ECON 3720

We are not even more than a month into the semester, and I already know this will be the worst class I will take at UVA. Jack Fisher could NOT be more dry. Each lecture feels like he's murmuring to a wall with occasional awkward silence. No one pays attention in this class because it is so hard to not fall asleep. If he ever offers another ECON course here, DO NOT take it with him, I beg you. I have no idea how he was hired through the ECON department. I have learned nothing in the class nor does it look like I will. I will be teaching this entire course to myself and will probably end up with a terrible grade because of the professor.

Fisher might be one of the worst ECON professors at UVA. Barely anyone attended his lectures because they were so unhelpful and attendance was not mandatory. I relied on all of the TAs for this class to learn the material and understand what was going on, my entire Fridays were spent in office hours. If you're not an ECON major there is absolutely zero reason you should be taking this course (it's terrible don't do it) and if you are, DON'T take it with Jack Fisher. Grading was generous likely because this was the first course he's taught at UVA. 25% were problem sets graded on completion, 25% midterm 1, 25% midterm 2, and 25% the final exam. He originally said he would only curve our grades at the end of the course... until the average for the first exam was a 58, so he decided to curve by the test and curved the average to an 85. If you desire to understand the material, good luck. He rarely engaged with students' questions, and when he did it was entirely unhelpful. Half the time he spent looking at the slides seemingly deciding what to say.

This has been, without a doubt, the most difficult ECON course I’ve taken at UVA. While I knew going in that econometrics had a reputation for being rigorous, nothing could have prepared me for how disorganized, inaccessible, and frankly demoralizing this class would be.

Professor Fisher was one of the least approachable instructors I’ve ever had. He reads directly from overcrowded PowerPoint slides filled with complex statistical proofs and STATA or R code, offering no meaningful explanation or engagement. He made little effort to clarify concepts or respond to students, and his general demeanor made it seem like he didn’t want to be there at all. As a result, his lectures were so unhelpful that barely half of the 70-person class showed up after the first few weeks.

The course structure consists of three major exams, two midterms and a final, which together make up 75 percent of your final grade. You're allowed one cheat sheet per test, but the exams are so poorly aligned with the lectures that they feel impossible. The remaining 25 percent of your grade comes from STATA or R-based problem sets, which were actually the only part of the class that felt fair. If you made a genuine effort, you received full credit, which provided some cushion against the rest of the course.

The exams, however, were a different story. The first midterm was a disaster, with the class average falling somewhere in the 50s. Fisher curved it up to a B, but that did little to help students who had no idea what they were doing. I remember leaving more than half the exam blank because the material didn’t resemble anything we had practiced. We were given just one practice test with no review session, no walkthrough, and no additional resources. It felt like we were being left completely on our own.

There was truly no point in attending lectures, as they added nothing to your understanding. The only reason I was able to improve for the second midterm was because I stopped relying on the class altogether and used ChatGPT to teach myself everything. It explained the math and concepts in a way that actually made sense and was significantly more helpful than anything we got from Professor Fisher.

It also seemed like this may have been Fisher’s first semester teaching the course. A lot of the material appeared to be recycled from previous professors, which is likely why many of the problem sets and even exam questions can be found on Course Hero or Studocu. Honestly, your best shot at passing is to look through those platforms for extra practice.

I could go on and on about how this was the worst class I’ve ever taken, but I’ve already written a novel and I’m dangerously close to reliving the trauma. Overall, this course was far more difficult than it needed to be, not because of the subject matter itself, but because of how poorly it was taught.

By far the worst class I have ever taken at UVA and absolutely the hardest (and worst) econ class. Do not take this class unless you absolutely have to. Delay declaring your major if needed, nothing is worth the sacrifice of taking this class. Lectures are incomprehensible. The way Professor Fisher words things is not conducive to understanding anything. Did not learn a single thing from any lecture. He just sort of reads off extremely dense slides or works through dense math that does help the understanding of any material (note: the slides are useless as well, as not only are the problem sets completely different, but so are the exams, more on that later). After about 2 weeks over half the class stopped showing up since attendance is not required (thankfully, since they were a chore to attend). The class is notoriously hard but be prepared to teach yourself the material from day 1 because of how poorly the material is taught in this section, and for the difficulty of the class to compound because of that.

