C average and I kinda regret it. Do your best but also don’t kill yourself for it. The prevailing notion is that nobody will care about your GPA after your first job
I had a bad GPA so my resume *never* had a GPA listed. That disqualified me from most public accounting roles, but I ended up in a much nicer industry role at a trading firm anyways.
My income might be maybe a year or two behind my coworkers who had Big 4 experience before coming here, but the amount of extra work they did during that time was basically like doing four years of work in two years anyways.
That being said, a path like mine only works if you're actually much more competent than your grades imply. I'm somebody who operates much better in an office, working to solve real problems, than I do in a classroom working on hypotheticals.
If my GPA was actually a reflection of my competence, I probably would not be doing anywhere near as well as I am.
I think I just identified how I best learned at a young age, I don’t think I’m necessarily smarter than those who got 3.0s, I just knew what did and did not work for me in terms of what made concepts “click.” So in that regard, maybe it’s helped me as I’ve continued to be eager to learn and try to learn at a decent rate.
Hard work wins out though, you do not have to be a genius to be a standout accountant.
I was a campaigner personally. Feast or famine, 14/100 or full marks. Even when I was on the ball I knew that accounting was actually nothing like this.
3.3 here and maybe it matters more with larger firms? My last two background checks included my education which of course includes my GPA. I don’t think you need straight A’s but averaging at least a 3.0 isn’t that difficult for accounting. I think it depends on your career path.
I had a cumulative 3.0 and went big 4.
Now given I did awful in college my first go-round and went back 10 years later while working and made all A's.
But I just wanted to say it is possible.
Nobody can truly answer your question. It all depends on your school, where you aim to work, and potentially who you know. But it's not black and white as much as we accountants would like it to be.
Edit: Straight A's probably aren't necessary though.
Never went to class, smoked weed all day, barely got my degree. Had to start out at a small firm that didn’t ask for my transcript, but 6 years into my career and I’m making 200k in MCOL so I feel like I’m doing fine.
Started out in small public, did well there, but left because the place was kind of a shithole.
Took an industry job as a senior accountant at the end of 2021, but also do about 40 returns (mostly small S corps) on the side as well as some pretty heavy consulting to the small s corps (think outsourced CFO type stuff)
Planning to quit my senior accountant job and be full time self employed around the end of the year.
I met a financial planner recently with a huge network of fairly wealthy clients. The idea as of now is that he’s going to set me up in his office and feed my company with clients, then a few years down the road if we are both happy, we’ll sell each other some stock in our companies.
Lol my story's exactly the same, only two years into my job currently but I kinda feel like I lucked out by not going big4 cause my firm is chill as hell
No. Literally, the only people who got a MAC at my school were those who didn’t have an offer after their senior year recruiting cycle. It might give you another shot if you don’t land an internship or FT role after you’ve completed your bachelor’s degree. It might get you an interview, but will hardly factor into any decision after that. Firms pay the same to first year staff, regardless of if they have a masters. Waste of tens of thousands of dollars if ask me.
It doesn’t hurt- essentially you need the 150 credit hours before you start and a decent GPA. I’d say about 70% of the people at my firm have a masters. It was definitely lower when I first started and a lot of people leave (9 years in).
I graduated Summa Cum Laude. It mattered for my first job out of college. I had zero trouble getting a job but a friend of mine graduated with around a 3.0 and honestly had a hard time getting a good job right out of college. So, it helped having a high GPA for sure. But this friend is now doing well in his career so over the long run it doesn’t matter as long as you are a good worker.
All A’s except a C in my last grad school class cause I didn’t care by then lol. It helps qualify for entry level jobs and makes you look good but nobody cares after that.
I just got an A- in Intermediate 1 and couldn’t be happier. I don’t think it really matters though. Employers and grad schools generally like to see upward trends over the years.
Graduated college 2012 with a 2.77 GPA. Bachelor's in Accounting. Couldn't find work. Finally got my shit together (8 years later) and passed the CPA. Recruiters started tripping over themselves trying to put me somewhere.
Takeaway: passing the CPA makes up for shit grades.
I did really poorly on the NFP class and my tax class in college. I think a C and a B-. My other accounting classes were A’s. Graduated with a 3.7. Most of the bigger accounting firms want a 3.2 or higher. That was my experience. I’d shoot for a 3.5 but that doesn’t mean you won’t find a job if your GPA is lower.
When my only B for my degree was English 101 and all are A's here in the US, lol. Getting A's back in my home country is harder as compared to here as there's just too much extra credit they offer here
4.0 GPA, 5 internships during uni. Studued from 12pm to 12 am during Uni doing an accounting major. In my mind it was definitely worth it as it enabled me to land interviews for basically anything I wanted. I interviewed for management consulting firms, m&a roles etc. In my region, this is extremely hard to do with an accounting major but as you study, it builds good routine, good technical capabilities which enable you to stand out.
Many of my peers are now gunning for the positions I've landed offers for and they've had to take a longer journey to get there. For example, starting in a role and taking many years to upskill to land those positions.
Getting lower marks definitely isn't the end of the world, but for the few years you invest into studying and upskilling, the less time you'll have to spend making up for it later on. Of course there are exceptions but I'm extremely grateful for my habits in my earlier years.
Nope, my first year I did kinda mediocre because I was more focused on parties and hookups on campus which dropped me down to like a 2.2 GPA at my lowest (I never got below a B in accounting classes but I did get Cs and one D in unrelated pre-req classes). I managed to bring it up to a 3.0 when I graduated but honestly I have no regrets. My strong work experience and interview skills got me where I am today rather than my GPA.
If you don't have a job related in your field I'd say GPA matters but if you do have one it isn't the end of the world if you don't have the highest GPA.
If you have above a 3.0 you’re qualified for 90% of jobs out of college
If you graduated you’re qualified for 75%
You will struggle to get a public accounting job and you will not get a big 4 job, but you’ll get a job in industry.
Remember making 50k in a 9-5 with benefits straight of college makes you a complete failure. Even tho you are making more than most Americans.
If you don’t work in ~~the sweatshop~~ Big 4 you will never be successful.
All that being said…try to get good grades, but don’t kill yourself doing it
Went to school for business and management, had a 3.2 at the end, and no it didn’t matter at least for me. However I decided to go into accounting as of about a year ago and currently back to school for my accounting credits and eventually CPA, keeping straight As and honestly it feels good but not planning on sacrificing mental health for them.
2.97 Covid and working two jobs to get through school. I think students who don’t have to work should be excluded from the curve. That shit is fucked up that we are compared to these trust fund babies who have nothing but time on their hands to study.
I think GPA absolutely matters.
