ECON 102
Macroeconomic Theory
Description: Lecture, three hours; discussion, one hour. Requisite: course 101. Theory of income, employment, and price level. Analysis of secular growth and business fluctuations; introduction to monetary and fiscal policy. P/NP or letter grading.
Units: 4.0
Units: 4.0
4 of 5
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Most Helpful Review
Spring 2020 - Saeidinezhad is no longer teaching at UCLA so you don't have to worry about her. This was during the COVID-19 time period and she did not know how to adjust at all. Her lectures were her essentially reading the textbook verbatim. I did not spend any time on this class because how unmotivating it was and rather read the textbook. However, there were a couple clutch TAs that were very willing to help out which made it somewhat bearable. All her lectures were prerecorded so we never actually saw her. The exams had multiple mistakes and even the solution manual contradicted other things that were on the practice exam. Her midterms were 30 MCQ and her final was 100 MCQ and was easy enough. Her grading cutoffs were easy 95+ = A+ and 91+ = A. If she returns back to UCLA, I would strongly recommend not taking her (though you will get an easy A)
Spring 2020 - Saeidinezhad is no longer teaching at UCLA so you don't have to worry about her. This was during the COVID-19 time period and she did not know how to adjust at all. Her lectures were her essentially reading the textbook verbatim. I did not spend any time on this class because how unmotivating it was and rather read the textbook. However, there were a couple clutch TAs that were very willing to help out which made it somewhat bearable. All her lectures were prerecorded so we never actually saw her. The exams had multiple mistakes and even the solution manual contradicted other things that were on the practice exam. Her midterms were 30 MCQ and her final was 100 MCQ and was easy enough. Her grading cutoffs were easy 95+ = A+ and 91+ = A. If she returns back to UCLA, I would strongly recommend not taking her (though you will get an easy A)
Most Helpful Review
Fall 2021 - Chris Surro was a great professor for this class. He explained the material very clearly, concisely, and in an organized manner. He typically responded to questions through Campuswire and held sessions during lecture hours to go over sample problems (because the lectures were prerecorded). The midterm and final were pretty hard. They definitely required a good amount of studying and for you to have a good conceptual grasp of the material (I guess people were mad that the grade wasn't curve more because Surro had mentioned earlier in the course that he would). I'd say it was 70/30 calculation vs. conceptual questions. You basically get free points for quizzes and problem sets if you just put in a minimal amount of effort, which help (partially) offset the difficulty of the exams. There was also an excel assignment for the second half of the course. DO NOT start the assignment too late!!! It took a ton (a ton) of time to figure out how to do it (probably because i am not pRoFiCiEnT at excel). Overall, pretty difficult course but It was fine, especially if you like macro more than micro. I feel like Surro is one of, if not the best professor to take - he doesn't do bs stuff, just keeps everything plain and straightforward.
Fall 2021 - Chris Surro was a great professor for this class. He explained the material very clearly, concisely, and in an organized manner. He typically responded to questions through Campuswire and held sessions during lecture hours to go over sample problems (because the lectures were prerecorded). The midterm and final were pretty hard. They definitely required a good amount of studying and for you to have a good conceptual grasp of the material (I guess people were mad that the grade wasn't curve more because Surro had mentioned earlier in the course that he would). I'd say it was 70/30 calculation vs. conceptual questions. You basically get free points for quizzes and problem sets if you just put in a minimal amount of effort, which help (partially) offset the difficulty of the exams. There was also an excel assignment for the second half of the course. DO NOT start the assignment too late!!! It took a ton (a ton) of time to figure out how to do it (probably because i am not pRoFiCiEnT at excel). Overall, pretty difficult course but It was fine, especially if you like macro more than micro. I feel like Surro is one of, if not the best professor to take - he doesn't do bs stuff, just keeps everything plain and straightforward.
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Most Helpful Review
Fall 2023 - One of my worst classes. I nearly walked out of the final and, in hindsight, wish I had. The professor mainly read off the slides and didn’t work through example problems. If you’re going through a tough time, avoid this class. I would not recommend him. My review of other professors: https://www.reddit.com/r/ucla/comments/1gmshzu/review_of_econ_professors_as_a_transfer_student/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
Fall 2023 - One of my worst classes. I nearly walked out of the final and, in hindsight, wish I had. The professor mainly read off the slides and didn’t work through example problems. If you’re going through a tough time, avoid this class. I would not recommend him. My review of other professors: https://www.reddit.com/r/ucla/comments/1gmshzu/review_of_econ_professors_as_a_transfer_student/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
4 of 5
