#TIOHD AFM

[thingsioncehelddear]

My MAcc Experience: A Guest Post by Ben Ma, MAcc

Ello, I am not Annie. She asked me to write a lil bit about my experience in MAcc. I am her not-imaginary boyfriend/supplier of stuffed animals. A lil intro about me, for those of you that don’t know, my name is Ben Ma, I recently completed both the MAcc program at UWaterloo and the CFE. I’m starting work as a Taxation Analyst at CIBC. Some of you may know me as:

Former VP Education of AFSA.

One of the Tax Mentors at UWAFSA’s Tax Clinic.

The Textbook Guy.

I have an unhealthy obsession about puns, mangoes and the Canadian Tax system (I kid you not).

I’m going to preface this post with a few notes:

I haven’t taken all the courses, and obviously my discussion isn’t necessarily representative of an MAcc discussion.

I’m a self-proclaimed tax geek, so almost all the courses I took were tax electives. Some I recommend for all people, tax or otherwise, some I don’t recommend at all.

I’m going to say a lot of bad puns. Deal with it.

I’m going to break this down into two sections – the courses, and the MAcc experience.

♛ MACC EXPERIENCE ♛

I am going to say this upfront: You don’t learn any new content in MAcc. What you learn in MAcc isn’t so much new information, but more so of a new way to approach a situation, and learn how to write cases, and present information in such a way that it would be useful to a user. You’ll have already learned everything you needed before in an undergrad course- now you need to … Master that knowledge.

There’s also no homework that you technically need to do. Same as undergrad, you could probably not do assignments/cases and just coast on by. But you are going to suffer a LOT if you don’t prepare for class. Because MAcc is just so case-based, not doing the cases takes out at least 50% of the learning. For the love of God, if you didn’t prepare for class before, now is the time to do it.

If you thought you did well in undergrad and none of this advice applies to you, get your head out of your ass. I went into MAcc with an 88% average, and I still managed to get a 28% on a final exam. Now’s the time to start preparing for class, reviewing, and for the love of God, start showing your work. In MAcc your final answer doesn’t really matter that much unlike in undergrad. I struggled in the beginning because I would just go straight to the answer. But now what’s important is your process. You could be completely off base with your final answer, but if you showed your work 90% of the way, you can probably get 90% of the answers.

♛ COURSES ♛

Considering how the MAcc program is really just a substitute for a PEP program, and is really just a super prep course for the CFE, I think it would be reasonable to talk about how well the course prepares you for the CFE, and how interesting/useful it is.

MANDATORY COURSES

ACC 611: Financial Reporting

One of your mandatory courses for the first term. Ya know all those X91 courses in AFM? Here’s a situation and now let’s do parts A B C of the question? Yeah, I don’t think you can count on those courses anymore.

ACC 611 is really one of your big exposures to CFE style cases, and it’s a huge change from the way undergrad wanted you to present information. Now the focus isn’t so much on the solution, but on the process that you used to approach the situation. This course also put a much bigger focus on actually knowing the accounting standards. I really struggled in this course (this is the one I bombed the exam on) because I didn’t have a structure, and I essentially guessed my way around the exam.  Thankfully I ended up fixing this before the CFE. A big part of how to improve and prepare in this course is just a LOT of practice. After a while, you start becoming more familiar with the standards, and how to approach the problem. A big thing that helped me fix up my approach was starting to use a case writing structure.

Outline the issue

Discuss the standard if applicable

Apply case facts to the standard

Recommend corrections if necessary.

ACC 680: Managerial Accounting

Remember AFM 211? Welcome back to it. This course is essentially a more difficult version of AFM 211. You’ll become very familiar with how to structure a DCF in this course. Thankfully that’s really the only thing that’ll happen in this course, a few variations on how to do a DCF, it’s really quite … manageable. I usually found this course to be a lot more straightforward than the other courses, what they usually want is the same: one quantitative analysis and a qualitative analysis, and provide a recommendation based on that. A lot of how to prepare for this class is really do a lot of practice cases until DCFs are ingrained in your mind.