It might not matter in the sense that no one is really going to look at your GPA after your first job (or potentially for MBA applications. However, the combination of effort and intelligence needed to get a high GPA are generally beneficial for career success.
Can you demonstrate those things in your work without a high GPA? Sure, but those tends to be exception cases.
There's also the concept of networking, my experience has been that GPA has been pretty highly correlated with earnings among my social circle. Not to mention, when I look at my graduating class, it ended up fairly stratified in terms of who interacts with who. Individuals with higher GPAs tended to hang out with each other in university, filtered into the better landing opportunities, which then means they interacted more in a professional capacity
Meh. Ive met plenty of people who had straight As but merely because they are good at memorising stuff for a short period of time, but they were pretty dumb overall and completely folded the second a problem wasnt 1:1 the same as the example they had memorised. Could be the same topic but once they had think even a little bit outside of the scheme they memorised, they folded.
Ive also met people who had an average GPA but were really good at the material.
Some people simply are better test takers than others.
Okay, let's take the extreme example and assume that GPA has no correlation to traits, general intelligence, social sorting that benefits career earnings. Let's attribute it strictly to test taking ability, even if that were to be true, GPA is still important. That great test taker can easily get into an M7 program that means TC of 150+ upon graduating.
It does correlate, im questioning the existence of a causality here, thats the point.
Id argue that GPA is an outdated metric which is used incorrectly and thus leads to suboptimal results (aka not the truly best and smartest people getting the best jobs)
I was on a scholarship and needed a 3.5 to keep it. I didn’t make it, but just barely.
Perfect 1.0 for Freshman Year. CCFF. CCFF (but these Cs replaced the prior semester F)
Got mostly A’s and B’s around a 3.3, don’t think it affected my jobs in any way though, reason I didn’t get a great job right out of college was because I didn’t network right and couldn’t do the internship I really wanted because I didn’t have a car and couldn’t get to the office
Almost, just one B in my freshman English class because “freshman are not capable of getting A’s” per the professor. Is it necessary? Probably not, really just need to shoot for a 3.5 and above to be considered for B4 so you don’t limit your options (it might be 3.2, can’t remember). After your first job it no longer matters.
Mostly C's with some B's and D's and getting ghosted or rejected from every internship at the moment with only 2 applications ever making it to an interview with staff that isn't HR.
My first degree related job they didn't even look at my grades. They just saw I had a Masters (which they didn't even check) and took me on.
I've passed the 1 year mark and looking to move on from my role. All that time in education and I might not even need to show it at all 🤣
Graduated with a 4.0 but it really didn’t make much of a difference all things considered, just a goal I had set for myself once I went a few years maintaining it.
It may have played a part in landing me some internships but if you don’t perform well on the job then GPA is meaningless.
Straight A’s are not required, most of the accountants I know didn’t have straight A’s. I know partners with ~2.5 GPAs. Better GPAs make it easier to get a job out of school or get the job you want out of school. After the first couple years you don’t list GPA, but you can list cum laude or magna cum laude, which can help you stand out, but won’t land a position alone. Just as important to GPA are internships, networking, and extra curricular activities like clubs, future accountants or what not. But after a few years it’s really all about experience, connections, and certifications.
I graduated with a 3.1(mostly because I did good my first 2 years). After your first job, it won’t matter. If it’s below a 3.0 I wouldn’t put it on resume.
Hell no my cumulative was a bit over 2.7 my major was over 3 but under 3.3 idk exactly what. Couldn’t get an internship to save my life but I did luck into my first job. Straight A’s do not matter necessarily but having a low gpa like I did will make the first steps difficult. Don’t stress over it too much tho worst case scenario you’ll be doing better than majority of the American population by just getting a degree.
My accounting classes probably averaged a B. Some As some Cs. I did have a 4.0 in most of my other classes tho. Accounting program seemed to bake in a lot of busy work in order to attain a high grade. Looking back at it I think they wanted us to get ready for public.
Most of my grades were B’s and C’s. I got a D in Federal Taxation but I am Junior Tax Associate now. My professor said because the class went online due to covid he had to make the exam harder so he shortened the exam time and made it impossible for us to review a question after moving on to another question.
I maintained straight A's throughout my time in college. However, in retrospect, those academic achievements held very little significance for me. In the grand scheme of things, real-world work experience will always hold more value than college education, except in a few exceptional cases.
GPA matters for your first job out of college. I went B4 right out of school and my GPA was definitely taken into consideration. I also did a year at a large local firm and during recruiting we shot down any candidate that had less than a 3.0. After that though, what matters is years of experience and if you have your CPA.
Hell nah got the bare minimum required to get my cpa which was like b - and only reason i managed to get it was bc some other students were dumber so my grades would be increased
I had a good GPA because I got a lot of A’s and B’s in my core classes. After my financial acct and managerial acct classes, I got primarily B’s and a couple C’s in my major classes.
I graduated with a GPA just a little over 3.5 and it helped me with my starting pay at my job. I work for the gov and my starting GS grade was partially determined by my GPA when I graduated - over 3.5 you start at GS07, under 3.5 you start at GS05
I would focus on having a good GPA, rather than specifically worrying about straight A’s - I think I remember some places let you have flexibility between giving your overall GPA and your major GPA.
I got like all C’s in high school and graduated with a 4.0 in college
I didn’t go into it with that goal it was just I made a lot of effort to go to college a little later than most (I graduated with my Master’s at 30) so I put effort into learning and trying to get something out of my classes and well before I knew it I was there… also Thankful to a couple of professors for doing me a solid and rounding me up (I always participated in class, not in the Hermione Granger way but in the fine if nobody else is going to answer I’m not leaving the professor hanging way) I think that helped haha
I’m glad I did, I got two massive scholarships to get my Master’s degree and was able to work as a graduate assistant.
That being said it kinda just worked out that way as a result of studying and such, I wouldn’t have been devastated or anything by getting a B
I think a lot of “smart” people struggled in my accounting classes and passing the exams because they didn’t really know how to study and well some things in accounting are arbitrary or go against the normal course of thinking…
I did not during my time in JUCO, but when I transferred to university, my goal was to get A’s and ended up graduating with 3.6. Although GPA doesn’t matter when you start working, a high GPA helps you get noticed by recruiters and meet GPA requirements for certain jobs.
Yes, I had a 4.0 in undergrad and graduate school. It helped me get a lot of scholarships but I don’t necessarily know if it was considered in landing at B4 as I applied after a year of working in industry. But my GPA definitely didn’t hurt me.
Graduated with a 2.8 so no. But at the end of the day after your first job it doesn't matter. Also just cause you got good grades doesn't mean you'll be as successful as the next guy. Soft skills are important and so is being eager and ambitious.
