Very interesting and fun class. Many of the lectures were based on discussion of current events. The professor is funny and engaging, and the TA Alyssa was extremely helpful.
Grade Distribution: 2 midterms (20% each), final (30%), group project (10%), hw (20%).

I think that Mel is a pretty chill, laidback person but I can also understand why some people are a little put off by her rather casual teaching style. That being said, the material is not really difficult and much less technically demanding than some of your typical engineering classes in other departments. To add on to that, the textbook in this class is actually really good, so good that you probably don't need to go to lectures.

In my quarter, the midterms were pretty easy such that most people left early, but the final was pretty difficult that not as many people left early (i.e. or if they did, they probably gave up on figuring out how to do some of the problems). I would say that the discrepancy was probably due to the fact that she crammed roughly three weeks of material in the last week of class because she was lecturing so slow in the previous 8-9 weeks. Other than that, I would say that this class was pretty chill and enjoyable and also surprisingly informative (i.e. some of the subject matter could be applicable to your personal financial decisions).

It's true that Mel is not a great lecturer. However, the material is not super hard to learn by yourself, so lectures are optional. Also, I would say that the pace of her class is pretty slow, so she'll most likely cram a lot of the material at the end to make sure that she covered those last topics.

Honestly, I think a lot of people come to this class with the expectation that it will be a free A with minimal work. That is absolutely not true. It is much less work relative to other engineering classes (i.e. computer science classes), but you still have to spend some time studying the material since it will be most likely new to most engineering majors who are taking this class. It's not stuff that you can figure on the fly. That being said, I would say to start studying for the tests two days before, reading the slides (shout-out to Alex Wong, whose slides are really good), and understanding how to do all the practice problems. Other than that, this class should provide a nice breather from your more technically demanding upper divs.

I took ENGR 111 with her. She gives easy homework assignments but the exams are not anywhere close to the homework. The midterm was relatively easy but the final was tough. I honestly never used the textbook. Take good notes and study the slides and you will be fine.

Environmental economics has to be the one higher elective that will help your GPA in the Econ major. The professor always explained rather well in lectures and her exams were always a step harder than her homework assignments. You will struggle a bit to get the hang of the class and many of the terms from Econ 11 and Econ 41 will pop-up here and there. There is nothing harsh about the class, but you need to make sure that your mathematics and economic theory are at least up-to-date. Take the class and ask questions if you ever need advice on the weekly assignments since you can always get together with a group of people and attack the questions. The group assignment is super easy--I think 1 page about a topic of your choice--and will not take up too much of your time.

The professor is hard to get a hold of because of her extremely tight schedule, but you should navigate around that fact, and I am sure you will get to speak to her at some point in the quarter.

Meliha is a great lecturer. She is engaging and enthusiastic.
She posts "lecture notes" but don't rely on them. There is so much in the lecture that is not elaborated or even mentioned in her lecture notes.

She gives plenty of extra credit opportunities, but she seems to procrastinate in grading so expect to not get majority of your assignments and tests graded until few days before your final exam... (keep in mind that I took it during summer, the course was much faster paced).

Her practice exams are not too resembling of the actual exams. The exams are much harder. Exams are based more on the problems visited during lecture. Think of the practice exams as mental exercises to have you explore different concepts, but don't rely on them to prepare you for the test. STUDY YOUR LECTURE NOTES.

I feel that depending on what specific time of the year you decide to take this class will ultimately impact how well you do in the end. All the assignments were mandatory to get a good grasp of the material being covered in course. You will be tested on subjects and terms that don't ever show up in class but might be in the textbook--I'm not 100% sure since I never opened the book. Summer is fast paced and I know teachers have their agendas to follow but Mel was like a unicorn throughout the whole quarter. TA communication is minimal, extra credit assignments reward the actively contributing students, and a lot of the material gets recycled from past quarters. This (course) is not too bad when you prepare well enough. Some might consider the past assignments a right place to start, and maybe some of those might save you like a (hero). You can thank me later. Have fun!

Mel isn't a terrible professor but isn't a particularly good one either. She's certainly friendly and seems approachable, but her lectures were generally disorganized and hard to follow. I only went because she gives extra credit for doing her online polls during lecture. Most of what I actually learned (and studied for the final) was from slides made by my TA. Mel's own notes during lecture are largely indecipherable.

Homeworks tend to be short and not too hard, but sometimes they aren't assigned until the Friday before (and they're due on Sunday) so be on the lookout. I've had friends who missed homework assignments because they didn't know about them. Tests aren't too bad as long as you know the material and do practice problems. The final is harder just by virtue of the topics covered being harder, but is still very doable.

Extra credit is definitely worth doing - a bit tedious but worth it for the grade boost.

Overall, Mel is pretty mediocre lecturer but the class is fairly easy so its worth taking.

Horrible lecturer... long tangents and then crams material

If you've taken ENGR 110, this class isn't much different. Mel is clearly knowledgeable on the subject but her lecture style is somewhat disorganized and isn't helpful for people new to the subject. You'll likely learn more from TA slides so it's good to go to discussion.

Homeworks are pretty easy but shes not very organized with assigning them. We had weekly assignments for about 3 weeks and then nothing for the next 3 weeks. You basically just have to check CCLE every weekend to see if anything is posted.

Midterm (as far as I can tell) is a pot shot. The previous sample midterms she gave us were fairly straightforward, mostly questions similar to homework or discussion example problems. The actual midterm was WILDLY different. You could probably work your way through the questions and get some partial credit at least if you know the concepts well but it still sucked.

Final report is more work than the one for ENGR 110 since analyzing stocks and portfolio are a pain.