Mid-Term Exam Format and Contact Information
This sheet is intended to assist in the preparation for the Mid-term exam scheduled for Monday, March 3. This exam will be formatted in two parts, a closed-book non-quantitative part and an open-book quantitative part. Students will complete the closed-book non-quantitative part of the exam, return it to the instructor and then take the open-book quantitative part of the exam. Students may bring any written material only to the open-book portion of the exam. Students will also be permitted to bring a non-programmable calculator to the exam. No computers with DOS or Windows operating systems or alphabet keys will be permitted for either part. All questions on the exam will be drawn from material covered in the instructor's lectures and/or from the Coursepack. Material from other readings are likely to be useful in preparing for the exam. I suggest that you read it, at least part of it, particularly if you are experiening difficulties with material covered in the course.

One should not assume that exam questions will involve simple duplication of material in the handouts, textbook, course pack or notes or other material. Some ingenuity and analytical skills may be required to answer certain questions. In addition, it will be useful for students' grasp of the material to be strong enough to answer questions quickly, as time will be limited. This point is key; you must know the material well enough to be able to work fast. Be certain to understand derivations where applicable (such as geometric expansions) and be able to perform computations for all problem types. The practice version of the exam is intended to be representative of the style of actual examination questions and structures; actual exam coverage will extend to all material covered as of the class meeting immediately prior to the exam. Each exam, either practice version or actual version should be considered to only cover a limited "randomly selected" range of course material. Be certain to cover all required material in your preparations. Also note that many students feel that their actual exams are more difficult than the practice versions. This seems particularly true when solutions sheets are viewed along with the practice exams or when the practice versions of exams are not taken under actual exam conditions.

Material covered by the exam will pertain to all lectures prior to and including the class meeting immediately prior. This will include all of the readings from Chapters VII to XIII.D from the Coursepack subject to certain restrictions outlined below and subject to change as the term progresses and as actual course coverage varies from anticipated course coverage. Be certain to check the course syllabus and material below here so that you do not waste time reading material that will not be covered on the exam. Work through all appropriate problems (particularly in the Coursepack), being certain not to view solutions until you have completed your work. Wait until you have made your final preparations for the exam before attempting the practice exams which may be found at the sample exam page . Allow 3 hours for the sample exam, both parts.

I plan to hold an extra optional review session. I do not plan to introduce any new material during this session; I plan only to review course material. The purpose of the review session is to help students prepare for the exam. Ths session will be on Wednesday, February 26 from 10:30 AM until 12:00 noon in Pittsburgh 4206. In addition, James will hold an extra review session on Monday, March 3rd from 12:00 noon until 2:00 PM in Ricketts 212.

All material from the Course Pack Chapters VII to XIII.D will be covered on the mid-term exam. Do all relevant end-of-chapter problems as well.

My office telephone number is 518-276-3336. I can also be reached at my home telephone number: 1-203-344-1128. You can call either number anytime, though I am frequently away or otherwise occupied. Of course, I can be e-mailed at tealj2@rpi.edu .
 
 

Mid-Term Exam Preparation, Coverage and Recommended Readings for the Exam
    Try to attend the optional outside-of-class review sessions scheduled from time-to-time. While no new material will be covered in these review sessions, they may be very helpful for exam preparation.
    Remember that the quantitative exam portion of this exam is of the open-book type. This means that simple memorization of formulas will not very useful. Knowing how to apply the models, how to derive and extend them along with how they relate to one another will be most useful.
    Perhaps, you are tempted to ask "What do I need to know for this exam?" My answer would be: "If you know everything, and know it cold, you'll be just fine. Otherwise, the more you know, the better off you will be." Everything covered on the exam will be drawn from material or, in my opinion, can be inferred from material drawn from from course lectures or covered in the Coursepack.

While most of the Lecture Spreadsheets will be useful in preparing  for the exam, those labeled Review or More Advanced may be skipped.

     Some additional material can be linked to from the Additional Readings page . This page provides a detailed description of materials and suggestions for its use. After studying the Coursepack, use this page. Also make use of this page if you are experiencing difficulties with the Coursepack.

    The content of the exam may well differ from the material given above as exact course coverage and exam timing cannot be predicted early in the term. Since the exam will be based on course lectures, and the Coursepack material closely parallels lecture material, first make certain that you are comfortable with lecture notes and Coursepack readings. This includes completing all relevant problems. If you are either encountering substantial difficulty with the material listed above or would benefit from working through additional material (as should be the case for most students), I suggest the material below.

Web Site and Other Handout Material
    The Elementary Mathematics Review and the Readings and Coursepack sites will provide useful material for students experiencing difficulty with the lectures and the text book. Material in the Readings and Coursepack page will also provide numerous solved exercises. First, students experiencing substantial difficulty with course material should cover any sections with which they may be uncomfortable in the two chapters of the Elementary Mathematics Review . This includes working through all exercises.

