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Michael Padhi BMGT340 Anonymous 02/28/2024	He was an excellent professor and really explained the concepts well. Highly recommend.
Michael Padhi BMGT340 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/22/2023	Great professor. Structure of the class forces you to learn and there are plenty of extra credit opportunities.
Terrence O’Brien BMGT340 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 12/22/2023	Business Finance is a tough class, but Professor O'Brien is really great. He is super patient and kind. The three projects are not too hard and can boost your grade. Just be ready for tough exams—take your time and practice a lot(go over practice exams/review session problems that are posted on BB) . It's a challenging class, but you'll learn and do well if you put in the effort.
Michael Padhi BMGT340 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/19/2023	Padhi is a great professor and I would recommend him for anyone taking BMGT340. He is a nice person but also very knowledgable on finance topics and explained each chapter well. The exam problems tend to be much harder than the class or homework practice problems, but he posts a lot of practice exams and does a recorded review session so it is very easy to cram study for his midterms and do well. The final exam is optional if you are happy with your grade in the class, and the 5% extra credit added at the end helps a lot.
Terrence O’Brien BMGT340 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/18/2023	He is an amazing professor. Sometimes he goes into detail about unnecessary things, but overall he’s great. He explains things well and from multiple perspectives. He is interactive and makes students comfortable enough to ask questions. Also, he responds to emails quickly and the explanations are detailed. The class is a bit difficult and there is a lot of material, but just going to class and asking questions goes a long way. The practice exams provided make the actual exams much easier so make sure to utilize them. Overall, not that bad if you put in the effort.
Michael Padhi BMGT340 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 12/17/2023	Great professor! He is great at explaining complex topics and is incredibly patient with students. He is extremely organized and provides you with all the resources you need. Plus, there's extra credit. Go to lectures, pay attention, and watch videos, and you should be perfectly fine. He's very passionate about what he teaches and is highly knowledgeable. One of the best professors at Smith.
Michael Padhi BMGT340 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 12/13/2023	Padhi is an excellent professor. All the resources are available on his ELMS page which is also very organized and cohesive. There are plenty of assignments to help learn the material, and his lectures are quite easy to follow along with. Attendance isn't mandatory, but I found them helpful in reinforcing the material we were asked to do in video quizzes required to be completed before class. He is very receptive to questions and is a very chill professor. Tests are straightforward and reflect the material from class and prior exams which Padhi provides you with. My only qualm about this class would be that the TAs this semester were not very organized, but overall Padhi is the best professor to take BMGT340 with!
Michael Padhi BMGT340 Expecting an A- Anonymous 11/30/2023	Padhi is a great teacher, who grades very quickly and offers a handful of extra credit that is straight forward (3-4%). Homework can take time but are reasonable. The class lectures are required to participate in grades via Learning Catalytics but we literally just go over questions and the vast majority of the learning is in the homework, so the lecture is pretty useless but required for the points. We have a project worth 10% of the final grade, and it is supposed to be explained by the TAs. The TAs however were very incompetent when it came to the project reviews. They would hold the reviews at night but assure people that they would be posted. Not only did they forget to record the review a few times, and then when they actually did record it they forgot to record the audio... Another time they literally did errors in the recording. Overall Padhi is great but the TA's this semester were in charge of the projects and they missed up like 80% of the reviews which was annoying.
Michael Padhi BMGT340 Expecting an A Anonymous 11/10/2023	Padhi is great. He is really good at making everything easy to understand and does a great job connecting everything we learn in class to the real world. All assignments are pretty easy to do well on. Make sure to write everything you possibly can on the cheat sheet for the tests and you should be fine. He is also such a great guy and deeply cares about his students. Only thing is he tends to talk a lot about unrelated things and goes on some tangents but I highly recommend him for BMGT340.
Shrihari Santosh BMGT340 oneoftheterps 09/25/2023	So far the best professor I have had at UMD, Smith. I dont understand why does he have such a bad reviews. He is really knowledgable and educated, and he pushes you to study and really understand the material.
Shrihari Santosh BMGT340 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 06/29/2023	Kind and knowledgeable professor, but gets angry randomly. Has a really cool way of explaining complex things but it might not be for everyone.
Shrihari Santosh BMGT340 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/25/2023	Shri reminded me of my dad because all he did was yell at us and made us feel stupid. He told us we could do math in our head instead of using a FINANCIAL calculator which is so much easier and what should be used for a FINANCE CLASS. He barely taught and instead rambled for most of the time about things no one cares about. I only did good in the class because I taught myself everything and reviewed Padhi's notes.
Shrihari Santosh BMGT340 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/19/2023	his class made me cry so many times
Michael Padhi BMGT340 Expecting an A+ neshoger 05/16/2023	One of the two good professors I've had out of 6 professors for this semester. Padhi teaches the course and explains very well. His teaching materials on Canvas, especially on the video lectures he made, helped me understand finance a lot more than Pearson's textbook would ever. Just using the practice exam and you'd do well on the exams. Padhi is a lot better than MacDonald and Santosh. I'm glad that I had Padhi for this semester!
