Prof Surro is the best. Definitely take his classes if you can. Just make sure to follow his suggested study methods and you'll be fine.

Chris Surro is easily the best professor at UCLA. He has a unique talent of breaking down complex concepts into easy to understand intuitions and uses those intuitions to guide the entirety of the course. He never strays too far into the math/abstract and keeps his lectures laser focused on the core concepts he wants to get across. He provides a lot of specific guidance beyond classroom learning on how to succeed in his class which was very useful for me.

The midterm will likely be harder than expected. The questions are kind of like SAT questions with relatively easy concepts but somewhat involved problem solving. Its usually just basic algebra/recognition of different concepts.

Definitely do the problem sets; the process of solving problems should be like clockwork before the exams. The more important part is making sure you understand everything in complete detail.

Surro definitely gives you all the resources you need to do well in this class but damn this class is HARD. 33% midterm 66% final grading scheme or you can go 100% final. There's quizzes and problem sets and attendance that can all add extra credit to your grade. You can miss 3 quizzes 2 problem sets and 5 classes to still get max points. Use your bypass on problem set4 fs, however it will help you study for the midterm but it literally takes so long. If you don't put in the work you won't do well. You need to prepare for this class. You legit need to do all the practice problems for each concept to study for the midterm and final. The midterm is meh but that final is wayyyyy harder than the midterm and no one finished early for the final. Honestly if you're not super mathy like me, you'll die in this class.

Professor Surro is great. The way he articulates the lecture material is very useful, and he sets you up with a fool proof way to get the most out of class. That being said, the actual material is challenging, and the exams are no joke.

The midterm was manageable, but the final was difficult. The material is commulative, and he problems are structured such that if you get the first step wrong, you will get the entire problem wrong. He does allow for partial credit, so on a few questions where I noticed my numbers weren't adding up, I shot for partial credit but demonstrating I knew how to solve it without having the correct values.

I am a parent of a baby, and prior to the final and midterm I got 4 hours of sleep and still managed a B.

This course can get challenging, but Professor Surro makes the learning process smooth and engaging. There is an extensive amount of material provided, including quizzes, practice problems, problem sets, and plenty of past exam questions to study from. In addition, Professor Surro is very active on Campuswire and makes sure to answer every question asked.
Both the midterm and final were free-response, with a one-page cheat sheet allowed. The midterm consisted of 3 short-answer and 2 long-answer questions, and the final consisted of 6 short-answer and 3 long-answer questions. From what I could tell, the graders were pretty lenient with partial credit when applicable.
To succeed in this class, I would recommend having a very solid understanding of the intuition behind everything. The math is pretty simple (only goes up to Lagrangian/partial derivatives), but understanding the WHY for each question and scenario will help a lot.
I would definitely recommend Surro for ECON 11, he is a great professor in general!

I feel this class is overrated. It’s a decent elective—great if you enjoy writing and dislike tests. I did well, but it might be hard to earn an A, though an A- is relatively easy to get. I’d sort of recommend it.

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

Surro did a great job teaching and stands out as one of UCLA’s stronger economics professors. If you have the chance to take him for a core class, I highly recommend it

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

people aren't lying when they say econ 11 and 41 are tough. i'd say 11 was so much more manageable than 41 (and tests were far more reasonable) but that may be because I enjoyed the more econ related topics covered in this class. professor surro makes his class extremely organized- there are quizzes after every lecture to help test yourself on how well you understood the content (graded on completion) and weekly problem sets which are also graded on effort that are practice for the exams. both the quizzes and problem sets are actually optional but doing them is highly suggested and will only help out your grade at the end of the quarter. at the start of the quarter surro goes over STEP BY STEP instructions on how to stay on top and succeed in the class. the tips are effective for sure but doing every single one of them wasn't very feasible imo especially if you're taking other hard classes because they can be very time consuming. but he definitely sets his students up for success it's just a matter of whether you're willing to put in the work (so it's pretty much pointless trying to make excuses if you don't get the grade you want). the lectures were nicely paced and surro tries to make new concepts digestible. students can post on campuswire if they have questions about anything and he responds in a timely manner. the exams were TOUGH but that's to be expected. one of the most structured classes I've ever taken and prof surro is indeed a gem in the econ dept.

Here's everything you need to know to get an A in econ 11 with Prof Surro. 1) Listen to his advice. I personally followed about 95% of what was on that "how to do well in econ 11" doc. 2) Print out the typed notes / download the typed notes to your ipad and follow along during the lecture. Add any material that you think may be useful to you on that same document. This way, you are able to connect the typed notes to Surro's ipad notes and it just makes studying for the exams so much easier. 3) To do well on the exams, you MUST be able to quickly recognize what each question is asking. This is especially important on the midterm, which can be a time crunch for many people. That is why I suggest that you do ALL the practice material for the exams, which include problem sets, short answer questions, long answer questions, and the practice midterm/final. 4) This class will REWARD you for doing everything Surro assigns. Even though the exams will contain questions you have never seen before, they are still asking you to use the same methods you used for the practice material. 5) When working on the homework for this class, remember that you are taking an econ class and not a math class. If you focus too much on the math and forget about the economic explanation, the class will feel much harder. The math actually becomes pretty simple with enough practice. 6) Definitely make sure that this is your main class for the quarter. I would not recommend taking this class with econ 41, for example. 7) Have fun! I personally found this class to be very enjoyable. There is not that much material, and it felt great understanding each problem! 8) If this is helpful, here's everything I reviewed for the final: Problem Set 7 Answers, Problem Set 8 Answers, Additional General Equilibrium Practice Question Answers, All Lecture Notes, All Short Answer Questions, Problem Set 4, Final Exam Practice Long Questions, Fall 2023 Final Exam, Midterm Exams, Cheat Sheet, and the Practice Long Questions for the Midterm. I spent about 40 hours preparing for this exam.

Take this class with Surro. He gives everything we need, and very clear. You can drop your midterm if you get a better grade in final, which is really helpful. In addition, problem sets and quizzes are not required, but you should complete it since they are base on completion.