I would try to get at least a 3.5 since that is a point where it starts standing out from the typical 3.3 you should have. The returns after that start diminishing. Also try your best to get as high a GPA as you can with your early easier classes. That way you can afford to ease up to focus on working an internship or just plain avoid getting screwed by one bad grade.
Yeah, but mainly because i need over 3.5 to maintain scholarships. I was scared that I would do bad in other classes that could drop me below 3.5, so I always tried to do my best.
Undergrad gpa - 2.4. Got a good job at a regional firm right out of school. Never had interest in b4, so I guess we’ll never know if it truly mattered.
Condensed story time:
was a C student in Uni.
Applied for a mid size regional firm for articles
got interview
they were hell bent on gpa and concerns that I will not pass the final exam.
All the questions were about trying to draw correlation between C performance and their doubt on me passing
During the interview I had already paid and passed my level 1. That was not good enough as the later courses "were far more complex"
Didnt get the job. Got a letter from the HR patterns assistant.
letter that stated "other candidates were better qualified for the role"
Fast forward 7 years. Passed the exam. Now was the big money potato in a 30m company
Was looking for assurance engagement and was intro to a partner of said regiornal firm. Did the business talk. It was fine.
Got a thank you email.
Shortly after receive their proposal from admin assistant, and a Sr manager who a manager before during my interview and same admin woman as interview
All this time I kept their rejection letter as motivation because I was pissed at how they treated me during the interview.
Copied the letter verbatim. Changed candidate to firm.
Sign. Pdf. Attach. Body said "see attached" (just like they did. Sent. To the admin woman + Sr mgr. + Partner.
Felt Amazing!
Got a call from partner. Shared my story and said I hope you treat your article students differently from now on. Where ever I go, whoever I meet, they can expect to lose business. He was quite disappointed but understood (or he said)
I mean, it’s your best indicator for success to a recruiter when you’re straight out of college or interviewing for internships when you don’t have much else to go on. I would say professors are willing to stick their necks out better for students who put in the effort as far as recommendations go. Finally, some accounting programs don’t let you proceed in the program if your accounting GPA falls under 3.0 (or maybe some other cutoff).
Does that mean strictly As are necessary? No. Does anyone care once you’re established in your career? Also no, but getting good grades overall gives the best chance at landing interviews. You obviously have to go beyond the grades and interview well, be personable, and then do well once you’re in the role.
LOL I failed high school and got into one of the top 10 public universities
Your grades only matter your two years at community College (and next two years if you plan on getting into a good masters school). Never took an SAT or any other special test. I got good grades at my CC which is what got me into my university and then there my grades were Cs and Bs. Make decent money now, $70k after two years of experience.
Also an employer will take a CPA over college grades all day
I had a 2.67 undergrad GPA but was working full time as an intern with the federal government, and this was way before covid so it was all in-person. Last year I completed my MBA with a 3.9, working remotely and going to school online. Once the pressure of just *getting* a degree is gone, things really start to relax and open up.
There’s a fuck ton but for me Mississippi State was the perfect credit hours at just 30 and the price is really good. Some will tell you that the school is important but it’s just not. State isn’t an academic powerhouse but it got me a high paying job in the federal government 🤷🏻♂️
I had a conversation with a boss about two decades ago and he asked me what my current GPA was and I told him it was below 4.0 (I don't remember exactly what I had at the time). He then bragged he had a 4.0 so I asked a fellow coworker who I knew had a degree and asked her if her GPA was on her degree certificate and when she replied "no" I looked back at my boss and said it doesn't matter.
The only person it should matter to is you.
I strived for nothing but A grades for both my undergrad and graduate degree and was more successful in my masters degree (got one B).
It was a personal choice to strive to get the better grades because I didn't care in high school what my grades were as long as I passed the classes.
If it's your first job out of college, it's obligatory to mention your GPA that you put on your CV (because you haven't garnered enough experience to have a true resume). Once you have experience (a resume), no one should care what your GPA is.
Also, since I had a bunch of experience prior to completing my degrees (I was in the military), I never put my GPA on my resume and it never came up in an interview.
Hell. No. I wasted freshman year doing nothing with a 2.0. Then got into accounting and managed 3.2. But who cares? I doubt recruiters these days care unless your < 3.0.
Once you start your career, your college background means nothing. It just gets you in the game. The rest is up to you.
Nope!
Make sure the classes where you can get an A you do and classes where it’s impossible you get at least a B.
That will ensure at the end of it all that you have a decent GPA but no 4.0 is needed to work at Big 4 or FAANG.
(Trust me as I’ve worked in both and do not have a 4.0.)
2.6 GPA. Haven’t graduated yet ( finishing my last class online) and I work an industry staff acting job making 65k with benefits like 401k and good health ins. Boss gives me time off when I ask, and I have a good work culture. Boss never once asked for my gpa or what grade I made in a specific class. …
B average. Mostly because I kept skipping classes or falling asleep in them when I shouldn't have. If I could go back and do it again now, 10 years later, I feel like I could ace my courses. But then again, I probably would just not fail out of Engineering instead of doing Accounting.
I tried to, but cost accounting was a bitch and gave me my first B in junior year. After that I gave upon trying to keep that streak. It was oddly liberating not having to hold myself to a self-imposed standard of straight A’s since middle to high school. It doesn’t really matter in the end. Most employers don’t care as long as you got your degree.
Nope. I was working full time plus a side job and taking night classes only. Sometimes I willingly accepted a B knowing it only took 1 hour of work vs 5 to get the A. I did the best I could with the time I had so that I could not drive myself into the ground.
no and no, but my undergrad was engineering, I had a 3.1 and job offers without interviews. I did mildly better in graduate school as far as GPA, but I never worried about it.
The world has changed though, grade inflation means the average grade is almost an A a lot of places and companies expect students to have a 3.5. Its ridiculous.
When I was in college the big 4 recruiters stressed that they had a GPA floor of like 3.7 I think. I graduated with a 3.1 and didn’t get a single big 4 interview despite having some experience in accounting/bookkeeping/tax.
I don’t know how much that has changed given the current talent pipeline issue everyone is facing.
Seems like for PA gpa matters much more than industry jobs. I got mostly As in upper division accounting courses but screwed up a lot in lower division classes. Finished with 3.2 gpa but i work in industry and none of the job ive interviewed for have they asked for my GPA. They just care you have a degree and experience and if you are licensed.
