Gorman, Larry  

Alright guys/gals, this is how it is: If you want to actually learn something while you are spending your valuable time and hard earned money (or your parents hard earned stash), take Dr. Gorman. I'll be straight with you: if you want to pass you will have to bust your ass. I had to take this class twice, but I honestly learned more in this class than I did in any other of my classes at Cal Poly (excluding Dr. Gorman's Bus 433--Int'l Finance). What's key about this class (especially for finance concentrations), is that it's the foundation for all of finance. If you don't learn finance at this level you aren't going to have a clue as to what's going on in the 400 level courses. As far as the legistics are concerned, Dr. Gorman expects a lot from his students. The tests are very difficult, but are not impossible. He is quite fair in his testing and he basically tells you exactly what's going to be on the test (he even gives you all of his prior exams so you don't have to 'secretly' go around searching for them). My original incentive for college was to get a degree and then a well paying job. After taking Gorman three times (and I plan to take him for Bus 343 and Bus 444), I am now going to leave Poly as a well educated student who will not only have a degree, but will have a great education in finance that I will be able use extensively in both my professional and personal life.

Professor Gorman is no doubt a difficult teacher, but do not listen to those who say you shouldn't take him. Gorman is the best teacher of finance at Cal Poly. He goes into much more depth, and requires much more of his students than any other finance professor. His class is tough, but if you are willing to put in the extra effort, you will learn so much more than slacking off in another class. He truly wants to see his students succeed, and is always available to help students better understand the material. I took Professor Gorman twice, and I would highly recommend him to any student who is willing to work hard to become a finance expert. He truly prepares his students for the real world by forcing them to gain the knowledge they will need to succeed.

I was scared of Dr. Gorman's class when I entered it. I thought the best I could do in his class was a C because it sounded like so much work. Dr. Gorman inspired me to work my hardest and to REALLY UNDERSTAND AND LEARN finance, rather than just get by. He is the best teacher that I have had at Cal Poly and I think more teachers should aspire to be/teach like him.

If you are interested in finance and wish to learn "the fundamentals of finance," take Gorman. Great lectures, enthusiastic teaching. Powerful and necessary knowledge base for further study.

Every finance major should take his course. I learned more in this class than any other class I have taken at Poly. It requires a lot of time and work, but it is well worth it in the end.

I you are serious about your education here at Cal Poly and want to get the most out of classes, TAKE GORMAN, especially if you are a finance concentration. With a "C" in his class you will have learned more than those classes were teachers gave you an "A". No doubt about it, he is hard, but he is the standard by which all other educators should be judged. Study hard, keep up with the work. Either you know the material and get an "A" or you don't, hence everyone complaining about bad grades in his class!

Dr. Gorman reminded me why exactly I came to college: to be challenged academically and experience the thrill of attaining knowledge. He is hands down the best professor I have had at Cal Poly. Many of my peers steer clear of his classes, unfortunately they don't realize the disservice they are doing themselves. I won't lie, Larry will definitely make you work. However, the rewards for studying more than compensate for the lost beer drinking time.

Will everyone who is crying and complaining about Dr. Gorman shut up? We all knew what was expected of us the first day we walked in his class. He could not have made it any clearer. Any person who attends class and studies the material can succeed in Dr. Gorman's class. If you have the opportunity, TAKE HIS CLASS!

Teacher definitely knows the subject well and is fair in his class. No curve so be prepared to work. Better to take him and know the stuff if you are a finance major because you are going need it later in your class's.

I had Gorman for BUS-342 last quarter, and I currently have him for International Finance (winter 2002). This guy has incredible energy, and is able to lecture for a full two hours, without a break, and somehow make it seems like 20 minutes! The energy he brings to the class room has rubbed off on me in terms of enthusiasm for learning finance. I

All I can say about this guy is he is the worst professor I've ever had. He is a man who LOVES the fact that he gives F's to half of his students. The other half get C's and D's. Why do people think he's so great? Because some students still think that "good" teachers are the ones who fail people. This guy does not teach you. If you take his class, you teach yourself EVERYTHING. To all the people who think this guy is a good professor, you're just fooling yourself.

I feel badly giving professors bad evaluations, but Gorman deserves it. This man does not deserve to teach at Cal Poly. He is an insult to his students and an insult to the faculty. The last I checked, professors were supposed to help students and teach them, not fail them. He is a poor little man who has to fail 50% of his students in order to feel good about himself. Anyone who likes him is just happy because he/she passed his class. My advice to all of you is get over yourself. You're a tool if you think Gorman is even a slightly good teacher. DON'T TAKE HIM!

I can't believe that anybody likes this guy. And whoever thinks he is attractive has REALLY REALLY REALLY BAD TASTE. Gorman is an egotistical jerk who is extremely proud of failing hard-working students. He is a poor excuse for a teacher and a human being.

Worst teacher I've ever had! Do not take him!

I got an A in this class, but all I can say is I hate the class so much.

Okay, Gorman is hard...that much should be obvious. That said, I really think all those people giving him bad reviews are a bunch of lazy pussies who would rather coast through with an easy A or B than actually learn anything. I think alot of people really miss the point of College in general, we are hear to learn!!! Not to get show up and get A's for learning nothing. I have had tons of teacher who got great or okay reviews because they were easy. You know what I learned, almost nothing. Gorman challanges his students in a way that most teachers never will because they take the easy way out. Normally I have trouble sitting through a 2 hour lecture, but found that I was actually looking forward to going to Gormans class. Don't sign up for his class unless you are willing to work hard, he will fail you if you dont know the material.

This is the worst teacher I have ever had. He knows his shit, don't get me wrong but he doesn't give a flying fuck if you pass his class. Be ready to work your ass off and barely pass. Your grade is based on one midterm the 6th week of class and a comprehensive final. You don't know how you are doing in the class until its too late to drop it. I went to him for help before the exam and he suggested I withdraw. If you are a finance concentration then I would recommend this guy because he will preare you for the future and make you work your ass off. If not, DO NOT take him because you will be in hell.

Okay people. Here is the real deal. This guy is a dick. He is arrogant and rude and couldn't care less whether his hard-working students pass or fail. I actually got the impression that he enjoyed failing kids, no joke. I went into the class with confidence and determination, knowing he was gonna be hard. But no amount of determination will help you in this class. I worked my butt off studying for the first midterm, and right after the test I went straight to the Advising Center and filled out a withdrawl slip. I don't think he could have passed that test. Even if you are a Finance major, spare yourself the torment and take Finance with another teacher. You'll be glad that you did. The tests are the same ones he gives to graduate students and they are impossible. Oh... and no calculators either.

All i have to say is take him if you want to learn. If your at College to party then stay away.

Ok, first of all, the person who says we can't use a calculator, is smoking crack. Second of all, even though I got a D in the class, I'm extremely glad I took Gorman. I feel much more confident and interested in finance than before. He is enthusiastic, smart, and he DOES care about his students--just look at all of the office hours he has, more than any other prof. It's too bad most COB teachers have taken students through the easy route that when a solid prof comes along like Gorman, everyone goes running in the opposite direction. Yes, I'll have to take the class over, but it will be a piece of cake after the base that Gorman gave.

I'll give you one good reason to take Dr. Gorman - competitive advantage. In this job market, you need to acquire all the skills you can. And I'm not referring to just finance majors. For example, early in the quarter I had trouble with an IRR problem, which is a fairly straightforward calculation. I asked five different people to help me out, and none of them could do it. All of them had taken different professors for basic finance. So what happens if you're asked a basic question like this in an interview, and you don't know how to do it? It's definitely a point against you. I won't sugarcoat it. You are going to work your ass off. The concepts are not hard, but they are hard work. What I mean is that there is definitely a steep learning curve, and the homework is time-consuming. But once you get over the hump, you're golden. My advice is to at least attend his class for the first week or so, and find out on your own whether this is the way you want to go. Challenge yourself!

Gorman, along with everyone else who has a PhD, is entitled to have an ego. These are people who are passionate about what they do. Some might mistake the passion for arrogance; however, I can tell you that Gorman's personal "set-backs" -- that some seem deem fit to say-- do not take away from his ability to teach. In the beginning of class, he makes very clear his expectations and amount of work involved. He even WARNS those students who want to cruise through the class, that they are in the wrong class. Some might mistake this for arrogance; however, he is being honest. Anyone who has taken the time to talk to Gorman, can tell you that he has a lot to offer as a person and a teacher. Take advantage of this, he knows a lot about a lot. As long as you are willing to learn, you will do fine. This class, as opposed to many of the "easy" classes, will equip you will the knowledge to be able to do something smart with your money when you get out of college.

Finance concentrations should take this class at all costs. If you are any other concentration, I would stay away unless you have a strong desire to really learn finance. Most of the other comments accurately describe Dr. Gorman. I will add that he does try to trick you on the exams. Even though he says many times that he doesn't, there is always one problem that we haven't seen before. Good Luck p.s. Master the practice exams

Gorman knows a lot about finance and he is really enthusiastic about the subject which is refreshing. This is not the easy way to take finance. But if you want to work really hard, and really understand it this is the class to take. Don't wait until right before the test to try to learn it all though or you are going to hate yourself.

Best class thus far at Cal Poly. He makes it very clear how to get an A in the class. STUDY THE PAST TESTS. Only idiots will fail this class, and there appear to be many that do. The class was easy because Gorman made the material interesting. Take this class if you undecided on your concentration and are thinking about possibly doing Finance. You will either like it or hate it. And you will be giant leaps ahead of all other Finance students if you take his class. I would definetely recommend him as a teacher.

MUST READ! If you really want to learn Finance, take Gorman. He isn't as hard as everyone says he is. Just study the old tests!!! Gorman is an awesome professor. Yes he can be a little confident (some say cocky) at times, but it isn't demeaning. Also, he has some right to being confident because he knows his material, and he knows it well. I've taken him for BUS 433 (grade = B-) and BUS 343 (A-) and I learned so much more in the first two weeks than I had learned in entire classes. He is very logical in the way he teachs, which makes it easy understand relatively difficult concepts. ONE REALLY COOL THING about Gorman is that he is very understanding to the students. I actually missed one of his finals (I thought it was at a different time). He came to school at a time that was convenient for me and let me take it. This just shows that he really wants his students to learn. One thing: TAKE BUS 433. The concepts he taught were awesome.

If anyone thinks Gorman is a good professor they need to remove their head from their asses and shut up. He's the worst professor at Poly.

Holy shit is Dr. Gorman hard. Not too much course work but tons of studying and if you are not a finance major and a good one at that, do not take him, you will fail w/o 40 hours of studying per week. He and some of these reviews say if you follow his previous exams it will do you well, they were usless, he didn't follow them at all.

Yeah, Gorman is hatder than the other 342 teachers, but you won't regret having taken him when you need to take your other business classes. Gorman makes sure that his students know the material... that may mean more hours studying but it is well worth it. He is by far the best teacher I have ever had. It was the hardest I ever had to work for an A, but like I said... well worth it.

Ok, lets get straight to the point here. College is supposed to be hard, it is supposed to challenge you, because life will challenge you. Yes, Gorman is hard and you have to work your ass off, but if you are looking to differentiate yourself taking his classes will allow you to do so. It makes me sick to read all the BS evals below writen by a bunch of girlie men whining like a bitch about how hard he is. If you keep up with lectures, make a point to visit office hours to get furthur help at least once a week and do the practice tests well in advance, there is no reason not to be succesful. So if you want to be the finance student that gets some bullshit analyst job that pays 30 grand a year then by all means take someone else, if you want a foundation that will give you a base for careers in investment banking or private wealth management take this teacher! We are fortunate to have a person of this talent at our school. So people get your head out of your asses and sack up to a challenge for goodness sake!

Gorman is overhyped. He's a very cool guy, just not a great teacher. It's not that the course material is too difficult, Gorman just doesn't present it all that well. The major problem here is that he teaches at light speed. On numerous occasions I've heard peers of mine complaining that they couldn't even manage to keep up with the note taking during class. A subject that takes other finance classes several days to cover Gorman dabbles over in a mere 15 minutes. Now, some may prefer this rapid pace, however, others...myself included, prefer to process and maul over the information presented in order to ascertain a true, thorough comprehension of the theory substantiating such concepts. True, Gorman's course delves much deeper into the subject matter in the sense that his class sweeps over a much broader spectrum of information and advanced course work than other intro level classes, however, it's at the expense of building a firm foundation in the rudimentary elements of finance. I would much prefer to learn half the chapters of a book and have a genuine understanding of the material covered than rush through the entire thing developing only a shoddy comprehension of the fundamentals. One more thing, the text Gorman uses is unorganized and quite frankly, a bitch to navigate. Well, that's all I have to say, goodluck if you decide to enroll.

He is probably the best AND hardest professor I have ever had. I am really glad I took his class, I learned a lot. His assigned homework forces you to keep up on the work somewhat, but my biggest regret was not working more problems on my own throughout the quarter. I agree with one of the earlier comments about his lectures being really fast-paced but I know I would have been able to follow if I would have kept up with the work. When I finally did cram right before tests, suddenly my notes from the whole quarter made a lot more sense. So i would highly recommend Gorman but just be prepared to put a lot of time in, which in my opinion is well worth it. He is also an overall cool guy who really wants to help his students any way he can.

Hands down... the best teacher at Cal Poly. If you think it sucks to have teachers push you, you shouldn't be in college. Gorman makes a business degree at Cal Poly meaningful. If it were a bunch of Weatherford clones, the college would lose its accredidation. A few more top teir prof's like Larry would go a long way in puting CP Business on the map.

Gorman so far has been both the best and my favorite professor in the college of business I have had thus far. He is intimidating in the beginning (only to weed the weak ones out) and you may feel overwhelmed to start off, but you will settle in the course and do fine if you do the homework and study for the tests. If you are serious about finance (i.e. it is your concentration) then you NEED (and I can't emphasize that enough--you will learn so much) to take Gorman. However, if you are not a finance concentration, you might want to find a teacher less vigorous.

Everything about smoke and mirrors is true! Self-absorbed pathetic excuse for a professor who cares more about making himself look good than the success of his students. Serious interpersonal relationship issues--primarily because he takes advantage of his position as a professor to flirt with hot girls that are 20+ years younger than him. Every time we went to his office hours he'd sit there drooling over me and my friends and not teach us a fucking thing! Sick bastard, made us all want to puke! One time he asked our class to volunteer for some fundraiser and said both in class and in e-mail "females preferred." Gorman, you are a perverted piece of shit! If this was going on in industry you would be fired like you deserve! See a psychiatrist and pull your over-inflated head out of your ass.

Take him if you're strongly considering to be a finance major, you'll have a good foundation in which to build from. Don't take him if you expect to get an easy A in this class. Business classes tend to get a bad rep in terms of them being easy. Well, Gorman's class is far from that. He doesn't curve, takes no pity and wants you to learn the material and put in the work- PLAiN AND SIMPLE. If you review his practice exams, understand the lectures and do his homeworks that are worth a big portion of your grade in the class, you should be fine.

Gorman is not as bad as everyone says. I learned a lot from him and would not want to take finance with anyone else. At the end of the quarter there were 10 A's in the class...so it is definitly do-able. Our class changed for the first time because of the new common final. Every 342 class had to the take the final..which was really easy for our class as opposed to Weatherfords. There are 2 midterms and a final. Look at his old midterms for preparation- he gives them to you. Homework also counts for 20% of your grade..which really helps people out. You don't get out of class early and there is usually no break. However, he is an excellent professor. Don't take him if you want a teacher to hold your hand. He never cared to know our names- didn't even take attendance on the first day. He goes to class everyday and teaches straight to the point. TAKE GORMAN!!!!

Larry Gorman is by far the greatest profesor I have ever taken. He is passionate about the subject and presents the material in a way that you can understand. Yes, he does go above and beyond the call of duty relative to the other half-ass profesors at Cal Poly. You will thank him later. Gorman separates the men from the boys, and I guarantee you it will carry over into the real world. If you care about your future financially, take Gorman. If you don't care about your future, I have no clue why you are in college, and as a result you should take Weatherford--as Weatherford has no clue why he is teaching college.

