Hi, i’m a current junior! i’m considering accounting as a possible career path so i just wanted to ask a few questions about it since i’m interested in UT Austin as well.
How is UT Austin for accounting in terms of:
Accounting at UT is/has been ranked #1 in the nation for some time now, so it’s an incredibly impressive program to be in. I’m a CNS student so my impression of accounting is entirely based on what my McCombs friends have experienced, and it’s that the accounting classes tend to be some of the more difficult classes at the business school, alongside MIS and Finance. Alot of McCombs classes also have a bell curve (basically where only a certain number of students can get an A, B, C, etc.) so it’s pretty competitive. However, McCombs is a highly reputable school and having it on your resume will definitely help you, especially if you major in Accounting. Besides the academics, UT has thousands of organizations on campus and I know a ton of friends who have gotten internships from the connections their orgs have given them. UT is a fantastic school and I wish you the best! PM me if you have any other questions!
Other than U Penn, no other ivy offers accounting undergrad, neither does other top schools like Stanford,MIT, Rice, Amherst, Williams etc. It’s counted as a very trade school major, good schools want you to get a broad education as their graduates can get accounting jobs without majoring in it. Same goes for business undergrad, not many elite schools offer it. Even many schools who have a business school, doesn’t care to offer a business undergrad.
@CupCakeMuffins I’ve looked at the requirements to sit for the CPA in many states and that’s simply not true. Most require 10+ accounting (specific courses)and business classes in addition to 150 credits overall. So no, graduates aren’t walking out of schools that don’t offer those courses into a position that requires CPA-eligibility.
@CupCakeMuffins : You wrote that: “…graduates can get accounting jobs without majoring in it.” Interesting comment. Are you willing to elaborate on this assertion ?
University of Illinois has a top accounting program and does offer a degree in Accounting so to say there are schools that don’t offer degrees in Accounting is just false. Illinois’ is one of the top programs in the country. It’s also very difficult to get a straight Accounting job without a degree in Accounting and you certainly can’t be a CPA if you’re not an Accountant.
@CupCakeMuffins clearly isn’t an acctg major at McCombs. Employers are beating down the doors to hire UT acctg majors. I graduated from UT with an acctg degree and had a job over a year before I even graduated. NO ONE becomes a CPA in Texas without 30 hours in acctg so I’m not sure where he/she got that very bad info.
“The reason is that the Ivies and top US private universities have the model/core philosophy of a classical liberal arts education, producing well-rounded, well-read, intelligent free-thinkers that will contribute to and change the world. These schools are not trade schools, and so they don’t offer majors in trades, e.g. plumbing or accounting.
The Ivies that have business schools do offer some basic accounting courses, but they’re still taught very much with a liberal arts lens, e.g. at HBS and Yale SOM, some basic accounting is taught but only as part of business case studies where the classes are less-so lecture format and more-so group projects, discussions / Socratic method.
Even at the most business-oriented of all the Ivies, UPenn/Wharton, you can take some more advanced accounting classes, but the goal is to make you an influential world-class financier or consultant, not to make you an accountant.”
If goal is to just be an accountant in Texas then with good enough stats you can get your accounting degree on free merit ride from other campuses of UT. Why pay for UT Austin? If you are getting financial aid and gets it for free then do pick Austin campus.
It’s harsh but true.
MODERATOR’S NOTE: Please stick to the OP’s question.
@drbunny79 - if you want to be an accountant (which it sounds like your considering), you can’t get a higher thought of education than from McCombs. Accounting has been the top rated business program for decades. If you can get into an ivy - go for it if that’s your thing. But if you can’t, it doesn’t get much better then McCombs. I was an accounting major and had plenty of balance. But you will need the discipline to stay focused on your classes. Recruiters will chase after you as long as you have good grades. Best of luck to you!
With respect to internships & jobs for accounting students at UT-Austin, it is easily among the best in the country.
One of my relatives earned his masters in accounting at UT-Austin a couple of decades ago. Authored the leading text on his specialty, opened his own firm (after leaving a high level position with what was then a Big Six accounting firm), is wealthy & taught seminars for the federal government at Quantico & Wash DC. In short, UT-Austin is the Harvard of accounting both at the undergraduate & at the masters level.
Just curious, as my D21 is interested in accounting and would someday like to live in TX or FL, is it next to impossible for an OOS student to get into McCombs since their B school is so popular?
Our state schools are IU and Purdue, so she will try for DA to IU Kelley. Not sure how strong Krannert is or if you need to apply to B school after Freshman year. Just trying to figure this out early so we can make sound choices come app time. She would love to go to school in TX but I think even A&M’s Mays school fills up fast.