Opinions wanted on Bachelor of Business in Accounting - 3rd Year, full or part time

lbdomg

Hi Guys. I have the option of entering 3rd year of the ITT Bachelor of Business in Accounting ordinary degree either part or full time. I'd appreciate opinions of anyone who did this course to help me decide which one to do.

To those who did it part-time at night, how did you find doing the course and workload juggled with your full-time job?

To those who did it full-time during the day what was the weekly timetable like, class size, quality of the lecturers?

Overall would you recommend the course to someone who is hoping to onto the ACCA exams afterwards? I'm aware that on completion of 3rd year I would be exempt from 8 ACCA exams. Can anyone tell me what percentage I would need in the ITT exams in order to qualify these exemptions? Thank you.

shuyin1

Full time- 2 classes of around 35. Mon-fri classes can be a bit scattered, expect 2-3 hr breaks some days (quite useful for study time, group projects,errands etc) It really depends on which class you're in.

Lecturers are very good (ac,tax,mgt ac) and like all theory subjects even the best lectures can be seen as dull (computers, financial mgt, auditing).

In class test for the computational subj are 30%,70% final exam. The theory subjects can vary between 3x10/2x15 or 30%, consisting of lab work, presentations, group projects. The CA's are staggered so that you'll always have at least a weekend to study. Can be negotiable depending on the lecturer, they're all very nice anyways.

Year will fly by, especially the second semester, highly recommend if its exemptions you're after. Tuition is great, easily achieve the 40 or 50% required for the exemptions. I'd check with someone regarding management accounting, make sure its on the course this year.

lbdomg

Hi Shuyin, thank you for replying.

In retrospect do you think 3rd year of the course was more beneficial than studying directly with one of the accountancy bodies like ACCA? Did you or do many from 3rd year go onto 4th year for the honours degree? I believe the extra year only gets one more exemption from ACCA so it doesn't sound as appealing.

I'm still undecided if I should continue looking for work and start 3rd of the course part-time, commit to it full-time or study directly with ACCA or ACA. I wouldn't get a degree if I choose this option but I could get through the exams much faster.

little lady

Hi OP,

I just finished the Part-time course in May. It is doable but it is a hard slog if you are working full-time.

You are in college 3 nights a week for four hours a night and every alternate Wednesday there is either a management accounting or financial accounting tutorial, the tutorial is optional but can be very useful. It does however mean you're in four nights a week which only gives you Friday evening, Saturday and Sunday to study the six subjects and you need to spend at least 2 or 3 hours a week per subject.

It was tough going and to be honest I would never do six subjects in one year part-time again.

Saying that the course was excellent and (most) of the lecturers are too. Several people I know are going to do the 4th year but as you said for one exemption in the ACCAs it's not really worth it.

If you can do it full-time I would recommend that option, doing it part-time and doing well means giving up pretty much any life for a year and being knackered for the whole time!!

shuyin1

lbdomg wrote: »

Hi Shuyin, thank you for replying.

In retrospect do you think 3rd year of the course was more beneficial than studying directly with one of the accountancy bodies like ACCA? Did you or do many from 3rd year go onto 4th year for the honours degree? I believe the extra year only gets one more exemption from ACCA so it doesn't sound as appealing.

I'm still undecided if I should continue looking for work and start 3rd of the course part-time, commit to it full-time or study directly with ACCA or ACA. I wouldn't get a degree if I choose this option but I could get through the exams much faster.

Most go on and do 4th yr aswell. Its not only the f9 exemption but stuff you cover in a/c and tax, corp finance will set you up for the P's. Theres always the option of a masters if you decide the aca route.

lbdomg

Thanks Little Lady. That does sound like a lot of commitment. Can you tell me were the classes 6-10pm exactly or was there a bit of leeway for people getting there, breaks and finishing early?

Can you recall what percentage you had to get in each subject to get exemptions from ACCA? I was told 40% but I've also heard 50 and 55%.

Shuyin, thanks again. I guess 4th year is something I'd consider once I complete 3rd year especially if the honours degree is better recognised than the ordinary degree when it comes to employment.

lbdomg

I forgot to ask did you spend much on books during third year.

little lady

There was leeway, classes start in and around 6:10 but there was no problem if you were late as they understand that people are working and that it can be tough getting in on time every night. The only time you have to be on time is if you have a CA in the first class but they tend to start them about 6:30ish depending on the lecturer.

The books cost on average €60 - €70 each and for both Financial Management and Tax there are two books per subject. You can get some of the the books 2nd hand from the 4th years but they can be hard to come by. So to buy all the books new you are talking about €560

lbdomg

Thanks again little lady. You've been extremely helpful. With some luck, I'll pick them up secondhand.

I noticed they list an optional French, German or Spanish module. Did the class do one of these languages in the first two years of the course or is it something new in 3rd year? It's been years since I did my leaving cert so I can't remember the pidgin French I had.

AppleBottle

Just on the books, students usually leave books to the Student Union at the start of the year for second hand selling! You don't have to be chasing around 4th years to get books. I've noticed some people also put up notices on the notice boards on the books they have but your best chance would be be go into the student union. I have one or two I'm going to be leaving in myself. Anytime I've gotten books the are usually half price or less than what they are being sold for so it's great value if you haven't got much cash, like myself.

shuyin1 pretty much mentioned anything I would have said myself. Apart from that three of your modules (Auditing, Financial Management and Computer labs) are with both groups together. I found the way the timetable was to be very handy because once your into the year, you will have your projects to work on and CA's to study for so all those extra hours can be spend working on these and the projects are tough enough and will require a lot of research and time spend on them.

Regarding the language, it was a subject that was done in 1st year as an option and I would assume again in 2nd year but not 100% sure. I only know of one person who did a language though and I'm unsure if they are still doing it. It's an option for you to do entirely.

It's a great college, great atmosphere and some of the lecturers are so helpful if you would like help on the likes of a job interview coming up or to take a look at your CV. I would recommend the college and course to anyone who was interested. It is a tough enough year but if you put your head down, you will hopefully achieve the results you want and may consider going onto doing the 4th year.