Here is my story: I came to Cal Poly with a strong interest in finance. My statistics teacher directed me to a stat club meeting where I watched Dr. Gorman stand up in front of a bunch of strangers and preach about the benefits of computer programming and quantitative methods. Two years later these skills have paid off and several job offers are on the table. If want to learn as much as possible, you should form a relationship with Larry Gorman and work your ass off in his classes. A few caveats: Do not expect him to do the work for you. His lectures are excellent, but you need to study like mad and work like a dog if you expect anything in return. Be patient. Taking one class with Dr. Gorman will help you a little, but the entire series of classes allows you to distinguish yourself from the masses. Ask questions. It can be painful at times, but you must take the initiative to track him down and get help when necessary. He is a busy man so make it short and sweet. Forget about your precious little GPA. You will be successful if you develop relationships with people that you respect and communicate your skills to them. Trust him. Is programming the most important thing in life? No. However, investment banks love the stuff and they will toss you a 40 page packet of code just to see if you can understand the logic. Stochastic calculus may be esoteric, but understanding Ito

IF YOU ARE THINKING ABOUT TAKING GORMAN FOR 342 READ THIS...Dr Gorman is undoubtedly the best professor at Cal Poly. If you have any interest in learning finance or making money you will realize that you are here at Cal Poly to learn what it takes to be successfull in the real world. Dr Gorman is the biggest asset to Cal Poly. We are so fortunate to have him here. All the other finance teachers suck (with the exception of Ramazani who is only 5 steps below Gorman as opposed to 10). He is not that hard just do the practice tests. If you miss the opportunity to learn from one of the best and most influencial/brillient teachers in the country than you are an idiot or a pussy who is afraid to do the work required to become successful. You got in to Cal Poly so you should be smart enough to utilize the biggest asset at Cal Poly.

This class is hard, straight up. Very time consuming, very confusing and very few office hours. 20% hw and 2 tests makes up your grade. Midterm one is not until about week 7 so stay on top of your shit. The class is very difficult but he does know what hes doing. I found his lectures very hard to follow and the homework and tests even harder! Good luck if you decide to take this class

Gorman is by far the best Business professor I've had at Cal Poly. Yes, he is challenging, but classes like his are what make me feel okay about paying $1500 for tuition every quarter. Take him if you can. You will learn so much usful information from him.. and he's entertaining which helps the difficult subjects not be such a bear. If you are planning on majoring in Finance and want to be successful, the Gorman track is a must.

I really liked this guy. He obviously knows his stuff and he makes the classes go by pretty quickly. I thought his midterm was very easy, it was basically the same as his practice midterms. The only negative things I have to say about him as that he goes through the material pretty fast and doesn't do many examples. His final was much more difficult than the midterm. I thinkg everyone in the class thought the final was hard. All you got to do is show up and pay attention, do the homework, and study the practice midterms and finals and you should be fine.

You will think you are learning a lot but you will actually just fail. His class is frustrating and his tests are much more difficult than any of the examples in class, in his teaching notes, and on the homework. I do not recommend him if you want your learning to reflect your grade!

If you are not considering concentrating in finance then DO NOT TAKE GORMAN!!! He is a great guy, very entertaining, but really hard! Not to mention 80% of your grade comes from his ridiciulous midterm and final; although he does give you past exams and finals to study from. Still, he teaches the class as though you are all about finance, I have compared my tests to other Bus 342 tests and they are like night and day.......if you want to work your ass off for a mediocre grade than take Gorman (granted you will def learn the material)......if finance scares you, like it did me, take someone else for the love of Calpoly!

Gorman is a difficult professor with a huge ego. I think that it is a real hit or miss with Gorman, his teaching style is great for some and horrible for others. He gives alot of A's and alot of F's (which he tries to shrug off and justify as having nothing to do with him). I would say that the best advice I could give anyone looking at taking Gorman is to go and sit in on one of his classes before you sign up so that you can determine if his teaching style is really right for you.

He is one of the best teachers at Cal Poly. Not only does he care about you as students but also as people growing up. He wants to make you well rounded individuals. If you don't want to do any work, avoid him. But he's worth it. His grade distribution is an upside down bell curve meaning lots of A's and B's but also D's and F's. Pretty much you get it or you don't but he's always there in office hours to help if you take the time to ask. Also, some Finance companies only recruit from Cal Poly student if you've had Gorman and get his recommendation. If you want to learn a lot and be prepared to succeed in the future, being in his class opens lots of doors for jobs. Take him and you will be very happy at the end of the quarter.

Take Gorman for 342! Fight it out because the material is important and you will know it after taking him. There are some homeworks, but the main thing are the exams, which he gives tons of almost identical copies of in the course book. You can get an A if you just take some time to really understand the material. He will give you everything you need. The rest is up to you, as it should be. Don't go to his office hours unless you have something interesting to appease him with. He's not big on stupid questions that could be answered by the free tutors or from the handouts.

Gorman is the best finance teacher by far. If you are a finance concentration and want to work ANYWHERE in the finance world, not just investment banking, then take Gorman for as many classes you can. Even take 444, which you can get subbed for the useless Case Studies 443 class. He prepares you for the midterms and final by giving you a packet of old tests. Make sure you know how to do every single problem without looking at the book. If you are doing finance, don't be a pussy, get your money's worth and take him. If you aren't doing finance, then take the other professors.

Keep in mind, I did not make it in his class and dropped out, so my review might be biased. He tells you on the first day of class that �The most earned grade in my class is and �A�, second is an �F�.� This supports my theory that you either get it or you don�t. Prof. Gorman is a pretty awesome guy who is living on a houseboat after a messy divorce. He has led quite a life and has done everything from being a fashion designer to being a stock broker so he teaches the class a lot of life lessons where he always says �If only I knew this stuff when I was your age�. The class consisted of two tests at a 40% weight each and about 8 homework assignments weighed at 20% total. I would only recommend Gorman for finance majors because from what I hear he is MUCH harder than other teachers. However, if you choose to take him PLEASE take this advise: 1.) Unless you are a crazy math wiz, get a tutor from the very beginning. Goman can give you names of tutors and I highly recommend using these tutors because they have taken him before so they know his teaching style, usually have answer keys to homework assignment, and they have additional practice tests. The one I had only cost $15 an hour. 2.) Don�t buy the main textbook. It is expensive and he NEVER referenced it. Just buy the two course packets. They have practice tests in them which are CRITICAL to your success in the class. So if you are up for a challenge and want a teacher who teaches lessons in life as well as finance, take Gorman. If you just want a pass (like myself) take anyone but him.

If you are serious about finance, you should take this course. It might seem a little overwhelming in the beginning, but if you put in enough effort - you should pass, and learn 10x more than in the other courses. Also, what you learn in this class is extremely useful in the real world so try to understand the concepts as best you can. Gorman is also very helpful because he goes the extra mile to help you understand much of the Wall Street jargon used in places, such as the WSJ. In short, Gorman is a great professor, the class is very useful and you will be very happy that you took it, at one point or another... (maybe when you open an IRA one day)

So I got a WU in the course because I bombed the midterm. PLEASE READ MY REVIEW BEFORE YOU REGISTER FOR THIS CLASS. I wish I had. TAKE HIM if you are a finance major. You should know all the things he is teaching, it will be of great value to you in your future career and life in general. You might work on your math skills a bit and take a tutor from the very beginning. DO NOT procrastinate about homework. If you think you will, do not take him, you will not be able to make up for the time lost. DO NOT TAKE him if you are not a finance major. You don't want to go through the lectures. I'm pretty good at math and I used to think I would do great in finance. Yeah with other teachers maybe. But he is the hardest toughest teacher I've ever gotten at Cal Poly. So don't take him if that is not your major. If it is, take him. If you do bad, you should consider switching majors.

Gorman is the anti-christ, 'nough said

Well, he\'s a great teacher, just not the greatest person. He officially offended every woman in his class the first day, so don\'t take him if you\'re sensitive to sexist comments about women and marriage. Other than that, he explained things really well. Do not miss a single day or you WILL fall behind. Do the required AND recommended assignments to further your understanding. I found this class really interesting and got 100% on the homework assignments, just flopped the midterm and final. Didn\'t really find the course notes or hand outs useful, as we would cover most of the equations in class, but he did say the textbook wasn\'t required and he gave out the questions and solutions, so that saved some money. Also, if you\'re opinionated (not necessarily a bad thing) speak up in his class and he\'ll like you. And go to his office hours. He flat out said he will like those students that see him better than those who don\'t. I ended up liking him, even though I was offended by some comments, because he seemed to like to shock you and make you think outside the box. He\'d spend half a class here and there talking about expanding your knowledge and how to enhance your skills to better impress future employers. Be prepared to work hard, think hard and study even harder.

I would definitely only take Gorman if you want to go into finance. He really makes you learn the equations and doesn\'t teach you to only rely on your calculator like some of the other teachers do. I was a little put off by him at the beginning of the quarter, and his course notes did not help me much, but they had a bunch of practice midterms and finals in them. He did not make it seem important to buy the book, but I would, and definitely do as many practice problems as you can. Basically, go to all the lectures and do all the homework and recommended practice problems. It\'s a tough class, so be prepared to put in the work.

Gorman is the best teacher I\'ve had at Cal Poly so far. He shows you things that are above and beyond what is necessary and really teaches you the information. His classes are not easy, but if you actually want to learn the material you should take him.

Honestly, I have no idea about Gorman\'s other classes, but 342 with Gorman has not been difficult at all. He clearly explains the material and the midterm and final are almost perfect reproductions of his past tests. Anyone who failed should be ashamed. Take him at all costs for this class and all you have to do is understand the lectures and then do every past test. I actually thought the exams were going to be much harder than they actually were.

The most challenging class of my life. Everything everyone says about this class is true. Gorman is the best at what he does so if you are interested in Finance he is the best for you but if you�re looking for an easy class to fulfill the BUS 342 requirement, this isn�t for you.

DO NOT TAKE THIS COURSE UNLESS YOU ARE A FINANCE MAJOR. It\'s that simple. When I first enrolled I ignored all the warnings. I figured, \"I have a 3.6, do your worst.\" That was stupid. Gorman says repeatedly from Day 1 that we do things that they don\'t even teach at schools like Harvard and Stanford. He admitted that half his class scores below a C. This guy knows his Finance and if you want to kill a class over summer, go for Gorman. If not, say goodbye to your life. His notes get scattered all over the board because he has to constantly rewind and go over every little detail. You will get lost. This course is like 3 combined into one. When you are taking a support class that consumes more time than all of your other courses combined, something is wrong. BUS 342 is supposed to be a preview into Finance, not an Encyclopedia. Other teachers are easier and understand how to teach basic Finance. That said, if you are a Finance major Gorman will put you ahead of the game.

Gorman is the best professor in OCOB. He teaches the material well and expects you to work hard. You will learn a lot if you put in the effort and you will be ahead of all the other finance students that avoided him. He won\'t baby you and the ones that complain are the lazy finance students who want to slide through Cal Poly with C\'s. His midterm and final were exactly like previous ones and the homework is pretty straight-forward as long as you pay attention in class. Never opened the textbook. Its a shame that he\'s leaving to teach in the Ivy league. I wish I could have taken more classes with him.

DO NOT LISTEN TO PEOPLE WHINE ABOUT THIS CLASS!! Like everyone else that has ever taken it before, I was really nervous when I sat down on the first day of class, and honestly my worrying was all for nothing. Gorman's class is cake IF you do what he tells you to do from day 1, which is showing up for class and working problems on your own. His tests are taken straight from the handful of practice exam problems he gives you in his lecture notes, so there's no excuse to not ace the midterm and final. Knowing the material from this class is crucial if you want to succeed as a finance student, and the way Gorman presents it leaves no room for questions. He boils everything down to its simplest form and teaches it with the added intuition behind the calculations that give them actual meaning. All in all, whether you're looking to concentrate in finance or are just taking the class as a requirement, take Gorman. You won't regret it, and once all is said and done you'll probably end up concentrating in finance anyway because of it.

RUN AWAY. Click the back bar. NOW. DO IT FASTER. If you're still here, you're either interested in taking Gorman because you want to concentrate in Finance, or you're insane and want to kill yourself slowly over a quarter. I took Gorman because I wanted to learn Finance, thought I was smart enough to step up to the challenge, and wanted to prove to myself I could. Guess what? FAILED. DO NOT TAKE GORMAN UNLESS YOU HAVE REALLY (and I mean really, REALLY) THOUGHT ABOUT FINANCE AND WANT TO CONCENTRATE IN IT. I have never worked harder, studied harder or tried harder in my LIFE and not only did it kill my social life, I ended up with a C- on the midterm. That's not even that bad.. just guess how many people failed. The class is only a midterm (40%), final(40%), and homework(10%), so let me put it to you this way, if you get a C on the final, it's a BEAST to come back from. Gorman realizes that 30% of his class is going to fail his class and does nothing to compensate for his INSANELY hard exams. If you take this class and don't end up with the grade you "think you deserve", you only have yourself to blame. You've been warned.

Do not listen to the people who wrote the negative entries below. Dr. Gorman is hands down one of the best, most knowledgeable professors at Cal Poly. It is true that his class is more difficult than the other intro finance courses, but he is a FANTASTIC teacher. If you want to concentrate in Finance, take his class. If you do not want to concentrate in finance, you should still take his class. Ask yourself why you came to college � to learn; not to get an �easy A�, but to actually learn something that is useful. It is not as hard as everyone makes it out to be. Just put in the work, and you will be fine. His class has a grade distribution like an upside down bell curve; the kids who give up and fail, and the kids who work hard and get 100% on his exams (and there are many). My advice: take a lot of notes, do not skip lectures, and practice as many problems as you can.

Gorman is the BEST. Taking his classes will help you succeed in the rest of your finance and accounting classes guaranteed. Trust me, all other finance classes will be cake after taking this class with Gorman.

If you want to learn Finance, take Gorman. The text he references for handouts and homeworks is taken directly from the Kellogg MBA program. He tries to scare you into thinking the class is hard, but if you work hard its not. If you are a slacker or a person who wants to skate by on the bare minimum, don't take this class. Gorman is an overconfident narcissist, but I personally think it works great for him, if you have an aversion towards cocky people though, beware. Fun fact: all investment bankers making 6 figures+ upon graduation from cal poly in finance attribute their success to this guy's teaching style.

The best advice I can give you - go to his office hours. He will give you sick life advice and he is awesome to talk to. He genuinely will try to get to know you, ask you about your life, give you a little chat on how to succeed, and send you on your way. If you take his class for an entire quarter and don't go into his office hours at least once, you're missing out on a great conversation, and most likely full of expletives. Hands down best teacher at Poly. Get what you pay for by being in college, and take him.

Gorman is smart and he knows it. He spends most of the time during lectures deriving the equations and providing intuition on where he's getting them from. The class itself may seem challenging in the first few weeks but it levels itself out. If you study you'll to great. Gorman is the best professor in the finance department. He'll teach you what you need to know to actually to well in finance.

Never worked so hard for such a low grade. Take the class if you are going to concentrate in finance, otherwise seek a different professor.

If you are interested in concentrating in Finance you MUST take Gorman. He will put you way ahead of the game. This class really isn't too bad if you go to all the lectures and take notes. He gives you a book full of sample midterms and finals so there is really no excuse to fail this class. Put in the time and you'll be fine, but don't expect to just skate by.

Don't get behind if you take Gorman. The class is a lot of work but it can be done. He is a pretty good teacher but the last 4 weeks that he taught this quarter were presented horribly and made almost no sense.

Great professor, very entertaining. Last 3 weeks got a little confusing. Just do every single practice problem way before the test and keep doing them over and over again. There aren't really tricks, you can totally know the material if you just study it over and over again. Don't be afraid to take this class

Coolest teacher I've ever had! Take his class if you have the chance. If you pay attention/keep up shouldn't be too difficult. Make sure you do the practice exam problems and understand how to do all of them for his exams and you should do well. Overall great professor!!

So basically, if you want to work for Gorman's Sac, take this course

Gorman really knows his stuff. He states from the beginning that you are going to have to work hard and you will! I had 16 units so this class was on the back-burner for me. I definitely could have put more time into the homework and practice problems and gotten a better grade. Yes, it is a hard class but it is do-able. I recommend taking this if you are taking an easy quarter. The important thing is to do well on the midterms since there are only two of them. I got a D on the first one but studied a lot more on the second and pulled out a B. Even if you are doing badly going into the second midterm, take it anyways! One of my friends didnt study and took it and got a D in the class and one studied and had a D going into it and passed with a C. Its up to you!

Gorman should not be teaching, the worst part is that the Poly staff allows this nonsense. The administration is just as much at blame for making you believe that they aspire for your education. Their highest qualified educator fails half of his students and they believe nothing is wrong with that. Just remember that this is a state school, and we are the ones who cash out $2,800 a quarter for this government mickey mouse operation.

This guy is probably the smartest professor on campus, atleast he is definitely one of the smartest at OCOB. Like everyone, I was very scared of taking this class. In fact, I wanted to take him for fall qtr, then I dropped him, and signed up for him again this winter qtr, and took his class.This is class is DOABLE. 1 Midterm - 40%, 1 Final- 40%, 4 or 5 weekly problems- 20%. Just work hard, and you will do fine.I ended up getting a B+ and decided to concentrate in finance. He is a good guy,his class is the first class at OCOB that I actually felt challenged. I'm happy I took this guy.

