2.4
Quality4.4
Difficulty28%
Would Retake93
Reviews28%
Would Retake
93
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
13
4
13
3
15
2
12
1
40
What Students Say
“The best way to enjoy the class is to read ahead and read each article”
301 - 5.0 rating“HEAVY LECTURE, NO ONE PARTICIPATES BECAUSE THE QUESTIONS HE ASKS NEVER MAKES SENSE”
ECO101 - 1.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
68%
Textbook Required
13%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-1.00 avg changeRatings by Course
301
5.0
(1)ECON301
3.8
(5)ECO101
3.4
(11)102
3.0
(1)ECON101
3.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
ECO311
5.0
ECON102
5.0
ECO102
4.5
ECON301
4.4
ECO101
4.4
Reviews (93)
Vandegrift is for the serious student of economics, not for someone that thinks it would be nice to know a thing or two about supply and demand. He is funny, but behind the jokes lurks the stone cold heart of an economic hyena.
Vandergrift was a difficult professor, but if you attended class and read the book, he was easy to follow along. His tests were only open ended, so they were alittle more difficult. Overall though, he was a great professor, but if you are looking for an easy a, he is not going to give you one. With alittle work though, an a is achievable.
Be prepared to work outside and inside of class, write down everything he says. Type up your problem set answers or else your grade on them will suffer. Not impossible, enjoys a sense of humor, & is a fair guy. Be prepared to write everything down on the exams bc he's not the type to say 'oh, he/she has the general idea' & mark you 100% correct
This dude gets kind of boring but I can't blame him, it's hard to keep econ fun for so long. His tests are very hard, all open ended, and it sucks A LOT. However, he gives a decent curve that puts the average grade at like a 78. He's a good dude but if you just taking this class as a requirement, you should take someone else.
Worst prof ever. However, he is insanely smart. Needs to be put in a cubical to solve eco problems and not teaching. Loves his own words, and will reword anything said to be in his own words. Expects you to know a whole lot more than prereq stat, and if you need eco and not an eco pro than take another prof.
Dr. Vandegrift is a genius and he is a nice guy, but his classes are challenging. His tests are all open ended and you have to study a lot to do well. I learned a lot about economics in his class, but he was a tough grader. I would recommend him if you are really interested in economics, but not if you are taking it for a course requirement.
This professor is truly awful. Avoid him at all costs, unless you are an Economics major and have no other choice of professor for ECO 301 Intermediate Micro. In economic terms, he has a monopoly over the ECO 301 class, so he makes it as hard as possible. He loves to see students perform poorly, and will even tell you that you could have done worse
Super boring. His tests are pretty hard too. They're all open-ended, and based on the multitude of outside readings he will assign. It's a lot of work, but if you participate and work hard, you can learn the material.
This professor is awful and I hate his class. He does a terrible job at explaining the material, and spends countless time going into pointless jargon that people don't understand. He may be a genius, but he is terrible at teaching!
His lectures usually take up the whole two hours with no breaks. His tests are very hard, and are all open-ended. He designs the class to make you think. I would only recommend taking him if you count on carrying all this knowledge into your future.
I just finished the final for and I can truly that it was the hardest test I've ever taken. Midterm's aren't much better, though he curves them about 15 points because half the class fails. All tests are completely open ended. They Lectures are long and extremely boring, and there's a lot of reading in the textbook and outside articles.
Nice guy, hard class. Grade was based on 3 problem sets, 2 tests & final. Tests are open ended difficult and long; based on textbook material and outside readings. He will curve. Always uses full 2 hrs when lecturing. Generally helpful when answering questions; sometimes can be a bit unclear. avoid for an intro class if not an econ person
In a nutshell, he was the WORST professor I ever had in my life. Unless absolutely necessary, do everything you can to avoid him.
I had him for Honors Microeconomics (the only difference was we had to write an extra paper) and he's very nice as a person, but difficult as a professor. The tests were all open ended and difficult. I learned a lot from the class, but I would not take him again if given the opportunity.
He's a really nice guy but his tests are hard. He knows a lot about the subject and thankfully curves the test. All the questions are open ended. Doesn't believe in powerpoint or multiple choice. Good guy just too hard
Vandegrift is very challenging. His tests are difficult and completely open-ended, but they are generally fair. He will provide curves for tests if the class average is below a B. He's a nice enough guy and is also way into real-life articles he uploads to SOCS; it's helpful to read them and pay attention when discussed (they'll appear on tests).