Shrihari Santosh BMGT340 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/10/2023	I don't think he's the worst finance professor in the business school but you definitely won't enjoy this class very much. You can tell he's very knowledgeable about the coursework but he either tries to dumb the coursework down to an elementary level or expects us to know the content like a hedge fund manager. The class itself is all learning catalytics and him going off on random tangents and screaming at you. Attendance is required but it would be worth your time to study off Padhi's notes instead of going to class. If you have to take 340 with him, it's not the end of the world, but I would at least try to take the class with friends so you have someone to sit with when he yells at you. Probably a great guy to talk about finance with if you already know finance, but not the best at teaching it.
Shrihari Santosh BMGT340 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/08/2023	Take the class with Santosh, he is a great professor that is extremely qualified and knowledgeable. He is very passionate about finance and has a great way of explaining things. If you are decent with numbers, the class overall is pretty manageable and won't take too much of your time.
Shrihari Santosh BMGT340 Expecting a B Anonymous 05/07/2023	Terrible professor, take it with Professor Padhi. I'm sure Shri is very knowledgeable in the world of Finance, but he doesn't teach this class well at all. He focuses heavily on "concepts" and algebra without teaching us how to actually do anything, especially on the calculator. If you don't learn how to use the financial calculator, you won't pass the exams. The exams are 90 minutes and you need the efficiency of the calculator to actually answer everything. Professor Padhi does everything for everyone in ALL sections of this class by providing the guided videos and notes that we use to actually learn the material. Everything in this class rides on your exam performance so do all of the practice problems on MyLab and use Padhi's materials. You're on your own.
William MacDonald BMGT340 Expecting an A Anonymous 04/25/2023	Professor Macdonald is by far my favorite professor I've had at Maryland so far. He teaches extremely comprehensively, and relates the material to real world examples in an understandable way. The material is not the most fascinating, but I never dread this class. Definitely recommend
Shrihari Santosh BMGT340 Expecting an A Anonymous 04/17/2023	Worst professor I've ever had. All he does is scream conceptual stuff at student instead of teaching the notes. He has no idea how to do any calculator functions so he just gives us equations when it's 100x faster and more efficient to use a calculator. He tells us to solve the learning catalytic problem then 5 seconds later starts yelling at us about the answer. I can't even hear myself think. I've been teaching myself from Padhi's notes for the exam and doing very well. So if you can't get Padhi, at least you can use his notes. Do not take it with Santosh. Worst experience. Really ruined finance for me.
Xiao Zhang BMGT340 Anonymous 01/18/2023	Very sweet guy, I appreciated all the effort he seemed to put into the class. The unfortunate part is he has a hard time communicating with the language barrier. You can not skip the lectures and you need to follow along in class, or you WILL get a bad grade. But he's a great professor for never teaching before and I don't think people gave him enough credit. He cared about every students success in his class.
Michael Padhi BMGT340 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 12/23/2022	Incredible professor. He was extremely understanding when it came to having to miss class for religious observances or health issues, and he truly cares about each and every one of his students. He makes an effort to answer emails quickly and is happy to help however he can. He also gives many opportunities for extra credit and his TA's are incredibly helpful as well. Would 100% recommend him to anyone taking BMGT340.
Michael Padhi BMGT340 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 12/23/2022	I absolutely loved Dr. Pahdi. For each chapter I would watch the video, take notes and just pay attention in class. Everything done during class and most of the homework assignments are directly related to the material. Overall I did minimal work for this class, just did all the practice exams and did very well on all the exams. Dr. Padhi cares about you as a student and your success in this class. As a senior graduating this spring, Dr. Padhi was one of my favorite professors I've ever had at UMD.
Michael Padhi BMGT340 Expecting a C Anonymous 09/12/2022	I took Padhi second half of summer. He tries his best to make us understand the basic concepts within the short period we had together. His TAs were amazing and they both tried their best to answer every question as best as they could.
Karen Hallows BMGT340 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 06/03/2022	I was really struggling at first in this class because she was so fast with concepts but then I realized most of the learning was going to be done on my own account. Once I did this, everything turned out to be better. I suggest doing homework and quizzes a couple of days before it is due and do the study plan as you go through the semester. You don't have to do every single one. If you do it AS YOU GO, you get extra credit at the end. You should do all extra credit opportunities because they are easy. For exams, practice at least 2 exams and practice what you get wrong and you'll be ready, the exams are very similar to the practice exams. Overall, I suggest going to class to get the Learning Catalytics credits and to work on your homework in advance. P.S it is reversed course so you watch a lecture before class and have to do a quiz with it so take good notes and pay attention.
Karen Hallows BMGT340 Expecting a C+ Anonymous 05/07/2022	She moves through concepts way too fast and doesn't give you a chance to actually understand them during lectures. She does provide a bunch of different materials to help with class but it can sometimes be overwhelming. She gets frustrated when people don't understand topics in class and when she is asked a question she get's mad that the student is confused. I would recommend taking Padhi's section instead.