It truly saddens me to see how many students are currently latched to the breast of professor Gorman, following everything he says religiously as if he is the fucking keeper of knowledge. I have yet to see him walking down the halls without at least two of his minions diligently polishing his tiny little balls. It is such a shame he doesn't test you on his life story or all his accomplishments or deep sea fishing for that matter because I definitely would have gotten an A on that with the amount he talked about himself, what a truly humble man. It's a surprise anyone would ever want to divorce him and take his money. All his bullshit aside, he is without a doubt the best teacher I have had at poly because unlike other cocky professors he performs his job at an amazingly high level. He truly wants his students to learn, and presents the material in a truly unique and effective manner. He presents you with direct and exact instructions on how he wants things done, and if followed, will lead to you actually learning something in this joke of an education we are paying for. I can assuredly tell you that Gorman is in fact NOT the smartest professor on campus like other comments have stated (have you seen our engineering department?), but that he is tops in the business school. Take his classes if you wish to concentrate in finance because you will a learn a great deal, as well as witness the many who enjoy flossing their teeth with his pubic hairs on a daily basis.

Gorman, get off polyratings and pumping your reviews and help the other half of the students who you fail you piece...

Gorman tries to scare everyone on the first day and make you think this class is going to be impossible, when really its not that bad. Ya the material is hard, but he gives you an ENTIRE book of old exams with handwritten answers so you know EXACTLY what he is looking for. There is really no excuse to fail this class unless you don't put in the time. That being said, the material is really interesting and he teaches it well, even though he speeds through a lot of stuff. If you enjoy finance, or want to concentrate, I highly recommend.

Gorman, you are the worst teacher I've ever experienced. I'm sick of the clowns who advocate this class too. It's your job to teach, isnt that why were paying you? He never taught a thing about finance, just about how sick he is... I'm ashamed that Cal Poly allows this guy to teach... GUESS THATS WHY WERE A STATE SCHOOL! ...

http://stuckinthailand.com/uncategorized/finance-with-professor-larry-gorman

I've never reviewed a teacher on polyratings before, but Gorman definitely deserves one. This class is probably one of the most informative, enjoyable, challenging courses I've ever taken. The fact that he can make it all three at the same time shows something. He is definitely one of the best profs in OCOB and I would recommend that you take him if you get the chance, finance concentration or not. He teaches you so much more than just finance. Definitely one of the best classes I've taken thus far. TAKE HIM! You might regret it at first, but at the end you'll know you made the right decision.

He presents the material very clearly, gives a whole book of past midterms and finals that are the same format as the exams he gives, and the material isnt hard at all. I felt like I learned a lot, and did not have to invest a huge amount of time into the class. I would definitely take him again for 431 and 444.

Good professor. His class IS a lot of work though. 2 midterms, 1 final, 30% each, and homework for 10%. A word of wisdom to future 342 students. Study and do good on THE FIRST EXAM. It will make your life a lot easier for the rest of the quarter. I got a big fat F on the first exam due to a lack of appropriate studying, and consequently, had to play catchup. He does look for improvement though if you do bad like I did (48.4% F!). I got an 84% on the next exam, and did good enough on the final to end up with a B- that I'm very happy about. I have no grudges against him or his class for its difficulty, he's a great professor. I have a sledgehammer in my backyard, so when I saw that I passed, I hit the book more than a few times. Like I said, no grudges, I just wanted to show that book that I was happy to be done doing practice problems out of it .

Gorman has perfected this course to the point where he explains everything nearly perfectly and gives you ample resources to master this material. He will give you everything you need to succeed, except your own pair of balls (or tits for you Finance babes) to take the time to learn this material. That's on you. If you like a meaningful challenge, take Gorman. If you want to coast through, definitely take someone else!

This class is challenging, true, but I was graded on bleak memorization and avoidance of computational error which did not make me smarter. This guys got good connects but if you�re serious about Finance and Quan. You certainly don�t need him. Minor in Stat, take Time Series, Multivariate, and other applicable courses from them. Take lots of Calculus with the math department (up to 143 at least), and make sure to take classes in linear / matrix algebra. Learn to write in sophisticated programming languages such as MATLAB, R, or SAS just to name a few. Lastly, network, network, network. This class is just not for certain people, and it has nothing to do with drive or work ethic, he just rubs people the wrong way.

If you are a finance concentration, take Gorman for every class possible. I have taken Gorman and I have taken other finance professors. It is night and day. I cannot stress enough how important it is to take Gorman for 342 to get a solid foundation. I am in 439 with Bing right now and it is an absolute joke, after spending a quarter with Gorman. He changed his class so there is now 2 midterms and a final all 30% each and then 10% homework. The material is confusing at first but if you commit early and understand the first half of the class, the second half comes real easy. I know a girl who got an internship with Apple simply because she took all of Gorman's classes. Take 12 units when you take Gorman and you will be fine!

Gorman is a very smart guy. His class is a ton of work. Be prepared to study 40 hours a week if you want to pass. Ask anyone, that is not an exaggeration. He makes it impossible for most students to do well. You have to be very very bright when it comes to math and critical thinking to pass. You can study the practice material over and over and then when the test comes, there will be problems that you have never seen before. It's not fair how he does this to his students. His arrogance and need to prove how smart he is gets in the way of his teaching. The first half of the class is taught well because he wrote his own book for it. After you run out of readings from the book then you can only rely on his lectures which can be really difficult to grasp towards the end. DONT TAKE THIS CLASS! I have never failed in my life until this class and I worked more for it than I have ever worked before for a class. He sets you up to fail. If you want a life and to be able to feel good about yourself, take someone else unless you are a math/stats genius. He makes this course a weeder course for finance concentrations but not everyone in the class was trying to be in finance! It's a requirement for business students so its extremely unfair for him to make it so hard. He doesn't care about student success whatsoever and makes you feel like an idiot if you aren't able to get it.

So I'm pretty much going to say what everyone else is saying. Gorman is a brilliant guy, but don't take him if you aren't for sure doing finance. I put more work into this class than I have for any class I've taken at Cal Poly and came out with a C+. Gorman blows through material in class so it's nearly impossible to write down everything and actually understand what he's teaching. And if you don't cover literally every practice problem in his text book and the handouts, you may end up screwed but that's all fair game for exams. He threw so many curve balls on the exams that no amount of studying I did seemed like enough. I wish I had better things to say but I seriously hated this class.

Gorman is a straight up bad ass. People constantly bag on him for being too difficult but if you study the material enough along with attending class then you'll understand it. This is not to say that the class was easy however. You have to spend countless hours on the material to really understand all the different ways to do the problems. However Gorman is a great teacher and does a great job at explaining the material clearly and effectively. Although he seems to brag about himself a lot he is inspirational if you plan on going into finance.

Gorman is a funny guy and has some pretty entertaining stories but DO NOT TAKE HIM FOR FINANCE IF YOU CARE ABOUT YOUR GPA!!! He assumes everyone knows a lotttt about finance coming into the class so if you dont, you're screwed. I did every single reading and practice problem before the midterms and still failed. He isnt very helpful in office hours because he explains everything the same exact way he does in class (says pretty much the same words). He moves waaaaayyyy too fast through the material and doesnt give time to answer questions or review before any tests. Yes, this is a 300 level class, but it's also the finance class that every business major has to take, making it an introductory course. Gorman teaches it like it is an advanced course. Yes, he is a smart guy; yes, he seems like a cool guy to hang out with; NO, he is NOT a good teacher. I've never felt inclined to write a review about any teacher, but this class was so unbearablly terrible, I felt the need to write my first review.

One of the most inspiring professors I've ever had. He is such a smart guy, and great teacher. He is one of the largest factors in getting me to declare a finance concentration. If you're a bitch made ass kid, then stay out of this class; You will study. But anyone who says the material is hard, or he's not a good teacher, probably is either incompetent or doesn't put in the work. Gorman is dooooope. Don't be a puss in boots, take him

When Donald Trump builds hotels exclusively for dumbasses, Larry Gorman will stay at the Presidential Suite 24 hours a day, all year long!

To know and not to know, to be conscious of complete truthfulness while telling carefully constructed lies, to hold simultaneously two opinions which cancelled out, knowing them to be contradictory and believing in both of them, to use logic against logic, to repudiate morality while laying claim to it, to believe that democracy was impossible and that the Party was the guardian of democracy, to forget whatever it was necessary to forget, then to draw it back into memory again at the moment when it was needed, and then promptly to forget it again: and above all, to apply the same process to the process itself. That was the ultimate subtlety: consciously to induce unconsciousness, and then, once again, to become unconscious of the act of hypnosis you had just performed. Even to understand the word "doublethink" involved the use of doublethink. -Winston Smith 1984

DONT TAKE THIS CLASS, UNLESS FINANCE CONCENTRATION !!!!! If you are a visual learner this class will be insanely difficult to pass. He scrawls unreadable notes on a white board for 2 hours. And all the required books are written by him, so even though he is very smart, if you don't get his teaching style you are screwed. You have to pay attention, and can't ask questions. One kid in my class didn't get it and asked Gorman to explain. Gorman claimed he was would be wasting his marker ink, and then moved on without helping. His constant beer jokes, and digs at his ex wife give him brownie points with the boys in the class, but annoy all the girls. Some people claim that he inspires them, but anyone who says that is a finance major, and loves the subject. Overall Gorman is an egotistical jerk with bad hand writing.

Gorman gets a bad rap on here because of how difficult his class is. I'm not going to lie, until I took him for Bus 431, this was the hardest class I've ever taken at Cal Poly. He tests you based on graduate level questions on his midterms and finals, his homework is based off of old tests and his practice tests are from grad school. So yeah, it's a bitch to go from knowing nothing about finance to trying to understand everything he says in 10 weeks, but it's so worth it. I ended up switching my major to finance because his passion for the subject is infectious. That's not to say you won't fail or that it's going to be fun, but the point of college is to learn all you possibly can. Why wouldn't you take a hard class as long as you learned a lot. Just don't be a bitch about it.

Gorman is a great finance teacher. Everything else about the class was absolutely awful. Grading was unfair and overly harsh, and he constantly said rude things about other people or to students. I am not a finance major but took this class to actually learn finance, which I did, but I had a miserable time doing. I imagine if you are a finance major you will have to take Gorman, but avoid Gorman if at all possible.

So far in my freshman year, this has been the only challenging, fun class. I plan to be an accounting concentration but will take more finance classes because of Gorman. His passion for finance is infectious. His teaching style helps you build INTUITION(you will hear that a lot), meaning you are not merely memorizing materials for tests, you actually learn them. I disagree with some of the negative comments such that he grades harshly and says rude things about people. I think he is the sweetest guy ever. He cusses sometimes when he preaches his life lessons and jokes, but he never crosses the line to be mean. Oh, except this one time he made fun of this kid with the bad haircut, but that it was a joke. He grades generously on tests, giving students partial credits for showing their work, even if they might not have gotten the right answer. Anyways, yes this class requires you to work hard to get an A, but working hard is the only way you will learn. In the beginning of this quarter, he said students who fail his class are either lazy or stupid, so take him if you are not lazy or stupid.

Honestly, this class was by far the most challenging, thought-provoking, intuition-building class I have taken thus far in college. This class is NOT for slackers. If you don't commit hours and hours of studying and practice to this class, you will not succeed. The exams are honestly not that difficult if you do the old midterms and finals. There are no curveballs or unfair questions. I will definitely be taking Gorman for every class possible because it is very fulfilling to learn so much in just a span of 10 weeks.

Ok. This class is not that hard, or even hard at all. I got a high A in his BUS 342 class by just doing ALL the problems relevant to each exam in that big pink book. And when i read the material i actually looked to understand the intuition behind it, which is easy if you actually think about each concept and read that textbook he writes up. I'm not even that smart, but yes i did work my ass off. But it was easier for me since i like finance. If you dont like finance, then you will probably hate this class, even if you learn alot.

BUS 342 with Gorman is the hardest class I have taken so far at Cal Poly. Avoid this class if you have no interest in being a finance concentration; it will be unnecessarily difficult. But if you are considering finance as a potential career path, take this class. This is not an easy A. You will actually have to study, do the reading, and work through past exams in the pink book. Gorman will push you to be a better student and you will learn a lot in his fast-paced lectures. He also grades on improvement, so failing the first two midterms does not mean an F in the class. Gorman's passion for finance will rub off on you and by the end of the quarter it all starts to make sense. He's crazy, funny, inspirational, and an overall great teacher, but not for the faint of heart.

I wish I would have accurately assessed my classmates' warnings before I decided to take this class. I knew before taking this class, that it would be my hardest class of the quarter, I just did not understand the difficulty and complexity of what I was getting myself into. Professor Gorman, is probably one of the most knowledgeable people about finance out there. He knows finance and wants to make sure his students know it well too. However he does not grasp that bus 342 is an INTRO level course. His lectures are hard to follow so you need to stay focused 24/7 or you will get lost and the lectures are not conducive to visual learners. If you want to succeed in this class be prepared to triple (or more) your study time, actually do the reading,and do additional practice problems; and even all this is probably not enough. However despite these warnings, if you are 100% sure you want to be a finance major Professor Goreman is your guy, because if you can survive this class you will walk out with quite possibly one of the best foundations in finance available at the college level. If you're not sure you want to go into finance, please take this advice, and chose a different professor (you're GPA and sanity will thank you)

Professor Gorman is the best professor I have had in my short college career so far. He pushed me unlike any of my other teachers. He does not stop lecturing during the class (you don't get a 10 min break) and goes through problems very quickly. He uses his own book which actually is very good. It explains everything in great detail. Do not bother doing the problems in his textbook. If you can understand the practice problems in his handouts booklet you are golden. Those problems are exactly like the ones on the midterms and final. Ask friends who took the class the quarter or two before and get their exams. He sometimes puts the exact problems on the next exam or ones very similar. He gives out a few homework problems before the first exam and then stops. The first exam I failed and the average of my class was an F+ or D- I believe. Do not worry if this happens to you! He grades on improvement. On the second exam I got a 100% and the average went up to a C. I am not sure how I did on the final because he did not post it but I finished with a B-. It is possible to fail an exam and pass the class! You must start studying way more in advance then you do for other classes. Me and all my friends started a week in advance for studying for his tests. At the latest you need at least 4 solid days of studying. DO ALL THE PRACTICE PROBLEMS. If you are looking for a class where you actually learn something, take this one! The kids who take other professors for BUS 342 know nothing about finance. Even if you aren't going to do finance I would suggest taking him but be prepared to work hard. You will learn a lot, but you will work a lot more then the other classes.

342 with Larry was THE SHIT. Great professor, learned a lot about finance. You will learn much more with Gorman than any other 342 professor, guaranteed. His tests actually aren't that challenging. If you can do the practice problems, you can easily get a B. The gain far outweighs the pain. 2 Midterms 1 Final about 5 very short HW assignments

Larry Gorman is a great teacher if you want to concentrate in Finance, but his class is much more rigorous than an intro course. It requires 20+ hours per week just to pass the tests. He grades based on improvement, but if you do well on the first one you have to do extremely well on the second and final. Bottom line, you learn the material very well, but his class is unnecessarily hard for those not concentrating in Finance.

Although Gorman's class is very difficult, you get a lot out of it. This is genuinely the best class I've had at Cal Poly. Compared to other classes, I would say I learned way more in this class than any other class. Sure, you might fail the first two tests, but if you do well on the third test, you will be fine. I'm not concentrating in Finance, but I'm glad I took this class.

This class will feel like a full quarter load. What I learned from Gorman is invaluable and will stick for life (pretty sure). For this quarter (Fall 2015), Gorman decided to weight the class in the following structure: Homework (10%), 2 Take-Home Midterms (5% each), and a Final Exam (80%). When I first heard that, I kinda flipped; the whole grade of the course was the Final, but Gorman has his reasons and I agree. The take home midterms were for him to see how well the class was doing. He stressed the importance of timing your exam and NOT CHEATING; however, roughly half of my class ignored his warning because HE CAUGHT THE PEOPLE CHEATING AND THOSE PEOPLE FAILED! Honestly, try your best on the midterm WITHOUT THE BOOK AND OTHER PEOPLE because he is expecting a D average on it (NOT A B- AVERAGE). It made him extremely upset and because of it, he went on multiple tantrums of a one strike policy in life. Also, he decided to give our section a difficult version of the final and boy, was it hard. However, studying for about 40 hours for it makes it intuitive to know your tools to solve the problems, but the final was still tough. I'm not sure what I got but I do know I feel even more motivated to apply what I learned in internships and other finance classes. Take this guy if you don't care what grade you want and ACTUALLY WANT TO LEARN A LOT ABOUT FINANCE. DON'T TAKE HIM IF ALL YOU CARE ABOUT IS YOUR GRADE BECAUSE HE DOESN'T CARE WHAT GRADE YOU GET AND YOU SHOULDN'T BE IN COLLEGE FOR YOUR GPA ONLY.

