By: Etan (Alex) Neiman  | 

Popular Accounting Principles Review Classes Return

Screen Shot 2016-02-29 at 1.08.24 AMThere is exciting news for the roughly 260 Sy Syms students enrolled in either Accounting Principles I or Accounting Principles II. After going on hiatus for a semester, the popular student-led weekly review classes have returned. For the duration of the semester, an Accounting Principles II review class will be offered every Tuesday night, while an Accounting Principles I review class will be offered every Wednesday night. Though the exact location is subject to change, the sessions currently run from 10:00 to 11:00 PM in Belfer 823. Both of the classes are open to Wilf and Beren students. The relaunch comes as the result of a joint push from student leadership along with a dedicated accounting peer tutor to the Sy Syms Academic Advising Department.  

Attending an accounting review class presents a student with the chance to get a leg up on homework, prepare for a test, or to just generally keep pace with his Accounting Principles class. The return of this opportunity is of particular importance in a year where it is harder than ever to schedule a peer tutor. “The entire tutoring landscape has changed,” notes a frustrated second year Sy Syms student who preferred not to disclose his name. “While last year I was able to schedule a peer tutor on a near weekly basis, I have rarely been able to get a peer tutor this year.” That student’s sentiment is indeed supported by the numbers. Though at one point last year there were seventeen students who were offering their services to the popular peer tutoring program, that amount has been whittled down to eight, an astounding reduction of over fifty percent.

One of the students who, due to the accounting review sessions, no longer has to worry about whether he will be able to secure a peer tutor for his Accounting Principles class is Andrew Freudenberger, currently in his second semester at Sy Syms. Freudenberger credits the review classes with going beyond simply helping him “understand the material.” He has found that the student teacher provides patient and clear “clarification of the difficult problems, leaving me way more confident for my tests.”

Nobody is perhaps more excited about the return of the accounting review sessions than peer tutor Shlomo Frishman, who was instrumental in reviving the classes and leads both sessions. Frishman finds that “a lot of what has made these review classes work so well is that the students who come do so on their own volition. This creates a great environment for learning that is a little more chill than a traditional classroom.” Frishman emphasizes that students should not consider this an opportunity strictly for those who feel they may be behind in class. “There is room to benefit no matter where a student is standing in his understanding of the concepts. Even if someone feels as though he has a solid grasp on the material, one never knows what type of questions could be asked which he didn’t think of.” In short, “The students who take the time to come to the sessions will see the results reflected in that effort.”

Looking forward, the return of these two review classes lends hope for a possible relaunch of last year’s popular Principles of Finance review class. There is unquestionably the student demand. All that is needed is for a dedicated peer tutor to offer his availability.