[icpait]

I got a 2.6 gpa in finance from a relatively good university about a year and a half ago. I went to community college after to meet the accounting requirements and 150 hr requirement. I sat for the cpa and passed but now comes the part of getting the necessary experience to actual get my cpa certification. My question is will the fact that I passed all four parts be good enough to get me a job or will my low gpa from undergrad still cause a problem when going to get the experience needed to get my cpa license??

[Mayo]

Holy overreaction Saturday Batman!

@Bluefin, when I see, “I did not do that well in college; hell I still have bong resin in my brain from it”, I don't find it a stretch to infer you partied a bit too much in school.

Regardless, my point still stands. Unless you've made contact with a recruiter and explained why your gpa is low, he/she assumes the things I mentioned. Why do you think GPA is even tracked? If it ddn't matter, firms would just ask for soon to be grads and base them off of personality.

That's not to say that peple with higher GPAs are smarter, more hard working, and better suited. It's just a way to rate your peformance in absense of professsional work experience.

The question the OP posed is “does the undergrad matter, even after passing the CPA?”! Others and I have commented that it matters the most right out of college, when you're looking for that entry level job. Is it a game killer? No. It just makes your life that much harder, and you now need to network like crazy and/or get a bit lucky. If your story isdifferent, I would still argue that you are the exception and not the norm. It still does not change the fact that low gpa will always be a negative that must be overcome rather than a positive.

Again, I stand by my previous comments on first impressions of a low gpa.

Mayo, BBA, Macc

[Whatdidyou]

“I agree with BluefinCPA, I believe its time these companies re-evaluate their recruitment procedures. A good GPA looks good on paper and thats it. I'm not in public accounting right now but presently work at JPMorgan, a few of my co-workers and myself all went to the same school, majority of them all have better GPA's than I do, i'm talking about north of 3.8 and the likes, my major GPA is 3.2 and my overall GPA is even lower than that. I recently pass all four parts of the CPA exam while these same people are struggling to pass. And I'm not just saying that to prove a point. It is the truth.”

I don't doubt you. BUT, I'd bet that on average students with GPA's > 3.5 have a higher CPA exam pass rate than students with GPA's lower than that. The firm does not have much else to go on. There are enough students with a wide array of experiences AND high GPAs that they can choose for interviews. How would you have them change their recruitment procedures? GPA is an objective measure.

Truth is that you don't really know who is going to struggle vs. who is going to be able to pass. But your GPA & school rigor are probably the best indicators.

REG - Passed!!
BEC - Passed
FAR - Passed
AUD - Passed

Study Materials: Becker basic course

[Anonymous]

@ OP: Keep working as hard as you can, keep hittting the pavement and things will come. You know how I became partner? I originally offerred to work for free so I could learn the business. Little things like that will make you stand out. I might have been in a different situation because I already had 2 jobs and did not need the money, but I did need the education.

@ mayo: sorry if you took what i said as an over reaction and I appologize. But I do not know how else to react when called a slacker. Anyway, lets move on and I look forward to helping you if I can with this exam, and I hope you will still lend a hand to me. Again I appologize and did not mean to come off like a jerk.

[musicamor]

@BlueFin..if you've already made partner, why are you testing for the CPA exam?? Also, I am assuming you mean partner in an Accounting firm? I did not know that was possible without a CPA license. Just curious.

Texas CPA - licensed in 2012!!!

[Author]

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