CPA ELECTIVE COURSES

The CPA elective courses are supposed to represent the four elective roles that you can take in the CFE: Audit, Tax, Finance and Performance Management. Each course will teach you how to achieve depth in that particular area. I only took Tax and Finance myself.

ACC 607: Tax

This course is essentially AFM 462 intensified. You’ll do a case every single week, and they’re not going to be easy, it’s quite…taxing and you may or may not have to remember obscure tax facts. Here’s the thing about tax though, you’re never expected to have a perfect answer. In addition, any case in ACC 607 will be twice as hard as any case in the CFE. I honestly believe that the ACC 607 course overprepares you for the CFE, to the extent that you’ll be very comfortable doing the tax role if you decide to do it.

For this class, again, you should at least attempt the practice problems. In this case you’re always going to miss something though. I think it’d be more helpful to do these cases in a group setting, and make sure you take very detailed notes in class, this is the one class where notes in class are very important. I find tax to inherently be very reliant on technical aspects, more so than the other electives – note taking is imperative as a result.

ACC 690: Finance

This is one course I don’t recommend. Yes, it does provide you the information you need for the CFE, but I honestly feel like the course is just a rehash from some undergrad courses. Some of the slides are the same as 3rd year AFM 373... typos included. It’s also the only one of the elective courses that doesn’t test you on a case based exam. It’s not hard to prepare for this course either, you can’t really exceed or do poorly in it. All in all, compared to the other CPA Elective courses, it’s not as well designed or structured in my opinion.

If I had to recommend 2 courses that you should take, I would recommend Audit and Tax. Lame standard choices I know. But I think that the things you learn in these courses are harder to pick up on your own, whereas the things you learn in the other courses can be learned through practice or common sense. Needless to say, you should also choose electives that match the role you’re planning on taking for the CFE.

MACC ELECTIVE COURSES

ACC 605: International Tax

If you are not a fan of tax, this is not the course for you. This is a very tax research-heavy course that will discuss the implications of taxes in multiple jurisdictions and how the Canadian Tax system accounts for it. Though this is a great way to understand how tax works, I have to admit, this will not be useful for the CFE. At all. It’s unlikely you’re going to use this in work either, as it’s a very complex topic and requires a lot of expertise and research, unless you’re going into some international tax advisory role. Definitely not a course to take if you want a bird course. But if you have a passion for tax, I highly recommend this course. It’s hard, but satisfying when you understand it.

ACC 662: Tax Policy

I didn’t take this course, but I’ve talked to a lot of classmates about it. You know how I said International Tax was tax research-heavy? This one is even heavier. This is a course that teaches you why and how policymakers develop taxes, and you’ll write some essays on particular topics. Again, not an easy course, and not for those who don’t like tax. But if you’re considering a PhD in the future, or a future in academia, or even tax policy, this is highly recommended, as this will literally walk you through what you need to do when researching tax.

ACC 690: Tax for the CFO

I cannot recommend this course enough, especially if you’re entering a tax role in industry. This course teaches you how companies actually prepare tax provisions and it’ll give you a very good understanding of IAS 12 (Taxes), combining accounting and taxes in a comprehensive way. It’s useful for the CFE, as it’ll teach you IAS 12 very thoroughly, and adjustments to reach taxable income if tax is your weak point. I’m currently in a taxation role at CIBC, and what I did in this course is going to be directly transferable to my role.

ACC 606: Business Valuations

I also highly recommend this course. One of the major parts that you can be tested on in Finance is valuations. This course teaches you how to approach a valuation, and is incredibly useful for the CFE if you are weak in Finance. If you’re a Finance person, this course also moves you directly to the second exam for the CBV designation if you’re interested.

♛

Well, that’s pretty much my overview of what I thought about courses and how to prepare for them. If you have any other questions, feel free to reach out to me. I can be reached by Facebook, Twitter, summoning through the Dark Arts, or smoke signals.

