As I come back from of the Thanksgiving holiday, I realize it is almost the end of my first semester here. As one of my professors said, it takes forever to get to Halloween, but once Halloween comes, the rest of the semester flies by.
I wanted to talk a little about one of the specific classes I am taking right now. It is my Valuations class in the finance department. Finance is not one of my strong suits, I will be one of the first to admit that, but I know its great importance in the accounting field and more in the business world. I took an intro to finance in undergrad and again in an accelerated course here at UT. I was very ambitious in making my schedule and decided to take the accelerated valuations class for the second half of the semester. During orientation, we had a faculty panel when several professors gave the advice to challenge yourself, take the hardest classes you could and the classes in which you are least confident. Needless to say, I took this advice and registered for valuations even though it was not a requirement for my degree. (Other advice I was given included to take as many accounting and finance classes you can, as well as to take courses outside of your track i.e. tax classes if you are in the audit track and audit classes if you are in the tax track in order to broaden and deepen your knowledge.)
As the first half of my semester went along, my intro to finance class proved to be a lot more difficult than I had imagined. The whole time I was thinking – what am I going to do in valuations?! Why did I ever think I could do more advanced finance when I cannot even do this?! I ended up doing fine in finance, but let’s just say, not with flying colors.
Anyway, I started my valuations class about 5 weeks ago now and I have to say, despite the fact that I am still scared out of my mind every time I walk into the classroom, it definitely has proved to be one of the most valuable classes I am taking. I am learning so much about businesses and how important financial decisions are made in companies. So many of these decisions are based on information and models that I am learning in class. My professor brings in so many real life examples of doing exactly what we do in class, in his job. It is definitely one class that I need to pay attention from start to finish because of all the little details that perhaps someone more inclined to finance would get more easily, but that is one of the aspects of the class that makes it so rewarding. These topics may seem a little confusing to me at first but I also see how they are so critical in decision making. (I am not necessarily saying that now I am going to do fabulously in the class 🙂 but I definitely understand the value in what I am learning.) It also makes me work hard to do well in the class, which is an important path to success.
The moral of the story is that I really do see the value in the advice of taking challenging courses. It will not only help you overcome your weaknesses, but it will also make you get the most out of the talented professors and vast resources the MPA program has to offer. Thank you to the professors that offered this advice during orientation; thank you to my professor who teaches my valuations class for making it so interesting, fun, and understandable; and thanks to my dad and family who encouraged me that this class would really help me in my future career.
This is also not the only class I feel this way about – almost all of my classes have proved to be a lot more challenging than I thought (and I think others will agree with me on this one). The more challenging the class, however, the more I feel that I have been learning. Also, UT has its reputation of being great for a reason – the professors and the classes are the best in the country. Take advantage of that and take the classes you are interested in but also take the rigorous classes to get the most out of your experience at UT.
I hope you all had a fabulous Thanksgiving. I am so thankful for the wonderful people, experiences and fortunes I have in my life, and hope you will remember to be thankful for what you have even after Thanksgiving.
Please comment below!
How did you decide what track you wanted to be on?
Hello again Rebecca!
I decided to be on the Financial Reporting and Assurance track because of my short term career goals. I had interned in the audit function over the summer and knew that I wanted to continue to do auditing when I graduate from the MPA program. In addition to that, I also know that financial reporting and assurance is a great basis to almost anything in accounting and business in general so I figured I would get a good base on which to build my career. Lastly, I want to point out, that whichever track you choose, you still can take electives outside of your immediate concentration, which I highly recommend in order to build a more comprehensive knowledge and education.
Hope that helps!
Thanks!
Allison
Hi Allison,
Thanks for letting me know. BTW how many electives do most students typically take per semester? Also, does the Texas MPA program have quarters or semesters?
Rebecca
Hey Rebecca,
Most traditional MPA’s take 4 classes per semester (this can be increased or decreased depending on your preferences). Out of that, the number of electives depends on your previous background and coursework. For example, my undergraduate was in accounting and therefore I completed most of the core coursework before entering the MPA program. This gave me ample room in my schedule to take 5 classes and out of that, 3 electives. Others who may have not done accounting undergrad may have had to take mostly core courses during their first semester, but will have more opportunity to take electives their second semester. If you want to see where you stand, it would help to read this page http://www.mccombs.utexas.edu/MPA/Traditional-MPA/Curriculum-home.aspx#tab-pane2. No matter how many of the core courses you have or have not completed before entering the program, you will still have room to take several electives of your choosing in a variety of business areas (including accounting, finance, management, business law, marketing, and more). Hope this helps and let me know if I can clarify anything else.
Allison