Dropping a minor last minute despite easy course-load?

Hi guys, I'm in the middle of my last semester at a Semi-Target right now with a 2nd tier management consulting offer in hand for later this summer.

I was originally considering graduating early because I finished my two majors (Marketing and Organization Behavior) last semester, but decided to stick around to enjoy the last bit of college and also to tie up an accounting minor.

I'm currently only taking two classes, one for fun, and another is the accounting requirement I need to fill for the minor. Even though I have a light load this semester, it's still been incredibly hard to motivate myself to care at all about my accounting class and I simply can't retain any of the concepts.

I really want to withdraw from the accounting minor for the following reasons:
1. I've been doing terribly in the class so far (probably end up with a C or D) and my final GPA will take a hit.
2. I don't forsee myself specializing in anything related to accounting in the future, and I'm only doing the minor because I just have to take one class this semester to finish it.
3. The class takes up quite a bit of my time, and with a few months left before I start working, I'd much rather devote more of my focus to some other extracurriculars and personal goals I've been working on since last year. I'd really like to accomplish my personal goals before I start work, and I often find myself wishing I was spending my time working on those instead of accounting.
4. Not sure of the true value an accounting minor will have on my graduation certificate

And I'm hesitant about dropping the class for these reasons:
1. I have two months of school left and I'll get the minor if I just suck it up even if it's not a personal priority of mine.
2. It's my only more "technical" sounding concentration.
3. If I drop the class, I'll only have one class on my final semester transcript with an "withdrawal" indication next to accounting. My recruiter knows that I only have one class left to fulfill the minor and that was one of the reasons I gave for not wanting to graduate/start work early. I don't know how my recruiter will look at it and how suddenly dropping the minor will affect my job offer.

Advice much appreciated. Thanks!

 
Best Response

Thanks for the input Enid. I know it's just one class, but looking at my level of motivation and progress in the class, I would much rather devote that time and effort to accomplishing my personal goals, which are much more important to me personally.

One of the reasons I'm seriously considering dropping accounting is because I feel like I've been having a lot of trouble focusing on smoothly pursuing those personal goals with all the interruptions (time/stress) from that class. I need a lot of time and focus in order to accomplish these goals in the next few months. And if I don't, I really don't know when I'll have the chance to pick it up again due to the commitment it requires, and I'd have to start everything over.

In addition, my family has gone under some adverse circumstances lately, and I really want to finish my personal goals sooner in the next month or two by devoting more or less my full attention to it, and then focus on helping out my family with the extra time I have left before I move out.

 

addicted, my problem mostly has to do with how I should spend the rest of my time before I start working full-time. From how it looks now, I can either devote my time/resources to finish up the minor, or use it to finish something much more important to me on a personal level, and something I probably won't get a chance to finish once I start working (though I won't be able to go back and finish the accounting minor either after I graduate, but it's just not as important to me personally).

 
BillBank:
addicted, my problem mostly has to do with how I should spend the rest of my time before I start working full-time. From how it looks now, I can either devote my time/resources to finish up the minor, or use it to finish something much more important to me on a personal level, and something I probably won't get a chance to finish once I start working (though I won't be able to go back and finish the accounting minor either after I graduate, but it's just not as important to me personally).

Lose your virginity?

The answer to your question is 1) network 2) get involved 3) beef up your resume 4) repeat -happypantsmcgee WSO is not your personal search function.
 

Thanks for the comments so far guys, I've been doing a lot of thinking and to be honest, I'm still leaning towards withdrawing from the course. However, I am still enrolled as of now and have been preparing for the next exam. Besides all the sunk cost I've put in towards earning the minor, could you guys offer some opinions regarding the actual benefits of having an accounting minor in my case?

 

Stick it out. I'm not all that much older than you, but there's not much I look back on in my life where I say "I wish I hadn't put the effort into finishing that." I'm with you, accounting is terrible, especially learning accounting...but at this point in your life you never know where accounting will help you.

I can share from personal experience that accounting helps you immensely in getting an internal role with a company, even in many non-accounting roles.

 

Odit id ipsam et tempore esse asperiores aut. Ut ea temporibus quisquam iste et. Eos quas rerum molestias aut magnam.

Career Advancement Opportunities

March 2024 Consulting

  • Bain & Company 99.4%
  • McKinsey and Co 98.9%
  • Boston Consulting Group (BCG) 98.3%
  • Oliver Wyman 97.7%
  • LEK Consulting 97.2%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

March 2024 Consulting

  • Bain & Company 99.4%
  • Cornerstone Research 98.9%
  • Boston Consulting Group (BCG) 98.3%
  • McKinsey and Co 97.7%
  • Oliver Wyman 97.2%

Professional Growth Opportunities

March 2024 Consulting

  • Bain & Company 99.4%
  • McKinsey and Co 98.9%
  • Boston Consulting Group (BCG) 98.3%
  • Oliver Wyman 97.7%
  • LEK Consulting 97.2%

Total Avg Compensation

March 2024 Consulting

  • Partner (4) $368
  • Principal (25) $277
  • Director/MD (55) $270
  • Vice President (47) $246
  • Engagement Manager (99) $225
  • Manager (152) $170
  • 2nd Year Associate (158) $140
  • 3rd+ Year Associate (108) $130
  • Senior Consultant (329) $130
  • Consultant (586) $119
  • 1st Year Associate (538) $119
  • NA (15) $119
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (145) $115
  • Engineer (6) $114
  • 2nd Year Analyst (342) $102
  • Associate Consultant (166) $98
  • 1st Year Analyst (1046) $87
  • Intern/Summer Associate (188) $84
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (547) $67
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
9
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”