i got a B in econ 5, never took AP stats, and i consider myself to be bad at math. LOCK IN FOR THE 1ST TEST! i studied for it like it was a final and got 26 points above the mean. it only gets harder from there so take advantage of this. do the extra credit! iclicker in lecture, but lecture is way too fast, do notes beforehand
You can tell that Doug cares about his student's learning and the real-world applications of the class. The exams are very difficult, but you're really just battling against the curve of the class. Past exams are somewhat helpful but were not that similar. Understand the intuition behind the problems, you can't just memorize how to solve them.
Lectures are a bunch of iClicker questions that aren't very relevant to the exams. Doesn't give many resources to study for the exams. Practice problem sets are largely irrelevant to the exams. Slides are unorganized and difficult to understand. Professor needs to give out more previous exams students can use to study.
Difficult exam, diferent from the past exam
The Class was hard but his grading curve was fair. He was strict but in the way of a strict dad. I believe he wanted every student to succeed. Great guy as well.
His exams are rly hard. I learned all the materials in the past but I still find it to be rly challenging. Bunch of iClicker questions in every lectures. Slides without the iClicker answers are unclear. Learn STATA instead of R. Curve the exam grades based on normal distributions. Definitely a hard class for non-stats background ppl.
He's clearly passionate about the subject but he's so bad at teaching it. Lectures are iClicker heavy but a lot of the time you're left in the dark about how to answer them (and you have to get them right for credit). Exams are all free-response and feedback isn't very helpful, I found myself learning most of the material on my own.
Doug is a very kind professor, and has lots of availability outside of class. The material however is very tough and isn't taught in a helpful way, and I had to teach myself the math outside of class. Lots of Iclickers every day, section attendance is optional (and honestly section is useless). Some extra credit offered.
Really nice guy and does a good job explaining things.
HW through STATA, wasn't taught in class. had to go to OH and sit on the floor with 20+ students. Content was fair, but imo lectures too conceptual and didn't show the application of content needed for test. 7 TAs=7 versions of tests w/different concepts... Maybe hardest econ class I've taken, but not impossible, any amt of effort helps the curve.
He is one of the BEST professors I've had. Ignore the negative reviews and take 140A with him. Study hard, go to the office hours, and REVIEW for the tests. This is a hard class that requires extra time
It's hard to fail, but difficult to get an A. The homework is completely unrelated to the class and only possible if you go to the extra labs. The tests are incredibly difficult and always have completely new problems that aren't on the practice tests. Also useless slides and lectures with constant iClicker. Worst Econ class I have taken here.
Your only course of study is practice midterms and the bare bones slides that fail to teach the latter half the of the class. This class is extremely dependent on you more than anything, which will hit you extremely hard with the midterm and final. The homework is unhelpful as it is coding barely related to what you learn. Avoid him imo.
Just don't do it. Not worth.
Avoid at all costs. No textbook-- only lectures and slides. Does a poor job explaining the material and will assume students grasp the concepts no matter how good of a job he does explaining it. Very limited practice problems-- completed every practice midterm and had new concepts show up on the actual midterm that none of the practice ones covered
His lectures are all over the place. The videos he posts are using all old slides so it doesn't correlate with the slides we are given. He is also very condescending during lectures. He tries to make you feel bad if you don't know something and makes it sound like its common sense. Overall, grade distribution is nice and makes it hard to fail.
Although knowledgeable in his field, this professor chooses to actively degrade students and force the TAs to make 7 different midterms all on different materials rather than lift a finger to make his own exam. Also requires STATA homework that has nothing to do with the taught material. Prepare to self-teach A LOT
Doug was the best Econ professor I've had so far. While the in-class i-clicker questions seem tedious, they actually helped me grasp the material which benefited me in the exams. Exams were take home and somewhat difficult, but curved. However, the Stata hw was a nightmare and not much help was given.
I say this is Econ 5 2.0. If you did well in Econ 5 you shouldn't be struggling. Do all the extra credits and homework, you'll do great!
Want to take a class where you can get over a 90% yet still receive a B+? In this class you can be curved down, which is absolutely ridiculous. Avoid this professor at all costs.
If you really want to learn about Econometrics, ignore the negative reviews and take 140A with him. His way of teaching made the concepts interesting and applicable in real life. One of the few classes I looked forward in attending. Plus, 40% of your grade is basically free credit. The midterm and final are easy if you actually learn the concepts.
Remarkably uninteresting lecturer. Homework is convoluted and practically requires assistance from TAs. Don't come to class expecting to actually learn anything, however, a B grade should be easily attainable with minimal effort due to the large grading curve.
I had Doug for 140A and 140B. He is by far the BEST professor I've ever had. Please do not pay attention to the negative reviews. I can guarantee the people who wrote those reviews did not go to a single office hour or put in the extra effort required to succeed in hard classes. These aren't easy classes, but you will succeed if you truly WANT to
assumptive and touchy