INTERVIEWS

This semester has been pretty insane. My life has been consumed by interviews lately. First rounds were late September and early October, and the past couple weeks have been mostly final rounds.

I have gone through a few final round interviews already. A couple have been in Boston, but I just got back from one in New York City just yesterday. It is nice to have interviews in NYC because the firms treat you very well. They let you expense everything and put you up in a hotel. They also pay for all of your travel expenses. It is definitely great treatment.

I had a great interview experience yesterday. They gave us a great presentation and nice breakfast. Then after our interviews, they had a great networking session and amazing lunch at Pampano. It was definitely a great experience.

Interviews have ranged in difficulty. Technical interviews are always more difficult, but I have enjoyed going through the processes. It is definitely nice to meet new people and make connections.

I still have a couple final rounds to finish including PWC in New York, but I am waiting to hear back from a few good firms like Deloitte and KPMG. I am hoping for good news, but it is definitely nerve-wracking to wait. It is even worse than anticipation and studying for the interviews.

Having classes at the same time has definitely not been easy. It is really a challenge juggling both, especially since you have to miss some classes due to interview schedules. Keeping up is really important.

This weekend should be nice and relaxing due to Halloween parties. I also will be attending the football game against Maryland this Saturday, so it should be a nice breather. At the same time, I really need to study and catch up on some work too. Between work, school, clubs, and interviews, it definitely has been a hectic semester.

My hope is that it will be all worth it in the end!

SECOND YEAR

So the summer went by quick. I took three accounting courses, Financial Accounting Practice I, Internal Cost Management & Controls, and Strategic Cost & Profitability Analysis, and the pace of the classes were really intense, but I survived. It was a great summer in Boston with warm weather and lots to do. We had a small break before classes started in the fall, so I was able to go home and prepare for the intense subsequent semester.

Since classes have started in the fall, I have been going non-stop. It is definitely a very fast-paced environment now that I am applying to jobs. Even before classes started, the networking events kicked into high gear. I went to multiple information sessions and networking events for the Big Four firms and Grant Thornton during the beginning of the year while taking classes and participating in all my clubs at the same time. It is definitely a lot to handle, but it is nice to stay busy. I am still the MSA/MSF representative on the GMA, so it has been nice participating in that and organizing things for my programs. I am also the captain of the MSA/MSF flag football team, so I have been in the process of finalizing the team to beat the MBAs.

Even though there has been a lot of work, I have tried to stay close to my new classmates. There is a new class of people now that I am in accounting courses. Many of us have definitely developed a close rapport, and we have been out to many Thirsty Thursdays and social events together. I always love meeting new people, and it has been a great time getting to know my new friends.

I am currently taking Federal Taxation and Financial Auditing with Ed Taylor, Financial Accounting II with Gil Manzon, and Financial Policy with Elliott Smith. I have definitely learned a lot so far this semester and I have some great professors with a lot of energy right now. I am never even close to falling asleep in my 9AM class which says a lot about my tax professor.

This upcoming week is going to be very difficult with midterms and interviews. I am definitely nervous about it, but I will be happy when I have gotten through it. It has definitely been an eventful first few weeks of the fall semester, but I am sure it will only get more crazy. And even though I am stressed and nervous about the next month or so, I am excited and looking forward to taking on the challenge!

SECOND SEMESTER

So second semester has flown by. This semester, I have Derivatives, Fixed Income Analysis, Accounting Information Systems, and Corporate Finance Theory. There are definitely more cases this semester, and the classes are harder than first semester, but it has been a great learning experience. The finance courses are more in depth and at a higher advanced level, so I have learned a lot. The quantitative parts of the cases are definitely difficult, but my groups have provided a great learning experience when analyzing the cases.

As for my accounting class, it has been more about information systems. I've learned a lot about MS Access and MS Excel, so it has definitely made my skills more advanced. This should be very useful in the future.

It is surreal that this semester is almost already over as finals are just in a couple weeks, but at least the weather is getting nicer! I can't wait for the summer!

BACK TO SCHOOL

Time flies when you are having fun!

It is crazy that a whole semester has gone by, but it has definitely been an eventful first semester. My classes last semester included Investments, Corporate Finance, Financial Econometrics, and Management of Financial Institutions. I learned some great financial concepts that I had never learned before. As an undergraduate economics major, it was nice to learn so much about new topics like syndicated lending and security tranching. My favorite parts of classes were definitely when we learned about real-life cases and applied them to the financial concepts. It is a great way of learning, and the professors did a great job of incorporating relevant examples with the concepts.

It was definitely a little strange going back to school from work, but it has also been a lot of fun. The culture is different, but I have made a lot of new friends and colleagues. The experience is priceless, and you never know who you will meet and how they will affect you. The students at Carroll are definitely very unique and engaging.

I joined a lot of clubs my first semester at BC. One of these included the Graduate Management Association. This is basically like the student council run by the graduate business programs at Carroll. We organize social events and take care of financing, club activities, and general business school issues. We are also a voice for the students at the Carroll Graduate School of Management.

Some cool events that the GMA planned for the first semester were the 7-week and 14-week parties, which are scheduled specifically after testing periods so that people can relax and let loose. These are usually organized at special places around Boston. The GMA also plans a Thirsty Thursday event every week where you can catch up with classmates and enjoy yourself. Another great activity from first semester was our charity Toys For Tots event. This was a nice beer pong/flip cup tournament and the entry fee was a toy per person. We made all the donations to Toys For Tots. The graduate students at Carroll definitely know how to study, but they know how to have fun too.

This past weekend, the graduate school just had their annual gala at the State Room in Boston. It was a beautiful venue with an amazing view. Great food and drinks, a rocking dj, and amazing desserts headlined the night. There were even midnight snacks that included sliders and fries! Definitely a great event where everyone was able to have a classy, upscale night in a laidback, relaxed environment.

Currently, the MSA and MSF representatives on the GMA are planning an event at Harpoon Brewery on February 24th. It should be a good time for the younger students and smaller programs in the graduate business school to bond and get to know each other.

All in all, it's been a really eventful graduate school experience so far. I'll fill you in on more updates in the future. For now, stay fresh!