ECON317 | PlanetTerp

Information	Review
Naveen Sarna ECON317 Expecting a B Anonymous 01/16/2024	Sarna is so beyond boring about a subject that could really be interesting. There are very few graded assignments over the course of the class, and the ones that aren't impossible tests are decided arbitrarily- like the simulator which he did not explain then just chose grades with barely any explanation for why. DO NOT TAKE
Naveen Sarna ECON317 Expecting a D+ Anonymous 12/26/2023	Legit one of the worst professors I’ve had at UMD, class is so boring, he’s not great at explaining the concepts covered and there’s not even close to enough grades, the 1st exam is easy bc there’s great study material out there for it but the 2nd 3rd and final exams are insanely hard. Avoid at all costs!
Naveen Sarna ECON317 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/21/2023	Professor Sarna is a really great guy and INCREDIBLY knowledgeable. Unfortunately, he isn't the best professor. What doesn't help is the fact that half of our lectures across the entire semester were allocated to presenting group projects on our "research" findings of other countries' economic climates. Mind you, the first presentations started only a few weeks into the semester and took up an entire day in a 2x/Week course. Because of this, instead of learning about macroeconomic concepts from a man who has worked at the World Bank, and lived firsthand what he is supposed to be teaching, we get to listen to quarter-baked presentations from our peers who haven't even learned enough to create comprehensive presentations because it is so early in the semester. Before the exams, you will be lucky if he shares any tailored review materials, for the first exam and final it was only 2 or 3 PowerPoints were all that we got. There were only 2 days of lectures dedicated to material that would comprise the majority of the final. There are only, Participation, Exams 1-3, a simulation exercise (1 in-class activity), and the group presentation. Group presentation is graded leniently A curve of an unknown amount was applied to the end-of-semester grades.
Naveen Sarna ECON317 Expecting a C Anonymous 05/18/2023	Provide no study materials to prepare for the exam. He posted PowerPoint slides way later so that lecture material faded out. He lacks clarity as a professor, and I wouldn't recommend him to anyone.
Naveen Sarna ECON317 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 10/12/2020	A great prof. Lectures are kinda boring but he cares about students and willing to answer questions. The final is hard. I thought I can get an A but I end up with B+ so study hard before exams.
Naveen Sarna ECON317 Expecting a B- Anonymous 05/16/2018	REALLY easy to not pay attention, but you have to try. Don't take unless you have a solid macro background
Naveen Sarna ECON317 Expecting a B Anonymous 05/16/2016	Sarna is boring and talks quietly. I found it very difficult to pay attention in class. He posts all of the slides online and the review slides closely correspond with the exams. Because of this, most people didn't come to class except to give their presentations. There is no homework except for a big presentation/group paper, which he grades leniently. DO NOT BUY THE BOOK. He never uses it. This course is a glorified intermediate macroeconomics course. Although I did not like Sarna's teaching, he is very helpful and cares about what he is saying. If you can bring yourself to come to class and pay attention, you'll probably do fine.
Naveen Sarna ECON317 Expecting an A- Anonymous 07/06/2015	I took this class my senior year at UMD and I wish I had taken it earlier. Sarna's class is one of the few econ classes where i learned concrete info about how world economics work and allowed me to understand and easily interpret changes in the world economy or even simply reading the WSJ or the Economist. Its not an easy A as his tests are tricky and are often frustrating because of hazey wording. However, the material itself is straightforward once you understand how the different variables effect each other. I learnt the most about actual econ in my entire time at UMD in this class, instead of just how to move curves around and take derivatives. Also econonmetrics with Vlaicu is a great class but im not sure he teaches at umd anymore. anyways, take this class, study hard, you will be grateful once you graduate. also keep the textbook its helpful for me to refer to sometimes to brush up my knowledge. this class should be required after econ 200/201. and it should be broken up into two classes so as not to cram so much into one semester and allow time to really drill the concepts in.
Naveen Sarna ECON317 Expecting a B naddiepie3 05/02/2013	He really knows what he is teaching and wants students to learn things for the real world. He is a nice guy and very approachable. It was hard for me to get an A because I am not a great test taker. There is 2 quizzes, 2 exams(MCQ & short answer), group projects, 6 article summaries (easy). He is straight forward on what exactly he tests on.
Naveen Sarna ECON317 superrhombre 05/20/2012	Dr. Sarna is definitely in my top list of professors at UMD. He really makes the material very interesting and explains the material very well. He is an absolute genius when it comes to economics and turns explains material with easy to understand stories. I would recommend this professor!!!
Naveen Sarna ECON317 Expecting a B agaybaby 05/20/2011	If you are not familiar with macro concepts this class might be a little tricky for you. There were 3 quizzes, a midterm, a paper/presentation, and the final. Paper/presentation was easy, around 20 pages split between 4 people and a presentation that lasts ~20 minutes. He explained things clearly and kept things relevant, using the first few minutes of class to discuss world economic events and how we could use what we've been learning to explain what's going on. Funny guy too. Be prepared to put in a good amount of time for the class, there's a lot of info to cover/understand.
Naveen Sarna ECON317 Expecting a C Anonymous 06/01/2010	Professor Sarna explains economic models with simple analogies that help you better understand them. I wish I had him for 200 and 201 rather than bad lectures. The material I failed to learn in my fundamental courses, he reviews in class. He curves at the end. There is a presentation and paper that is easy. If I did not have a heavy schedule, I would have received a B in his class. There are 2 quizzes 1 midterm 1 project (presentation & paper) and 1 final. He's not as boring as other economic professors, which is a plus. He has a slight accent but it does not affect his teaching style/ability. Overall I enjoyed the course.

