Hello, I will be attending UMich next year as a member of the Class of 2020. I will be taking an ECON 101 class, as I want a shot at Ross for Regular Admission (therefore my freshman GPA will be important).
My orientation is in a few weeks, so I spent the last few days crafting out a tentative schedule. For ECON 101, I’m currently deciding between Caldwell and Wolfers — Caldwell seems to be highly regarded by some sources, while Wolfers is a well-known economist in academia. I was wondering if anyone who took either one of these sections could detail their experiences with each of these two professors.
Thanks in advance for your time!
Econ 101 was one of the easiest classes I have taken at Michigan. You will be fine either way.
Caldwell’s position suggests he is a teaching specialist. Although you say Wolfers is known within academia, he is known mostly for his media appearances. If you are one of his twitter followers you might enjoy him in person. Since being hired by Michigan, he has rarely been there.
Dudley is the best and caldwell is the second best. They are the best two by far. Correct me if I am wrong but I believe wolfers just started teaching 101 last semester. She could be good but I would play it safe and go with dudley or caldwell. Dudley was the man I really liked the guy. And trust me when I say the rest are horrible. I have heard some terrible stories, particularly about hogan. That said Econ 101 is a really easy class despite what you may hear. If you are a smart person (in terms of Michigan, stop talking about your great grades in crappy high school people) then you should EASILY be able to get a A- Mayyybe a B+ if you screw up or don’t try.
Future tip: DO NOT choose professors and lecturers based on their professional reputations. A person can be an amazing economist (for some reason that word seems weird to me…), but be a crappy lecturer. Maybe that will be important for advanced classes later on but not for intro courses like 101, personality is king.