Indiana university (PA) and Accounting career in western Pa (Carnegie: credit, theater)

[kgold97]

Can someone please tell me if "IUP" is a good place to go for an accounting major. I currently live in the suburbs of Cleveland. I'm seriously considering moving to the area. What is the market for accountants compared to other career fields? Is IUP well known in the pittsburgh metro? Any other info that you can supply about the university and the area would be greatly appreciated ... Thanks!

[jsmill]

Indiana PA is a lovely college town but IUP is known mainly as an ed school because it was a teacher's college until about 35-40 years ago.

Just curious, why would you go to IUP for accounting and pay out of state PA tuition, rather than go to Kent State or U of Akron, or for that matter Ohio State? My guess is that an accounting degree from any of these schools would be fine preparation for the CPA exam, which you'd probably need to pass wherever you decide to settle. Who knows? You may decide that accounting is not your thing after all.

My nephew's wife was an A-student in pre-med at Miami of Ohio, and graduated with a theater major and is now a working actress

[kgold97]

People from Ohio, Michigan, Virginia, Indiana, and Maryland dont have to pay the regular out of state tuition for IUP . We only have to pay 1.5 as much which amounts to about $ 8,400 including the fees.. Its a huge bargain compared to what you would get in Ohio.... To me Kent State, University of Akron, University of Toledo, Youngstown State, Cleveland State, and a few others public schools are just about the same.... Kent State is really weak in accounting plus people in Ohio have a saying , " Cant Read, Cant write, Cant State" lol... Akron is a decent school for what you pay...My current accounting professor went to University of Akron for B.S and University of Denver. He told me that the career services were not the best at University of Akron...Ohio State, Miami (OH), and John Carroll are all great accounting schools in Ohio but they dont fit the characteristics that I am looking for in a university... Ohio State is flat out huge and very rowdy, Miami (OH) is considered a " Abercrombie & Fitch " school with tons of spoiled kids.. John Carroll is a prestigious Jesuit university in Cleveland...John Carroll has a ridiculous arts/philosophy which makes me sick to my stomack.

The reason that I posted on this forum was to determine if all the great things that I've read about IUP are true or if its propaganda used by the university to get students.15 years ago IUP was mediocre in business but now it seems to be their up and coming program... The eberly college of business was built in 1998 ( and is currently the newest building on campus)...They were also accredited by AACSB ( highest business accreditation) in 2001.... They were also featured in the past three top 361 business schools by the princeton rivue .... Most importantly they claim to have THE BIGGEST BUSINESS INTERSHIP in the state.

Can anybody tell me if this is just hype or is the university the real deal? This is a question that I cant answer without actually living in the area.

[armchaire]

Do the research. IUP is an highly-regarded top-notch tier II school. I personally know an IUP accounting graduate making 6+ figures at a top 5 accounting firm in Philly....but that could be a red herring. Call the dept and ask for stats.

Indiana, the town, exists on multiple levels. There is the partying, college-student Indiana, there is the Professor/local-professional yuppie Indiana, and there is the redneck country-hick Indiana. As a student you will most likely only experience and notice the partying, college-student Indiana.

[kgold97]

I've done a great amount of research. Numbers say so much... They can be very misleading.... I have read 3 different college review books and all three say something different.... World News & Report called it a 4th tier national university(bad),Princeton Review says that its a decent school(good), and Petersons guide calls it a public ivy (very good)

Thanks for everyone who has responded so far... I would definetely love to hear some more opinions.... Especially , those who know someone that graduate or went to IUP and currently resides in NW Pennsylvania.

armchaire, if you consider IUP to be a tier II school what are some of the schools that are in tier I ( and tier II)..... I would assume that the tier I are Pitt, Carnegie Mellon, and Duquesne....

Thanks !

[armchaire]

armchaire, if you consider IUP to be a tier II school what are some of the schools that are in tier I ( and tier II)..... I would assume that the tier I are Pitt, Carnegie Mellon, and Duquesne....

something like that....but don't quote me on that. I'm using vague memory from years ago so I could be mistaken. What I'm not mistaken about is that people have called IUP a public IVY for years. Meaning that it is highly regarded in it's class.

Is it better than the other PA state schools....absolutely. It could even be comparable to Temple.

Is it as good as a Penn State, a Penn or a Pitt....absolutely not.

It is what it is.

[kgold97]

Thank you very much armchaire for your information.... Thats what I thought about IUP but was not sure since I wasn't from the area. I definetely believe you ..... Any body else have an opinion?

[claremarie]

When I was in high school in Pgh in the 1970s, IUP was for those who couldn't get into PSU or Pitt. It was comparable to Slippery Rock or Shippensburg, and produced a lot of teachers. I would never classify it as a "public Ivy" along with UNC, Michigan, Wisconsin, PSU, or the University of Virginia, because it just doesn't attract the strongest students from the state, and has virtually no name-recognition outside the state.
However, the accounting program might be fine. The business school should be able to tell you where its graduates are employed and how long it takes them to find work, and how many recruiters visit the campus each spring.

[kgold97]

Thanks claremarie for your response.... You probably remember IUP from Its early days since it became a university in the 60's..... I could virtually get into any university I want to ( high g.p.a, activities, memberships, etc...) .... For some reason IUP appeals to me more than Pitt.... IUP is the only state university to be accredited by AACSB which speaks something in itself.... IUP has a REPUTION as a public ivy which doesn't mean that it actually is.... A "public ivy" school reputation means that it is thought of as good academically..... There are only 10 real public ivy's ( UNC-Chapell Hill, Penn State, University of Virginia, Miami (OH), Indiana university are a few)

Thanks for your opinion..... Any more on this board?

[Trent023]

If you have the money/numbers to go to Pitt or Penn State, do it. Also, I would not consider Penn State to be a Public Ivy, unless you also consider Pitt to be one. Their admission stats are identical, and US News ranks Penn State 47th overall and Pitt 57th academically.