The carnage was minimal

Well, it all turned out pretty good for a first semester in upper division classes! It was pretty stressful waiting for grades at the end, but with a couple of "curved" classes, I was able to hang onto a fairly decent GPA.

I'm not sure how I feel about grade curves, even though they have worked in my favor more than once. It's not something I completely understand, but it seems as though college professors (at least some of them) are quite enamored of the infamous normal distribution "bell curve" and are likely encouraged (by their departments, maybe?) to normalize the final grades to fit it. However, it just doesn't feel right to me. Those who earned the highest grades should be rewarded, yet, in a curve, their grades are "normalized" down. Of course no one in "A" territory is in any danger of getting a lower grade, but those of us who either screwed up an exam or two (me!), or just got lazy at some point during the semester (not me), shouldn't really be allowed to get the same grade as those who worked the hardest. (Here's a prof who agrees!)

Maybe it's best not to fight the system, though, especially when some grades are awfully subjective to begin with. Projects that don't have "right" or "wrong" answers are pretty hard to grade, I would imagine. Rubrics are used - and often published along with the project description - so we know exactly the items that need to be present in a paper or presentation, but it's still a subjective exercise by the prof or grader(s) to decide how well we hit or missed those specific targets.

In any case, I'm ecstatic with how my grade sheet turned out for the semester, but hardly have time to enjoy it as Winter Session started just two days after my final exam! Operations Management is the class I'm in now. It covers things like forecasting, supply chain management, inventory, facility layout, productivity, and capacity. Taught by a PhD student who is somewhat making it up as he goes along! Only 14 students in class so there is a lot of interaction and the concepts aren't all that new to me. There is a lot to fit into the 14 days of class, but I love the opportunity to focus on just the one subject.

I'm only enrolled in two courses for Spring semester: Intermediate Financial Accounting (Part 2), and Business Communications. A year ago I assumed the Bus. Comm. class would be a slam dunk because it looked that way in the course catalog. Spent most of my secretarial career communicating in a myriad of ways for the Grounds Department - writing memos, conducting small training sessions, coordinating events, contacting vendors, etc. But I got wind of how convoluted they made this course for the incoming Eller students and dropped it from my Fall schedule so I could concentrate on Accounting. Can't put it off forever, however, and it isn't offered in the abbreviated semesters (winter or summer) so I do have to endure the case competition and other busywork things that are fine and dandy for the kids but seem like overkill to us older students! Group projects and presentations, here I come!

Spring will be a light semester due to my commitment at H&R Block - I'm scheduled around 15 hours a week there. New semester starts just one day after Winter Session ends so there's truly no rest for the wicked!

Chester was right!

Golf class was entirely on the driving range and practice areas, just like my nephew predicted.

I'm just a whisker away from the end of Fall Semester 2009 (yippee!) but before I bury my nose in my accounting book (for the next 9 days before final exam), I want to recount my experience in Golf class.

Golf started midway through the semester, being just a 1-credit course. Met twice a week at 9:00 a.m. for about an hour, sometimes longer. Two groups of 16 students met simultaneously along with two PGA pros (Peter Federhar and Bill Hird). When I initially saw the roster for "my" class, I was the only "girl" on the list! I panicked a little and emailed the UA prof in charge but he assured me the class was geared toward the beginning golfer and that I likely wouldn't find myself so out of place once it got started.

He, too, was right! A lot of the students had never played before. The first day I was plenty early at Randolph golf course and waited apprehensively as the group trickled in... all guys. Then, at the last minute, coming from the other direction, I was relieved to see another female student who had biked from campus and had misjudged the distance so was just a few minutes late. We latched onto each other and became fast friends. Shawna* asked me if I knew of a bus line that ran from campus to the golf course because it was just too far to bike. Well, I didn't, but it didn't matter because I wasn't about to let her do that when I could just swing by campus - only a little out of my way - and pick her up. She is just a freshman and must be the luckiest girl on campus because the class is so popular it usually fills up within minutes of open registration. I didn't even know the class existed until my sophomore year and only got in on my third attempt!

We spent the first two days just putting on the practice greens. Turns out, all golf strokes are built around the same motion so it's a good idea to get it right on the putting green before you move to the bigger swings. After that we moved to mats on the driving range and worked our way from chipping to pitching to driving as the weeks evolved. Finally we left the mats and learned how different it was driving off the grass. Two buckets of balls was the standard daily requirement (around 120 total swings) and Pete and Bill would make their way through the group to give individual instruction. I was amazed at how helpful their suggestions were. Seemed like each thing they told us to do worked like magic and we continued to improve every day.

Besides the swing instruction, they gave us tips on how to "look" like we weren't beginners when playing with peers or eventual bosses, and how to keep the game moving and not be the one slowing everyone down. They also went through some of the golf etiquette and how not to annoy your fellow players on the greens!

We were to bring our own clubs if we had some and my old second-hand set elicited some chuckles from Bill and Pete. "Ah, I see we have some clubs from the dark ages!" But they encouraged me to use them while we were just learning. After a few weeks Pete produced a newer ladies 7-iron and explained everything that was different between the new technology and my old stuff. After just a few swings, I could really tell the difference so I asked where I could find me a nice starter set. They recommended not going to the expense of getting "fitted" because I'm just a beginner and don't know yet what kinds of clubs are out there and what my preferences might be. I was able to find a really nice used set called Precise for just under $100 at the Golf Exchange store. Pete recommended the place because if I didn't like one or more of the clubs, they would exchange them, unlike the golf stores featuring brand new clubs.