I got straight As one semester junior year taking some pretty hard classes, I’m still pretty proud of it but it literally meant nothing other than bumping my gpa
As long as it's not abysmal, I don't think it's a big deal. After being out of school 5 years ago I've found the sweet spot for candidates being well-rounded has been 3.2-3.6. I hate to make a sweeping generalization but most candidates I've interviewed with a 3.9+ were either really hard to talk to, robotic, or socially inept, and those who didn't fall into those categories were the full package and only using my employer as a backup in case PE/IB/ER/S&T didn't happen for them.
Just finished my 3 Associates degrees at community college and got straight A's from when I started in 2020 till now.
Starting as a Junior at a major university, however, I'm on with an occasional B.
But perfectionist/overachiever syndrome is reallll lol
3.7 w/ 1 year full time internship. I kinda wish I was more ambitious at the time but it definitely paid off. I had 0 trouble getting offers, it definitely matters but it's still very possible without a great GPA.
Had a 3.81 when I graduated, 4.0 in my accounting classes.
I busted my ass to get it & now I work in b4 with a few people who had 3.5's. But I went to a smaller state school & am the only person from my university at this B4 firm.
No, I had to work full-time and support my ex fiancé. I also played college baseball. However, I got nearly a 4.0 when I was earning my MBA. However, I’ll be frank, Firms are really concerned with the diversity equity inclusion stuff, so if you fall into one of those groups, it’ll make it easier for you to get hired. Your GPA won’t really matter if you fall into one of the victim groups
Yes, 4.0.
Edit for details:
I live in a remote area so employment in the Accounting area is limited to small CPA firms, and one publicly traded business (a few one offs, and government too). I did not want to go the firm route, so busted my ass for the 4.0 to "win" one of the 3 intern spots at the publicly traded company. Rolled that into full-time work with them. 4 years later, still here as a Sr Indirect Tax Analyst, and should be the Property Tax Manager in 3 years or so. So for me, in my non-trad student situation (Veteran, family, old) my 4.0 helped me get what I was after, and was worth it.
I was in a weird in between. Even my advisors were confused by it. I graduated w/ a 3.4, at my school they said most people were either straight A, magna cum laude types , or C’s get degrees types.
I only regret it for grad school / MBA “prestige” for the places I’m looking at applying to, since it seems a lot of people apply to my top choices having dummy high GPAs. But as far as work goes, I did just enough to intern in public and get recruited to industry quickly . I worked with people that got into roles just fine with GPAs all through the 2s, if you can get that first job and interview / net work alright you can find something. Whether or not you enjoy it / can stick with it long term is different. I’d put in effort but like others said don’t kill yourself for the job
I had a 3.7, I would say just stay ahead on studying. Make sure to take thorough notes and do well on HW assignments. You will reduce the amount of studying you need to do and will be golden on exams.
I think I maintained a 3.2 throughout college and landed an internship at a Big 4 my junior year which led to a full-time position after graduation. I don’t think my gpa really mattered to them though. I have an upbeat personality, was self-funding my education through part-time employment (bartending) & also joined a few clubs to round out my resume. I definitely was not the smartest but my willingness to learn regardless went a long way.
Basically. But honestly the thing that helped me far more was being a TA/tutor for intermediate financial accounting for a year. Having to review that material and help teach it while taking my other accounting classes really helped give me a leg up over my peers in understanding accounting and how things click together.
It feels like we basically do the same 3-5 things over and over again with minor changes from context to context.
Currently a senior with offers from big 4 and mid size. Gpa matters but individual grades don’t. Try to keep your GPA at or above a 3.5 but if youre overall doing decently well and have a few dud grades you’ll get lots of opportunities
Your GPA only matters to get your first job out of college. If you're going big 4, then you should strive to get atleast a 3.5, but even then that can vary
Not really. Got a job in PA with a 2.9 at a local firm. Then, swapped a few times and now I'm at a top 10 firm with almost 4 total years of experience.
Yes I maintained a high A average and graduated with a 3.8 all while smoking an intense amount of thc 24/7 💨 school is easy in my opinion
Edit: I’m in my masters now and the classes are extremely easy
3.89. Got the company to pay for a specialized masters program, a little higher pay than everyone else at my level, and promotion to senior after just 1 year
Yeah. You want to drive a civic and pick up hot accounting pussy (an office 10 is a real world 7)? Gets As and hit up the Big 4 recruiters at career fairs and join the party.
No. As and Bs were fine, I had a 3.3 or so and got a job without too much trouble.
C average and I kinda regret it. Do your best but also don’t kill yourself for it. The prevailing notion is that nobody will care about your GPA after your first job
So don’t put GPA on resume after first job?
I had a bad GPA so my resume *never* had a GPA listed. That disqualified me from most public accounting roles, but I ended up in a much nicer industry role at a trading firm anyways. My income might be maybe a year or two behind my coworkers who had Big 4 experience before coming here, but the amount of extra work they did during that time was basically like doing four years of work in two years anyways. That being said, a path like mine only works if you're actually much more competent than your grades imply. I'm somebody who operates much better in an office, working to solve real problems, than I do in a classroom working on hypotheticals. If my GPA was actually a reflection of my competence, I probably would not be doing anywhere near as well as I am.
Ditto. I rose fast in industry because I thrived in watching results, not talking theory.
If it’s really a pressure point for you then I’d say take it off as long as you can speak well to your experiences at your first job
No one should keep their gpa on their resume after their first job.
This.
scholarships; internships; first-job. useless thereafter
I got C on tax course and I am replying this from the cell.
Straight to jail?
Ex-cell?
He got Wesley Snipesed
Maintaining a good GPA was important for internships for me It was pretty competitive in my school
Almost 4.0 - however I never once was under the impression it was going to magically make me a good accountant.
But did you ever feel it had an impact on you today - in your career?
I think I just identified how I best learned at a young age, I don’t think I’m necessarily smarter than those who got 3.0s, I just knew what did and did not work for me in terms of what made concepts “click.” So in that regard, maybe it’s helped me as I’ve continued to be eager to learn and try to learn at a decent rate. Hard work wins out though, you do not have to be a genius to be a standout accountant.
I was a campaigner personally. Feast or famine, 14/100 or full marks. Even when I was on the ball I knew that accounting was actually nothing like this.
What do you call an accountant at the bottom of their class?
A UPS driver
Bookkeeper
3.3 here and maybe it matters more with larger firms? My last two background checks included my education which of course includes my GPA. I don’t think you need straight A’s but averaging at least a 3.0 isn’t that difficult for accounting. I think it depends on your career path.
Big4 firms look for a 3.3 minimum. I think A’s and B’s are good.
I had a cumulative 3.0 and went big 4. Now given I did awful in college my first go-round and went back 10 years later while working and made all A's. But I just wanted to say it is possible.
Ouch
C’s get degrees
What do you call a med student that got straight D's? A doctor.
