Go where you will be happy and comfortable. It is more important that you succeed at your school of choice than just graduate from the better name. If you have a 4.0 at UH vs a 3.3 or whatever at UT they will be more impressed with the UH candidate. Where ever you end up just try your best to stand out and things will work out for you.
I agree with your point, but those Spring and Fall internships wouldn't be needed if you went to UT. I'm assuming we are still talking about Accounting.
This is very true. You don't really have to look for a job coming out of UT's accounting program. You go to some company sponsored dinners and basically pick. I mean, this is assuming you know how to not suck in an interview. If you are doing Accounting then go to the top Accounting school if possible.
This isn't true. Where you went to school matters a lot in certain job fields. Since the OP is doing Accounting, where he goes to school does matter. You don't need internships or prior job experience to land the best Accounting jobs coming out of UT. All you need is the degree saying you went to the #1 school in the country. For that initial entry point in the field of Accounting, the school can matter. And once you are in you are in, as long as you don't fu*k up. It's easier for a UT grad to get a top job in Accounting then it is for a UH grad. It's easier for a UH grad to get a top job in Accounting then it is for a Sam Houston grad. Etc. I've always looked at it this way when it comes to recruiting for Accounting within the state: - Companies go to UT and A&M to beg for their students - Companies go to UH to find the best qualified students they can get there, since the school is in their own backyard - Companies go to schools like Sam or Tech if they have some type of relationship with the school (ie some partner at the firm is an alum and wants to ensure kids from his school get a shot). - Companies go to minority conferences to satisfy diversity requirements, as opposed to recruiting directly at local HBCU's
The rankings have real substance. The substance is called how many companies believe in those rankings and choose to go there. Those rankings also equate to a higher starting salary in most cases. If your point is that the rankings are based on bs criteria, I won't disagree. But UT's ranking as the top accounting program has real substance. Let's just say the companies believe the bs.
Look, I'm a UT student, so I'm obviously biased. That being said, the only reason I would go to A&M is for engineering. While decent, I don't think the Mays School of Business is prestigious. I agree with what DH13 said earlier: many of the people I know who are successful in business have said to avoid A&M if you want a job outside Texas.
The A&M accounting program is very strong. If you want to stay in the state and don't go to UT then that would be the 2nd best place to go, mainly because the network is so big and Aggies make sure their school is taken care of. And considering how strong our economy is, why would you want a job outside of Texas when everyone else is trying to get here for jobs? I get the out of state aspect for entry field jobs, but all you need to do is get a foot in the door and A&M is great for that in-state. After that how you actually do on the job matters.
This thread looks like it's filled with a cluster of people trying to convince themselves that their choice in their post-secondary education wasn't a complete mistake. People are going to great lengths to degrade one university over another, and vice versa. OP, there are numerous post here that offer valuable advice to you, but try and see which ones offer true wisdom, and not biased summations of their own school's achievements over UH. At the end of the day, all that matters is your experience and getting that first job. In that sense, going to a prestigious school might aid you, but having a good network is just as effective. For example, a relative of mine graduated from UHD with a Civil Engineering degree. He didn't have a wide variety of job offers are first but he took what he could. Guess what happened after a year? His phone wouldn't stop ringing because at the end of the day, employers want someone who can DO the job in an efficient manner, like some here have said. A few years after that, he was making 100k+ for his skills. Keep in mind, this might not be true for all majors, this was just an example. I'm not as knowledgeable in the Accounting field. In the end, you have to weigh out your benefits. If you think you're capable of making the most out of your 4-5 years in college, I think you should go to UH. It's will allow you to stay close to a flowing job market while remaining debt free and presumably close to family. If you were wondering, I'm currently attending the University of Houston with a major in Chemical Engineering (The Honors College. Doesn't mean much, but hey, gotta spread the title somewhere). I chose UH because of the benefits of being debt free, close to internships that I've already researched upon, and being close to family (because I know 10-20 years from now, I'll be happy I spent an extra 4 years around the ones I love).
Most finance jobs that aren't commission-based sales or impossibly competitive i-banking or asset management jobs require accounting; because you're looking at financial statements. Credit Analyst/Lending training programs for even small, local banks won't touch you without Intermediate I and II. Also, most people are not that unique in their passions or interests, so the "cool" jobs tend to have a disproportionate number of applicants to the amount of opportunities. That's why USC Film School, at least statistically, is the most selective grad program in the country.
I graduated from UoH with a BS in Mechanical Engineering. Everyone I knew got a good job; Exxon, Shell, Chevron, BP, FMC, Schlumberger, Halliburton, GE, Boeing, Samsung, etc. Everyone. The better they did and the more they prepared for interviews and such the better job they normally got.