[thingsioncehelddear]

Hi Annie, I was wondering but is there any specific benefit of having a very high average? I know its obviously good to get a high average for jobs, but let's just say you are planning on returning to the same firm. Is there any incentive to get a high 80 or 90 average vs. a mid 80? Is there any scholarship for getting a higher average or is it only Dean's List? I know Dean's List is an 83% average or higher so even if you get 84%, is there any real incentive for pushing to get a higher average?

Haha fair question!

I think our education system has certainly shaped us to perceive our grades as a means to an end. We get good grades in high school so we can get into university. We get good grades in first year so we can get a co-op job. In a world where competition gets fiercer and opportunity only gets scarcer, we’re forced to associate our grades with rewards and consequences. We work hard to avoid consequences, such as losing our co-op jobs or getting kicked out of our programs. And we raise our grades to fight for rewards, such as getting into university or landing a job. So you know, you’re right - when the perceived rewards run out, society provides us with no real incentive to strive for the best.

I prefer to see our grades as a reflection of our learning though, rather than a means to an end. You might not need anything higher than an 84% to score all the sweet rewards, but you’re in this program for a reason, aren’t you? You want to be a great freaking accountant! So why not learn the most you possibly can? Sure, go ahead and set a lower limit for yourself (i.e. not letting your average drop below 84%), but don’t set a higher limit! If it helps, think longer term: Will you be applying for MAcc? Will you be writing the CFE? Don’t you want to be the most competent accountant you can be? The more you learn now and the higher the grades you achieve, the more your future self will thank you!

Also, just being real here: Once you get into 4th year, you probably won’t have a choice as to what kind of grades you want to strive for. You’ll be working as hard as you possibly can in every course just to keep that average up!

Final Note: If you’re struggling with your mental health, I totally understand the decision to let go of your grades a little. That was definitely something I needed to do, because trying to meet my own academic standards in a program that was not right for me hurt my mental health terribly. But if you’re doing okay, I would always encourage you to strive for the very best. I’m studying HR Management right now, and there is literally no reason for me to be achieving higher grades than necessary for obtaining my diploma. So why do I currently have a 97% average? Why the heck not?! I’m just learning as much as I can, and if that translates to higher grades than I need, then that’s a great cherry on top. :)

[thingsioncehelddear]

What year do we choose if we want to go to the CPA or CFA route? What are the options that they give you?

You can typically start taking specific courses in 3rd year to tailor your education to your career plans. For example, if you want a CFA, you might start taking specialized finance courses. And if you’re not planning on obtaining a CPA, I believe it’s also starting in 3rd year that there are certain courses you don’t need to take if you simply want to graduate with an AFM degree (and not advance into MAcc).

[thingsioncehelddear]

How I Studied in AFM + STUDY TIPS/IDEAS

Oh my gosh, this post is so long overdue, and for that I am SO sorry lol. Let’s just get right into it. :)

♛

ORGANIZATION

At the beginning of every term, I create my own weekly schedule on Excel. I indicate which course I will be working on each day. CLICK HERE to see my 4B schedule from last term (scroll down to see my course allocations).

Realistically, I’ve learned that 1 entire day should be dedicated to each course every week

Assign your heaviest courses to the days you have the fewest lectures

I indicated which day’s assigned readings I would be working on (for example, on Thursdays, I read the 401 assigned readings for the following Monday)

READINGS

At the beginning of my university career, I took notes while I read. I found this to be extremely ineffective, because I’d just end up typing what I read without thinking about it. In 4B, I switched to reading an entire section of the chapter before taking notes on that section. That forced me to think about the content as a whole, not just as individual sentences. It also helped me take more concise notes that reflected my own understanding of the content.

Scan through the entire chapter to identify all the different topics you’ll be reading about

Read the first section (topic) in one go, without highlighting/underlining or taking notes; focus on understanding what you’re reading

Re-read the section, this time highlighting/underlining key points (keeping this step separate from your initial reading helps you identify what’s actually important, instead of highlighting everything - you know what I’m talking about)

Scan through what you’ve highlighted/underlined, and paraphrase those key points into your notes

Repeat for all other sections of the textbook, relating subsequent chapters to the previous ones

SPECIFIC TO TAX: I wrote on tiny colourful stickies and used them to label my tax textbook, so that if I needed to find “Personal Tax Credits”, I knew exactly where to flip to.

