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Q. What do I have to study for the Midterm and what will it look like?
A. The midterm will cover Chapters 1 and 29, 2, 3 and 4 from Berk and DeMarzo and Chap 2 from Bodie, Merton and Cleeton (see Blackboard). It will have:
One media article on Corporate Governance and questions on the content of the article.
One question on Financial Statement Analysis
Short answer questions from my website (http://webpage.pace.edu/pviswanath/class/mba648/notes/terms.html)
One quantitative question from Chapter 3
One quantitative question from Chapter 4.
No APR/EAR questions.
Q. What will the final exam cover?
Ans. The final will be on the material from Chaps 6 (except 6.5), 7, 9, 10, 14, 15 and 16 of Berk and DeMarzo. However, only short-answer questions will be asked from Chapters 15 and 16. The exam will _not)_ cover Chapter 8. The format of the exam will be:
- Questions similar to end-of-chapter problems from the chapters 6, 7, 9 and 10.
- One unit with short-answer queries from a previously given list of questions (sections on Investment Criteria, Forecasting Cashflows in Capital Budgeting, Capital Markets, Stock Pricing, Bond Pricing and Capital Structure).
- One question based on a media article on Capital Structure or Capital Markets
Q. Are the exams open book or closed
book?
Ans. The midterm and the final exams are closed book; however, you can
bring in one 8.5x11 sheet, which can contain only formulas. I am very strict about this. You may write
on both sides of the paper. However, you may not staple several
sheets of paper together. Going through your notes probably
cannot make up for the lack of a proper understanding of the material. If you have anything proscribed on your sheet, I will take away the sheet altogether and I may penalize you, as well.
The short quizzes, if any, will be closed book; you may not bring in any sheets
either.
Q. Can I use a calculator during the exams?
Ans: Yes, you may use a calculator during the exams. However, for every problem, you will have to write out the formula that you are using both in symbolic form, as well as with the numbers filled in. If you have done this, you don't have to show your computations. You can simply copy your numerical answer from your calculator. However, if you have not provided the formula in the answer, you may receive no points at all!
The use of computers, PDAs, graphing calculators, phone calculators or other instruments that can communicate and/or are able to store alphanumeric information is strictly prohibited during exams (it is your responsibility to verify whether your calculator is allowed, otherwise you will end up in an exam without a calculator).
Q. Can I do extra work to improve my
grade?
Ans. Sorry. I believe that in order to be fair, I have to give every student
the same opportunity to do extra work. Obviously, this is not feasible.
However, on occasion I will allow you to resubmit an assignment for grade
improvement.
Q. What can I do to check my
understanding of the material and to prepare for the exams?
Ans.
- You can do the problems from the end of each chapter. The answers
to many problems can be found on MyFinanceLab.
- You can try to answer the questions at the end of media
articles.
- You can read current newspaper and magazine articles on relevant topics
and make up your own questions and articles.
- You can make an appointment to come and talk to me.
Q. What do I have to study from
each chapter?
Ans. In each chapter, you should know the definitions and the meanings
of key terms, and be able to put them into context. You should also look
at the end-of-chapter problems. Make sure you do the MyFinanceLab problems that are assigned, and try some of the others that are not assigned, for better practice and understanding.
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