Sammy's Accounting [47], Economics[50], Further [50] and Bus Man Help!

[sam.utute]

Hey guys!

EDIT: My ATAR was 99.65, with scores of 50 in Economics and Further, and 47 in Accounting . I was also the Dux of my school

For those who don't know me, my name is Sam Kothari. I graduated from Rowville Secondary College (a not very good school academically) this year. I was ranked 1st in Bus Man (study score of 45), Accounting, Economics and Further (didn't lose a mark this year), and am fairly confident of achieving my desired result. My subject choices obviously reveal a dislike for science (which sometimes gravitates to an intense dislike), with a passion for commerce. I loved finding out how businesses operate, how money changes hands, how people interact in the workforce etc. I've spent the past few weeks coming up with business ideas, one which will launch shortly. Commerce subjects are applicable to everyone's life, making them an invaluable aid, both in your everyday and work life.

Going to a public school meant that the resources that I had available were limited (no slight intended to the school). I was effectively forced to work independently, and by doing so, developed my own method of tackling VCE. It basically involved full-on study during the summer holidays; allowing me to finish the set courses for accounting (Unit 3), further and economics. I found this method to be difficult, but most rewarding, as I was able to relax and ease up throughout the year. Many of my teachers worried that I would forget everything by the end of the year, but my result for the mid-year accounting exam (A+) proved otherwise. Just like science subjects, these subjects require a deep understanding of the key concepts; you should be able to explain 'why ______ happens...'. Unfortunately, the majority of students undertaking commerce subjects tend to rote-learn. This leaves them decided vunerable come exam time. VCAA is notorious (rightfully so) for coming up with unexpected exams.

I did not get tutored this year, as I found most tutors to be 'generic', for lack of a better word. There teaching methods varied, but all focused on doing questions and reading. None were able to provide succinct explanations of the 'whys' and 'hows' that are so prevalent in this field. Needless to say, just because these subjects do not scale very high, does not mean that they are not difficult. They require the same commitment and dedication as physics or chemistry.

I'm probably not going to be offering help for English or Math Methods (42) for two reasons:
1. There are many pro VNer's already offering tuition for the above subjects (taiga, EZ, shinny, TT etc. etc.)
2. Put simply, both subjects left me bored and uninspired. A tell-tale sign "it wasn't meant to be" [LBW joke lol]  

I can still give you advice in regards to how to study for the subjects and provide you with some resources. I'm pretty sure you have to do an oral for English, and I'll be more than happy to help anyone with that for free. Public-speaking has always been one of my strengths, as I started way back in grade 1, presenting my baby science project at a teacher's conference. Since then, I have taken every leadership opportunity available (school captain in PS), only tailing off this year to focus on my studies (I'll be making a speech next month at my old PS Grade 6 graduation, and I'm planning to join the Local Youth Council).

I'd prefer it if you came over to my house (I live in the South Eastern Suburbs - Rowville), but we can always organise a time and place elsewhere (this is where the website will come in handy). Prices will vary between $20-30 depending on how intense you want the sessions to be (i.e. Do you want to go through the entire Accounting course in a couple of weeks etc.).

Finally, to the Class of 2011:
These upcoming holidays are you best chance to get a head start in one of your most important stages of life. Do yourself a favour and work either independently or with someone to work, work and work. Come next year, you'll be more than prepared for the numerous challenges you will face.

If you need any help, either online (msn, this forum etc.) or in person, please, please do not hesitate to contact me. PM me or email me ([email protected]) if you need advice or resources or are bored and need someone to talk to.

Good Luck next year fellas!
All the best!
Sammy  

P.S In a thread in the VCE Businesses section, I have detailed the website that I plan to launch very soon. Consider this the first official invitation to all VN members to check it out once it is up. It'll make it easier to connect and organise times with tutors. Check out the link in my signature for more info.

[Slumdawg]

This guy is pro! Friendly, smart and takes everybody's ideas on board. Basically everything you could ever want for a tutor. He's even gonna have his own business up and running in a few weeks, honestly is there any other VCE commerce student this committed to the humanities field? I doubt it.

DEFINITELY ENDORSED

[eeps]

ENDORSED.

