Accounting and finance first year

So I've just started studying accounting and finance at the University of Surrey (first year) and so far, I would say it's going alright. It's alright in the sense that semi understand what is going on, but I just feel like nothing is really sticking with me. Compared to the others in my course, I've been staying on top and getting activities done as soon as I have the time, but what I don't want is to overwork myself and spend too much time when I don't really need to. I don't know if it's normal at the beginning to not understand anything and feel as though maybe I chose the wrong course to study. I also don't know how much work is too little or too much in terms of further reading - even when I have tried to do some further reading with online textbooks provided by the uni, I feel overwhelmed. I've been told that I am stressing too much and for a first year student I just have to focus on passing, but I am planning to do a placement year which is affected by my grade in first year. All of this, combined with feeling extremely homesick, has been taking a bit of a toll on me.

It would be much appreciated if I could get some advice. Thank you

So I've just started studying accounting and finance at the University of Surrey (first year) and so far, I would say it's going alright. It's alright in the sense that semi understand what is going on, but I just feel like nothing is really sticking with me. Compared to the others in my course, I've been staying on top and getting activities done as soon as I have the time, but what I don't want is to overwork myself and spend too much time when I don't really need to. I don't know if it's normal at the beginning to not understand anything and feel as though maybe I chose the wrong course to study. I also don't know how much work is too little or too much in terms of further reading - even when I have tried to do some further reading with online textbooks provided by the uni, I feel overwhelmed. I've been told that I am stressing too much and for a first year student I just have to focus on passing, but I am planning to do a placement year which is affected by my grade in first year. All of this, combined with feeling extremely homesick, has been taking a bit of a toll on me.

It would be much appreciated if I could get some advice. Thank you

Did an accounting degree and a finance degree. Got a 2:1 in my first year, although I spent a good 40 hours a week on it.

Reading: you're supposed to read selectively. A standard chapter is 30 pages, which can take a few hours to read and take notes on.
You want to pick up your lecture notes, compare the notes to the chapter and read the parts relevant to the lecture (not everything would be. This is typically what they refer to as selective reading. Typically, you're actively trying to find information and looking for clarity.

One of the things I think you might have problems with is trying to find out what you don't understand. Don't get me wrong, there are good and bad accounting/finace lecturers - some will guarantee to put you to sleep. However, the onus is still on you to figure out what you don't understand and be able to find the answers to those questions. You need to think critically (this would also help with getting the top marks as well).

When it comes to the tests and exams (not the assignments), you would need to rely more on your lecture notes than the extra reading. If there are things in the lecture notes that are not self explanatory (this is accounting and finance hardly rocket science, but you do get some areas that can be a bit complicated), then pay attention to the chapter.

Another thing I would also try to do is to master speed reading. If you're at uni, you are going to need to read a lot and you don't want to spend 10+ hours each day in the library if you can do the reading in 2. There are various courses online for speed reading, as well as books. I would leave which source you go with up to you. Speed reading is a life skill and it can save you a lot of time in the long run.

Further reading is ideal if you want to use the material for assignments - they can really help get you the first class mark if you know what you are looking for and find the appropriate sources/points. I also wouldn't go too far into the further reading as they suppose to supplement the core knowledge that you have in your lecture notes. If there is something in the further reading that particularly stands out and isn't covered in the lecture notes, take note of it as a side note.

I can appreciate there is a lot of further reading at uni, especially for subjects with as wide breadth as finance, which can refer you to multiple thick textbooks that adds little to no value, written badly (very needlessly dry), and tends to parrot the same information over and over. However, if you know how to speed read, you can often skimp over the material that you have already read several times over.

If you're short on time, only go for the key articles or chapters in your reading. If you can't tell which ones are key, look at the references at the end of your lecture notes or the end of the relevant chapters. If they don't give you the necessary clues, go on WIkipedia and find the article relevant to the topic you're reading about, find the relevant section, then look up all the relevant references the Wikipedia article has referenced. Most of the time, you should be able to figure this out from the title of the book, chapter, or article.

I consider it normal to spend 40-60 hours a week working on your degree, especially if you're studying full time as this is what you're supposed to be doing. Anything more than 60 hours is somewhat abnormal unless you have really poor time management. Anything less than 20 hours imply you're either a supergenius (very unlikely) or you are going to struggle.

Other tips that I have include using a study group and look to those who are smarter than you on the course for the occasional advice. It follows the saying that if you're the smartest person in the room, you're in the wrong room (Harvey Specter, Suits - laugh all you want, but it's appropriate). Be humble enough to ask for clarification every now and again; nobody leaves uni without asking for feedback, help, or questions - that would defeat the point of uni.

Grading criteria is also generally:
80%+ - superb answer with everything in first class + very new information not mentioned in mainstream academia and done correctly e.g. own field experiments; worth publishing if done in very good quality
1st class - got the right answer + critical thinking + further reading
2:1 - got the right answer, but minimal effort in terms of reading e.g. only read and understood essential reading
2:2 - not quite the right answer, but everything seems fine
3rd - low effort, wrong answer
fail - nothing worth talking about
You might want to take note of where you need to work on in order to get the right grades.
Do note, to use academically approved sources of information only with appropriate referencing e.g. dummies books, cheesy business books for casual reading, and Wikipedia articles are not appropriate
If you want to know how to write appropriately i.e. academic writing, then I recommend reading: How to Write Great Essays by Peter Levin.

Hi, I found your answer really helpful as well. Could I know what you did in your first year regarding accounting work experience? In first year what are expected to do. I am currently on the year in industry 4-year course and I am expected to apply from the beginning of 2nd year. However, right now I have no relevant work experience on my CV as a first year. Could you just give me some suggestions? Much appreciated.

Unfortunately, I didn't get any work experience during the degree. I wished that I signed up for more internships and even go out of my own way to try to secure some sort of informal work experience with any accounting firm during my first and second year (or even during the summer right before the degree). This can be as little as doing some free bookkeeping for one of your friends' parent's business for a bit of time. Often networking would do wonders, but you have to have a real solid network to do this.

As an intern, it's not expected that you have any relevant work experience, but if you do they would probably put you ahead of the queue.

The things I would try to highlight (in case you still have zero experience by the time you apply) would be your knowledge of any accounting software (if you know or study any) or anything you did as a treasurer (in terms of accounting) for your society/club.

There are work insight days offered by Big 4 companies, so it's worth looking into them. Do note that the deadline for those are approaching soon so try to get your application in quick.
The deadline for internships would be at a similar time next year as well.

Thank you so much. Is there anything you regret not doing during your course?