[icpait]

Long story short I messed around alot in undergrad and got a 2.5 gpa in finance. After 6 months of not being able to find a job I decided to go for my cpa so I took all the necessary accounting classes at a community college. I ended up with a 4.0 gpa in my accounting classes from the community college and passed all four parts of the cpa exam? My question now is will employers still look at my undergrad gpa of 2.5 gpa or will I be able to get a job with the 4.0 from community as well as passing the cpa exam? Does cpa exam mean that much or will my 2.5 haunt me forever. Oh and I have no real accounting experience.

[sasricks]

Well, I went from a chemistry major for my undergrad to Accounting. Needless to say it took me a while and a few trips through Organic Chemistry to figure that chemistry was not my forte, while killing my GPA in the process. I graduated with a 2.6 overall with 170 semester hours. (Yes I typed that correctly 170 hours, enough for a Master's). I experienced some difficulty in locating a job in the smaller community that I live in now, but when I lived in Orlando, my GPA didn't haunt me as much because I could demonstrate that I learned accounting and could apply it, and the company that I worked for there had an interview quiz that you had to take, that demonstrated your ability to comprehend the basics. I did get rejected several times because I didn't have the requisite 3.00, but eventually I did get a job. I just don't post anything about my GPA on my resume, and if the question comes up, I truthfully answer it. As a side note, I couldn't locate an accounting job when my husband and I relocated to his hometown and ended up have to work for one of those multi-billion dollar drug store chains as a manager until something panned out (almost three years later). So, all in all, it's not impossible to find a job, just persistence is key. If you have letters of recommendations, that would help! HTH!

[MsCPA544]

Once you get your license, no one cares about your college GPA. If you go to Grad School and did better, your college GPA is automatically ignored. Just like no one ask you what your High School GPA is when you go to interviews.

FAR-7/27/13
AUD-5/25/13
REG-NOT SCHEDULED
BEC-NOT SCHEDULED

[musicamor]

Employers, except for maybe Big 4, do not look at GPA..it's irrelevant to them.

Texas CPA - licensed in 2012!!!

[Mayo]

Y'know, I remember when I was going through the recruiting process in school that many non-big4 firms required a minimum GPA to even apply for an interview.

We're talking larger regional firms down to small local firms. Even very small firms had a 3.0 minimum. I'm guessing that would go down to a 2.8 if they were desperate or met the right person.

Can someone explain the profile of a firm that doesn't look at GPA when recruiting graduates for entry-level positions?

Are we talking very small firms here? Again, I'm just going by my own experiences, and what I've seen as part of the recruiting process.

Mayo, BBA, Macc

[Keely]

I interviewed for one regional firm, and was requested to forward my transcripts.

I interviewed for another regional firm, and then a small firm (10 people) and was not asked about my transcripts.

I was offered the job all three times, so I don't think it had anything to do with whether they knew off the bat they wanted to hire me or not. I think for regional and smaller, it really just depends on the company.

BEC: (4/2012) 88
AUD: (5/2012) 91
REG: (8/2012) 82
FAR: (1/2013) 78 🙂

VA CPA #42010

[timmycpa]

I got a lot of speeding tickets back when I was 16. That must make me a bad driver.

[tsokoberst]

I also have a bad GPA of 2.88 and It haunts me because most firms require 3.0. Although not that I feel inferior, I'd rather say that I'm frustrated because they are hiring from what school you came from and what GPA you have.

In my home country GPA is always buried by CPA exams scores so that was my mindset then. I never really cared about non-accounting subjects that's why I have a low GPA but now it haunts me like forever. I'm very confident though with my accounting knowledge but still it's frustrating and giving me a hard time finding a job!! >:(

"It's not about the hours you put in, It's about what you put in the hours."

F-94,A-93,R-91,B-88 ->HELL!

PH CPA exam -87.57 -> DEEPER HELL!!

[SammyJ]

Yeah I wouldn't worry too much about GPA. Like what the other posters have said, only the Big 4 Firms typically care about your undergrad GPA. The ppl that get 4.0 in college either got it for Grad School or if they wanted to get a job right after college. If you can get your CPA, I'm pretty sure what ever CPA firm you're applying to isn't going to care what grade you got in your freshman year in Critical Gender Studies.

FAR-81!!
AUD-69, Retake: 84!!
REG-86!!
BEC-81!!
Education- Done
Ethics- August 2013
Experience- 7 Months of CPA Experience and counting!

[tsokoberst]

Also, the big 4 firms especially E&Y in my home country was trying to recruit me regardless of my gpa and it is all because of my CPA exam performance. Sad to know that it's not the same here in the US. 🙁

"It's not about the hours you put in, It's about what you put in the hours."

F-94,A-93,R-91,B-88 ->HELL!

PH CPA exam -87.57 -> DEEPER HELL!!

[Lost1]

If they like you, they will hire you even if you have 2.4 GPA. If they don't like you, even with all the credentials, they will find something on your resume (like GPA or how long you stayed at your last job etc) to not hire you.

As$h0les

"If you can do it, I can do it better."

[Author]

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