Michael Padhi BMGT340 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 05/04/2022	The course is straightforward, if you do your work and study it's easy to get a high grade. Padhi is a nice guy and genuinely cares about his students.
Michael Padhi BMGT340 Anonymous 01/21/2022	He spends the entire class oversharing about his personal life. Speeds through the practice problems and is overall not helpful. His jokes are not funny. Students chuckle because they're just that bad. He pretends to be approachable but truly does not care. Exams are very difficult for some. You pretty much have to rely on the TA's for help. Super unorganized and the recent grading structure makes it so that exams are the biggest indicator for passing/failing. Nothing else you do for points matters.
Karen Hallows BMGT340 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/31/2021	It was fine. If you can't do great in this class... idk. it is by no means hard and she curves fairly generously, gives you a cheat sheet etc.. She's super boring and sometimes mixes stuff up in class, I believe Padhi's class had significantly higher average grades. Just pay attention or look the stuff up yourself.
Karen Hallows BMGT340 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 12/15/2021	Do not understand why she gets such bad reviews. She is a great lecturer and know the content inside out, just show up to class
Karen Hallows BMGT340 Anonymous 12/06/2021	Not a good professor. She is not effective at teaching the content, and then when you ask a question she will get frustrated and angry. Professor Padhi also teacher this class and they both work together, which means all students take the same quizzes and tests. The difference in grades between the two professors is astounding. Definitely avoid Hallows if possible.
Karen Hallows BMGT340 Anonymous 11/20/2021	Professor Hallows is pretty good at teaching Finance, but she really isn't open to questions. The class requires a lot of studying both for grades and just to practice the concepts because without practice you can't pass. She and professor Padhi worked together to create exams, which are pretty much like the sample exams they provide, but still difficult. They also cram chapters a few days before the exam, so you really need to work ahead on your own so you have time to study. Overall, Hallows herself isn't a bad professor. The class is just pretty hard and stressful. Definitely don't take this with any other difficult classes.
Karen Hallows BMGT340 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/19/2021	really lives up to her name. be prepared to teach yourself and attend office hours. at least there's some extra credit.
Karen Hallows BMGT340 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 04/27/2021	She is good at teaching, she is rude though. The workload is heavy but that's not her fault. Wish she had a more kind attitude.
Michael Padhi BMGT340 Expecting an A Anonymous 04/19/2021	Padhi is a great professor. This is a tough class but he makes it manageable. Clearly cares about his students and does his best to give us the resources to do well in the class. Exams are hard but if you study using past exams you will probably be fine. We do a ton of practice problems in class which makes it easier to learn. He is receptive to questions in class and doesn't talk down to students like other professor's do sometimes. Definitely recommend taking him for 340!
Michael Padhi BMGT340 Expecting an A spotluri 03/23/2021	Padhi is one of the best business professors i've encountered. He knows the material inside-out. The flipped classroom is not my favorite model but this course makes it work extremely well - you are expected to watch a short video lecture and complete basic review before attending the live lecture, where Padhi works out several examples and goes over each concept and formula. Very receptive to questions (I've never been to office hours but asked questions in class) and doesn't assume that his first method of explanation is going to work for everyone. Zoom U was great with Padhi because he shows his dogs and kids sometimes. The course provides a good amount of weekly work but each assignment is valuable and does not feel like busywork. There is adequate extra practice if you want to prepare for an exam or if you don't understand a particular concept. Exam questions can be tricky but similar practice is always provided beforehand. Real-world examples keep the course interesting and applicable. All around a fantastic course and professor. I literally made a planetterp account to write this review because this was great.
Michael Padhi BMGT340 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 02/11/2021	y'all take padhi for summer finance classes! I took BMGT340 with Padhi for Summer 2020 and it was honestly the best decision I've made for classes so far (that and taking COMM107 over the summer). Padhi was engaging and he made tough topics make sense. The volume of work was pretty intense, especially with a condensed class, but we got to meet his the service dog he's training (Dole) and he genuinely cared about his students. In my class, exams were open-note but he encouraged us to make one formula sheet and that helped so much. Exams were tough and every exam had an oral portion where you meet with the TA or Prof Padhi for fifteen minutes and solve a question. Padhi told us exactly what the oral question would be and the things we had to study, so as stressful as being on a Zoom call with just the prof is, he did his best to prepare us. Also, grading for oral portion is super lenient as long as you just explain how you got there well, even the wrong answer will get you pretty decent partial credit. I was terrified of taking BMGT340 but I would highly encourage anyone who can to take it over the summer with Padhi, you'll have to grind, but it's really better than taking it during the semester.
