Category Archives: Academics

classes, degree planning, academic workshops, CPA exam planning and preparation

Academics, Jarrett

School: The To-Do List that Never Ends

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by Jarrett Cocharo

If your fall schedule is anything like mine is right now, it is getting ridiculously out of control. Your ability to manage time, prioritize and switch things around will be tested to the max your first semester in the MPA program. Let me detail the assignments that are due these next two weeks (please keep in mind that this does not include any daily reading assignments for each class).

Tuesday, October 26: Third part of Internal Audit Project due

Wednesday, October 27: Managerial Accounting Homework due

Thursday, October 28: Intermediate Accounting Test, Internal Audit Case due, Internal Audit Quiz

Monday, November 1: Managerial Accounting Homework due

Tuesday, November 2: Intermediate Accounting Case due, Internal Audit Quiz

Wednesday, November 3: Managerial Accounting Homework due, Intermediate Accounting Homework due

Thursday, November 4: Internal Audit Quiz

Now let’s add another layer of complexity to this schedule. Amongst the endless reading, doing homework and studying for tests, I have to set up group meetings to finish the above case assignments as well as start planning for some projects that are coming due in November and December. And if you thought that was not complex enough, wait until I tell you how much school I’ll be missing. If you are recruiting (for public accounting) in the fall, you can expect to miss about a week of school going to office visits (which, if you’re reading this, you are ahead of the curve and will have your pick of office visits to attend). For me, I will be attending office visits Nov. 1 through Nov. 5.

If there is a silver lining about this schedule, you will notice there is one day of the workweek that is missing. FRIDAY! Continue reading School: The To-Do List that Never Ends →

Academics, Career, Riny, Student Life

New York, Atlanta and Austin in a Week….

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by Riny Varghese
It has been hectic this week. The fall season is really busy with recruiting and school, and learning to maintain a balance between the two is critical to maintaining a level of sanity! For me, there is an additional factor–my 8-month-old son, Karthik. It is pretty challenging to find time to spend with him in the middle of all the other commitments I have. But I love my life! I feel so lucky to have these great opportunities and have a great support system (my family) to help me get through it all.

Okay, so what have I been up to?  Well, Karthik wakes up at 6-ish every day, and so my husband Suresh and I now find that we change our sleeping habits so that they go (kinda) with his. That means going to bed at about 11 PM and waking up at 5 AM-ish.  I usually do school work before I head to class.

Times Square
Times Square

So that was how my Monday morning began. Nothing out of the ordinary. After class was over at 3:30 PM, though, my week took a turn. I flew to New York for an interview on Tuesday. Got back Tuesday night. Woke up 4 AM on Wednesday morning (had some stuff to turn in), had classes till 3:30 PM. Then flew out again (to Atlanta) for another interview. I got back last night, and passed out on the couch.

Boy, I am glad it’s the weekend. I am definitely going to spend the day with my family. And dinner is going to be a great homecooked meal–my husband really deserves it!

Academics, Admissions, Career, Paul

A Little About This Blog & Thoughts About the MPA Program

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by Paul Nabhan

Who am I?
My name is Paul, and I’m a 4th-year student in the MPA program, studying on the Audit track. I come from El Paso, which is 600 miles and a time zone away from Austin. Aside from accounting, I am also a finance minor, a violin student, and an ardent college football and basketball fan; other quirks include zealously watching the Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee every year, trying to watch all of the AFI Top 100 Movies (I think I’m at 38 now…), and trying new foods.

El Paso sunset
El Paso sunset

What will this blog be like?
This blog will contain short headers with short answers most of the time. Those who actually know me are probably thrilled at this because my real life personality would have me talking for an hour or so.

So you promise not ramble on forever and ever?
No, not unless there is a topic about which I feel strongly.

What will you be talking about?
Since this is an MPA blog, I will be commenting on some of my experiences here in the program (why I’m glad I joined, what regrets I may have), student life on campus and in Austin, and possibly some of the processes involved with admissions, internships, etc.

Who is this blog for then?
This blog will be targeted mostly at current MPA students, prospective MPA students, and anyone else who has a general interest in the feel of the program. I’ll try to mix it up a bit, of course, but this isn’t really intended to be the forum to talk about whether LeBron made the right decision or not (although, I might sneak in a comment every now and then). Continue reading A Little About This Blog & Thoughts About the MPA Program →

Academics, Jonathan, Student Life

A Few Quiet Moments Before a Long Wednesday

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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 →

Academics, Karen, Student Life

Albino Squirrel Search: The Quest for an Assured “A”

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by Karen Favorito

 

Who would have known that one of the most reputable academic institutions in the country has its share of legends, myths and ghost stories? Legend has it that somewhere amidst the trees surrounding the University of Texas at Austin lives an albino squirrel that, if a student sees on his or her way to a test, he or she will get an A on the exam.

 

Don’t get me wrong, I do my best to study hard and work smart for my exams, but with three rigorous graduate accounting classes under my belt, I guess it wouldn’t hurt to use some luck. This week, I had an exam for ACC 384.1 Tax Research, which I thought was the perfect time to look for the “powerful” squirrel.

 

This was how my search went:

  • Monday – I interviewed people who have seen the albino squirrel already. They told me it can be seen on the East Mall, which is the area where Welch Hall, the Economics Department and Geological Sciences buildings are located. Based on their stories, after seeing the albino squirrel on their way to class, they did not only end up acing the test, but the class as well. This just gave me more motivation to look for the squirrel. I strolled around the East Mall looking for potential spots that the albino squirrel might be hiding. After thirty minutes of surveillance, I gave up on the task. I knew I had to come up with a better strategy to find the squirrel the next day.
  • Tuesday – The search continued. This time, I brought my camera with me so I could take a picture of the squirrel. I started looking from the portion of the East Mall closest to Welch then went further East until I hit the Winship Drama Building. I had more patience this time and decided to stick around in the area while reading my Tax Research notes. After 45 minutes of agitation, I decided to call it a day. However, I was still very optimistic that I would eventually find the albino squirrel. Continue reading Albino Squirrel Search: The Quest for an Assured “A” →