Grad School Pros/Cons

I have realized that, since coming to grad school, my life is both better off and worse off. Some examples:

Not-so-Good Things About Grad School
-My self-confidence has plummeted. Since coming to grad school, I have received a legitimate 0% on a quiz, and I have also failed a midterm worth 30% of my grade. The fact that I have to maintain a 3.0 to even stay in the program does not help alleviate my stress. In addition, I constantly feel dumb in class/group meetings. I'm surrounded by absolute geniuses, and after being sort of at "the top of the class" for every other year of my life... it's kind of hard to swallow.

-Everyone talks about the CPA exam and it stresses me out beyond belief. Literally just hearing "CPA exam" gets my stomach all fluttery. I do not even want to think about it. I have to start studying in the spring :(

-MBA students. They suck. They think they are the shit and they are not. The end.

-As MAcc students, we tend to get called on during classes in which there are other non-MAcc students (MBA, HR students, etc.) to answer technical accounting questions. This is not fair. I cannot have my entire undergraduate accounting textbook library memorized. I'm sorry. It's just not possible.

-Grading seems inconsistent. In some classes, the curve is enormous. In others, it's either non-existent or very minimal. One professor said he will "decide at the end of the quarter whether or not he feels like giving out plusses or minuses." Um... that could possibly determine whether or not I'm allowed to stay in the program, so feel free to "decide" a little earlier.

-Just the horrible, horrible amount of time required to do ANYTHING. Projects, memos, case studies, reading... anything. I'm so sick of staying up until 2 AM researching accounting rules.

Awesome Things About Grad School
-As mentioned before, I am getting a definite reality check about my intelligence level. However, I also view this as a good thing. I guess we all need one every once in awhile, huh?

-This might seem kind of minor, but whatevs. The average age of people in my building is probably around 25 (due to the MBA students being older and whatnot). This is INCREDIBLE news. Why? Because I am no longer using the same bathroom as people who think they can leave pee on the seats. Seriously. It's awesome. You never have to worry about people leaving the seat a mess, or not flushing. You can pick ANY STALL and actually get to use it. I am very thankful.

-My resources. By being a MAcc student, I'm truly able to access a LOT of resources I wouldn't have been able to access before. This includes access to research materials/databases, great physical facilities, a staff that will bend over backwards to help you fix something or get you access to something, etc.

-My professors. They. Are. So. Smart. It blows me away. I am being taught what is essentially how to do the research I'll need to do for auditing... by a guy that was a partner with Arthur Andersen for 15 years. I'm being taught corporate tax by a guy that writes the most commonly used tax textbook in the country. Like... who even ARE these people and why on earth are they teaching?? I'm in a corporate financial reporting class with a professor that hasn't bragged about his credentials, so I have no idea what his background is, but he is probably one of the smartest people I've ever met. As of right now, his class is the most helpful class I've ever taken in my life. I'm just so happy that I get to interact with these professors on a daily basis.

-My classmates. As I mentioned earlier, they are unbelievably smart. Part of me hates them, because they are making me look bad, but part of me LOVES them because they are simply so good at what they do. Most of them are just naturally smart, but some of them have worked SO hard to get here. There are people here that weren't accounting majors. I'M struggling, and I WAS an accounting major. Some of them did not take intermediate accounting until 6 weeks before our program started... and they're still here, so they're obviously doing okay. I am SO proud of them for working so hard. And plus, they're fun to go out with :) And we make corny accounting jokes and everyone laughs. Haha love it.

-My job! I love being a student ambassador. I mean, I get 1/2 of my tuition waived because I'm doing something I love to do. I just answer emails all day from prospective students. For example, international students have a lot of questions about the language exams they have to take (TOEFL) and the also have to get their transcripts evaluated, so they have questions on that, too. Or people want to know certain things about the application, etc. The other part of my job is scheduling visits for people who we think are legit. If you know anything about me, you know I LOVE bragging about things I'm involved with, and i LOVE planning things. Therefore... I have the best job.

-Overall, just feeling like I'm learning a lot. Now... this is very class-specific. Do I feel like I'm learning anything in finance? No, not at all. I was lost in that class from day 1, and I've stopped caring. Am I learning anything in corporate tax? I hate the subject, and it's not INCREDIBLY relevant to me, so I try not to, which is probably horrible to say. But do I feel like I'm learning a lot in my research class and in my corporate financial reporting class. They're the most relevant to me, and I like those professors the most, which probably says a lot. But I just really feel like I'm learning stuff in those classes that is SO RELEVANT to my career... which is exactly why I decided to do the MAcc to begin with - I knew I had a ton more to learn.

Well... I should be doing homework as usual. Vom. Bye. :)