Michael Padhi BMGT340 Expecting an A- Anonymous 02/09/2021	Not sure why Padhi has no reviews yet but I guess I will write one for him. If you're choosing between him and Hallows, I'd say choose the lesser of 2 evils and pick Padhi. I'm sure he would never show the lack of respect and empathy Hallows showed after a student's family member was affected by covid-19. Now for the actual course, it wasn't bad. Padhi himself is a boring lecturer and you do most of the learning from the textbook anyways. Classes are only for doing example exercises and doing clicker questions for participation credit. The exams are complete trash and I say this as someone who managed to get an overall A-. I can only imagine how those who did worse felt. The 1st exam was good. But the 2nd, 3rd, and final were terribly written. One question didn't even have a correct answer and he didn't realize this until midway thru the exam, forcing many students to waste time figuring out what was wrong. There are also live cases hosted by visiting banks/firms, but I can say most people found them completely useless. And the worst part is they even asked questions about the cases on the exams. Overall UMD definitely needs to change up this course, make it more like BMGT230 where you actually do learning in class. Or remove Padhi and Hallows and actually hire competent professors to teach business finance. Either option would improve this class tremendously.
Karen Hallows BMGT340 Expecting a B Anonymous 12/15/2020	Hallows wasn't as bad as a lot of people say she is, but she isn't great. She's a pretty average teacher for a somewhat boring class. She does get frustrated during class if students aren't understanding the concepts.
Karen Hallows BMGT340 Expecting a B Anonymous 05/07/2020	No empathy or compassion for students.
Karen Hallows BMGT340 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/04/2020	Unaccommodating, rude, sociopathic piece of sh*t. Didn't even consider decreasing workload; felt like a lot of class concepts weren't that bad but the busywork/HW was insane on top of projects. A student's father died and her sad excuse of a response is all over MD news. Hope she loses all of her investment portfolio in this pandemic!
Karen Hallows BMGT340 Expecting a B- Anonymous 04/22/2020	Her first name describes her demeanor. She gets frustrated when you do not know the content as well as her, and flies through concepts. She knows the content well, and there are a lot of resources to do well, however, I would feel stressed and sad in her class. For teaching, I would say a rating of 2-3 is more appropriate but I have never dreaded going to a class as much as 340. Her attitude is just that bad and draining.
Karen Hallows BMGT340 Expecting a B bts5 06/03/2014	Prof. Hallows makes this class interesting. Like many people already said, she's nice and in my opinion good for those who don't like math as she takes almost elementary approach and solves problems on the board step-by-step. This class required a lot of work however (video lectures, video quizzes, hw, chapter quizzes, project). Clickers are used in this class. Attendance wasn't taken. Tests are crazy difficult, it helps to go over the ones from past semesters which will be posted on ELMS for you. Only 3 out of 4 tests count so final is technically optional. There's also some extra credit.
Karen Hallows BMGT340 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/29/2014	Professor Hallows is a really nice professor, who treats everybody with respect. She is a great lecturer, and wants to make sure everybody understands Finance. In class, she will work many problems for each chapter, which are similar to what is on the exams. Even though the exams are done among all the 340 teachers, I still found them to be quite accessible. The projects are not difficult, but require some time (there are 3 of them). It is also important that you do all the homework, quizzes, video quizzes, and the extra credit assignments, which can really help your grade. If you have the opportunity to take her, I highly recommend that you do!
Karen Hallows BMGT340 Expecting a B- Anonymous 05/23/2014	This class is extremely difficult. I don't blame Dr. Hallows for the unfairness of this class because all of the finance professors work together to structure the class so it's not her fault how difficult it is. She does a decent enough job of presenting material and really does care about her students. The problem of this class lies on how hard the exams are. You can literally go over every practice exam, Myfinance lab quiz/HW and you will still see questions on the exams that literally no one in the class knows how to answer. Often the TA's will even struggle to solve them. I assume they do this to bring the averages of the exams down and its really unfair. The best way to study is to look through all of the practice exams and do problems over and over and over since those questions will best prepare you for the exams. The one plus of the class is how awesome the TA's are. Some of them are not too great at teaching material but some of them are really great and can teach you the concepts really well. They will even help you with the quizzes and project. Before exams, go to the TA's with any questions you have. They will help you out alot and let you know what to expect on the exams.
Karen Hallows BMGT340 Anonymous 04/30/2014	I was deciding between a three and a four. She is a nice lady who knows a lot about finance. I think her weak spot is in understanding questions from students and then explaining concepts. She's not the best teacher but she's also far from the worst
David Kass BMGT340 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 11/19/2013	Kass is a very likable guy, and good professor. His class is very laid back, and can run a little dry at times. He always manages to keep the class relevant though with current event discussion before the lecture. He also genuinely cares about his students, and makes an effort to ensure everyone is on the same page before moving on. On a side note, I would just like to talk about his obsession with Warren Buffett. At least once, if not more, in each lecture Kass will go silent and he will start grinning ear to ear. He will then proceed to gush over the magic of Warren Buffett or Berkshire Hathaway for five good minutes. He also often mentions his Buffett-centric blog or his Buffett related tweets almost daily. This really doesn't impact my opinion of him in any way, but it's impossible to write a review of him without mentioning it. Overall I enjoyed his class very much, and learned very much, albeit with not very difficult material.