This guy is an absolute pro, knows what he is talking about. Read the Accounting Board alone and you'll see what I mean - he finished the Accounting course and was doing practice exams, before I was even halfway through Unit 4.

Especially if you want to do well in Accounting, as well as Eco, Further and Bus Man, Sam would be the guy to-go-to for tutoring.

[werdna]

Endorsed!

It is a misconception that all of the subjects Sam is tutoring in are easy... they are NOT!

With Sam's tutoring, I'm sure you'll all ace it though!

[taiga]

This guy will become the treasurer of some big corporation one day, and you won't get him for any less than 300$ an hour, so get in whilst you can!

[reelraw]

hi buddy, im interested in an accounting tutor?
how much money is it and where abouts is the location ?
thanks

[sam.utute]

hi buddy, im interested in an accounting tutor?
how much money is it and where abouts is the location ?
thanks

Hey man.
Prices are negotiable, and the first lesson will be free . One of my business aims was to ensure that everyone has access to VCE help, so whatever you feel comfortable paying is good with me. You can decide what you feel it's worth after the first lesson.
I live in the south eastern suburbs (rowville), so if you live around there, we could do it at my house (I'll send you my address if you want to come to my house) or the stud library. I'm willing to go basically wherever to tell you the truth.

Let me know where you'd prefer.
Sammy

[werdna]

Hey Sam, just wondering if I could still do well in Economics 3&4 without doing 1&2? The Eco teacher says that there is a LOT of assumed knowledge from 1&2 and we have to really keep up to date with the economy and markets and stuff.

[sam.utute]

Hey Sam, just wondering if I could still do well in Economics 3&4 without doing 1&2? The Eco teacher says that there is a LOT of assumed knowledge from 1&2 and we have to really keep up to date with the economy and markets and stuff.

Definitely possible if you are willing to pit in the effort. One year 11 guy on my class this year skipped unit 1&2 and still came second in SACs as preserved and put in a lot of effort. While there is quite a lot of assumed knowledge, don't let your teacher frighten you. I summarized the course in a different post (Eco board) in a few lines. Besides, you will cover pretty much everything done in unit 1&2 in the first few weeks.
Answering the exam also requires a sound grasp if English, as you need to be able to include all the key points succinctly (which we all know you have).

[sam.utute]

I'll be releasing a suggested course structure for accounting in a few days. It should allow accounting students to finish unit 3 before school starts, giving you plenty of time to do practice exams and refine your exam technique.

[eeps]

I'll be releasing a suggested course structure for accounting in a few days. It should allow accounting students to finish unit 3 before school starts, giving you plenty of time to do practice exams and refine your exam technique.

And that's why Sam's a pro at Accounting. Very structured and organised.

Should have done this at the start of this year...

[sam.utute]

OK, as promised, here is an example of how you can finish the accounting course over the holidays. I'm using the Cambridge textbook as it seems to be the most popular one. If you have the Box textbook, you can still follow this structure by completing the chapters that correlate to the Cambridge textbook.

Some General Info:
- Read the textbook once through up to chapter 12. You can basically skim through, but try to understand some of the concepts while you read. Annotate sections that were bewildering.
- Don't do Checkpoints concurrently. The number of mistakes and errors will enrage you and have you thinking you are failing, when in fact it is the book itself which sucks.
- Write your own notes if you feel that it will help you understand and remember the content. It is not necessary, as hopefully the hours you spend practicing will embed the content in your brain.
- If you didn't do accounting Units 1 and 2, it becomes even more important that you work hard. Everyone else has a one year headstart on you. Level the playing field.
- Please, please do not look at the answers until you finish EVERYTHING. Seeing your mistakes after you have a sound grasp of the content will help you identify what you did wrong.
- The suggested structure is only a guide for people who have a lot of time on their hands. Feel free to spread the workload out, but do make the effort to finish the Unit 3 course before school starts. It will be worth it. I promise.

Exercises
Week 1:
Day 1:
Complete Chapter 1 - This is one of the most important chapters in the book. Theory questions will be on both the Unit 3 and 4 exams.
Chapter 1 has 12 exercises which are all under a page long (if you have the workbook). Attempt all the questions without looking at the answers. Leave the questions you are unsure about, and come back to them after you have finished Unit 3. They will be your "challenge" questions (this is the same for all the questions you do from the book).

