This is a challenging class, but it's also a class absolutely worth taking. Despite his unconventional grading style, Parham is a kind professor who loves teaching. He goes above and beyond for his students. During his lectures, he connects finance and economics concepts with historical anecdotes to make the subject matter more interesting and memorable. Through these anecdotes, he explains the "why" behind finance rather than just the "what" and the "how." This has been the most interesting class that I have taken at McIntire so far.
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Aside from this, Parham has a ton of wisdom to share from his international travels, military experience, and computer-science background. I would often go to office hours just to get his take on things.
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Some other useful tips for this class if you're aiming for a high grade:
1. Participate early, participate often - Go to office hours. Raise your hand in class to answer questions. Ask questions after class. Point out possible errors that Parham has made in assignments/lectures for bonus points.
2. Actually read the textbook. It'll teach you the "what" and the "how" of finance better than lectures.
3. Maximize your scores on earlier assignments, as the material is easier. Brush up on your statistics before the class begins, it will help.

I am not going to lie and say I did not struggle in this class, but it was definitely worth it. Parham is probably the most intelligent and interesting professor I have had at UVA and has taught me more than any other professor by a significant amount. His goal is to teach you as much as he possibly can in a way that is both understandable and challenging. If you work hard in this class, you will know far more than the average person taking Chen. If your goal is to learn and master financial skills/concepts there is no doubt that Parham is the right choice. He may seem intimidating at first, but he really isn't. He takes his job very seriously and cares a lot about students getting the most out of their time while also having interesting lectures that keep you engaged. He is eager to help students in whatever way he can, while also making sure you are truly challenging yourself. Take this class if you are serious about finance and its implications on life/history.

Despite what you may hear about this class being terrible and this professor being the hardest out of the two, I could not be more glad that I took this course with professor Parham. I learned more in this class about life, decision making, and critical thinking than I have in any other course at UVA. He's a brilliant professor and is eager to help his students with questions. Also from talking to my friends in Chen, Parham gave us a much more in-depth learning experience for Corporate Finance. While I would be lying if I said the class was easy, the challenge is well worth it.

Professor Parham will leave you more prepared for upper level courses and any finance internship/job than any other class/professor I've encountered. He's incredibly smart and insightful and holds a ton of respect for his students, which subsequently means he holds them to a high standard. That means class discussion is insightful and worthwhile; he doesn't speak to his students as inferiors (which some people don't like due to sensitivity maybe). If you pay attention, do the homeworks yourself, and participate in class this course is extremely fulfilling and more beneficial than any other I've taken. I learned a ton about corporate finance and even more about money and the world in general. Highly recommend.

People hate on this class because its hard (it definitely is), but I learned so much in this class and I'm way more prepared for upper level courses/my internship than I would be if I took it with Chen. Parham is incredibly reasonable and ridiculously smart. I have a ton of respect for him and this class. He has high expectations so he pushes you, but he's a great teacher. If you are willing to put the effort in, he does everything in his power to help you succeed. Hands down hardest class I've taken at UVA, but also the most worthwhile class I've taken at UVA. I've learned more in this class alone than I've learned in all of comm school. If I had the option to choose my professor again, I would still take it with Parham.

Man f*ck this class. Every time he makes us tell him how to improve the class, everybody keeps coming up with suggestions that are just the bare minimum. His style of teaching can be effective and/or engaging for some, but he engages in such relentless comparison. If you get the wrong answer for literally anything associated with time in the classroom, he will find a way to make you feel stupid. That's why nobody raises their hands to talk in his class. It's obvious he's tired of going through the same sh*t three times in a day. For him it's just "going through the motions". Oh and btw he will never let you out on time. He will always release you late. And he often starts slightly early if it appears reasonable (everybody is in the room). He mandates that you attend at least one office hours session during the semester but then is equally apathetic during office hours. His office is stuffed because his lectures are never sufficient despite a massive supplemental textbook coming with the class. He will definitely hold your attention better than most because he has a highly abrupt way of speaking (probably due to his fairly pleasant accent). Oh and for the bullsh*t first assignment be aware that unless you're part of a group with a statistics genius you're screwed. It's not a review. The thing demands you already know incredibly advanced topics. He tosses some stats resources at you and none of them are useful. Once again f*ck this class. Do whatever is best for your Spring semester GPA. I hated this stupid class.

Having read the course forum reviews before taking this course, I was nervous about having Parham because I saw some very negative comments on his teaching style and the course. However, I have to say that I had the complete opposite experience. While Professor Parham challenges the class, especially with the weekly homework assignments, he will also teach you extremely practical and important financial lessons. I learned invaluable skills for my finance internship and for other finance classes. In addition, Professor Parham makes himself extremely available to students and he truly cares about his students. Office hours often were packed with students sitting on his carpet. He had a question on the exam about recommendations for the second half of the course. Furthermore, he went out of his way to reach out and highlight students on accomplishments in the class. To anyone not sure whether to take this course, I would just say that although there may be a transition period in understanding how Parham teaches, you will ultimately be the better for it--especially if you want to go into finance.

Try to avoid taking this class if possible. Very few things I learned in this class are actually helping me in my investment banking internship this summer. Professor Parham teaches Corporate Finance in a very distinct way, almost to the point where it seems like what you are learning is pointless beyond doing well in the class. If you aren't a good test taker, this class will only drop your GPA. I would take Corporate Finance with Chen, or really any other professor. Theres also a good amount of time you have to put into assignments every week if you want to do well. Save yourself the hassle. That being said, you're not doomed with Parham. I would just avoid him if you can.

Professor Parham's class is definitely challenging and not an easy A. But, he cares about the success of the students and that they understand the material. Midway through the semester, he asked for recommendations to improve the course and actually implemented them by the time we came back from Spring Break. Everyone learned much more than the other sections of Corporate Finance, and he is engaging and entertaining in class. The class requires a lot of weekly work, but he has office hours. Additionally, he has a grading system that weights harder questions (those that most students get wrong) more, which was a little bit frustrating but he curves everything to a normal curve. So, even if the raw scores are low, the real scores are much better. I highly recommend taking Parham's class even though it is challenging!!

Professor Parham is one of the most challenging professors I have ever had, but this class has been the most rewarding class I've taken in college because of him. He really scared us all at the beginning of the semester, because the first few homeworks were really hard and we just didn't know what to expect. But as the semester went on, we realized that he cared a lot about making the course the best he could for us, making changes to the course in the middle of the semester based on our feedback. We had a homework assignment about once a week that you could work on with other students, one midterm, a group project, and a final. He also has office hours every week before the homeworks are due, and he gives you smarties for coming! His grading is really strange, but it all works out in the end, so don't panic (he has to constantly remind us of this too). I feel very prepared for my finance internship this summer, as Professor Parham taught me to think critically and creatively about financial issues in a way that I never had before. I highly recommend Professor Parham. Be prepared to work hard, but you won't regret taking this class.