Okay let me just start off by saying that I am a fair person, I am not writing this because I want to get back at Gorman or any sort of thing like that. If I were trying to get him fired, in trouble, or anything like that this would be the last place I would try to do it because lets get real once you meet Gorman you know he doesn't give too shits about what you think about him. That being said I will explain my reasoning why I chose to take him - I like you are now are reading reviews and hearing a similar pattern "he's hard but you will truly learn finance." Knowing this I thought what the hell I will take him; I want to possibly concentrate in finance and if I do I NEED to take Gorman and if I don't then that's fine at least I will have a strong basis of introductory finance. Ok now onto the specifics of his class - if you read the review somewhere below this you will see he recently changed the structure of the class (10% Homework, 5% Midterm 1, 5% Midterm 2, 80% Final), yeah this structure is terrible your entire grade rests on the final which to me sounded like complete BS but I went along with this and was chill about it. 2 weeks into the class we get our first HW assignment - I got 40% taken off because I only put 4 arrows on a timeline instead of a few more! Everything else was correct - computation, final answer, showed my work, etc. THE DAMN ARROWS FUCKED ME UP. Btw there will only be around 3-4 homework assignments so pray you do well on them because they are 10% of your grade and as you will learn any extra points you can get will help. Now moving onto the midterms - they are the worst thing you will ever take in your life. 6 questions but the test is anywhere from 14-15 pages long and he expects you to finish it within 1 hour and 50 min. What he teaches in class will also be extremely easy to understand but when you look at the tests he makes them so much harder than the examples in class! I had such a difficult time with it that I asked my dad to run the numbers in excel to see if I was correct - well 7 hours later I just give up and turn in the test with 5/6 questions finished. Got it back - 20% on it! I tell my dad who is so confused because he feels like he has a good grasp of finance, so he in turn asks his patient who has a MBA in finance and is super successful in the field to look it over and see what she thinks. Her response is "that professor must be crazy to expect these kids to know how to do this kind of work in an INTRODUCTORY finance class." So as the quarter goes on it becomes in my best interest to literally stop showing up to the class and practically go on with my life as if I had never signed up for this class. Literally did not even show up for the final. Gorman predicted that students who got 85% on the first midterm would most likely end up with a C or C+ in the class. He is such an unfair grader its unbelievable - he marked a friend of mine off 16% because they did linear interpolation multiple times to find the number they needed rather than doing it once. Their numbers were right and all but he didn't like that they had to do it multiple times. Yes Gorman knows his shit - he is extremely brilliant and successful, but he is just not a good teacher. His grading policies are way too harsh, he practically sets you up for failure, doesn't actually care about your success, and he often creates such an uncomfortable environment in his classroom. ugh so much can be written about this guy, but I am hoping you at least can get a feel of him from this. oh and by the way his midterms and final cover not only what was taught in class but anything that is in the textbook. And that textbook you have to buy is written by the only and the only Larry Gorman - so good luck it is missing a chapter or two, has errors, and is only relevant to his specific class since he teaches so differently than the other finance professors.

DO NOT TAKE GORMAN. By far the worst decision I made at Cal Poly. He does not care about his students. He records every lecture so he can sell them. One day a kid walked in 5 minutes late and accidentally walked in front of a camera. Gorman yelled at the student in front of the class for a good 10 minutes... it was one of the most disrespectful things I have ever seen. Also if he doesn't like the way he recorded his lecture he will redo it the next class. Also he changed his grading system to two 5% take home midterms, 10% homework, and an 80% final. One week before the quarter ended he discovered 10 people "cheated" on the take home midterms, so he failed those people completely in his course. Again he took this as a moment to yell at the class, of course he cut this out of his recorded lectures though.

Very cool guy. You will be challenged, but you will learn a lot. I definitely plan on taking him for other finance classes. Don't skip out on this class because you're worried about your GPA--that's pathetic. Don't go through college taking "easy" professors and learning jack shit. Challenge yourself. My only complaint is the final being worth 80% of the grade.

So, Gorman's grading scale was pretty scary. With a final being 80% of your grade (20 pages with 6 questions might I add), it can be really intimidating. This class is worth taking if you are considering finance or are concentrating in finance. I learned a lot in this class, but I had to work really hard in order to really know the material. Gorman is actually a very nice guy if you talk to him during office hours or chat with him before class. I got a B+ in this class and I could not be happier with it. Gorman does expect A LOT from his students, but it should be taken as him WANTING his students to know finance and be capable to do finance in the future.

Just take this guy. It will suck. It will be the hardest course you've taken business majors. But if you ever want to clear up what you think you already know, this man will do just that. And once you take him for bus 342 you'll "ACE" the rest of your finance courses at Cal Poly. Beware that the finance department is a joke so don't miss the opportunity to take the one serious professor there is. DO EVERY SINGLE PRACTICE PROBLEM and you'll get a 100% in the course

Gorman is the man. His class really isn't that difficult if you are willing to put the work in and are motivated to learn. He's definitely an ass, there's no question. But he is super smart and wants his students to be smart too. If you are motivated and willing to work hard then definitely take him. He's a genius and it would be a waste to take someone else for the sake of your GPA. Whether you are going into Finance or not, it's never going to hurt you as a business major to know a thing or two about finance.

Professor Gorman teaches! Measured by the sheer volume and professional value of what I learned by taking his Fundamentals of Corporate Finance class, Gorman was the most effective professor I encountered at Cal Poly. While his passion and command of complex finance concepts were immediately evident it took some time to appreciate his clear, logical explanation of the materials covered. In this respect Professor Gorman’s textbook Mastering the Fundamentals of Finance - Building Skills and Intuition proved invaluable. The text was well designed to reiterate the points made in class without the constraints of time. Any student who wants to succeed as a finance major must read Gorman's book. As I fulfilled my finance concentration requirements, the strong foundation developed during Gorman’s class was a constant asset.

Best there is!

Gorman explains from the first day of class that you will need to study three times as much as any class you've taken just in order to pass the class. THIS IS VERY TRUE, I studied 3X as much and got a C-. As for Gorman's teaching style and personality, he is a classic. He keeps it interesting and challenging from the second class starts. He is not afraid of failing his whole class. I would only recommend taking Gorman if you are planning on concentrating in Finance. If you are not in Finance, go with Bing, super easy.

This is a hard class, but if you are willing to put in the work, you will walk out understanding so much about finance. He wrote the textbook, so it matches his lectures perfectly. If you are interested in concentrating in finance, you must take this class. He is very enthusiastic and over the top, which can be very intimidating. My brain always hurt after class, but his lectures made sense. He just covers a lot of material. Put in the time to read the textbook along with him and do practice problems. It will all click if you put in the work.

He is the most effective professor of my college career. Reason being is that he makes you learn it. You will do 100 practice problems before you get it but you will walk away with a degree in finance for it. I am grateful to have had him. It's worth it!

Gorman is the man. For all the hate that he gets for 342, it really was not terribly difficult to do well. Yes, I spent a good amount of time studying for this class, but it was well worth it with how much I learned. If you are planning on concentrating in finance, there is no excuse not to take Gorman's class, as that would limit your ability to be successful in his 431 class, a challenge which finance majors should salivate over. Pre-read his textbook before the lectures and grind on the practice problems for 10-15 hours a week if you need to, and you should be golden.

Gorman is a great professor. Truly an inspirational guy. He'll motivate you to broaden your horizons outside of your comfort zone and he'll definitely teach you a ton of great finance skills. His tests are difficult and the number one piece of advice to follow is to stay up to date with the material. The quarter goes by quickly and the only way to successfully tackle his class is to put in a lot of time to seriously understanding the ins and outs of every topic. Would highly recommend Gorman to anyone contemplating concentrating in Financial Management.

Gorman was by far the most influential teacher I've had a CalPoly. As an Econ major, I took this class Sophomore year to see if I wanted to pursue finance or not, knowing that this class would pave the way for my Finance concentration. Econ majors aren't required to take a Finance course, unfortunately it is a pre req for the Finance concentration and counts for nothing except free elective units (something CalPoly needs to highly consider changing). After Gorman's class, the rest of my Finance courses seemed like a breeze. He prepares you for an advanced approach to Finance, and as a graduating Senior I can confirm that this one class has helped me land a job after graduation. The workload is minimal, having the majority of your grade dependent upon his midterms and final, however, studying is a must. Put in the effort and you WILL grasp the knowledge, and it WILL become interesting. Might sound cliche, but Gorman's class positively changed the direction of my working career.

I have never felt the need to write a review for a professor, however in Gorman's case it is necessary. Gorman is hands down one of the most impressive people I have ever met in my life! He just goes for life, doesn't complain, just does! He expects the same of you in his class. Probably the hardest class I have ever taken and ever will take, but damn it was worth it. You actually learn about finance, and he teaches you about life too. In order to survive this class, it is absolutely imperative to read and watch the videos before the class and not get behind otherwise you will suffer the entire quarter. Know how to do everything and understand everything in his book, because its free game on the tests! When studying for the midterms, focus on practicing his old finals first because the midterms are basically the old finals. For the final know everything, even things you didn't talk about in class, don't just memorize how to do something either, know why and how you should do something because when it comes to the test it will be something you have never seen before, but if you have the tool box to work through it you can. Overall this class made me a stronger student in every aspect, and reminded me of what I need to do in order to be successful and get somewhere in life. If anything take this class for inspirational life talks, those alone will change your life!

Gorman is the man. Highly recommend taking him. The class is honestly not even that hard... as long as you spend your 10 hours a week and watch all the videos, you should be golden. The only complaint I have is that he makes too many mistakes on his in class work and Polylearn that stresses everyone out.

Five months ago I was debating whether or not to enroll in Gorman's 342 class. I signed up, and it turned out to be the best decision I have made thus far at Cal Poly. Gorman's class is difficult, requiring you to set aside several (15+) hours a week to watch his video lectures, read the textbook, finish the in class problems, and do the take home problems. Yes, it's a lot of work, but if you keep up with it you WILL master the fundamentals of finance. Gorman does NOT want to fail you, but he absolutely will if you do not put in the effort. He will tell you exactly what to study for the midterms and the final, and he gives plenty of opportunities for students to succeed. By the end of the quarter about 1/3 of the class dropped, leaving only the students who took the class seriously and were willing to put in the work. If you put in the hours, read the book, go to office hours and OCOB tutoring, and study you'll do just fine. In short, don't be afraid to challenge yourself. The feeling of accomplishment after passing Gorman's is unparalleled, and you will realize that you can succeed at pretty much any course Cal Poly has to offer if you put your mind to it. Sign up, put your nose to the grindstone, and don't fucking let up. Anyone can get an A in Gorman's class...all it comes down to is how much effort you're willing to put in.

This class was terrible and fantastic all at once. Terrible for the sheer amount of time and hours put into the class (I put in at least 25 hours a week on this class alone) but fantastic for the knowledge received from that work. I learned more from that class than any other class I have ever taken. The method of teaching was hard for me this quarter, for it was a reverse class structure. This meant that we watch the lectures at home before class and then did group problems in class. The videos were very long and hard to pay attention to fully. However, the book clarifies everything as well as the Do on Your Own packets he hands out. These packets are given once a week and take a very long time so do not procrastinate on those. The class had two midterms and a final. Where as I felt the midterms weren't terrible, the final was near impossible. The midterms were very similar if not the same as past midterms so get your hands on those if you can. The midterm would have 4-5 questions(one always being a retirement problem). The final asked small concepts mentioned maybe once in the book on the 2nd week of school so it was much harder than the midterm. Overall do all the homework, read the textbook, study and you will do fine.

Hi Everyone, I'm doing a quick eval for this professor because I feel like everyone knows Dr. Gorman by extreme descriptions on Polyratings. Anyone considering Finance as a concentration needs to take Gorman. I had him my Fall Quarter sophomore year, and he is debatably my favorite professor thus far. It's not because I got a great grade in the class (which I didn't), and it's not just because I enjoyed the subject. Gorman is known for coming off really hardcore during lecture, but I learned how understanding he can be by going to office hours. He may not always know your name off the top of his head, but if you go to see him, he'll care about how you're doing with his material. I learned more in his class than any other, regardless of the grade I walked out with. If you struggle on the first exam, even if you got an F and you think it's over, go talk with him. He wants to help you do well and understand his course, but you have to put in the time. Seriously, all it comes down to is your time management and your effort, and from there he'll do whatever he can to help. I hope everyone takes or strongly considers taking Gorman; he's a strong lecturer and knows exactly what he's teaching, but I guarantee if you're having any problems in his course and you talk to him, he'll figure out a way to help you. One final thing: his flipped classes are great. It's a heavy workload of lecture/reading, but having him there in class to ask questions about the difficult problems is worth it.

Folks, I would tell you that this man is a legend, but that wouldn't be a true statement because he's not a man, he's a god. He is the most intelligent professor at this school. He is a motivater and he lives on a boat, how cool is that? Also, not sure if he ages... Based on my math, I figure that he has lived for 600-1000 years as it would be impossible to possess the knowledge that he has acquired in any less than 500 years.

I took 342 with Gorman because I was interested in finance as a potential concentration, and that is the only reason I would recommend future students take him. He is a very hard instructor and grades pretty tough on exams. However, you will come out of that class knowing a ton about finance and more doors will open for you in the future. If you take him just to say you "took Gorman", you will fail, but if you take him because you care about the subject and are a hard worker you will be fine. Also don't be afraid of him!! He has a strong personality but you will do so much better in the class if you get to know him! Did poorly on an exam? Just ask why and he will most like accommodate your grade. Yes it'll be tough, but every class after will be a piece of cake, especially finance related ones!

I took this class because I did not know what concentration to pick and thought this will help. I am still not sure what to do but I'm still glad that I took this class. 40% of your grade was determined by Do On Your Own Problems(DOYO), in class worksheets and video quiz lectures these points act as kinda a grade buffer you should have above a 90% by the end of the year. The other 60% is distributed evenly to the two midterms and final. The first midterm I got a 40% and the second one I got a 80% and I just finished the final... hopefully I pass. The biggest difference in the first and second is that for the second one I studied in a group. Get 3-4 people together and start working problems together. The overall big concepts are not difficult but the details are really hard and easy to mess up so if you work in a group you are more likely able to catch each other. Something I wish I had done was gotten the midterms from someone who had taken the class the quarter before because he sometimes puts a twist on a problem that you had done for homework or in class. This class took twice as much time effort and energy as any other class but we are business majors it's not the end of the world if we take one hard class. Take 12 units and get read to build some skills and intuition.

You are not as smart as you think you are. This will be the hardest class you will ever take. You will do poorly but you will learn more than you thought possible.

I think the flipped format is a good idea in general. He holds your hand by counting homework as 40% of your grade. The grades for the 1st midterm were atrocious idk why and then the second midterm (each worth 20%) there were like 50% A's. Rumor that 1/3 problems on the test were very similar if not the same to an older midterm... with the grade distribution difference between the midterms it's very possible. I thought the second one was harder than the first... After the second midterm Gorman said that if you show improvement between exam 1 and 2 or between exam 2 and the final he would bump up your grade... I know a lot of teachers do this but I think it is unfair to the consistent students and also benefits the people that had the answers to the 2nd exam even more. He says it doesn't hurt the other students but I think we all know how inflation works...

This class is great because you feel like you're actually learning a valuable skill. The tests were well formatted in my opinion. You get the problems right if you truly understand the material and you get partial credit if you kind of know how to do the problem on the test. Class is still going to be a lot of work though. I recommend studying your ass off for the 1st midterm, because the 1st midterm covers pretty much the basics. If you know how to do the retirement problem, you're pretty much chilling for the first midterm. I thought this class was going to be ridiculously difficult, but it really isn't. You just have to put in the work. Don't take this class with too many hard classes or you're going to find yourself short on time.

WHAT A TOTAL ASSHOLE. He doesn't care if you learn. He just cares that he knows it all. What a JERK O** . i hated going to his class and listening to his cocky Bull****. REALLY? If you know so much Mr. Gorman, why are you so poor? Exactly.

WHAT A TOTAL A**HOLE. He doesn't care if you learn. He just cares that he knows it all. What a JERK O** . i hated going to his class and listening to his cocky Bull****. REALLY? If you know so much Mr. Gorman, why are you so poor? Exactly.

WHAT A TOTAL A**HOLE. He doesn't care if you learn. He just cares that he knows it all. What a JERK O** . i hated going to his class and listening to his cocky Bull****. REALLY? If you know so much Mr. Gorman, why are you so poor? Exactly.

This class is great and a lot of fun! I liked his style of teaching, he gives you a recording of his previous lectures so you have some kind of freedom when you wanna put some effort in. I was an international student and I honestly didn't think this class was as hard as it is described here. If you know basic high school or first year of college math in Europe, you will be totally fine. Just don't get screwed by taking it too easy in the first weeks.