NOTE-TAKING

I take notes in Microsoft OneNote, and I highly recommend it to anyone who takes notes electronically! It’s perfect for taking notes because it’s in notebook format, which makes it more intuitive to use, and it saves automatically, so you don’t need to worry about losing what you’ve just typed.

I take notes that are concise yet detailed enough for me to never have to read the textbook again (refer to READINGS above for tips on how to do so)

Colour-Code: I highlight formulas/equations and put a star (literally a cute star in OneNote) next to key points, but you can also highlight definitions, etc.

Include Textbook Page #s: If you take notes electronically, and there’s an important diagram/chart in the textbook, make note of the page number so you can refer back to it when studying

Turn a Specific Sentence into a Generalized Formula: Textbooks often describe concepts in long, drawn-out specificities that are hell for our analytical minds. In some cases, you can use your own knowledge to generalize it into an easy-to-remember “formula”. Do ask your prof if you’re not sure you can generalize though lol. For Example: “To make a delicious green tea latte, take a level teaspoon of matcha and whisk it into a cup of coconut milk” ---> Flavouring + Milk = Flavoured Latte

Include Examples: Generalizing a concept can help you understand and remember it, but to be able to apply it, you need specific examples too. Continuing with the above example, you can add “e.g. 1 tsp matcha + 1 cup coconut milk = green tea latte”.

SPECIFIC TO TAX: I found that for tax, taking notes by hand was more efficient and effective.

LECTURES

Try not to take lecture notes separately from your reading notes (it’s easiest to have all your notes in one place when you’re studying)

During the lecture, I add to/modify my notes and highlight important content, based on what the prof focuses on and how they describe certain concepts

HOMEWORK

I do my homework on Excel. For every course involving homework problems, I create an Excel workbook (CLICK HERE for an example).

Label each homework problem with the topic(s) it corresponds to. Not only does this help you solidify your understanding of those topics, it’ll help you quickly identify which problems to repeat when you’re studying.

Treat Your Homework as a Studying Tool: Highlight key steps that you nearly missed! Add comments to explain an answer you struggled to understand!

QUESTIONS

Keep track of questions you have throughout the term, and don’t let them build up! Ask your questions at the end of each lecture, or schedule an office visit every 2 weeks to clear up the questions that have built up.

Textbook: Use sticky notes to bookmark places where you have questions (and write your question on the sticky note too! - too often I have forgotten what I was going to ask lol)

Lectures: Type up questions that come up during the lecture as part of your notes, and highlight them in a specific colour, or write them down on a designated “question sheet”

Homework: If you do homework by hand, use a sticky note system. Otherwise, if you use an Excel spreadsheet like me, colour the tab red, and highlight the specific cell red (be sure to type out your actual question too).

STUDYING FOR EXAMS

I’m a Visual/Active Learner, and here’s what I do:

Starting with Chapter 1, I re-write my notes by hand, focusing on...

Re-writing definitions many times, until I can remember key phrases but still put them in my own words

Re-writing formulas, until I’ve both understood and memorized them

Drawing crazy diagrams to make connections between topics

Once I’ve gotten to the end of Chapter 1, I put my notes away and briefly explain key topics to my stuffed Pig

If necessary, I refer back to my notes

Once I’m confident that I’ve nailed all the topics from that chapter, I complete review problems for that chapter (if applicable)

Then, I move on to the next chapter

Once I’m finished going through the entire course, I like to review by trying to explain topics to people!

I’ll explain topics selected at random (from throughout the course) to my poor non-AFM friends while we’re getting Korean food

I’ll also explain the most complex topics to my AFM friends and ask them to confirm my understanding

♛

Phew, that was long! I hope this helps some of you with your studying. :) If you have any study techniques that you’d like to share, I’d love to hear about them! :D

[thingsioncehelddear]

Hi Annie, I'm currently debating between AFM and Engineering at Waterloo. I've enjoyed both my high school accounting and science/math courses, but I'm terrified that I'll realize one year into my studies that I'm not happy and will regret not going with the other choice. Do you know if it's easy to transfer from Eng to Accounting or vice versa from within Waterloo? Do you know anyone who's done it? Thank you so much. Your blog has helped me out a lot.

