September 24th, 2007
It is completely possible to study in a library for eight hours straight.
And highly recommended prior to a Finance Exam!
Thus far in Finance 341, I have learned a whole lot. I am proud to say that I now know buzz words such as “mutual fund” and “money market.” I realize the effect of expected inflation on the required return rate on long term bonds. I understand what “the Dow Jones went up today” means and I can even tell you what DRP stands for.
That’s Default Risk Premium, and it can only be applied to corporate securities, because the United States Treasury will never miss a payment.
However, learning about a subject will do you little good on a test. It is more important to learn how to take the test.
In my Finance 341 class, there are four hundred and sixty three people. There are two other sections of the same class, taught by the same professor, with one hundred and twenty six in each. That is a total of seven hundred and fifteen students in the same class.
But wait, let’s not forget Finance 309 (Finance 341 for non-Business majors); It is also taught by the same professor and has an additional four hundred and sixty three students. And we all take the same exact test, at the same exact time.
That brings us to a grand total of one thousand, one hundred and seventy eight students.
ONE THOUSAND ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY EIGHT!
It was incredible walking in to the West Campus Library; everywhere you looked, there were Finance books, old practice tests and conversations sprinkled with “yield curves” and “corporate tax rates.”
And at the risk of sounding like a total nerd… I thought it was so much fun.
Making new friends, reuniting with old ones, bonding together against the evils of capital markets. It’s crucible experiences like these that really bring people together. Thank you, Finance 341, for fostering the Aggie spirit.
Maybe next time, we’ll have a Fightin’ Texas Aggie Yell Practice to beat the hell outta high interest rates.
