ECON 3010

ONE OF THE BEST PROFESSORS AT UVA, I could not believe how lucky I was to be able to take 3010 with this guy. I only took the class because all the other sections were filled up and it ended up working out great. The class is hard but that's because it's 3010. It was his first time teaching and he honestly did so well and constantly adapted to our needs over the course of the semester. The slides are really complex, too much for me, but he explains things very well in class and writes things out on the blackboard, so I highly recommend attending lectures (although there is no attendance). Exams are very similar to the problem sets, which albeit are tricky. Also get a good group for the psets, it would suck to work through this class alone. He mixes in some game theory examples in as well which was nice.

Unrelated to the class itself, but this guy might also be one of the most unintentionally funny professors I've ever had. Like if you go to lecture there's actually pretty good chance you'll laugh which can't be said for many classes. Also he's very understanding and gets what it's like to be a student which is just nice to have as you're struggling through a class like 3010. Our group did pretty bad on all the exams, but there's a hefty curve.

Again, highly recommend taking this or any other class with Po.

I took it because he was new, and albeit being awful at econ, I learned so much from him. He's kind, funny, and wants everyone to understand, but also have fun. He has games for points, collaboration sometimes, and we did like game theory ones, which were like gambling, pretty fun. Oh, and you can work in a group on the homeworks, they are collaborative.

He allowed a cheat sheet on the final, which was lit.

Po Lin is an excellent professor. The class is hard, but it'll likely be hard whatever 3010 you take, as another reviewer said. Professor Lin provides all his slides/class notes for you to reference later, but he actually teaches by writing on the blackboard in order to keep himself at a pace you can follow. The grading is split between 9 problem sets (lowest 1 drops) (20%), 3 non-cumulative tests (25% each), and a 5% classroom activities score for participating in class activities. The class activities are usually based on game theory experiments he wants you to engage in to learn a concept, and it's pretty simple and really just verifying you were there in some way (via a quick Canvas quiz, signing your name, etc.). There's no required textbook to read.

The problem sets take a really long time and are pretty difficult, but you're allowed to form groups of three with other people to work on them together, and there were office hours offered every day of the week if you needed help (from TAs + himself)- plus the problem set was pretty open to other resources you could use. They're really for learning and applying the lecture, and you usually have about a week from when it's released to when it's due. I recommend trying to find a group, because it does make the experience better. However, if you end up not liking the group you work with at first, you can feel free to move on and find another group or just do it yourself: you're not locked in with only them. Also, the discussion sections usually go over some of the problem set + more tips on the material and solving, so attending those is helpful.

The tests were difficult and largely pull from the problem set material (just very slightly simplified for testing), but he was really generous with curving the first one. Since the class did better on the second test, it wasn't curved as much, but it still helped. Supposedly he doesn't curve the last test since everyone did well in it last year, but the final grades haven't come out for that yet so I'm not sure yet how that will work out (he did say if something went very wrong he would curve though). But regardless he really wants you to succeed and will encourage you to ask for help or come to his office hours if you need it.

His class is apparently structured a bit differently from other 3010 classes (which I learned from talking to others) because he likes to spend time on the basics of game theory for the last few weeks of class, so there's less time spent on some of the other traditional microeconomic concepts. However, I found it very enjoyable and interesting, and game theory/behavioral economics seems to be where modern economics is heading more and more from what I've heard, so it's nice to get a general sense of it. Also his lecturing is really interesting and fun- he can be pretty funny sometimes, and he really has a passion for what he teaches. I recommend attending lecture as much as possible, not for just staying on top of things and learning but also because it can be pretty fun.