<p>Having finished just about all of my breadth, R & C, and AC requirements, I tried to enroll in upper-division economics classes to fulfill electives for the econ major. I declared by completing econ 100b but have not yet completed econ 100a. I had originally intended to complete 100a this semester (spring 2012) along with a few econ electives requiring econ 100b, but wasn't able to do so due to the scarcity/popularity of the macro-based econ electives (during Phase 1 and 2, my major declaration hadn't yet been processed so I was still technically undeclared, so I had to waitlist the econ classes). As a result, I enrolled in Econ 131, 151, 155 and C175, all of which require 100A. I also enrolled in 100A (I over-enrolled to make sure I got into enough classes), though I'd prefer not to take it because I've heard that the prof teaching it, Acland, isn't very good. </p>
<p>My question is: will I be able to understand the material and get good grades in in econ 131 (with Kamala), econ 151 (with M. Reich), econ 155 (with Klein), and econ c175 (with Lee) without econ 100a (as I'd ideally like to take 100a during a later semester)?</p>
<p>Sorry for taking over your thread, but how is 151?</p>
<p>I’m signed up for it this semester. Unfortunately I haven’t heard much about the class.</p>
<p>Thanks for the suggestion ucbalumnus, I noticed too that it had some space but have reservations for two reasons: I haven’t taken math 53 (and don’t plan to based on my major plans) and took introductory microeconomics for the last time back in high school and worry that about being inadequately prepared for econ 101a since it’s been so long since I took the class.</p>
<p>Econ 101A is actually full. The spots that are open class entry code spots and waitlist is filled with students.</p>
<p>Got it, thanks for posting that correction, Ankur1521.</p>
<p>you can take c175 without even knowing anything about economics…</p>
<p>that’s definitely good to hear, crowslayer91. i heard that class has a research essay - that was manageable too without the microeconomics (100a/101a) background?</p>
<p>When I took 151 (Rasmus) you wouldn’t have even needed any sort of econ knowledge to get a good grade on it. In fact, it isn’t like traditional econ classes at all. No problem solving, no model learning, just reading papers and writing essays about current socioeconomic trends in labor economics. It was a very disappointing, albeit very easy class. If you are more used to and looking for traditional theory/model based econ classes with problem solving, I wouldn’t take it. It felt like a political economy/modern history class. But like I said, it was very easy, iirc it was one term paper and a final so you basically don’t do anything until the end, and as long as you kinda skim the readings (no one did them all as there was a lot) you should be fine relative to everyone else. It was weird though because the text was very model/problem solving based so it may just be that the professor taught it weirdly and you might get someone better.</p>
<p>I’m enrolled in 131 and 155 so I can’t say much about those. I had the 131 professor (Kamala) last semester for 181 and she does emphasize math and micro to a good extent in that class, but that could simply be the nature of the material. I don’t think it would take that much effort to self teach yourself what you need to know for that class. Unless 131 is significantly more micro heavy, I think you’ll be fine.</p>
<p>Don’t know anything about c175.</p>
<p>Edit: Oh yea, and I would probably avoid Acland unless absolutely necessary. I had him for 119 so I don’t know specifics about his credentials in 100a, but he’s a pretty bad professor. What he emphasizes in lecture and what he emphasizes in problem sets/tests don’t match at all and it seems like he would just add some pseudo math to everything just so the material would be more difficult. I’m not bad at math or anything but the vague way he emphasized it forced me to take his class for p/np.</p>
<p>Thanks for the thoughts, WhalePicnic. I was looking through Reich’s bSpace page and it looks like his assignments/tests are a little bit more based on econ terminology but not necessarily on models. Also, was Kamala’s econ 181 class reasonable in terms of doing well in it grade-wise? I’ve seen some pretty negative reviews of her online, but I’m not sure if that’s in reference to the way she teaches, her class’s difficulty, or both.</p>
<p>Thanks also for the tips about Acland’s classes. I’ve heard similar comments on how he teaches from a few other people and online and plan to wait to take econ 100a in a later semester as a result.</p>
<p>Kamala actually presented her dissertation at the end of last semester, so I assume it was her first time teaching as a professor. Given that, she was a reasonably good professor and would rank slightly above average in my book with only room for improvement.</p>
<p>Honestly, I’ve found international Econ (181/182) to be the hardest for me to understand as for some reason it just doesn’t click as well for me like some other classes do and I usually end up putting a lot of effort to make sure I really get it. I also took c110 and 121 last semester and the material for those classes just clicked so much faster for me. I scored lower on the midterms in 181 and I was much more uncomfortable with the material than my other classes. At the end of it all I had a higher grade in 181. </p>
<p>Kamala is a very nice and approachable professor. Her organization and teaching could use a bit of work, but not more than what is to be expected of a young professor. You get the vibe that she just wants her students to do well and after receiving my grade I think that’s reflected in her generous curve.</p>
<p>The explanation was really helpful; rather than an uninformed, careless teacher (as ratemyprofessors comments suggested), it seems more like she’s well-intended, yet inexperienced.</p>
<p>Were her exams and homework assignments (essays, problem sets, etc.) easy to do well on (i.e. fair, corresponding to lectures, etc.)? Was the week-by-week workload a lot? (In terms of homework, readings, etc.)? If you could take her class all over again or an alternative econ elective, would you stick with hers? (I know your taking a second one with her, which would probably indicate you’d stick with hers, I just thought I’d ask.)</p>
<p>Again, thank you so much for your feedback on her; it’s helpful in better understanding the different options in terms of this semester’s econ electives.</p>
<p>Homework was basically the same as any other econ class. 5 problem sets over the course of a semester with varying time necessity depending on how fast of a worker you are. Nothing exhausting in length or difficulty. They weren’t REALLY easy, but if you put in the effort, full credit on homework was possible. </p>
<p>I think there was only like 7 or so required readings over the course of the semester and these usually only ever came up on an exam and the professor would emphasize which ones we should do before a test. Thus you could put these off until the exam and you’d be completely fine. They were probably like 10 pages length max, so again nothing exhausting and the exam questions that focused on the readings weren’t that specific. Of course if you actually read the textbook as required then there is much more reading.</p>
<p>We had one short research assignment which she ended up giving full credit to anyone that did it.</p>
<p>Exams were varied. First midterm was rather easy, second one was on the difficult side. In both cases I’d say they were definitely fair, as there ends up being a curve anyway and there was nothing completely random on them. Everything on the tests was covered in class at some point. The final was cumulative but was also very fair.</p>
<p>I’m definitely taking her class this semester because I liked her as a professor, and relatively her class doesn’t require that much work. Also, I got a really good grade.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t retake 181, because honestly I don’t like the material that much, but I liked her enough to choose another elective which she was teaching. That being said, its my last semester here, so mainly I want an easy/light schedule with a teaching style I’m familiar with. Hopefully that’s what 131 ends up being haha.</p>
<p>Got it, so it sounds like, all-in-all, her assignments/exams were reasonable in terms of difficulty, especially after considering her curves. Moreover, she definitely seems like she cares about her students, which is a pretty big intangible quality for professors. Thanks again for the reflections.</p>