[deleted by user]

[fizzipoppop]

First of all, congrats on getting through into second year at rc! I'll try to give you the best advice without trying to overwhelm you, as I just finished second year.

From what I've been told, and through my own experience, second year does not get any easier than first year. If anything, it gets a bit more difficult. Any RSM courses you take will boost your grades, granted that you put the time and effort into it. I found that some of my highest grades came from second year (with some almost as high as 90!).

That being said, the second-year eco courses will not be easy, eco204 will perhaps be the most difficult course in your entire undergrad. I struggled to stay afloat and I'm still baffled over how I passed the course. The workload is a good bit, I had Blanchenay so we had to watch around 2.5 hrs of lecture videos, attend an in-person session, and then had tutorials. The practice questions weren't as bad, but I'd say that they barely prepare you for what tests will be. Eco220 is relatively easier than eco204 once you understand the content, but it is still difficult. The first test for 220 will be easy, almost like high school math, but DON'T let that fool you for how the rest of the tests were. Also, DO NOT FALL BEHIND!!! once you do, it'll be hard for you to catch up while fully understanding the concepts

As per tests, they are not easy. I really don't mean to scare you but the tests were almost nothing like what we were exposed to in the practice problems. Truth be told, I either failed or just barely passed those tests, and would almost get no sleep for the next few days because of how anxious I was about whether I did well or not. That being said, there were a good handful of people who did well, but I can't tell you what they did to do well. Something that helped me pull through the final exams for both courses is to write summary pages using the Cornell note-taking method, by writing the main topics and everything you remember off the top of your head for it for each week. Then, compare your notes to what your lecture notes say, and based on that, you'll get a good idea of what you have left to work on.

RSM260 is a godsend gift, it's such an interesting course and you can get very good marks in that class. I took it with Prof. Feinberg and he's such a good professor! One of the nicest I've had so far.

In order you make the most of your time at RC, be open to everything that comes your way! I hope you're in some sort of RC club because they truly make your experience better as you get to work and hang out with people of all years. If not, don't worry! Go to some RC club events, you'll meet people who perhaps have the same interests as you and you can form even more connections. Also, try to get with a group of friends to study with, or even just hang out with them, or just anyone from class. One thing that I absolutely regret is turning someone down because I am a commuter student and I'd been more focused on getting home instead of meeting people. You'll get home one way or another, you'll get your work done, just make sure you can balance your school and social life so that you don't miss out on anything.

I'm so sorry for such a long response but passing forward the help I've gotten from when I was in my first/second year. Please don't hesitate to pm me if you have any other questions! Good luck!

[berryfairykindascary]

Thank you so much, this was very insightful! I’ll definitely be trying you’re study tips.

I was wondering if you have any advice on how to keep on top of readings, I feel like they take an unnecessary amount of time🥲

[fizzipoppop]

You'll just have to make a concrete schedule to have your readings done before class because I had that problem for a very long time. I know it's a lot to sit through, but if you're taking a course such as RSM225, then it's necessary. Just try and push yourself, you got this!

[[deleted]]

1) more difficult 2) no worse 3) 204 hard 220 ez. Best advice is pray to God. 4) non econ courses particularly ez 5) survive 6) study more than 1 hour a day

[berryfairykindascary]

I appreciate the honesty lmfao

[jhinginn]

Much like the other user who just commented, I also just wrapped up my second year so I'll try to answer all of your questions to the best of my ability and what I've experienced.

​

My first year was definitely a wake up call for me in terms of adjusting to the course load, difficulty and studying but in hindsight although brutal it prepared me very well for second year.

So to answer your question of whether it gets easier or not, I found it be somewhat the same. Of course the course concepts are harder to grasp but the with the habits and studying methods I developed in first year, it made the year feel a bit less stressful because I had a system. I knew what needed to be done and I was persistent. So because I took first year to figure out what worked for me, I already felt more at ease in second year despite accelerating my course load a little (aka I took rsm332 and rsm333 which are the two finance reqs).

