ECON326 | PlanetTerp

Information	Review
Melissa Kearney ECON326 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 05/08/2024	Dr. Kearney is an economics professor, not a geology one. Dr. Kearney is up there as one of the best teachers I have had at UMD. She is incredibly funny and knowledgeable and constantly keeps the class relevant and engaging with discussions of real-world examples of economic concepts. I did not find the material too hard, mostly just Intro Micro with some calculus, and she is very open to questions to make sure you understand the material.
Ginger Jin ECON326 Expecting an A Anonymous 01/24/2024	Quite possibly the best professor in the economics department. She is very good at teaching, her slides are clear, the homework is applicable, and the exams are very fair. Would strongly recommend.
Judith Hellerstein ECON326 Anonymous 05/18/2023	She's very nice and a decent lecturer. Her exams are brutal, but there is a curve at the end of the semester. Be prepared to put in the work if you take her.
Ginger Jin ECON326 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/19/2022	Decently harder class compared to the intro Econ courses, but Dr. Jin is very knowledgeable and lectures well. The hour and 15 minute lectures can get a little boring, but if you skip you'll fall behind. There is a pre-determined curve for the class. Anticipate exams to be harder than the practice problems. Homeworks and quizzes are easy A's. Definitely take Dr. Jin over other 326 professors!
Ginger Jin ECON326 Expecting an A Anonymous 01/07/2022	I had Dr. Jin in fall '21 and thoroughly enjoyed the class. She was a very clear lecturer with interesting examples which supplemented the content. The grading for the class was 30% online weekly homework, 20% weekly online quizzes, two midterms worth 15% each, and a final worth 25%. Your two lowest homeworks and quizzes were dropped. In addition, an 85% was the cut-off for an A-. Exams were fair and similar to the practice questions she released. The course was not very mathematically heavy — the most advanced concept we used was partial derivatives and lagrangian optimization. Overall, I would highly recommend taking ECON326 with Dr. Jin!
Nicholas Montgomery ECON326 Anonymous 05/13/2021	ECON326 is much easier than ECON325. It is more math heavy and not as theory based relative to ECON325. Montgomery does a great job covering the concepts and math behind various topics. The homework is relatively easy but does take some time to complete. The quizzes and exams are representative of examples done in class and from the homework. Montgomery also provides an enormous amount of practice problems for the exams so you are sufficiently prepared. The class is also curved so don't be alarmed if averages are low for quizzes or exams.
Judith Hellerstein ECON326 Expecting an A Anonymous 06/11/2019	Great lecturer and knows how to teach. Exams are kinda difficult; some theoretical questions are very broad and if you don't explain exactly what the answer key will say, you only get partial credit. However, the curve for the class was decent so no complaints here.
Melissa Kearney ECON326 Expecting a B+ ptfl637 11/10/2015	She's so energetic and excited to teach us about Economics! Pros: She explains things very well, writes down essential points on the board, and is willing to help anyone that needs it. Her TA's are extremely helpful as well. There are only 4 problem sets and 2 exams, the midterm that I have taken so far was exactly like the type of questions I would assume she'd ask based on the notes that we took during class and was not too difficult because of that. Cons: She goes a tad bit fast and when she actually uses powerpoints, there's no point in trying to write things down she changes from slide to slide half way through writing it down. Just have to listen and go along for the ride and she posts those slides later on. She also is late a little bit everyday. Overall, I definitely recommend her for anyone who needs to take any Economics course.
Melissa Kearney ECON326 Anonymous 01/05/2010	ATTN: This review is meant for Prof. Melissa Kearney, the ECON professor, NOT the other Kearney, the GEOG professor. Kearney is a very good teacher. She presents the material in a very straightforward way and even puts her notes online via ELMS (although sometimes there is a bit of a delay). If you go to class, read through important parts of the book, do some of the practice exercises, and attend the discussions you should be able to do fine. I ended up with an A- in the class even though I received a B- on the first midterm. For grading: 80% of this class is exams-30% for the first exam, 50%(!!) for the final-the other 20% is based on 4 problem sets. There is a curve on the exams, but the problem sets are graded on a 1-3 scale based on effort and accuracy. The problem sets aren't too terribly challenging and you generally have enough time to work through them (don't be late!). I highly recommend working with someone else on them (although each must be handed in separately). Attending discussion is a big help (most of the time) and in general, the TAs and Prof Kearney are helpful if you ask questions and need some assistance. My advice would be to study hard (don't fall behind), don't get discouraged (the material might seem tough at first), and understand your mistakes/confusions about materials that you might have. You will definitely need to study in this class, but if you really try to learn the material and understand it (not just memorize!), you should pull through. Good luck!
Melissa Kearney ECON326 Expecting an A Anonymous 11/05/2009	This teacher will keep your attention, especially if you are a male student. She is a good teacher but also a serious academic so you will have to study to do well in this class.
Melissa Kearney ECON326 Anonymous 11/26/2008	I think this website got this professor mixed up with some other professor. First of all, from the other comments I read, Professor Melissa Kearney is a female and an econ prof not geography. She's wonderful, makes class very interesting, even though her final exam is 50% of your grade. She will spend outside time with you if you ask her too. She's one of the best econ professor I ever had, and econ is my major!
Charles Hulten ECON326 Expecting an A Anonymous 04/15/2008	The combination of his confusing and oversimplistic, stained overheads dated back to 1992 and his incoherent ramblings to go along with it make this class hard to stand, but you'll have to just suck it up because you're an econ major and he is teaching a class that is a prereq for 400 levels. Luckily, as others have said, tests aren't bad as long as you read the book, and homeworks are his old ECON306 homeworks for non-majors.
Charles Hulten ECON326 Expecting an A I'll rate u 04/02/2008	study at home and get an A. go to his classes and get an F or lower I am not gonna add anything, the guys said what i see as 100% true.
Charles Hulten ECON326 Miss. Ma 03/27/2008	It was sad to say that I was very dissapointed to have him again. I had him for econ300 (when he makeshiftly taught the first half), and now for 326. His voice is so diffucult to hear. Its like a lulliby, putting me to sleep in class. His ancient slides, no I mean, his outdated and stained to prove it overhead transparencies and his presentations of them were a disorganized blaaa. You walk in with nothing and walk out just the same. The only up side is that his TAs are there to help, and the real lecturing is done in discussion. His exams are simple, and his homeworks are do-able. Also, over the two consecutive semesters that I have had him, he has made attempts to connect with us through youthful examples. For one, he used a bug named Sqishie to convey utility maximization, and uses examples of Ipods and sitting in class for other concepts. BUT, they are all hits and misses. Poor fellow. He is a genious, but just cannot translate it into a lecuturer.
Charles Hulten ECON326 Anonymous 12/07/2007	He has the knowledge to teach, but he has problems delivering it to the students. His class is boring and what kills me is his jokes that no one laughs at unless himself. I am taking this class with him cuz I have to take it and his sections are the only sections that fit into my schedual. AVOID HIM.

