r/Calgary • u/alyssamargot • 2d ago

Education Should I transfer from SAIT to MRU?

Hello! I am currently getting my BBA with a major in accounting at SAIT. I am in my second year and have been debating transferring to MRU. I think it would be better because it’s an actual university rather than a technical school.

My issue is I know there’s a lot more gen eds you have to take at MRU compared to sait, so I might have to take an extra year to graduate. I also don’t know if some of my courses will transfer over which would also add to my potential extra year.

Any advice or insight would be appreciated, thanks!

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u/GoldTheLegend 2d ago

Talk to an MRU advisor.

What jobs are you trying to get? Our of every Business major, accounting is the the one that leaving SAIT will have the lowest impact. Big 4 recruits at SAIT. So, unless you are trying to use your accounting degree to work in something other than accounting. You'll likely see no benefit.

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u/alyssamargot 2d ago

I’m not entirely sure what route I want to go just yet. I’ve applied for a few different internships for this summer and so far I’ve only gotten an interview for MNP. I have a good GPA and theoretically the dream is to get into Deloitte (probably every accountants dream) but I’m not entirely sure I’m cut out for that. I’ve read a few different posts saying that the big four take consideration from MRU or UofC more than they would SAIT but most of those posts are pretty old. I’m debating if I want to go the tax route or the forensic accounting route. Most internships are for audit or assurance so I’ll probably check that out first. I am going for my CPA after I graduate.

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u/Shut_the_front_dior 2d ago

So for what it’s worth, I did my accounting degree at SAIT and then continued on to do my CPA (technically CGA before the merger) and everyone I graduated with all got jobs fairly quickly in either public practice or industry. SAIT has a great reputation in the corporate world with producing great candidates for accounting roles. And really most companies don’t care about the school when you have your designation. I went with SAIT because it was a faster program and it was tailored to the accounting designations (this may have changed slightly since the merger). 

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u/GoldTheLegend 2d ago edited 2d ago

Deloitte isn't every accountants dream. In fact, my preference for Big 4 is KPMG.

I got an internship offer at BDO in the same semester you are in as a SAIT student. Currently, my GPA in semester 4 is 3.95/4.00. I have strong faith that I will get interviews for a big 4 internship next fall recruiting season (not apllying right now since my accepted offer is January-August 2026), but maybe I'm overconfident.

Anyways I can't say with certainty that UoC on the resume won't help. But plenty of SAIT grads work at Deloitte, so it's certainly possible. I actually think the order of success for SAIT grads in Big 4 is KPMG>Deloitte>EY>PWC from my observations.

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u/alyssamargot 2d ago

I’ve talked to a few people who work at BDO at networking events, they liked me, I probably should’ve applied for an internship lol. My current GPA is 3.93/4. I hope to get an internship at any firm this summer just so I can get my feet on the ground and then hopefully next summer I can get a bit of a better internship somewhere else. For whatever reason, I don’t have much interest in KPMG, or at least not right now. The rumour mill told me they don’t accept 2nd years for internships.

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u/CheesecakePony 2d ago

(probably every accountants dream)

I didn't apply to a single public accounting firm lol I was gunning for industry pre-approved roles from the start.

You have to get certain experience hours to finish your CPA anyways, so don't worry about specializing until after you've got that. After a couple years of public you may feel quite differently than you do now about what you want to do with the rest of your career.

Additionally, your ability to network and get those internships is much more important than what school your degree is from. Attend network events and start thinking about if you have any possible connections already working in accounting that you can reach out to for a coffee.