The Road to Rome
Upon the completion of the fall semester, I have finally completed all of the requirements to be admitted to the College of Business. (Note: In case you—as was I for many years—are unaware of the difference between a university and a college, a university is a group of colleges. WKU has at least six different colleges: College of Business, College of Health & Human Services, College of Science & Engineering, College of Education & Behavioral Sciences, College of Arts & Letters, and the Community College. Most of them send chills up and down my spine at the thought of the classes held within their walls. There are then a number of different degrees you can obtain from the various colleges.) I have been a university student seeking admission to the College of Business for two and a half years and have jumped through all the right hoops—all, that is, except one.
The final hurtle to admission to the College of Business is filing my degree program. In a nutshell, filing a degree program is simply filling out a form that lists all of the classes that you’ve had so far, as well as defining what classes you will be taking to finish your degree—a sort of contract with the college. Some of the classes are confined to particular classes, and some of them are electives that I can choose—within the confines of accounting and business classes.
If I were merely trying to achieve graduation with the 128 required hours for a bachelor’s degree, filing a degree program would be a piece of cake because that part is pretty much spelled out. Unfortunately, my life is complicated by that 150 credit hour CPA exam requirement. Up to this point, I knew I would be going for the 150 hours, but that requirement was just a blob. 150 hours—gotta get ‘em. I didn’t have to define of what those hours would consist.
I met with my advisor a week and a half ago, who gave me some general instructions and advice and sent me on my way with paperwork for me to complete. After I filled out the basic 128-hour program, I realized that I still have to define that extra 22 hours. These extra 22 hours are “fondly” referred to in the accounting world as “22 hours of underwater basket weaving.” Ultimately, I can take any classes I please (frivolous or otherwise) to fill the 22 hours, but I feel I should be wise and do something constructive with them. The options available to me are what confound me.
First of all, I could take all of the accounting classes available to me and end up with a Certificate in Advanced Accounting Studies in addition to the bachelor’s degree—except that would mean I have to take another course in cost accounting. I don’t want to take another course in cost accounting. I’m not fond of it. At all. There is one class that is an alternative to advanced cost accounting, but it is not currently offered because of a lack of available instructors. But even if I did the certificate, I would still need about 7 more classes.
Second, I could (and plan to) get a minor in finance. But a finance minor will only require four additional classes, leaving me with at least three or four to go. If I take an additional four classes, I could also have a minor in computer information systems—except that some of the classes that I would be interested have prerequisites that complicate the whole thing. Or I could ditch the minors and go for dual majors in accounting and finance—except that I would have to take an economics class that I’ve been trying to avoid.
All of these options are contingent on classes not conflicting and that everything is available to take when I’m ready to take it, because my semesters will be crammed. If everything worked exactly perfectly, with a whole lot of effort and a few extra hours, I could potentially end up with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting, a Certificate in Advanced Accounting Studies, a Minor in Finance, and a Minor in Computer Information Systems, although I don’t think I could meet my goal graduation date. Then again, I could take a leave of absence from being sensible and just do the “underwater basket weaving” thing, take what I want to take, and forget about any minors or certificates. Decisions, decisions, decisions.
After I was done with classes today, I went on an information finding mission to the computer information systems department. I spoke with one of my former instructors about my interests. He gave me some suggestions and good feedback. As I got up to leave his office, he made a comment that gave voice to some of the feelings and frustrations I’ve been experiencing this semester, “If there’s anything more I can do to help you on The Road to Rome, let me know.” Somehow, this semester has been particularly difficult in getting into the swing of things (still not there) and the road looks so long—the end so far away.
Before I left school, I stopped by my advisor’s office once more to ask another question or two and discovered that I don’t have to make all of these decisions now. All I have to decide now is the 128 hours to complete admission, but that doesn’t eliminate the need to make those decisions in the future. I still need a plan—a way to get to Rome.
The final hurtle to admission to the College of Business is filing my degree program. In a nutshell, filing a degree program is simply filling out a form that lists all of the classes that you’ve had so far, as well as defining what classes you will be taking to finish your degree—a sort of contract with the college. Some of the classes are confined to particular classes, and some of them are electives that I can choose—within the confines of accounting and business classes.
If I were merely trying to achieve graduation with the 128 required hours for a bachelor’s degree, filing a degree program would be a piece of cake because that part is pretty much spelled out. Unfortunately, my life is complicated by that 150 credit hour CPA exam requirement. Up to this point, I knew I would be going for the 150 hours, but that requirement was just a blob. 150 hours—gotta get ‘em. I didn’t have to define of what those hours would consist.
I met with my advisor a week and a half ago, who gave me some general instructions and advice and sent me on my way with paperwork for me to complete. After I filled out the basic 128-hour program, I realized that I still have to define that extra 22 hours. These extra 22 hours are “fondly” referred to in the accounting world as “22 hours of underwater basket weaving.” Ultimately, I can take any classes I please (frivolous or otherwise) to fill the 22 hours, but I feel I should be wise and do something constructive with them. The options available to me are what confound me.
First of all, I could take all of the accounting classes available to me and end up with a Certificate in Advanced Accounting Studies in addition to the bachelor’s degree—except that would mean I have to take another course in cost accounting. I don’t want to take another course in cost accounting. I’m not fond of it. At all. There is one class that is an alternative to advanced cost accounting, but it is not currently offered because of a lack of available instructors. But even if I did the certificate, I would still need about 7 more classes.
Second, I could (and plan to) get a minor in finance. But a finance minor will only require four additional classes, leaving me with at least three or four to go. If I take an additional four classes, I could also have a minor in computer information systems—except that some of the classes that I would be interested have prerequisites that complicate the whole thing. Or I could ditch the minors and go for dual majors in accounting and finance—except that I would have to take an economics class that I’ve been trying to avoid.
All of these options are contingent on classes not conflicting and that everything is available to take when I’m ready to take it, because my semesters will be crammed. If everything worked exactly perfectly, with a whole lot of effort and a few extra hours, I could potentially end up with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting, a Certificate in Advanced Accounting Studies, a Minor in Finance, and a Minor in Computer Information Systems, although I don’t think I could meet my goal graduation date. Then again, I could take a leave of absence from being sensible and just do the “underwater basket weaving” thing, take what I want to take, and forget about any minors or certificates. Decisions, decisions, decisions.
After I was done with classes today, I went on an information finding mission to the computer information systems department. I spoke with one of my former instructors about my interests. He gave me some suggestions and good feedback. As I got up to leave his office, he made a comment that gave voice to some of the feelings and frustrations I’ve been experiencing this semester, “If there’s anything more I can do to help you on The Road to Rome, let me know.” Somehow, this semester has been particularly difficult in getting into the swing of things (still not there) and the road looks so long—the end so far away.
Before I left school, I stopped by my advisor’s office once more to ask another question or two and discovered that I don’t have to make all of these decisions now. All I have to decide now is the 128 hours to complete admission, but that doesn’t eliminate the need to make those decisions in the future. I still need a plan—a way to get to Rome.
posted by Sharon @ 10:50 PM
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