Hey. :) It’s good that you’re thinking about this.

It’s typically not difficult to transfer from AFM into other programs within Waterloo (or even another university), as long as you meet the requirements to be admitted into the other program. The sooner you transfer, the easier your life will be, because you’ll have fewer credits to catch up on! I know many, many people who have transferred out of AFM into other programs within Waterloo (or to other universities). Most people who transfer do so at the end of 1st year, but I know people who transferred as late as 3rd year.

However, as far as anyone’s aware, it’s not possible to transfer from another program into AFM. That’s because AFM courses are very unique (to meet CPA Ontario’s accreditation requirements), and cannot be substituted with other courses. There’s also the issue of the AFMAA, which is a requirement for admission. So… I guess you might be able to apply if you’re willing to start over as a high school student? But you can’t transfer in, and none of us have ever heard of anyone who has done so.

Here’s my advice when it comes to determining whether or not AFM is right for you:

I liked high school accounting too. But high school accounting is bookkeeping. The question is: Do you really like accounting accounting? Do financial figures get you excited? When you see a cool organization, do you want to know what their finances are like? Do you want to analyze those numbers, and find out what they really tell you? Do you like the idea of studying the complex rules surrounding the determination and presentation of those numbers? Do you want to learn how to turn someone’s life story into the numbers that determine their 2017 tax situation? Do organizations’ borrowing activities and their financial impact on the organization interest you? If your answer is yes to all of the above, there’s a good chance that you’ll really enjoy AFM. If you started gagging halfway through, another program might be a better fit for you.

As someone who did go into the wrong program, another word of advice: There is no harm in changing your mind if you make a mistake, just like me! It’s really hard to make such a big decision at 17. Don’t be too scared about making the wrong decision - because it’s never the end of the road - and don’t be afraid to transfer if you didn’t make the right choice the first time. In fact, one of our finance profs was an engineer, but later veered into finance. :)

Anyways, I hope this helps you in making your decision! You have my full confidence that you’re going to do awesome in life, no matter what. :)

[thingsioncehelddear]

Hey annie! Sorry to bother you, but Im going to be going to my first year of AFM this coming September. And as excited as I am I can't help but feel like that my social life is gonna take a huge hit. Im a very social person (love meeting new people, hanging out, partying) but I can't help but feel like i'll be sacrificing that at waterloo. Can you give me an insight on your social life/party life experience and some advice as how to balance work/partying? (btw are there any parties at loo?)

There are definitely parties at Waterloo! We have Bomber Wednesdays, our weekly party night at the on-campus pub - these nights are often themed and extremely popular. They’re 19+, but they also have events for all ages. I’m personally not a party person, but I know that people (including people in AFM) do throw parties in their apartments and dorms. Once you’re of age, you also have a plethora of nightclubs to choose from in the city - all really close by. One really popular one is Phil’s - you can google it. :)

If we’re talking social life aside from parties, Waterloo has a ton of board game cafes! I’ve been to the two near Laurier - Games on Tap and Crossroads, and they’re both great. The University Plaza next to UW also has a bubble tea place called Sweet Dreams, with a decent selection of board games. Other things to do include bowling (I’ve been to Victoria Bowling Lanes in Kitchener and I liked it), escape rooms (the original Adventure Rooms is located in Kitchener and it’s AWESOME), and rock climbing (Grand River Rocks was fun and a great workout).

I’m not the best person to ask for advice on balancing school and partying, because I don’t party, but in AFM I did set aside one night each week where I did absolutely nothing - you could definitely do the same and use that night to go out!

At Waterloo, you might have to try a little harder to find things to do than you would in other cities, but it’s not completely boring. :) I think as long as you try to make friends with people who also enjoy going out, you’re going to have a really great time. Please do let me know how you find things when you start in September! If you need any more ideas as to good places to eat, etc., I’d be happy to share!