Susan White BMGT340 Expecting a B Anonymous 01/05/2013	Amazing professor!! The material definitely isn't easy and you need to work your butt off and study a lot for exams, but White makes this class so much easier to understand! I took this class in Fall 2012 and they curved 1 exam only by a few percent. I heard from a friend who took it in Spring 2012 that they'd curve the exams 10-20%. So curving really depends on whether they make the tests reasonable or not. There's one 4-part project, it's individual and much easier than it looks. Each part takes about 1 hour to do. Online homework due about every week or every other week. White does a lot of examples in class and is really good at explaining things. She's also so, so sweet and helpful! She'll really do anything she can to help her students understand the material. I took the blended learning section which basically meant class was canceled about once a month (sometimes twice) and instead of class we'd have to watch online voice-over powerpoints and answer about 3-4 quiz questions - really easy. It was nice to have class canceled every now and then and to just watch the online lecture on your own time. Overall, White is an amazing and very helpful professor that makes 340 as easy as it could possibly be.
Susan White BMGT340 Expecting an A Anonymous 09/23/2012	Very nice professor, extremely helpful. Stay on the ball from day 1 and this class will be so much easier for you; you'll find that toward the end of the course people are angry when they look at past exams they failed when they were actually so easy compared to the later material. Start the group project early or it will be the bane of your existence. Do all of the practice problems that are available to you, and there is no reason why you should not ace the class.
Karen Hallows BMGT340 Expecting an A vivizoka 08/17/2012	Professor Hallows is a great teacher and will do whatever she can to make sure her students understand Finance. She is very patient and work the problems over and over. She always returned by emails usually in a couple of hours, and I wrote her quite frequently, let me tell you. The exams are fair, I guess it depends on the subject. I got an A on the first, C on the second, and was able to get a B+ on the third and avoid the final. Make sure to do all homework and extra credit assignments; they will certainly help you out. The projects require some work, but are not so difficult. Watch the videos and you should be fine.
Elinda Kiss BMGT340 Expecting a c bronson 07/11/2012	BMGT340 is actually a decend class to get a B in. I recieved a C- due to slacking but if you go to every class, which can be painful, you will not have any trouble getting a B if not an A in her class. Many students were able to 100s on her exams. As for studying do not memorize the material, rather learn it and understand it. Her exams consist of actual equations as well as technical questions which can be very tricky. As for a person Prof. Kiss does truely have a soul. I was going to recieve a D+ in her class but after explaining how much this would set me back, she reasoned with me and gave me a C-. Go to class and you will reap the reward of a good grade.
Elinda Kiss BMGT340 Expecting an A Anonymous 06/29/2012	Let me start this off by saying I took this class in the summer, so maybe it was a bit different. But I absolutely loved Professor Kiss. She was always readily available with help via email. While she did take time to explain what was due when at the beginning of class, it always helped. Often times when not many people would come to class she wille explain exactly how to do her extra credit assignments. While going through her powerpoints, she always points out which questions will be on her exams. As other people stated she does talk about her previous job as a CFO, but that is only to help the students better understand. I'm not any type of business major, but I found this class very interesting and she made it easy. You will absolutely get an A if you go to all the classes.
Susan White BMGT340 Expecting an A- motariq1991 01/01/2012	As the person below me said, all the material is on ELMS. Dr. White is a very nice lady who can answer whatever questions you may have. However, she puts tricky questions on her exams. The class itself was very demanding. There are weekly homework assignments, 4 projects (all on the same company that you were assigned), 4 extra credits, 3 midterms and an optional final. The maximum number of extra credit points you can get is 46/1000 (4.6%)
Karen Hallows BMGT340 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/20/2011	Hallows is really nice and tries to do everything she can to help you understand finance. She will even fall a little behind because she does so many practice problems and tries to help you out for the exams. Overall, the course is run together among all of the 340 teachers, so the tests don't come from just her. I found them mildly tough. They curved a couple and presented you with a ton of extra credit opportunities. No real excuse to get under a B if you do them and homeworks.
Susan White BMGT340 Expecting a B Anonymous 12/17/2011	This class is difficult. There are three exams, an optional final, individual online projects, homework and extra credit. If you miss an exam, you have to take the optional final exam. Do not take the optional final exam! Each exam goes through so much material, formulas, and problems that the final exam would be excruciatingly dreadful. Do all the extra credit. The exams are super hard and the class average for exam 2 and 3 is around a 60. So the extra credit is critical to boosting up your exam grades. The first exam is the easiest and there was no curve. There were slight curves for exam 2 and 3. I prepared for exams by first going over the professor's video exam review on blackboard. She explains concepts and solutions to word problems, and she will give big hints on what to expect on the exam: certain type of questions, specific factors to take into consideration, etc. Then I reviewed all of the past exams on blackboard. Note, sometimes her concept questions and word problems have no reference to the past exams or the video review. In other words, in order to receive an A, you should probably go to class regularly and read the textbook, in addition to preparing with the video review and past exams.
