PwC flying start vs A+F at top university

Hi guys.
I'm interested in the PwC flying start degree program at potentially one of these 4 universities: Nottingham, Manchester, Newcastle and Reading university. This program has a lot of benefits. Just for some context, students get to work with PwC for four months in years 2,3 and 4 of their degree. You are also paid a competitive salary for the work you do and by the time you finish your course, you have already finished 12/15 of your ACA exams. Students are also guaranteed a job with PwC if they achieve a 2:1 or higher in their degree. However, when looking at the league tables for accountancy and finance, I noticed that universities that offer this program are not in the top 10 universities in the country. I could be wrong as the universities' website themselves say otherwise. Are these universities good universities for accountancy and finance? How do they compare to the universities such as Leed, Glasgow and bath (in terms of reputation), as these universities are very reputable? Would it be better to go for the degree with the universities that are supposedly more reputable, or are the universities that offer the flying start program just as good, despite the league tables? The leed's university website mentions that I would be exempt from taking 8 out of the 15 exams for the ACA if I take their degree. However, with the PwC program, I will have to take those exams during my course.

I would also like to mention that the graduate program for PwC is highly competitive, and taking the PwC flying start degree program will mean that I won't have to apply for the graduate schemes, which are very very difficult to get into. Also, will I be able to go into any sector of finance with the PwC flying start degree?

Thanks!

Hi,
I had the same dilemma last year, i had an offer from bath and my flying start offers. i chose to accept the flying start at newcastle in the end due to the fact that how far the flying start puts you compared to a normal a&f degree and all of the extra benefits. at the end of the day both courses get you a a&f degree. i personally would say the flying start is better for your future than a normal degree as when employers are looking for candidates the degrees themselves would be similarly valuable yet with flying start you get work experience as well with a top 4 company.
hope this helps and if you have any questions about the assessment process or anything let me know!! x

Hi,
Thank you so much for your response! I have a few questions on the application process if you don’t mind me asking.

1) how difficult is it to get an offer
2) How would you go about writing a strong personal statement for the flying start degree. E.g Did you include books in your PS, work experience, and if so how many work experience places?
3) What sort of questions are asked in the interview
4) what was the assessment process like

Thank you for taking the time to read my post. I would appreciate it if you can answer these questions. Thanks again!

I have gotten an offer for Flying Start too so I can answer these questions for you:

1.) It is pretty difficult I would say because there are multiple stages that you have to pass & there are usually a lot of applications & only limited spaces and so there is many rejections as well. BUT it is still worth applying to and giving your best shot at trying to get in.
2.) I wrote a normal accounting & finance personal statement. I didn't have any work experience in the field & still got accepted. Mines revolved around my personal experiences & how that related to accounting & my future aspirations etc
3.) I can't disclose the questions as it would be highly unfair to other candidates, plus under the rules set by PwC I actually cannot share this information but all I can say is, if you know the degree & the course & general knowledge around accounting in the real life world then you should be fine.
4.) Assessment process first included a game-based assessment which wasn't too bad & then we had to do an online interview which was quite nerve wrecking tbh but wasn't as bad as you would expect and if you pass the interview then there is a group based assessment which is the final & I guess most difficult stage to pass & then your in.

Hope that helped

I have gotten an offer for Flying Start too so I can answer these questions for you:

1.) It is pretty difficult I would say because there are multiple stages that you have to pass & there are usually a lot of applications & only limited spaces and so there is many rejections as well. BUT it is still worth applying to and giving your best shot at trying to get in.
2.) I wrote a normal accounting & finance personal statement. I didn't have any work experience in the field & still got accepted. Mines revolved around my personal experiences & how that related to accounting & my future aspirations etc
3.) I can't disclose the questions as it would be highly unfair to other candidates, plus under the rules set by PwC I actually cannot share this information but all I can say is, if you know the degree & the course & general knowledge around accounting in the real life world then you should be fine.
4.) Assessment process first included a game-based assessment which wasn't too bad & then we had to do an online interview which was quite nerve wrecking tbh but wasn't as bad as you would expect and if you pass the interview then there is a group based assessment which is the final & I guess most difficult stage to pass & then your in.

