3.3
Quality4.0
Difficulty58%
Would Retake172
Reviews58%
Would Retake
172
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31
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37
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23
1
29
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“Also, he just pisses me off sometimes”
Econ101 - 3.0 rating“Lowkey worst experience of my life”
Econ101 - 1.0 ratingClass Info
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Reviews (172)
Very good lecturer. He really does clearly explain everything for the exams. It works best for me to sit through the lecture only paying attention to what he is saying and then go home to look at the lecture slides and drop down notes. I would take his class again overall if I wasn't graduating this semester.
Professor McDonough makes himself super available with office hours which I highly recommend going to. His lectures are really interesting and he posts the slides before class so you can follow along. He's probably the best professor I've had at UNC so far so definitely take him if you can.
Staub has absolutely nothing on this wonderful man. I genuinely really enjoyed having him as my professor. Incredible lecturer who actually taught us everything we needed to know IN CLASS. I wouldn't have liked this class as much as I did if it wasn't taught by him. 10/10 If you're reading this Robert, thank you again!
Robert was a really lovely professor and that made all the difference when taking a tough class like ECON 101. He was always available to answer questions during and outside of class. It was encouraging and helpful to get feedback and explanations from him. I would definitely recommend taking this class with him even if it is a hard class.
Prof. McDonough is the best Econ professor at UNC. He held multiple review sessions where you could ask him anything about the class and it was usually helpful. Exams were kind of hard, but it was up to you if you did good or bad. I actually wanted to go to every class and learn and have never wanted to do that with an Econ class.
By far best ECON professor at UNC. He's young, personable, and normal (unlike the strange buggy professors the econ department usually hires like Roark) Content actually mae sense because he knew how to teach.. unlike Roark. Made the class interesting as well. Very helpful when you ask questions as well.. opposite of Roark in just about every way.
He is AMAZING. Such a wonderful, kind, engaging professor. He had so many opportunities outside of class to help us (pizza review sessions, lots of office hours), made class so fun, and gave us fair tests. However, it was very easy and he curves extremely at the end. I did not feel challenged by the material and the exams were very easy, but fun!
If you have to take ECON 101. TAKE IT WITH HIM. Loved him. 10/10 . An engaging lecturer who knows his stuff, and is willing and ready to help/answer questions.
I don't think I have ever met someone so enthusiastic about talking about economics, which made lectures engaging. Grade consists of 4 homeworks, 2 midterms, the final, and what he calls 'valuing your degree' project. The midterms were fair, but the true/false section could be tricky sometimes. Definitely take his class if you get the chance!
Dr. McDonough was very passionate about labor econ which clearly translated to his lectures. I appreciated the that there were few assignments (~10 short, at home quizzes, 4 problem sets, and 1 project). The true/false were difficult on the exams, but the extra credit on the problem sets definitely helped. I enjoyed this class and Dr. McDonough!
He was an absolute ANGEL. I took econ 101 with no prior knowledge of economics and he made the material so easy and digestible. Super easy to talk to and very accessible outside of class. Genuinely wants you to succeed and will go out of his way to help you if you ask. Take any class at UNC you can with this man.
A very empathetic professor who appears to really care about students and their wellbeing. Lectures are engaging and easy to understand when you pay attention. This is an additional requirement for my major and I enjoy it better than my actually required ones.
Robert is extremely enthusiastic about economics and it comes across in the way he teaches. If you attend lectures and pay attention/take notes, you will do well. He is clear on grading criteria and generally fair in how he assigns practice (there are many low-stakes ways to assess your own understanding). If you can take 101 with him, go for it.
He was new to ECON 101 making some of his exams and guidelines confusing but overall a passionate professor.
Robert is a real-life Spencer Reid with extra spunk. He is knowledgeable, passionate, and funny. His testing structure needs work but he improves with every assessment he administers. I would recommend getting to know him personally and sitting towards the front, as it has made me successful in this class. Econ101 with him is the best option at UNC
Has a passion for economics but exams are unnecessarily difficult & are way harder than the course content requires. He designs the exams to keep class averages in the mid-60s, & the free-response questions are based on pure intuition & are never taught. Either you have it or you don't, and you probably don't. Much harder than other 101 professors.
