Best Colleges for Accounting & Finance (2024 Rankings)

Bill Townsend
9/5/2024 | 5 Min Read

Best Colleges for Accounting & Finance (2024 Rankings)

Table of Contents

Next to choosing what to wear to prom, deciding what university to attend is one of the biggest decisions for most high schoolers. If you're interested in studying finance or accounting after high school and acing your CPA exam, you can start your search by finding schools that specialize in those majors.

Students from the top accounting and best finance schools are attractive to potential employers at accounting firms, and they're likely to earn great starting salaries. That's because these schools have a reputation for producing employees with a solid educational foundation, useful business administration experience, and access to a strong alumni network.

Heads up, prospective accounting students and undergrads: This guide will discuss some top-ranked schools for business, finance, and accounting majors. Here's a list of the best accounting schools, in no particular order.

9 best accounting and finance schools 2024

Many students refer to university rankings to determine which schools they want to apply to, especially when looking to enter into a finance college for financial management and accounting careers.

Our ranking methodology can help you determine which school you'd like to attend full-time for a bachelor's degree or any other accounting degree program you're interested in.

University of Pennsylvania

Enrollment: 11,292 undergraduates

Acceptance rate: 6%

6-year graduation rate: 96%

Location: Philadelphia, PA

The University of Pennsylvania is an Ivy League school, and its Wharton School is one of the best business schools in the nation.

In addition, UPenn is located in the heart of Philadelphia, a major city with a lot of history and culture. Founded in 1749, UPenn is the 5th oldest university in America, and it has a lot of traditions, including Hey Day, Spring Fling, and a pub crawl called Walnut Walk.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Enrollment: 4,638 undergraduates

Acceptance rate: 4%

6-year graduation rate: 96%

Location: Cambridge, MA

Located in the Boston suburb of Cambridge, MIT is in a very student-friendly area with over 30 colleges nearby, including Harvard, Boston College, and Bentley University, making it a very youth-oriented city.

MIT is one of the best schools in the nation, but it has its fun, too. There is a yearly competition for solving puzzles called the MIT Mystery Hunt, the annual Bad Ideas Weekend, and an array of campus clubs.

University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Enrollment: 32,282 undergraduates

Acceptance rate: 20%

6-year graduation rate: 94%

Location: Ann Arbor, MI

University of Michigan is a great public university option if you're looking for a school with exceptional academics and a traditional college town feel. In fact, UMich is one of the original Public Ivy League schools.

As a part of the Big Ten Athletic Conference, UMich boasts the largest university football stadium in the U.S., and the men's football team boasts 11 national championships - not to mention a long-standing rivalry against Ohio State University in Columbus, which is a must-attend game every season.

University of Texas at Austin

Enrollment: 40,916 undergraduates

Acceptance rate: 29%

6-year graduation rate: 88%

Location: Austin, TX

The University of Texas at Austin is another Public Ivy League school and houses seven museums and seventeen libraries, including the LBJ Presidential Library. UT Austin allows students to enjoy campus life and the many events in Texas' capital city, including the Austin Film Festival and SXSW.

UT Austin also has many notable alumni, including Matthew McConaughey, who now teaches a class at the university.

New York University

Enrollment: 28,772 undergraduates

Acceptance rate: 13%

6-year graduation rate: 87%

Location: New York City, NY

If you've always dreamed of moving to the Big Apple, NYU is the perfect school for you. Located on prime real estate in Washington Square, NYU is in the heart of lower Manhattan. With 12 Global Academic Centers in cities like London, Buenos Aires, and Sydney, NYU offers you the chance to explore even more of the world.

University of California, Berkeley

Enrollment: 31,814 undergraduates

Acceptance rate: 14%

6-year graduation rate: 93%

Location: Berkeley, CA

If you want to get your accounting or finance degree on the West Coast, look no further than University of California, Berkeley, a Public Ivy League school. UC Berkeley College of Business boasts all-star entrepreneurial alums, including Steve Wozniak of Apple, Gordon Moore of Intel, and Eric Schmidt of Google, to name a few.