Taking Larry Gorman's class was the best decision I ever made. Gorman is 100% to thank for me getting an interview with Apple. His class is difficult, but the way he advocates for you when you're on the other side is incredible. Not only would I be much much worse at finance without him, but I would have 1/100000 of the job opportunities. If you want an easy A, this isn't the class for you. If you want your internships and jobs to be A+++ level, this is the class for you.

Larry Gorman is very clearly a genius, but he's a bad person. Hard class. Learn a lot. Nothing complicated about it. If you don't want to be in finance don't take this class, it's not worth the headache and being exposed to this guy. But if you want to concentrate in finance definitely take him. You'll be shooting yourself in the foot if you concentrate in finance and don't take Gorman. Ignore the emotional complaining or over glorifying of Gorman in the other polyratings. There's nothing magical about this class it's just a lot of time. Find a friend who has their past midterms or you're screwed.

I took Gorman for 342 and it was far and away the most exceptional class I've taken at Cal Poly. Unlike other classes where you learn equations and memorize things, he focuses on teaching intuition that can be applied everywhere. The general financial know-how you learn in this class is vital to both job interviews and being an informed citizen when looking at the economy/stock market, and you won't get it with any other professors, as his curriculum is self-made (he taught it at Northwestern and Penn, spent 1000's of hours writing the book). His expectations are high and he explicitly states that and if you do the work, there is no reason you shouldn't be able to do well in the class. Gorman sparked my interest in finance 6 months ago with this class and now I'm starting in the investment banking industry which I achieved by discussing what I learned IN THIS CLASS, and through his connections which he graciously helped me to connect with. The intuition runs deep and by understanding these finance concepts you are taking an MBA level class that will give you a foundation for the rest of your life. The curriculum is excellent and the book is easy (almost fun) to read. The flipped classroom allows you to watch the lectures as many times as you need and his book is honestly excellent and something I'll keep for a long time. He cares about his students a lot, but you have to earn it by showing motivation and intelligence in his class, which, if you do prove yourself, he will go to bat for you for future career opportunities and jobs. Gorman is my favorite professor at Cal Poly and I will continue to take his classes (444 specifically), so if you're ready to work hard and care about the cost-reward ratio of your education, you simply cannot skip this class. I continuously recommend it to everybody I know, and have continued to TA and hold office hours for him as this class is the pinnacle of business school curriculum, and somebody finance students should look up to. The man.

The best Finance professor I have had at Cal Poly. Put in the work, and keep up with the pace of the class and you'll learn so much material. Lecture from Chapter 7, Part II is my favorite lecture, it's hilarious and insightful.

It's Gorman, you know the deal. Basically, do the work from day 1 (literally, start day 1) and you have a decent chance at a good grade. Watch the videos before class, read after, and do the problems in the book instead of just skipping them. The material makes sense it just takes a lot of practice, so actually do the work. If you can get access to old tests from friends that's also super helpful

Gorman already has a reputation at Cal Poly, so I don't really need to explain much. I learned a lot, enjoyed his stories, and overall thought it was a great class. If you genuinely don't keep up with this class you will not perform well. Study hard, use the help provided by office hours, in class assistants, and the TA office hours. He likes people who visit his office, and it's fun to just have a conversation with him, so I recommend it. My first B at Cal Poly in Spring quarter of my freshman year, but I was so happy about getting a B. Feels way more satisfying to do well when you've worked hard than just getting handed a good grade.

prepare for penetration. The class is hard af, not for the weakwilled. Lectures are online and you just do work during class. Gorman is an extremely intelligent guy and he makes the class worth your time. I don't regret taking the class, but it's definitely not an easy A. Work hard and you'll do fine.

Gorman honestly doesn't teach and is completely aloof from his students. This class is basically a self learning class. Also, don't trust the TA's because some of them didn't even get A's in the class.

Gorman was one of the best professors I have had at Cal Poly. The class is difficult, but put in the effort and you'll do well and learn a lot. He's the reason why I'm doing finance.

Gorman is an excellent professor, arguably the best I've ever had as others have stated above me. Also, like many others have said his class isn't easy either. Expect many hours spent reading, watching his lecture videos, and repeating both book problems and DOYO's. Yes, the class is a huge time commitment but there's so much value to gain by taking Gorman's class. You will be leagues above most other students and even peers within the finance field. He sets the bar high for his students because he wants to make sure you succeed.

I got an A. I took 16 units and was in clubs that were at least 20+ hours a week. It's doable. However this was by far my hardest quarter I had ever had, the other were not even close. I learned so much more from this class than I had from any other class I had taken its not even funny. That said I thought Gorman was a real prick. I understand asking a lot out of students, I think the level it required was acceptable. What wasn't necessary was his cockiness and arrogance. Though he is probably the best finance teacher at Poly, he is not god's gift to earth. Just take it, learn a ton, and let his anger and his own personal issues go over your head.

Taking Gorman for the second time has honestly helped me shaped my mindset for school and life differently. Now I know you may read this and think it's similar to all the other posts, but hear me out. The first time, in the fall, I took him and studied his class as if it was a regular business class at Cal Poly and got a 26% on the first midterm (mind you, i'm typically lazy, but i still manage to pull off a 3.5 as a business major); however, I kept trying to play catch up and eventually ended up with a C-. During the spring, I decided to take him again because I wanted to prove to myself that I can work hard to achieve something worthwhile. This second time I took him, I studied my ass off. Rather than slacking off and waiting for the last minute to do the DOYOs, in order to actually do well in this class, you will have to put in the work. In essence, the class teaches you the concept that you can get anywhere with hard work. For this class specifically, that meant watching all the videos, reading the book (and appendixes!!!), doing the back of the chapter problems, then doing the DOYOs. And to study for the Midterm/Final, you'll need to reread appendixes, redo all DOYOs, and actually do every single problem in the purple book. When he says you have to turn the dial up to 4x, he really means it. To add on, at first impression, he seems like a know-it-all condescending dick, but if you go to his office hours (when he's not busy and after you've read, because he will drill you if you didn't), he's actually a very wise and genuine person. He will spend time to explain each problem to you and help make sure you understand it... and if you're lucky, he might add some useful advice about life from his vast experiences. College is the time of one's life with the most independence and the least amount of responsibilities. As a typical business major, I often have three day weekends and would often go out most those days. With this class, rather than spending most nights of the week watching netflix or drinking, I had to be in the library pulling all-nighters trying to finish DOYOs (you'll end up with a love/hate relationship with them) or reading the appendixes to really grasp the concepts of finance. As an accounting major, everyone asks me why I took gorman the first time and why I retook it. I know that if I took another professor, I would be wasting time. Even the second time around, I was able to learn some really cool new concepts, like the Common Time Span Method, rather than my peers who retook finance with other professors. At the end of the day, you have a choice: one where you can take the easy way out or worked incredibly hard to actually achieve something. For me, it gave me a sense of purpose because I was able to choose the latter. And just to put this in there, you really can't cheat your way through this class. You actually have to work through every single problem. But if you so happen to do so, you'll thank yourself in the end.

I took this class in a Flipped format; meaning you watch all his lecture videos at home on how to work the problems and you come to class to just do group work (with basically NO help from Gorman) that must be entered into the computer for a grade with correct answers and very close decimal points. PRO TIP, find someone who has already taken the class to get help with finishing group work and to be able to check your answers; Gorman doesn't seem to change the group work sheets from year to year or change them very much if he does, sometimes he adds a new problem or subtracts one based on talking to previous others who had also taken his class. Get a tutor!!!!!!!!!!!! This was the first time I ever needed a tutor in my life, and it will be of great use to you. DO NOT waste time studying the group work sheets. GO STRAIGHT to the PURPLE BOOK and have a tutor that has actually taken Gorman to point you in the direction of which problems from the purple book to study the MOST (This will improve your grade). I also found going to office hours not too helpful. Make sure though that you have a specific question to ask, don't go and say I just don't understand this problem, because he won't help you, I experienced this first hand. Also READ his textbook and do the problems at the end of each chapter if you don't understand purple book questions right away, and as soon as you do, PURPLE BOOk!!!!!!! The quarter I took his class, he sometimes left us in the classroom alone with our groups so he could go finish his textbook in his office by his deadline, so he was not a good resource and affected his availability greatly. Hopefully, it isn't like that for other quarters. I respect Gorman, but I would of Heavily preferred that he would spend the last 45 min of a 2 hour class going over all the group problems before we would leave instead of sending us to deal with the rest in addition to all the other work that is required of you in the course (Someone about to take his class should suggest suggest this honestly). This class will kick your ASS. STUDY hard! I studied more than I ever studied for anything in my life and still only got a C-, and this is coming from someone who had has always gotten A's and was on the deans list last quarter. I can't say the same this quarter because of this class, lol. Anyway, good luck, it's a rewarding class, you learn a lot, but take this will a light schedule. Do not take a bunch of hard classes with Gormans, you will be sorry.

I got an A in his class, and tutored for him the following quarter where I helped others get A's in his class. All I did was follow his exact advice on day 1 (most people don't). Here's what I did: 1. Do the readings first and take notes 2. Then watch the videos and take notes 3. Do the book problems and ask for help from the tutors before class if you need to 4. At this point you've put in enough work to at least have an understanding of the concept/chapter and you haven't even gone to class yet. The in-class problems shouldn't be too hard. You should be able to get them done during class time, but if not, don't sweat it. 5. If you've done steps 1-4 for each chapter, then you should be able to get done at least 70% of the DOYOs by yourself. Get help from the tutors or Gorman during office hours (he's a nice guy, just gives off a hardened vibe). MAKE SURE TO CHECK ALL your answers with the tutors. There's no reason you shouldn't be getting 100% on the DOYO category (which is 15% of your grade). 6. If you follow these steps for each chapter, you'll do better than the rest of your classmates on the midterm. Study your midterm as soon as you get back. Be able to fix everything you got wrong (do this by asking tutors for help). And that's it. I can't believe the number of classmates or friends that complained about this class. All I would say to them is, "well, did you follow the steps that Gorman outlined on day 1?" They would usually say, "Well, nooo, I don't have time for that." And I would respond, "Well then, I'm sorry you don't have time to put serious work into your education." For some, this class may come naturally, for most this class may push you to your limits, you may even break and push past your limits. And for those who don't have time for their education or rather take an easy class, go home, you're not ready for college yet.

Gorman is hands-down one of the best professors I've had at Cal Poly. Not only was I able to master the fundamentals of corporate finance, but I learned a lot about myself. I discovered a newfound sense of grit, and that I had what it takes to make it through one of OCOB's toughest classes. The class was super easy and I was grateful enough to receive an A in the class. The class is kinda scary at first, but after the first week you will realize that this stuff is cake and it's an easy A. Don't even bother taking this class with another teacher - you won't learn a thing. Gorman for the win!

Listen up because I'm going to tell you how to succeed in this class! 342 will be a lot of work and it is challenging, but it is by no means impossible. First, do everything Dr. Gorman says, starting day one--read the book and take notes, watch the videos then take notes, then start working problems from the textbook and the "Purple Book". Going off of that, my second piece of advice is to study a LOT from the Purple Book, which has previous years' exams (kind of old but still helpful). Dr. G. pulls problems from these exams and makes slight changes to them. So focus on this book and start doing the problems early, i.e. don't wait until the week before the midterm to start Purple Book problems. My third tip is to TAKE ADVANTAGE OF TUTORING! The tutors are allowed to show you their midterms from when they took the class. Taking notes on these midterms and redoing the problems yourself, multiple times, will prepare you very well for the midterms! I wish somebody had told me this because I genuinely believe that if I had gone to tutoring and studied the recent midterms, I would have pulled off an A-. And finally, work hard. This class is going to make you want to pull your hair out sometimes but you will learn a lot and honestly, the material can be really fun and interesting. I spent about 30 hours a week on this class and only got a B, but looking back, I'm glad I took the class and put in all that effort to learn. It's worth it to invest in yourself. As for Gorman himself, he is extremely intelligent and might seem intimidating, but he's a very nice man and is willing to help students. Go talk to him in his office, he is cool and has a good taste in music! If you are spending your money to get a college degree, take classes like this that challenge you and develop you; don't shy away from it just because lots of people say it's hard.

Quantitative Methods in Finance is not for the weak. For the first half of the course, Dr. Gorman (WSU alumnus with engineering degree) extracts material from Engineering calculus and statistics. It is imperative to study his notes and example problems conscientiously for at least fifteen hours a week. Don't fall under the false pretense that A's in Business Calculus and Stat 252 have afforded you a solid grounding of integrals, derivatives, p-values, and hypothesis tests; they haven't. Dr. Gorman painstakingly put together notes that are fairly straightforward and in a lexicon conducive to non-engineering majors. He repeatedly emphasizes important points and provides sample problems and solutions for each chapter - - DO ALL OF THESE. It is important to remind yourself throughout the quarter as you sacrifice your Saturday nights studying that your hard work is just a means to an end. Most of us want high-paying positions and the nice things that come along with them, but in order to compete against people from the more prestigious schools like Stanford, Berkeley, Wharton, etc., the wisest thing you can do is to avail yourself of Dr. Gorman's training. This quarter, Dr. Gorman passed out correspondence from firms like Merrill Lynch and Barra Financial who wrote glowing testimonials about Cal Poly Finance kids and how their finance training far surpasses that of Ivy League graduates in the same position. Dr. Gorman's courses are tailored to what finance professionals want in fresh graduates. These firms want students with a solid quantitative background, polished demeanor, and a willingness to work hard. Modeled after Cal Poly's "learn by doing" mantra, we were required to use the Gauss Matrix Programming Language in ways very similar to finance professionals. A basic understanding of matrix calculus is required to effectively use Gauss but once you become slightly proficient, your marketability and job options increase dramatically. Few if any undergraduate programs in the entire U.S. offer as comprehensive a finance program as the one established by Dr. Gorman and Dr. Ramezani at Cal Poly. They really are interested in seeing motivated students succeed and are a hurricane of fresh air at Cal Poly. "Persevere - There's never a crowd on the extra mile!"

Any serious finance student should take Gorman's quantitative finance class. I guarantee it is unlike any other finance class you've taken and will give you a different perspective of the subject. However, it is not an easy class. I got a C+ and worked my ass off for it. A huge plus for all this work is that some employers look specifically for applicants who have taken this course. I got an interview just because I had this class listed on my resume. Take this class, it will pay off for you in the end.

I don't usually "grade" professors but I cannot believe how much some people hate him. I agree that this class is hard and sometimes you are going to be really frustrated because you feel you have too much to learn all at once, but I think that it is worth it. I thought that college was supposed to be about learning, but from reading other evaluations I was obviously wrong, it seems to be about the easy grades. But if you do really want to learn something instead of having just another class full of bullshit busywork, take his class.

TAKE HIM!!!!! Yes, he's a bit stressful and challenging, but if you really want to know your shit and get into a high paying finance profession, this is the man to get you there! I have taken every class that Gorman teaches at Cal Poly (except Financial Engineering...I'm not that crazy!) and it was the best decision of my life! He's hard, but not if you actually try and get into all the problems early! You really can't slack off in any of his classes, but it's really good for you. Trust me, if you're smart and don't procrastinate, it's not hard to get a B in any of his classes....HE GIVES YOU ALL OF HIS OLD MIDTERMS TO STUDY FROM!!!! Seriously, get off your lazy ass and bite the bullet...you'll regret it if you dont. But.... a word of advice...IF YOU DON'T WANT TO ACTUALLY DO FINANCE, AND YOU JUST WANT AN EASY A, DON'T TAKE HIM!!!!!

Overall i liked this class and learned quite a lot. Hes hard and an intense dude but he still cool.

The fact that you are reading my post right now means you have considered taking Gorman as your professor. I suggest you reevaluate your thought, press the back button at the top left hand corner of your screen, and never ever come back. If you intend on continue reading this, this could only mean that you are either a finance concentration or you intend to fail this class, possibly get on AP, and maybe drop out of school. I mean this Gorman guy as a teacher is actually not bad. He graduated from Northwestern, teaches at UPenn Wharton sometimes, and goes to Thailand every summer. Its all cool. BUT I DIDNT COME TO WHARTON TO BE TAUGHT AT A UPENN LEVEL. IF I WAS ON THAT LEVEL I WOULDN'T NEED TO COME TO CAL POLY. bro

When the first midterm came back, I was amazed. I had never gotten something as low as a 26% before. I couldn't believe that the class average was so low, and I wondered if I'd even pass. The thing about Gorman is, though, it's like you don't want to let him down because he is so impressive as a man. He is incredibly passionate, has intense stories, and loves life to a new extreme. I have never worked so hard or been more satisfied in a class. I will not concentrate in finance, but Gorman's 346 has without question been by far my favorite class. Beyond the material, I truly feel that I developed as a student and discovered newfound confidence in myself. Working harder than I ever had worked before, I managed an 86% and 88% on the final. He bumped up my average and I ended up with a C+. It's the proudest C I think I'll ever get.