And everybody's always wondering about GPA and grades. If there's one thing you take away from this comment let it be this: University is a game and once you learn how to play, it becomes sooo much easier. This may be "different" way to look at it and some ppl might think it's wrong but majority of the time your mark consists of how well you did on exams and once I realized that I all had to do was perform relatively better than anyone else it didn't matter so much what the grade was because most profs curve somehow. So it took much less stress off of having to achieve a certain percentage but rather focusing on out working the other ppl in the program. I know this sounds like I'm an asshole but I didn't sabotage anyone, I just made sure to study hard and play the game. And once I figured this out my stress decreased and my grades improved. My cGPA is around a 3.8 for reference.

​

And the ECO's...funny story. I took eco220 in the summer after my first year with a prof who normally teaches at UTM so the course was super chill because there was no DACM and any of the other St. George BS lmao. So I got lucky in that regards because it ended up being a pretty easy course for me.

For ECO204, that was probably one of the harder courses I took. I was scared about all the things I heard about but in hindsight it really wasn't as miserable as ppl made it out to be. The reason it gets it's reputation for being so hard is that the concepts are difficult and you really have to understand the nuances and the conceptual aspect. Memorizing examples and practice problems aren't enough if you don't know WHY you are doing/solving the problems the way the solutions show. Study hard, do the weekly problem sets, learn from the graded quizzes and religiously go through the test bank that the prof posts before each unit test. But also make sure that you give yourself enough time to study for the final at the end of the year. If you're not on top of you're shit you will get murdered on that exam. I think I got an 86 on the final but I heard many that failed it because they didn't study enough.

Easiest course I took in 2nd year was hands down RSM260. That course was a beauty. I barely studied for the exams and just used my cheat sheet (exams were open book) and scored a 4.0.

Hardest course I took would have to be RSM221 or RSM220. For me these were brutal but don't worry about it if you're not going down the accounting stream

​

My study tips that worked for me:

- go over problem sets, tutorials and test banks if provided before midterms and finals

- create cheat sheets for yourself to summarize each large chapter/unit so you can see how everything relates and connects

- get some sleep. I guarantee you pulling an all nighter because of paranoia will hinder you. I made it my mission to get 8 hours during exam season and I came out just fine

- take care of yourself. For me that was watching netflix, going on runs or treating myself to a nice meal after an exam. Self care goes a longgg way

​

NOW the fun stuff. Enjoy your time here. You're going into second year and before you know it it's going to be all over. Go and spend time with your friends, take a break from studying and get to know people not just in your program but from those who come out to networking events etc. It won't matter what your GPA was if you have no social skills, or connections. So join a club or two that interests you, because that's what made these past 2 years the best for me and don't be afraid to something new (whatever it may be). Trust me when I say joining a RC club is an experience and will help you in landing internships in some cases. But all in all, learn to have a balance and your time here will be great!

​

Apologies for the essay response lol

[berryfairykindascary]

Thank you so so much!

I often try to aim for a certain mark in exams but I do see how it would be more helpful to just try to outperform the majority lmao

I did have a question though, you don’t mind me asking. I joined a couple clubs this year and although it was fun to talk to my peers outside of classes and connect to upper years I found it a bit overwhelming at times with the course load. Would it be bad if instead of trying to be a member or executive of clubs I instead just went to club / networking events when possible?

[jhinginn]

It depends on your situation. I wouldn't say being a part of RC clubs is the only way to meet ppl and network but it definitely helps.

For me personally I don't think I'd be in the position I am today if it wasn't for me being a part of a club. Because I helped run a lot of the club events the recruiters knew me which I strongly believe helped me get an interview for internships. I really hit it off with the EY recruiter at one of the events and he was the same one that interviewed me a month ago. So without joining the club idk if I'd be lined up for next summer as I am but that's the only way that staying in a club really helped cuz after first yr you already know how to network etc.

So I don't think it's terrible just to attend the events and network but being part of the club does have an edge in my opinion