ECON 3020

NEVER. TAKE. THIS. CLASS. Literally, this class is ridiculous. First of all, Popov is a nice guy but his choice of test questions is hideous. The tests are like nothing you have ever seen and you are always rushed for time. Second, His TA's suck. They either can not speak a word of english or are psycho-graders. Do not expect partial credit on anything, if the final answer is wrong you are screwed. Third, the problem sets a) are hard as hell and b) are harder than the simplistic lectures popov does but reflect nothing that will be on the test. Like I said, Popov is a really nice guy and will sit down with you but grading wise the entire class is ruthless. To reiterate, never take this class. ever.

You take this class because you have to for the ECON major - not just for fun. Popov is hard to follow in lecture and half the time I don't know what he's talking about.

The TA's are the worst. I had Xiuchang Yang and not only were discussions miserable, but he was a harsh grader. I took my exam grade to the professor and got over 10 points back.

To be fair this is a harder, weed-out economics class, but I'd recommend finding someone else to take it with.

On reading earlier reviews I expected Popov to be very disorganized/borderline incompetent. However he seems to be improving his teaching of the course. Although he isn't the most engaging lecturer and still gets flustered sometimes, Popov covered the material in a coherent manner. Test questions are pulled directly from the homework or discussion section. There is also a generous curve at the end of the class. None of the professors that teach this course are that great, so Popov isn't that bad of a choice.

Extremely hard class... Popov is hard to follow in lecture and rarely covers material in depth. Read the book and study the problem sets for the tests. He allows people to bring a single sheet of paper to the tests, which he calls "formula sheets" but people fill them with material. This is a good strategy for his finals in which he allows people to bring 3 sheets written back and front.

Two midterms, with formula sheets. Final exam is considerably harder than the midterms but three formula sheets are allowed.

Popov can be dull and hard to follow at times and mostly teaches from the book. Attending lecture is not really necessary. The tests were inconsistent in difficulty and ranged from nearly impossible with a class average below 50% to incredibly easy and straightforward.

Popov is an awful professor. His lectures are nearly impossible to follow. Tests are difficult, but everyone does so poorly that the class has a huge curve. I got a B with around a 70%. Only ECON majors should take this class, and they should avoid Popov if possible.

Horrendous professor for an even more horrendous class. Zero material organization, no transparency between book readings and lectures, and complete unfairness of test questions. Professor speaks cracked English in lectures, has difficulty organizing his thoughts and lecture materials, has illegible handwriting, and is unsociable overall. TA's for this class are even worse, speaking little English and providing little help relative to the class lectures and questions on tests. Bottom line: lectures, readings, and homeworks provide no intuition of test questions, resulting in horrible grade averages of students, and an overall distaste for economics. If you are an ECON major and have to take 3020, take it in a small class section from a professor known to be at least slightly effective in teaching. A course in which a student must teach him or herself all material (such as Popov's 3020) is one not worth paying for. The existence of other professors and TA's that are effective in teaching the materials of intermediate macroeconomics to an acceptable level only widens the educational opportunity gap between students, which is blatantly unfair.

Given the nature of the course, Popov is the best professor in my opinion. Although it is easy to get lost, as long as you attend the discussions and lectures, you'll do fine in the class. The tests are usually three questions and the final was five. You can predict which subjects he will test you on, but like any economics course here, be prepared for the test material to be much harder and more abstract than what is taught in class.

Professor Popov can be dry with his lectures, but he's genuinely a good guy. He's a bit quirky and he often says things that are not intentionally funny but ends up cracking me up at least. The subject builds on the themes of 202 with more rigorous models and applications. The math is algebra, the concepts are straight forward, and his lectures are coherent. There is almost no homework (5 easy problem sets). Just make sure to supplement his lectures with his book, but it is not a very intensive class. He can be a little slow when he builds the framework for the models, but if you are interest in economics at all then this should be an easy going and enjoyable class.