Karen Hallows BMGT340 Expecting an A+ sukhenkoy1990 12/16/2011	Professor Hallows is a solid lecturer and really tries to help students grasp the concepts presented in corporate finance. She often goes out of her way to bring real-world examples into the lecture, which is good for students interested in finance. The difficulty of the exams is not really up to her, but she is open to answer any questions that you may have.
Karen Hallows BMGT340 Expecting a B Anonymous 07/24/2011	Hallows is a tough lady who doesn't sugar coat how hard finance is, which I appreciated. However, she is a nice person who treats all of her students with respect. She goes over questions anyone has about the subject clearly, and will continue to explain until you get the concept. I never felt lost in her class because of her teaching style. My advice for 340 is definitely do all of the extra credit. It's not that hard but it absolutely saved my grade this semester.
Elinda Kiss BMGT340 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/19/2011	Kiss is probably the nicest yet most ineffective teacher I've had at UMD. She seems to really care about helping her students, but she really wasn't a good teacher. She wastes the first 15 minutes of class going over what's due and when, and other things we already know. When she does teach, she jumps around from topic to topic and from the ppts in the course pack and her own "better" ppts, making her difficult to follow. I eventually just stopped going to her class and went to White's class and I know this is the reason I did better on the last 2 exams. All three teachers of 340 (White, Kiss, Hallows) all taught the same things and gave out the same exam so it really didn't matter which teacher you went to. This class had 5 projects, like 8 hw assignments, and 7 extra credits. Thank goodness for the extra credits. This class was a ton of work, but as long as you put in the effort, it is possible to get an A.
Elinda Kiss BMGT340 Expecting a b Anonymous 05/16/2011	Take this with White. Kiss goes on and on about being a CFO and how the other teachers changed her slides. She doesn't teach this course well at all. Don't take it with her you will get an A with White not Kiss.
Susan White BMGT340 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/14/2011	whatever you do, do not go to class. she posts legit everything you need online. make a baller cheat sheet and go through loads of practice tests and questions before the exams and you will get an A. anything else people say is a ruse, that is the extent of what you need to do for this class.
Elinda Kiss BMGT340 Expecting a C Anonymous 04/07/2011	Dr. Kiss has really good intentions. She is extraordinarily accessible and responds quickly (in person, class, office hours) to any questions you have. You can tell she really cares. However, I find her to be an inefficient teacher. She spends so much time showing us what is on ELMS and repeating random facts about her life that have no relevance to the topic at hand. She's a lovely person, but wastes so much class time that we never get through all of the topics! It's frustrating when you go to do homeworks and practice problems to realize you never did any sample problems in class! I would not take this class with her (although I heard from rumors she was better than White). If you have to take it, go to the TAs for help. It's a big work load, and definitely tough. The exams are super hard.
Susan White BMGT340 Expecting an A rkshipper 02/12/2011	BMGT 340 is one of the hardest classes u will take in UMD-(that is especially if ur not a finance major) Sue White is a great teacher although my peers did not necessarily agree-but I think its the course that is difficult to grasp not the teacher. I will admit though that her class is a bit boring-her voice puts you to sleep no matter what time of the day the class is held. She is really nice though and does everything possible to help students to do well. Very quick on emails. I sent her my excel sheet like 3 times before submitting and she literally told me the correct answer-and I did that with most of my assignments. She's really great and provides alot of imformation, voiceover powerpoints and anything to help students outside of class. She gives u 3 exams-21 questions all MCQ and a comprehensive final(the final is optional and is also MCQ) and for the final she told us what chapters and what kind of problems were going to be on the exam. I got a B+ 20 points away from an A---but I was glad I even got a B. I failed the 2nd exam but took the final and that boosted my grade since the lowest exam grade gets dropped. The breakdown of her class is: 8 assignments(not very difficult but are time consuming)25% 3 exams/1 comprehensive final(optional)75%
Susan White BMGT340 Expecting an A Anonymous 01/21/2011	White is not a good teacher, but she is very nice. Make sure to do all the EC, it will end up being worth your while! You don't need to go to class, just read the book and do as many practice problems as you can. Tests aren't too difficult, but they do have a decent amount of material so don't try cramming! The material isn't intellectually challenging, but it does take time to understand.
Susan White BMGT340 Anonymous 01/04/2011	WORST TEACHER EVER!!! Never take her! She is terrible!!