All relevant end-of-chapter problems may be helpful as well. These listings may change as the exam approaches due to actual coverage in the lectures. Make certain that you have a look at the Sample Exams . It is probably best to do this after you have completed all other exam preparations.

Final Exam Format and Contact Information
This sheet is intended to assist in the preparation for the final exam scheduled for Monday, May 5.  This exam will be in two parts, a closed-book non-quantitative part and an open-book quantitative part. Students will complete the closed-book non-quantitative part of the exam, return it to the instructor and then take the open-book quantitative part of the exam. Students may bring any written material only to the open-book portion of the exam. Students will also be permitted to bring a non-programmable calculator to the exam. No computers with DOS or Windows operating systems or alphabet keys will be permitted for either part. All questions on the exam will be drawn from material covered in the instructor's lectures and/or from the Coursepack. Material from other readings are likely to be most useful in preparing for the exam. I suggest that you read it, at least part of it, particularly if you are experiencing difficulties with material covered in the course.

One should not assume that exam questions will involve simple duplication of material in the handouts, textbook, course pack or notes or other material. Some ingenuity and analytical skills may be required to answer certain questions. In addition, it will be useful for students' grasp of the material to be strong enough to answer questions quickly, as time will be limited. This point is key; you must know the material well enough to be able to work fast. Be certain to understand derivations where applicable (such as geometric expansions) and be able to perform computations for all problem types. The practice version of the exam is intended to be representative of the style of actual examination questions and structures; actual exam coverage will extend to all material covered as of the end of the term. Each exam, either practice version or actual version should be considered to only cover a limited "randomly selected" range of course material. Be certain to cover all required material in your preparations. Also note that many students feel that their actual exams are more difficult than the practice versions. This seems particularly true when solutions sheets are viewed along with the practice exams or when the practice versions of exams are not taken under actual exam conditions.

Material covered by the exam will pertain to all lectures prior to and including April 28. This will include all of the readings from Chapters XIII.D to 21 and 23 of the Coursepack subject to certain restrictions outlined below and subject to change as actual course coverage varies from anticipated course coverage. Be certain to check the course syllabus and material below here so that you do not waste time reading material that will not be covered on the exam. Work through all appropriate problems (particularly in the coursepack), being certain not to view solutions until you have completed your work. Wait until you have made your final preparations for the exam before attempting the practice exams which may be found at the sample exam page. Be certain to check the course syllabus and material below here so that you do not waste time reading material that will not be covered on the exam. Allow 3 hours for the sample exam.

Review Sessions and Office Hours
I will conduct an extra exam review session for this class at 11:00AM until 12:30PM on Wednesday, April 30 in Pittsburgh 5114. James Donato will conduct a second review session from 12:00 noon until 2:00PM in the 5th floor CFS space in Pittsburgh Hall (unless a 5th floor classroom is available) prior to the exam on Monday, May 5. In addition, James will hold regular walk-in office hours as follows:
    Tuesday, April 29, 5-6pm in CFS
    Monday, May 5, 12:00noon-2pm in CFS
    Monday, May 5, 5:00-6pm in CFS

My office telephone number (with voice mail) is 518-276-3336. I can also be reached at my home telephone number: 1-203-344-1128; a fax machine might pick up if I don't. Feel free to send a fax to this number if you like. You can call either number anytime, though I am frequently not available. I can also be reached through johnlteall through Skype, though it is best to email me first so that I can turn Skype on. Of course, I can be e-mailed at tealj2@rpi.edu .
 

Final Exam Preparation, Coverage and Recommended Readings for the Exam

A Few Sections to Focus Less On

First, when the Coursepack refers to academic papers, books, etc., by author name and year, this should make it easier for you to obtain additional information if you care to. You need not remember this sort of detail for exam purposes. In addition, you need not remember minor data referring to specific corporations in tables, such as the list of mergers in Chapter 21 or Table 1 in Chapter 16, which lists details for "money left on the table."

Chapter 13:  Sections A, B and C are not covered on the final exam. The section in Section F concerning the Stiglitz and Weiss adverse selection problem scenario will not be covered on the final exam, but does provide an interest and currently relevant illustration of how the adverse selection problem can restrict credit availability.  Also, in Section 13.F, do not be too concerned with the equations and numbers usedto illustrate the Spence scenario. In Section 13.G, do not worry about the graphs depicting the Jensen and Meckling agency problem or the descriptions of these graphs. Don't worry about the math in the appendix for purposes of the exam. Do not be concerned with Sections 14.F, 22, and 23.A to 23.D and 23.H.

Chapter 17: In Section C, the material on Dividend Policy: Miller and Scholes Analysis. Sections E and F were not covered and are left out of the Course Pack.

Updated 04/28/2014