Focus on the bigger goal. Don't sacrifice your health, grades or important internship opportunities just to finish quickly, advises Dan Black, Americas director of campus recruiting for Ernst & Young. The standard course program for certified public accountants takes five years, for example, but "I don't care how long it takes them," (within reason, anyway) he says of the approximately 9,200 entry-level new graduates he plans to hire this year. Instead, Black gives an edge to students with top grades and internships.