Reflection of the Fall Semester & Ways to Manage Finals Week
Time flew by as my first semester of the MAcc Program came to an end. Looking back on the past five months, there were numerous differences between a final's week in grad school versus undergrad. Finals week during grad school was filled with group projects and online exams. The Fall finals week seemed to last two weeks. Compared to undergrad, there was less stress having group projects as finals and take-home finals.
Balancing everything between two weeks provided some benefits and drawbacks. There was time to space everything out throughout the two weeks and spend time on challenging topics and ask for help. On the other hand, having multiple group projects required our groups to start a week before finals. There was a tremendous amount of planning and communication to ensure there is enough time to balance everything. Along with that, there were homework assignments and materials to study for exams. However, it seemed to all work out in the end.
Although, there are areas of improvement that would help reduce the stress during finals week. Here are a few tips and tricks I would recommend to anyone balancing finals week.
- List of All Assignments:
- I found myself creating a list on my computer of all assignments due during the last two weeks. This was a great reference point for me to schedule time to complete assignments and a great motivation tactic to cross off the item as I finished it.
- Calendars and Reminders
- I would recommend everyone to mark their calendars and set reminders for group meetings. I found myself relying heavily on Google Calendar to keep track of all the group meetings and meetings for work and extracurriculars.
- Study Breaks & Routine
- I followed my usual routine throughout finals week to keep me motivated and on top of lists. I would highly recommend taking study breaks between studying or group meetings. I found myself grabbing a snack or simply walking around my apartment to help me gather my thoughts away from a computer screen.
I want to keep these tips in mind to maintain my study habits during the Spring semester and CPA studying after graduation!
With the end of the Fall semester, our KPMG combined students are headed out to their winter internships and will continue the MAcc Program in the Summer. I know I will be missing my KPMG friends I have made throughout the Fall semester. However, we are planning to keep in touch and connect back in their summer semester.