Professor Rojas is a solid instructor that has straightforward slides and a free online textbook that has plenty of practice and preparation for the tests. There's two midterms that are each 20% of your grade, a final that's 45% of your grade, and the mostly weekly homework that are easy to get 100 on are 15% of your grade. He also provides practice midterms that have questions similar to the actual midterms. I took AP Microeconomics a few months before taking this class so it was not that difficult, but the people I know that didn't take AP Micro still were able to do well as long as they studied and looked over the practice midterms. Also, the lectures are hybrid and most people end up not going to lectures in-person as it's not really necessary as you get the same information by attending on Zoom or watching the recorded lectures. I will note that if you attend the Zoom lectures, be sure to log in on-time as he does not see people in the waiting room, so you won't be let in if you are late online. Also, the TA sections are optional, which is nice, and they are only necessary if you are confused with the material or want to look over a midterm you took. Overall, a fairly easy, strait-forward intro class.

I think this class was relatively easy. You just have to pay attention in lectures, take notes, and practice a lot. I would recommend using Mindtap problems (the A+ test prep, specifically) because the exam questions mirror those and it helps you feel prepared. Professor Rojas is also an amazing guy. He is very understanding and sweet. His lectures comprise of reading off the slides and providing additional info of his own. I will say that at times, lectures are a little boring but the Professor keeps you very well engaged. He makes everyone feel welcome and encourages us to answer his questions too. Overall, his exams weren't awful either. I think you just have to make sure that you dedicate time to properly understanding the material and practicing numerous problems. His final had questions with a little more math involved (similar to the problems and applications that are reviewed in discussion sections) because we had more time to work with, but as long as you practice and understand all the problems, you should be alright!

DO THE MINDTAP. The midterms and finals are based on the questions found on the A+ Test Prep and are extremely helpful in preparing for exams. Doing the questions alone will prepare you sufficiently for both the midterms and finals as well as reviewing the slideshow notes.

I took both AP Micro and Macro in high school, and I thought the exams were manageable. But even after studying for days and coming in with prior knowledge, I still ended up with a C+ on the final. I had read a few reviews saying Dr. Rojas was a boring lecturer who mostly reads off his slides—and honestly, that’s kind of true. That said, he’s not a bad professor. He does try to create a space for students to ask questions during class, but he’s not very responsive over email, which I think is important.

Right before the final, I emailed him about which content would be covered and mentioned that my TA’s email wasn’t working—he never replied. I feel like that’s something a professor should follow up on. Strangely enough, when I emailed him to ask about his experience at UCLA, he responded fairly quickly.

GRADING: The class has a slight curve, but there’s very little wiggle room. Your entire grade comes from two midterms (25% each) and a final (50%). It’s frustrating to have just three tests determine your whole grade, but that seems to be the case with a lot of Econ classes here. That said, I would still take Rojas again if I had to.

MINDTAP: This isn’t optional. I found it really helpful to read the material ahead of class and do as many practice problems as possible—especially before the midterms and final. He uses the A+ feature to build his exams, so many of the problems on MindTap are very similar to what shows up on the tests.

TA SECTIONS: TA sections didn’t help much with test prep, but they were useful for clearing up any confusion you had about the material. I also recommend reviewing your past exams—they help a lot with understanding what to expect on the final. Honestly, the most important part of this class is studying hard for the final. It makes or breaks your grade.

Rojas is bad with emails, he will only reply once. Half of his test questions are from Mindtap. Sometimes if you find an old exam he may reuse some of the questions. His lectures are pretty clear but super boring. He uses the whole time. He often asks if you have questions and then moves on immediately. He lowkey does not want your questions. We didn't even finish the content on the syllabus or even the final by the last lecture. He has a very boring tone and his examples and engagement in the class is okay. All his tests are multiple choice so there is no forgiveness. Discussion isn't that helpful if you get the concepts because it is conceptual questions, while the tests are more questions trying to trick you, as MCQ does. It is possible to do well and not learn a lot, as it is possible to understand a lot and do poorly. He only curves if the final class average is below a B. It is easy enough if you do Mindtap (mainly just the A+ test prep), and skim his slides. Lecture is a waste of your time if you only care about your grade because if you practice for half of lecture time you are way better off class wise.

I went to class about three times before I realized it was absolutely pointless sitting there listening to Rojas read the slides in a monotonous manner. I only did a few days of studying before every midterm and final simply using the mindtap. I'm surprised more people didn't know that his tests are literally exactly like the mindtap practice problems under A+ Test Prep. I just read the mind tap textbook and did the practice problems over and over again and every test was a repeat of those types of questions with a few original questions on the final. Even though the professor and TAs weren't the most helpful, the material wasn't difficult to grasp and did not require much time as class/discussions weren't necessary. Having only 3 exams determine our entire grade was daunting but the mind tap was seriously all you need in this class.

If your read the text book it basically the same material as his slides, unlike other classes their is no room for error on the exams because the the only thing being graded 2 midterms worth 25% each and 50% for the final. he said that if we studied using mindtap we would be well prepared for the exams but the practice exam mindtap generated were way easier and less application based than his exams so at times it felt like i was just memorizing answers rather than learning how to apply the class content. I feel like many student would've felt more prepared if we had homework assignments so that we can get more practice or even extra credit opportunities, as not all student are good test takers.

one word, Mindtap.

Super easy class. The professor is super good. Tests are easy as long as you do practice problems.

professor rojas does his best to teach ECON 1; however, this class is hard asf for no reason!!! the important thing to note: your grade is solely based on two midterms + a final * though, the distribution you can choose :-) your TAs try to be as helpful as they can~ it's giving AP econ exam LOL