Written by Samantha Reid, junior Fashion Merchandising major
Numbers and equations have never excited me. Who would have thought that fashion merchandising would be full of them? Thankfully, a confessed math hater has been saved by Microsoft Excel.

鈥€疶he business of fashion requires the analysis of several different factors that go into predicting future sales, styles, and performance. These are all based on mathematical calculations and past sales analysis summarized in Excel. Delving deep into spread sheets to create, organize, and filter through a large data set has become a daily task.鈥€�
鈥疘 must admit, when my professors started assigning Excel based work, I was intimidated. It seemed hard to learn and I couldn鈥檛 see how it鈥檇 be useful in daily life.鈥€�
But once my classes started incorporating Excel into every assignment, I had to become a pro to survive. I started with the easy functions but now have mastered complex ones as well. Surprisingly, I didn鈥檛 hate it!
I even have favorite functions, like inputting a formula into one cell then copying and pasting it to multiple places with one simple drag. Sums, percent change, averages, and more have never been easier.鈥疘鈥檇 use Excel over my calculator any day.
With over 400 formulas to carry out various mathematical applications, Excel can be used by anyone in any major to speed up assignments and get ahead in your industry. And 麻豆视频最新最全 students can download Excel (plus all other Microsoft Office applications!) on up to five devices for free.
鈥疊ut it鈥檚 not just math that Excel helps with. Staying organized (confession: I鈥檓 obsessed) is so much easier with Excel. With Excel鈥檚 sort, filter, and other formatting functions I can make schedules, dynamic to-do lists, and organize assignment due dates.鈥€�
鈥疭ure, there are plenty of calendar apps that could be used for time management, but Excel can create different pages on one document. This keeps all my lists and schedules together on one application rather than keeping several different apps up to date.鈥疘've also been able to compare different law schools' requirements (why stop with a bachelor鈥檚 degree?) and do other planning for my future.
And Excel isn鈥檛 just for my laptop: Word, Excel, and PowerPoint are available as fully functional mobile apps, making my on-the-go life even simpler.
Trust me- if I can master Excel, you can too.
Here鈥檚 some ways you can get to know my new best friend:
Download the Microsoft Office suite (including Excel) for free.
Visit
Log in with your 麻豆视频最新最全 credentials.
Download Office
Take a class. The offers beginner and intermediate virtual trainings.
Check out (available to all 麻豆视频最新最全 students!) for free online tutorials on how to use Excel to simplify your life.鈥