Susan White BMGT340 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/22/2010	Challenging Class for sure, but not impossible to get an A in. You do not have to go to lecture- if you read the book and understand you'll be fine DO ALL THE EXTRA CREDIT- it was the reason that I got an A in the class - do the practice exams over and over and you'll be fine: the chapter problems are much harder than anything she's going to put on this exam you dont need to, but it is nice to have the slide packet and review packet- she posts nearly everything online
Susan White BMGT340 Expecting a B Anonymous 12/16/2010	buy the exam review packet go to class (it helps even though it seems worthless) dont buy the book do ALL the extra credit study hard for the exams be thankful when its over. this class sucks. white is very nice, but her course is boring and difficult. You should be able to get a B without much difficulty.
Susan White BMGT340 Anonymous 12/14/2010	Professor White has by far the most additional tools to help a student succeed than any other Professor I have had. On ELMS she has practice exams, videotaped review sessions, voiceover powerpoints for chapter practice problems, and all the lecture powerpoints. The in-class lectures are painful if you are lost, so if you fall behind you will be left behind. The exams are difficult, and don't seem to lend themselves too much to the review material. You really have to know your stuff, because the exams are NOT just old exams with different numbers. The cheat sheets are helpful only for equations. The semester long project is pretty easy, only because you don't actually have to do much. She sends out her version of the project so all you have to do is change her Starbucks information with your company's and it's done for you. That's worth about a fourth of your overall grade, so take it seriously. I also suggest doing all the extra credit, because it's pretty easy and is worth a maximum of 3.5% of your overall grade. Do all this, as you can't really depend on a curve because the second exam was only curved 2 percent and the third exam was only curved 4 percent.
Susan White BMGT340 Expecting a B Anonymous 08/31/2010	The professor was great. She genuinely wants to help the students and is very keen to help students do well on her exam. There is A LOT of material that she covers and attending class is almost a must along with attending the exam reviews, which can help you get 70% easy on the real exam if you paid good attention during her review. Do well on the first couple of exams since the 3rd one is a pain! Final is optional but was easier than the 3rd so that always helps as a backup if you mess up on any one exam. First exam is the easiest and getting an A is almost guaranteed if you attend the review and go over the slides. The semester project is a pain if your group members dont like to work and leave things to the last minute but the grading and description is very easy and manageable. It is finance so its not an easy class my any means, but if you put in the time and effort, getting an A is very easy considering all exams are MC.
Susan White BMGT340 Expecting an A Luminaire 06/09/2010	Finance would be a difficult course.... if the exams were all open ended. There are 4 exams, but you only need to take 3. Each exam has 20 multiple choice questions + 1 bonus, so getting a few questions wrong has a rather large impact on your grade. On the positive note, there are plenty of extra credit assignments that will help boost your grade, and she might curve the exams. I thought this course wasn't very difficult, as I got an A without going to class. She posts notes and practices exams online, which is really nice of her, but also renders class time useless. Just show up three times a semester to lecture, for the 3 midterms. Do go to discussion and work with your team on the semester project, but class is useless
Susan White BMGT340 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 12/30/2009	As the reviewer before me said, Finance is a difficult course. Dr.White gives a lot or resources and is always available to help out.Her exams are difficult so do not try to cram everything the night before. Just a word of caution on the semester long project. Start early and double check every part and you will do really well.
Elinda Kiss BMGT340 Anonymous 07/09/2009	Great professor. We had three exams, one group project, and 3-4 homework problems from each chapter. Exams are easy and straight forward. She worked in the finance field for a really long time, and always related the boring textbook material to real world stories, which really helped us to understand the stuff better. Very approachable outside of the classroom. There were always tons of materials posted on blackboard to help you learn finance. You do need the book, and read it before the exam, since one third of the exam was conceptual questions - but they are not hard at all! Overall, I think she's one of the best professors in the business school.
Susan White BMGT340 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 06/16/2009	Finance is a fairly difficult course, and there is a lot of material. Dr. White makes a lot of effort to help students. She gives extra credit and lets you drop one of the four exams. If you have an A going into the final, you don't have to take it. If you want to do well, go to class. Understand any and all problems that Dr. White goes through. An A is somewhat difficult, but not impossible. With good note sheets and a solid effort, you should be able to get at least a B.
Susan White BMGT340 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 05/01/2009	Class Breakdown: 4 Exams (25% each), You drop the lowest 15% Project (It's a *****) 10% Friday Sessions (Easy 100%) Here is how I COULD have gotten an A: 1) Never going to a single class 2) Doing the practice exams on my own 3) Reading the book on my own What I failed to realize was that going to class was a complete waste of time. By the time I figured this out I had already taken 2 exams. I didn't go to a single class in prep for the 3rd exam and did MUCH better. If you spend the same amount of time you spend in class everyday going over practice exams/review session problems that are posted on BB you will get an A. The project is a very long, tedious process. I recommend starting it very early to do well. We got a 100%, but we worked our asses off. Dr. White is VERY good about getting back to students via email and is also excellent if you go to her office hours. Dr. White's lectures suck because she doesn't go over many problems that you will see on the exam. The majority of the test problems look like problems off the practice exams. She gives 3 extra credit assignments throughout the semester which are worth 5 points on each exam grade. I recommend doing all of them since the exams are tough. She also has 21 questions per exam, but grades the test out of 20 points, in effect having 1 extra credit question on each exam. Discussions are pointless, you generally only spend about 20-30 minutes of the 50 in class. You usually only have to calculate 1 thing and upload it to blackboard. This being said, it's easy to get the full 10%, which can really help out your grade. Final Recommendation: Treat this class like an online class. She has lots of resources posted on BB which is more than enough for you to get an A in the class.
