And So It Begins: the MBA

A year ago I could have begun my MBA, but when August came, I felt overwhelmed and did not start. In fact, the busyness began in the summer, and I never quite finished the application process. I began to question the whole thing and even considered applying to sister schools. But this summer, I finished the process and signed up for classes for fall. Before starting graduate level courses, I have to complete two undergrad courses: Introduction to Accounting and Finance and Microeconomics. I am doing the accounting course in the first eight weeks, just ending Week 5 this Tuesday. Then 6, 7, 8, and I am done. I am at virtually 100% on my grade. I missed one question on the first exam, because I did not check my notes to confirm my answer.

It has been hard, hard, hard! But I have studied hard, hard, hard. Classes run from Wednesday through Tuesday. I begin to read for the new week, no later than Wednesday evening. I read very carefully and take thorough notes in a Word document. By Saturday, I am ready to post to the discussion forum in response to the prompts. And I try to get the assignment done by Sunday afternoon. This week’s assignment is done, I believe. But I will wait to submit it until I can review it one more time. (I found an error from this afternoon’s work, which I corrected this evening.) We are to have a video session on Monday evening, during which the homework will be discussed, so it makes sense to wait for that.

For Week 4, I submitted a request for a day-late submission the week before, because I knew I would be attending the final Women of Faith event, in Orlando, on September 19, losing my Saturday study day. So I further prepared ahead by going to work late on Monday, taking of Tuesday afternoon, and taking off Wednesday in order to study. The assignment was tedious and challenging. He had done two video sessions (Thursday and Monday) but I was completely in the dark on those, even though I had studied hard and grasped the basic concepts. But the way the questions were structured required application of principles at a difficult level. Professor allows for homework to be submitted ahead of time so that you can ask questions, which I did. He suggested two areas for adjustment AND also said if he were grading, he would grade it high. I reworked a couple of things and submitted the assignment before midnight on Wednesday, letting him know by text. Finally, he asked if I had submitted and, later, asked me to send it to him by e-mail. Finally, this morning the grade had been entered: 100%! That was such good news!

This course is telling me I can do, can do, can do!