Taking intermediate accounting, tax, and cost accounting all at once
Stacking demanding accounting classes like Intermediate and Cost in the same semester creates a brutal workload filled with dense, confusing textbooks. This overwhelming combination leaves students mentally exhausted and struggling to keep up with the sheer volume of difficult material.
What the numbers show
Counted from the threads quoted below. How we count
- The most recent one is from October 2026.
- This comes up 14.3× more often in r/Accounting than across the site as a whole.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1Taking easy online general education electives for balanceDid this help you?
- 2Swapping out the tax class if schedule flexibility allowsDid this help you?
- 3focusing heavily on foundational concepts like journal entriesDid this help you?
- 4working part-time as a bookkeeper to gain real-world applicationDid this help you?
- 5seeking tutoring or extra study sessionsDid this help you?
- 6accepting lower passing grades since GPA does not matter after graduationDid this help you?
- 7leaving for another schoolDid this help you?
- 8checking union contract requirementsDid this help you?
- 9take summer courses instead of overloading credits in a single semesterDid this help you?
- 10Focusing on one thing at a timeDid this help you?
- 11Figuring out what is in your control versus someone else's courtDid this help you?
- 12Putting issues in writing via email to document circumstancesDid this help you?
- 13Leaving work at work and enjoying life outside of workDid this help you?
- 14dropping down to part-time credits or fewer classes per semesterDid this help you?
- 15pushing back expected graduation datesDid this help you?
- 16utilizing tutoring, SI sessions, office hours, and independent online resourcesDid this help you?
- 17signing up for more classes initially and dropping one after getting a feel for the workloadDid this help you?
- 18Attending office hours and utilizing tutoring resourcesDid this help you?
- 19Meeting with an academic advisor to explore switching majorsDid this help you?
- 20Developing better study habitsDid this help you?
- 21memorising past papers and practicing themDid this help you?
- 22using YouTube for explanationsDid this help you?
- 23using games, sites, and flashcard toolsDid this help you?
- 24Dropping classesDid this help you?
- 25Outsourcing assignments to AIDid this help you?
- 26Taking photos of the boardDid this help you?
- 27Adjusting course load or backing off commitmentsDid this help you?
- 28Having all notes and worksheets prepped in advance so they only need to be printedDid this help you?
- 29Doing what is manageable rather than trying to replicate online lab ideasDid this help you?
- 30Arriving at school early while avoiding staying late or working on weekendsDid this help you?
- 31Planning a week at a time instead of a month at a timeDid this help you?
- 32Using existing resources and lessons developed by others instead of reinventing the wheelDid this help you?
- 33Allowing wiggle room and catch up daysDid this help you?
- 34Finding videos covering the contentDid this help you?
- 35Moving onto later chapters to see the bigger pictureDid this help you?
- 36Dedicating entire weekends to covering chaptersDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“I’m really struggling with the transition from high school to college. I have accommodations set up for college but I still feel like it isn’t enough.”source ↗
“I feel like I can’t write fast enough, my professors are going too fast, and I just can’t get everything done in the allotted time.”source ↗
“I have 7 preps and I feel like a bad teacher.”source ↗
“I feel like I’m spread so thin when it comes to labs and activities.”source ↗
“I get to school early but don’t stay late or work on weekends because I have 2 small children.”source ↗
“I just feel like a spread thin, half assed teacher😅”source ↗
“I took on an intense new set of classes and hit the perfect storm of huge classes, tech issues, and lack of support and man, I am tired and daunted.”source ↗
“I’m a bit frustrated this year because the way my program was done I have four classes and 25 teaching periods of class.”source ↗
“It’s upsetting that some of us get assigned more classes than others.”source ↗
“I have days with several periods of teaching in a row while other colleagues have maybe 1 or 2 teaching periods followed by something like hall duty or bathroom duty.”source ↗
“Since student teaching I’ve only had one prep, but next quarter one of my classes changes and I will have 2. Any advice?”source ↗
“I struggled with this at a previous school.”source ↗
“So even having said accommodations isn’t enough to keep up. Part of me blames being handed everything in grade school and now I don’t know how to orangish my time and take notes”source ↗
“I have 6 preps and my biggest piece of advice and something I've had to adjust to is being prepared but not too prepared.”source ↗
“I can spend 8 hours a day studying and finally start understanding something, but the next week we're already on a completely new lesson.”source ↗
“Then I'm trying to learn the new material while still catching up on the last one.”source ↗
“i’m trying to find a remote job for now since im double a full time student (24 credits), and i work 36 hours a week at a gym so im literally drowning.”source ↗
“I took Internediate 2 and cost in the same semester as well and it was brutal.”source ↗
“I have PTSD from all those classes”source ↗
“I’m thinking of applying to upcoming audit and tax winter internships but unsure since I’ll need to overload (around 23 credits) a semester in order to graduate on time.”source ↗
“I was warned that accounting was tough, but I underestimated it and, admittedly, didn't put as much time into the material as we were instructed to.”source ↗
“The majority of us feel very behind and unprepared.”source ↗
“I have nearly zero previous financial literacy, so this course is like learning a new language to me.”source ↗
“Every single page has several new concepts to memorize, and I'm so discouraged.”source ↗
“Personally I hated cost accounting because I couldn't wrap my head around the shitty text book I got.”source ↗
“23 credits? my school capped overloads at 18 and you needed a signiture from the dean to go over, and that man was never in his office. i spent like three weeks trying to catch him between classes”source ↗
“I got a 33% on my first Intermediate I exam even though I studied a decent amount and started a week out, and the class has honestly been pretty defeating so far.”source ↗
“this is kind of what i’m struggling with right now. I know failing one exam doesn’t mean I can’t eventually get through accounting, but i’m also trying to figure out if I actually want the career badly enough to keep pushing through material I’m not really enjoying.”source ↗
“I guess I'll have to speedrun chapters. I'm so overwhelmed.”source ↗
“Now that I’m taking Intermediate Accounting II and moving toward Advanced Accounting, I’ve honestly started to realize how difficult these classes are.”source ↗
“I’ve been struggling quite a bit, and sometimes it makes me feel dumb because I feel like I can realistically only manage two classes, or maybe three at most, when they’re accounting-heavy.”source ↗
“I’m constantly juggling my classes and sometimes feel like I have to sacrifice time in one class just to make sure I’m doing well in another.”source ↗
“I often have to work three times as hard and put in significantly more time than other students to understand the material and keep up.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 37How to stop doing everything at once as property manager
- 2How to handle massive debt while still in school
- 2Should I lower course rigor to keep admin happy?
- 28How to go back to school while working full time with a family
- 21Why does teaching involve so much paperwork and useless bureaucracy?
- 9Why is it impossible to keep up with everything on my plate?