Want to get Big 4 Job- but need to get masters in accounting need advice on picking school!
Hey everyone,
I'm from a small public liberal arts school in West Virginia, I’m currently an upcoming junior majoring in business administration (unfortunately program is not AACSB accredited, don’t know if that will hurt me). I already know I'm at a severe disadvantage when it comes to getting a well paying job. I'm thinking of getting my masters in accounting, and then hopefully getting a job with one of the Big 4 companies.Since i'm a business major with only 15 hrs of accounting and the fact Big 4 dosent recruit at my school; I'm thinking of getting my Masters in Accounting from WVU, because it will only cost me 8k (15k if I factor everything such as living expenses). My concern is that since WVU's business program is not a top ranked program, I may be shut out from getting a job with a Big 4 company. I feel that I could get into a top 30 accounting program schools such as OSU Fischer, Indiana University Kelly School of Business, Ohio University, Iowa, UNC, and Vanderbilt. Unfortunately these schools will cost me anywhere from 30-50k for one yr opposed to 8k. Eventually after working in Big 4 for a couple of yrs, I would like to get a MBA from a top 30 school , so I would have to save some money in order to do this. So basically my main question is should I get my masters in accounting from WVU or get it from a higher ranked more expensive program?
btw... grades are pretty good. Cumulative is 3.7, business GPA is 4.0, GMAT practice scores in the mid 600's, involved in a lot of extra circular activities, and few leadership roles.






Seriously, what's with the
Seriously, what's with the influx of big 4 peeps?
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"I do not think there is any other quality so essential to success of any kind as the quality of perseverance. It overcom
Baruch is heavily recruited
Baruch is heavily recruited by the big 4.
big 4= teh suck
University of Texas or
University of Texas or something apparently has a top notch master accounting program from what I heard. You should look into that.
baruch is also heavily
baruch is also heavily recruited by jpm ibd. so what? and barclays hires a lot of lehigh and boston u and boston college kids
Based on rankings McCombs is
Based on rankings McCombs is the top MPA program. Not sure about out of state costs though. But if you are in the program and put in some effort I don't think a big 4 job would be tough to swing.
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"Well, you can do whatever you want to us, but we're not going to sit here and listen to you badmouth the United States of America."
Although.. coming from a
Although.. coming from a non-AACSB accredited college, getting into McCombs could be hard... You should probably increase your GMAT score a bit higher, and have a good story for the AdCom. Good luck!
Texas costs like 70k all in
Texas costs like 70k all in for one year. If the OP wants to do Big 4 accounting, there are plenty of cheap schools out there. The "prestige" of MPA/MAcc programs doesn't really come into play for Big 4 recruiting- they do it regionally for each office. So, check out less expensive programs like Baruch.
When it comes down to it, it
When it comes down to it, it doesn't really matter where you get your MACC from. It matters what your GPA is and how well you interview. I am with a big 4 in NYC, and most of the people hired here are not from top 25 MACC programs. The way to get a job with a big 4 firm is through campus recruiting. I would find it hard to believe that you would not be selected for a first round intereview because you have a good gpa. From there, it is all based on how well you interview. But again, it does not matter how prestigious the school is.
I disagree with SC..... While
I disagree with SC.....
While that may be the case in his office in NY, it is not necessarily the case everywhere. I went from a no-name school to Kelley for my MAcc. Kelley opened up numerous doors for me that my former classmates who stayed at the no-name school did not have.
Is it possible to get into Big 4 at an unknown school? Definitely. Is it likley? Maybe
I can tell you that it is virtually guaranteed at a school like Kelley. Every single domestic student that wanted to go to Big 4 got a position. I would say that I was towards the bottom of the class based on resume at the time and I had interviews with all 4 and offers from 3.
The top programs are so in tune with the Big 4 recruiting that it virtually guarantees you a position. I was considering moving to NY for financial services audit, so I informed career services and within 2 weeks I was flying out to Deloitte in NY.
I use Kelley as an example because I have first hand experience. Other schools such as Texas, Illinois, UVA and Mich will open the same doors. OSU won't be far behind (I almost went to Fischer for my MAcc so I'm pretty familiar) and Iowa seemed to do we regionally at least in the midwest. Miami of Ohio is another school that definitely does well in the midwest.
Also worth noting..... Most
Also worth noting.....
Most Big 4 recruiting is done regionally, with the exception of about 5-7 schools (if I remember right). These schools will have a much higher success rate placing outside of the nearest large town.
If you go to Louisville you may get into audit in Lville, but likely nowhere else. If you go to IU, Mich, UofI, UVA, UT, etc... you could get a position in NY, Chi, Cali or even Louiseville.
Also, audit BLOWS. From experience, its a great way to start a career (due to exit ops) but the job is absolutely terrible and rather mind numbing.
WTF is with all of this big4
WTF is with all of this big4 forum pollution? go to accountingblock.com
shit the way things are going i wouldnt be surprised if molecular biologists started coming here asking for advice
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