ECON 4720

This class lives up to its grueling reputation and, as you will find, exceeds it. Before enrolling, be absolutely sure you want to pursue graduate economics or the financial concentration (which the depatment is struggling to keep afloat); the class may seem light and manageable in the first few weeks, however, the workload and material pick up immensenly.

Also, get used to not having a clue where your grade stands throughout the entire semester. Professor Stern will take off points without explanation, so be ready to put in time for countless visits to office hours. And while his curve is generous, it is not nearly as forgiving as it appears in past semesters.

My advice to do (relatively) well in this class are as follows:
- Prior to taking the class, familiarize yourself with linear algebra, namely matrix multiplcation and manipulation. Taking Linear (MATH 3351) helps, but goes well beyond what you need to know.
-Already be proficient with Stata or another statistical sofware.
-Do not be ambitious when choosing the topic of your term project. You will find yourself doing a lot of unecessary research on methods that're beyond the scope of the class or not touched until the very end of the semester. Professor Stern will not favor harder topics when grading, so keep it simple.

All that said, Professor Stern is probably the best professor at UVA to be teaching this class. The man is a genious and knows what he is talking about.