These schools offer the best chance at a Big Four accounting job
By: Taylor Nichols | Published: January 5, 2022 
Key Insights:
- Small East Coast schools offer the best shot at Big Four accounting firm recruitment
- Wake Forest University in North Carolina ranks No. 1 with 26% of accounting grads employed in the Big Four
- Brigham Young University, the University of Illinois, and other top accounting schools are notably missing from the list
For many future CPAs, landing an internship or job at the Big Four is the goal after graduation. These four top accounting firms 鈥� Deloitte, PwC, EY, and KPMG 鈥� are known for offering top-notch training and career development for fresh accounting graduates. An entry-level position at any Big Four firm can be a great opportunity to launch a strong career in public accounting.
Reports on the top feeder schools for a job at the Big Four often focus on large universities with strong accounting programs that draw recruiters. However, little research is available on which colleges actually offer the best chance at a job with a Big Four firm.
To find out which colleges send the highest rate of accounting students to the Big Four, we dug into LinkedIn alumni data on employment outcomes for nearly 100 colleges. Our study included more than 300,000 accounting alumni who graduated over the last 10 years.
Who are the Big Four accounting firms?
Major accounting firms Deloitte, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Ernst & Young, and KPMG, often referred to as the Big Four, are the highest-grossing firms in the world. All four are recognized for their prestige in the industry. All four firms have U.S. headquarters in New York City, with offices across the country and worldwide.
- Deloitte - $50.2B in 2021
- 80+ offices throughout the U.S.
- PricewaterhouseCoopers - $45B
- 90 offices throughout the U.S.
- Ernst & Young - $40B
- 91 offices throughout the U.S.
- KPMG - $32.1B
- 90 offices throughout the U.S.
Which colleges send the highest rate of graduates to the Big Four?
We were highly surprised by our findings. Our analysis of schools with the highest rate of accounting graduates at top firms was dramatically different from most accounting program rankings, including U.S. News and Niche.
Source: LinkedIn
We found that small, private East Coast colleges tended to have the best results for graduates. These schools may have done well due to strong accounting programs and proximity to the U.S. headquarters of all four firms in New York City.
Some big-name schools did make our list, including the University of Southern California and Texas A&M University. However, some of the top accounting schools known for Big Four recruitment didn't send graduates to these firms at the high rates we expected to see. These include:
- Brigham Young University
- The University of Texas at Austin
- Indiana University
- University of Notre Dame
- University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign
Colleges with the Highest Rate of Accounting Alumni at Big Four Firms
Wake Forest University
Private school Wake Forest University in North Carolina sent the highest rate of accounting graduates to a Big Four firm at 26%. A total of 514 out of the 1,945 accounting alumni listed on LinkedIn went to work for a top firm. Wake Forest also sent 7.71% of accounting alumni to EY, the highest rate of any college in our dataset.
Fairfield University
Connecticut-based private school Fairfield University sent the second highest rate of graduates to Big Four accounting firms at 21.98%. Fairfield isn't typically seen as a top feeder school for the Big Four. However, KPMG recently told the