December 2008 - MAC Alumni Newsletter

Dear MAC Alumni,  

Happy Holidays to you all! Classes are now over for fall semester and graduation took place last Wednesday. I can’t believe how fast the semester passed. I certainly am looking forward to a nice break before starting the rush of admissions for the Class of 2010. The University is shutting down from December 24 – January 2, so after Tuesday, December 23rd, our whole MAC Team will be out until Monday, January 5th.   In the spirit of the season, I’d like to summarize some of the highlights of the MAC Program this year:   The Biggest News of the Year (We are so thrilled!!):

  • The Ernst & Young Foundation awarded the Department of Accounting $400,000 over a 5-year period for the “development and implementation of a Department of Accounting and EY presence on Second Life, a virtual 3-D world on the internet. The funds will be used to support development of the on-line Second Life location, including project-based learning experiences, study abroad and service learning opportunities, and student recruitment and career service activities for current and future students in the undergraduate and Masters of Accounting programs.” NC State alumni working at EY, with contributions matched by the EY National Foundation, are providing another $100,000 in resources for this effort.

Rankings:

  • This is the fourth year in a row that we have been ranked in the Public Accounting Report’s Top 30 MAC Programs in the nation! Such a great achievement since the MAC Class of 2009 is only our 15th class!

Class of 2008 News:

  • 95% of those seeking employment have positions as of 12/31/08.

  • Forty-eight percent of the class members who responded to our survey have passed the CPA Exam. Congratulations! If you are from the Class of 2008 and haven’t let us know your results, please e-mail me!

Class of 2009 News:

  • We had 248 applicants, surpassing the 228 applications for the Class of 2008.

  • The class includes 86 full-time students and 8 part-time students. Approximately ½ of the students came from 30 schools other than NC State. The average GMAT was 587 (higher than previous years) and the average GPA was 3.5.

  • The Class of 2009 includes 17 fellows and 44 students who had internships. There are 28 students who received scholarships and 44 with Graduate Assistantships.

  • A mix of 10 students from the MAC Classes of 2008 and 2009 studied advanced financial accounting topics with Dr. Bruce Branson in Prague during Summer I. We plan to offer Advanced Tax with Dr. Roby Sawyers in Prague during Summer I 2009 to students from the MAC Classes of 2009 and 2010.

  • This fall, the non-job seeking students took part in our first financial literacy projects, presenting credit and budgeting topics to student groups on campus and charitable organizations. One group conducted a survey of students on campus that was written about in the Technician (see the story at http://www.technicianonline.com/news/students_conduct_finance_survey) and another group developed a financial literacy YouTube video (see the video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnTjqRzd2mo). The NCACPA and individuals from several accounting firms (including Dixon Hughes and Cherry Bekaert & Holland) provided much support and mentoring for this project.

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