by Jonathann Giammarco

I can say without reservation that any ego I had coming into this program has been thoroughly stamped out with an unmerciful string of below top-of-the-curve marks in my accounting classes. These results were not the result of flimsy efforts. Almost all came at the tail end of long long hours in the library and an endless stream of practice problems. I have been continuously experimenting with my study routine and have finally been rewarded with some recent breakthroughs. I figure it might be helpful to share a few of the practices I have recently adopted and a few strategies that I have abandoned.

What hasn’t worked for me

Doing the reading: I deeply regret how long it has taken me to downgrade the importance of textbook readings in my list of priorities. When you mix 15 credits worth of classes with a full recruitment schedule, time is gold, and three long chapters out of your textbook will sink you like a lead weight. Since the beginning of the summer semester, I have stubbornly and irrationally clung to the idea that “doing the reading is important.” Now, a semester and a half wiser, I know what is really important: studying class notes, maximizing the lectures, and doing plenty of homework problems. Any time spent reading the textbook is better spent reviewing my notes, doing extra practice problems or catching up on sleep.

Late nights: I always tell myself that it is better to sleep well than to study well, but I never follow my own advice.  Continue reading Tips for Success →

by Jonathann Giammarco

The sound of my alarm hits like a hammer at 6:00 a.m. Sleep is a scarce commodity during the school week, and on Wednesday morning, the wake-up chime coming out of my cell phone can be particularly brutal.  I’m up in a few seconds, on unsteady feet and with mind full of cotton, and with great effort, I stumble to the kitchen in search of my alarm. Long ago, I learned that I cannot trust myself to get up in the early morning, so I hide my alarm in the kitchen before I go to sleep. If I can get my hands on my alarm clock before I’m fully awake, I’m liable to shut it off, and sleep through my first class. That would be the absolute worst thing I could do.

People like me, traditional MPA students with non-accounting backgrounds, have a lot of ground to cover in one year. Many of us are spending the fall semester completing the program’s required core classes. Due to a quirk in the academic schedule, the majority of these classes fall back-to-back-to-back on Mondays and Wednesdays. That adds up to an intimidating six-hour block, with lectures running from 8:00 a.m. straight through to 2:00 p.m. The first class of the day, Intermediate Financial Accounting, has a tough reputation, and the lectures are so important that I would be taking a huge academic gamble to miss one.

By the time I am able to track down my phone and shut off my alarm, I am generally lucid enough to get my morning routine under way. One cup of water goes in the microwave and then into my french press for my morning coffee (pumpkin spice!). As the coffee steeps, I prepare a bowl of muesli and milk, tune to Morning Edition on the computer, and putter around my closet in search of clothes. I have to check my scheduler before getting dressed. If there are recruiting events in the afternoon, I’ll wear a button-up shirt and pants. Otherwise, it will be jeans or shorts and a t-shirt.

By 6:45 a.m., I’m usually pressing to get out the door. I have to make sure that all of the notebooks for the day are accounted for and in order. The day’s lunch comes out of the fridge and goes into my overstuffed backpack. On my way out the door, I grab my bicycle helmet and my bike lights. Continue reading A Few Quiet Moments Before a Long Wednesday →