2.4
Quality3.9
Difficulty20%
Would Retake93
Reviews20%
Would Retake
93
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
20
4
9
3
8
2
16
1
40
What Students Say
“However, he doesn't try to understand things when students try to explain things another way”
FIN647 - 1.0 rating“Spare yourself the headache, this man is horrible”
FIN340 - 1.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
86%
Textbook Required
50%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
A-
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.47 avg changeRatings by Course
396L320
5.0
(1)320396L
5.0
(1)MBA
5.0
(1)FINMBA
5.0
(1)FIN604
5.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
FIN651
5.0
FIN747
5.0
FIN307
5.0
FINMBA
5.0
BUS655
5.0
Reviews (93)
You have to really work for a good grade.
No Comments
very helpful, in love with his site
No Comments
The worst professor I ever had, never ever take him, can't teach
did fair on tests & got A-,knows his stuff but goes off on things not relevant
Cant talk & explain, dificult test, the worst teacher ever
Very knowledgeable, but can not teach. Hard to understand his speech.
Very knowledgeable and tries to make you learn. Goes off on a tangent often.
You would never understand what he is trying to explain
Good professor, puts in a lot of work and curves exams based on performance
No Comments
No Comments
super intelligent, dedicated to the subject
Makes you do unnecessary work. AVOID AT ALL COST!
If you want to know what finance is about take this professor Gives good grades
Clueless to the subject matter. Sets exams that he himself cannot do. My very worse professor. I came out of the class more confused than before I entered.
he's a good teacher,just come to class you'll understand more.Very intelligent and wants his students to succeed,thats a very important trait
This is the professor to take if you want to work independently, learn alot, and get a good grade. Might seem lost in the beginning, but his teaching method allows you to research and learn everything you need to know for basic finance.
He has a tendency to digress. Not to clear in what he wants from you and what he is trying to teach you.
He is extremely unclear and gets aggitated with himself because he cannot get his point across. He definitely should not be allowed to teach finance at a graduate level.
EXCELLENT Professor! Will explain everything until you understand. Really wants students to learn and do well!
He does care if everyone does well. He may not be your typical rigid professor, but thats a good thing! He is very energetic, very strict on some issues, but a good guy. I thought I would be terrible at finance but I enjoyed this class immensely.
I think he does care but he is unclear as to what he is trying to do and what point he is trying get across. Seems like he knows what he is doing but just does not convey his point well.
4 QUIZZES, 4 GROUP ASSIGNMENTS AND 2 EXAMS. DOES NOT MAKE ANY SENSE IN CLASS. I READ THE MATERIAL BEFORE CLASS AND HE STILL DIDN'T MAKE SENSE. HE DOESN'T SPEAK CLEARLY AND SPEAKS TOO QUICKLY. AVOID HIM IF YOU CAN!!
This class is terrible. He forgets what he is talking about, rushes through all the material, and basically leaves you completely confused. He did try to help us and had feedback at the end of class. But obviously he does NOT take his feedback to heart.
very nice and intelligent man, however cannot teach. I read the book before class and still got totally confused every single class! Not too hard of a grader, but totally frustrating class!
Very unclear about what he is teaching. Spent more time explaining his website with his biography than teaching finance. Learned ZERO about Finance but a lot about his personal history. Doesn't prepare well for the tests they are hard.
This guy is great. He tells you everything you need to know to GET what finance is. Take him, study hard, and you'll be fine.
Professor Viswanath speaks incomprehensible English, and is generally a very poor communicator. He can make a simple topic very convoluted. This is the worst class I have ever taken at Pace. All in all, the money I spent on this course was the worst investment I ever made. Don't take this class!
If only he could get his act together maybe I would understand what the class was about, but then again... maybe not. All subjects taught in this course seem to be unrelated to each other. Difficult exams with no guidance from class or the book, which is just as hard to understand as the professor.
Very nice & helpful person, generous grader, disorganized, difficult exam.
Useless guy!! Take him and get a F grade.Doesnt know his subject,doesnt know what he teaches, doesnt know what he wants.ALWAYS CONFUSED.
