I'd rather answer the freshman's original question: accounting. I took an accounting class as an adult, and I wish I had taken it when I was younger. I don't l

I'd rather answer the freshman's original question: accounting. I took an accounting class as an adult, and I wish I had taken it when I was younger. I don't look at my checkbook the same way, and while I haven't really done much with my businesses (record label, music publishing), I know how to keep my books. I worked at a startup in 2011, and my boss was very forthcoming about the financial health of the company. At one meeting, he showed the staff a lot of positive numbers about income and growth year-over-year. I was the person to ask about debt because I learned that assets equals liabilities plus equity. (He didn't skirt the question, which is why I still admire him today.) Even if this freshman ends up working for an international conglomerate, he or she will be able to look at the yearly business report and get a sense of what's going on.