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.

Professor Surro is the best professor ever in econ department. He's organized and clear, and does care about his students.
All of the four problem sets are well-structured and the readings helped a lot in comprehending the economic concepts. The midterm would be dropped if you do better in the final, which is really nice. The exams are probably not easy, but as long as you prepare for the materials in advance, you will be fine.

I leave this class feeling very well-informed and satisfied with what I learned. Surro’s Econ 102 was probably the first economics class in which I felt like I learned something new and revelatory about how the world works.

This class is not great for those who are unconfident in their exam-taking skills. It is weighted heavily—around 75%—on only two exams, the midterm and final, which both averaged at the low-to-mid 70’s. There is not much opportunity, therefore, to improve your grade through long-term assignments like homework or projects. Those who are still used to the leniency of online exams should probably rebuild their exam-taking skills before they take this class.

The project requires you to generate data and graphs using one of the theoretical models you learn in class. I thought the project was a great way to get students to understand how the model (probably the most difficult one in the whole class) works. Putting in the time and individual work to complete this assignment is crucial, in my opinion, if you want to understand the nuances of the model.

I will say, however, that Surro is more stingy with grades than your average professor at UCLA. Only perfect (and “perfect” is arbitrary here since the grade is largely based on how your final deliverable looks) projects will get full credit, and I know no one who got full credit. Surro sets a high bar for his students, so anyone should be prepared to meet it when taking any course with him.

Chris is an example of what every economics professor should be at UCLA. Not only does he explain everything very thoroughly and clearly, but he also cares so much about his students. He really wants every student to learn the concepts well and his tests are very fair. He did a great job of incorporating how everything we learned connected to the real world and also explained the different economic schools of thought and economists that backed the models we learned which many Econ classes fail to do. He also gives many additional opportunities to cushion your grade if you don’t do well on exams which is pretty rare for an Econ class. You can get bonus points by going to lecture and section, completing quizzes after lecture, etc. There were also 2 problem sets in the class that were decently long but really prepared you for the midterm and final exam. Also, all quizzes and problem sets were only graded for completion. Chris always made sure that he was available to answer any questions students had through a site called CampusWire which really helped me out with last minute questions before exams. He held review sessions before exams as well. All in all, I thought I didn’t like macro but this class made me love it and I really enjoyed taking it. Definitely gonna try to take another class with him. 100% recommend taking 102 with him if you still need to take it. Chris is the man!!

I found Econ 102 with Professor Surro to be one of the most interesting Econ courses I have taken so far. He supplements the problem sets with relevant reading about macroeconomics, making sure that students gain a working understanding of applications in the real-world economy, not just a simplified, theoretical model. There weren't many problem sets during the quarter, and each could easily be knocked out in one day if you understood the lecture material. We took one midterm and a final, neither of which were easy A's. Comfortability with math is a plus. There is also a final project that is given after the first midterm. There is plenty of time to work on it, and it isn't too bad if you don't wait until the last minute. The project focuses on working with Excel to help you build valuable career skills. After the final, some people were upset that he promised a curve and didn't deliver. In reality, he promised a score range for the median grade, which was reached without a curve. Surro is a great professor and fun to talk to outside of class. I will definitely be watching for more classes to take with him.

THIS WAS THE BEST ECONOMICS CLASS I HAVE TAKEN! The structure of the class was conducive to learning, for a few reasons:

-Short quizzes (credit for completion) after every lecture let you stay on track with material. You know what concepts you should have gotten from the lecture and if you didn't understand quiz questions it was easy to just go back and review the lecture slides. This is unlike other econ classes where you are unsure of what you need to know and to what depth you need to understand material until practice problems are released (or even worse for some classes just midterms).

-The Solow Excel project was a great way to learn excel. Felt very relevant to future job demands. Also a great way to review class concepts. Felt like my time was well spent while working on this project.

-It is very clear what is expected of you on exams. Surro explicitly says that 80% of test material will be similar to questions we have seen (quizzes, problem sets, practice midterms) and 20% will be new questions where we must apply the knowledge.

-Surro is a good lecturer. He explains concepts well. Powerpoints well organized.

-There is material to work with. When studying for the final, I could review the quizzes, problem sets, practice midterm, solow excel project, and practice final. A lot of problems to work with along with organized lectures = easy studying.

I was never stressed taking this class, but not because the material was easy, because Surro was a great teacher with a well-organized class. Would 100% recommend anyone to take this class.

I highly recommend taking Professor Surro for Econ 102. Lectures were pre-recoded and 45 minutes, with a 30 minute live portion during class time. The live portion consisted of doing practice problems related to the lecture, plus office hours at the end. There were 2 open note exams (30% and 45%, or 75% for the final if you improve), an Excel project (15%), HW (10%), and optional quizzes. The optional quizzes added points to the numerator and denominator of the total number of points in the class, which helped pad grades. Professor Surro is a clear lecturer with good slides, exams were tough but fair, and office hours and the Campuswire forum helped a lot with the Excel project, HW questions, and understanding the material in general. Overall I would definitely take this class again, or any other Econ class, with Professor Surro.

!!Don't take this class if you want to get an A!!
I agree that Surro is a great lecturer who explains everything clearly and is really helpful. However, he is a tough grader. The midterm and final is about 70% of the total grade, and the class average for each exam is approximately 75% everytime. Surro promised us that there will be a curve to adjust the mean to B/B+ range, but he went back on his words and did not curve at last. I put in a lot of effort and got 88% on my exams, and I ended up with an A- at last. It was frustrating to see his email notifying us that he won't curve, and I would say that similar scores for other econ dept courses will definitely get some kind of curve.

Tried hard, Failed hard

If I know about this beforehand, wouldn’t take the class

DO NOT TAKE A CLASS WITH SURRO!! BY FAR THE WORST PROFESSOR I HAVE EVER HAD AND THE WORST GRADE I HAVE EVER GOTTEN. VERY CHALLENGING TESTS. HE TOLD US THE CLASS AVERAGE WOULD BE A B+ FOR FINAL GRADES AND IT WAS AROUND A B-. He didn't even curve 1% after saying earlier in the quarter that he wants the average to be way higher. Just don't take this with him he's just one of the worst professors ever.