So the first years are currently knee deep in midterms. Accounting and economics are now under our belts with the Marketing final (at UCLA Anderson we have Marketing everyday for the first two months, followed by Financial Markets everyday for the rest of the quarter) and the Statistics midterm Monday. You can check out the first year curriculum here.
Coming from a non-quant background (I majored in politics in undergrad followed by law school) I anticipated that these core courses which we take in the first quarter would be a challenge. It certainly hasn't disappointed. This may sound funny, but one of the biggest adjustments for me has been to come to grips with the idea that in these classes, there's a "right answer". Coming from the liberal arts and law side of things, I was used to writing essays and analyzing cases. It was a new type of stress taking the accounting and economics midterms knowing that there was a definitive answer.
Being exposed to these topics for the first time, my knowledge has grown tremendously since the start of school. But I admit I sometimes find myself feeling envious of some of my colleagues who have a business background and seem to pick things up more quickly. Luckily there hasn't been a lack of colleagues offering to help me get through what are hopefully temporary growing pains. Good thing I've been trained in the corporate law firm experience and am used to putting in some long hours.
Speaking of which, I should get back to the books....
--JP
~I'm normally not a praying man, but if you're up there, please save me Superman! ~ Homer J. Simpson
