GPA for Big 4 Accounting Firms

 Welcome to episode 30 of the big 4 accounting firms podcast brought to you by big4accountingfirms.com.  Make sure to subscribe to this podcast, share it with a friend and rate it when you get a chance.

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Today we are going to be discussing college grade point average and how it affects big 4 recruiting.

Let’s answer the age-old question does GPA matter at the big 4 accounting firms . Can you get a job at the big 4 accounting firms with a low GPA?

I think this question has to be tackled from many different angles.

There is no yes or no answer to this question. I’m sorry, but it depends on the person and the circumstances.

For example, if you live in a small town in Wyoming and go to a small school in Wyoming, then yes you need a good gpa. If on the other hand you go to the University of Texas or BYU, and your gpa is low, then I wouldn’t worry about it.

The Big 4 do have minimum gpa requirements, but they aren’t the same at all schools. At some schools like Texas and BYU they are only 3.2. At other schools, the GPA requirements are 3.7. That is because the big 4 receive tons of candidates from those other schools with really high GPAs.

It’s much harder to get a 3.9 at BYU or Texas than it is at Baruch or University of Phoenix. Now I know I’ll get a bunch of emails from the Baruch people telling me how difficult it is at their school, but I’d ask them to go to BYU or Texas and then let me know their thoughts.

How to get around having a low GPA

1. Move to a big city with a lot of openings and apply to all the big 4.
2. Move to a big city and apply to all midtier and reginoal accounting firms. Once you are accepted at one of these firms. Gain a couple of years of experience and then transfer to big 4.
3. Work at a client of the big 4. Going into industry is not a death sentence. Make sure you go to a company that is growing and that you will like though. Then make sure you work really hard and get good reviews. Then transfer to the big 4.
4. Accept a lower position. If none of the above examples are suitable to you. Then join the big 4 internal firms services department. This means become a recruiter yourself or become an admin at the big 4. Once you are inside of the big 4, it is much easier to transfer around. It is harder getting inside than it is transferring around. I once saw an executive assistant who was a supreme brown noser go from executive assistant to senior associate without an accounting degree or clients. It also helped that she was optically pleasing, but this just goes to show you that it is easy transfer once you are inside the big firms.
5. Look on linkedin and indeed to see where the most big 4 openings are and ask your big 4 recruiter about that city. Make sure you specify the line of service as well. The big 4 always need bodies somewhere. Sometimes the recruiters don’t know where though. If you identify that area and bring it up to your recruiter, you have a chance at nailing that job.

Conclusion

Can you get a job at one of the big 4 accounting firms with a low gpa. Yes I believe you can work at KPMG, PwC, Deloitte or EY with a low GPA, but you truly have to believe in it. Write it down somewhere everyday. Make it all you think about and your conscious and subconscious brain will get you there. Your brain will solve this problem for you if you let it. You will either use some of the strategies I have above or you will come up with a derivative strategy on your own.

make sure to visit our site: https://big4accountingfirms.com for more strategies