By Jarrett Cocharo

Attending a new school takes a lot of adjusting. You will inevitably be thinking, “That is not the way things are supposed to be done.” Or you might think, “That is the coolest thing I’ve ever seen any university do.” For my first blog post, I thought I would make a list of little things that surprised me about the MPA program, McCombs and the University as whole.

1. Homework and Reading: When I entered graduate school, I figured it would be much like the stories I heard about law school. Very little homework. Lots of reading and one or two big tests per class each semester. I was wrong. You can expect anywhere from 4 to 12 homework assignments per class, three tests per class and three cases (group or individual) per class each semester. Not to mention you could have papers in some of your classes. I use a weekly to-do list to keep track of what assignments I have to turn in for the coming week, and I use Google calendar to schedule my group meetings around my classes and recruiting events.

2. Media Services: Located on the third floor of the business school, McCombs Media Services allow students to check out laptops, computer mice, camcorders, still cameras and tripods among other things. This is a great option for students who need the mobility of a laptop, but do not feel comfortable bringing their laptops to school. I am actually on a first name basis with one of the staff members at Media Services, because I go by so often.

3. Recruiting time commitment: Recruiting is accounting speak for job hunting. If you are a traditional MPA and you are recruiting for public accounting, this will take place during the fall semester. It will start the week of orientation with a networking event and career fair, and it will continue through December. Demanding is an understatement for the amount of time that you will spend doing this. The best way to think of the process is to consider it like taking an extra four- to five-hour course. For each employer, you will spend roughly 5 to 10 hours researching the employer, attending networking events, developing your application, interviewing and attending any second-round interviews. So, if you are applying to six organizations, you can expect to spend at least 30 hours (if not 50) on this process. The best advice I can give any prospective students is to budget your time.

4. Austin traffic: To many of us Texans, the horror stories of Texas Interstate 35 (I-35) are numerous and frequent. To those of you, who are not from the state, be warned of the traffic build-ups in Austin. This was something that I encountered on my day of class. I live farther North than most students in Austin. So, a drive that normally should have taken me 15-20 minutes took me 40 minutes that first day. If you plan to drive to school, learn the back roads and side streets and avoid the freeway.

I hope these four items helped to clarify some of the nuances that you might not have thought about before.