The only good thing about this class was that the TA I had was absolutely amazing, and one of the best at UVA. Grant Seiter is an amazing human being, and not only knows his stuff, BUT CAN ALSO EXPLAIN EVERYTHING WELL. I would consistently learn more in a single discussion section than the entire semester of lectures. Grant explained things perfectly and in a way that is actually understandable. I wish he could have taught the entire class, it would have been night and day.

As far as the grading goes, it's actually pretty generous, just again as I said you are learning nothing in lecture (but compared to Reudiger this grading is brutal...). It's 2 in-class midterms and a cumulative final each worth 25%, and then ~8 problem sets graded on effort/completion worth 25%. This is where things get even worse... the problem sets are nothing like the lectures, and are actually very worthwhile, and similarly the exams are nothing like the lectures or problem sets either. So, if you do have to take econometrics with Prof. Fisher, I would recommend going to the first couple of lectures, seeing if they are any better (as this was his first semester teaching this class), and if not just use the class time to teach yourself the concepts listed in the syllabus. Then of course do the problem sets and practice exams. Or maybe even go to the lectures of any other 3720 sections. Literally anything would be more productive than attending these lectures. Professor Fisher seems to be a nice guy, and no doubt he is smart, but I seriously feel bad for anyone who will take his class in the future. If you are pre-grad school I am truly sorry if you get stuck in this class. Do whatever you can to get out.

TL;DR: don't take this class unless you literally have NO OTHER CHOICE, if you do take this class plan on not going to lecture and instead teaching yourself using online resources

Awful course syllabus policy and taught in a dry and confusing manner. I aced intermediate micro and failed this class (after doing very well on both midterms) because I missed 1 assignment. The class is taught as if we already have an understanding of the material (it's an Intro class) and most of this class I ended up having to teach myself from the textbook and the class slides. DO NOT TAKE FISHER if you do not have to, highly recommend any other professor that teaches it. Class time rarely helps and office hours were the only time I learned anything. Doesn't answer questions well and feels like he is learning the slides as he goes, rarely with anything of genuine help on them. You will get nothing out of this course grade wise or knowledge wise unless you spend many hours a week teaching yourself.

As I look at SIS enrollment for Fall 2025, I see that over 250 students have signed up for Professor Fisher's econometrics course. I am genuinely shocked the economics department has allowed Professor Fisher to teach this class at such a large scale for the upcoming semester. If you are among those enrolled, I STRONGLY recommend reconsidering your choice, and if you cannot get into another option, delay your enrollment until the next semester.

To be specific, Fisher’s teaching style involves rapidly moving through slides that contain minimal substance, primarily featuring advanced mathematical proofs with little practical explanation or intuition. Econometrics fundamentally relies on intuition, yet Fisher rarely clarifies the practical applications of the math he presents. Usually, he even appears uncertain about how to explain the content on his own slides. He'll often just stare at the slide and then ask, "any questions?", leaving every student unsure where to even begin. Additionally, his willingness to assist students is really lacking; on one occasion, when I asked for clarification, he referred me directly to ChatGPT. For Fisher, teaching this course seems like a chore. He is definitely involved with important research at UVA and is clearly brilliant, but he is easily the worst lecturer I've ever experienced in my life. By around the second week of the class, people realized that the lectures were so unhelpful that only about 10-15% of the class would come on a consistent basis.

Speaking of ChatGPT, it honestly may be your best resource for Fisher's class. If you choose to endure this course, consider paying for premium ChatGPT as your personal tutor for the entire semester.