[thingsioncehelddear]

Hi Annie, I'm just wondering, do we have to write an undergraduate thesis in 4th year? Does BAFM require that? I looked online and didn't see anything but people have been asking me about it so I'm not sure. Thanks!

There is no undergraduate thesis, thank goodness! So don’t worry about it. :)

[thingsioncehelddear]

Hey Annie, I'm April. I am also from Taiwan and I currently live in Richmond Hill. I am having some difficulties choosing between Schulich and AFM. Schulich doesn't have co-op, which is a really big con. The only thing that is stopping me from going into AFM is the environment and that it is strictly accounting (I'm not 100% sure of going into accounting). I wanna ask: What made you choose AFM? Were u sure of accounting 100%? How's the environment? Is it as bad as what everyone says?

Wooohoooo Taiwanese kids in Richmond Hill unite!! :D Hi April!

I’m not sure exactly what you’ve heard about the environment in AFM, but there are definitely pros and cons. What I love about the AFM environment is the supportiveness of your peers. In some business schools, students are really vicious toward one another, and there’s a lot of backstabbing going on, but that’s not the case with AFM at all. In my experience, AFM kids are kind, generous, and continuously challenge one another to do better, in the best way possible. :)

What I dislike about the AFM environment is the one-track mindset that many students struggle with to the detriment of their mental health. There’s a panic among students that if you don’t get a Big 4 job, you’re a failure. A lot of AFM kids are stressed, depressed, and don’t see any other paths for them in life. Maybe this is the environment that you heard about?

When I chose AFM, I was 100% sure of accounting. I chose AFM because there’s no better place to get an education in accounting and finance, because of co-op, and because I really, really liked UW. I was 100% sure of accounting, but I still ended up changing my mind. So if you’re not 100% sure about accounting, I would truly recommend that you take the time to consider the options before you.

I also really want to stress this (and this goes out to every Grade 12 student out there making a difficult choice): Your choice of university or program is not a life or death decision. I know how stressful these times of choice can be, and I know it’s scary, but if you do end up making the wrong choice, there will always be another path for you to take. There are a million and one paths to a future you will love. There is no wrong way to get there. No matter what you choose, no matter how many times you change your mind, in the end, you will be just fine. :)

[thingsioncehelddear]

Hi Annie, I recently got accepted to the AFM program; I was just wondering if it was possible to obtain both the CPA and CFA designation after you finish the program + Masters or can you only pursue one designation?

You can definitely pursue both! :) My boyfriend is planning on obtaining both the CPA and CFA designation. He’s in MAcc right now, he completed the CFA Level I Exam last year, and he’s writing the CFA Level II this year. :)

[thingsioncehelddear]

What average do you have to keep to not get kicked out of the program?

70% :)

[thingsioncehelddear]

would you be able to share what grade 12 courses you have taken? and which ones were in your top 6 for afm?

I took the following 6 courses in Grade 12 (which made up my top 6):

Business Leadership (which was very similar to Organizational Behaviour in 2B)

Advanced Functions

English

Data Management (which was very similar to Statistics in 1B)

Calculus & Vectors

Accounting (which covered almost all topics in Financial Accounting in 1A)

On a side note, I also took International Business in Grade 11, which was very similar to International Business in 4A.

[thingsioncehelddear]

hi annie! i've heard that although 90%+ of afm students can find a co-op, many of these co-op positions are jobs that are irrelevant to accounting/auditing, like receptionist or whatever. is this true? if so, that kind of sucks because it feels like ceca is misrepresenting the true value of the co-op program. also, do you think it is disadvantageous to work for a smaller company during co-op? like will future recruiters choose a candidate with big 4 experience over an equally qualified candidate

Hey there. :)

