To the person who thinks by AACSB schools are better. You have a misperception that you yourself created. Not the industry.

And you’re also incorrect that the Big 4 does not hire devry or Keller grads. The bottom line is once you get your CPA (by whatever means you get it) the playing field is even. Accounting is accounting. You are not any smarter just because you went to an AACSB school and nor do employers think this.

Both DeVry and Keller have alumni as mangers for big 4 firms. These managers also help recruit efforts at DeVry or Keller. I’m a Devry/Keller graduate and I spent 3 years at PriceWaterhouse (before the merge with Coopers) and spent a year with Grant Thornton and I was just as smart as my coworkers who went to "better" schools. Now I work in investment banking.

The turnover rate at both these accounting firms was very high. Meaning folks who could not cut the mustard did not last more than a single year. Well many of these were the AACSB graduates.... literally walking out the door in tears with their belongings after being fired.

This is the reality.

It's all about preparation. If your desire is to become a CPA then no matter what school you attend you have to prepare. The real world is no respects of persons and not going to just cater to AACSB graduates. Rather you have to prove yourself and industry understands this.

Devry/Keller does a great job of preparing students for the CPA in either its MBA or MAFM program. The Becker review incorporated into the program is a big plus.

But even with this the key is still in the hard work of preparation. Even with Becker or graduate level work you still need a solid foundation of course work to be able to pass the Exam. This comes from hard work and not just the specific school attended.

Gone are the days of the "traditional" college setting and many traditional schools are including in their programs online degrees/classes.  Schools like Duke and UNC have entire degrees now online. These schools realize that there is a trend setting of the growth of being able to get an education other than the traditional way.

So this attitude that AACSB schools are better is just what it is an attitude degrading non-traditional schools. It's basically just hating or a little jealously. To think that I, as a manager in a big 4 firm have been promoted over you who went to an AACSB school would be detrimental to you. Your gona start hating and degrade my school. LOL!

Another thing also is for those CPA's who desire to get into public accounting you don't have to try to get with a Big 4. There are too many other accounting firms that are just as good if not better, that you can get EXCELLENT, "boot camp" like experience to build a public accounting career. Having work for both a big 4 and second tier firm there is no difference in quality and training, only a false perception that has been built around the big 4 that goes all the way back to the 1930's.

Today industry is looking for skills not AACSB graduates or big 4 on your resume. And if you can pass the CPA then you have the skills needed to succeed.

To:  CPA4bigfour
Thanks, well said.  I couldn't agree more.

Jealousy is so apparent in these threads.

- KLWashington (Keller Graduate in Aug 2011)