Take his class if you want to go cry in the bathroom after receiving exam grades.
Really tough professor but passionate and overall a great class. If you do not care about econ, he may inspire you. If you want an easy grade do NOT take him
Challenging professor for 100 level course but you really learn a lot. Do the readings and pay attention and class and it's really not bad.
He is an by far the WORST economics professor I have ever had, and this is coming from an economics major who loves economics. He intentionally words his test questions in a confusing manner and fails to properly explain the calculus behind the economic theories. He may be a genius, but do everything you can to avoid him. He will destroy your GPA!
Speaks in extremely precise language so it's important to be 100% awake. Tests are open ended and papers are short. Ask for clarification or ask anything at all, because everyone else is struggling too but they are just scared to ask questions because his answers can be confusing. Pay attention to articles discussed but don't read them all.
Easy to get lost in class. See him after class to clarify concepts or you will do badly in his tests
DO NOT TAKE THIS PROFESSOR HE WILL DESTROY YOUR GPA! Although he is very passionate about econ he is extremely hard to follow and has ridiculous expectations for how much information you "should" retain. Test are all open ended and impossible to do well on. He expects you to recite his lectures from class word for word for full credit.
Dr. Vandegrift will challenge your ability to think critically. It's not an easy course by any means but he is clear and concise. What helped me do so well is that I recorded each lecture. He is very precise and descriptive so its was helpful to have his lectures on replay. The best way to enjoy the class is to read ahead and read each article.
He's a really nice guy, but a little hard to understand sometimes because of his use of complicated economic terms. There's lots of material taught outside of the textbook, but if you study hard and put effort into it, it's definitely possible to get a good grade.
Great professor, tough class. You will learn something but you're going to have to work for it. Tests are completely open ended but the questions are taken directly from his lectures or the problem sets.
Don't expect any breaks from Dr. V. Incredibly intelligent, however doesn't make a great professor. He pretty much lectures until the last second of the final class, and they don't help much in clarifying the book material.
Very tough teacher. I did very well in Macroeconomics in high school and he took simple concepts and made them very confusing. His tests are long and if you don't answer the way he wants you to, you lose points automatically. Plus he uses way too many articles to get a simple point across. I like the idea of it, but it is overused...
Vandergrift uses economic terms that college students will not understand, and he doesn't explain them. Well schooled, but does not have experience in the actual field if I had to guess. Tough and inconsistent grader.
Let there be no doubt, his intermediate micro class was one of the most challenging courses I took in college. He was my thesis advisor as well. Unlike other econ professors, he really challenges his students to think so they can comprehend difficult economic concepts. It helps to read ahead before lectures in his class so you can participate.
hard class, you have to answer test questions in the exact way he wants or he'll take points off, curves are large though. Lectures are confusing and hard to follow, you really have to learn how to take notes in his class. Not impossible to do well, but you'll have to work for it.
A good grade is possible, but you are going to have to work for it. There are three exams made up of all open ended questions, and two papers. Doing the assigned reading for each class, including the supplemental articles, will put you in a position to succeed. Do not take this professor for an easy A.
WARNING: DO NOT TAKE! HEAVY LECTURE, NO ONE PARTICIPATES BECAUSE THE QUESTIONS HE ASKS NEVER MAKES SENSE
He's a difficult professor in the sense that he makes you read the textbook and independently think to understand economic concepts, but he is one of the best professors at this school and willing to go above and beyond to help.
Vandergrift really wants to help everyone, but he's very picky about what constitutes a right answer and needs a specific answer to mark it right. He grades problem sets on completion only, so they're grade boosters. He LOVES dissecting articles and at least half of his exams are based on them so make sure you pay attention when he talks about them
Avoid at all costs, Econ majors take intermediate micro elsewhere. Dr.V is a very intelligent human being, but he expects everyone to be on the same wave length as him. He doesn't teach with examples and relies on you to self teach the entire course, then he picks and chooses what answers he finds correct, always saying "not quite". Save the stress
Dr. Vandegrift is easily one of the best professors at the college. He's tough but you will not learn nearly as much with most other professors. If you are struggling (I did) he is extremely accessible and willing to work with you. Also suggest taking ECO 365 with him if possible. I have so much respect for him as a professor
ECO105 is the worst class offered here. He is a great person and funny when having a normal conversation with him. However, this class is beyond confusing and you have to teach yourself most of the material. He focuses mainly on random data sets and how they are good or bad for the first half of the semester second half he attempts to teach.
