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Do you want to succeed in this class? Know Time Value of Money super well. The concepts apply to everything we cover in this class, and will help you on the math section as well.
Reading the textbook is very important as well.
But the thing I would encourage you to do, is to apply everything in this class to what you're doing outside of class. That will make it much more applicable, and help you see the real-world value of what you are learning.

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I had a hard time thinking of what to write and comment on discussion boards. My advice would be to comment as soon as the week starts so that no one steals what you are going to say. Same goes for commenting, be the first to comment on posts so that on Saturday night you aren't scrambling to not repeat all the other comments!
GOOD LUCK :)

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This has been one of the most useful classes I've ever taken. It was engaging because you learn so many things that are literally applicable to your life in this very moment. I have always been good at math so I think I got too full of myself and started slacking in the class. DO NOT DO THIS. The math problems in this class take more and more time and if you're not staying on top of the material, you won't know how to solve the math problems later on. The only thing I wish I had done was take more baby steps rather than try to finish the class in chunks because I got way too behind that way. However, I am still so glad I took the class and I have so many new insights on how to live a financially smart life.

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I wish I had taken this class a lot sooner then I did. I am going into my last semester at BYU and I wish I took this class freshmen year! So if you are a freshmen I highly recommend taking this class! Even if you aren't a freshmen this is one of the most valuable classes you could take at BYU. The reason I recommend taking it as a freshmen is because for me that was when I got my first job and started actually earning money. With all this money coming in for the first time I had no idea how to budget or spend wisely. I really wish I had taken this class sooner, but I am glad I still took it. I would also advice future students to stay on top of assignment. Get ahead if you can, it'll only benefit you later. I personally struggle with online classes and remembering to turn things in on time, so especially taking this in the summer when it's my only class I struggled a lot. But if you get ahead and remember your deadlines you should be fine!

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Discover & share this Theofficeedit GIF with everyone you know. GIPHY is how you search, share, discover, and create GIFs.

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Everything in this class has real life application. Literally just take it seriously. Read the text, really absorb the stuff. Don't just memorize it to get a good grade in this class. The grade isn't half as important as really learning the material.

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My biggest weakness and my biggest reason for taking this class is the fact that I literally had no concept of budgeting. I grew up very lucky to not have wanted for anything and therefore cannot budget my money haha! I took this class, but I still have a long way to go. The things I learned in this class are going to affect my life for the rest of my life, so just take it seriously. Do the assignments, really learn. The grade you get isn't half as important as the stuff you are learning.

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I think one of the biggest things that made this class difficult for me was my lack of planning. I underestimated the amount of time each piece of the project would take and really wish I would have planned out more time so I could really enjoy and apply everything Ive learned. Even though I wasn’t being at a stage of life that I was making these kind of financial decisions, I also feel like ifI would have made the scenario more realistic to me that I would have done better. Over all, however, l learned some amazing information that’s will make future “grown up decisions” much easier to make and understand.

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Start investing on day 1 of class. Also don't pay your rent early, until you collect interest on the 1st.

Lastly, make a budget that counts, and stick to it till the end of the month.

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I feel like this class should be required by BYU. It is so effective and really taught me everything I need to know to be financially successful and be just like Mr. Krabs. #rollininthedoe

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I thought this class was great! I enjoyed the things we talked about. I think it would have been nice to take the class in fall or winter to have had more time. I would have liked to spend more time on each topic to learn more. I would also suggest trying to make applications to your own life for each of the things you learn in the class.

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Take this class with your spouse. It makes it so much easier talking about finances when you both are on the same page and have the same level of understanding. Also, take really good notes and highlight important sections in the book. The information will helpyou throughout your entire life!

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Take this class with your spouse. It makes it so much easier talking about finances when you both are on the same page and have the same level of understanding. Also, take really good notes and highlight important sections in the book. The information will helpyou throughout your entire life!

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Stay on top of assignments. Some take longer than others, so look ahead and plan! There is a lot of simple math that can be SO helpful if you take the time to understand why it works out how it does. Online classes are so amazing, because you have access to EVERYTHING! There really is no excuse to be behind, because you literally have since the first day to work on your assignments. Also, this class will change your life if you let it. Trust me! Take the time to learn and understand, and then the effort to implement what you have learned!

