ECON 2010

I heard this class was super fun and interesting but I've got to agree that Elzinga is particularly overrated. He is super nice and cute but honestly his lectures are boring and the way he tells the TA's to grade the tests is ridiculous. If you don't say exactly what he says (even if you write word for word from the textbook) you get no credit for the question on the tests. Overall, he makes the course harder than it should be which was really frustrating for me and I would not recommend taking it unless you have to.

Disclaimer: I'm a prospective Econ major, so if you're not your views may differ from mine, but I sincerely enjoyed Professor Elzinga's class. The man, the myth, and the legend himself. Taking his class is staple of the University of Virginia College of Arts & Sciences education, in my opinion. He's pretty funny if you have a good sense of humor, and his lectures were informative and enjoyable. Frankly, I think discussion sections are unnecessary for this class because you'll get by just fine going to lectures and reading Colander (the textbook). Depends on your TA whether or not you have to actually go every time or not, but there are 25 TA points that get allocated through different ways. If you have a genuine interest in Econ (doesn't mean you're a major, but simply interested) you should be fine if you put in the work reading and studying. It's not too hard, a lot of people opt for the Dutch Knockout system for exams (meaning if you get an A on the final, no matter what grades you get on every other assignment, you'll get an A for the course), but it's not too hard to do well on the other exams and take the pressure off yourself.

One last thing: Appreciate Professor Elzinga for as long as he's here with us. For those that don't know, he's been at UVa for over 40 years, and he's been highly acclaimed and well known since my Dad was here roughly 30 years ago. He's a genuinely great person, and unfortunately I never took advantage of his office hours to go meet him, which I sorely regret. Listen to what he says and take in everything, you'll have very few professors like him.

I really liked Professor Elzinga's class. I am a prospective Econ major, but I thought his class was engaging and if you read the book, not too challenging. This class is by no means easy, but it is mostly fair, grading-wise. A must take while at UVA.

Taking this class was the worst decision I've made since I came here. If you're not sure you like Econ, definitely don't take it with Elzinga.

Difficult class but if you have any interest in econ whatsoever, Elzinga is the man to take it with. He does a great job for an introductory course without going way over everybody's head. The tests are hard but so are most tests at UVA

I have to admit that Elzinga is slightly overrated. Nice man? Surely. Fantastic Professor? Less so. I enjoyed him, but the class was not to my liking. In response to the quantity of students taking the class, the grading policy is absurd. On tests you will get 0% credit on questions if you explain it properly but leave out specific individual words. Explaining an economic concept without using the word "metaphor"? 0 points credit for that question even if you were entirely correct. The class allows for a Dutch Knockout (final exam grade counts as your whole grade if its higher) which allowed me to get an A-. I am happy with my grade, but not the grief that the first two tests put me through.

Elzinga is definitely overrated. His lectures have some interesting content every now and then, but they aren't at all engaging and he sometimes put me to sleep. It's a good class to take to understand some of the basics of micro, but his tests are ridiculous. They're not actually challenging, it's just that Elzinga poses really vague questions, then expects specific answers. The averages were around a 58/80 on the exams, but the curve at the end of the semester was pretty generous. Also everyone is always trying to suck up to him in office hours, but in my experience his office hours were a waste of time. He's not that interesting of a person and he comes off as extremely arrogant. The book he wrote was probably one of the worst mystery novels I've ever read. Still, give credit where credit is due-- Elzinga knows his stuff and I came out of the class with a solid understanding of micro.

Elzinga is, in my opinion, one of the best professors at UVA, for good reason. He deals with the material very carefully and goes through it slowly enough with multiple stories to help highlight explain all that he needs to get through. He has a good sense of humor to keep the class engaged throughout the lecture, and purposely keeps the class shorter than the allotted time because, well, he does not need it all. The tests can be a bit finnicky, and his office hours are worth attending even if you don't have any questions to bring up to him - you can talk to him about anything really, and he'll happily take his time to talk to you about that. Definitely worth taking.

Like any other, this class has its ups and downs. Professor Elzinga, while overhyped, is still a great professor. Although his lectures can get a little dry, I really do believe that he does a good job of teaching an economic mindset that helps us see the world through the microeconomic principles. That being said, that makes the midterms that much more difficult, as they are very application based and the grading can be tricky. However, the final is not impossible to do well on, and if you understand the material you will do well on it. As for discussion, the TAs are a kind of a hit or miss and run sections very differently, but will not affect your grade significantly. There is virtually no work load, but make sure to do all the readings and any problems that your TA gives you in order to be prepared for the exams.

Extremely approachable and knowledgeable!