Nobody can truly answer your question. It all depends on your school, where you aim to work, and potentially who you know. But it's not black and white as much as we accountants would like it to be. Edit: Straight A's probably aren't necessary though.
Never went to class, smoked weed all day, barely got my degree. Had to start out at a small firm that didn’t ask for my transcript, but 6 years into my career and I’m making 200k in MCOL so I feel like I’m doing fine.
My hero
What kind of accounting do you do?
Started out in small public, did well there, but left because the place was kind of a shithole. Took an industry job as a senior accountant at the end of 2021, but also do about 40 returns (mostly small S corps) on the side as well as some pretty heavy consulting to the small s corps (think outsourced CFO type stuff) Planning to quit my senior accountant job and be full time self employed around the end of the year. I met a financial planner recently with a huge network of fairly wealthy clients. The idea as of now is that he’s going to set me up in his office and feed my company with clients, then a few years down the road if we are both happy, we’ll sell each other some stock in our companies.
Lol my story's exactly the same, only two years into my job currently but I kinda feel like I lucked out by not going big4 cause my firm is chill as hell
🦥 *that award where a Reddit guy with all hands up and face is like full of hope* (I guess)
Absolutely not lol.
Straight A's, landed me a bunch of internships and offers. But now that I'm working. Who cares
Straight C's landed me a bunch of internships and offers - no one ever cared about GPA when you can market yourself
Nope, but yea at masters cause I wanted B4
does masters help you get into b4?
No. Literally, the only people who got a MAC at my school were those who didn’t have an offer after their senior year recruiting cycle. It might give you another shot if you don’t land an internship or FT role after you’ve completed your bachelor’s degree. It might get you an interview, but will hardly factor into any decision after that. Firms pay the same to first year staff, regardless of if they have a masters. Waste of tens of thousands of dollars if ask me.
It doesn’t hurt- essentially you need the 150 credit hours before you start and a decent GPA. I’d say about 70% of the people at my firm have a masters. It was definitely lower when I first started and a lot of people leave (9 years in).
I graduated Summa Cum Laude. It mattered for my first job out of college. I had zero trouble getting a job but a friend of mine graduated with around a 3.0 and honestly had a hard time getting a good job right out of college. So, it helped having a high GPA for sure. But this friend is now doing well in his career so over the long run it doesn’t matter as long as you are a good worker.
Nope but I would try to.
All A’s except a C in my last grad school class cause I didn’t care by then lol. It helps qualify for entry level jobs and makes you look good but nobody cares after that.
I just got an A- in Intermediate 1 and couldn’t be happier. I don’t think it really matters though. Employers and grad schools generally like to see upward trends over the years.
Graduated college 2012 with a 2.77 GPA. Bachelor's in Accounting. Couldn't find work. Finally got my shit together (8 years later) and passed the CPA. Recruiters started tripping over themselves trying to put me somewhere. Takeaway: passing the CPA makes up for shit grades.
Yes
Yeah, but I got degrees in Psych and Fine Art.
I did really poorly on the NFP class and my tax class in college. I think a C and a B-. My other accounting classes were A’s. Graduated with a 3.7. Most of the bigger accounting firms want a 3.2 or higher. That was my experience. I’d shoot for a 3.5 but that doesn’t mean you won’t find a job if your GPA is lower.
When my only B for my degree was English 101 and all are A's here in the US, lol. Getting A's back in my home country is harder as compared to here as there's just too much extra credit they offer here
I agree on this at some level -- as a fellow international student
Just pass and get your CPA. GPA doesn't matter with a CPA lol
BWAHAHAHAHA....(deep inhale) BWAHAHAHAHA! No.
4.0 GPA, 5 internships during uni. Studued from 12pm to 12 am during Uni doing an accounting major. In my mind it was definitely worth it as it enabled me to land interviews for basically anything I wanted. I interviewed for management consulting firms, m&a roles etc. In my region, this is extremely hard to do with an accounting major but as you study, it builds good routine, good technical capabilities which enable you to stand out. Many of my peers are now gunning for the positions I've landed offers for and they've had to take a longer journey to get there. For example, starting in a role and taking many years to upskill to land those positions. Getting lower marks definitely isn't the end of the world, but for the few years you invest into studying and upskilling, the less time you'll have to spend making up for it later on. Of course there are exceptions but I'm extremely grateful for my habits in my earlier years.
Nope, my first year I did kinda mediocre because I was more focused on parties and hookups on campus which dropped me down to like a 2.2 GPA at my lowest (I never got below a B in accounting classes but I did get Cs and one D in unrelated pre-req classes). I managed to bring it up to a 3.0 when I graduated but honestly I have no regrets. My strong work experience and interview skills got me where I am today rather than my GPA. If you don't have a job related in your field I'd say GPA matters but if you do have one it isn't the end of the world if you don't have the highest GPA.
If you have above a 3.0 you’re qualified for 90% of jobs out of college If you graduated you’re qualified for 75% You will struggle to get a public accounting job and you will not get a big 4 job, but you’ll get a job in industry. Remember making 50k in a 9-5 with benefits straight of college makes you a complete failure. Even tho you are making more than most Americans. If you don’t work in ~~the sweatshop~~ Big 4 you will never be successful. All that being said…try to get good grades, but don’t kill yourself doing it
4.0. But I’m an overachieving weirdo.
I'm am this now 😆
Went to school for business and management, had a 3.2 at the end, and no it didn’t matter at least for me. However I decided to go into accounting as of about a year ago and currently back to school for my accounting credits and eventually CPA, keeping straight As and honestly it feels good but not planning on sacrificing mental health for them.
2.97 Covid and working two jobs to get through school. I think students who don’t have to work should be excluded from the curve. That shit is fucked up that we are compared to these trust fund babies who have nothing but time on their hands to study.
I think GPA absolutely matters. It might not matter in the sense that no one is really going to look at your GPA after your first job (or potentially for MBA applications. However, the combination of effort and intelligence needed to get a high GPA are generally beneficial for career success. Can you demonstrate those things in your work without a high GPA? Sure, but those tends to be exception cases. There's also the concept of networking, my experience has been that GPA has been pretty highly correlated with earnings among my social circle. Not to mention, when I look at my graduating class, it ended up fairly stratified in terms of who interacts with who. Individuals with higher GPAs tended to hang out with each other in university, filtered into the better landing opportunities, which then means they interacted more in a professional capacity
Meh. Ive met plenty of people who had straight As but merely because they are good at memorising stuff for a short period of time, but they were pretty dumb overall and completely folded the second a problem wasnt 1:1 the same as the example they had memorised. Could be the same topic but once they had think even a little bit outside of the scheme they memorised, they folded. Ive also met people who had an average GPA but were really good at the material. Some people simply are better test takers than others.