This man cannot teach. Learned absolutely nothing. He confuses himself during lectures. Totally unprepared for lectures, review examples from former students then states it's not correct. Warning!!!,, Do not take his classes. Pace should fire this man.
tough, tough, teacher. if you have another option take it, but if you have to take him try to get on his good side (e-mail him with questions ar something like that) try to impress him with knowledge, but he is insanely diificult
positives: bright, intelligent, great personality, loves his work, helpful, interesting class time. negatives: tough exams
I don't notice time when PV teaches his lectures. He's the most active and exciting guy at Pace. Tough exams. My advice: take him and try to understand the material, not just read the book. if you do that you'll be more than comfortable for your other FIN classes.
Excellent professor, interesting class, very generous with partial credits, tough exams . I leaned a lot, I am glad I took him If you are planning to learn something take him.
HORRIBLE PROFESSOR....Doesnt explain anything and expects you to pass. Cannot communicate well, hard to understand and doesnt have any heart. No Sympathy! AVOID AT ALL COSTS!!!DO NOT TAKE HIM!
You will learn a lot in PV’s class. He wants his student to learn and always ready to help when there is a need. one of the very few Professor I see who is very enthusiastic about his class. His class is not as bad as it seems. If you do his work, you will be fine. He is also an easy grader.
To be honest, in the beginning, I was disappointed for taking the course, but after I finished the course, I find myself learned a lot by doing all the assignments. He is an intelligent professor. But if you didn't prepare well before class, you will have hard time to understand his lectures. If you can bring in some questions, you will very happ
Tough Professor, tough exams. The topic is interesting but if you don't come to class prepared you won't understand much since his lectures are not very clear. Gives a lot of extra assignments for extra credit and is fair when it comes to grading. Emphasizes student's effort and the ability to discuss the material.
It's a really good thing that PV's very energetic, very passionate, and very knowlegeable about topics in finance. You learn A LOT in this class if you follow his lectures and put efforts in his assignments, even though the amount of the work you need to do seems a little overwhelming and frustrating.
Very demanding, confusing and not organized. Grades very hard and unfairly. But very passionate and knowledgable, just doesn't know how to clearly convey it to the students. Wouldn't recommend
Just horrible. He thinks he knows everything about everything, but is a very poor teacher. Arrogant, no practical knowledge, and keeps lecturing up to an hour after class is over
Should have listened to what everyone else said about him. He is the worst Finance professor I have ever had. Goes off tangent and can't finish the lectures in class. I would not recommend him. Find someone else that can teach well and where you can also learn.
He can't teach. Instead he wants to show students what he know about finance. Very arrogant! Would not recommend. Take another professor where he/she will not want to showoff what they know but actually teach the students.
It is sad. Finance is so important and this guy really drops the ball. If you ask a question he will look at you like you just asked him how to cure cancer. I hope Pace figures out that this teacher should be just doing research and out of the class room, he is doing damage to the Pace name. You do learn how to teach yourself finance but than again
Kind, funny and above all very good teacher. His class is really interesting, and I learned a lot thanks to him.
Very unorganized, class lecture has nothing to do with the exams, book, or project. Does not like to be challanged or questioned and is never "wrong". I will never take a class PV teaches again.
Any of these positive comments are clearly planted from his friends or maybe even his own mind. I have spoken with many students about his classes and haven't found one soul that said a positive thing.
Hes literally the best..he dosent kid around with the lectures..but you will actually learn something. The tests are okay not the hardest or the easiest, do the reading, cause everything is from the book.
WORST PROFESSOR EVER. He can't teach or communicate with his students, he's all over the place and his exams are impossible. Final exam: 3 questions, one worth 40pts, and the other 2 worth 30 pts each, nothing he taught during the semester. I deeply regret not listening to the reviews! Spare yourself the headache, this man is horrible.
He does know lots of things, and is full of passion, but has no structure at all in the class.
