The "Big Four" Accountancy firms HELP!

Hi Guys,

I'm in my first year at college and want to become an accountant. I do A levels in Maths, Chemistry, Biology and History. I was just wondering if people could help me out on the best route to take to work for one of the big 4 firms (Deloitte, Pricewaterhousecoopers, KPMG and Ernst & Young), any help is appreciated!!!

As someone who worked for a Big Eight accounting firm when I was young
(30 years ago, it was the Big Eight), let me warn you that working for a Big 4 firm should not be a goal in and of itself. I say this because people were fired left and right while I worked there, and on April 16th, the day after tax filing deadline in America, they got rid of about 1/2 their staff. I had only been there a few months. The guys who were fired had been there exactly a year longer than me (they were the people hired from the previous year's class). I was not fired, but quickly realized that a year later, I would probably be treated in a similar manner.