Maryland or Villanova for accounting: which is better for internships and recruiting?

For accounting specifically, Villanova usually has the cleaner path if your top priority is internship access and recruiting into public accounting right out of college.

Villanova tends to fit the student who wants a more focused business environment, tighter alumni ties, and a campus culture where accounting recruiting feels very established. For someone aiming at Big Four or other public accounting firms, that matters because interview pipelines, alumni referrals, and employer familiarity can make the process smoother. The smaller setting can also make it easier to build relationships with professors and recruiters early, which helps when internship season starts moving fast.

Maryland makes more sense for the student who wants a broader university experience and is comfortable navigating a bigger system to find opportunities. If you are organized, willing to go to recruiting events consistently, and interested in pairing accounting with other areas like finance, information systems, or government-related work, Maryland can open a lot of doors.

Location also shapes the recruiting feel. Villanova benefits from close ties to Philadelphia and strong reach into East Coast accounting markets, while Maryland gives you proximity to federal agencies, consulting-adjacent employers, and a wider set of large regional employers around DC. If your picture of accounting includes public accounting with a traditional campus-to-firm pipeline, Villanova has an edge. If you want flexibility, a bigger campus ecosystem, and multiple business directions alongside accounting, Maryland can be the more useful platform.

I would lean Villanova for a student who wants the most straightforward accounting recruiting setup, and Maryland for a student who is equally interested in accounting but wants a larger university experience and is confident about taking initiative.