Hes a very good professor, the fact is, hes not easy, this is your major and your life, you should know your work, he will teach you very passionately and will work hard with you to achieve that A. Hes really friendly, and jokes around a lot, students are worried to joke back, but be cool with him and he will be cool with you. BUY the TEXT BOOK..
if you ever wanted a class where every word is crystal clear, this is the class for you. What am amazing explainer this prof is. He makes the hardest topics as clear as day. I never thought i would ever have a prof as easy to understand as this one. You must not miss this prof! He is the best! I recommend him so much!
Took him in the summer. His teaching method doesn't work for everyone. He is all over the place. Midterm and final exam aren't too bad if you go over his past exams which he has on his website. They are pretty similar to what he gives in class. He is a good person but not too clear on explaining the concepts.
WORST PROFESSOR EVER. REALLY!! He goes off on random topics THROWS A TEMPER TANTRUM RIGHT THERE IN CLASS can't teach or communicate with his students. If you're interested in the subject AVOID THIS MAN, you won't learn from him. I don't understand how anyone has rated him well, people who took this class all have bad things to say HE'S TERRIBLE.
Don't take from him, you'll regret!!
Very intelligent. However, he doesn't try to understand things when students try to explain things another way. He will tell you you're wrong and then say the same thing with the exception of a few words. Annoying. Do suggested problems before HW, read slides before class, and be on time.
Strange and disturbing. The worst instructor you can imagine. Knows nothing about topic. Avoid at all costs.
Completely incomprehensible, not a real prof. I was warned about him and I should have listened. No wonder paces reputation is so bad.
He doesn't just regurgitate what's in the book. He is very receptive to questions, and his lectures are different. His lectures relate concepts rather than just doing problems. People who don't like to work and want an easy A will criticize him But if you want to learn, and are ready to work, take him. nice guy too. also he gives credit for effort
I really enjoyed the overall experience with Prof. Viswanath. Personally, I feel like many "negative" comments were the result of students who didn't read the book and do the assignments on MFL (easy class if you do). Prof. Viswanath goes really in depth, which some students don't like, but honestly its easy to do well if you just do some work!
Good Professor, nice and patient to students. Passionate in class. Exams are not easy, but if you work hard, you will get an A.
Not a good professor, unclear doesn't present the material well. Does not help you at all when it comes to final grade.
I do not recommend this professor at all. The class went fine until the final exam which ruined my overall grade since it was equivalent to reading another language- he told us to review the end of chapter problems and there was no equivalence.. I left his class more confused than I was before it started.
Give too much work and expects it to be done in a day or two.
most unhelpful professor, inconsiderate and not a good teacher.
Homework on MyFinanceLab isn't horrible but take an average of 2 hours to do. One due every week with a corresponding quiz. There is little guidance on how to do the two case studies. Prof does not respond quickly through email. Bumps the final grade a little. Would not recommend. Too much work with no guidance. Exams are vid/aud recorded online.
You are given multiple assignments since the beginning. While you are trying to maintain your grades on blackboard through submission of assessment quizzes, podcast essays, case assignment, slideshows, lecture notes, you then also have to worry about the assignments and quizzes on MyFinanceLab. This class was very stressful & difficult.
What a disgusting, egotistical maniac. This professor constantly preaches his availability & how he can provide assistance for content. However, I reached out to him for help on a case assignment and he said that he doesnt help with questions pertaining to the homework. Also, he posted our midterm late which pushed back my job. The worst!!!
This is the WORST professor I ever had!! Don't listen to the few (fake) positive reviews he has. He is all over the place and it is never clear what he is talking about or wants. He gives an insane amount of work to do and you are never able to do it right. When you go in for feedback you will walk out more confused than you did in the first place.
I took PV for his online course and although it was an insane amount of work the grading breakdown allows you to still get a good grade. Im not sure why this prof is so poorly rated. Online exams are recorded as well.
What his teaching from the powerpoint and from the text book does not even corelated. Discussion borad is joke because it's literally talking about an article and himself finding error of what students find, WITHOUT giving them a clear direction
Took his online Managerial Finance class this Spring and I loved it. It was the best class Ive taken at Pace thus far. Requirements for the course are discussion boards, myfinance lab quizzes, multiple choice assessments, and cases. Lots of extra credit opportunities as well.
