Facts about the UCI MPAC program; ASK ME ANYTHING.
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17 Dec 2014, 12:28
I feel that I should respond to ensenadas90's allegations as they are greatly misleading and I feel they do not tell the whole truth. It's important for everyone who reads hisor her comments to take them with a grain of salt. I am also a member of the inaugural class and there are things you should know about the class in general before making your final assessment.
Firstly, you should know that there were members of the class who came in under the impression that by going to UCI and being a part of the MPAc, that they would be guaranteed a job. That is simply not the truth, and it really doesn't matter where you go to school, if you go to a school with that sort of impression, you will likely find yourself sorely dissapointed by the end of the school year. Part of the point and school is gaining access to the employers, not necessarily getting a job on the come. You must still do the work to get the job on your own.
Yes it's true that some people came in having interned the summer before. You will find that at every graduate program you go to, however, the hiring stats are a bit off from what ensenada90 stated. I would more accurately state that about 35% of the class ended up at the big four. Roughly 20% went to Pwc, 10% went to Deloitte, 5% went to KPMG and then 1 person went to EY.
Another 40% of the class ended up going to 2nd tier, regional firms, or went into private corporations. In fact, one of the professors in the fall quarter invited about 10 students to interview at his own firm (he is a partner at a firm in Newport Beach) after the quarter had finished.....
The rest who did not land a job either from Meet the Firms, or throughout the year, are for the more part, people who really didn't put in the work to get the job, or had a hard time with their communication skills. In the class, there were a select few who freeloaded and did not do any work. This is typical in any school setting. Most of those people in the class did not get a job.
Also, ensenada90 stated that UC Davis has a better program than UCI with better stats. Here are some things to consider. UC Davis' class is was about half the size of UCI's inaugural class. With that small of a class, it's easy to make your stats look good. As well, recruiting is primarily for the Sacramento area, with the Bay Area being very secondary. The Orange County market is much larger and has a lot more offerings than Sacramento County, and Los Angeles County is much closer in proximity than San Francisco is to Davis. the Bay Area is a two hour drive from there and if you intend on going to UC Davis, you will need to crash a local Meet the Firms there if your hope is to get into the Bay Area market.
USC is a strong player in the Southern California market and if you want to work in Southern California, it's a great school. Keep in mind though, that by going there, you are competing with a lot more students for the job.
UCI's program is strong. You will work your butt off and learn a lot, and you're generally taught by practitioners, not academics, so what you're learning is incredibly relevant. UCI's graduate business program also just jumped into the mid 30's from 42 by Business Week's national ranking's. This is compared to the likes of Harvard, Yale, and Stanford. To be in the top 50 says a lot. Yes, there were times where I was frustrated, as were everyone else, whether that was with recruiting, or in the actual classes, but I think that is typical of any program you attend. However, I think what the administrators and professors were trying to accomplish and do for the class was really high quality, and provided skills that you simply can't get out of a general undergraduate course load. you are constantly challenged in this program and will find yourself doing things you didn't think you could do before.
Really, in California, there's not a lot as far as reputable graduate programs for accounting, in fact it's really only: Santa Clara University, UC Davis, UC irvine, University of San Diego, and USC for a one year intensive program, and CSU Fullerton, San Diego State, CSU East Bay and San Jose State for a two to three year program. for as large as this state is, that's not a lot. UCLA and UC Berkeley only really have undergraduate programs, however, UC Berkeley has a strong Phd program if that's a route you're considering as well as USC.
Feel free to shoot me any questions. when I considered my graduate schools, (and I looked all over, from University of Chicago, to University of Florida and UT Austin-all really great grad schools) and there are reasons why I chose UC Irvine.
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