<p>Hi which CSU schools and UC schools are the best to get hired from for Big 4 accounting right after graduation?</p>
<p>I would assume it would be the following:
UC Berkeley
UCLA
CSU Cal Poly
San Diego State University?</p>
<p>Are there any other UC or CSU schools that have good recruiting and placements for Big 4 accounting? Please only recommend schools with good placements and recruiting. I am 28 years old, have saved 120k cash to go to college full time, and would be transferring from a community college.</p>
<p>UCSB has the best recruitment for Big 4 accounting in SoCal out of all the UC schools…and I’m not sure if Cal has accounting so you might wanna scratch that.
I think UCI has accounting as well and UCSD has a pretty new accounting minor but its recruitment isn’t that great compared to UCSB/UCLA/UCI.</p>
<p>From what I’ve heard, typically schools near larger cities (San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Jose, etc.) have pretty good recruiting prospects. So, for So-Cal, using that logic, I’d assume UCLA, Cal Poly Pomona, SDSU, CSU Fullerton, CSU Long Beach, etc.</p>
<p>Others can probably give you more insight, as I have yet to experience recruiting yet (currently at a CCC).</p>
<p>Pretty much all of the well known CSU/UCs are recruited by the Big 4. You have to be really careful though. Some of the UCs are recruited by the Big 4 but don’t offer the curriculum to fulfill the 150 rule. UC Davis (where I go) is a good example. The Big 4 recruits here but to fulfill the CPA requirements, I would have to take classes nearby at Sac State. This is a major pain in the ass. Berkeley, UCLA, UCSB, and UCSD are all good accounting schools off the top of my head. I’ve heard great things about UCLA.</p>
<p>I’m pretty active with my firm’s recruiting out on the West region, so here’s my little insight into schools we hit hard, as well as the other Big 4’s. I know you’re only looking at UCs/CSUs but I added some private school as well just FYI:</p>
<p>Berkeley
Cal Poly SLO
UCLA
USC
Santa Clara
San Jose State
UCSB
UCSD
UCSC
SDSU</p>
<p>LA Offices mainly hit USC, UCLA, and UCSB hard so I’d say those are your best bets in Socal. They’ll have presence at schools like Fullerton and CSUN but frankly, there’s a lot more challenges getting in from those schools with so many Trojan die hards at the office. Again, I know you mentioned only the public schools, but if you included all the schools in CA, USC offers the best chances.</p>
<p>Bay Area offices hit mainly Cal, Santa Clara, SJSU, Cal Poly (also Socal as well), and then out of state schools like Washington and BYU. So for you, best bets are Cal, SJSU, and SLO. Firms go recruit from those schools all throughout the year, whereas firms hit a school like a UC Davis or a UCSC only a couple times a yr.</p>
<p>San Diego offices are smaller as a result of a smaller market so each Big 4s in SD may only take a max of 5 campus hires a year. They’ll of course hit UCSD and SDSU but it’s easy to get a campus interview at a UCSD/SDSU and then if you get through for in-house interviews, ask to interview anywhere else in the West region.</p>
<p>Among all CSUs and UCs, only CSUF has AACSB accreditation for its Accounting program. CSUF and USC are the only universities in the LA area whose accounting program are fully accredited by international standard.</p>
<p>Not sure about other schools but big 4 recruit heavily at UCLA. I went there for undergrad and went through the whole process…recruitment on campus, interviewing on campus, interviewing at the office (they flew me to my choice of office location), summer internship, & full-time. When I was there full-time, a lot of my co-workers were from Berkley, Santa Clara, and USC so those are probably good feeder schools as well.</p>
<p>Bump. I am curious also. I’m at Cal Poly Pomona now. I know only perhaps 5-10 people of over 200 graduating that are going to Big 4. But dozens of students, maybe 20-30% are going to regional firms, McGLadrey pulled about 10 people I believe. Other small CPA firms etc. I wouldn’t expect students below a 3.0 or a 3.3 but no internships to get anywhere from our school as name recognition isn’t much unless you are an Engineer at Cal Poly Pomona.</p>
<p>I am at a 3.2, 3.4-3.5 for accounting though. Our teachers are fantastic for the most part, all are Doctors, some are lawyers and CPA’s, one is a CFE, all of them have years of real world experience. Hell my Taxation professor still runs a tax firm. </p>
<p>I am considering Cal State Fullerton as I’d love to live and work in Irvine or the OC in general. They also have a slightly more renowned accounting program. I’m talking for a masters in accounting btw. </p>
<p>I am too late to apply to USC or Chapman or UCI. I think I’d get in because I’m willing to bet I could score 700+ on the GMAT. Plus I have 2 internships, created a small clothing company and sold hundreds of products, and have IT experience (networking/repairing PC’s, setting up surveillance systems, implementing a new ERP system and training on it at an internship). </p>
<p>Do you guys think if I got a 3.7+ GPA at Cal State Fullerton I would be able to swing a Big 4 or regional job? (Mc Gladreys, Trine, something decent at 45K+ starting?)</p>