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Having just been married, I really appreciated all of the lessons I learned in this class. While this might not be something that I actively use in pursuing my career, this class has for sure given me some of the most useful tools and lessons thus far in college. My wife and I are always trying to improve our financial awareness and be better at budgeting and finance and this class has helped a lot in learning how to improve in areas in which we didn't even know we struggled.

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Something that I wish I would have known before taking this class was just how much work it would be. The assignments are manageable and easy enough to do, but If you are looking for a chill online class, this probably isn’t the one to take. I have really enjoyed this class and have learned extremely valuable lessons that are useful to my everyday life so I’m grateful that I have taken this class. When starting this class I would suggest that each week at the beginning of the week you take a look at all the assignment that are due that week to get an idea of what the work load will be like for the week so that you have plenty of time to get everything done without saving it for the last minute and stressing out over it. 

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Something that I wish I would have known before taking this class was just how much work it would be. The assignments are manageable and easy enough to do, but If you are looking for a chill online class, this probably isn’t the one to take. I have really enjoyed this class and have learned extremely valuable lessons that are useful to my everyday life so I’m grateful that I have taken this class. When starting this class I would suggest that each week at the beginning of the week you take a look at all the assignment that are due that week to get an idea of what the work load will be like for the week so that you have plenty of time to get everything done without saving it for the last minute and stressing out over it. 

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I wish I would have known more about how to record a video of my screen.  It was a little frustrating trying to get it to work, and make it look good.  Overall, it was a great experience, and enjoyed all the assignments.

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This class is incredibly useful. My only regret is that I took it at the same time as planning my wedding so I didn't put nearly enough time into my assignments. I just learned to pass the tests and didn't have time to really grasp the material and share it with my fiancee. So you get what you put into it, just remember why you're taking because it is sooooo worth it! The BYU online system takes a bit of getting used to, so don't be afraid to ask questions (or ask about how to message a question, that can be tricky too).

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Shia LaBeouf "Just Do It" Motivational Speech (Original Video by LaBeouf, Rönkkö & Turner)

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I came into this class knowing very little about finances.  The only thing I wish I had known to do when this class started out was to fully flush my family scenario out.

I had to update my scenario family a lot in order to fully complete assignments.  I would tell students to start the family with their GROSS income, not their NET, as I did.  I would also advise students to flush out their scenario families savings and investments completely.  Also, take time finding your houses! You can find houses that are very similar to each other that have vastly different prices!

On another note, I would advise future students to have patience with themselves.  This class is tough, if you come into it knowing nothing, like I did.  I got frustrated a lot.  Having patience with yourself will make this class much easier.

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I wish that I would've included my spouse more with my assignments so that we could get more out of the class together. I knew the class would be applicable to my life and my family, but I had no idea that every single chapter would be! I wish I would have known that, because I would have taken this course ages ago! Another thing I wish I would've known to do was to not worry or get unnerved by Proctorio because it is a bit strange having yourself recorded through a webcam while taking an exam, but its really not bad or anything to get stressed out about! This class is a great class for everyone and just take it slow and enjoy it because it is all insanely helpful!

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SFL 260 online was overall a really useful class. Some things to know before taking the class is to know how much math the class requires. I'm kind of glad I didn't know this prior, because it may have scared me away from taking the course, and the math I've learned has been super useful. I use my financial calculator almost daily at work and feel more confident in my ability to calculate payments on loans. I also wish I would've known just how intuitive canvas and the testing software Proctorio is. I was a little stressed about figuring it all out, but it was super easy! Knowing that even though it's an online class, TA's are provided that help with any questions and reviews of course material is something that may comfort you if you're anxious about taking your first online class. One final thing to know is that just because it's an online course, doesn't mean it will be less time consuming than any other college class. The only difference is flexibility of when you get the work done, but there is still plenty of work to do which requires you staying on top of your tasks almost daily. Really worthwhile class, and I recommend to anyone looking to learn real financial skills that you can apply in your own life immediately and for your future. 5 stars.

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This class was the best class I have ever taken. I wish I had shared with my husband more seriously what I have been learning. I’ve realized now

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I wish I had had a better understanding of how much time would need to be dedicated to this class, especially during a Spring term. I joined the class late and spent about half of the semester catching up. This class is so valuable, but time consuming. When you allocate your time well, your able to fully dedicate more time to learning valuable lifelong principles.

