Here are some tips for selecting schools, based on an analysis comparing each school to all others across dozens of factors:
Schools Concentrating On Accountants And Auditors
- Focus: For schools with a focus on this career area, look at Normandale Community College, Anoka - Ramsey, University of Minnesota, and Inver Hills Community College.
Fastest Response From Schools
- Request Info: For the fastest information for prospective students, look at the Spotlight schools on this page.
Student Body
- Part-Time: For schools emphasizing part-time studies, consider Globe University, Metropolitan State, University of Minnesota-Crookston, and Minnesota State Moorhead.
- Female: For schools particularly welcoming to female students, consider College of Saint Benedict and St. Catherine University.
- Diverse: For a diverse student body, consider Hamline, Saint Paul College, and MCTC.
- Adult Learners: For lots of adult learners, consider Concordia, St. Catherine University, The College of Saint Scholastica, and University of St Thomas.
School Setting
- Out of State: For geographic diversity, take note of Northland Community and Technical College, Minnesota State Moorhead, University of Minnesota, and University of Minnesota-Crookston.
- Dorms: For a residential campus environment, take note of Gustavus Adolphus College, Saint Johns University, College of Saint Benedict, and Concordia.
Excellence
- SAT: For students with high SAT scores, look at Gustavus Adolphus College, University of Minnesota, St. Catherine University, and Concordia.
- % Accepted: For selective institutions, look at University of Minnesota, Augsburg, and Concordia.
- Class Size: For small class sizes, look at Gustavus Adolphus College, College of Saint Benedict, St. Catherine University, and Saint Johns University.
Student/Alumnus Reviews of Schools for This Career and State
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Saint Cloud State University • Saint Cloud, MN
Studying Accounting (completion in 2013)
• 4/30/2011
"Quite satisfied."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | It would be a good experience, the school is in a great environment and its peaceful here so it's recommended. |
| Program Reputation | 8 | I've heard that through out Minnesota my school makes a good reputation regarding business majors. |
| Program Quality | 9 | The business major in my school is actually considered very good but at the same time it is also hard compared to others. |
| Instruction | 6 | I didn't like some of the teachers because of which I had to repeat classes. |
| How Difficult | 9 | It is very hard, specially my major. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Many other majors are practical but my major is mostly book related. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 8 | We don't have weekend classes or anything but we do have evening classes which makes it easier for me since I work during the week days too. |
| Academic Facilities | 7 | My school recently had a budget cut so the facilities are declining a little, never the less its still good though. |
| Social Life | 8 | A lot of friendly people. |
| Placement Services | 10 | There have ALOT of services and internships that you can get involved in which can fix you a job once you graduate, its really nice. |
| Alumni Network | 7 | Its good. |
University Of Minnesota • Minneapolis, MN
Studying Accounting, Finance (completion in 2008)
• 5/1/2011
"The facilities were very nice, the resources available were immaculate and up to date. The teachers and administration were very responsive and helpful when needed."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | Yes, just because the name is very prestigious and is associated with strong academics. I also think the atmosphere is good and allows one many opportunities both in school and after. |
| Program Reputation | 8 | I think one of the main draws to the school was the reputation it carried with local employers. I think that the school is very well known for a overall high quality and many people associate this with given subjects. |
| Program Quality | 5 | I thought the program was far to focused on theory and not on application. Thus when I entered the workforce I wasn't prepared for the type of work that was being completed. Also the school avoided challenging students in an effort to increase grades. |
| Instruction | 7 | I think the instruction was great in the aspect that you were learning from very learned people and they knew the subject extremely well. However they focused on making sure everyone comprehended everything which narrowed the focus and scope of the teaching. |
| How Difficult | 3 | I found that the subjects were taught to the lowest level of the dumbest student in the class. This in and of itself did not challenge the stronger students and made many of the subjects quite easy. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | The main problem as I mentioned before was that the classes stressed the theory of the subject. The actual application in the real world was hardly covered and left many unprepared. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 8 | Provided that you registered at a reasonable time the amount and breadth of classes you could take was endless. this created many opportunities to schedule around events or to create a schedule that fit your liking. |
| Academic Facilities | 9 | the classrooms and school areas were immaculate, very new modern and nicely kept. Also all classrooms were very well furnished and utilized very new and advanced technology to integrate teachings. |
