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Finals, Graduation, More Exams
[Monday, May 18th, Late evening]
I just completed my last final of the semester. Actually, I finished two final exams within the last seven hours and I feel just about as stiff and sore from being hunched over my notes and exams as if I had been, well, hunched over all. day. long.
As I finished my tax exam and walked out of the building, I first began to beat myself up about each of the problems that I knew I missed. Then . . .
[Wednesday, May 27th, Again late evening]
After I composed the sentences above, Janssen, my wife, called to let me know she had arrived on campus to pick me up. Nine days later I’m back online to finish this post.
In the end, I was happy with how finals went last week and I’m grateful to my professors for teaching me so much this semester. I feel like I learned a huge amount of information in the last four months, and I’m really starting to feel like an accountant of sorts. I bet I’ll feel even more that way after I’ve started working in three months.
Graduation
This past weekend was graduation for both the MPA program and Janssen’s MSIS program. My parents, Janssen’s parents and younger brother, and even Janssen’s grandparents came to visit and celebrate our graduation, and good times were had by all (even by Janssen’s younger brother, who fortunately had several books to keep him entertained during the graduation ceremonies).
Here we are with Steve Limberg, the Faculty Director of the MPA Program (and one of the coolest, most interesting guys I know):
MPA Ceremony:
Two graduates (Actually, I still have 9 credits to complete over the summer. But the MPA program doesn’t have a ceremony in August, and this worked out better for us anyway so we could walk together and have family visit just once):
CPA Exam
I took my first section of the CPA Exam today. I chose to take the Financial section first because it is rumored to be one of the most difficult sections and I wanted to both get it out of the way and take it while the information I’ve been learning in classes like Intermediate and Advanced Accounting is still relatively fresh in my mind.
I felt like it went pretty smoothly, and I’m extremely hopeful that I pass. Apparently I won’t be receiving my score for a month or so, so I’ll just move forward in preparing for the next section – Regulation – which I have scheduled for July 1.
The first half of summer semester begins next week. In the meantime, I’m going to enjoy a few days of stress-free studying intermixed with running, errands, and movie-watching.
Internship Lunch Series #3: Homeward Bound
April 26/27, I am on a Continental flight to Tokyo’s Narita Airport right now. But Tokyo isn’t my final destination; in eight hours or so, I should be landing in Taipei Taoyuan International Airport. This is my treat to myself, in celebration of the successful completion of my tax internship at The Big 4 Firm in Houston. In a way, it is also a celebration for the beginning of what I hope to be a new career. Although I still have roughly six months of classes left (summer and fall semesters) when I return from Taiwan, my mind is somehow at ease knowing that now I can concentrate one hundred percent on my studies. I am not going to lie-–it is a great feeling.
Before I get too excited about the three-week vacation at my parents’ place in Taipei, I think it would be a good idea to conclude the atrophied “lunch series” I tried to maintain on this blog. My apologies, once again, for not keeping up as I had hoped on the details of my internship. When I was living the day-to-day life of a tax intern, the details of my work did not seem blog-worthy. However, now I have had a few days to reflect on what I did, I really feel fulfilled with the opportunities I had on my internship. Continue reading Internship Lunch Series #3: Homeward Bound
Is It Worth the Debt?
Submitted Question:
“Hi Bart,
Thank you so much for your writings on the blogs of McCombs. It is very entertaining and informative to read! [You’re absolutely welcome. Glad you like our blog!]
I’m really excited to be accepted into the Texas MPA program [Congratulations!], and I know this is a great prestigious program that prepares you well for a career in accounting. But it is so costly! I’m from out-of-state, and have previous degrees in [omitted], so must pay $54,858 in tuition. My other option is to attend the 1.5 years MPA program with full-tuition remission at [another university], which is where my parents live. [The other university] does not have nearly as good placements for graduates as the top accounting schools.
What is your advice? I want to get the CPA after graduation, and am not sure where I want to work yet (probably in [the state I’m currently living in]). Does the prestige of my MPA program matter? Or should I take out a loan, make the investment and go to UT? How do you feel about being in debt? It must be very uncomfortable.
Thanks, and good luck to you and your wife.”
Answer: I received this excellent question from an admitted student who is trying to make the final decision of whether to attend UT or not. Here are my thoughts on the matter [Disclaimer: Take my thoughts for what they’re worth, which might not be that much.]
I agree that tuition is expensive. Really expensive. And taking out student loans to cover tuition costs has been emotionally burdensome. My wife and I have never gone into debt before (besides our current home mortgage and car loans quite a few years back), and instead of paying loads in tuition to complete our degrees we could have chosen to just keep working and making money. Going to school is a double whammy in that you’re not only paying tuition, you’re also sacrificing the income you would be making if you weren’t at school. Depending on your situation, that opportunity cost can be considerable. It was for me.
It sounds like you also have at least two schools to consider as options. So did I, but the tution difference wasn’t as huge as yours seems to be (partly because I’m paying in-state tuition, and partly because I didn’t have another option that would pay all of my tuition). Free is something I rarely pass up.
That said, this situation could be one of those rare instances. It all depends on your goals and which program will help you accomplish those goals. In the end, debt can be paid off (fairly rapidly if you’re dedicated to it), whereas your first job out of college can’t be changed, nor can your graduate school experience or the degree on your resume be changed.
If you will be able to accomplish your academic and career goals by attending your local college, I recommend you attend school there. But if you believe that UT will give you a much better academic experience and is much more likely to open doors to your desired career, I highly recommend you attend the University of Texas.
I don’t like debt. But in the end, the debt will be gone, and I’ll have no regrets since I’ve had an excellent experience, have made great friends with impressive people from around the country (who enrolled in this program for its excellence), have gotten the job I wanted, and am well posed to accomplish my short and long-term career goals.
Good luck making your decision!
Fourth Year Wrap-Up
Now, I would not go as far to say that my fourth year is over, but I am in the extensive process of wrapping things up. Between internship paperwork, exams, registration and making my decision on my offer…I have been a bit busy.
Once you have completed your internship, your work to earn college credit is not over. During my internship, I was required to keep a daily journal. In addition to this, there are a few online questions that need to be answered for the Accounting Department. The answers are used for statistical reasons and are not difficult. Additionally, I am required to write a five-page paper about my internship experience. The paper is designed to discuss what I learned, what I wish I would have learned, as well as my likes and dislikes about my internship. All of these items are due at the end of the week so I have a few long nights ahead of me.
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Exams…yeah, we all have them. These count for 50 percent of my grade so they have a bit more weight on importance and preparation needed.
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Registration is one of the most dreadful days of the year. The stress of getting the best class times, the best professors or even into the only section available can be quite draining on the mind. I was up bright and early and sitting in my command center–the Mill Lab. I was running three computers, with registration, the UT course schedule, pick-a-prof*, and Excel running on several different monitors just to get this process right. It may seem excessive, but the extra effort is worth it.
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I will not go into the reasons why, but I have decided to turn down my offer for full-time employment with the Firm. It is kind of like a bad relationship break-up; a sickening feeling in your stomach when you are doing it but when it is over, you know it is the right thing to do.
I guess I will get back to watching Harry Potter…I mean, get back to studying for exams! 😉
Good luck to everyone else on exams and registration!
~Ciao~