Susan White BMGT340 Expecting an A ecdysis7 03/08/2009	This class was boring and kind of useless, but if you have to take it its not the end of the world. She gives you 3 extra credit opportunities, and you can choose not to take the final exam if your grade is high enough. Definitely do the extra credits, because she is pretty strict about the project you have to do (which is also a waste of time). I would recommend going to discussion, the review sessions and nothing else, because she is really really dry in lecture.
Susan White BMGT340 Expecting a B Anonymous 01/26/2009	Susan White is very nice and is willing to help students who ask her for help. If you don't ask for help, then you're on your own. She appreciates it (and takes notice) when students e-mail her. She's very good about responding to e-mails and questions. Unless you are extremely good at focusing, you'll probably have a hard time staying alert during lecture. Piece of advice: stay on top of reading the chapters and doing practice problems on your own...This was definitely a "do-it-yourself" kind of class. Take advantage of ALL EXTRA CREDIT OPPORTUNITIES. She has 3 chances, and they can dramatically impact your final grade.
Susan White BMGT340 Expecting an A toiletpaper55 12/29/2008	This class was pretty easy but also pretty boring. Just read the book and do the practice problems before the exams and youll be fine. the lectures are pretty pointless and you will fall asleep easily. the group project sucked and was graded toughly. she is a nice professor and will respond to emails quickly (but they are short and often non comprehensive. she gives extra credit and everything and i mean everything is posted online
Susan White BMGT340 Expecting an A+ Terpedo38 12/18/2008	The lectures can drag on and be boring, but overall it is a good class. She brings in a lot of interesting guest speakers and does a good job of keeping students up-to-date with current events in the economy. The first two exams aren't too hard, but the third was very challenging. Luckily, even if you dont do well on the exams, she offers 3 extra credit assignments, which help you grade a lot. She posts old exams on Blackboard, which are helpful study tools. The final is optional, which is really nice. The group project takes a long time, but just do it early and add a few extra things to it and make it look nice and you will probably get extra credit on that too. Discussion is mandatory, but it's easy points for going. If you put forth effort and do all available assignments, you will probably be happy with your grade even if you dont fully grasp the information.
Susan White BMGT340 Expecting an A+ terpinator 11/26/2008	Her lectures were boring, but the content of the class was fairly interesting, especially for a finance major. A lot of the concepts will come in handy in upper level courses such as Equity Analysis. The class wasn't too difficult to get an A in especially if you did the recommended homework problems. The group project wasn't too bad either, especially if you don't leave it until the end.
Susan White BMGT340 Expecting an A+ natashkamd 10/22/2008	It's really not that bad. Just don't let yourself fall behind, do the extra credits, and the project. Do go to class to understand how to work the problems. She gives you a lot of resources to do well which are overwhelming because there's just too much, but if you choose whatever is the most important, you'll do just fine on the exams. Final is optional, exams are MC but do not underestimate the difficulty- prepare. Her voice puts me to sleep. Reading the text isn't helpful, most exams are just problems, so if you don't have the time, just work the practice problems and read the power pts.
Susan White BMGT340 Anonymous 10/21/2008	Extremely boring teacher, must put in a lot of work by yourself. Lectures are probably useless for most people.
Susan White BMGT340 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 12/22/2007	People expect this to be a challenging class but its really not. For me going to class was a waste and I usually fell asleep because she speaks in the most monotone voice. I thought that the only beneficial part about actually attending lecture was when she went over how to do problems at the end of the chapter. Reading the book is a huge waste of time. The only thing that really works is to do all of the practice problems that she posts on blackboard. The extra credits help a lot. The semester long project takes awhile to do but she grades them very leniently.
Susan White BMGT340 Expecting an A terpfan29 11/03/2007	Strengths She is clear at what she teaches making it not hard to understand provided you pay attention and attend class, and then do the textbook reading. She is extremely helpful and wants students to do well. I have emailed her several times asking for help with projects or other questions as well as used her office hours. She wants students to succeed and it shows. Very nice lady as well. She offers lots of chances for extra credit as well. Tests are somewhat challenging. Do the problems she posts and practice tests. Make good cheat sheets. I strongly suggest doing all 3 extra credit assignments. You'll regret it if you don't and are at a 78 and would have had a B with the ECs. Drawbacks She could be boring at times and I think part of this was her sweet motherly nature which was almost too good as she could sometimes put you to sleep lol. Some classes seemed to be too much content. Overall though for finance she taught it well.