ECON 2010

Lots of people talk about how they hated having Elzinga for micro, but I actually really loved Elzinga's class and would recommend taking micro with him if you can. Elzinga is a really good lecturer and tells stories that provide great context for the economic concepts he is explaining. It is important to go to lecture because he does not record class or post any slides, so if you miss the class you miss the content altogether. Doing the reading is also important, not for the midterms, but for the final exam. Some of the content in the textbook is not taught in class and vice versa. Your grade is made up clicker questions, discussion section, 2 midterms, and a final exam. The two midterms are free response style questions. Many people complained about how hard these exams were, but if you really study they are not bad at all. Very fair questions. The final exam is VERY difficult, despite being all multiple choice. Since the econ department offers dutch knockout (final exam grade only), the final exam is ridiculously hard and really brings down your average. Do not bank on dutch knockout for your grade.

Elzinga is a great guy and clearly very knowledgeable and passionate about economics. That being said, he does have a tendency to ramble and go on tangents during lectures, to the point where my most memorable moment from the semester was when I zoned out for a second only to see a picture of Jesus on the board and hear Elzinga talking about sheep? Most of the useful information in this class can be obtained purely by reading the textbook and paying attention in discussion. I paid fairly little attention during lecture (and took almost no notes) and still wound up with a very high A-. That being said, prior knowledge of economics if definitely very helpful, the first midterm especially is quite easy if you have a base knowledge of supply and demand. Lastly, do not rely on the dutch knockout. I did well on all three exams which really helped me out, as the cumulative curve for the semester is much, much nicer than the curve for the final only.

I have mixed feelings on this class. First of all, lectures are really boring and it can be hard to stay engaged. Taking lecture notes is very important - there are no recordings or anything like that. In-class participation grades are from iClicker, which are super easy to get as long as you have consistent attendance. Econ minutes are also super important, which are posted online but only stay up for like a week or so, so you really gotta stay on top of that. Discussion sections are a toss up, some of them are good and grade chill, while others are super tough. Watch out for the midterms, you really have to ensure you do well on them because you can't depend on the dutch knockout. Read the textbook, pray you get into a good discussion section. Wouldn't recommend taking this class if you don't need to, and if you have to, take it w/ the other professor #tCFF23

The lectures are super boring but the micro content is fascinating. Try to keep up with the readings so that the lecture actually makes sense, as Elzinga mostly shows real-world applications and doesn't teach much micro specifically. Exams aren't too bad if you study and understand implications of many things; don't only study what moves on graphs; study the reasoning and rationale. I really liked this class because of the content but never really went to lecture. I had an awesome TA so was able to learn really well but many of my friends had bad ones and struggled. You can get a good grade if you have a good TA and read the book, it is essentially self-taught. The final exam was impossible though so don't rly on dutch knockout...

This is a class you most likely will have to take and cannot get out of. The concepts are simple enough. Elzinga just has a very monotone voice. The class is structured such that the midterms and the final are what really matters. The grade in this class is based on how many points you are able to earn over time via midterms, clicker questions, and discussion sections. You will be required to buy a subscription to iClicker. I would recommend going on Reddit to get a cheaper subscription and save yourself a few bucks. The class isn't necessarily difficult, but the final is designed to produce a normal curve, so beware. If you pay attention in lectures and in discussions, you will pass. Elzinga has many office hours and is a chatterbox when you go but he seems to genuinely care about his students. His lectures contain some rambling, but there is essential information in them that you don't want to miss.

If you're gonna take Econ201, do it with Elzinga. Knowledgeable, lovable guy who you'll learn a lot about econ from. Pray for a good TA, it really makes a difference. Tons of textbook readings which you just have to grind through. Lectures get boring but material isn't that difficult. Going to office hours & working with others really helps.

TAKE DOYLE TAKE DOYLE TAKE DOYLE. This guy is too old to be teaching and this is not a joke. The midterms are formatted in the most bizarre way even though they are simple he will have a question that has something you have never gone through worth a lot of points to tank your grade. The midterms aren't even the problem it's the final. How does one person sit down and make that with a straight face like honestly who does that? I studied for so long just to stare at the paper and have no clue what was going on. PICK YOUR TA WISELY. Chill curve tho-saved my life

This class was a decent introduction to microeconomics. I personally did not really like Professor Elzinga's teaching style, as he uses a lot of analogies / stories and I felt like that didn't leave us a lot of time to go really in depth on the topics. The final is worth A LOT, so I would recommend diligently reading the textbook every week and reviewing the content thoroughly to do well.

I wasn't particularly impressed with Elzinga's teaching. His in-class lectures were dull and uninformative, most of my learning was done in my discussion section with my TA. If you don't get a good TA, you're out of luck with this class. Elzinga's exams are more based on riddles and quick thinking than microeconomics principles. I highly recommend reading the textbook, it's got a lot of little details that Elzinga will include on exams. Studying for and taking the final exam made me question my sanity. I got an A, but the final literally made me question my mental wellbeing. Elzinga needs to retire and hand off the class to a more capable professor.

I took this during the fall of 2024, so it was co-taught by Elzinga and MacKay. The lectures were pretty boring, but they covered important material, and keeping up with the readings made it a lot easier to understand what Elzinga and MacKay were talking about. Mackay would tend to rush through the important material and ramble on about other things. Definitely get the textbook - that was really how I learned most of the material, especially since in one of the more confusing sections the professors just told us to use the textbook to learn the material. There's a required discussion section and I lucked out and ended up with the head TA, Collin Williams. He really helped clarify the information and answer any questions that we had. The questions that he gave us for homework mimicked the exams which was really helpful. I know some people who ended up with TA's that taught them incorrect information. I would say that your success in this class really depends on what TA you end up with, especially if you aren't much of an econ person like I am. The first exam was pretty simple, but the second one and also the final were really tough.