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I think that it would be a good idea to start applying the assignments as you are doing them. I feel like there are so many things that I would have liked to do when I learned about them but then forgot to do because of all the things going on. I think the best advice that I can give for future students is to write down a checklist of things that you would like to apply as you are learning about them. By doing this y
ou can make sure that you remember all the important things that you have learned, and you can truly apply them.

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One thing that I wish I had known before taking this course during the Spring semester would be how much material is packed in. It can be pretty fast paced so I would just say that my advice would be to stay on top of the assignments. Another thing I would say would be to just work on the final presentation slides  little by little as you go through the different assignments because then the material is fresh in your mind and it will just take a little bit of revising at the end as opposed to a couple hours of just cramming all that work in. Awesome class, really loved it!

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(my reaction to Canvas at first)

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I agree with this first post - Canvas is quite confusing if you're new and took me a while to get the hang of. Same with AdobeConnect, I never really felt like I was super comfortable getting help over that because I was busy during all TA hours and didn't want the TA to have to accommodate me every time. Regarding the course, I wish I'd known a set amount of time to set aside every day for it. There were some days I had to turn assignments in late because I didn't realize how much time they required, thinking it was about the same as other days, and ran out of time on the day they were due. I also just wish I'd known more about finance and using the financial calculator aspect of my graphing calculator.

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What I first thought when I started this class...HOWEVER...Please keep reading. I can assure you this is different now that we near the end of the semester. This is my feeling now

Now, I feel I can approach any conversation with a "Excuse me, I know what a budget is". Hahaha moral of the story is, I couldn't be more grateful for this class. I actually have considered buying the textbook to give to my siblings for Christmas (Weird? Maybe). This class has given me a great perspective and chance to start fresh with my husband. We actually do a weekly budget night, and I have all sorts of ideas on how we can start investing and saving for a down-payment! I highly recommend this class to all. The online portion? Great! Canvas is awesome to use. Just take the time in the beginning to become acquainted with how to use it, and you will succeed.

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Before I had started this class I wish I would have been more prepared for an online class. I wish I would have blocked out more time in my schedule during the week to dedicate to the class. Some weeks I definitely felt like Michael Scott, but with my time.

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I wish I would have known how much of an impact this class would have on the rest of my life. I've learned so many practical things that I can apply to truly become a financial steward that our Heavenly Father can be proud of. I think putting in the work and applying everything in this class to our own daily lives is the way we were meant to participate in this class.
Thank you sooo much!

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After taking this course, I can easily say that it has been one of the most useful classes I have ever taken. EVER. It is easy when taking a class online to skim the readings, but this is definitely a class where every reading is chalk-full of useful information. My main advice is to put in the time to be thorough in your readings and your assignments, not just to get a good grade, but to truly learn the material.

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I wish I would have known how many calculations there were and how how important math and a calculator would be :) Online classes require a lot of self discipline, ESPECIALLY online classes over such a short semester like Spring or Summer! Plan, prepare, study, and make sure you have a calculator and book! 

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I wish I would have known how many calculations there were and how how important math and a calculator would be :) Online classes require a lot of self discipline, ESPECIALLY online classes over such a short semester like Spring or Summer! Plan, prepare, study, and make sure you have a calculator and book! 

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The thing I really wished I had known before taking this class is that it is in fact a math class! I assumed that we would have been dealing with finances in general and not getting into the nitty gritty of the math. But despite that the class was still really helpful. I thing that would've helped the most going in, is it's always better to plan on the lower end. Buy the smaller house, budget more for savings. There's nothing wrong with being cheap. Better to be cheap than like poor Gru here.

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This class is the definition of a BYU education and it will change you life. Online is a little hard, make sure you ask questions to the TA's if your remotely confused about something. Do the workbook problems. They set you up for the math portion of the quizzes. Other than that, don't forget to reply to people's comments in the weekly discussion, those points add up fast. With the things you learn in the class you will live....

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This class is the definition of a BYU education and it will change you life. Online is a little hard, make sure you ask questions to the TA's if your remotely confused about something. Do the workbook problems. They set you up for the math portion of the quizzes. Other than that, don't forget to reply to people's comments in the weekly discussion, those points add up fast. With the things you learn in the class you will live....

