[Anonymous]

Hey guys

I got a summer internship offer from one of the big 4 last fall.

On the offer letter, it said it is contingent upon maintaining satisfactory academic standing.

Unfortunately, my gpa came out this semester and I kinda bombed this semester so my overall GPA will drop significantly.

Would this jeopardize my offer?

I don’t know what satisfactory means to them.

Also, would this affect whether I’ll get my full time offer or not after this summer?

I’m really worried about this tragedy….

[Mayo]

Yes it might.

Mayo, BBA, Macc

[nigercpa]

Hi Mayo, I just started looking for job and I am interested in getting into a Big4, though I completed my masters in 2012 . However, I am not sure if my resume is strong enough to earn me a phone interview. I respect your opinions and contributions towards big4 topics on the forum and I wanted to ask if you could take a look at my resume or maybe I can connect with you on Linkedin and then we can communicate through that. Thanks!

Far - Passed 83
Aud - Passed 84
Bec - Passed 77
Reg- Passed 77

[mla1169]

A tragedy is something you have no control over. If you had an extenuating circumstance that affected your grades (a serious illness, death in the family) that legitimately affected your grades just explain it. If you just didn't do the work this semester and your letter specifies the contingency you'd be wise to prepare to lose the offer just in case your GPA is not considered satisfactory.

FAR- 77
AUD -49, 71, 84
REG -56,75!
BEC -75

Massachusetts CPA (non reporting) since 3/12.

[Anonymous]

Until recently I was Big 4 and we almost retracted an offer for an internship because the person's GPA dropped with no legitimate reason for it. Like mla said, if you had a real reason for the drop, make sure you explain it to them. Otherwise yes, be prepared to lose the internship. It may not happen, but it's definitely a possibility.

And “satisfactory” is different for each firm. For Big 4, however I believe it tends to hover around the 3.3-3.5 range. I know when I interviewed for internships in college, the Big 4 wouldn't even bring you in for an interview if you were below this range.

[zestysauce]

If it keeps you from having to intern and eventually become a big 4 employee, i don't think many would view that as a tragedy.

FAR: 79
REG: 75
BEC: 82
AUD: 80

[Anonymous]

I had an offer from Big 4, had my internship, and didn't get a full-time offer. I think it partially had to do with my dropping GPA. I had around a 3.5 when I got the offer, and it had dropped to around 3.3 by the time my internship ended. Nothing except for my GPA seemed to be a reason for not getting an offer.

My major GPA (which I avoid talking about) wound up being around 2.2. It was BAD. I understand accounting, but I just freak out on tests. This probably didn't help either…

[fuzyfro89]

Bronx:

Yes, your major avg is probably more important than overall. Sub-3.0 I believe is when they start asking questions. I'm sure they might as if you went from a 4.0 to a 3.5 (because that's huge!), but assuming you somehow passed and got your degree, it wouldn't likely matter. That is a terrible accounting GPA. How do you manage to focus and take the CPA exams? Did you learn to deal with the test anxiety?

On another note, if you manage to get experience elsewhere, get your CPA license, and go for an experienced hire position, I am fairly certain they could not care less what your GPA in school was.

dswodd:

It depends on what your GPA is before and after. Generally, anything above a 3.0 will be alright (I think I remember someone telling me that this is the firm HR policy cutoff, and anything below that has to be approved by someone in HR or a partner or something like that).

[Anonymous]

I honestly don't know what it was with me. Part of it was my school's reputation for having terrible professors, which I found to be VERY true. With that being said, I didn't put in the effort to self-learn the material in school. I'm much better with it now.

I worked for a year (graduated in 2013) in private, and just got hired at a mid-tier public firm. They didn't even ask me my major GPA, just overall (which finished at 3.3) and they said that's a great GPA. I was shocked they never brought it up. I think being in the process of taking the exam (and already passing FAR) was way more important to them than major GPA.

[Anonymous]

@fuzyfro is exactly right about Big4 not caring what your GPA is if you come in as an experience hire. I graduated last June with my 225 credits and had a major gpa of 3.20 and cumulative of 3.01. I got a job as an audit staff at a regional firm and started in January.

My friend who works at a Big4 reached out to me after busy season and asked if I was interested in maybe joining his firm. I sent him my resume (no GPA included) and was immediately emailed and asked to do an in-office interview. During those interviews they didn't ask me about my GPA once. I ended up getting an offer to start in September.

Moral of the story: I don't think GPA matters once you get your first job.

[stag]

I don't know how much they care about GPA once they gave you an interview. My overall GPA is only 3.37, but my major GPA was 3.97. So if they go by overall GPA, I won't even make the cut to get an interview at Big 4, never mind full time offers. So if you did internship with them already, its probably more your performance rather than GPA that affected your chance at a full time offer.

FAR - Aug 2013 Passed
REG - DEC 2013 Passed
BEC - FEB 2014 Passed
AUD - MAY 2014 Passed

BSEE = who needs accounting degree to pass CPA exams?

[Author]

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