This professor is the worst professor I have ever taken and i am not exaggerating. The class material is way too much and the tests have nothing to do with the hw. I don't learn anything in his lectures because he just talks for unrelated things.
He helps out a lot but lacks clarity in the communication process. The workload is amazingly difficult. There's times we did like 3 tests in one week and a case study on top of that. If you are serious, take him if it's only one class left. Instead of telling us how we are right, he rather finds a way to prove us wrong.
Great Professor, but i can see why some people did not like his class. It is more difficult than a lot of classes at Pace but in my opinion he cares a lot about his students and if you put in the work you will get an A.
He is very unclear in his expectations. The MFL homework and quizzes do not correlate at all with lectures. He doesn't teach excel which is needed for most homework. Would not recommend taking him.
He LOVES to cold call on students so be prepared. You don't need to know much about Finance to answer his questions correctly, you just need to pay attention. This course was still online due to Covid-19 so I can't speak for how he is in-person but he does assign a lot of weekly work. If you reach out with questions, he never fully answers them.
Anyone who rates this professor over a 2 is absolutely lying. There is a combination of assessments, tests, quizzes, homework, discussions EVERY WEEK. Don't even think about asking for help, sarcasm will be the answer. Professor puts down students in class and laughs if they get something wrong. THE WORSE and will have your GPA take a hit.
This is a warning to anyone interested in taking his class. In addition to his boring, difficult lectures, he doesn't provide help when you need. He does the bare minimum to be considered a professor. He doesn't follow his syllabus. Typically I would be okay with suddenly assigned work, but he makes them difficult and doesn't help.
The material for this class isn't difficult, but he makes it much more complicated than it should be. Weekly hw assignments include; MFL hw, quizzes, and discussion board posts. I feel like he genuinely wants his students to do well that's why he cold calls on everyone, but at the same time gets frustrated because of wrong answers
The class is not difficult but he made it worst. Too much of homework to do and he doesn't really give you the answer when you have question.
he is tough grader, even he doesn't explain everything when you ask a question. So, I would not recommend to take his classes. He gives tons of homework which don't relate to topics what he explained during the class
The reviews are true and is a lot worse in the summer. He gives too many assignments due in such little time and is worse if you're working. Be ready to read from various sources and have quizzes and homework due the next day plus a group project. The exams don't have partial credit but give a grade bump if you show effort. Not worth taking summer.
This is an unpopular opinion, but I really enjoyed this class. It was asynchronous, and not having a lecture was made up with a lot of work. However, Viswanath is very responsive and you will get a high grade if you put in the time. Additionally, I was able to effectively learn the material because the work load, which is the most important thing.
PV is a good guy, but he's a terrible lecturer. Out of the 15 weeks in the semester, he canceled class about half of the time. He expects you to read his mind often. Non-finace and econ majors beware, he's not good at teaching the subject to people outside the space.
I think my biggest mistake was taking his class. Took the class in Summer semester and the work load is extreme. You need to juggle 3 different learning platforms and all of them and different deadlines and a group project to top it off. He didn't understand that people are working full time and have families. Wouldn't suggest this prof to anyone.
This man is nice but should not be a teacher for a 3 credit course, he gives out work that is not conducive to a 3 credit course, it should be 4-6. DO NOT take this professor if you want an easier semester he does not care about you taking other classes he shouldn't be teaching and getting frustrated when we don't know every specific answer.
Workload is insane, a full report/ presentation every class, plus quizzes and reading hw every week. Everyone catching strays presenting. All for a 3 credit class.
Unfortunately, this professor comes off a lot nicer than he actually is… What do I mean by that? He will act kind and give good grades throughout but simply assign 300 different assignments that no-one does and then have hefty group projects that inaccurately reflect individual grade - would not recommend.
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
86%
Textbook Required
50%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
A-
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.47 avg changeRatings by Course
396L320
5.0
(1)320396L
5.0
(1)MBA
5.0
(1)FINMBA
5.0
(1)FIN604
5.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
FIN651
5.0
FIN747
5.0
FIN307
5.0
FINMBA
5.0
BUS655
5.0