| Social Life | 7 | Most of the people at the school were tools who simply focused on school and had no other activities. however, the amount of clubs and organizations allowed for a wide variety of relationships and enjoyable activities. |
| Placement Services | 8 | The placement services were great there were always people that would help you polish skills and documents. Also there were many occasions where they brought recruiters and interviewers to campus. |
| Alumni Network | 6 | The network is very active, and you can see it throughout the campus. They also however are very pushy and very high on themselves and what they do. |
College Of St. Scholastica • Duluth, MN
Studying Accounting (completion in 1999)
""
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | The small class size is a major plus. Also, the same accounting instructor is still there. |
| Program Reputation | 5 | As far as I am aware it hasn't grown in size much. St. Cloud State University is still the premiere accounting school in MN. |
| Program Quality | 9 | The school I attended had a very small accounting program. There were about 8 of us that had the same upper level accounting classes together. I enjoyed getting to know the students and teachers. |
| Instruction | More than 5 years ago | |
| How Difficult | 7 | Intermediate account was the most challenging class, but overall I didn't find the program too tough. Once you understand accounting and know how to solve the book problems it is easy. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | I think accounting my nature is book orientated. Accounting Information Systems was probably the most hands on as it involved an on-going similuation of a business's accounting records. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 2 | As mentioned above the class size was small. I pretty much had just one time slot for taking the upper level accounting classes. |
| Academic Facilities | 7 | Although the program was small, the facilities were good. I always had access to a computer lab and my accounting instructors. |
| Social Life | 7 | I made quite a few good friends during college. The small size of the accounting program created a few friendships as well. |
| Placement Services | 5 | The onsite career assistance was average as far as accounting goes. The school is primarily noted as a physical therapy school. |
| Alumni Network | 5 | I get occasional mailings from the school. However, most are general in nature and not accounting/business program related. |
University Of Minnesota • Twin Cities, MN
Studying Accounting (completion in 2009)
• 9/21/2011
"There were many very positive aspects: great facilities, and fantastic staff. However, there were some teachers who left something to be desired."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | The U has great access to the business community in the Twin Cities. Getting a job was quite easy. |
| Program Reputation | 8 | The business school has a very good reputation. It is one of the best Big 10 business schools. |
| Program Quality | 8 | The U is pretty good, although you can get by without doing a lot of work in most classes. Some professors are great and others are miserable. |
| Instruction | 6 | In one course we did only cases. The "answers" were never consistent and there appeared to be no correct answer. In accounting, there should always be an answer. |
| How Difficult | 8 | Undergrad was fairly easy. Graduate school was very difficult. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Far more book work than hands-on. Actual accounting work is mainly developed during internships. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 8 | With such a large school, there were many time options. Many classes were available during the summer. |
| Academic Facilities | 9 | We had great computer labs and conference rooms. I did not use the libraries as all accounting journals were online. |
| Social Life | 8 | We had great school spirit and are a Big 10 school. Athletics were not usually good, but were still fun to attend. |
| Placement Services | 10 | I believe the year I graduated over 85% of graduates had jobs within three months of graduation. This figure is especially impressive as it came during the recession. |
| Alumni Network | 5 | I have never participated in any alumni event. I do not know. |
University Of Minnesota Duluth • Duluth, MN
Studying Accounting And Statistics And Actuarial Science (completion in 2010)
• 10/31/2011
"Sometimes it was frustrating trying to work with the faculty with class scheduling. I should have gone to a school that was closer to my hometown."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | maybe | It had a high school feeling, but it was beautiful during the summer. I do believe that having a degree from UMD is better than most schools in the state. |
| Program Reputation | 8 | From what I hear, our program is considered to be very good. They had built a new business school when I attended and it was a very nice atmosphere in which to learn. |
| Program Quality | 6 | While I couldn't agree with some of the decisions that the faculty made, I still felt like I learned quite a bit. There were unnecessary fees for things and I don't plan on making a donation any time soon. |
| Instruction | 4 | I thought on-the-job training was way more beneficial than the classes I took. Nothing compares to real world experience. |
