Scott Besley - University of South Florida

Professor: Scott Besley

Department: TBD

College: University of South Florida

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: FIN3400
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Hands down the worst professor at USF.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: FIN3403
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

A lot of people left bad reviews and I am not sure why. He is intelligent in the subject of finance. Learned more about basic finance in his class than I had in my entire life. The material is hard as its new to most but he was personally one of my favorite professors.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: FIN3403
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

This professor is to the point and goes over assigned problems in class. Buy the book and read the notes which are printed on the back of the book which provide a good summary. Make sure to know solving assigned problems. Aplia assignments are tough but are not a major portion of grade. Take the extra credit!

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: FIN3034
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Worst class ever...

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: FIN3403
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

He is definitely USF's best finance professor.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: FIN3403
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Consider other professors that teach Principles. Lectures were very dry and his explanations to student questions are curt at best. When I took his class (Spring 2018) he offered one extra credit assignment that did come in handy to salvage a grade. The material itself wasn't very difficult, though it could have been explained much more clearly.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: FIN4504
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Frankly, I'm a little confused as to why these reviews are so bad. Sure, the class is difficult, and the lectures seem to drag... but it is clear Besley knows what he is talking about. His study guides were extremely helpful, and exams were fair. If you put in the time, there is no reason why you shouldn't get a passing grade.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: FIN3043
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Do. Not. Take. This. Dude. I repeat DO NOT TAKE THIS GUY! Can't say that enough.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: FIN3403
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

The lectures are soooo boring. He hates questions and cant teach to save his life

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: FIN3403
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

He knows a lot about the subject but SUCKS at teaching. He's a very tough grader and his "study guides" never include all the information that you need for the tests. Also, there is a lot of self-teaching in his class. He's not welcoming when you need help and he seems to be offended when you ask questions. I would NOT recommend him at all.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: FIN6406
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

His exams are difficult but they are definitely fair. He also grades easy . I am by no means a Finance wiz but he explained things thoroughly and the book is concise and to the point. Do the practice problems, and do a couple extra ones that you can find answers to online. Great teacher actually. Missed an A by one point.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: FIN3403
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Spring'18 -Take this class if you have time to put effort into it. It is difficult. One chapter is covered each week. There are written & online homework assignments and also online quizzes each week(use the book as a guide for all 3 of those). For tests, know how to do the HW problems, but your focus should be reading & UNDERSTANDING THE TEXTBOOK!

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: FIN3403
• Grade Received: WD
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

A/B student, dropping this class to take online because I dont want to hurt my GPA. You need his book memorized for the exams, I got a 75 on the first one and he said the average will only drop. You have do the hw on your own before he teaches the content. If you take notes in class he asks if you read the book, doesnt like answering questions.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: FIN3403
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Do yourself a favor and take this class with someone else. He wrote the book that you need for the class, so for the exams he takes questions that are word for word. The hw is problem based and the exam is 80% reading, so the hw doesn't. His lectures are not helpful either, he will even question why you are writing notes about the power points.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: FIN3403
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

I took this class during the summer so it was very lecture heavy. Make sure to read the book. If you only look at PowerPoints, you will have a hard time passing

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: FIN3403
• Grade Received: C-
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Honestly probably the absolute worst professor at USF. His lectures teach you nothing he just talks about random stuff the whole class. READ THE BOOK and memorize basically everything because that is the only way you will pass. DO the extra credit project even tho its 55 pages because you're gonna need it, but do it well because he gives out 0's.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: FIN3403
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Loved his class! Most test questions are conceptual so a good study of the book will help a lot. He assigns a lot of homework, but it's manageable and engaging. My favorite thing about him is how clear, concise, and knowledgeable he is about finance. He's not easy, but if you try hard, you won't leave his class without feeling like an expert!

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: FIN3403
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

The book (that he wrote) is convoluted and dogmatic, his lectures are dull and devoid of any interesting material whatsoever, and his grading system is needlessly complicated. Exam questions are more often about deciphering the question than proving you understand the material being tested. There's a lot of free points outside of the exams, though.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: FIN3034
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Good professor, terrible people skills. He can explain the material well, but don't expect to know how you are doing as far as grades because his grading system is 'complicated'. My tips for the class are to rework the homework several times each & learn to use the stupid calculator because you won't have time to manually do the calculations.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: FIN3403
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

If you were to replace "Mr. Grinch" with "Dr. Besley", you'd get my overall assessment on this guy.