Skills building this summer

[SonofJen]

I'm a few years out of undergrad (liberal arts background) and headed to b-school this fall. I figured it might be wise to ramp up my skills and knowledge base a bit this summer so I can hit the ground running so-to-speak come September.

The three areas I want to target are:

1) Statistics
2) Accounting
3) Excel

Goals: Take the time now to learn and develop a solid foundation in each of these three areas so I can focus on content rather than tools next year during my "core" curriculum.

My initial (and very general) thoughts are to take/audit a summer class in stats at a local university this summer, read a good intro to accounting book, and find some good online tutorials for Excel.

? Does anyone have any good recommendations on intro books, tutorials, etc for the three topics mentioned above? I realize I can, and have, looked up options on google and amazon but I'm specifically interested in what has helped people in this forum get "up to speed" the most efficiently.

All thoughts/feedback/advice/recommendations are welcome. Thanks.

[SonofJen]

Really?!?! No one has any recommendations here.

I'm not sure I believe that.

I'll give it one more go around. Thanks...

[KDuff]

SonofJen, it's definitely a good idea to bone up on accounting, stats, and your excel skills before starting school in the fall. I know that some business schools require students with little background in finance to take a two week refresher/crash course before enrolling.

Your best bet is to contact an administrator at your business school. I can recommend Introduction to Probability and Statistics by Moore and McCabe for stat and Microsoft Excel: Data Analysis and Business Modeling. I'm not sure about accounting texts, but I'm sure someone at your school can give you some solid leads.

[Sniper]

SoJ,

Do you have your first semester course schedule yet?

[SonofJen]

[ QUOTE ]
SoJ,

Do you have your first semester course schedule yet?

[/ QUOTE ]

The first semester core courses for this year's class include:

Probability Modeling & Stats
Hypothesis Testing & Regression
Strategic Environment of Management
Marketing Management
Financial Accounting
Financial Reporting
Economic Analysis
Financial Management

Next year I can expect the same course content although the layout will be different (they're going with an integrated approach).

KDuff, thanks for the recs. The content and subject matter of the Excel book you mentioned looks exactly like what will come in handy most next year. It got pretty mixed reviews though on amazon due to all the errors apparently found on the CD-ROM. All those intro to prob and stats books seem to run around 120 bucks - jeez. My school does have a two week "math camp" prior to orientation but I think it's primarily a math/calculus refresher rather than a "lay the groundwork for acctng, stats, and become an excel guru" crash course.

Thanks for the responses guys. I appreciate it.