Larry Gorman is THE GOAT!

He knows his shit. He comes off as sort of an asshole, but he is honestly one of the best teachers I have ever had. He is so knowledgeable and such a good lecturer. His class is now flipped, but it turns out its really helpful in learning the material. If you want a good grade, you have to work your ass off, but in the end its so worth it and I can say I've learned more in that class than like the rest of my classes that quarter. Highly suggest taking this class with 12 units. I came in not wanting to pursue finance, but I do now! If you plan on being lazy or have absolutely no interest in finance at all, you probably shouldn't take this class.

I took Gorman for 342 and thought he was cool although I got a C. For 431 my notebook is full of examples and problems from old tests and all I have to show for it is a D. You have to teach yourself the material because all he uses is his notes. The average grade on our midterm was around an 80 out of 160. Gorman is a nice guy outside of the classroom, but its just not worth risking you GPA becuase you like a guy, thats what happened to me. He does not realize that his students are not geniuses like he is and should slow down on the material. To get a D you have to study 5 hours per week and lots of studying before tests. Bottom Line = Avoid Gorman.

This was one of the hardest classes I have taken at poly, but I did learn a lot. One of my buddies took Weatherford for 431 and had to teach himself the material, it was that bad. Although Gorman makes it harder to recieve a good grade and gives you a much larger work load, you will learn a lot more. Gorman does believe, however, that he is god's gift to finance. Sure, it's fine to disagree with other professors' teaching styles, and a lot of his reasoning for this made sense. It became excessive though, and he probably wasted 10 minutes of class EVERY day telling us why everyone else in the college of business is stupid and promoting his own teaching style. Fine Larry, we got it the first time. No need to tell us every day. This guy talks big and really needs to get over himself. Other than the fact that he is insecure, it was a good class. You will learn a lot about finance. If Cyrus ever teaches 431 again, take him. If not, take Gorman. If your only option is Weatherford... cry.

As my 4th and final year at Poly comes to a close, I must say that of all the professors that I had learned from, Larry Gorman has made the greatest impact on my career as a student. In 431, he covered so much material while forcing me to learn some of the most basic fundamentals. Unlike many professors that I have encountered here, he really does care about what matters. He understands that we are here to learn how to be successful out in the real world. Not to just sail through college, never learning anything and just getting by. If you want to leave Cal Poly having learned something, take Gorman. If youre not afraid of working hard to be rewarded by a deeper knowledge of finance, then TAKE HIM. You'll learn a lot, and you'll be glad in the end.

IF YOU ARE THINKING ABOUT TAKING GORMAN FOR 431 READ THIS....If you have any interest in Finance and making something of your education you must take Gorman. He is hands down the best professor at Cal Poly. It is amazing that he teaches here and not at an ivy league school. I have never learned so much information as I did this quarter. He is the biggest asset at Cal Poly. This class put me ahead of any student in the country in security (stock) analysis. If you are going to do finance you are stupid if you dont learn from the best. The class is not that hard just don't procrastenate on the "big project"(that by the way single handedly got me an internship at a top finance firm). Bottom line is you are here to learn. Gorman is the best teacher I have ever had. If you want to get ahead of the game and learn how to make money then you won't pus out and take anyone else for any finance class. Trust me. Don't miss this incredible opportunity. -True Rater

The reward you get for the effort is unbelieveable and you will truely be missing out on a golden opportunity to learn finance from a great professor. His lectures are great when he talks subject matter, but you do have to look past all the shit he talks about other departments/ professors in the business school sometimes. The way Gorman sets up the stocks class, you have a ton of spreadsheet work (about 8 HW's which make up about 33% of your grade and a huge project which is another 33% of the final grade where you combine all of what you learned from the homework and apply it to a REAL WORLD company- cool stuff that is great to know and gives you a huge advantage over others). Overall, sack the fuck up and take Gorman and dont listen to all the pussies out there who shy away from his classes.

I made $10,000 this summer strictly based on what I learned in Gorman's 431 class. The advanced skills you will learn on excell will make you a huge asset to any company (and yourself). No other 431 class is like this. If you don't take 431 with Gorman you don't care about making money and/or being smart.

Larry Gorman is a brilliant mind, but a sad person. His biases keep him from being a relevent rational mind, and instead he is a prejudice bitter person. I wish him well, but he should NOT be allowed to influence others, especially our young leaders and minds.

Gorman is a good guy and is willing to help you if you will put in the effort. He really does not like wussies. He covers tons of material and expects a lot out of you. Be ready for the project and make sure that you can devote a large portion of your time to it(especially around finals timeover 50% of the grade is the final and final project). If you are afraid to fail than I suggest that you take someone else.

Professor Gorman truly cares about students and their education/road to life. He covers a lot of material, but does so at a reasonable pace. He is not one of those teachers to waste your time. It is frustrating that I didn't have the chance to take him for more classes or earlier in my college career. In his 431 class I learned more than I have from any other finance course. Sad thing is, is that this is my last finance course and in one class i feel i have learned more than all the other classes combined. You will walk away from his class with a wealth of information, but it does require time and hard work. I am not going to lie, but I am kind of scared that I might not be passing the class. I have realized though in my last two years at Poly that the grade is not all that matters. Most of the time I learn more in classes that I receive a B in than classes with which I earn an A. His class consists of 8 homework assignments that are time consuming, but even with the first assignment you think wow i already have learned tons in the first week. The project is probably the hardest project I have had so far at Poly, and this is coming from a previous ARCE major, but the knowledge you will gain is endless. The project requires a lot of time, and it's best to start it as early as you can....waiting until the last minute is not an option. I hope that you take him. You will learn more than you ever thought possible, and if you have time go to his office hours, he is a knowledgeable guy to talk to about the career path you are thinking of taking, etc.

How could a finance student go through Cal Poly and not take Gorman? Do any of you pussies realize who purposely avoid Gorman understand the reason your going to school. Do you really think getting a C in a couple finance classes or A's in them for that matter will really have an effect on your life? Seriously. When you tell someone you are a finance major do you feel confident you can have an intelligent discussion, if not, get the fuck out of the finance program at Poly your making our degree look bad. However, taking Gorman solves these quientessential problems that plague so many of our graduates. My one regret at Poly is not taking Gorman early on and I'm telling you now TAKE ALL THE CLASSES GORMAN OFFERS. Best teacher I've ever had.

Thanks for all the great stories of how cool you are, Gorman. The times you met with "big shots" in china, told everyone in the class that they wouldn't be able to find a job w/o a 3.5 GPA or higher, and your account of all those times students came to tell you how tight you were when they ran into you traveling internationally. I thought your idea to test the class on whether or not they could give you 20 different fractions in decimal form within 3 minutes was super fun and your rationale for making the class learn it - impress people when you can divide odd fractions - was quite solid. Just last week I was walking downtown and I ran into the King of a small European nation and he asked me what 3/13 was in decimal form. When I told him .2307 so quickly, he named me his successor. I am now King and have Larry Gorman to thank. Without spending a quarter dealing with Gorman's constant arrogance, belittling of students who don't immediately grasp the material, and bragging, I would never have gone so far. Thanks again, Gorman, and best of luck getting on one of those girls in your class that you hit on so blatantly!

I have taken Gorman for Corporate Finance, Securities Analysis, and Senior Project. I've learned more from him than any other finance professor I have taken. He pushes you to do better than you thought you could. I highly recommend taking him if you would like to learn a lot, but avoid his classes if you are trying to earn your degree with as little work as possible. Students who hate him are usually the lazy ones who didn't learn anything because they didn't try.

Brilliant man. Unrealistic expectations for the quarter system. Only take him if you are prepared to feel suicidal for the last 5 weeks of the quarter and really really really enjoy the library... and I'm not talking about the bar. Good luck... his motto is more pain = more gain su

Awesome teacher. He is a very engaging and humouorus speaker that does a great job of holding your attention, even when you're confused about the lecture material, which you most likely will be (he lectures at a very fast pace). He likes to slip in little stories and life lessons into his lectures that are very entertaining and make you realize there is more to this guy than your average finance professor. He cares about his students success, not just in the work world but in life as well. Very helpful in office hours and is very concerned about his students getting the best education possible. Extremely challenging class however, hardest I've taken. The project was insanely challenging. Have no illusions, people were dropping out of class with 2-3 weeks LEFT in the quarter because of how overwhelming it was. The good thing is Gorman understands that he's asking way more of his students than any other 431 professors. He makes this clear on the first day of class. In the end, he will factor in the EFFORT put forth by his students into their final grades. Your project grade is based way more on EFFORT than actually getting all the numbers to make sense. If you can show you understand the concepts behind the numbers, you'll be fine. If you take him you'll see what I'm talking about. In the end you learn way more than you thought you ever would have. My only recommendation is to take him for 342 if you can, I did not and I was very confused early on in the quarter. You can still make it through if you dont, but it'll be easier if you do. I recommend him to every finance student looking to learn a lot. No doubt about it, you will be better prepared for the working world if you do.

Currently in his 431 class and took him for 342...aside from most of the stuff written the bottom line is his class basically teaches you how to work hard. The class is engaging and at the very least entertaining. I would definitely say the class is not for most (about half the class drops in both 342 and 431). make sure your other classes are easy for the quarter otherwise you'll be dying week in and week out. Pass or fail, which is looking like a 50/50 chance right now, you can learn a bunch of useful information by just showing up to class. Honestly though, there is no reason to fail everyone...outside of Perello's 207 class, a grading curve has never been more needed.

If you are serious about finance... LG is the man. 1. Don't expect to be babied. 2. Get over having a social life. 3. Expect 150+ hours for the project. 3. Sack up and work your ass off.

Great class. All finance majors should take 431 with Gorman.

Gorman is hands down the best teacher I've had at Cal Poly. His classes are extremely time consuming but worth the effort in the end. I got a B in both his 342 and 431 class. His 342 class was tough but easily bearable if you study the practice tests early and often just as he tells you. His 431 class is very very time consuming and hard, but you get a ton of hands on experience if you want to get a job in finance or even a lot of accounting positions. The "100 hour project" is actually about 150 hours so plan accordingly (Definitely worth the time, recruiters salivate over this). It would be a waste of your tuition money not to take at least his 342 class, just realize from the start you will have to work hard.

DON\'T TAKE GORMAN FOR 431!!! I had him for 342, got a B+, then thought I could handle 431. It\'s a TOTALLY different class. Truthfully, I think he does a really bad job with it. He just gives you the project instructions week 4, that make no sense and are really just designed to scare the sh** out of you, then doesn\'t have you turn anything in. So you don\'t know if your doing it right along the way. And if you procrastinate, this is THE WORST class you could take. And he does nothing to try to help you out and expects you to learn everything on your own. really... don\'t take him.

Read the review written on June 18, 2007! This is Gorman in a nut shell. I haven\'t laughed that hard in a long time lol

Disclaimer: I generally get A grades. First off: This is a very hard class that requires a lot of work. Gorman makes this very clear day one. If you are not willing to work extremely hard then you will dislike it and most likely post on here that you dislike him. I have learned more in this class then I have in almost every other BUS class I have taken. He crams a lot of information into one quarter, but if you keep up with all the work and information you will do great (as long as you understand the material). The 100 hour project (if you do a thorough job) takes much longer. I spent over 100 hours without ever touching excel. My advice to you is pick a company right away (or once he gives you the project instructions) and go through the instructions and underline everything you can already do (lots of analysis, overview and research) and just start doing that. Work your ass off. Then whenever you have a homework assignment that relates to the project (the later excel assignments - that are not easy by any means for most people), do the same assignment but for your company and do a write up explaining what you did and why while it is all fresh in your mind. The homework assignments are all excel assignments that require a good knowledge of excel. He goes over the information quickly in class (if you understand excel very well it will be cake), but also very well on the handouts. If I were you I would pay close attention in class to everything he does and why so that you can understand it. You can later read through the handouts if you don\'t understand the exact commands he used. We never had a pop-quiz. Final: He basically tells you what you need to know on the final (at least the main parts). It tests your understanding of the material and not just regurgitation of the material. I found the final easy because it tested on concepts I found interesting and therefore retained very easily. Good Luck to all who take this class. I did not have him for 341, but from what I hear it is a very different experience.

I will say it up front, I\'m the kid that didn\'t pass the class, and this is the only class I have not passed at Cal Poly. If you are taking more than three classes and have a job... prepare to fail in advance. He is known for his 100 PAGE term paper... and I honestly believe that if you haven\'t taken him in prerequisites classes you will start miles behind the other students. I am retaking the class with Roche, and GUESS WHAT,? I am actually learning. All of the things that Gorman ASSUMED you knew are actually taught by Roche. I would highly recommend Roche over Gorman if you want to actually learn, without the 50% chance you are going to fail.

Gorman is extremely arrogant and his whole class suffers from his arrogant attitude. His lectures go extremely fast which can make it hard to really follow along with. The \"book\" for the class is not any more helpful in explaining the material and is really dated, and his notes are hard to read. His tests are ridiculously hard and his grading policy is not fair. Because of his arrogance though, he tends to get a little cult-following of people who absolutely love him and follow him around wanting to be just like him. He admitted though that he doesn\'t really like finance and doesn\'t do anything finance outside of teaching it and would rather be working on his boat. Don\'t take him if you don\'t have to. I worked really hard to pass the class and I don\'t remember anything because I just had to cram in a bunch of info instead of really learning the concepts.

Gorman is the best teacher for this class hands down. As a finance major you NEED to know how to use Excel VERY well, and after taking this class you will be able to do financial modeling in your sleep. This class is VERY time consuming, but it is not really that difficult. The 100 hour project easily takes 150+ hours, so I would not recommend taking more than 12 units while enrolled in this class. Do not wimp out and take Roche. Any real finance kid at this school will tell you to take every one of Gorman�s classes, so man up and do it.

I got a B+ at the end of it all... and I flunked the final (blanked out due to over studying and finally learning my other classes).... This is because my ENTIRE QUARTER was dedicated to this man's ridiculously time consuming class. THE MATERIAL IS NOT HARD. It's just a fuck ton of bitchwork. If you are asian, or a slow-talking soft-toned slicked hair white kid with glasses, then by all means take this class - you'll love the amount of quality bitchwork you can potentially produce. I put in a fuck ton of work, never procrastinated, balanced all that with work and other classes, and still had to pull all nighters (which were not lonely because the remaining class members who hadn't already given up were right there with me)... So in the end, yes I learned 'some stuff'... but he sure as hell didn't teach us. Now I know how to google things (like you couldn't imagine how well), and I know off the top of my head that 5/13 = .385... but let's be real here, I learned to produce quality bitchwork by myself.. and as a finance major, quality bitchwork is the perfect thing for a resume, right? So yeah, take this class, kill your quarter, become a quality bitchworker. But don't think its impressive. It's just mindless bitchwork. I got a B+, but even if I would have gotten an A, I would still feel the same - permanently scarred by a loss of a whole quarter which in the end I didn't gain that much from... just how to use excel a little better, how to google, and random fractions. Fuck you Larry Gorman, you are a stupid fuck old man who takes pride in showing off infront of 18-22 year olds

If you are not concentrating in finance, avoid. However, if you are concentrating in finance you MUST take Gorman...period. Until we get some professors in this department who are worth a shit, he's pretty much the only option if you want to learn anything. For all of you who avoid him because you don't want to work hard- sack up and stop being pussies, cause you're making our degrees look worthless.

Gorman....please stop writing your own reviews. It's too obvious. Who else says sack up and calls people pussies consistently in the past 7 years? "In any event".... you're too funny.

I know a lot of people are unsure about taking this class so I'll try my best to give it all. First off, I spent over 200 hours and ended up getting a C+ in the class. Take only 2 other classes with this class! However, this was mostly due to my own mistakes. Also,I doubt any of those reviews are Dr.Gorman, it really doesn't sound like him. So he throws a project at you, and even when you try to get ahead it is hard because you don't understand how to do things exactly. He also forces you to memorize the fractions from 1-20 to 3 decimal places (easy he gives you a lot of tricks). The second day he gives you a test on HIS 342. If you think you know 342 but didn't have him, you will probably get a 14.28% (1/7) or less. It's extremely biased to his 342. You must get his handout packet from his 342 class (could be worth it to buy it). Tips for the project: Take all the directions he gives you and try to organize it like week 4 or 5 once you start to understand the directions. Choose your company quickly and make historical balance sheet, income statements, statement of cash flows, ratios and common size for your company and its competitors. Make them very simple! Doing all of that will take a decent amount of time so do that right when you pick your company. Write 5-7 pages about the competitors,the industry, and your company as a whole. It is way better to write as you go. There's a million things I could say more but I don't want to write it all. Essentially when he does a homework in class, try to replicate it. Do quality work the first time, I always found my back having to go back and fix my balance sheet and income statement and statement of cash flows i screwed up (costing me probably 20 hours just dealing with fixing issues like that). Is it worth it? If you are going into finance yes. Its shitty yeah, I watched the sunrise 4 days in a row with 6 other people in my class and believe me I did not procastinate. However it was my own fault( I was probably the most inefficient C+ in the class). You learn seriously a lot, and Dr. Gorman will help you in the future if you worked hard and try to get to know him. He seems like an asshole in class but once you get to know him he's actually pretty cool. Yeah this class is shit ton of "bitchwork" like someone said earlier. The truth is in this profession you are going to be working a lot with bitchwork to start, and this class will teach you how to build all the excels with is a great skill in itself.