But the school is known for more than just its tech prowess: Berkeley's Golden Bears have won 107 national athletic championships.

Indiana University, Bloomington

Enrollment: 34,253 undergraduates

Acceptance rate: 85%

6-year graduation rate: 81%

Location: Bloomington, IN

Indiana University, Bloomington is a great choice for students looking to mix studying hard with having fun. Studying hard is easy at IU Bloomington, as IU's library system consists of over 20 libraries and is the 14th largest in North America by volumes held. Greek life at IU Bloomington is also thriving, with over 8,000 students participating in sororities and fraternities on campus.

Carnegie Mellon University

Enrollment: 6,932 undergraduates

Acceptance rate: 14%

6-year graduation rate: 93%

Location: Pittsburgh, PA

Carnegie Mellon University is another option for those looking to attend a school with high finance rankings in Philadelphia. Founded by Andrew Carnegie, Carnegie Mellon is five miles from downtown Pittsburgh.

If you love the arts as much as you love crunching numbers, Carnegie Mellon is a great option. The College of Fine Arts is one of the oldest in the nation - it offered the first-ever drama degree!

Georgetown University

Enrollment: 7,598 undergraduates

Acceptance rate: 12%

6-year graduation rate: 95%

Location: Washington, D.C.

Georgetown University is a private Catholic university in Washington, D.C. Located in the nation's capital, Georgetown has the second most politically active student body in the United States.

Georgetown is also home to Students of Georgetown, Inc., the nation's largest entirely student-owned and operated corporation. It operates three coffee shops, two grocery stores, the Hilltoss, catering services, and seasonal storage for students.

Other accredited universities to consider

While these schools may not be on the list above, they offer great accounting programs and undergraduate degrees as well:

Why should you choose an accounting or finance degree?

Graduates with a bachelor's degree in accounting or finance programs have many career options at banks, government agencies, non-profit organizations, investment firms, and businesses of all sizes. These degrees also lay the groundwork for entrepreneurship.

A big plus to working in finance or accounting is that both careers offer competitive salaries. The base salary for accountants in the U.S. is $74,240, and the average base salary in finance is $101,100. Having such a reliable income can help pay all those post-grad adulting bills - including any looming student loans.

What jobs can you get with an accounting or finance degree?

Many employers in these fields look for job candidates with bachelor's degrees in accounting and finance (or similar undergraduate accounting degrees) and internship experience.

Here are some of the most common jobs for those with undergraduate programs and degrees under their belts:

Accountant
Financial analyst
Investment banker
Auditor
Tax consultant
Financial planner
Managerial accountant
Forensic accountant
Public accountant

Which finance jobs pay the most?

If you decide to become a finance major, there are many career paths to choose from that don't require a master's degree. Working for financial institutions can be a great career path for those interested.

Below are 5 of the most high-paying jobs for finance students to consider.

Chief financial officer average salary: $443,306
Chief compliance officer median salary: $249,701
Private equity associate average salary: $80,910
Hedge fund manager average salary: $135,399
Financial advisor average salary: $93,573

Quickly compare the best accounting and finance schools with College Rover

Deciding which college or university to attend and which degree coursework and electives to choose can be daunting. College rankings can help find the best schools academically, but there are many other factors to consider. Should you choose a general university or attend a specialized school of business? Do you prefer a big city or small town? How much financial aid do you need?

With College Rover, you can filter schools by these attributes, select information that interests you, and receive customized results to make your own personalized rankings. You can even compare schools head-to-head to find the best college for you! Whether you're looking for undergraduate or graduate programs, find the best options on College Rover.

College Rover gets the majority of its data directly from the U.S. Department of Education (DOE). The DOE publishing schedule "lags" the most current data which some colleges post on their official websites. This may cause there to be a difference in the data you see on College Rover and an individual college website. College Rover's website is updated as the DOE data becomes available and is configured for the College Rover website.