After getting a BS in Accounting & Finance, I went on and got a Master of Accounting. Graduate school greatly benefited me, despite more than doubling the amount of student loan debt I have. I took the GMAT exam, so I cannot speak to the waiver process.

Because I went to a small, obscure undergraduate school, I was not able to get any internships in public accounting at all, let alone at a big 4 firm. Instead, I had to settle for internships in finance and compliance, which did little towards a career in accounting after graduation. Having no success breaking into public accounting, I decided to apply to graduate programs. One school offered me a graduate teaching assistant position for a 50% waiver plus a modest stipend (not enough to cover rent), so I made the difficult decision to go from $30k in student loan debt to $75k in debt and go to graduate school.

I did not even have to apply for interviews—I gave a copy of my resume to the Careers office, and public accounting firms would e-mail and call me to ask me what time they could come and interview me at my school. I interviewed with all of the big 4 firms and several other public accounting firms, and received four offers before I accepted one and declined further consideration at the other firms. I was astonished to go from not being able to get a foot in the door to being sought after.

I loved my experience in graduate school and think it was extremely worthwhile for my career. The MBA program was the flagship graduate program at my school, as I believe it is for most. The dynamics are different, however, as the MBA is more generalist than the MAcc. From speaking to peers, I know that the MBA students were quick to have offers in-hand. I would strongly encourage you to consider not just going to graduate school, but also which graduate school. I would recommend you look up MBA rankings and try to go to the most competitive program that you are admitted to. I believe the university on the degree matters more than the degree itself in terms of recruiting and career management. I do not think it would have benefited me to get a Master’s degree from my undergraduate school.

If you have any questions at all, feel free to ask. The graduate admissions process is very different from undergraduate. Don’t be intimidated if schools ask you to interview (they will pay your expenses), as it is more about making sure you will represent the school well than actually testing your knowledge (e.g., having the good sense to dress professionally). The classes were all group-work (mostly cases), which I believe is also true for MBA programs, which is good because you will meet and become close to many other classmates who will go on to be successful—the networking opportunities are one of the main benefits, in my opinion.

Best wishes!