Melissa Kearney
ECON326

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
05/08/2024

Dr. Kearney is an economics professor, not a geology one. Dr. Kearney is up there as one of the best teachers I have had at UMD. She is incredibly funny and knowledgeable and constantly keeps the class relevant and engaging with discussions of real-world examples of economic concepts. I did not find the material too hard, mostly just Intro Micro with some calculus, and she is very open to questions to make sure you understand the material.

Ginger Jin
ECON326

Expecting an A
Anonymous
01/24/2024

Quite possibly the best professor in the economics department. She is very good at teaching, her slides are clear, the homework is applicable, and the exams are very fair. Would strongly recommend.

Judith Hellerstein
ECON326

Anonymous
05/18/2023

She's very nice and a decent lecturer. Her exams are brutal, but there is a curve at the end of the semester. Be prepared to put in the work if you take her.

Ginger Jin
ECON326

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/19/2022

Decently harder class compared to the intro Econ courses, but Dr. Jin is very knowledgeable and lectures well. The hour and 15 minute lectures can get a little boring, but if you skip you'll fall behind. There is a pre-determined curve for the class. Anticipate exams to be harder than the practice problems. Homeworks and quizzes are easy A's. Definitely take Dr. Jin over other 326 professors!

Ginger Jin
ECON326

Expecting an A
Anonymous
01/07/2022

I had Dr. Jin in fall '21 and thoroughly enjoyed the class. She was a very clear lecturer with interesting examples which supplemented the content. The grading for the class was 30% online weekly homework, 20% weekly online quizzes, two midterms worth 15% each, and a final worth 25%. Your two lowest homeworks and quizzes were dropped. In addition, an 85% was the cut-off for an A-. Exams were fair and similar to the practice questions she released. The course was not very mathematically heavy — the most advanced concept we used was partial derivatives and lagrangian optimization. Overall, I would highly recommend taking ECON326 with Dr. Jin!

Nicholas Montgomery
ECON326

Anonymous
05/13/2021

ECON326 is much easier than ECON325. It is more math heavy and not as theory based relative to ECON325. Montgomery does a great job covering the concepts and math behind various topics. The homework is relatively easy but does take some time to complete. The quizzes and exams are representative of examples done in class and from the homework. Montgomery also provides an enormous amount of practice problems for the exams so you are sufficiently prepared. The class is also curved so don't be alarmed if averages are low for quizzes or exams.