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I enjoyed this class and found many of the activities to be very valuable. My piece of advice to students taking this class is to take these exercises seriously. As I was finishing my final home-buying project, I realized how much I've learned from the project and that it is actually very realistic. The activities in this class allow you to reflect and consider what kind of lifestyle and financial practices will be important to you. It can be difficult to plan ahead that thoroughly but by putting a lot of thought into this class, you will certainly benefit immensely over the course of your lifetime. 

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I enjoyed this class and found many of the activities to be very valuable. My piece of advice to students taking this class is to take these exercises seriously. As I was finishing my final home-buying project, I realized how much I've learned from the project and that it is actually very realistic. The activities in this class allow you to reflect and consider what kind of lifestyle and financial practices will be important to you. It can be difficult to plan ahead that thoroughly but by putting a lot of thought into this class, you will certainly benefit immensely over the course of your lifetime. 

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I wish that I had known how easy it is to procrastinate with an online class. It was easy to get caught up with everything else in my life and then be stuck doing all the assignments a few hours before they were due.  I was able to do it, but could have cut back on a lot of stress if I had been better at spacing things out. Another thing that I wish I had known was how hard it can be at times to understand what the teacher wants without being able to talk to them face to face. I'd utilize the TA's more (which is so much easier if you don't procrastinate). All things considered, this class was awesome and I loved how much it stressed application and I know everything I learned will come in handy. I've already applied a lot of things from the class!

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I wish I had known how helpful the TA and the online discussions were. 

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I wish I had known how helpful the TA and the online discussions were. 

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TA: My TA was very good at getting back to my questions quickly. When I couldn't find something or was confused, they were very helpful. It is easy to feel like you are left alone during an online class, but don't forget you have a great TA.

Online discussions: I didn't realize until the last couple weeks, but these are very helpful as well. I usually got the assignment done quickly and didn't go back to read other comments made by students. When I did this later in the course, I realized that many students had similar questions to my own, and that the answers were very helpful.

UTILIZE YOUR RESOURCES!

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SFL 260 has been a wonderful class. My girlfriend first suggested it to me and I was a little skeptical, mainly because I have already taken finance classes. Fortunately, the class became very valuable to me. I would give two suggestions of things that I wish I would have known.
1. This stuff is actually helpful. Like really, though.
- I think it's easy to gloss over a class and not consider the fact that you're learning information that will be useful for you in the future. Aside from learning superfluous equations and abstract ideas, this class teaches principles that you can apply that will improve the quality of your life. Therefore, learn the stuff that is taught. Don't just glide by. Internalize the principles and know that you can use them to better your relationship with your family and spouse in the future.
2. Don't slack off.
- It's easy to slack off in a class and fall behind, then catch up when you need to. Unfortunately, it's literally impossible to do so in this class since it's accelerated. You have hard deadlines that you have to hit in order to get the grade that you want. Submit your stinkin' initial post on Wednesday (trust me, you'll want to do that). Get the quizzes submitted and redo it if you didn't get full credit. These simple things will help you be successful and get the grade you want.

At the end of the day, just remember that this is actually a pretty legit class. Remember that the teacher actually wants to help you be a successful steward over the assets you've been blessed with.

Best meme ever. Most accurate of all accurate memes.

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There's no sugar coating it - SFL 260 is one of the most practical and useful classes that you can take at BYU. Taking it online is a great way to fit it into your schedule because you can study the lessons on your own time. Be aware that you still have due dates three times a week though, so don't procrastinate and make sure to stay on top of the deadlines. I wish I would have known how beneficial this class would be beforehand because it is definitely more applicable if you take it with your spouse/ use your real life situation. I  will be using what I have learned in this class for the rest of my life guaranteed!

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I wish that I had talked to my parents about finances more as a child. I think that I could have learned a lot from them.
My advice to future students would be to not stress about buying an actual financial calculator, and just use the online one. Just keep on top of assignments, and you should be fine in this class!
If you follow what you learn in class, you might end up like this guy!
Good luck!

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Taking this course I wish I would have know how much interest effects you and how much you're actually paying over time. My thoughts for others that will take this call is DO IT!! Please take this course to benefit your life as a person and also for your future family! The online course is a lot of material so make sure you get help along the way but I did it! Thank you for this class! I want to add another thank you for the preparation for re-financing my car and making sure I have a budget with my husband for the rest of our lives!!

