4 Year Summary: My Time at the University of Kentucky

This week, I’ll graduate from the University of Kentucky with a dual Bachelor’s of Business Administration degree in Marketing and Business Management. I came into freshman year with 42 credit hours between AP and DC courses, and I managed to study abroad. I also only took summer classes once, and that was because I wanted to use my scholarship money. In this post, I’m going to break down every class I took and then some other random stuff I did. Hopefully, you can use what I learned. UK was a rollercoaster for sure, but I am so grateful for my 3.5 years and the opportunity to earn a degree. Here we go!

FRESHMAN YEAR

STA 296 – 2/10 My teacher was not fluent in English at all, making conversation and asking questions hard. Subject was easy enough just felt unrelated to business even though it was supposed to be business statistics.
WRD 112 – 6/10 Everyone has to take these classes (like a mix of English, reading, and logic). They are all different and I swear there is no set requirements for this course. Like these teachers just make stuff up. I studied Chinese philosophy while a friend made a podcast about whatever they wanted.
HIS 121 – 8/10 This class was for a core credit and focused on war and society 1914-1945. We learned a lot about the world wars and just life in different perspectives during this time. We read 3 historical fiction books in this course which I actually enjoyed. The class was just a TA talking about what they love and I felt it was an easy core credit.
ECO 201 – 7/10 This class was my first business class ever! I took it online, and I really liked that. I could watch lectures over and over for tests. I will say it would have been nice to get to know my professor and ask more questions, but this class was very much a “study and succeed” class.
AST 191 – 0/10 When I googled “easier science core credit uky”, this popped up. Those people LIED. This was literally astrophysics and I just do not think this should have been a 100 level course. This was the first C in my life.
B&E 150 – 4/10 I was asked to be a member of the Gatton Direct Admit Pilot Program, the first cohort where they tried to fasttrack the path of high achieving students. Basically, I had to take 2 extra classes and go to some meetings, but then I would get to start upperclassmen courses sooner. We basically learned how to be a good employee in this class.
ACC 201 – 2/10 I HATED this class. All business majors have to take it, but I literally would quit a job if they asked me to do the things I learned in this class. Gatton is known for having one single good Accounting teacher and he only teaches Honors students. I shed lots of tears over this class to be so honest.
MGT 301 – 5/10 I took this online, and I have just mediocre thoughts all around. It’s a class that every business major has to take, and it felt like that.
MKT 300 – 6/10 Same feelings as MGT 301, but I did really like the professor and her Canvas organization.
ECO 202 – 8/10 I absolutely loved the enthusiasm of my professor in this class (Bob Gillette), even if the subject was boring. This is another required business course, but it actually did help with my understanding of financial politics and the stock market.
MUS 222 – 9/10 This was my Arts and Creativity core class, and I loved it. Our professor was so laid back and made class fun. We basically just listened to all the music my dad likes and then talked about it. There were a few quizzes and tests, but everything was very simple.
Try Everything! – There is no harm in going to an intro meeting to get free food and then never returning. Go to as many things as possible using the BBNvolved website, and join whatever sounds good! Fill your time, make lots of friends, and get to know professors.

SOPHOMORE YEAR

CIS 300 – 7/10 This course is the senior seminar course, but it fit in my sophomore year. You get tips on interviews, resumes, presentation skills, and just general communication.
B&E 250 – 5/10 Another requirement for the Direct Admit program! Just common sense stuff really…
MKT 310 – 7/10 Marketing majors have to take this, and it was actually pretty informative. Only problem was my professor spoke in slow motion…
ECO 391 – 5/10 This class built on my freshman year Stats class, and it was just as fun. 🙂
ACC 202 – 6/10 I am just not an accounting person, so this was lots of hard work.
AN 105 – 7/10 This is the Gatton Excel course, and it is on a very outdated software. Helpful overall!
ACC 301 – 2/10 This made me drop my Finance major, and thank goodness I did!
MGT 340 – 7/10 I took this completely online as this is the business law class. It was just boring but fine.
FIN 300 – 5/10 The professor I took is no longer employed by the University! It was about as hard as a 300-level finance course should be, but this prof was just a lot.
AN 300 – 3/10 This was completely online which normally I prefer, but wow this was awful. The lecture videos and software were so outdated and the deadlines for assignments were all over the place. You do have to take it though. 🙂
GEO 172 – 7/10 When I dropped the Accounting class and the finance major, I needed a part of term course to stay at full-time status. This was a geography class completely online and it was an easy GPA booster.
Internship – You need to get an internship your sophomore year. Don’t work a crazy amount of hours or do something you hate, but you need to build your resume and skillset. I used Handshake to find my internships, and my rule of thumb was apply to at least 5 a day just to get your name out there.

