2nd semester: Lies that 2nd years tell you to make you think this semester will be easier than the 1st

When I was drowning in homework first semester I always heard the reaffirming statement, “Don’t worry, once you get through this semester, everything will get easier.” Lies. If, as a first year at Tulane you hear any of my classmates say this, don’t believe them. While there are certain things that get easier in the second session of your first semester and in the second semester, schoolwork is not one of them. Navigating your way around New Orleans, easier. Understanding what a dressed po-boy is, easier. Class load or homework, NOT EASIER. In the first seven weeks of your first semester you’ll be taking: managerial economics, statistics, external accounting, strategy, a career development class, plus you have to take an Excel and a writing assessment before classes even start. It’s not only that you have a lot of homework, but you also have readings, any activities that you decide to join, getting acclimated to a new city and remember that this is all taking place in seven weeks. So, I got through the first session exhausted, but smarter and thought whew, finally a bit of relief…. And in comes session two: global leadership 1, communications, marketing, and financial management. Now this session wasn’t as numbers heavy, but it was still heavy. Plan on giving many more presentations and speeches, oh and having a quiz every week in finance. After sleeping through the entire month of December, I came back to school in January energized and ready to have a relaxing second semester. Lies. In the second semester you start taking your concentration classes, so while you do have a little more flexibility if you go the finance route you are lock stepped into classes, but with any other concentration you can kind of pick and choose your electives. But there are still core classes like internal accounting and global leadership in the first session. For my elective courses I selected Corporate & Cooperative Strategy, Negotiations, and Consumer Behavior. There was no break, no lighter course load. I’m working just as hard as I was last semester, but hey, that’s what I’m paying to be here for. The lesson to be learned is that expect work in every class, in every semester. There is no such thing as an “easy” class in B-school, and would you really want there to be? We’re getting prepared to go out and lead in the business world amongst crazy economic times. I need all the education that I can get.

Amina