Professor McDonough is very enthusiastic about the material but his exams are unnecessarily complicated. I found the multiple choice sections to be a joke, while the short answers were very difficult solely due to poor wording rather than students lack of understanding of the material. Also, he just pisses me off sometimes.
Very exam heavy. Exams are way harder than everything learned in class.
Lowkey worst experience of my life....can someone please explain to me why his exams are so much harder than anything we ever learned/practiced in the class? Like does he just want us to fail?
Robert is honestly one of the worst professors I've had here. The exams are virtually impossible and he likes his averages to be in the 60s. He makes TONS of mistakes on exams which causes grading to be delayed and overall confusion. You might as well guess on the short answers because he never explains how to do them. Good luck if you have him.
The one takeaway I have for this course is to lower my expectations before checking canvas. He prides himself on class averages being below 60%. The only things this class has taught me are to humble myself and that i'll never be prepared enough for his exams. This class is unnecessarily hard and he refuses to acknowledge it. King of gaslighting.
The biggest problem with this class is that his exams are wayyy too difficult. He provides practice exams that are straightforward then gives you material on the test that even the TAs struggle with when going over the exam in recitation. Not to mention every exam had errors on it and his vibe is just not my cup of tea.
run away while you still can. he takes pride in his exam average of a 60, makes typos on the exams, gives us no time to complete tests, and doesn't teach what we are tested on. hardest class I've taken at UNC--a lot of people are just trying to pass the class at this point. never have I tried so hard only to fail so miserably. good luck
Professional gaslighter. his class was so hard but he wouldn't even acknowledge it. Proud of a class avg of a 60 on the exams.
It's as bad as they say. McDonough's exams are impossible. I can't count how many times we have been interrupted mid-exam because of multiple errors and typos on them. Spends more time worrying about cheating than teaching the material or checking his exams for errors, which are 70% of your grade, and the average is a 66%. Avoid at ALL COSTS.
pretty normal class and not hw is easy but the tests are crazy difficult, hard to comprehend what questions are asking and just beyond poorly made. For the first test 2/20 of the multiple choice questions just simply didnt have the correct answer listed. During every test he has to make at least 3 announcements about how we need to correct a typo.
It's clear from these reviews that he has far more respect for and is better at teaching honors students. He is not cut out for class of 800 people. He thinks we are dumber yet doesn't explain things and gives out far more difficult exams. He gave us the exams from honors and they were a joke compared to ours now. If you take him, take honors only.
For a teacher who cares so much about cheating and enforces a strict test-taking environment, he's very disruptive. During the final, he announced something about every 20-30 minutes. Also, tests are way more difficult than the actual homework and problem sets, partly because of typos he makes and because the exam content is 10x more difficult.
It is apparent through his enthusiastic lecture style that he is passionate about his subject, which is why it was so disheartening to witness him crush my excitement for the content. Exams are weighted at 70% of your course grade, and averages are consistently in the 60s. Whether you pass this course or not is in god's hands.
If you don't have the discipline to read and study outside of class I'd look to take another section. I never went but heard he was pretty condescending and useless in office hours. The three exams (which determine most of your grade) were all full of typos and inconsistencies and when grades came back there were always grading mistakes.
Robert is very passionate and his lectures were always engaging but come time for exams the tests were pretty difficult. He makes a lot of typos, but he's a very new prof so I get that, but he is like a drill sergeant during exams. 70% of your grade is from exams where the average is in the 60s. You have to study A LOT to get a good grade.
You could know every concept in depth and study profusely and still struggle with the exams, which make up 70% of your grade. I have never gotten anything below an A in my life and I near failed some of his tests. Lectures were interesting and I learned a lot. Tests on concepts we never practiced. Sent me straight to my therapist twice. Don't take.
McDonough's lectures are passionately informative, tests account for basically all of your grade. He is a good professor, the class is just extremely content heavy. The tests were very difficult, but I'm willing to bet they will get easier in future classes. He is the lesser evil of the other ECON 101 teachers. Stay safe, good luck.
He loves Econ. Kinda on his high horse and tests are harder than anything you see in class. The nature of the class is really content heavy and the tests arent impossible, its just hard to find a way to feel prepared with the resources / practice problems provided. Like any intro level classes (CHEM, ECON...) you will have to really study.