Hope that helped

I would say the exact same things as this, the only things I have to add is that for our intake i think there was around 4000 applicants for roughly 300 places across the 4 unis, and the application process was stressful but so rewarding at the end, i found the interview the most difficult as you were talking to yourself not an actual person, the questions are all really situational so having a good overall business knowledge helped me for that. for the group assessment timing was the most difficult so watching the clock is important.
I also had no work experience and my predicted grades were A*AA but i know people got in with predicted AAB and even lower (BBC) when with a partners offer.

I would say the exact same things as this, the only things I have to add is that for our intake i think there was around 4000 applicants for roughly 300 places across the 4 unis, and the application process was stressful but so rewarding at the end, i found the interview the most difficult as you were talking to yourself not an actual person, the questions are all really situational so having a good overall business knowledge helped me for that. for the group assessment timing was the most difficult so watching the clock is important.
I also had no work experience and my predicted grades were A*AA but i know people got in with predicted AAB and even lower (BBC) when with a partners offer.

Thank you for your insight! What were your predicted grades and do they have to be really high?

Hi guys.
I'm interested in the PwC flying start degree program at potentially one of these 4 universities: Nottingham, Manchester, Newcastle and Reading university. This program has a lot of benefits. Just for some context, students get to work with PwC for four months in years 2,3 and 4 of their degree. You are also paid a competitive salary for the work you do and by the time you finish your course, you have already finished 12/15 of your ACA exams. Students are also guaranteed a job with PwC if they achieve a 2:1 or higher in their degree. However, when looking at the league tables for accountancy and finance, I noticed that universities that offer this program are not in the top 10 universities in the country. I could be wrong as the universities' website themselves say otherwise. Are these universities good universities for accountancy and finance? How do they compare to the universities such as Leed, Glasgow and bath (in terms of reputation), as these universities are very reputable? Would it be better to go for the degree with the universities that are supposedly more reputable, or are the universities that offer the flying start program just as good, despite the league tables? The leed's university website mentions that I would be exempt from taking 8 out of the 15 exams for the ACA if I take their degree. However, with the PwC program, I will have to take those exams during my course.
I would also like to mention that the graduate program for PwC is highly competitive, and taking the PwC flying start degree program will mean that I won't have to apply for the graduate schemes, which are very very difficult to get into. Also, will I be able to go into any sector of finance with the PwC flying start degree?
Thanks!

Hi sorry this is really late but did you apply for more than one university for the same course/ can you ??

hey, i’ve just gotten an offer for both university of Nottingham and university of Manchester starting in september, so you can apply to as many that you like- however both PwC and the universities have to accept you before you get an offer- so it’s not a guarantee that if PwC accept you then the uni will. In terms of the assessments it was tough and very nerve-racking but there was a tonn of people who applied this year, so glad to get in. Wish you luck if you decide to apply next year!

hey, i’ve just gotten an offer for both university of Nottingham and university of Manchester starting in september, so you can apply to as many that you like- however both PwC and the universities have to accept you before you get an offer- so it’s not a guarantee that if PwC accept you then the uni will. In terms of the assessments it was tough and very nerve-racking but there was a tonn of people who applied this year, so glad to get in. Wish you luck if you decide to apply next year!

Hi, do you know how many applicants there were for the flying start degrees approx?

they didn’t confirm the latest amount of candidates but they did say it was the largest it has ever been. Maybe a few thousand. UoN had 72 places to give out on their course and UoM had 56 places- 215 were offered a place in UoM

hey, i’ve just gotten an offer for both university of Nottingham and university of Manchester starting in september, so you can apply to as many that you like- however both PwC and the universities have to accept you before you get an offer- so it’s not a guarantee that if PwC accept you then the uni will. In terms of the assessments it was tough and very nerve-racking but there was a tonn of people who applied this year, so glad to get in. Wish you luck if you decide to apply next year!