[Anonymous]

I received my bachelor’s degree in accounting from George Mason University a few weeks ago. I got no chance at the Big 4 since I have an accounting GPA of 2.54 and overall GPA of 3.05. I am perfectly fine having no chance going into Big 4. They work you like a donkey, you lose your social life; might as well sleep in your cubicle.

At George Mason you must take 6 core accounting major classes and pass them in order to graduate with a degree in accounting. I have a B-,B, B, C+, C+, C+ respectively to the six. Studied my butt off as a full time student and even read the textbook for all my accounting classes even when the textbook wasn’t entirely necessary to pass the courses. I did it anyways to get a good understanding of the concepts. However in the end I received subpar grades despite my efforts.

The accounting department at George Mason seems to enjoy messing with students. If class average for a midterm is above 75%, the professors will view it as a sign that the midterm was too easy. The remedy would be to go above and beyond to make sure the next midterm or the final exam is extra hard. One of their methods is to put problems that are very faintly familiar to what was taught in class or in the textbook. If that is not enough to lower the average they will put problems that are heavily weighted and are remotely familiar( pretty much never mentioned in class or textbook) and will require someone to intuitively to be able to solve it with very little background knowledge about how to solve that particular problem.

Despite how much stress and hardship it gave me I can understand their reasoning behind it. The professors want to weed out as many students as they can. It also distinguishes the students that are super smart and super diligent in their studies. It allows the Big 4 to pick the best students out from the crowd more easily. Students that probably should have majored in engineering but chose accounting for whatever reason.

I struggled just to get subpar grades in my accounting course; the grades really did not reflect my actual understanding of the accounting concepts. The harsh methods used by the accounting professors really messed with me. If I was given an empty sheet of paper and told to jot down all the concepts I learned in my six core classes I could do it fluently.

With that being said my guess is that I will struggle real bad if I try to take CPA exam based on my accounting grades. This is why I don’t think the CPA is for me. Can I still be successful without CPA and make 50k-60k at the peak of my career?

I have no desire to be super rich and have the billionaire mansion with bikini clad women in a huge pool. Nope not for me.

[Tuffy11111]

You can do whatever you want to. Don't be discouraged about your grades. No one will care after your first job. Call some recruiters (Robert Half, PangeaTwo, Vaco, etc.) and they'll be able to set you up with something. Don't shoot for the stars either. My university said I shouldn't settle for anything less than a staff accountant role…well most staff accountant roles need 2+ years of experience these days. Don't look down on the AP/AR roles. I took an AP role a year ago when I graduated, and it turned into a staff accounting job in less than 4 months. Lastly, CPA is something that you'll really have to set your mind to do if you want to accomplish it. I screwed around for a year, and didn't really put the right effort into it. Then I picked up NINJA, and started frequenting these boards, and they've really helped me stay motivated.

Did your school have an accounting career adviser or anything? I called my university's about a month ago and asked her to let me know of any positions that come her way. A couple weeks after our talk, she let me know that a Big 4 office in my city had a last minute opening, and somehow I will be starting there in September. My overall GPA was significantly lower than yours, but my accounting GPA was a good bit higher than yours….if that somehow makes sense.

BEC - 83 7/25
REG - 76 5/2/15
AUD - Hopefully before MY Audit...7/5?
FAR - 83 5/2/16

[Last Chance CPA]

Put George Mason behind you and find success…GM prepares no one…

AUD - 75
BEC - 75
FAR - 76
REG - 76

I want those initials next to my name!!!!

FAR - 76
AUD - 75
BEC - 75
REG - 76

Now I need some experience!!! And some networking...

[xxtinaxx1988]

Don't let the grades bring you down, dude. Just try hard and take the exams.

[Anonymous]

In the DC area, you should be able to find an accounting job in industry starting at $50-$60K fresh out of college. There are a ton of staff accountant jobs available in the DC metro area. When applying for jobs, I would not mention your GPA unless they ask. If they ask, tell them the 3.0 and don't mention your accounting GPA unless they specifically ask for it.

If you want the CPA, go for it. College grades don't correlate with CPA exam scores. In my opinion, anyone can pass the CPA exam. You just need to know how to study. I had a 4.0 in college, but awful study skills. My first couple of exams kicked my ass because I had to learn how to study versus cramming the night before.

[Tomato]

In college I got an A in my tax classes and a C in my auditing class.

I failed REG and passed AUD with flying colors. Trust me, your grades don't really matter in terms of whether or not you can pass the CPA exam.

FAR 77 12/9/14
AUD 89 2/24/15
BEC 81 3/10/15
REG 71 5/27/15 83 8/25/15 (it's done!!!)

[Author]

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