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I decided to take this course because financial decisions intrigue me, and I felt that I needed to understand a whole lot more about the important adult financial decisions (insurance, taxes, buying a home, etc.) that I would be making very soon. This course did not disappoint. It was everything I expected it to be. I have never taken an online class from BYU or taken a class during the Spring term. I have a full-time job and needed the credits, so I decided to take the online section of this course because it was most convenient with my work schedule. Because it is during the spring term, the course moves very quickly. You have assignments due Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays. The TA's are amazing with answering any questions you may have about assignments, tests, and the final presentation. Speaking of which, I love the design of this class. We have a final presentation about a case study family buying a home. Throughout the term, we had various apply assignments that were due periodically. They even correlated well with the reading assignments and the quiz. Basically, whatever we were learning in the text and with the math questions, we were actually applying it to a real-life situation. Even though the apply assignments took quite some time every week, the time I spent on those assignments helped me at the end of the term. I had all the calculations and facts I needed to quickly build my final presentation. It felt like I spent all term collecting what I needed to write a long paper, and the final presentation was just the conclusion of it all. Future students, don't get overwhelmed with the amount of work they give you in such a short amount of time. I truly feel like I have learned the necessary strategies I need to govern my financial decisions and win with money. The text is geared towards BYU students and LDS standards such as tithing, so I will definitely refer back to the text throughout my lifetime. I don't think I will ever regret the time I spent on this course because it has and will be so applicable to the rest of my life. Enjoy!!

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I wish I had known how much I would need to rely on my workbook. A good portion of the material in the class comes from the workbook. The first exam was pretty straight forward and didn't require too much additional practice. However, as the class continued and material became more difficult the workbook became very useful. It helped not only in studying for tests, but specific example problems from the book were almost exactly like some of the homework problems. The workbook became one of my most relied on study materials.

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I wish that I had involved my wife a lot more in the process of learning in this class. I feel like I learned so many things that can benefit our marriage and family. I can't explain them well enough though. I wish that I would have had her do the assignments with me, so that we both have the knowledge from this class.

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Write about what you wish you had known before starting the course. Your thoughts maybe shared with future online classes to help them anticipate what being in an online class will be like.

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I wish that before starting this particular online course that I had some testimonials from previous students! I was nervous as I looked at the work load, thinking I couldn't possibly get through this class. However, I quickly realized that this class is totally manageable and enjoyable. The content and assignments are set up in a way to maximize your learning process, and they actually flow together.
I also wish I knew what kind of schedule I should expect to live by for success in this class. For me, I found that if I dedicated an hour and a half, 4 days a week, that it gave me plenty of time to read through the chapters, work through and understand the math problems, and get the assignments done.

P.S.
I found this video on the internet about 2 weeks into the semester, and it was pretty accurate depiction of how I felt! But I'm happy to report that in the end, I felt the opposite of this!

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Because I did not know much about finances before this class, a lot of the readings were more difficult and I didn't expect that, which caused some stress and more time to try to truly understand the material. Potentially a list of vocabulary or a video that explains basic terms such as "capital", "interest", "principal", or "dividends" would had been helpful to had been invited to study in April, or look up before the class began (I did not know much about finance before the class). I may be one of the few to have experienced stress with the readings but I imagine a few of those may come every semester. That would be helpful to those people so they don't, like I may had at times, end up feeling like the nice man below. Thanks so much for everything!

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I wish I had taken more advantage of the online TA's. They helped a lot when I watched the online reviews before the tests and I know I could have learned a lot more asking questions each section. They are there to help and know the subject. Also, working on the slide show presentation during the semester makes it a lot easier at the end of the semester when I have a bigger load for the rest of my classes. Get ahead and don't procrastinate.

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I wish I had taken more advantage of the online TA's. They helped a lot when I watched the online reviews before the tests and I know I could have learned a lot more asking questions each section. They are there to help and know the subject. Also, working on the slide show presentation during the semester makes it a lot easier at the end of the semester when I have a bigger load for the rest of my classes. Get ahead and don't procrastinate.

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I wish I had known to expect to spend as much time each week working on an online class as I would spend in a traditional face-to-face class.  The flexibility of when you learn is great, but the work-load really is the same.  I learned this the hard way a couple times when I didn't log onto canvas for a few consecutive days and then had to play the catch-up game. I wished looking back, too, that I would have my husband read the chapters with me.  The concepts I learned from this class really have been life-changing, and my husband better be excited for family home evening this coming Monday.  ;)