The course includes seven problem sets graded on completion (25%), yet these assignments rarely align with lecture content. To achieve an A, expect to dedicate approximately 10 hours per week independently, heavily depending on the textbook, which itself is not well-aligned with class content. Exams feel disconnected from lectures, problem sets, and even the textbook, creating massive consistency issues and making it impossible to feel fully prepared for tests, which account for 75% of your grade (Midterm 1: 25%, Midterm 2: 25%, Final: 25%).

Unsurprisingly, by exam time students often feel they have learned very little. Exam averages reflect this confusion, with initial averages around 50%, later significantly curved to the low 80s / high 70s. This pattern persisted across all three exams.

A good way of summarizing these problems is that a student who earns a B in Professor Ruediger's econometrics class likely has a stronger and more practical understanding of the subject than someone who earns an A in Professor Fisher’s class. This doesn't mean Fisher’s class is easy; I would be curious to see the actual grade distribution, which I imagine is a good amount lower.

In summary: only take this course if you are very comfortable with advanced math and probability, are willing to cope with a professor uninterested in helping students, are prepared to invest significant effort for a superficial understanding, and can accept exams that do not match your preparation throughout the semester. You'll likely come out of the class having learned little, and if you're lucky and work extremely hard, your failing raw grades might be curved up to an A.

Hello, I beg you. PLZ don't take 3720 with him. The reason I rate a 1 is not because the course is worth 1 point, but the lowest score I can give is 1. The management of this course is terrible. If you're, like me, forced to take 3720 this semester and other professors' sessions are already filled up, PLEASE go and email others and beg for a position in their classes. I got some sort of A in the end. This is not because the tests are fair and well-made, but because I am a genius in Econometrics. Expect a B or B+ and a one-semester suffering if you decide to enroll. Btw, I forgot to mention it is very common for someone to get an 80-85 for midterm tests, but this score is already curved. According to the syllabus, you need a 95 to get an A. ( I hope he changed the threshold in the end)

First of all, I honestly don’t understand how Fisher got hired to teach this class. This has been by far the worst course I’ve taken at UVA, and that includes every class in the economics department. The entire experience was frustrating and disappointing.

Econometrics is well-known to be a challenging subject, but Fisher does nothing to make it any easier. In fact, his teaching makes a difficult topic even more confusing. Like many others have mentioned, his lectures basically consist of him reading directly off the slides without engaging with the students or explaining the material in a clear way. It often feels like he’s speaking to the wall rather than the class.

His lecture slides are overloaded with complicated formulas, many of which we never even see on exams or assignments. Instead of focusing on core concepts or helping us build intuition, he spends a lot of time going through dense formulas that feel irrelevant. When he does give examples, they are often so convoluted that they make understanding the basic concepts much harder. I frequently left class more confused than when I arrived. Because his lectures were so ineffective, I had to teach myself most of the material outside of class. I spent countless hours trying to understand the textbook, online resources, and especially visiting the TAs because Fisher’s explanations during lecture weren’t sufficient or clear.

The exams were another huge source of frustration. The first midterm was somewhat manageable, since the practice exam was somewhat similar to the actual test. However, the class average was only around 50-60%, so Fisher had to curve. The second midterm and the final exam were even worse. They barely related to the practice exams at all, and many questions felt like they were pulled out of nowhere, testing material in ways that were never covered or practiced. The content itself is already tough, but the exams felt designed to trip students up rather than fairly assess understanding.

The consistent poor performance across exams showed that many students were struggling badly, and it’s clear that Fisher’s teaching style and course design played a big role in that. I honestly don’t think he has the skills or approach necessary to teach such a complex and technical course effectively. I gave this professor a 1 out of 5 because there was no option for zero or lower. If you have other options to take econometrics, such as with Stefan Ruediger or Ahnaf Rafi, I strongly recommend choosing them instead. Don’t risk your GPA or sanity by taking Fisher’s course.