Gorman knows his stuff but if you are not CERTAIN that you want to be an investment banker in the future than avoid this class. The effort is not worth the grade especially when there is another teacher that requires 1/5 of the work Gorman does. You'll learn a lot, but don't kid yourself - this class should be for serious financial students that want a rigorous lifeless career.

GET AHEAD ON THE PROJECT!!! yes getting ahead will kill your social life and probably make you miserable but you will be thanking yourself later on. Gorman's class is the hardest class I've ever taken and he is by far the best professor at Cal Poly, not to mention an awesome person in general. Take this class if and only if you are ok with giving up time every day to do work for this class. One homework assignemnt will take you thursday, friday, saturday and all day sunday to do so be prepared. This class is a living example of what you put in is what you get out. If you don't feel like putting in the work, and don't feel like doing the project, you won't learn very much. But that does not mean that you will get an A because you work hard. A lot of people in the class worked their asses off all quarter and still failed. Take Gorman, unless you're lazy or simply do not have time.

Ah Gorman. I should have known better after taking his 342 class to continue on with him. He was the only professor for this class that quarter. So right off the bat, Day 2, there's an exam. It's basically there to weed out the people who took someone...easier than him for 342. You fail it? There goes 25% of your grade I think and it basically forces you to drop.If you make it past that, you have about 1-2 homework assignment a week that take anywhere from 2-10ish hours. Not easy, and the material comes fast so studying is necessary every week. His lectures are extremely scattered and often hard to follow. Sorry Gorman but having some notes online or something would really benefit your class, because I felt lost a lot and so did a lot of your students that I talked to. His final project...nearly impossible if you don't jump on it right from the get go. I felt as if I didn't know enough to start early on, but that was a mistake. You HAVE to work from the get go. You have nothing to reference (apparently he has failed many people who use others' projects as references) so it is daunting and if you feel like you are going to get overwhelmed, chances are that you will and it is honestly better to drop and save yourself the suffering. The final was brutal as well. If you do take him for 431, be aware that this probably will be your hardest finance class you take. I'm not going to take away from the fact that Gorman IS the smartest Finance guy we have at Poly, but this class WILL kick your ass even when you work your ass off. Treat it like a full time job if you want any chance at success.

This class ain't for pussies....yeah it's a ton of work (I spent probably about 250 hours total on homework and the project) but my roi from winter quarter was through the roof. Do not take this class if you don't want to commit to a career in finance as it will probably be a huge waste of your time (maybe even think about switching majors to philosophy or art?). The last week of the class I lived at the library and blew 30 dollars on vending machine food. Gorman is a crazy mothetfucker in the best way possible...I want to know what the hell he puts in his coffee and where I can get some... Note: I actually made up the 30 dollars spent on shitty cookies (and then some) by selling the stock I had been doing my project on

Let's just be straight up: If you're not ready to work your ass off and prepare yourself to work in the analytical side of finance (where the money is), then don't bother taking this class. There is no other class in the entire business school that prepares you for future classes, interviews, and future jobs like Gorman's 431 class. Gorman pushes you extremely hard and sees how much he can get out of you. It's a battle and you will hate him through it. It's just important to remember that what you get out of this class is worth every single one of those 200ish hours you put in. He may be the reason why I'm addicted to coffee, but this class was beyond worth it. In summary, take 12 units with the class, give up most of your social life, and enjoy the best class in the business school.

Definitely the best finance class at Cal Poly. You will learn so much from "the" project.

I didn't take Gorman for 342, but survived his 431 class. I am not the smartest kid, but I try hard. So if feel you're not smart enough for Gorman's class, you're wrong. If you put in a ton of work, and dedicate yourself to learning finance, you'll be able to pass his class. That being said, I truly don't think Gorman is a good teacher. BUT he is a great COACH. He inspires his students to do their best, which is arguably better than being a great teacher. You have to teach yourself a lot, but you do teach yourself a lot, and you never would have if you didn't take his class. I am really glad I took his class, and the final project our group turned in is quite possibly the highest level piece of academic work I've ever produced. Class Structure: 8 HW's: 2-10hrs each (you learn a lot on excel) , approximately 4 fraction pop quizzes, lots of reading, final (based on his 431 book and lectures, definitely a fair test), "The Big Project" 100+ hours

You just made it out of Gorman’s 342. You worked hard, probably harder than you thought possible, and you made it. You might have even gotten an A. You might even call yourself a “grinder.” You’re a bright eyed 2nd year or a transfer student and the world is yours, so you decide the best next move would be to go up against Gorman in his final form in 431. Well boy do I have a fucking surprise for you! First thing’s first, on day 2, you have a 5 question midterm worth a sizable chunk of your grade. This is done to weed out the peasants. Better brush up on all that material you forgot while snowboarding in Tahoe over break. If you make it past that, you’re stoked (but crazy). The next few weeks consist of some pretty time consuming homework that will take you from a level one Excel dweeb to about a solid 3 (in spirit). These homeworks groom you to have the knowledge to apply them to a real company in which you will undergo the most stressful, twacked out, and time-consuming project imaginable. Seriously, go and ask anybody who took this class about the project and they’ll tell you it was nuts… that or they don’t want to talk about it. The guy who said he spent $30 on vending machine snacks and coffee probably was underestimating his bills for the months of May and June… You will be a coffee addict, spend countless nights in the lib trying to figure out what is even going on, and WILL lose a few years off your life (Gorman says you’ll live about 5% better for the rest of your life but I’m not buying it). While you’re in the middle of this fun-filled quarter you also have some pretty interesting fractions quizzes that go like this: Beginning=17, End =21, Dividend =1 and you have 3 seconds for each question to write the IRR. The only reason these are useful are when you try to flex in an interview by telling them about Gorman’s 431 and they blast you with a fractions quiz (actually happens). Throw that on top of a final that you will walk out knowing 100% without a doubt you failed, and there you have it: Gorman’s infamous 431. But if you’ve read this far, you should know that this class (along with 342) are the most insanely knowledge packed classes you will probably ever take. The skills you gain and the work ethic you build will carry over into your other classes and your future jobs. You’d be a damn fool not to take this class with Gorman. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity and you moved your entire life to SLO to learn finance, so man up and get after it! Not enough can be said about how fortunate Cal Poly is to have a professor teach the way he does with the intensity that he does. If you know, you know. Good luck!

I give Gorman an "A". He teaches a fast-paced, information packed (sometimes too much information for 2 hours), lecture every time, and shows he actually cares about his students' (that don't flunk out in the first week) learning. Especially in his 444 class, you will learn things you should not be able to learn, things only fourth quarter and beyond calculus students learn, and he will make it seem easy -- IF YOU WORK YOUR ASS OFF. To be honest, without Ramezani and Gorman, my low, disgusted opinion of the Cal Poly Business School would still be intact.

WOW- I didn't realize how hated Professor Gorman really was until I read that awful article in the Mustang Daily and saw some of the shitty things people said about him. HE IS GETTING A BAD RAP!!! There is something you need to understand about Gorman, he isn't for everyone. It's true that he does fail half of his 342 class, but I don't believe he gets any pleasure from this. He is very straight forward and told his whole class that 50% FAILED because he wants to ween out those 50%, I don't think that this should have come to a surprise to anyone. Gorman is a serious finance teacher and only wants SERIOUS FINANCE STUDENTS. If that is not you, then don't go into his class. He is trying to teach us a level of finance that is almost to advanced for the people in this college and that is why people don't think he is a good teacher, but I think he is FUCKING unbelievable!!! He has such charisma that when he teaches that 2 hours usually seems like one and he doesn't even take time to breath. If someone has a question, he can answer it without a problem and very clearly. Gorman is trying to bring us students to a new calibre. I read the Mustang Daily and it was so wrong. Any reason Gorman would want people not to write bad things about him is because he doesn't want to scare the good students off. He wants people to tell the truth, but those who got an F and blame him for that are usually the people who write these stupid comments and he know that. So to finish off: DON'T TAKE GORMAN IF YOU DO NOT CARE ABOUT FINANCE, DON'T TAKE GORMAN IF YOU ARE A PUSSY, DON'T TAKE GORMAN IF YOU CRY LIKE A BITCH BECAUSE HE ONLY GIVES TWO TEST. TAKE GORMAN IF YOU WANT TO DO ANYTHING WITH FINANCE OUTSIDE OF THIS SCHOOL BECAUSE I KNOW THAT IS ONE OF THE KEY THINGS RECRUITERS ARE LOOKING AT-- HE IS THE BEST TEACHER I HAVE EVER HAD IN MY LIFE AND IT IS BECAUSE OF HIM I AM NOW PERSUING A CAREER IN FINANCE. For his classes, no homework, just test and that means that it is up to you to get your shit done!!! Word to the wise, do not skip even one lecture or if you do, try and tape record it because only GORMAN can clear things up for you!!

I have taken Professor Gorman for 342 and 433 and have learned more from these two classes than I have in my whole Cal Poly education. I recommend taking Dr. Gorman for any class if you expect and desire to be challenged by your education (if you actually want to learn something).

Nice guy, but honestly....way too fucking hard. If your real smart you might do well in his class. If you're really really smart you won't take this guy.

After reading some of the comments on Dr. Gorman, I am completely appalled at what some of the students had to say. I completely agree that Gorman

HE IS A TRUE INSPIRATION & A HUGE ASSET TO POLY!

Definitely the BEST professor I

IF YOU ARE FINANCE, YOU NEED TO TAKE GORMAN... if you do not, you will never get a great finance job anywhere. Gorman will make you work harder for a C than you ever had to work for a A with another teacher, but it pays off. On job interviews, they DEFINITELY ask you finance questions and unless you've had Gorman, you will never know what they are talking about. You need to take Gorman from 342 on up (342, 343, 433, and 444) but the amount of iformation you walk away with is staggering. THE BEST TEACHER AT CAL POLY.

Here's the deal with Dr G. He is pretty much just smoke and mirrors. I graduated a few years ago and have worked in finance since I graduated. When I took him, he went on an on about how great he was, that he graduated from Northwestern, that you were an idiot if you did not take his financial engineering class or worship finance blah blah blah. Now that I am older and wiser I can see even more clearly that the students he appeals to are the ones in need of a father figure, so if you are looking for one, go see your real daddy, not him. Ask him if he has ever even worked in the investment banking community. He hasn't, yet he goes talks about it like he knows what its all about and what those firms are looking for. When I took him he also sent out an email to our class claiming he was under attack on Polyratings and asking us to sign on and write something nice about him. Pathetic. Beware of this guy and don't fall for his self promoting bullshit.

Gorman seems like an intelligent professor and I think his teaching style is great for calpoly. I just hate seeing all of his little disciples following him around by their noses. Have some self-direction, and and some self respect. Taking one of his classes will not guarantee you a job, but if you take enough of his classes you will become delusional and turn into an arrogant prick.

After speaking to some current Poly students at open house weekend, I felt compelled, as an '03 grad, to shed some light on all of the BS that is spewed in here. Although I generally found Gorman

First, the man is absolutely ridiculous. That being said, he is the best teacher in the business building. He will not hold your hand and listen to you cry about how hard things are. He doesn\'t care and isn\'t afraid to let you know it, trust me he told us. Either you learn the material or you don\'t. Don\'t think that because you are a senior he will pass you. He has kept more than a few kids from graduating and makes no apologies. If you work hard and study you ass off you will pass the class and learn a ton. If you think you can coast by \"[He] will fail every f***ing one of you, and not feel bad about it\".

I am a 2nd year finance concentration and took Gorman in the spring for International Finance. The class didn't seem that difficult to begin with because we didn't have our first midterm until week 8. By that time all of us were behind on reviewing and threre was so much information to catch up for the test (given that is partially our fault for not preparing earlier). Also the study questions he gave us were nothing like the ones he gave us in BUS342 (which were actually helpful). The practice questions he gave us were very simple and straight forward but the test questions were very complex and a lot harder (similar to the BUS342 ones). At least half the class got under 50% on that midterm. I personally got a 32% which obviously freaked me out a lot. Looking back I should have studied the questions his hand written yellow text book he assigns the class so that's what I would suggest future students to do. We also had the fractions quiz week 9 (which I probably got about half credit on). But I studied my ass off for the final and did pretty well on it because I ended up with a B+ in the class. Overall I did learn A LOT even though this class was hard, so I suggest taking it but also studying your ass off for the tests (it's not impossible). And even if you do completely fail the first one if you work hard for the final you'll end up with a decent grae.

Okay, first of all I need to say that i am a horrible writer, so i apologize if you find my writing hard to read. I took Dr. Gorman for the past 3 quarters for his 342, 431, and 433 class ending up with A-, C, and B+. Why? I found his class to be super interesting and taught me so much that i don't think any other professor can do the same. I read some other comment and the people bitching about how he "doesn't teach finance" are just the people who never tried. It was totally their own fault. People should take responsibility and think about what they did to earn their grade. Yeah, Gorman's classes were hard and require much more work than many people expected. So if you decide to take him, prepare to put time to actually study for his class and do some work. Also, taking his class not only did i learned much about finance, but also how to put some effort to earn the grade that i deserve. Gorman is the professor who can teach you the life lesson that you need. TAKE HIM! Take him if you want to learn.

As a recent college grad now in the work force, I must say that Gorman does what it takes to prepare you to do well in the Real world. I got a great job with a great company, making great money and I owe it to Larry. But his influence on my career goes one step further. I got a job because I showed an understanding of finance concepts. But My career will flourish because of a solid foundation that has been laid by Larry. If you want to get by don't take Gorman. If you want to develop skills that will ensure a succesful finance career take as many classes with Gorman as you can. I am not blowing smoke either. Some evaluators will say they learned alot bla, bla, bla. I can say if you work hard you will get a job that pays damn good money right out of school. And you don't have to work 70 hour weeks doing grunt work to earn it.

Professor Gorman's classes are extremely involved. He covers advanced topics in finance that are necessary to be exposed to in order to turn heads once in the work force. There is no doubt you will put muc effort into his classes but the rewards are far greater. If you work hard and swhow and effort he will reward you accordingly. If you slack he will nail you. It's that simple. I would recommend that all finance students take as many of Larry's classes as they can. Unfortunately, I only had Larry for two classes but I learned more valuable information and skills in those classes than all my other finance classes combined. If you are someone who wants to be challenged and reap the rewards of hard work, I recommend you take Financial Engineereing and Risk Management. It will pay off if you stick with it.

Do you want to make $100,000 out of college? Do you want to be a "BSD"? Well if you have big plans then it is helpful to have tools to put them into action. By taking Gorman & Cyrus, you will receive tools far superior to your future colleagues. By doing well in their classes you will put yourself in position to work for a major bank or whatever else your financial dreams may lead..............Only advice: "Do not fuck around in their classes. There are easier teachers but, these easier teachers do not care whether you end up on Wall Street or not. And make sure you can drink beer with your buddies!!!!!"

Is it a bad word?: Many people cringe when they hear the word "GORMAN". These people are often the people who have failed his class. However, many students smile and have a lot of good things to say when they here his name. My advice: If you consider yourself a good student and want to learn something, I only have one line of advice for you, TAKE GORMAN. People say he is hard and impossible, but those people didn't study for his tests. I didn't study for his midterm and I flunked it, I studied for no more than 4 hours for his final and I ACED it. His classes are not impossible, he just expects what any good college professor should expect from his students. don't take him if you don't want to learn finance. If you want an easy A, don't take him, you won't get it! He cares: He does not just expect you to do everything by yourself, he is always available to answer any questions you may have. He will spend as much time as you need to understand something. He really cares about his students. If you really want to learn finance: Take him for each class that he teaches. You must take him for fundamentals of corporate finance so you can get a solid base. then his international branches out into other areas. His Financial Engineering class is something that most students will not ever use because it is so complex, however take the class! It is good to broaden your knowledge on what finance is really about. Finance is so deep, one can't imagine. Other teachers will tell you that gorman goes way to deep into everything, but I say he teaches what should be taught if you want a good education. If you take him and succeed in his classes, you will be way ahead of your peers when you go out into the world. Bottom Line: Take Gorman if you want to learn, don't take him if you want an easy A. He is an excellent teacher if you are a good student. If you have any questions feel free to drop me an email, I had Gorman for all three classes, I can answer any quesions related to his teaching style. jsn1000@hotmail.com

I would like to give a strong recommendation for Financial Engineering Bus X444. Doctor Gorman was an outstanding instructor for this course. There are a few things that I would suggest to students interested in this course. One should try and take as many of the finance classes as possible from Dr. Gorman (i.e. International Fin. & Fin. 342). I wont lie, he is the hardest instructor I have had but is very fair. I would say that it takes a lot of dedication to the course and don't plan on being to social during this time! I personally went from not drinking coffee to drinking it black and I spent most of my weekends studying. The most important thing that one should consider when contemplating this class is the fact that the information one will learn in this course is invaluable and there is no other place that one can learn it at an undergraduate level but it is a serious commitment. If your serious about learning something truely useful towards your carreer, take this course. It is worth the prerequesits and time spent and then some.

