I get it, I get it. It’s homecoming season, football season, cuffing season, and so on. The holidays are just around the corner and you can already imagine the scent of sweet potato pie baking in your family’s kitchen (yes, sweet potato because we only use pumpkins as props where I’m from). If your mind has started to drift and you feel the semester starting to fall apart, allow me to redirect your attention.
While it’s completely normal to get burned out at the end of the semester, this isn’t the time to rest. Your final grades are important-even if you have already accepted a full time offer. Do a thorough assessment to calculate where you are in your courses. Determine how many assignments you have left to get your grades to where you want them. Calculate what remaining grades you will need to achieve in order to finish strong and plan accordingly to that. Along with the syllabus and your planner, you should determine what dates to block off in preparation for achieving your revised goals. I recommend taking off the necessary days from work if applicable, so that you can really focus on your studies.
So if your grades are pretty trash and you’ve determined there is no way you can finish with A’s-let’s consider your options. First, acknowledged where you went wrong. If you were swag surfing on the yard at homecoming instead of studying for that big exam-let’s not do that moving forward. Meet with your professors and discuss any possibilities for extra credit. Turn in any late assignments you may have missed for partial credit. Most importantly, tie up any loose ends you may have with concepts. Most accounting courses are comprehensive, so moving on without understanding does not serve you. If you aren’t getting the concepts while in class, go to office hours. That one on one help goes far.
Focus in on this semester. The last couple of months of the semester are the most critical. Accept that you will need to miss out on some of your social life between now and December. What really helped me when I was studying was to announce it to family and friends. I sent out an IOS memo to my tribe stating that the next few months were going to be intense and that I would need to fall back from everyone. If these people truly value what you are doing, they will understand and they will hold you accountable when they see you straying. Surround yourself with students who are focused and dedicated for the remainder of the semester. When everyone around you is studying non-stop, it won’t feel so lonely. Are you a member of NABA? See if there are any “Lifting as We Climb” study sessions taking place. If there is no chapter at your school, you can host your own study sessions. Reserve a big room and send out an email to the class letting them know the time and place that your session is behind held. People will just show up. These sessions are a great way to gain new perspective.
In order to salvage this semester and finish with grades that you’re proud of, you have to commit. Decide the type of student you need to be in order to finish strong and then say no to anything that competes with this identity. If you are graduating this semester, remember that this is your final chance to get it right so do NOT play yourself.
Cheers to getting another semester in accounting behind you!