| How Difficult | 9 | My classes were very difficult. I had upper division accounting and statistics classes at the same time. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Most of the classes were taught straight from the book. A more hands-on approach would have been more beneficial. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 6 | There were online classes, which were great. Sometimes they had only one class that conflicted with other class schedules. |
| Academic Facilities | 7 | They have a very nice library and many resources online. The tutoring center helped me pass my computer science class. |
| Social Life | 5 | I worked at athletic events and would go out and drink with friends on the weekends. I didn't attend many other events since I had to go to most of the sports games. |
| Placement Services | 7 | They had career fairs to go to. I got my job from meeting a recruiter at a conference. |
| Alumni Network | 5 | There have been times when alumni would come and speak to us in class. I have not reached out to many people after graduation. |
University Of Minnesota Duluth • Duluth, MN
Studying Accounting (completion in 2010)
• 12/3/2011
"I probably would have tried to find a different school closer to home. The cost was pretty high, too."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | maybe | The program was good. The students acted like it was high school. |
| Program Reputation | 7 | Most of the accounting graduates found jobs. A lot of people are going to their business school. |
| Program Quality | 6 | They just built a new business building, and the classrooms were stellar. Some of the professors weren't very good, though. |
| Instruction | 5 | We could have used more real-world problems. It seemed we covered small aspects of the profession. |
| How Difficult | 8 | I took a lot of business classes and I also majored in statistics. While many students tried to stay away from these classes, I was able to excel. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | We should have partnered with local businesses more. I think they have started to do that more often after I graduated. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 5 | Some classes were online. But some were only scheduled at one time, so I had to work around that one class for my others. |
| Academic Facilities | 8 | The library has a ton of resources. The business school is state of the art. |
| Social Life | 3 | I was never very interested in the social clubs. There were no benefits in joining. |
| Placement Services | 5 | They had recruits come to the school and give presentations. I found my job at a career fair. |
| Alumni Network | 4 | I don't stay in contact with many alumni. The only thing I get from the school is a request for money. |
Concordia College • Moorhead, MN
Studying Philosophy (completion in 1997)
• 1/21/2012
"I loved my professors. I loved the (small) size of my school. Concordia was priced very reasonably and I received a strong education."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | maybe | My areas of study don't match well with my chosen career. I would recommend the departments in which I studied. I would also recommend the school overall. Now that they have a large, new, and well-funded business school, I can only imagine it would be a good experience for a student. |
| Program Reputation | 5 | I am not familiar with how others would evaluate a philosophy program or other programs of study. The academic standards for entry into my college have risen since I was there, and I certainly haven't heard folks say disparaging things about Concordia. |
| Program Quality | 5 | I was very impressed with the credentials of my college professors. They were well-suited to teaching, and I hope that doesn't mean they had to give up their own research goals. However, since it was a small department, it probably would not rank well nationally. |
| Instruction | 5 | The quality of my instruction was very good, however, it was not in the area in which I ended up working. I was exposed to a broad range of philosophies, though most were Western. The skills that I learned are useful in any career, but since I'm not working in my area of study, are perhaps not what many accountants would consider relevant. |
| How Difficult | 7 | I think that this area is generally challenging. In addition to my philosophy major, I have a minor in chemistry. While the minor took more in class time, my major took a lot of time outside of class for reading and writing. It took a different kind of thinking, and one that I found stretched my more than the chemistry did. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | This is an area of study that almost requires large amounts of book learning, if not exclusive book learning. Ethics courses were available, which may be considered more hands on. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 5 | My scheduling was sufficiently flexible for me. However, I was a full time student, living on or very near campus. I was not looking for night or weekend courses. At the time, they had just started offering some to encourage folks to complete their degrees. I believe they offer more now. |
| Academic Facilities | 7 | My professors were always available, with generous office hours. Our library was small, but I primarily made use of primary materials, so I didn't find it limited. I did not seek study groups or tutors. Classroom space was adequate and in fine condition. |
| Social Life | 3 | Concordia is a Christian college, and I am not a Christian. A great deal of the students focused their social activities around things such as communion that I was not interested in participating in. The school did a good job of orienting first year students. I am still friends with folks from my orientation all these years later. |