Financial Engineering is a must take class for anyone who is serious about a career in finance. Dr. Gorman teaches this advanced class with enthusiasm. Financial Engineering brings together everything you've learned in earlier classes and shows you how to perform practical financial analyses. If you like Math, Computer Science, Finance, and Statistics you'll get to use it all here. No more sissy word problems. Learn to boot-strap yield curves, price portfolios of derivative securities, and optimize multiple asset portfolios. If you don't take this class, you're not getting your money's worth out of Cal Poly. A word about Dr. Gorman in general: Take him for everything! Intro to Finance, International Finance, and Financial Engineering. Dr. Gorman is enthusiastic and really stimulates your interest in Finance. He is one of two teachers I've had here at Poly that inspired me to learn not just get the grade. I'd say Gorman is the best teacher in the College of Business.

This is a serious class for serious people. No matter what, if you put in the work, you're going to learn something. If you can't get the math, you'll learn a great programming language that will prove to be EXTREMELY useful in the future. If the programming is over your head, then you'll build a great base to continue on in finance, especially if you want to understand the bulk of what advanced finance books are saying. No finance major should leave Cal Poly without this course.

Why should you take 444 with Gorman? The answer is a simple one. If you want to learn skills such as programming and other useless skills this is the class for you. After 10 weeks I would like to have seen some risk management, some financial engineering if you will, but I walked away from this class disappointed. Three out of seven programs were about Net Present Value. If you have gone this far into your finance classes and have yet to understand this concept you should find a new major. This class is pointless and will NOT get you a job. The myths about people walking out og Gorman's program and making 100K+ are simply false. Don't believe me? Go ask career services, they have a catalog of starting salaries for all majors. I received an A in this class and learned next to nothing. The fact of the matter is if you want a good finance job you'll have to get your MBA. Undergrads should be focusing their studies on something practical like accounting. I hate accounting but the fact of the matter is you need to know it to get a finance job. So take some accounting classes, take some finance classes from Ramezani, and yes, even take basic finance with Gorman. But do NOT waste your time with this class. If you do take this class after 10 weeks call me and tell me what useful things you learned. You might tell me GBM, and I will tell you to go look up the efficient market hypothesis and then let me know if you think its useful. Dr. Gorman should evaluate whether his personal, self-serving style is benefitting the students. I think this class should be cancelled and a Corporate Finance class should take its place. Also look into the MA course that is going to be offered. Or maybe take time to sit down and figure out how to help the students of Cal Poly who are going to go into the workforce with a toolbox full of useless tools. Save yourself, learn something useful!

My intentions for taking 444 were clear; I wanted a stimulating course that would challenge me. I wanted something that was cerebral in thought and application. I struggled throughout the course (I did not have the underpinnings of a successful programmer) and at times was discouraged but in retrospect do see value in this PROGRAMMING course. The objectives are clear; this is a computer course and it reinforces finance concepts in a programming context. The genesis of my dislike (many people I talked to and worked with enjoyed it) for the course may be my flawed expectations or poor skill set but has nothing to do with Dr. Gorman. He is the preeminent finance professor at Cal Poly and my only advice is to expand his offerings to include a course that teaches kids skills for the jobs we actually get out of Cal Poly. In support of the course, it emphasizes team problem solving and collaboration rather than competition which is beneficial both from conquering the programs and in life outside of San Luis Obispo.

I think the comment that was posted last night on Polyratings was unjustified and pretty harsh. Dr. Gorman has provided a tremendous service to students and prepares us in ways that other business professors can not. I feel very fortunate that I was at the right time and place to take advantage of his classes. He does his best and only appeals to the best students and when the best students respond like that it is dissapointing. It is not his fault that some people don't have jobs. I suspect that the person who wrote that is feeling sour grapes because there is no high priced job waiting for him/her in the wings. Students now have the expectation that they are automatically entitled to something; they don't work for it. There is more to getting a job than just graduating, particulary in this economy. It is not a job entitlement and this student, whoever it is is really feeling resentful because passing the course doesn't automatically entitle him/her to a prestigious job.

First of all, this is NOT a rebuttal to the Dec. 18th posting, second of all this an honest opinion of Dr. Gorman and his 444 class. 444 is a programming/finance class and anyone registering for this course knows this. I feel 444 is too programming intensive, however, programming helps you understand the financial concepts at a deeper level. Concepts covered in the course were Geometric Brownian Motion, Mergers and Aquisitions, and deeper looks into concepts from previous courses. I have recently completed a senior project on the efficient market hypothesis so i could sit here for 10 minutes and poke 1 million holes in that argument from the December 18th posting. And anyone who took this class will know who I am (because of my senior project), and i can be easily reached for further questions regarding the efficient market hypothesis... Can the class be improved? I feel it can and that is why I took the time to write something on the course eval that was passed out the last week of class. But seriously, what class have you ever taken that cannot be improved? I feel 444 is not the capstone course as advertised, it is too programming intensive and I feel other topics could have been more emphasized (i.e. M and A). With that said, I would still encourage all to take this class if you want to work hard and learn some new financial concepts and have a greater understanding of concepts previously touched on. Additionally, Dr. G, is a good teacher. He challenges his students to work hard and to care about their coursework and their education in general. 444 is a good example of this.

I have taken Dr. Gorman for two courses, Bus 343 and Bus 444, and I can say with confidence that he has truly given me a great finance education. Most professors will give you the shortened and abreviated version of finance, while Dr. Gorman will give you the intuition behind the method. Financial engineering is a great class. Given the instruction I received in his engineering class I know that I can go into any environment and make any static project dynamic, be it capital budgeting, forecasting, or risk management. For example, we took a simple excel program and made it into a program that is dynamic. The program allows you to vary things like interest rates, variable costs, fixed costs, or working capital. In the real world these things are never truly accurate, some variables can only be estimated, which is why I liked that program the best. The class is geared towards giving you the tools that you can use on a day to day bases as a cost accountant, financial analyst, or investment banker. He is not giving you the holy grale, but he sure is giving you the tools to find it. And finally, for those who graduate and move on to corporate America, I know that your knowledge from Dr. Gorman will only help you be a better analyst.

As a former student of Dr. Gorman

If you're looking for any easy A, do not take Financial Engineering. This class will incorporate several difficult concepts from other classes such as Calculus, Statistics, Econometrics, Finance, and don't forget programming too. As you can tell, it is not for the faint of heart. I currently have a job in investments that I could not have gotten without the skills that I learned in this class. Believe me, Portfolio Managers, Research Analysts and Traders at major Wall Street Institutions use the concepts that you will learn in financial engineering. These skills include, Value at Risk (VAR), optimal currency hedging, Monte Carlo Simulation, and boot strapping yield curves just to name a few. Granted, taking Bus 444 does not automatically give you the key to a great job, especially when we take into account the current job market. However, it does give you a big advantage in an interview if you can tell a potential employer that you wrote a program that hedge's your currency exposure using various derivatives, forwards and futures contracts. Contrary to what some people may think, programming is an EXTREMELY important skill to have in any Quantitative Finance position. Before Gorman's class I never wrote a program. In my current position, I use my programming skills almost everyday writing code in Visual Basic which Optimizes Equity Portfolios, runs Risk Reports, and Performance Attribution Analysis. I know of several Asset Management firms that have several in house programs that they use on a daily basis that are written in VBA, SAS, Unix, and Matlab. If you want a job with these firms you'd better know how to code. If your debating whether you want to take this class, ask yourself one question: Where do you want to be in 3 to 5 years? If you want a good paying job at a major financial institution, then you'd better take Financial Engineering. If you want to sell insurance and index funds to your friend's grandparents, then you'd be wasting your time taking this class.

As a recent graduate who has taken three different classes from Dr. Gorman, I hope that I can provide a reasonably well-seasoned opinion on him. First, know that during my seven and a half year stay at Cal Poly I have been in Civil Engineering, Soil Science (don't ask), MIS and finally Finance. I also had the opportunity to run one of the largest businesses in San Luis Obispo (The Grid or Onemain.com) for over a year. None of this specifically relates to Dr. Gorman except to put my comments in perspective; I have seen most of what Cal Poly has to offer, and I have significant experience in the "real world". First, let me say that taking Dr. Gorman for 342 was the reason I became a Finance concentration. His passion for the subject, and for teaching students quickly drew me in. After being in the Cal Poly finance program for just 4 quarters, I have landed what, in my opinion, is one of the coolest jobs imaginable. I will be working for a very large investment company doing portfolio management. (anyone who knows me, now knows who wrote this) This is a REAL finance job, doing some no-joke finance with amounts of money that get ludicrous in a hurry. I will also be working with a group of the smartest people I have ever met, and I expect my education to continue right where it left off from Cal Poly. There are only three reasons I got this job. First, Dr. Gorman. Had it not been for Dr. Gorman's recommendation and help, I would never have known this job existed, nor would I have submitted my resume. Second, Business 444 (Financial Engineering) with Dr. Gorman. After eight and a half hours of interviewing I quickly realized that the only reason I was able to keep up in the conversations going on around me, let alone answer some of the interview questions, was the solid grounding in modern financial theory I received in 444. In addition, I was told several times during my interview that my skills with Matlab and Gauss (the two programming packages Dr. Gorman teaches), would be well used and were very attractive. I do not think it is an exaggeration to say that without these programming skills, I wouldn't have received the job. Third, my own computer and management backgrounds. Having additional business and technology experience helped me close the deal and conduct myself professionally during the interview. However, I would never have reached that far without the help, and the coursework background from Dr. Gorman. Now, the bad part: Dr. Gorman expects you to work, and work hard. This doesn't sound all that difficult, but it is very important. Many of the complaints I hear about Dr. Gorman start with "He is SO hard

From my viewpoint as a finance major and student of Dr. Gorman, Bus 444 serves two significant functions, namely 1) Programming and 2) Finance. A pretty salient part of the course is the art of working together; much more than any other class I have taken at Cal Poly. Teamwork skills taught me to be adaptive, flexible, and humble to feedback from peers. I have taken multiple courses from Dr. Gorman and he was responsible for crystallizing the passion I have for investment finance. I was very focused before meeting Dr. Gorman but disappointed in the quality of the business program at Cal Poly. I didn

Do you want to learn the skills that will enable you to compete, succeed, and excel in the competitive financial job market? Are you willing to work hard in order to obtain the skills? If the answers are yes, then take every course you can with Gorman, especially financial engineering (FE). Why listen to me? Well, I was in Gorman

BUS-444 emphasizes computer PROGRAMMING for Finance application and there are many pros to take this class. Class concepts include emphasis on geometric brownian motion, value at risk, m/a; the class, also, offers valuable team problem solving/collaboration with a small class size allowing more chances for questions. Further, Dr. Gorman is a solid teacher. While BUS-444 was a great class, it can be made better. My disappointment lies with my expectations -- namely, developing risk management skills and using programming to reinforce these concepts. The class content is worthwhile, but emphasis could be given to topics --e.g. exotic derivative valuation-- that weren't covered as well as those that were (i.e. m/a). Moreover, while programming enables deeper understanding of concepts, the value of this, in my opinion, was not maximized as the assignments did not adequately reinforce class concepts. The programming aspect will be difficult if you have no programming experience. This transition, as a suggestion, could be made more efficient by introducing the application in a computer lab instead of a projector to allow students to work the program with the professor available for questions. The class aside, Dr. Gorman continues to be a great teacher because he actively cares for his students and demands his students to work hard. He wants his students to have the theoretical/quantitative foundation necessary to excel in the work world and his efforts are visible to his students. I would recommend the class, and all others taught by him, to any student wanting to excel.

I realize the purpose of Polyratings is to post reviews of classes and/or professors. However, after reading some rather slanderous postings at Dr. Gorman

Gorman provides a lot of information that is useful, and he presents it clearly if unmercifully. His ego and mouth also provide information that's about as useful in today's job market for recent undergrads as a slide rule. His expectations of an I-banking grooming pool using quantitative methods is just plain unrealistic, which is a shame, because his first two classes 342, 433 are taught well. Take those two classes, just don't fall for any of his "quant rules the world" crap. Learn all the sides of business, not just the one that Gorman sells in his quant classes. Quant isn

This guy is a bully. I DEMAND COMEUPPANCE! I don't appreciate professors threatening my fellow students. Hopefully, he will be stripped of tenure.

I did not take Mr. Gorman's class and will never after having read the mustang daily today. I think it is sad that a teacher is so insecure about himself as to write an email to students telling them to send him their polyratings. He should be ashamed of himself especially since he already had high scores. I am a business major and have had Devore for statistics. He has awful ratings but is an excellent teacher who remains the head of the statistics department. He never comments about his ratings and remains mature and good natured. Maturity is obviously something Mr. Gorman lacks, which I think would reflect in a students grade had he or she written a less than wonderful evaluation about him.

Gorman's class wasn't great, and someone that is interested in learning anything should be warned that this might not be the ideal course. Prepare yourself for either an F-, F, F+, or A. Let the record also show that he is a very attractive man.

DON'T TAKE GORMAN, HE'S TERRIBLE!

First of all, if you're not a finance student, you probably should get out of his class. Secondly, a lot of the posts here are bull shit. Notice that everyone bitching about how hard, or how bad of a teacher he is, only took 342, and most likely dropped out or failed. Pussies. He does teach fast, maybe even zipping through some concepts, but that's because you need to meet him half way, and study outside of class. This isn't 3rd grade, where the teacher reads the chapter out of the book verbatim. This is college, and Gorman's classes are definitely more challenging than the average class. I took his whole series, and must say I got the most out of the Student Managed Portfolio Project, which is the best senior project program a finance student can take part in. (That's not to say I didn't learn a shit load of cool finance in his other classes.) Now you don't have to take all of his classes to get accepted into the SMPP, but you'll understand the fundamentals much better if you do. I graduated in June, and now I work in portfolio management. Sure I don't use everything I learned in his classes, and there's a lot I will probably never use. Many of the concepts he teaches requires a PhD to even think about pursuing as a career (like the math you learn in 444: the class is half programming, half advanced finance concepts), and most of these Wall Street jobs go to Physics majors. But if you work in a derivatives company that employ these people, you'll need to communicate, and if someone is having a discussion about stochastic variables, and the mechanics of Ito's Lemma, you can look somewhat intelligent by at least knowing of the concepts, and what they're used for. Anyway, if you want an edge in the interview process, and if your daddy, or uncle, or whoever else you know doesn't work in finance, then you'd better sack up and study hard, and don't forget to party, or you'll burn out; it's all about time management.

Okay... This course really isn't that bad. I got a C+ in 342 with Dr.Gorman and an A in 444. Its programmy and mathy. The code and theory Gorman uses is a bit outdated (late 90's early 2000's) so take everything with a grain of salt, but overall really good stuff if you like the quant end of finance. He also teaches stochastic calculus which is REALLY GOOD STUFF!!! if you want to pursue a graduate degree in finance. There isn't a single class in the MATH, STAT, ECON, or BUS department that teaches stochastic calc so unless your an EE, there is no where else to learn it. The learning environment in 444 is also fairly unstructured, some people find it overwhelming, so be warned. I recommend this class to the interested and ambitious

Professor Gorman is the Wolf of Cal Poly, minus the coke, add whatever he's taking that makes him so fucking crazy. But he's dope.

Dr Gorman is more concerned with self promotion than education. His ego knows no bounds. The poblem? Quite often he is wrong. He said "the maket would be at 8000 in the beggining of 1999" amoung other things. He is well intentioned, but clearly has a personel agenda.

If you have any interest in finance I would recommend taking Dr. Gorman ASAP. Half of these reviews consider him to be the worst teacher and I'm willing to bet all of them were people that just wanted to pass the class and get on with it. Yeah he's hard, yes he expects a lot out of you but if you want to learn it that's why he's there. Taking his classes will give you an advantage that you'll be glad you have when competing for jobs against other grads. If you want an easy class, don't take him. If you want an education (which, at least in my case, is what I'm paying all this money for) than he will give you one that's worth it. Although I recommend him so highly, far be it from me to say it's for everyone. It's your call, you still have to work really hard, but hard work pays off.

he sure does like his women, wet!!