Fairly easy and straightforward class. As other reviewers have said, this class is very theoretical and felt pretty useless to me in terms of real world takeaways. Lectures are interactive and Schenone tries to make sure everyone is on the same page. I found the lectures to be slow at times, as it felt like she was just repeating the same point over and over again, but that could be a good thing if you're feeling confused on a topic. Don't know much about the other professors that teach this so I can't say whether or not this is the one to take, but I will say that quizzes and exams are very straight forward. Problem sets are optional, but essentially necessary if you want to do well on her assessments. She models most of her questions from them, and usually includes 1 problem copied and pasted from the problem sets. So make sure to do those and you should be set. As others have said, probably the most frustrating thing about this class is the amount of typos and errors in the problem sets, quizzes, tests, and answer keys. There are so many and sometimes it can be confusing to understand what the problem is saying. That being said, just ask her and she'll tell you what it's supposed to say. Schenone is also very available to answer any questions and is super accommodating. Overall, an easy class.
This ended up being one of my easier classes of the semester. Schenone breaks things down and teaches as if you have no finance background which was generally helpful. The quizzes and tests were almost identical to the homework problems (which were optional) so doing those was an easy way to study. She prints out notes so you don't have to write anything down during class and is a nice person who is good at engaging with her students. I'd definitely recommend her over Chen or Parham or even Erwin based on what I've heard from friends. One challenging thing was that there were frequent typos on quizzes which were confusing but normally someone else would figure it out first and then she would explain to the class and it'd be fine.
I'm not sure what all the negative reviews are about... she's a total sweetheart and really flexible and always wanting to work with you. She keeps class entertaining and lively, and her quizzes are generally straight from the homework. Tests can be challenging and not directly related to class/homework problems, but since the class is curved to a 3.2 no matter what (up or down - this policy is consistent across sections), you're looking at a B+ if you can keep up with the class average.
Seriously the worst professor I've ever had. She does a poor job of teaching us anything relevant to her tests because she does 0 practice problems and everything is so theoretical/does not set us up well for the tests at all. Worse than that, she is a horrible listener in office hours- she won't even listen to your question long enough to understand you before cutting you off and going into a tangent of an unhelpful explanation. Very impatient and very rude person. Avoid her at all costs- this was my worst grade I've gotten at UVA.
Really disappointing class. Wish I had been able to take Smith. My grade in the class was in no way a reflection of my knowledge of the material. Tough grader, hard to understand because of her accent, unclear about things during lecture. She seemed really apathetic about our class during the semester as well. Had a bunch of guest speakers where she wouldn't even bother to show up.
Take Smith if you possibly can.
This class is just ironic. Basically she tells you a bunch of corporate finance theory since she is an academic not a practitioner. Every other corporate finance class you take the professors basically ask you to set aside what she told you and just do it the way it's done in practice. I found her to be a poor teacher, and hard grader. Somehow got an A even though the final was a killer 200 questions. Take with Smith if given the chance.
Schenone doesn't teach a damn thing about corporate finance, period. She teaches economic theories and investments, but NOT corporate finance. Not until I took advanced corporate finance did I realize I never learned a single thing about valuation or financing. Her lectures are boring and she pretends to be smart...TAKE IT WITH SMITH...!!
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