NarcoAccountant

Update: So I will be graduating with my MAcc this semester with probably a 3.4 Gpa. Not ideal but I had a lot going on so, it is what it is. I passed 1/4 parts of the CPA Exam so far. I will be starting full-time with a Big 4 firm this coming winter. My plan is to work until I get my CPA then enroll in a PhD program, if accepted. Due to getting married, I will only apply to U of M and MSU PhD programs (wife works and refuses to move if she has to support me through college, again) My desired research area has changed to: Accounting quality and off balance sheet financing and economic consequences of accounting standards (probably have to narrow that down) Given my MAcc Gpa and academic background mentioned early in this post, 1-2 years of Big 4 experience and a CPA. Any thoughts on my chances at these schools? Thanks!

Sounds like overkill to me if this is a PhD Accounting app. Finance sure and don't even get me started on econ. To quote a commenter on this article "Academic economists get hired and promoted almost EXCLUSIVELY based on their ability to construct and manipulate highly abstract theoretical models using mathematics. Few, extremely few, can gain academic acceptance by doing real and useful interdisciplinary policy work that requires knowledge about politics, history, social psychology and local context. The exceptions are the late John Kenneth Galbraith and the current Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke." and this gem "The ultimate test of a science is its ability to predict the future and economics has failed, time and time again, miserably as a science. So what's left to defend?" If you haven't seen me trolling about math and econ already, I do have a M.A. in Econ and love math when it's not applied to human behavior.

I have a MA in Econ and have taken most of the said math classes. Math is vastly over-rated when applied to a social science such as economics. Note: I do love math and encourage taking at least Calc I-III, L.A., and Diff eq. as it is 'basic' math. If I had to do it all over again: B.S. Accounting & Math Minor MA or MS. Economics Get public accounting job & CPA * up for debate PhD Or Do something of social value and work on free energy in my moms basement. :crazy:

So far after lurking a bit I have another question regarding math classes. I realize anything after l.a. might be over kill, would a few advanced stats classes be worth the extra time?

From what I've heard, MBA school is not very intellectually stimulating. On that note, I think you must factor in the type of person, on average, who enrolls in an MBA vs PhD. I would say that someone who gains admission into a top MBA program is there to get through the classes and use the network of students, alumni, and recruiting to return to the private sector. A person who gains admission into a top PhD program is there to get through classes, research, and the dissertation all in hopes of landing an assistant professorship at an equal or lesser school for probably less money than the top MBA's first job out of school. Again I am generalizing. So why pursue the PhD rather than the MBA if it takes 2.5 times longer and at best equal (first job out of school) pay? Speaking for myself, I would say I am entertaining the idea of pursuing a PhD because I enjoy academia. It would be a dream to actually get paid for publishing stuff I'm passionate about. As of now, it would be much more fulfilling to research, publish, and get paid to learn as opposed to being a leader in business and make much more money. There is a little thing called the ego that would enjoy having the PhD after it's name. I'm sure it is safe to conclude that ego may be a huge part, along with said pursuit of knowledge and the almighty truth :P, of many academicians desire to pursue a PhD and a career in academia. As taxPhD remarked on my ? thread, I may not be as exposed to academic research as I should in order to add substance to this question but I have tried anyway. So please excuse my naiveté.

Thank you. I will have to do a cost-benefit on this, obviously right haha. Gotta love dorky jokes. In reality I will most likely stick with my current school and focus on getting a great GPA. To make up for the lack of well known tax faculty, I will have to aggressively pursue academic research options to show advisory committees I know what academic research is and can also perform it. Again, thanks everyone!

Could someone help me with this question? Just trying to plan ahead and get some input if this would be a good idea. Thanks again :)

Wow thank you for the detailed response. I would agree with you that I am not well exposed to PhD level academic research. I will look at the leading tax journals to get more acquainted with academic research.

Thank you all for the fast response and the sincerity in your replies. I agree in both aspects that yes the medical condition made it very difficult for me but at the same time it is also hard to postulate that if I had received treatment in undergrad, my grades would be vastly higher. I think they would have been higher but to what extent I do not know. So I don't think I can rely on health reasons for a total explanation. The medication and lifestyle changes have impacted my life in such a positive way it is hard to describe. So as of now I would write that the low UG GPA was a combination of a significant health problem and immaturity. I know for me personally, I dislike when people make excuses for their actions and then repeat the same actions with the same results. So i would probably emphasize my post-treatment GPA's as showing that I am capable and do understand the material. After all, health issue or not, adcoms need to see great grades to know I understand the material. So I'll have to get a copy of the book quoted above and note insight from the great answers here. Thanks for the link rsaylors! Anyway, as mentioned, I'm attending a small but accredited MAcc program now which would suite my needs for an internship/job offer. However, I could apply to Michigan State's MS Accounting program as it is a top 8 I believe. But then I would have to move if admitted. Would it be worth it for PhD admissions to pack up move and spend more money? Or should I focus on attaining great grades at my current MAcc program?

Hello all, I've been researching the Accounting PhD by reading forums, articles, and talking to profs for 3 months or so now. The shortage of PhD professors is appealing but I do have some doubts about my competitiveness and would like to get some guidance on what would need to happen for me to have a shot at admittance. B.A. Economics Top Mid-West State School GPA 2.65 M.A. Economics Unranked Private School in the Mid-West GPA 3.97 MAcc. Accounting AACSB accredited Small Mid-West Univ. 1st Semester No GPA Math: Calc I-II. Not much Stats aside from your basic UG course. Taught myself more advanced math for the M.A. Econ so no transcript record of math more advanced than Calc II. GMAT: Taken for MAcc.710 Interest: Tax -Archival Why Accounting PhD? Don’t get me wrong I love Economics and math but math has its place. But it certainly has it’s limitations , if you get my drift. So from a capital allocation point of view, I had a surface interest in Tax. I took a Fed Tax I class, aced it and loved tooling around on RIA. I love doing tax research and the intellectual challenge it presents. UG GPA: Post graduation I am diagnosed with narcolepsy, get meds and undergo lifestyle adjustments. For PhD admissions I wouldn’t want to write a sob story because the bottom line is the GPA sucks. Hopefully they can see my upward trending GPA. Looking for an internship for Winter 2012 with Big 4 in tax or transfer pricing. Most likely apply for Fall 2013 to: Preferably Mid-West schools Anyone with guidance or a path for me to increase my competitiveness would be very much appreciated. Thanks in advance!