What You’ll Learn in Business School
Are you interested in Business after high school? Do you want to pursue a career in corporate finance, real estate, or accounting, or even want to own your own business? This video will cover what broad topics you’ll learn in business school at the college level, as well as some experiences that are exclusive to colleges.
I’m Caedyn, and I am a Business Student pursuing both Finance and Accounting at IU Bloomington, the 8th public business school in the US, with the plan of obtaining an MBA once I graduate undergrad. Let’s go through some of the things you’ll be studying year by year.
Freshman Year:
Freshmen year is quite an expansive year focusing on different topics, many of which are outside of the business world. Freshmen should spend most of their time completing GenEds (display on screen the definition). Some examples of GenEds include
Arts and Humanities
English Composition
Mathematical Modeling
Natural & Math Sciences
Social & History Studies
World Cultures
World Languages
While many Freshmen think these classes are unnecessary, many topics discussed in these are essential to better understand the world around us and are one of the only times you’ll meet other majors outside of the Business School in the classroom, unless you plan on taking a minor or major, which I will touch on in a bit. Plus, most GenEds are quite simple, they are designed that way, so it is a nice grade boost at the start of your college career. If you find GenEds
Besides GenEds, you will also be taking some introductory business courses. In my first year, I took:
Business Communications/Speech class
An introductory class to Access and Excel
Macro Economics
Intro to Accounting
Business Career Prep Course
Financial Reporting for Accounting
Global Business
An Overview of Finance Careers
A few Electives to Find out if I was interested in any other Majors/Minors
On paper, this can look rather overwhelming, but when you break it down, a lot of the classes overlap and connect with each other. Something that a lot of freshman students are nervous about is the Speech class they have to take. Admittedly, I was too. Utilize the teachings and methods developed in this class, because many other ones require presentations and neat slide design. Additionally, you have to become a team player if you want to be in the business industry. Most classes, that aren’t lectures, require numerous team projects that need time out of class to be passable.
By the end of freshman year, you should have a LinkedIn profile and resume that you are proud of for potential part-time jobs during the summer, you have to direct people there that you “network” with. Furthermore, the other popular idea on the docket of young Business students is Greek life, which I do not know anything about (sorry). Most of these classes scrap the surface of topics that will be covered later in your college career and should be taken seriously, especially if you want to apply to Honors or prestigious clubs, which will also ask for a resume in most cases.
Sophomore year:
Returning to college for the first time makes everything seem duller. The meal plans are mostly gone, on-campus living is usually out of the question, and you aren’t getting lost in the many rows and columns of books in the library. But you know what you do get… the chance to learn more about Business!
As a Sophomore, I took classes in:
Business Law
Macroeconomics
Business Writing
Management Accounting
Economic Statistics
Data Analysis with Excel
More Career Prep with Internships
Focused Global Business
Ethics-Based Class
What might look like a lighter year, all of these classes build off of ones from Freshman year. One thing to note as well is that Business students are notorious for having terrible writing skills (that’s why I have a creative writing minor). Economics plays a huge role in Business as well. Understanding algebraic functions and how to read graphs are essential since you’ll be using math in all Finance classes and you’ll be making graphs in Excel classes.
Speaking of Excel, this program is imperative to your success in the industry. If you want an internship, you such look into the Data Analysis classes, since that will be the basic work you will be conducting every day at an entry-level internship. This just means cleaning up data, finding unique patterns, and building models to make the data more readable. These classes will likely solidify or completely destroy your opinions on your current majors and minors, and if not, Junior year will.
Junior year:
Being a sophomore still, I have not personally taken the next classes that I will discuss, but my position as an RA has helped me be able to talk to older Business students, many of whom are my friends, so much data will be coming from them. At IU, and many other prestigious Business schools, you will have to complete a huge block of classes in your Junior year before you can embark on taking electives. At IU, this block of classes is called ICORE and is implemented for every Junior to gain a better understanding of the pillars of Business, which include Finance, Operations, Leadership, and Marketing. No matter if you are an Accounting major or a Global Business major, you have to take these classes. You will take rigorous exams to be prepared for the final weeks, which is comprised of a Case Study of a business conducted by you and 4-5 other students. The result will accumulate into a 60-70 page business review and plan.
After completion of ICORE, you will be free to take the required classes in your major, as well as a few remaining miscellaneous classes. Since much of your remaining time in college relies on what majors you declared, I can discuss some of the unique opportunities you should try to pursue before you graduate.
Senior year:
Try out for a workshop. While workshops are super competitive and insanely difficult when you finally get into them, they are extremely helpful for your future career. Not only are they more accurate in teaching real-world skills, but you also can network with professionals in the industry you are going into/
Escape the Business Bubble every now and then. For me, I have numerous minors outside my Business school, and I am an RA. Not only are these great on my resume, but it also tell employers that I am versatile and have more interests than just $$$.
Study Abroad, please! Studying abroad has many benefits. You get out of your comfort zone, learn first-hand about different cultures and languages, and you get the ability to intern in a different country. I am very excited to study abroad later down the road, and while it can be expensive, many colleges are just straight up throwing money to study abroad participants.
By the end of your college career, you should have had 1-3 internships, some leadership roles in clubs on campus, and unique experiences that pertain only to you. If you still feel like learning more, you can enroll in an MBA program or a Master’s program, both of which are helpful (although MBAs are having a hard time in the job market now).