| Placement Services | 1 | I was very frustrated with the placement services I received upon graduation. The most glaring example I can think of is that the career services office could not even give me an appropriate salary range for entry level positions in the local market. Frankly, after finding that, I didn't really even try to work with them again because they seemed to incompetent. They were never of assistance to me. |
| Alumni Network | 5 | I have not attempted to make use of an alumni "network" in a formal sense. My college sends me regular emails with opportunities to attend happy hours, golf outings, speeches and other events with alumni. |
Augsburg College • Minneapolis, MN
Studying Finance And Accounting (completion in 2009)
• 3/4/2012
"I really enjoyed my experience. I thought it prepared me for the business world and gave me great knowledge of the accounting world."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | Augsburg really prepares its students to take the CPA exam. If that is what one wants to do, I highly recommend this course/program. |
| Program Reputation | 9 | I believe it is rated number two among metro colleges. It probably is the best among private colleges. |
| Program Quality | 10 | My college prepared me for gaining a base knowledge of accounting. It also helped prepare me for learning new skills. |
| Instruction | 10 | The professors were top-notch at Augsburg. Many of them taught in the MBA program and followed a course close to that Program. |
| How Difficult | 8 | They were very challenging courses that made me study to do well. However, the professors were always available if needed. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | It seemed that each professor really tried to "mix" things up. Some classes would be strictly book learning, and other classes would consist of hands on experiences. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 9 | They offer classes during the day, night and weekend. They even offer classes online for the working adults. |
| Academic Facilities | 8 | Everything that I ever needed was available on campus. The also made a lot of resources available online through the college website. |
| Social Life | 5 | I did not stay in the dorms. However, I thought it was a very friendly school. |
| Placement Services | 7 | They offer a career service site. It needs improvement. |
| Alumni Network | 5 | They have a good program if you join. They are not very good at getting people involved. |
Minnesota School Of Business • Rochester, MN
Studying Accounting And Tax Specialist (completion in 2010)
• 3/16/2012
"I am happy to have the education that I have. I wish that I would have gone straight for my bachelors degree, since I plan on getting it at some point."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | maybe | Though I am completely satisfied with the education that I received, the cost of tuition is quite high. A person has to weigh the pros vs. the cons before deciding if this school would be right for them. |
| Program Reputation | 5 | I guess I am not sure what their reputation for this program is. I do know that my uncle studied and graduated from MSB (not the rochester location) and he is a CPA. |
| Program Quality | 8 | I loved learning at MSB, it was definitely an experience that I will always remember. Though during my last quarter there I was told that one of the classes, Tax II, that I needed to graduate was only offered every other quarter. In the end I had to do an independent study to gain the credits that I needed to graduate on time. |
| Instruction | 10 | There was an exceptional amount of career preparation all throughout my time at MSB. They tell you right from the beginning that their goal is for graduates to obtain employment in their career fields. |
| How Difficult | 7 | The material was definitely challenging at times, especially when dealing with something completely new to me. The workload was large but manageable. The best way I can think of it would be challenging, but not impossible. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | One of the first things that was covered when I started my classes what learning how each person learns best. It was just a matter of each individual person focusing on their learning strengths. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 10 | I took courses that were in class and online. I found this to be perfect for me because when I came across a class that I couldn't fit into my weekly schedule, I was able to take it online and basically do the work on my own time. |
| Academic Facilities | 9 | The resources within the school were very reliable, and there was always someone around who could answer my questions. And when that wasn't an option, I could use the online library and chat with a librarian. |
| Social Life | 4 | I suppose I didn't spend too much time worrying about the "social experience," though it wouldn't have been hard. If you wanted to talk to someone you could always take your pick, from all the people hanging out in the commons area. |
| Placement Services | 10 | My career services advisor was very diligent when working with me. He was able to motivate me to strive for something better. |
| Alumni Network | 9 | If I decide that I want to change jobs, I know that I can contact career services at MSB for advice, job leads, and resume help. In addition, when new programs are introduced that may be of interest to me, I am contacted. |
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