Graduate School Choice & NYC Placement

Question

Hi all, I am applying to various MACC programs and had a question regarding my employment after graduate school. I ideally would like to work in NYC for the Big 4, and was wondering whether or not my selection on a graduate school would significantly hinder/improve my chances of employment in NYC. I won't have an internship in NYC with the big 4 the summer prior to graduate school, so I would be going though the recruiting process during the fall semester of graduate school. I am applying to various top programs around the country, such as USC, Notre Dame, and University of Virginia.

Would it be stupid of me to go to USC, hoping to be placed in NYC Big 4 after school even though the school has a top MACC program? Would I run into similar problems with Notre Dame & Chicago, and UVa & Washington D.C.? In this case, would it be better to attend a NYC feeder school, even though it may not be ranked as high (Ie. Baruch)? Or does location not matter as much as long as I attend a top school like USC, even though it's far from NYC?

Any help or feedback would be greatly appreciated.

msaccountancy · Answer

I think the main problem is whether you want to get a job during OCR or just go through the regular channel. If you want to get a job during OCR, you'll only be competing with your classmates but your employer pool is limited to firms that send recruiters to do interviews. For example, if you go to USC, chances are that all the firms doing recruiting on campus are from LA or the southern portion of California. Likewise for UVA, where firms are from Virginia or DC. If you go to UVA and like to move back to NY, you can do it but you'll probably have to work in the DC areas for the first couple of years and then try to transfer office. I don't know the current job placements at the schools you mention, but the best way to get information is to ask admissions people and career services people at that school. Send them an email or wait until they interview you, then you should ask them about job placements and where do these placements occur. The only job placements I can get a hold of is UNC's at https://www.kenan-flagler.unc.edu/assets ... s-2010.pdf. The vast majority, 79% found jobs in the southeast while only 17% found jobs in the northeast. You can make it back to NY but the probability is you'll remain in the southeast for a few years anyway. Have you know for sure what schools accept you or will interview you?

Apply to all the schools that interested you and then decide for yourself what school is the best option for you base on your criteria once you receive decisions.

JorgeStevenson · Answer

My question to you is:

If you want to work in NYC, why are you applying to schools half-way across the world?

Normally, to get an office visit, you have to impress at your on-campus interview. To get an office visit on the other side of the country, you have to impress your on-campus interviewer SO MUCH that he knows you wont embarass him if he recommends you to the recruiters in NYC. Also, I imagine there would be factors like (a) how full the NYC office visits already are, (b) how persistent your interviewer is. In the end, it would be so much easier for the recruiter to just click "no", and stop your recruitment process dead in its tracks.

So, if you want to work in NYC, man up. Go find out what the schools are in NYC that the Big 4 recruit heavily from. Email the students and career services people. Email the Big 4 office recruiters, if you can find their email address. Ask them what schools they "target" the most heavily.

The bottom line is you'll make things a lot simpler for yourself if you go to school in NYC.

msaccountancy · Answer

I think the logical fallacy here is that better students go to USC since it's ranked higher than Baruch, firms want to recruit the best students, therefore, firms recruit at USC rather than Baruch. What doesn't get taken into account is that the Big 4 is made up of a bunch of local offices and there isn't a well-defined head office. Why would a NY Big 4 office spend all the money to fly recruiters to LA and pay for USC students to visit its NY office when they can just drive to Baruch and pick up a few students? Are USC students so much better and worthier of the money than Baruch students? You make your own choice here. Again, the best way to go is to email or call admissions and career services people and most definitely talk to current students who have gone through recruiting at that school. Don't be afraid to reach out or call people. You have nothing to lose but a lot of information to gain.

Graduate School Choice & NYC Placement

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