Which London Uni to get into a Big 4?

I would like to study Accounting at a London Uni, please could you rank the below unis which would be best to go to in order to get into a big 4 accounting firm, failing that a mid-tier firm like Grant Thornton or BDO?
- Queen Mary University of London
- City Uni of London (Cass Business School)
- Surrey
- Royal Holloway

Also any advice regarding experience - should I try to get work experience in a local accounting firm for a week here and there before I apply to first year internships etc? Do these firms do internships in first year or only summer internships after second year?

Thanks

Reply 1

Exceptional

Doesn't really matter, they aren't investment banks or consulting firms. But, Cass would probably give you the best opportunities to succeed and make an impact in your interview.

Reply 2

abkfdjhskjhdn

Original post by Exceptional

Doesn't really matter, they aren't investment banks or consulting firms. But, Cass would probably give you the best opportunities to succeed and make an impact in your interview.

Why is this - is Cass much more highly regarded than the others?
Although City uni as a whole is quite low on the ranking of unis?

Do you think the course at Cass would be the same kind of difficulty as one at LSE or would it be around the same level as the other unis listed above?
In terms of how easy the course is would entry requirements be a good indication of this e.g. Queen Mary is ABB whereas Cass is AAA?

Reply 3

Trinculo

Original post by snoopyx

Surrey and RoHo aren't London in any real sense.

Reply 4

Kutie Karen

Any of them are fine. The big 4 put you through their selection process which is quite tough and so getting through those will count much more than which uni you went to.

Reply 5

abkfdjhskjhdn

Original post by Kutie Karen

Any of them are fine. The big 4 put you through their selection process which is quite tough and so getting through those will count much more than which uni you went to.

Could you please go into detail regarding the selection process if you know about this? thanks

Reply 6

popcornjpg

if you're set on uni and accounting, why not just go school leavers?

the one thing I could understand is social life, otherwise there's no need really

Reply 7

abkfdjhskjhdn

Original post by popcornjpg

if you're set on uni and accounting, why not just go school leavers?

the one thing I could understand is social life, otherwise there's no need really

yes tbh it is partly for the social life which is why I don't want to go to somewhere like lse where I will be working non-stop

Reply 8

abkfdjhskjhdn

cass, royal holloway and surrey offer some exemptions for the aca would you recommend I place these above queen mary for that reason?

Reply 9

Contempt

Any of the universities listed would be suitable. Go where you think you will be happiest :smile:

A grad from a poly who spent their summers working in an accountancy firm, achieved great grades whilst at uni and has good soft skills is much more likely to receive an offer than a grad from a top uni with poor grades, poor social skills and no work experience.

My university is ranked ~20th in the UK and I have received an offer from one of the big four.