Naveen Sarna
ECON317

Expecting a B
Anonymous
01/16/2024

Sarna is so beyond boring about a subject that could really be interesting. There are very few graded assignments over the course of the class, and the ones that aren't impossible tests are decided arbitrarily- like the simulator which he did not explain then just chose grades with barely any explanation for why. DO NOT TAKE

Naveen Sarna
ECON317

Expecting a D+
Anonymous
12/26/2023

Legit one of the worst professors I’ve had at UMD, class is so boring, he’s not great at explaining the concepts covered and there’s not even close to enough grades, the 1st exam is easy bc there’s great study material out there for it but the 2nd 3rd and final exams are insanely hard. Avoid at all costs!

Naveen Sarna
ECON317

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/21/2023

Professor Sarna is a really great guy and INCREDIBLY knowledgeable. Unfortunately, he isn't the best professor. What doesn't help is the fact that half of our lectures across the entire semester were allocated to presenting group projects on our "research" findings of other countries' economic climates. Mind you, the first presentations started only a few weeks into the semester and took up an entire day in a 2x/Week course. Because of this, instead of learning about macroeconomic concepts from a man who has worked at the World Bank, and lived firsthand what he is supposed to be teaching, we get to listen to quarter-baked presentations from our peers who haven't even learned enough to create comprehensive presentations because it is so early in the semester. Before the exams, you will be lucky if he shares any tailored review materials, for the first exam and final it was only 2 or 3 PowerPoints were all that we got. There were only 2 days of lectures dedicated to material that would comprise the majority of the final. There are only, Participation, Exams 1-3, a simulation exercise (1 in-class activity), and the group presentation. Group presentation is graded leniently A curve of an unknown amount was applied to the end-of-semester grades.

Naveen Sarna
ECON317

Expecting a C
Anonymous
05/18/2023

Provide no study materials to prepare for the exam. He posted PowerPoint slides way later so that lecture material faded out. He lacks clarity as a professor, and I wouldn't recommend him to anyone.

Naveen Sarna
ECON317

Expecting a B+
Anonymous
10/12/2020

A great prof. Lectures are kinda boring but he cares about students and willing to answer questions. The final is hard. I thought I can get an A but I end up with B+ so study hard before exams.

Naveen Sarna
ECON317

Expecting a B-
Anonymous
05/16/2018

REALLY easy to not pay attention, but you have to try. Don't take unless you have a solid macro background

Naveen Sarna
ECON317

Expecting a B
Anonymous
05/16/2016

Sarna is boring and talks quietly. I found it very difficult to pay attention in class. He posts all of the slides online and the review slides closely correspond with the exams. Because of this, most people didn't come to class except to give their presentations. There is no homework except for a big presentation/group paper, which he grades leniently. DO NOT BUY THE BOOK. He never uses it. This course is a glorified intermediate macroeconomics course. Although I did not like Sarna's teaching, he is very helpful and cares about what he is saying. If you can bring yourself to come to class and pay attention, you'll probably do fine.

Naveen Sarna
ECON317

Expecting an A-
Anonymous
07/06/2015

I took this class my senior year at UMD and I wish I had taken it earlier. Sarna's class is one of the few econ classes where i learned concrete info about how world economics work and allowed me to understand and easily interpret changes in the world economy or even simply reading the WSJ or the Economist. Its not an easy A as his tests are tricky and are often frustrating because of hazey wording. However, the material itself is straightforward once you understand how the different variables effect each other. I learnt the most about actual econ in my entire time at UMD in this class, instead of just how to move curves around and take derivatives. Also econonmetrics with Vlaicu is a great class but im not sure he teaches at umd anymore. anyways, take this class, study hard, you will be grateful once you graduate. also keep the textbook its helpful for me to refer to sometimes to brush up my knowledge. this class should be required after econ 200/201. and it should be broken up into two classes so as not to cram so much into one semester and allow time to really drill the concepts in.

Naveen Sarna
ECON317

Expecting a B
naddiepie3
05/02/2013

He really knows what he is teaching and wants students to learn things for the real world. He is a nice guy and very approachable. It was hard for me to get an A because I am not a great test taker. There is 2 quizzes, 2 exams(MCQ & short answer), group projects, 6 article summaries (easy). He is straight forward on what exactly he tests on.

Naveen Sarna
ECON317

superrhombre
05/20/2012

Dr. Sarna is definitely in my top list of professors at UMD. He really makes the material very interesting and explains the material very well. He is an absolute genius when it comes to economics and turns explains material with easy to understand stories. I would recommend this professor!!!

Naveen Sarna
ECON317

Expecting a B
agaybaby
05/20/2011

If you are not familiar with macro concepts this class might be a little tricky for you. There were 3 quizzes, a midterm, a paper/presentation, and the final. Paper/presentation was easy, around 20 pages split between 4 people and a presentation that lasts ~20 minutes. He explained things clearly and kept things relevant, using the first few minutes of class to discuss world economic events and how we could use what we've been learning to explain what's going on. Funny guy too. Be prepared to put in a good amount of time for the class, there's a lot of info to cover/understand.

Naveen Sarna
ECON317

Expecting a C
Anonymous
06/01/2010

Professor Sarna explains economic models with simple analogies that help you better understand them. I wish I had him for 200 and 201 rather than bad lectures. The material I failed to learn in my fundamental courses, he reviews in class. He curves at the end. There is a presentation and paper that is easy. If I did not have a heavy schedule, I would have received a B in his class. There are 2 quizzes 1 midterm 1 project (presentation & paper) and 1 final. He's not as boring as other economic professors, which is a plus. He has a slight accent but it does not affect his teaching style/ability. Overall I enjoyed the course.

Reviews for ECON317