Tests make up 70% of grade, averages are in the 60s. There is a ton of content to learn and somehow he manages to test you on stuff you never learned. I studied for around 40 hours for the final and still felt unprepared when I opened it. ECON 101 is a tough class in general, but McDonough is probably the best of a poor teaching pool.
He tests you on things he never teaches and you could study for hours and still not do well on the exams. Every single exam had typos and mistakes that caused even MORE difficulty, and his grading is slow. He's satisfied with his students doing badly and is completely content with his averages for exams being in the 60s.
Robert attributed bad exam scores to lack of studying even though review sessions were full anf students typically spent around 20+ or hours studying just for averages to range 60-70s. Every exam had errors, causing interruptions during exams. Exams consisted of info we had not learned/properly prepared for. Don't this class if you do not have to
The worst class experience I've had at UNC. Robert's exams are designed to fail as many students as possible. Those who study 50+ hours and THOROUGHLY complete all materials provided are LUCKY to get a B on the exam. He laughs while he watches his students struggle and does not curve exams with failing averages, he LOVES to blame it one them.
Robert is a nice guy who is clearly passionate about what he teaches, however, his exams were much harder than previous semesters and he gave practice tests that weren't even close to as difficult as the actual exams. He also gives questions that are worded weirdly while claiming he doesn't give trick questions. Expect to study days for each exam.
The fact of the matter is ECON101 is designed to fail students/weed out kids. McDonough is a good guy, there were rarely curves, go to his lectures (i went to all of them) then spend the rest of the time memorizing graphs/main concepts by watching youtube videos. MC is hard but graphs are doable and remember that often there are trick questions.
The bottom line is, you have to put in the work. I spent 10 hours a week on note-taking outside of class and studied 50+ hours for tests. Going to office hours and doing homework/problem sets honestly was most helpful, but I never felt 100% prepared for exams. Every exam had typos too. McDonough is passionate, but you really can't BS his class.
He's very passionate about econ, and makes himself available with office hours. Tests make up the majority of your grade and they are very difficult due to the wording and many typos he has to interrupt tests to tell us abt. Most stressful class I've ever taken. The practice midterms were way easier and we got tested on things we didn't cover.
Let me say upfront, this is designed to be a wean out class. 70% of the course grade is based on exams, while the other 30% is basically completion. The tests are designed similar to AP tests, so don't expect high grades on them. I studied 40+ hrs for each exam and still got in the 70s on all of them. Robert is entertaining though I must say.
Felt lucky to have avoided Staub but turns out I was wrong. Test averages in the 60s, tests account for 70% of your grade. I had to take the makeup due to another final being at the same time and he decided makeup would get 0 curve. Condescending in office hours. The difference in difficulty between the practice tests and the real tests was absurd.
So exhausting. McDonough is passionate about econ but he made 101 difficult. Lectures were spent on things already covered in textbook readings. Application based problems that were the gist of exams were so hard. He didn't prepare us for those in class. He kept interrupting us during exams to correct typos. To do well you have to work very hard.
Robert is a fantastic professor and person! He goes out of his way to be accesible and is understanding if unforeseen circumstances arise. He is one of the most passionate professors, which made me excited for every lecture. Exams are difficult and make up 70% of the grade, but Robert drops the lowest grades in each category. Highly recommend him!
Robert seems a little condescending at times, but you can tell that he genuinely cares about his students. However, his exams are near impossible, he claims that they are the same level of difficulty as his practice exams which are significantly easier, and he barely curves. Unfortunately his class sets many students up for failure
Robert was a great professor. He gets a lot of hate, but the only fair criticism of him is that many of the short answer exam questions seem to be written to be intentionally confusing and vague. Other than that, he provides more than enough material to both learn the stuff and prepare for tests. If you pay attention, the class isn't that hard.
I really liked Robert at the beginning of the semester. He is a great lecturer and the structure of the class makes sense. ! However, as someone that felt like they understood the material and did well on assignments, the tests are awful. If you are not a good test taker, this will be a hard class for you.
You get out of this class what you put into it. I studied throughout the whole semester and worked really hard and ended with an A, but it took a lot of effort to do that. Robert made some mistakes on exams which was frustrating but I feel he did his best to correct them. I found his lectures engaging and he really cares about his students.
