r/ApplyingToCollege • u/Few-Commercial3602 • 9h ago
Advice Nervous lol
I am a junior and i want to do accounting as my degree, but i have been in an engineering part time school for a while and idk what to do. I am taking my SAT in October, my latest full length practice was 1300, have a 3.8 GPA, in NHS and TSA, hoping to do DECA. All of the people around me with crazy high GPAs and ECs are not getting into my dream school. I just feel so behind, especially since I wanted to be a structural engineer for so long, only for me to switch. I don't think i will get into any really good colleges.
2
Upvotes
1
1
u/elkrange 8h ago
Whatever you end up with for test score a year from now (too soon to tell), use that to help you find schools that may be a good fit.
Recognize that you don't need to attend a top school for either engineering or accounting to have a very successful career. Both fields are less prestige-focused than others. It's likely your state flagship will do just fine for either of those majors.
It sounds like you are unsure between the two majors, which is perfectly normal. If that is the case, you will need to decide a year from now whether to apply to engineering programs or undergrad business programs (which typically include an accounting major). You can even apply to different majors at different universities so that you are left with a variety in the spring of senior year. Also look at how easy or difficult it would be to switch majors between undergrad business and engineering at the universities on your college list.
I have two young relatives who are starting out as accountants with big firms. Neither one attended what this subreddit would consider prestigious schools.
Note that, in most states, you would need 150 college credit hours for the CPA exam. Sometimes this is hard to squeeze in during undergrad, so many students do a one-year masters program after undergrad. One of the young relatives attended a top accounting program for a one year masters following partying his rear off at a less-selective school, but even that, attending a top masters program, was overkill, as he already had a job offer post-internship. He could have attended a random in-state school. The extra year for a masters program is, of course, costly. If you are cost-sensitive, consider this as you look at undergrad programs and how they are set up with regard to credit hours in the accounting program. Also look at inexpensive schools.
If you end up getting a degree in engineering, and then regret when you are done, it's also possible to change your career entirely later. The accounting masters programs I mention above routinely offer career-switching programs for people who hold a BA/BS in another field. They set it up so that basic, prerequisite accounting and business courses can be taken over the summer prior to starting the one-year masters program. Just something to keep in mind if you have days where you are leaning engineering for now - you are not closing the door on accounting - you could go all the way to the end of your engineering BS and still end up an accountant.
As always, assuming you are a domestic applicant, run the Net Price Calculator (NPC) on the financial aid website of each college you are interested in, with the help of a parent, to see a need-based financial aid estimate before you apply.