Clearly has a knowledge of the subject and is very enthusiastic about it but it's easy to get lost as he lectures. He likes to use conceptual questions and articles assigned in class on the tests. Stata can also be hard to figure out.
ECON 105 Unless you have a decent knowledge of stats prior it is extremely hard to pass with an A. It is mostly a self-taught class.
Just absolutely terrible. Great guy, but completely destroyed my grades. Couldnt even pass. He will give you extremely difficult exams which causes a huge impact on your grade. This class will definitely destroy your GPA. Avoid this class at all costs. Seriously. I wish I took this advice and dropped his class earlier.
Do NOT take Vandegrift if there are other teachers available for the class. It pained me when I studied hours for his midterms and felt genuinely prepared, and received a grade no where need what I anticipated. His test questions concentrated on topics that weren't mentioned in class and he expects specific answers regurgitated from lectures.
I think I was in the 2 of 30 students who got an A in his stats class, which is because of my strong statistics background (got AP credit, didn't transfer to this class). You have to teach yourself the info and wake up for boring lectures. The advice I would recommend is to do the practice problems at the end of each chapter. Goodluck!
If you're good about doing the assigned readings, then you MIGHT be okay. Notice how I said MIGHT! He's honestly all over the place when he lectures and it's hard to keep up. He's a very specific grader; if you don't give him what he wants, it's wrong. Lots of people dropped the class halfway through, so if that doesn't help with your decision...��
Don't even know what to say because it was THAT bad. I dropped this course halfway through. There isn't a structure to his lectures. He picks and chooses what answers are right based on what he likes. He makes it more complicated than it needs to be. He is very intelligent but expects the same level of knowledge from everyone else. GPA tanker!!!!!!
He is a nice guy, but this was by far the hardest class I've ever taken. More than half the class dropped after the first test. He is an extremely tough grader and you will not get full points on questions unless you literally regurgitate everything he said in the lecture. I recommend taking notes on everything single thing he says.
Be prepared to review the material outside of class and record the lectures. Material covered matches directly with the textbook for all the non-paper based material. If you follow the textbook and practice problems for those, it's fine. Be prepared for the paper questions by following his outlines and recording all relevant materials.
Vandy is an awesome guy. HE IS HARD. But he will actually teach you! Make sure you write notes and ask questions in class. He will stay on a topic until he is confident the class has a basic understanding. He is a really good guy and always has an open door. I wish he was teaching econometrics! If you are an econ major you should def take him.
One year after having Dr. Vandegrift I am compelled to give him a review. Vandegrift is one of, if not the best professor I have had so far in my college career. He is a very smart man who teaches you how to approach economic topics in a realistic way. Do not be afraid to ask questions, that is how you will succeed in his course. Amazing professor.
He does not teach! There are two tests which are all open-ended, 3 homework that feels like projects, one paper, and a final. If you need help and email him questions, he will not respond unless its during his office hours. He's a chill person if you get to know him but an overall bad professor.
Wouldn't take if you need to pass the class.
Its just a bad class. Hes a bad professor. He doesnt know what teaching is. Good probability he will get replaced in the next 3-4 years despite his tenure. Recommend staying away until then.
Knowledgeable about neoclassicism but not about economics. Not a worthwhile use of your time to take his class unless your an Econ major. I dont think he even likes teaching.
The absolute worst class & Professor i have ever taken. He's lecture heavy and expects you to regurgitate what he says in class on tests (advice: record lectures) hes pompous and will make it clear if he doesn't like you. He will 100% fail you. (More than half of my class had to retake his class the following year). Literally does not care at all
A severely inadequate professor. He did not even attempt to teach properly. A sad state of affairs. Stay away!
Hard class. You will really earn your grade here. Participate in class and you'll end up learning a lot more than you think. Vandegrift is a very reasonable professor and teachers material well.
Bad class. Bad professor. Didnt really learn anything but it sure soaked up a lot of time and energy that could have been spent in a more productive manner. He doesnt care about his students.
