior class and their employment, no doubt both are impressive (though I would have to say McIntire did a better job in both presenting the data and the data itself)</p>

<p>[McDonough</a> Senior Survey Class of 2009](<a href=“Cawley Career Education Center | Georgetown University”>Cawley Career Education Center | Georgetown University)</p>

<p>[McIntire</a> Destination Report Class of 2010](<a href=“http://www.commerce.virginia.edu/career_services/destinations/Destinations_Report_2010.pdf]McIntire”>http://www.commerce.virginia.edu/career_services/destinations/Destinations_Report_2010.pdf)</p>

<p>^Notes:

[ul]
[<em>]McDonough - 16 accounting career fields of the 152 people that said they were going to be employed
[</em>]11.5% in accounting field based on who provided salary so it’s safe to say LESS than 37 (319<em>0.115) received accounting jobs because not all of the 319 likely gave salary information
[</em>]Rise in average salary from 2009 to 2010 for McIntire (8%; 55k to 59k matching Georgetown)
[/ul]</p>

<p>Also I realized a big thing…I wouldn’t be able to get a degree in accounting from Virginia, I would be receiving my BS in Commerce then I would have to enroll in the masters of accounting, which is just grad school? (I assumed that the MS in Accounting was what you could do as a 4th year student after the ICE). You can work on concentrations for one or more fields in the Commerce degree though. On the other hand, McDonough has a straight BS degree in many of the fields I’m considering…Would this make a big difference to employers? </p>

<p>@Knights, I got those numbers from Business Week but after reading the profile, yes 101 comes from both BA in Commerce and MS Accounting programs, which is a good sign that McIntire isn’t irregularly high on handing on these jobs compared to McDonough.</p>

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<p>The major/concentration distinction is arbitrary - it won’t have a bearing on your marketability to employers. Just an individual school decision.</p>

<p>As far as the accounting goes, you’ll need 150 hours for the CPA anyways, so graduating with a 4 year accounting degree doesn’t do you much good. So yes, if you planned to work in public accounting you’d enter the MS in Accounting program after you graduate (doesn’t have to be at UVA). McIntire students can actually apply during third year to the MS program and complete the BS in Commerce/MS in Accounting in 4.5 years (perfect for accountants - you can start right when tax season starts!)</p>

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<p>first, thank you knight for all your responses!</p>

<p>If I was pursuing an MBA as well, would the idea of getting a CPA right after undergraduate be moot? not really sure what I want to do after college but if I were to be an accountant (likely), would definitely like to pass the CPA exam.</p>

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<p>No - the CPA is a different distinction from an MBA. You pretty much won’t be able to proceed in public accounting without being a CPA, whereas in the same career route you’d probably get an MBA several years after passing the CPA.</p>

1 Like
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<p>is it possible to earn your CPA with just an undergraduate degree? or will I need to earn a MS in accounting at either georgetown or UVa to qualify to take the CPA?</p>

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<p>Well you need 150 hours to sit for the CPA. For most people, that’s 5 years of classes (15 hours/semester). In addition, a certain number of those hours need to be accounting-related. So many people do an MS program to meet both of those requirements.</p>

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<p>[District</a> of Columbia CPA exam requirements - Becker CPA Exam Review](<a href=“http://www.becker.com/accounting/cpaexamreview/district_of_columbia/]District”>http://www.becker.com/accounting/cpaexamreview/district_of_columbia/) </p>

<p>was looking at this and it looks like i could possibly sit for the exam if i obtained 150hrs (possible through combination of 4 years of education + ~30 incoming credits from AP exams??)</p>

<p>went to each of the colleges this past weekend, liked Georgetown a lot, didn’t like UVa, didn’t like UChicago, duke was ok and also visited UNC for the hell of it. UNC was pretty cool (actually liked it better than duke) but was wondering how their kenan-flagler school stacks up? they didn’t have undergrad accounting so I would have to do MS in accounting if i chose to go there…any thoughts after these revisions?</p>

<p>basically: Georgetown’s McDonough (awesome) vs UNC’s Kenan-Flagler (not sure about?) vs Duke (doesn’t have what I want though…)?</p>

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<p>"
I’m primarily interested in business but have no idea what I want to pursue."</p>

<p>Then go to the best school - Chicago.</p>

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<p>hated chicago, plus schools like that require you to major in economics which is VASTLY different from business</p>

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<p>Go to Georgetown.</p>

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<p>Go to Duke and have fun cheering for the legendary college basketball team in the modern hoops era.</p>

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<p>“Go to Duke and have fun cheering for the legendary college basketball team in the modern hoops era.”</p>

<p>It appears you won’t have any problem getting seats at Cameron
<a href=“Duke’s Cameron Crazies Lose Their Enthusiasm - The New York Times”>Duke’s Cameron Crazies Lose Their Enthusiasm - The New York Times;

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<p>Indeed. Losing to lehigh was legendary.</p>

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<p>jakeL1993 - Sure sounds like you want to go to Georgetown, and for all the right reasons. Follow your gut.</p>

<p>As for what to do with an accounting degree, check out this recent Barron’s interview, which I found fascinating (I hope the link works - if not, the interview is titled “A Financial Sleuth Finds a World of Abuses” and is dated 3/31/12 in the online Barron’s) [A</a> Financial Sleuth Finds - Barrons.com](<a href=“http://online.barrons.com/article/SB50001424053111904646704577295943317169860.html#articleTabs_article%3D1]A”>http://online.barrons.com/article/SB50001424053111904646704577295943317169860.html#articleTabs_article%3D1)</p>

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<p>i think im set on georgetown as some have noticed, visited and definitely love it. best school overall for someone looking into the business spectrum!</p>

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<p>Congratulations on Georgetown, enjoy the Hilltop!</p>

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<p>There’s your answer. There is a LOT to like about Georgetown - gorgeous campus, great neighborhood, great location. I still wish my son had gone there :slight_smile: Congrats!</p>