Just before Thanksgiving we had a "bunker day" and learned how to get out of the sand traps (or at least learned how you're *supposed* to do it!). And then the final two days of golfing were spent in a practice area that has four separate greens fanned out from the same tee box area at different distances (around 47 yards up to 160 - all par 3 holes). We divided up into groups of 5 or 6 and played a scramble to each of the greens. Fortunately with a scramble, you all get to hit a drive shot, but then everyone moves their ball to the place where the best shot landed and everyone continues from there. That sure speeds things up and still gives you the feeling of a golf game.

The "final exam" was a written test for which we were given a review sheet with about double the information on it. A little memorization was all it took. I wish all my finals were exactly like that one!

So, all in all I feel like I improved a great deal (and so did my hubby because I would come home and give him all the same pointers!) and can actually not look like an idiot if I'm ever in a position to play with a group. It's good exercise and great fun (when your swing is good - and okay fun when its not!) and in a pleasant setting. I'm going to have to find time to keep it up, though, because they said we would notice a big difference if we lapsed even two weeks between practice driving. Now that I know about the 4-hole practice area, we can try to get there once a week or so. The regular driving range is good, too, but those $7 buckets of balls can add up fast!

*Not her real name.

Well, that was weird

Two exams in one day and I did better on the one I studied LESS for! The Management exam was a bit easier than I expected - there was a LOT of content in those five chapters and the exam could have been a lot harder, so I'm very happy with my grade.

The Accounting exam was about what I expected in terms of content and I even had time to FINISH and recheck several answers. But, while I earned an improvement over my grade on the first accounting exam, I sure didn't do as well as I expected. Sigh. I'll visit the professor next week to see if I made some stupid errors or exactly where things went wrong.

All things considered, though, when examining the two aspects of my accounting class, I'm getting a solid A in the quizzes and in-class activities and that is very encouraging. It is only the exams that are bringing my grade down. So maybe the exams are set up to be that much more difficult...? Anyway, just 34 more calendar days and I think I can escape with a C. I can certainly live with that! What is it they say? "Survive and advance!"

Big test comin' up

Been studying VERY HARD for the last 8 days getting all the various accounting concepts of revenue recognition and inventory valuation clear in my head. Took the practice exam about an hour ago without books or notes and got everything RIGHT except a couple of journal entries! ALL my numbers were right and I finished just 5 minutes over the designated time. Whew! Now if I can just manage to NOT look like this little guy on test day!

I can do this... I think

Confidence is such a nebulous thing - you can't lay claim to it or it will slip away like the morning haze. If you haven't guessed, this semester has been a rough one for me! My summer jaunt into upper division college courses proved to be atypical. And my mostly marvelous success with lower division courses was fun, but fleeting. This stuff is difficult, and it takes focus, and sometimes even that and hard work ain't enough.

Management and Marketing classes are fairly routine and I can keep up as long as I do the readings and spend time really focusing before an exam. Attending class regularly and taking good notes is certainly a key component and I'm glad I was already in that habit. Most of the concepts are familiar and anything new is relatively easy to grasp (and sometimes easy to identify on a test!). At this, the midpoint of the semester, an A in both classes is still reachable (although I've gotten B's on the tests so far).

Financial Accounting, however, is another story. I'm struggling. More than usual, I mean. I'm very frustrated and a little lost and don't know where to go to get my confidence back. I'm just going to have to keep struggling and fighting to get this stuff into my muddled brain.

Went through a couple of weeks where I nearly felt like quitting. It is hard to separate my self-worth from my schooling, after all, this is what I do and I'm used to being good at what I do. In fact, I'm good at a whole lot of things - just not Financial Accounting! The old test anxieties rear their ugly heads and sometimes I can't beat them back long enough to focus on the questions. It doesn't help that all tests are designed to make us rushed for time.

Their justification for this need for speed is that when we are accountants our hours will be billable and we won't have the luxury of being leisurely about our work. I suppose that's true, but when you're just learning the material, it sure feels punitive. And it doesn't help that several students do seem to get it and fly through the tests while the rest of us struggle! I'm certainly not alone, and that helps - a little. My first bad exam grade was typical of almost 40% of the class. But it just wasn't what I'm used to achieving. I can still get a B in the class, but only if I do a whole lot better on exams 2 and 3 than I did on exam 1. To move on to the next level next semester I only need a C in the class, and I might have to be happy with that. It isn't uncommon for accounting students to repeat this class, but I'd sure rather not go there.

However, one of the brighter events of this semester is that I finally have FRIENDS! No, the whole highly-touted cohort thing has mostly been a bust but, thanks to the two upper division classes I took last summer, I've made a couple of very good friends with whom to commiserate and occasionally study. They're close to my age and are both majoring in accounting. We share most of the same struggles either in accounting or the other classes. We share textbooks, when one of us has completed a class the other is just starting, and we also share experiences and advice when we're contemplating next semester's schedule. One has a young family (of teenagers!) and the other is caring for an elderly parent, so that adds depth to the relationship you just don't get from 19-22 year olds!

So I will make it through this semester. And I won't tie my self-worth to my grades! The one saving grace is that I am pretty sure the things I'm struggling with are associated mostly with public accounting (those big companies who sell stock) and not the mom-and-pop private businesses I hope to work with in my career after college. I can do just 53 more days! And then it's on to next semester, which will also be a struggle. But at least it will be a familiar one!