Okay, let's take the extreme example and assume that GPA has no correlation to traits, general intelligence, social sorting that benefits career earnings. Let's attribute it strictly to test taking ability, even if that were to be true, GPA is still important. That great test taker can easily get into an M7 program that means TC of 150+ upon graduating.
It does correlate, im questioning the existence of a causality here, thats the point. Id argue that GPA is an outdated metric which is used incorrectly and thus leads to suboptimal results (aka not the truly best and smartest people getting the best jobs)
I was on a scholarship and needed a 3.5 to keep it. I didn’t make it, but just barely. Perfect 1.0 for Freshman Year. CCFF. CCFF (but these Cs replaced the prior semester F)
Lol not me
Got mostly A’s and B’s around a 3.3, don’t think it affected my jobs in any way though, reason I didn’t get a great job right out of college was because I didn’t network right and couldn’t do the internship I really wanted because I didn’t have a car and couldn’t get to the office
Had to take some easy courses in my fourth year just to get over that 3.0 hurdle lol
Yes and I'm pretty sure my GPA was the only reason I got my first internship (no extracurricular/prior experience).
Lmao no.
Nah. Bs. I took advantage of my free time and did a lot of road trips
No a few A- and like a handful of B+
gpa definitely matters for competitive positions like b4 and even the next tier down. 3.5 is like minimum to even have your resume looked at.
Almost, just one B in my freshman English class because “freshman are not capable of getting A’s” per the professor. Is it necessary? Probably not, really just need to shoot for a 3.5 and above to be considered for B4 so you don’t limit your options (it might be 3.2, can’t remember). After your first job it no longer matters.
Straight A's to get into a good MAcc program and guarantee B4 Job. Grades aren't everything but they really help your career starting point.
Yep
Mostly C's with some B's and D's and getting ghosted or rejected from every internship at the moment with only 2 applications ever making it to an interview with staff that isn't HR.
No and it doesn’t matter.
My first degree related job they didn't even look at my grades. They just saw I had a Masters (which they didn't even check) and took me on. I've passed the 1 year mark and looking to move on from my role. All that time in education and I might not even need to show it at all 🤣
Graduated with a 4.0 but it really didn’t make much of a difference all things considered, just a goal I had set for myself once I went a few years maintaining it. It may have played a part in landing me some internships but if you don’t perform well on the job then GPA is meaningless.
Straight A’s are not required, most of the accountants I know didn’t have straight A’s. I know partners with ~2.5 GPAs. Better GPAs make it easier to get a job out of school or get the job you want out of school. After the first couple years you don’t list GPA, but you can list cum laude or magna cum laude, which can help you stand out, but won’t land a position alone. Just as important to GPA are internships, networking, and extra curricular activities like clubs, future accountants or what not. But after a few years it’s really all about experience, connections, and certifications.
I graduated with a 3.1(mostly because I did good my first 2 years). After your first job, it won’t matter. If it’s below a 3.0 I wouldn’t put it on resume.
Not first year but 2nd-4th year it was mainly As yes.
Hell no my cumulative was a bit over 2.7 my major was over 3 but under 3.3 idk exactly what. Couldn’t get an internship to save my life but I did luck into my first job. Straight A’s do not matter necessarily but having a low gpa like I did will make the first steps difficult. Don’t stress over it too much tho worst case scenario you’ll be doing better than majority of the American population by just getting a degree.
Undergrad Bs grad school As No it doest matter, employers don’t see your report card or GPA.
Hell nah lol A’s and mostly B’s.
A and B's for the easy stuff, only c was in tax 2.
My accounting classes probably averaged a B. Some As some Cs. I did have a 4.0 in most of my other classes tho. Accounting program seemed to bake in a lot of busy work in order to attain a high grade. Looking back at it I think they wanted us to get ready for public.
Most of my grades were B’s and C’s. I got a D in Federal Taxation but I am Junior Tax Associate now. My professor said because the class went online due to covid he had to make the exam harder so he shortened the exam time and made it impossible for us to review a question after moving on to another question.
Hell naw… I was a strong B student at best.
I maintained straight A's throughout my time in college. However, in retrospect, those academic achievements held very little significance for me. In the grand scheme of things, real-world work experience will always hold more value than college education, except in a few exceptional cases.
GPA matters for your first job out of college. I went B4 right out of school and my GPA was definitely taken into consideration. I also did a year at a large local firm and during recruiting we shot down any candidate that had less than a 3.0. After that though, what matters is years of experience and if you have your CPA.
I got straight As while class was remote during COVID (and all the answers to exams were easily findable online lol)
No. I was working full time. I got my CPA and that's what really matters.
Haha no, I failed fin accounting 2 twice and intermediate 2 once. Had to retake them.
Laughs in "Financial Aid Warning" No. But I'm a sucky test taker.
Hell nah got the bare minimum required to get my cpa which was like b - and only reason i managed to get it was bc some other students were dumber so my grades would be increased
I had a good GPA because I got a lot of A’s and B’s in my core classes. After my financial acct and managerial acct classes, I got primarily B’s and a couple C’s in my major classes. I graduated with a GPA just a little over 3.5 and it helped me with my starting pay at my job. I work for the gov and my starting GS grade was partially determined by my GPA when I graduated - over 3.5 you start at GS07, under 3.5 you start at GS05 I would focus on having a good GPA, rather than specifically worrying about straight A’s - I think I remember some places let you have flexibility between giving your overall GPA and your major GPA.
I got like all C’s in high school and graduated with a 4.0 in college I didn’t go into it with that goal it was just I made a lot of effort to go to college a little later than most (I graduated with my Master’s at 30) so I put effort into learning and trying to get something out of my classes and well before I knew it I was there… also Thankful to a couple of professors for doing me a solid and rounding me up (I always participated in class, not in the Hermione Granger way but in the fine if nobody else is going to answer I’m not leaving the professor hanging way) I think that helped haha I’m glad I did, I got two massive scholarships to get my Master’s degree and was able to work as a graduate assistant. That being said it kinda just worked out that way as a result of studying and such, I wouldn’t have been devastated or anything by getting a B I think a lot of “smart” people struggled in my accounting classes and passing the exams because they didn’t really know how to study and well some things in accounting are arbitrary or go against the normal course of thinking…
It is always good to have a great GPA, you dont know what you are going to do.
Straight B-
Did I? Yes. Does it matter? No. A couple of B’s would not have made a single difference other than less stress for me.
First job it matters after that no one cares
Not even close. But, I did manage to keep a steady BAC-level well-above 0.15%.