If you can avoid taking his class, do it to save your GPA. If you can't avoid it then record the lectures, read everything he gives you, DO NOT MISS CLASS, and say a prayer. Really, really tough professor. Really long, boring lectures you will want to fall asleep in but DO NOT. He won't hesitate to fail you, but he also will try to teach you
Rambles in class, topics all scrambled, correcting himself/needing to double check. Projects a doc. text outline of topics (being titles of subsections in the textbook). Topics in class depends on if he finished the subject last class Frustrating, no blueprint of class structure/lecture notes correlating with date. Learned nothing from him.
In my opinion: Professor Vandegrift does whatever he wants whenever he wants to, if he wants to. If you take his class, you are along for the ride and the destination is anyones guess,so is the duration spent at various places along the way, those of which are completely at his discretion. If your looking for structure,perhaps look in the rearview
Dr. Vandergrift offers a difficult class but he is extremely willing to offer students help. He is always there to make sure you succeed, especially if you are an Econ major and have to write a thesis at the end of senior year. He is a very reasonable grader and allows a lot of time for assignments to get done. Probably the best Econ Professor.
He doesn't even teach that well and ends up giving super hard midterms without any quizzes or tests first. The first thing you take after learning a little is a midterm, and it's super hard.
Very confusing. Difficult difficult not because of the material, because of the way he tried to teach it. We were all lost. I even went to his office hours, it just wasnt worthwhile. I wish I would have been given a heads up by the School of Business about this professor and the courses he teaches. They sort of owe us that.
I always feel very uncomfortable around this person.
confusing and makes things harder than they have to be. we talk about an article once and he expects us to know the entire thing come test day. doesnt post grades so your standing in the class is basically up to you. do yourself and your gpa a favor and dont ever take a class with this guy
The class is very lecture heavy so it can be boring if you aren't into the actual topics of the class. You don't need to actually read the textbook chapters and articles he assigns unless you need more help since the lectures are just him repeating the content. Tests can be hard but should be fine if you just take good notes and care. Curved tests.
AWFUL TEACHER one of the worst professors I've ever had, grades very hard, not many grades, doesn't post grades on canvas, explanation of concepts makes no sense. Explains things much more difficult than he has to. DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS
His lectures were extremely boring and all over the place. There was no clear train of thought when he spoke. Each class starts from where the last one ends. After the first midterm, many stopped showing up to class because they realized they would learn more by reading the textbook than listen to his boring lectures. Worst professor I've had.
Class is okay, professor is a joke. Borderline scam, waste of time, money and effort. Wouldnt recommended anyone taking a class with this profby far and away the worst option at the school.
Prof wasn't awful, but the lectures were torture. Only learned by reading the textbook and felt very heavily that attending class wasn't important. Very very few grades and he doesn't tell you your grade in the class until you find out if you passed after the course ends. Material is hard to grasp and I only passed because of studying on my own.
If I were you, I would stay away from this professor like your life depended on it. I dropped after 2 weeks of the course because it was so awful. Lectures makes no sense, he doesn't care, and he stumbles over his own words. Prof will also report you to the dean if you have your laptop out in class. Just stay away. You'll thank me later.
It is a mystery what will be on the exam. The problem sets are worth nothing, and do not help at all with the exam. He rambles and his lectures make no sense. Horrible class.
If you end up having this professor, drop the class. It isn't worth staying in this class the whole semester. His lectures are all over the place and very disorganized and rambles the whole entire class time. His problem sets are pointless, and your overall grade for the class will be only based on the exams. Worst professor I have ever had.
I had this professor in the first semester of my freshman year. He had 3 assignments worth 2 points each throughout the semester, 3 tests, 1 paper. He never put any of the grades into canvas throughout the whole semester and did not ever provide feedback. Posted final grade in paws past due date. Beyond textbook used outside material in exams.
There are very few assignments, problem sets that are worth 5%, 2 midterms, and a final. Plus, I was unable to understand his lectures, I think that it is better if you read the textbook. He did not even go over what was going to be on the exams and you need to read the articles that he gives in order to get a good grade on the exams.
Not the best option, most things are unclear and he doesn't do enough to help. Make sure you understand the articles; that's what your exams are on. Heavy curves because everyone fails RIP. I got an A but tbh I learned more outside of class and by researching the topics. Don't recommend him, but not impossible, so not the end of the world.
