Took it as a breadth for the BSci. Throughout the semester there are 4 ExamBuddy! assignments that are all participation marks by just having a go at them. The MST is as expected - normal difficulty-wise. Sean was alright, the problem I have with the lectures is just being so long that it is hard to focus for the 2 hour slot (usually short break halfway). I hadn't done any previous finance subjects and most of the content was understandable up until the end which required more time to understand. Everything you learn can really just be covered in a youtube video series - pretty basic. Overall, a tad boring but I would recommend it as a breadth if you want to just get it done and dusted.

Grade: 88. As a biomed student who took this as a breadth, this is honestly one of the easiest subjects I've taken to date so far. If you're familiar with scientific concepts, then grasping the content will be an ease. Sean was nothing but phenomenal. Definitely the most transparent lecturer I've ever had. Literally told us the full breakdown of the final exam weeks before (including how many marks allocated per topic/lecture and how many MCQ/SAQ). And the final exam was honestly a breeze despite never doing a single reading and only going through lecture material once and going through them again briefly before the final. Also, the content is very applicable to real life (you learn about debt, stocks, bonds, dividends, taxes, interest and basic finance formulae). Definitely recommend this to everyone who wants a subject which is useful, easy (at least compared to biomed) and fun.

Grade: 99. Good subject, just make sure you do the readings before watching the lectures as the lecturer will nonchalantly use specific terminology which you need to be familiarised with in order to actually access the concepts. Other than that though, the actual underlying concepts are pretty basic but still useful to learn nonetheless if you're doing commerce or are interested in working in finance in the future. If you're aiming high, just make sure to do well on the MST because that's where they made it somewhat hard (in my semester at least).

I would not recommend anyone to take this (i had to take it as it was compulsory). It starts easy in the first two weeks, but the difficulty ramps up right after and it wasn't easy to understand and apply key concepts. My advice is to consistently practice and find friends to study with as it helps a lot. Lastly, while the maths itself is not difficult, there are quite a few "hidden" formulas not provided in the formula sheet and the calculations can be long and tedious. good luck.

I would not recommend this subject to anyone actually wanting to learn the basics of finance, I spent the entirety of the two-hour lectures trying not to fall asleep. I took it as breadth and this subject is very clearly (and understandably) geared towards commerce students so I was googling finance terms every lecture. The maths itself is not hard but understanding wtf the questions are on about is what I struggled with the most.

hard to understand- either this subject is hard or im an idiot, last topic hard af

Quite hard tbh

Probably the most interesting subject in the first year of a BCom degree. However, you will have to put in effort to prepare for the final exam.

I took this subject with no finance background after hearing that it was a WAM booster. Don't be fooled, you must still put in effort to score well. Attempt the tute questions on your own before looking at solutions, and try to attend the actual tutes when you can. During SWOTVAC try at least one sample exam too to get a feel for it. Content was a bit dry for me since I wasn't too interested in finance in the first place, but this semester's lecturer Sean was great and made studying POF more enjoyable than I expected!

If you really study, understand concepts, and make good notes of lectures/tutorials, finals and the assignments can be done quite well. Even though you are not confident with your math skills, it won't be hard as long as you understand how the formulas work. Always prioritize your lectures and tutorials, no outside sources needed.