Skim through Chapter 2 - A fairly straight-forward chapter that should be easy for anyone who did Units 1 and 2. It involves basic classifications and an introduction to the structure of the Balance Sheet. For anyone who did NOT do Year 11 accounting, this chapter is a MUST. It will bring you up to speed on accounting terms and related rules (debit and credit etc.).
This chapter only has 7 exercises, and if you feel confident, you do not need to complete every exercise (This is extremely important. There are so many tough questions and prac exams in accounting, that you will have to manage your time efficiently). Have a go at a few, and if you make mistakes, do an extra one. I recommend doing 2.3, 2.6 and 2.7 as a minimum.

Day 2 (and 3 if you want to do it over two days):
Complete Chapter 3 - DR. vs CR./Ledgers/Footing/Balancing - This will be all you will have to do today. This chapter is the first real foray into Year 12 accounting. You should begin your first accounting steps with a sound understanding of the foundations. The entire accounting course will be built on the content in this chapter.
This chapter will probably cause a few difficulties for some people. Make sure that you get help from a sibling, friend, tutor or teacher if you have access to them. If your foundations are weak, it will become difficult to understand the rest of the course.
There are 8 exercises in this chapter. Try to do every single one.

Day 4 (have a rest day. Don't kill yourself):
Complete Chapter 4 - Introduction to GST/Source Documents - Very similar to the previous chapter with a smallish introduction to the different source documents that are prevalent in VCE accounting.
If you've got the hang of debits and credits, you can make do with doing every second exercise (4.1, 4.3, 4.5, 4.7).
If you made quite a few mistakes in the previous chapter, try to complete all exercises. This is still part of the foundation of accounting, and as mentioned previously, a large determinant to your future success in this subject.

Day 5 (no rest. You had it easy yesterday ):
Completing Chapter 5 - Special Journals - An extension to what should have been covered in Year 11. Students who did Units 1 and 2 will find this topic relatively easy, with few areas they do not understand or haven't seen before. The only new bits in Chapter 5 are the subsidiary ledgers and the posting from the credit journals.
Try to get through exercises 5.2, 5.3, 5.5, 5.6, 5.8 and 5.9. Split it up into two days if you need to. You will find these exercises very repetitve. Unfortunately, accounting is a subject that requires practicing the same content over and over.

Day 6:
Completing Chapter 6 - Special Journals - Posting/Discounts/GST - Cash journals will be a little more tricky than their credit counterparts. There is more content to cover in this Chapter, but you'll find parts that overlap with the previous chapter (Posting etc.).
This chapter may take a while to complete. It is a little tedious.
Have a go at exercises 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, 6.4, 6.6, 6.7, 6.8, 6.9, 6.10 and 6.12.
I know that seems like all the exercises, but I only avoided exercises that repeated questions (even then it will seem tedious and repetitive to most people).

Continued in the next post.

P.S. Only a week and we're already half-way!!!!

[sam.utute]

Day 9:
Completing Chapter 7 - The General Journal - A new journal, one that will appear frequently on both the Unit 3 and Unit 4 exam. Still, its uses and related theory is straight-forward. Once you understand it or do it a few times, you should be able to remember it for ever. Keep in mind that while repetitive, it essentially offers "free marks" in the exam for students that have taken the time to properly understand its concepts.
Try: 7.2, 7.3, 7.5, 7.6, 7.8, 7.10, 7.11, 7.12
Another advantage of leaving out some of the exercises is that you can come back and do them for extra revision. Only complete all the exercises if you desparately feel the need for additional practice. As I was already ahead of the class, I finished of the one or two exercises I left out when the class was starting the topic.
Tip: Get used to doing 'Narrations'. Work out a generic method for every possible narration, and use these generic structures to write the narration for specific questions. Less thinking required = more time to work on other questions.

[werdna]

Nice stuff! (I'm not doing any of these subjects though )

[nacho]

Sam, you skipped day 7 and 8, nice plan though, i'll try to follow it..