Big 4 Target Universities.

I'm shocked this thread is still going. There is no order. Nobody at graduate recruitment has sat down and made a list of favourite degrees that would somehow impact your application. My intake of 8 people into my department (public sector audit) includes a philosopher and a biologist, people fresh from uni and people that had worked in other (unrelated) industries before etc. For what it's worth I did economics at a Russell Group and went straight from uni to work. Everybody is very different and departments benefit from that variety.

I think an overlooked reason why the Big 4 will have target universities is also a simple matter of geography, it's a lot easier for them to target somewhere that they have an office. Most events are in the evening and require sending graduates that have been at work all day, it wouldn't be particularly easy to assemble a team of people to go out to Aberystwyth when there's no offices anywhere near.

If you've got the minimum requirements then it will get you through that section of your application, as simple as that. There are far more important reasons for your choice of university.

No recruiter or partner argues that haha.

I didn't say they did. I just pointed out some valid reasons as to why the decision to do an A&F degree over any other discipline when looking to join Big 4 isn't that important.

I notice you're an A&F grad.

The points made in bold:

Which of the big 4 have an office in Cambridge and Oxford?

What do you class as minimum? - AAB + 2.1 from russel/1994 group or is anything lower acceptable

what reasons can there be? Surely the main reason for going to university and collecting the debt is that your piece of paper improves your career prospects and job opportunities. Therefore choosing universities which are targeted would be important.

I don't know the office structure of every big 4 - however at KPMG we have a Cambridge office and a Reading office, with Reading about 20-30 minutes from Oxford, so they're pretty easy distances to travel. I don't doubt that it's hard to prove any causality when big cities often have big universities and us situated in them, I'm just throwing it out there as another reason for the choices.

I class as minimum exactly what it says on the employer websites. Per the KPMG website, they're as follows:



Re: uni choice, that's a different debate. You're questioning why go to university at all, I'm talking about what you should base the choice between 2 different universities on. I'm assuming people have made the decision to go to university, otherwise why ask which university to apply to?

I firmly believe some notion of a university giving you a better chance of getting into the Big 4 is completely the wrong reason to apply. There just isn't the level of distinction and I doubt most people are making choices between a 'prestigious' Russell Group uni and a much lower reputation university anyway, generally the questions on here are about a choice like Manchester v Bristol (random example).

There are so many other factors you need to take into account, things like whether you want to be in a city, whether you want a campus uni, the general feel of the place, the type of research they do etc. that might impact on the experience and enjoyment you get at that university so much more than it will on your job application.

And here's the most important thing - what trumps all else is what grade you get at uni. If it's below a 2.1, the Big 4 aren't looking at you. If you go to the university that you feel you'll be most at home at and get the most enjoyment from, that is where you're most likely to get the degree you need. Now that really will make a difference as to whether they accept you.

I've seen most candidates at interviews from Russell Group universities. I was at a Top4 firm in Manchester and most the candidates were from UoManchester, then others from the likes of Leeds, Sheffield..

Did all the UoM candidates do an accounting course?

Lol at everyone that thinks they don't take which university into account and even bigger lol at people that don't think course matters at all.

Did all the UoM candidates do an accounting course?

Did all the UoM candidates do an accounting course?

No, Only one person had done Accounting & Finance others had done degrees such as: Maths, Psychology, Management.

Hi,

by getting a 2:1 in BA economics which area so you think I have a good chance of applying to.

Will I be at a major disadvantage of attending a 1994 group uni rather than Russell Group. Also how much of a factor does a BA make compared to a BSc. Thanks

Hi,

by getting a 2:1 in BA economics which area so you think I have a good chance of applying to.

Will I be at a major disadvantage of attending a 1994 group uni rather than Russell Group. Also how much of a factor does a BA make compared to a BSc. Thanks