Choosing Undergrad University to become an Accountant

Becoming an accountant is not hard relative to IB. Big 4 recruiting is a joke, keep a good gpa and develop relationships early. They have tons of engagement opportunities for underclassman.

I'd go to the schools you have been awarded scholarships - UVA and Michigan. Also, take a look at ugrad accounting major rankings to have a better idea.

For accounting any of those schools should do, it's no crazy hard to get into. So if that is your ideal job than go to the school you'll enjoy most. I would go to Michigan.

@aisixerdude03: for ranking, would you advice me to look at US news rankings or business week rankings?

Also, I'm probably going to become an accountant but I'm not completely sure about it as I have not taken any accounting courses. I may switch to finance or double major in accounting and finance.

go to NW and smash some top shelf poon

Have you looked into many other careers beyond accounting? As others have mentioned, accounting is not that difficult to recruit into.

If you got into all the schools you mention above, you must be pretty smart/have good high school grades, etc. I therefore recommend spending some time researching other careers, including investment banking, management consulting, and sales & trading. These are the careers that the "top" students at highly-ranked undergraduate business programs typically try to recruit into. While each man is obviously entitled to his own opinions, most people consider these careers to be more challenging, more exciting, and to have higher upside/better exit options than accounting.

It would suck to choose a schools based on your desire to do accounting, then change your mind your freshman/sophomore year and want to do one of these other careers. Therefore, I recommend you research these other careers. If any of them seem really interesting (even if you think you still might prefer accounting), that could impact which school you chooose.

Of the schools you mention, Michigan, UVA, Northwestern, and NYU all recruit well into finance. Obviously Michigan and NU will recruit more into Chicago and NYU more into New York, but you can get pretty much anywhere from any of those schools. So between those four, I'd say pick the one (a) where you think you'd fit in best and (b) that will be lowest cost, based on tuition, scholarships, etc.

The cultures are very different across those schools, so fit is important. Michigan is a huge state school, UVA has a strong southern culture, Northwestern undergrads are pretty weird in general (I know, I lived there for two years while my wife went to grad school), and NYU is obviously very urban and decentralized. So you should think hard about where you'd fit best.

Good luck!

i assume op has rich family which will help him out greatly, then stern hands down

Where do people get this idea that Big 4 recruiting is the easiest thing in the world? Is it easier than BB banking? Sure, especially from the kind of schools being discussed. But I have a 3.5+ at a Big 10 school (not UIUC UM or NW) and submitted resumes to 3/4 through OCR, netting one first round interview and 0 offers. This was for summer internships, which I've admittedly read is a bit tougher than FT. I'll be attending the McCombs MPA next year and I'm still not comfortable with my odds.

I agree with the above. I went to UM myself, graduated with a decent GPA and found it really difficult to land any IB or consulting offers (from Ross). Yes, getting the Big 4 job was easier than IB, but still not easy by any means. I just don't see why people keep saying it's a "joke" getting a job at the big 4 in accounting. Prestige whores, just because you got a shit hot job at a well known bank doesn't mean you have to downgrade non banking/consulting careers.

McCombs MPA has like a 98% placement rate so I don't see how you aren't comfortable with your odds. No one said Big 4 recruiting is a joke, they said it is easy relative to banking, which it is. Also, obscenity, to have a 3.5+ and net only 1 interview that means you didn't network at all, it sounds like you submitted your resume through OCR and expected the rest to take care of itself.

greatlakes77, don't worry about the hating on Big 4, we're in WSO, homie. I have a lot of respect for the top accountants in our industry, and frankly, I like meeting regular people from smaller schools who work their tails off and have a shot at a good career or jump off point.

IP, if I weren't frugal I'd get a SB for you. Spot on about the UI and UT graduates who comprise most of the Big 4 partner ranks. And OP, you may get into the biz and 5-6 years down the road want to switch like me. So take IP's advice, and consider if you're dead set on accounting or considering other options.

Michigan places very well for Big 4 in Chicago but most of those schools do, too (although we have few NW grads in pure audit, more in advisory, etc.)

I will second UT Austin. I work with a lot of Big 4 accountants and consultants and Longhorns dominate their ranks. Their accounting program is top notch.

UT Austin is not necessarily on OP's list.

For out of state I think UMich offers the best combination in terms of Big 4 recruiting, secondary options for business majors, and cost. If OP can get in-state tuition at Virginia, though, that upsets the equation and makes UVA the best choice.

(If OP is a Michigan resident, he should have mailed in his Ross acceptance YESTERDAY.)

Working for the Big Four is going to offer OP a great upper-middle-class career.

Berkeley, UT Austin, Illinois, and UNC Chapel Hill should all be no-brainers as well if they are in-state. The IRR and NPV on an in-state accounting degree from these schools really can't be beat in the accounting world.

Yes, it's still not easy to get into a Big Four firm from UMich. But if you have a 3.6 GPA and interview well, you're going to land at a respectable firm.

I think we can all agree though that if OP wants to work in accounting Stern is probably not the best choice. Recruiting is good but it's so expensive (tuition and NYC living). Out of everything on the OP list I would pick UVa as it has the best combination of academic prestige and awesome college life. Michigan is too cold for me.

Thanks to everyone who replied. Your advice was really helpful:)

Just to clarify, I'm an international students so I do not get any in state benefits. Also, money is not too big of an issue and I'm limited on my university options to the ones I wrote in my first post as university results have already come out. It was not probably not the best choices for an accounting major and I realize that now. However, whats done is done. To clarify, I have not been offered scholarships to any of the schools, only honor programs and UVa and Emory I am not in the business program. Students apply to the business program in their second year at university.

Thanks to everyone who replied. Your advice was really helpful:)

Just to clarify, I'm an international students so I do not get any in state benefits. Also, money is not too big of an issue and I'm limited on my university options to the ones I wrote in my first post as university results have already come out. It was not probably not the best choices for an accounting major and I realize that now. However, whats done is done. To clarify, I have not been offered scholarships to any of the schools, only honor programs and UVa and Emory I am not in the business program. Students apply to the business program in their second year at university.