I’m not sure where you heard that, but it is definitely not true that many SAF students end up in positions irrelevant to accounting. From both my observations and data collected by SAF, the majority of SAF students do spend their co-op terms doing work that is related to accounting, audit, finance, or tax. This is a 2015 Co-op Report that SAF distributed to students last year - it provides a very detailed breakdown on the types of co-op roles that students land, and the predictors of landing those roles. Hopefully it gives you a better idea of the experiences that we are able to access as SAF students. :)

I do not think it is disadvantageous to work for a smaller firm. What matters in the end is the experience you get out of it, and how you communicate that experience to potential employers. Working at a smaller firm, you might have the advantage of being exposed to a greater variety of work, allowing you to develop a broader skill set. Those experiences can be a great stepping stone to working for a larger company in the future, because recruiters do recognize the value of those experiences. I have many friends who worked at a small accounting firm during their first work term, and landed a Big 4 job in 3rd or 4th year. Also keep in mind that a big firm does not guarantee a great experience - there are advantages and disadvantages to working for both small and large firms! It really comes down to personal preference - I know people who much prefer the culture and work they were exposed to in smaller firms.

I hope this helps! Let me know if I can provide you with any other insights. :)

[thingsioncehelddear]

What does major cumulative average mean?? And also, since my average was less than 70%, I can't return to my firm for next-coop? Is it possible to re-do courses or anything so that I can return the next coop term?

Your Major Cumulative Average will be on your Unofficial Transcript in Quest at the end of every term, so you don’t have to go calculating it yourself. :) I THINK it’s your cumulative average, not including your electives.

Did your firm specify that you can’t return if your average was less than 70%? If so, you should speak with them to determine whether or not they’ll allow you to return if you re-take courses to pull up your average.

Best of luck!

[thingsioncehelddear]

Hi Annie, generally speaking, how many hours a day do you study and how long does it take you to prep for class?

In AFM, 1 chapter of a textbook typically took me between 2-4 hours to read and take notes on, depending on the course.

If the course involved assigned homework problems, that would take me another 1-2 hours.

So on average, I spent 3-6 hours studying/preparing for class every day, not including class time.

[thingsioncehelddear]

ahhh im applying to afm and j just finished my aif but im not sure if its "unique" and good enough?? how will i know if mine stands out against other applicants ahhh

Hey!

I feel ya. I’m applying for full-time jobs these days, and in the midst of such intense competition, I’m always left with doubts as to whether or not I’m good enough.

Just know that you’ve done your best, and it will get you far (hopefully in AFM, if that’s your top choice, but in all other alternative paths that lay in your future too!). And yes, I’m saying that to comfort myself too. :’D I hope the future is kind to us both!

[thingsioncehelddear]

How hard is it to maintain a 70% average? Have you heard other people being kicked out because they could not maintain it? I know the work load increases each year but as for your first year what was your average compared to your highschool average? Thanks, I appreciate it :)

How difficult it is to maintain a 70% average depends on how hard you’re willing to work. :P If you stay on top of your notes, attend all your lectures, and ask for help when needed, I don’t think it’ll be hard at all. My high school averages were always around 93%-96%. My Grade 12 Top Six average was 95.5%. My cumulative average for first year of AFM was 90.1%.I know fellow classmates who have first year averages similar to mine, but I also know people with averages that are around 75%. I personally don’t know anybody who has dropped out yet… I believe AFM’s dropout rate is quite low though… forgot the exact percentage. T~THonestly, if you work your butt off and you’ve ALWAYS worked your butt off (throughout high school and even elementary school), you will be fine. Those good work habits built over a decade will not suddenly disappear over one summer. :) When I was in high school, people kept telling me that it was impossible to get 80s or 90s in university. I was so scared lol. Truth is, they lied! xD If you work hard enough, it’s TOTALLY possible.If you’re not so much of a workaholic/perfectionist, it’ll be more difficult for you. BUT it’s never too late to try to build those good work habits. :) My tip for getting good grades is to aim for 100%. Every single time. Don’t aim for 80%. Don’t aim for 90%. Aim for 100%. "Reach for the moon and you’ll land upon the stars." It’s cheesy, but it’s how I got my 90s. ;)I hope this helped! Let me know if there’s anything else. :)