Judith Hellerstein
ECON326

Expecting an A
Anonymous
06/11/2019

Great lecturer and knows how to teach. Exams are kinda difficult; some theoretical questions are very broad and if you don't explain exactly what the answer key will say, you only get partial credit. However, the curve for the class was decent so no complaints here.

Melissa Kearney
ECON326

Expecting a B+
ptfl637
11/10/2015

She's so energetic and excited to teach us about Economics! Pros: She explains things very well, writes down essential points on the board, and is willing to help anyone that needs it. Her TA's are extremely helpful as well. There are only 4 problem sets and 2 exams, the midterm that I have taken so far was exactly like the type of questions I would assume she'd ask based on the notes that we took during class and was not too difficult because of that. Cons: She goes a tad bit fast and when she actually uses powerpoints, there's no point in trying to write things down she changes from slide to slide half way through writing it down. Just have to listen and go along for the ride and she posts those slides later on. She also is late a little bit everyday. Overall, I definitely recommend her for anyone who needs to take any Economics course.

Melissa Kearney
ECON326

Anonymous
01/05/2010

ATTN: This review is meant for Prof. Melissa Kearney, the ECON professor, NOT the other Kearney, the GEOG professor. Kearney is a very good teacher. She presents the material in a very straightforward way and even puts her notes online via ELMS (although sometimes there is a bit of a delay). If you go to class, read through important parts of the book, do some of the practice exercises, and attend the discussions you should be able to do fine. I ended up with an A- in the class even though I received a B- on the first midterm. For grading: 80% of this class is exams-30% for the first exam, 50%(!!) for the final-the other 20% is based on 4 problem sets. There is a curve on the exams, but the problem sets are graded on a 1-3 scale based on effort and accuracy. The problem sets aren't too terribly challenging and you generally have enough time to work through them (don't be late!). I highly recommend working with someone else on them (although each must be handed in separately). Attending discussion is a big help (most of the time) and in general, the TAs and Prof Kearney are helpful if you ask questions and need some assistance. My advice would be to study hard (don't fall behind), don't get discouraged (the material might seem tough at first), and understand your mistakes/confusions about materials that you might have. You will definitely need to study in this class, but if you really try to learn the material and understand it (not just memorize!), you should pull through. Good luck!

Melissa Kearney
ECON326

Expecting an A
Anonymous
11/05/2009

This teacher will keep your attention, especially if you are a male student. She is a good teacher but also a serious academic so you will have to study to do well in this class.

Melissa Kearney
ECON326

Anonymous
11/26/2008

I think this website got this professor mixed up with some other professor. First of all, from the other comments I read, Professor Melissa Kearney is a female and an econ prof not geography. She's wonderful, makes class very interesting, even though her final exam is 50% of your grade. She will spend outside time with you if you ask her too. She's one of the best econ professor I ever had, and econ is my major!

Charles Hulten
ECON326

Expecting an A
Anonymous
04/15/2008

The combination of his confusing and oversimplistic, stained overheads dated back to 1992 and his incoherent ramblings to go along with it make this class hard to stand, but you'll have to just suck it up because you're an econ major and he is teaching a class that is a prereq for 400 levels. Luckily, as others have said, tests aren't bad as long as you read the book, and homeworks are his old ECON306 homeworks for non-majors.

Charles Hulten
ECON326

Expecting an A
I'll rate u
04/02/2008

study at home and get an A. go to his classes and get an F or lower I am not gonna add anything, the guys said what i see as 100% true.

Charles Hulten
ECON326

Miss. Ma
03/27/2008

It was sad to say that I was very dissapointed to have him again. I had him for econ300 (when he makeshiftly taught the first half), and now for 326. His voice is so diffucult to hear. Its like a lulliby, putting me to sleep in class. His ancient slides, no I mean, his outdated and stained to prove it overhead transparencies and his presentations of them were a disorganized blaaa. You walk in with nothing and walk out just the same. The only up side is that his TAs are there to help, and the real lecturing is done in discussion. His exams are simple, and his homeworks are do-able. Also, over the two consecutive semesters that I have had him, he has made attempts to connect with us through youthful examples. For one, he used a bug named Sqishie to convey utility maximization, and uses examples of Ipods and sitting in class for other concepts. BUT, they are all hits and misses. Poor fellow. He is a genious, but just cannot translate it into a lecuturer.

Charles Hulten
ECON326

Anonymous
12/07/2007

He has the knowledge to teach, but he has problems delivering it to the students. His class is boring and what kills me is his jokes that no one laughs at unless himself. I am taking this class with him cuz I have to take it and his sections are the only sections that fit into my schedual. AVOID HIM.

Reviews for ECON326