<p>Southeast region is much more competitive than most people think. SEC schools place well in Dallas, Atlanta, and Nashville which are doing very well with most Big 4 offices and have become fairly competitive over the past 3 years.</p>
<p>Ole Miss, U of Georgia, and Alabama are very well placed. I just met an associate working in NYC from Ole Miss. Great at her job, but a bit of a culture shock I think. ha</p>
<p>Yeah if they like you enough, they will place you anywhere you want it seems…</p>
<p>I know someone who moved up to Boston to intern, I was like why the hell are you moving up there, the weather will suck during winter! I can’t stand the freezing weather. And people up north want to come down here more often than us wanting to come up there. Haha</p>
<p>How important is it to join Beta Alpha Psi? I have all the necessary qualifications, but it looks extremely boring.</p>
<p>Absolutley Neccesary. It is a great way to network and show you are serious about a career in accounting. </p>
<p>Most firms will even have a check box on their online applications for showing you are in BAP.</p>
<p>“Until then, I will give the advice in a uniform way of what we look for in the average run-of-the-mill college student. 3.3+ GPA, Beta Alpha Psi, good interviewing skills.”</p>
<p>this is also was not the case at all at my school…there were people with gpas as high as 3.4/3.5 who did not get any big4 interviews. </p>
<p>i also dont thig beta alpha psi is “absolutely necessary”… Id say its good as you learn alot more about public accounting and hear presentations from recruiters. But from a recruiting perspective, I think theyd be happy to interview someone who was not involves with BAP specifically. In other words, they are not going to eliminate you just because you were not part of beta alpha psi…</p>
<p>…the meetings do get a little boring/repetitive after awhile.but you dont have to go to every meeting…and id still argue its worth going to…but by no means is it necessary or vital for you job prospects that you do so.</p>
<p>They will not eliminate you, but they prefer you are involved.</p>
<p>Why put yourself at a disadvantage? It’s an accounting honor society showing that you have good grades and giving you networking opportunities.</p>
<p>workingatB4 is spot on with everything he/she is saying. If you want to disagree, then you are in denial and do not understand the B4 recruiting process.</p>
<p>The strategic advisory/consulting B4 practices are the only ones that vary some from what he has listed–and those requirements are even higher. More like 3.7+ with the best leadership, communication, and internships. </p>
<p>Please stop arguing with your “I know someone who…” examples. Fine–you know someone that is a rare exception; we get it. WorkingatB4 knows what he/she is talking about.</p>
<p>BAP is very important. We rarely consider anyone that is not in BAP at some schools. It does the recruiting process for us and thins out the resume stack.</p>
<p>^^no doubt the majority of students interviewed are from bap, cause those students are likely the most informed about public accounting. but would a firm really think less of a great student involved elsewhere on campus, with good work experiences, and that has shown interest in their firm through Meet the Firm events or Open Houses (or as you put it thin them out of the resume stack)? I honestly dont think so, but could be wrong.</p>
<p>Not being in BAP can be a huge disadvantage to someone wanting to do audit or tax. I’ll just leave it as simple as that.</p>
<p>If you go through Meet the Firms and are active in the recruitment process, then you might be able to overcome it if you are a top student. This is the exception, not the rule.</p>
<p>During one of our Beta Alpha Psi presentations, the presenter mentioned how highly they value someone with Beta Alpha Pis on their resume and if they were an officer it was huge deal.</p>
<p>P.S. I’m actually a finance major and was wondering how finance related companies view Beta Alpha Psi if anyone knows.</p>
<p>^im not sure i belive goose. Firms do encourage you to be in Bap, and so do I, because you stay up to date on all the firms, recruiters, and recruiting events. However, if you can stay up to date on all of those without attending BAP, i dont think any harm will be done. It probably is the exception for a student to stay up to date and attend recruiting events if they are not in BAP, therefore rarer for a student not in bap to get an interview BUT i dont think you are looked down upon if you are not in BAP. With that said, you SHOULD, but dont need, to join bap. </p>
<p>Finance related companies will probably view Bap as just another extracurricular…one in which they will appreciate the community service you did as a member, any leadership positions you took, and that you were actually actively involved in somthing besides school. If you can get those 3 things in another club (possibly more finance related), then that would be fine too…As it is right now BAP presentations are mostly focused on public accounting so not all of it will be relevant to you.</p>
<p>In addition to those three things public acctg firms appreciate that you are learning more about public accounting and meeting with/learning from CPAs in public accounting. Which is why theyd appreciate BAP more than other clubs. But if you can manage to do those things without being in BAP (there are plenty of ways), you should be fine. I dont see them disliking you for actively participating in other clubs & leadership positions (besides BAP) on campus instead.</p>
<p>BAP is good in that it concretely shows your interest and involvement in accounting activities. You can say that you actively participated in accounting networking events, meetings, etc, but that’s not something you can put on a resume. In a school that doesn’t have BAP, like mine, joining an organization like our Accounting Academy is the best option.</p>
<p>Thanks for the reply. I agree pretty much all of the presentations were by accounting firms, but my school was able to get a couple of banks to come by and give presentations this spring (BOFA, and a regional) so who knows.</p>
<p>A 3.5, depending on school, is good enough to get you an interview for most jobs. Having a >3.2 will not bar you from getting a job at the Big4 but why play with fire? If you know your chances will double by having a 3.5 GPA, why would you aim for a 3.2 and hope that you will get an interview? Now if you already have a 3.2 and want to work for the Big4, you need to go and network. See what you can do and see if your alumni network can help you out. No point in underachieving if you are serious about a career with the Big4.</p>
<p>Whatdidyou, all you try to do is find some “gotcha” answer to anything posted on this site. Please just read posts from people who do this for a living and absorb what they are saying. It is not difficult and you do not need to argue with every little thing. </p>
<p>Join BAP if it exists at your schools. If you want B4 and do not, you are putting yourself at a serious disadvantage. End of story.</p>
<p>^^no, i dont. I just dislike people making absolute statements and feel the need to correct them…So stop making absolute statements and I’ll stop correcting.</p>
<p>With that said, we are mainly in agreement, BAP is a good club to join if you are interested in public accounting.</p>
<p>I went to at Cal State school and recently graduated with a degree in B.S in Business with a concentration in Accounting. I have a 3.4 GPA is that good?</p>
<p>When you have actually worked at the B4 or even had an interview with the B4 that resulted in an offer…then we can talk. </p>
<p>The recruitment practices of the B4 are “absolutes”. They all have strict expectations. Occasionally, someone will slip through the cracks with an odd recruitment experience. Continuously calling out those random examples does not hold water when describing the firms’ recruitment practices.</p>
<p>GOOSE: Are you talking to me?</p>