JUNIOR YEAR

MKT 306 – 8/10 To get my Analytics minor, I took the AN version of this. I learned all about Tableau and Data Visualization, great resume adds!
AN 324 – 6/10 Also for the Analytics minor, this was Data Management. Yup.
AN 420G – 4/10 Again for Analytics, Data Mining.
MKT 340 – 7/10 I took Marketing Research fall of my junior year and this was honestly the perfect time. You need to study for her tests and the group project at the end is a good intro to what your senior year will be.
MGT 410 – 7/10 I actually do not remember a single thing about this class! Oops!
MGT 320 – 9/10 Take this with Hector. That’s all!
MGT 499 – 9/10 I took this on SAS with a professor from Middlebury University. it counts as my MGT capstone course at UK, but on the ship it was called “Strategic Management”. I really learned a lot about successful business practices and secrets in the big corporations. Our field class in this course was in Kochi, India to see an international IT firm.
IE 200 – 8/10 Everyone on every SAS voyage has to take “Global Studies”, a course that prepares you for each upcoming country’s culture, history, and language. We also covered lots of oceanography as the ocean is our campus.
MGT 340 – 5/10 (on SAS) I took Principles of Entrepreneurship with a Canadian professor, and we only really learned about Canada. Also, our field class was a poorly planned trip to the markets in Ghana at 10 am. They’re only open at night…
MKT 365 – 10/10 (also SAS) This was International Marketing and my professor was from NC State. We learned so much, particularly about Asian culture, as our professor had worked in sales with Dell throughout Japan. This professor was just so excited to be on the ship, and he took us to a winery in South Africa as our field class.
Build Your Network! Is your LinkedIn put together and are you active? Go to any events in Gatton and just meet people. Add people from high school and family friends to your LinkedIn network. Check your emails and LinkedIn once daily. You just want to get ahead of the game and establish your presence in the business world.

SENIOR YEAR

B&E 390 – 8/10 Over the summer, I realized I had an extra semester of scholarships that would go to waste, so I enrolled in the Global Career Accelerator in the Digital Marketing Track. This was such a random side adventure, but it really widened my skillset and my network. Whenever something seems slightly applicable to your career, it’s worth looking into.
EAP 599 – 3/10 This wrapped up over the summer, but every Study Abroad student is required to be enrolled in this course. You basically just write reflections on your experience to maintain enrollment at UK.
MKT 315 – 7/10 This was a MKT elective for my major, and it was actually really informative. It was all about digital marketing from a professor who actually works in digital marketing on the side. Just a great addition to my resume!
MGT 380 – 0/10 Literally do anything you can to not take this class. I took it to fulfill both an Analytics and Management credit, but I would have rather taken double classes instead. This is all about the mathematics of relationships, and it has absolutely nothing to do with anything in the real world.
MKT 450 – 9/10 I absolutely loved having Dr. Vincent in class. She really cared about us, and she works really hard to make this class applicable to the real world.
AN 450 – 9/10 I think everyone should take Dr. Mahaney at least once at UK. He just really is interested in what he’s teaching as well as how he can tailor the class for our benefit.
MGT 309 – 7/10 This was an intro to International Business, and I have two complaints. One, the way it’s structured, you have one 2.5 hour class on Mondays. Just way too long to sit there. Two, I wasn’t told I needed to take it until after all the other International Business classes, so it just felt redundant.
PS 340 – 8/10 So, International Economics (the last class I needed for my International Business minor) did not fit in my schedule. This was the solution my advisor found to still get the credit. I actually kinda loved this class. It was model United Nations and we held sessions as well as just shared opinions on current events. It felt like a good and kind space, even during elections, to learn.
How Can You Stand Out? – This was the leading question my senior semester. Everyone is applying for the same jobs with the same transcript, so senior year should be all about how you can be better than everyone else. What programs can you sign up for within your school for free? What free certifications can you be getting online? How can your LinkedIn presence improve? The end goal is to get a job that makes you happy, so make sure you dedicate time towards achieving that.

RANDOM THINGS I WISH I KNEW SOONER

New York Times Subscription – UK pays for this for every student, games included. USE IT.
Adobe Suite Subscription – If you are in Marketing, Adobe is such a helpful skill for your resume and job interviews. Download these on UK’s dime and learn the basics.
Bloomberg Markets Certification – If you are even slightly interested in the finance world, this is a great resume booster. It’s free (normally $140) to students and you can find all the info about it here.
Graham Office of Career Management – These people may send way more emails than necessary BUT they are spending your tuition on some very helpful things. Graham offers lots of career networking or info sessions with free meals as well as interview prep and resume review. They also have begun field trip style networking events, with the one I completed being to Nashville to meet executives from iHeart Radio and Sony Music.
UKY Invests – UK partnered with Fidelity Investments a few years ago, and I have made $300+ through this program for doing a whole lot of nothing. You should definitely take the 10 minutes to set it up!

Thanks for reading! Let me know what else you’d like me to write about!