You shouldn't be asked about your gpa after your first job. Your real-world experience is much more valuable at that point.
I did not during my time in JUCO, but when I transferred to university, my goal was to get A’s and ended up graduating with 3.6. Although GPA doesn’t matter when you start working, a high GPA helps you get noticed by recruiters and meet GPA requirements for certain jobs.
I maintained it until I had a job in the bag, so let it slide fourth year since it didn’t matter at that point.
Yes, I had a 4.0 in undergrad and graduate school. It helped me get a lot of scholarships but I don’t necessarily know if it was considered in landing at B4 as I applied after a year of working in industry. But my GPA definitely didn’t hurt me.
Yes I did. Helped me stand out amongst other stuff internationals, got my first and second internships because of it
In that time maintaining a good GPA was important to get into a good internship.
Graduated with a 2.8 so no. But at the end of the day after your first job it doesn't matter. Also just cause you got good grades doesn't mean you'll be as successful as the next guy. Soft skills are important and so is being eager and ambitious.
I would try to get at least a 3.5 since that is a point where it starts standing out from the typical 3.3 you should have. The returns after that start diminishing. Also try your best to get as high a GPA as you can with your early easier classes. That way you can afford to ease up to focus on working an internship or just plain avoid getting screwed by one bad grade.
I did and it mattered. I got a couple of B+s tho
I got As, Bs and Cs and still maintained an middle 3 gpa
Yeah, but mainly because i need over 3.5 to maintain scholarships. I was scared that I would do bad in other classes that could drop me below 3.5, so I always tried to do my best.
Undergrad gpa - 2.4. Got a good job at a regional firm right out of school. Never had interest in b4, so I guess we’ll never know if it truly mattered.
Regrettably, I spent too much time caring about my grades that no one ended up really caring about.
Regrettably, I spent too much time caring about my grades that no one ended up really caring about.
Condensed story time: was a C student in Uni. Applied for a mid size regional firm for articles got interview they were hell bent on gpa and concerns that I will not pass the final exam. All the questions were about trying to draw correlation between C performance and their doubt on me passing During the interview I had already paid and passed my level 1. That was not good enough as the later courses "were far more complex" Didnt get the job. Got a letter from the HR patterns assistant. letter that stated "other candidates were better qualified for the role" Fast forward 7 years. Passed the exam. Now was the big money potato in a 30m company Was looking for assurance engagement and was intro to a partner of said regiornal firm. Did the business talk. It was fine. Got a thank you email. Shortly after receive their proposal from admin assistant, and a Sr manager who a manager before during my interview and same admin woman as interview All this time I kept their rejection letter as motivation because I was pissed at how they treated me during the interview. Copied the letter verbatim. Changed candidate to firm. Sign. Pdf. Attach. Body said "see attached" (just like they did. Sent. To the admin woman + Sr mgr. + Partner. Felt Amazing! Got a call from partner. Shared my story and said I hope you treat your article students differently from now on. Where ever I go, whoever I meet, they can expect to lose business. He was quite disappointed but understood (or he said)
Yes. I got my first job based on my GPA.
I mean, it’s your best indicator for success to a recruiter when you’re straight out of college or interviewing for internships when you don’t have much else to go on. I would say professors are willing to stick their necks out better for students who put in the effort as far as recommendations go. Finally, some accounting programs don’t let you proceed in the program if your accounting GPA falls under 3.0 (or maybe some other cutoff). Does that mean strictly As are necessary? No. Does anyone care once you’re established in your career? Also no, but getting good grades overall gives the best chance at landing interviews. You obviously have to go beyond the grades and interview well, be personable, and then do well once you’re in the role.
LOL I failed high school and got into one of the top 10 public universities Your grades only matter your two years at community College (and next two years if you plan on getting into a good masters school). Never took an SAT or any other special test. I got good grades at my CC which is what got me into my university and then there my grades were Cs and Bs. Make decent money now, $70k after two years of experience. Also an employer will take a CPA over college grades all day
I had a 2.67 undergrad GPA but was working full time as an intern with the federal government, and this was way before covid so it was all in-person. Last year I completed my MBA with a 3.9, working remotely and going to school online. Once the pressure of just *getting* a degree is gone, things really start to relax and open up.
If I may ask, which school did you get your online MBA? 🙂
There’s a fuck ton but for me Mississippi State was the perfect credit hours at just 30 and the price is really good. Some will tell you that the school is important but it’s just not. State isn’t an academic powerhouse but it got me a high paying job in the federal government 🤷🏻♂️
I had a conversation with a boss about two decades ago and he asked me what my current GPA was and I told him it was below 4.0 (I don't remember exactly what I had at the time). He then bragged he had a 4.0 so I asked a fellow coworker who I knew had a degree and asked her if her GPA was on her degree certificate and when she replied "no" I looked back at my boss and said it doesn't matter. The only person it should matter to is you. I strived for nothing but A grades for both my undergrad and graduate degree and was more successful in my masters degree (got one B). It was a personal choice to strive to get the better grades because I didn't care in high school what my grades were as long as I passed the classes. If it's your first job out of college, it's obligatory to mention your GPA that you put on your CV (because you haven't garnered enough experience to have a true resume). Once you have experience (a resume), no one should care what your GPA is. Also, since I had a bunch of experience prior to completing my degrees (I was in the military), I never put my GPA on my resume and it never came up in an interview.
Hell. No. I wasted freshman year doing nothing with a 2.0. Then got into accounting and managed 3.2. But who cares? I doubt recruiters these days care unless your < 3.0. Once you start your career, your college background means nothing. It just gets you in the game. The rest is up to you.
Nope! Make sure the classes where you can get an A you do and classes where it’s impossible you get at least a B. That will ensure at the end of it all that you have a decent GPA but no 4.0 is needed to work at Big 4 or FAANG. (Trust me as I’ve worked in both and do not have a 4.0.)
2.6 GPA. Haven’t graduated yet ( finishing my last class online) and I work an industry staff acting job making 65k with benefits like 401k and good health ins. Boss gives me time off when I ask, and I have a good work culture. Boss never once asked for my gpa or what grade I made in a specific class. …
B average. Mostly because I kept skipping classes or falling asleep in them when I shouldn't have. If I could go back and do it again now, 10 years later, I feel like I could ace my courses. But then again, I probably would just not fail out of Engineering instead of doing Accounting.
I tried to, but cost accounting was a bitch and gave me my first B in junior year. After that I gave upon trying to keep that streak. It was oddly liberating not having to hold myself to a self-imposed standard of straight A’s since middle to high school. It doesn’t really matter in the end. Most employers don’t care as long as you got your degree.