He lectures as if the students already have a deep understanding of the topic so it's hard to follow. He assigns so many readings it's not even doable. Exams are pretty hard and don't completely reflect course material. He also curves grades a lot because no one does well on the exams
Most of your grade is based on the exams. It's a difficult course, which is why a lot of people don't like the class, but I wouldn't fault him for that. It's not a lot of work except for a few assignments and projects you get during the semester, but most of the time you just need to go to class.
He spent an entire class period talking about incestual marriage rates from a thousand years ago. I don't even know how anyone could justify talking about this for more than 5 minutes in a Macroeconomics class. A lot of his lectures are pointless but this one was by far the least necessary. Wouldn't recommend to anyone.
AVOID PLEASE ESPECIALLY FOR ECO 102. Doesn't seem to care about student success whatsoever, everyone fails exams so they are curved upwards of 25%. Everyone is lost during lectures and they are pure torture. He calls on random ppl because no one has a clue what's going on. Save your GPA with this one and NOT take this professor.
Highly intelligent professor that clearly has lots of experience teaching macroeconomics. You need to read the articles he assigns as his test questions come straight from the articles. Attendance at lectures is not mandatory but extremely important if you care about your grade in this class. Very fair grader but exams are challenging.
Dr. V assumes the class read the assigned readings, so I think that's how a lot of us get lost because we hardly do the readings and he teaches in the pace of that assumption. Application, problems, and articles gone over class take up most of the test (try to notice which ones he spends most time on), so make sure you attend. Use office hours!
This class was HARD. Hardest Econ class I've ever taken. Dry humor which is funny. I seriously had to study like crazy just to earn a C. Not very tech savvy, notes and lectures all over the place, must attended all classes to have an understanding. Made me really challenge myself but man was it difficult
Worst professor I had at TCNJ. Taught me nothing about microeconomics. Just told me stories that he would test us on.
never responds to his email. Hard class, and he makes it harder
I don't get why so many people rated him so low. As long as you review what he talks about in class, the tests are highk mad easy. There is even a 20-point curve on most of the exams. Yeah, the grade is just the midterms and the exam, but like they're open-ended, so as long as you have a bit of a grasp on what he's talking about, you'll do fine.
Worst professor ever. Avoid at all costs. He uses so many articles outside the textbook, its pretty much impossible to keep up. He doesn't post his grades on canvas either. Avoid like the plague.
I'm not sure why his reviews are so low. He told us the exam questions were very similar to the textbook, but many students skipped class or spent the lectures scrolling on their computers so they missed it. He's a great instructor, and if you make an honest attempt to engage with his lectures and the textbook, you'll do well and learn a lot.
He was NOT at all a good professor!! He doesn't even teach properly; he just rambles for an hour and a half and his lectures are all over the place!! He talks about articles that he uses outside the textbook. His tests don't reflect on what he actually teaches in class. This screwed up my whole fall semester as a freshman. DO NOT take his class!!
The material of the course isn't that hard but trying to not fall asleep during class with how boring these lectures can be definitely is. The amount of reading he assigns also doesn't help either and he only assigns 6 grades the entire semester. 3 problem sets, 2 midterms and a final. If you mess one up, you can kiss your grade bye bye.
The absolute WORST professor at this school. Ruined my GPA and ruined my semester. Nothing else to say, he is the absolute worst.
Avoid this professor. He only has a couple of grades and if you do bad on one you're basically screwed for the semester. It's only 3 problem sets, 2 midterms and 1 final. The whole time in class he talks abt articles that we should've read before class but he assigns SO MANY BEFORE CLASS it's literally impossible to read them all.
This class was AMAZING. Attendance in his class is NOT mandatory, but missing class is a bad idea, as his test questions are asked, almost verbatim, in class. I always enjoyed visiting his office hours after class; if your interested in furthering your knowledge, hes got extra materials for you to review!
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
68%
Textbook Required
13%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-1.00 avg changeRatings by Course
301
5.0
(1)ECON301
3.8
(5)ECO101
3.4
(11)102
3.0
(1)ECON101
3.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
ECO311
5.0
ECON102
5.0
ECO102
4.5
ECON301
4.4
ECO101
4.4