[jazzprime23]

Hey everyone,

I am about to enter my first year in the integrated 5yr MPA program at UT Austin and as you know that year will be time for recruiting. I noticed a lot of people on this board especially those of who that worked at Big 4 mentioned BAP and the fact that recruiters look for it. My goal is to ultimately get into Big 4 Advisory or Audit.

The thing is Beta Alpha Psi at UT austin has fairly higher requirements to get into compared to the other chapters at other universities (3.5 to get into sophomore, 3.4 to get into junior, etc.). I couldn’t get into BAP my sophomore year even though I was borderline but I am hoping to get into it next Spring because my GPA will definitely be above a 3.4 for sure. With this I was wondering how important is Beta Alpha Psi when a Big 4 recruiter looks at the resume and ultimately does it even help at all?

Thanks

[Future GA CPA]

Hey! So, I just completed an internship at one of the Big 4 and was really heavily involved in BAP in my college experience. My experience with people in my intern class is that the bigger name the school is the less important BAP involvement is but this is in my very limited experience.

I would say that UT Austin is a big enough name school that it becomes less of an issue to be involved in BAP but you still need to get out and meet the firms and network, etc. For me, I don't know that I would have been recruited out of my school without BAP involvement. Recruiters or any of you in the Big 4 involved in recruiting with additional insight, feel free to chime in.

Good luck with recruiting! Keep us posted 🙂

AUD - 87 4/9/13
FAR - 85 5/17/13
REG - 75 7/1/13
BEC - 82 7/29/13

Now just waiting on experience starting in January

[mypetmeatball]

BAP was hugely important in my recruiting process. That being said, yeah you go to UT; Big 4 offers are standard operating procedure.

[Anonymous]

Just being a member of any organization will not set you apart from the rest of the people you will be competing against.

From personal experience, you should be involved with activities that show that you're willing to lead, or you're willing to go out of your way to help someone.

I personally tutored students, free of charge of course, and shared those success stories during my recruiting process. Not only does it show that you know your stuff, it also allows the recruiters to imagine you moving up the ladder at their firms and having the patience and the knowledge the lead the people that might have less experience/knowledge than you after you have been there some time.

[RHNotts]

In the eyes of a recruiter, how does being a member of beta alpha psi compare to being a leader in the regular accounting society or student government?

[Anonymous]

[Anonymous]

No, not very important at all beyond the fact that it is an ‘extra curricular'.

Most schools even let non-members attend meetings but won't let you officially become a member until you've met their requirements. Being an actual member doesn't mean shit when it comes to getting hired – the firms could care less. With that said, I think BAP is good from an educational standpoint – (AKA allows you to learn more about the firms and other options, gets you knowledgeable on the recruiting timeline…etc but no need to be a member.).

And if you attend meetings but aren't a member you can still put beta alpha psi on your resume. You just can't say you are a beta alpha psi member. YOu can do what linkedin does – under your education put ‘Activities and Societies:” and then list them out by name (“Beta Alpha Psi, Accounting Tutor, Toastmasters”).

@RHNotts: Any leadership position where you are actually leading will trump just being a member in beta alpha psi.

I actually think something like being a member in Toastmasters even trumps being a member in beta alpha psi, because you are actually forced to participate – give speeches and develop public speaking skills.

[dpad124]

Completely depends on location and school as well. I know the chapter at my school had more opportunities to network which is beneficial.

On that note, I believe I stood out in Big4 recruiting not because of BAP, but because I held several leadership positions within BAP.

BEC Oct2014 - 85
AUD Jan2015 - ??
REG Feb2015 - ??
FAR May2015 - ??

[Anonymous]

“I believe I stood out in Big4 recruiting not because of BAP, but because I held several leadership positions within BAP.” (dpad124)

I completely agree. It's the leadership positions that will make a difference. If you get accepted it makes a lot of sense to do a leadership position. They will give you great talking points during interviews. Even though I got passed on by B4, it still made a difference with the firm that did hire me.

[Anonymous]

not important or necessary but can help. it gives you a chance to network with people in Big 4 firms. If you have a leadership position in BAP, its most likely guaranteed you will get big 4 cause i havent met anyone who did not get big 4 with a leadership position. It doesnt matter though cause i know a lot of people who were in BAP who didnt get big 4 and people who did not do BAP get tons of big 4 offers. I did it for one year until i actually was able to make myself known to people in the firms without the help of BAP but than i stopped because its pretty expensive

[iwana_PASS]

yea i think joining BAP is super important. i just graduated this may and started my first FT job at top 10 acctg firms. i know those whose in BAP and holds leadership position, they all got offers from big 4 especially EY in my school

AUD - 77
BEC - 78
FAR - 79
REG - 82

[Anonymous]

I was in BAP.

I can't remember a single firm going, “Oh- Look! BAP!”

That being said, it can only help.

[RHNotts]

@Anonny That's interesting that Toastmasters could trump BAP. I never considered that since it's not the most promoted club for accounting students.

[Jstubb]

In my experience, BAP provided constant access and opportunities to meet / mingle / network with Big firms. I held Treas Position my Jr. / Sr. years which helped me stand out as I got more one on one time before mtgs, etc. plus, the firms typically hold a “social” after meetings ……. Member or not, advice given to me was ALWAYS attend any Big firm social : shows you're interested and again, gains you exposure.

AUD: Nov2014 81
FAR: Jan2015
BEC: Feb2015
REG: Apr2015
Using Becker

[hneagle1]

I would say very important! Whenever I started the whole big 4 recruiting process when I was a rising Junior, I had a small little office meeting with a recruiter. He looked at my resume and the first thing he said was “Why aren't you in Beta Alpha Psi?” I joined that following fall and everything else fell in place. It is organization that gives you the opportunity to network and networking is highly important in recruitment!

FAR - 82 (8/30/14)
AUD - 95 (10/7/14)
REG - 82 (11/7/14)
BEC - 85 (11/26/14) - PEACE OUT!
Roger CPA, WTB, Becker, and Ninja Notes (with added prayer, tears, and hope!)

[randerso]

I agree it's the leadership position, not the membership, that makes a difference.

If you aren't able to get in to BAP, is there an accounting society with less stringent requirements you can get actively involved in?

REG: (May 2014) - 80 ✔
AUD: (Nov 2014) - 93 ✔
FAR: (Oct 2014) - 71, (Jan 2015) - 88 ✔
BEC: (Feb 2015) - 89 ✔

CA PETH: 94 percent

[Author]

Replies