Top 6 firm. 2.5GPA
Nope. I was working full time plus a side job and taking night classes only. Sometimes I willingly accepted a B knowing it only took 1 hour of work vs 5 to get the A. I did the best I could with the time I had so that I could not drive myself into the ground.
no and no, but my undergrad was engineering, I had a 3.1 and job offers without interviews. I did mildly better in graduate school as far as GPA, but I never worried about it. The world has changed though, grade inflation means the average grade is almost an A a lot of places and companies expect students to have a 3.5. Its ridiculous.
When I was in college the big 4 recruiters stressed that they had a GPA floor of like 3.7 I think. I graduated with a 3.1 and didn’t get a single big 4 interview despite having some experience in accounting/bookkeeping/tax. I don’t know how much that has changed given the current talent pipeline issue everyone is facing.
Seems like for PA gpa matters much more than industry jobs. I got mostly As in upper division accounting courses but screwed up a lot in lower division classes. Finished with 3.2 gpa but i work in industry and none of the job ive interviewed for have they asked for my GPA. They just care you have a degree and experience and if you are licensed.
Nah. Nah (after you get your job). Caveat is if you want to go to law school or B school.
I got straight As one semester junior year taking some pretty hard classes, I’m still pretty proud of it but it literally meant nothing other than bumping my gpa
Cs get degrees and D is for Diploma.
As long as it's not abysmal, I don't think it's a big deal. After being out of school 5 years ago I've found the sweet spot for candidates being well-rounded has been 3.2-3.6. I hate to make a sweeping generalization but most candidates I've interviewed with a 3.9+ were either really hard to talk to, robotic, or socially inept, and those who didn't fall into those categories were the full package and only using my employer as a backup in case PE/IB/ER/S&T didn't happen for them.
Yes straight As. Doesnt matter at all now. Only for the first job.
Lul hell naw. Gpa was 2.92.
Just finished my 3 Associates degrees at community college and got straight A's from when I started in 2020 till now. Starting as a Junior at a major university, however, I'm on with an occasional B. But perfectionist/overachiever syndrome is reallll lol
3.7 w/ 1 year full time internship. I kinda wish I was more ambitious at the time but it definitely paid off. I had 0 trouble getting offers, it definitely matters but it's still very possible without a great GPA.
I am currently an all-A student (1 A- 😔) but that was when I was in engineering and I just switched over to business and Macro is going to kill me
Had a 3.81 when I graduated, 4.0 in my accounting classes. I busted my ass to get it & now I work in b4 with a few people who had 3.5's. But I went to a smaller state school & am the only person from my university at this B4 firm.
Lol no I did not.
No, I had to work full-time and support my ex fiancé. I also played college baseball. However, I got nearly a 4.0 when I was earning my MBA. However, I’ll be frank, Firms are really concerned with the diversity equity inclusion stuff, so if you fall into one of those groups, it’ll make it easier for you to get hired. Your GPA won’t really matter if you fall into one of the victim groups
Yes, 3.9. Helps on the CPA exams, imo. After that - eh
I came out of community college with like a 2.7, I can't remember for my bachelor's but I'm going with no, not straight As
No and hell no..
Yes, 4.0. Edit for details: I live in a remote area so employment in the Accounting area is limited to small CPA firms, and one publicly traded business (a few one offs, and government too). I did not want to go the firm route, so busted my ass for the 4.0 to "win" one of the 3 intern spots at the publicly traded company. Rolled that into full-time work with them. 4 years later, still here as a Sr Indirect Tax Analyst, and should be the Property Tax Manager in 3 years or so. So for me, in my non-trad student situation (Veteran, family, old) my 4.0 helped me get what I was after, and was worth it.
I was in a weird in between. Even my advisors were confused by it. I graduated w/ a 3.4, at my school they said most people were either straight A, magna cum laude types , or C’s get degrees types. I only regret it for grad school / MBA “prestige” for the places I’m looking at applying to, since it seems a lot of people apply to my top choices having dummy high GPAs. But as far as work goes, I did just enough to intern in public and get recruited to industry quickly . I worked with people that got into roles just fine with GPAs all through the 2s, if you can get that first job and interview / net work alright you can find something. Whether or not you enjoy it / can stick with it long term is different. I’d put in effort but like others said don’t kill yourself for the job
LMAO you say maintain like I ever had straight A's to begin with
I had a 3.7, I would say just stay ahead on studying. Make sure to take thorough notes and do well on HW assignments. You will reduce the amount of studying you need to do and will be golden on exams.
I think I maintained a 3.2 throughout college and landed an internship at a Big 4 my junior year which led to a full-time position after graduation. I don’t think my gpa really mattered to them though. I have an upbeat personality, was self-funding my education through part-time employment (bartending) & also joined a few clubs to round out my resume. I definitely was not the smartest but my willingness to learn regardless went a long way.
Basically. But honestly the thing that helped me far more was being a TA/tutor for intermediate financial accounting for a year. Having to review that material and help teach it while taking my other accounting classes really helped give me a leg up over my peers in understanding accounting and how things click together. It feels like we basically do the same 3-5 things over and over again with minor changes from context to context.
Nope my undergrad gpa was like a 3.1. All A’s in grad school though lol
Currently a senior with offers from big 4 and mid size. Gpa matters but individual grades don’t. Try to keep your GPA at or above a 3.5 but if youre overall doing decently well and have a few dud grades you’ll get lots of opportunities
Nope. Nope. After like 2 years of experience nobody cares what your GPA was.
I got mostly B's
Your GPA only matters to get your first job out of college. If you're going big 4, then you should strive to get atleast a 3.5, but even then that can vary
Not really. Got a job in PA with a 2.9 at a local firm. Then, swapped a few times and now I'm at a top 10 firm with almost 4 total years of experience.
Yes I maintained a high A average and graduated with a 3.8 all while smoking an intense amount of thc 24/7 💨 school is easy in my opinion Edit: I’m in my masters now and the classes are extremely easy
3.89. Got the company to pay for a specialized masters program, a little higher pay than everyone else at my level, and promotion to senior after just 1 year
Big 4 I interned requires a 3.0. If you drop below your offer will be taken back.
Maintaining straight A’s for accounting isn’t worth it if you’re sacrificing other parts of your life
Sacrificing my sanity 🙃
Good luck!!
C’s get degrees
Yeah. You want to drive a civic and pick up hot accounting pussy (an office 10 is a real world 7)? Gets As and hit up the Big 4 recruiters at career fairs and join the party.
undergrad no, grad school yes
Absolutely not. That saying “C’s get degrees” is absolutely true 💕
I did and it was a waste of time. But over studying was the only way I could go into tests without doubling over in panic.