He was sassy, made exams so hard, so just prepare to know everything about econ inside and out. I would say the class was pretty easy UNTIL exams. All of your grade comes from exams so prepare to study ahead of time. This class was a headache and I'm happy I'm done with it.
This is a difficult weed-out class, but it is possible to do well. McDonough cares about his students and economics which is clearly evident in his lectures. His lectures are engaging, which is a feat in itself for an ECON 101 class. His exams were challenging but he is just trying to make you think. The class is a grind, but definitely doable.
What an absolute dumpster fire of a class. I studied for many hours per day and weeks ahead of exams, for nothing. If you don't have background knowledge of econ, take a community college course or Staub. This class was so bad that I considered transferring, for reference, I got all A's in my other 4 classes this semester. This is a GPA destroyer.
Hes not a good prof. He does not prepare you for exams.
An accessible and decent guy who will vaguely set you on a path (might not be the right or best one) to succeed in exams, which end up being like 70% of your grade. Recitations will give you the type of material you'll see in exams. The course was generally pretty interesting and useful, but a very exam-dependent grade scale makes it pretty tough.
He is getting a lot of hate because of the spring semester class but he was a great professor. He knows his stuff and explains it well. You have to study a lot to pass his exams because they're hard but he gives you a lot of resources to succeed. Best Econ 101 professor out there.
He's a great teacher but the tests are nothing like the practice problems and the example that he gives in class. It's as if he is teaching you to the ABC's and the test asks you to read War and Peace.
Interactive class where you would have fun reading case studies of various companies and analyze them deeply. Classes are lectures heavy so listen closely but Robert makes it interesting by allowing everyone to chime in. Check-in app used and tests are fine as long as you know the cases and its cause/effects and the economic terms.
i barely studied so i cant complain about my grade shi just came naturally to me but prof was lowkey rude and i skipped class cuz it was useless.
Fun class. He's passionate about the subject but has no flexibility for extensions or late work. If you forget to submit a problem set you just eat a 0.
Great professor for Econ 101.Very engaging, the textbook he chose is helpful in absorbing the course content. The course is very 'doable,' and he was very accessible throughout the semester. Grade dependent on weekly homework (for completion) 2 midterms, 5 problem sets, and a final, if you do better on the final hell replace 1 midterm
He's engaging and passionate, but timelines sometimes don't match with lectures and homework. Reading the textbook is a MUST or you won't succeed. Midterms are a lot more difficult than course practice, so be prepared and do outside work. Study hard and it's doable, he's the best available professor for econ101.
ECON 101 is just a hard weed out in general, but Dr. McDonough does his best to make it interesting for everyone. He's funny and relates the theories to random scenarios well, but the midterms are much more difficult than class practice. While he makes the class interesting, it's very difficult to succeed unless you teach yourself with the textbook
I had a family emergency midway through the class, and the professor was kind enough to help me still succeed in the course. Dr. McDonough is a great guy and an even better professor. Yes, the course is challenging, but if you dedicate time to studying every week and reviewing the work done in recitation, you will be fine.
Robert is an engaging lecturer that truly enjoys economics. The homework load is not too bad, couple hours a week on average. The midterms are fairly difficult but not impossible if you spend a lot of time on it. The class is hard, but it is designed to be and it is not Robert's fault that many students may struggle
Take McDonough. I took him for Econ 101 this past semester and I don't regret it. He genuinely cares about all of his students and wants to see you succeed. He's extremely accessible outside of class and will help you anyway he can. Tests can be challenging but if you study you will be fine. Problem sets are helpful and they have help sessions.
I hated this class, but to be fair I don't think there's a professor in the world who could make me like economics. Robert did a good job of explaining topics, and lectures were engaging. I will say that you cannot coast in this class, and the midterms require some fairly involved studying. He does post practice tests, which are very helpful.
70% of your grade is made up from 2 midterms and your final. We had a 67% as the average for the second test and there was no curve. But, McDonough is very passionate about Econ and if you put the work in, you will learn a lot.
Had a awful time in this class. Though he is engaging, he doesn't give examples or lectures up to his standards of his exams. I felt I needed to teach myself the topics to prepare for exams because the practices/problem sets given in class were no where near the difficulty of the exams!!
Overall, I found him very rude and uncaring toward students and honestly felt hesitant/scared to ask questions or speak to him because of a few bad interactions. Also, it feels like you are purposely set up for failure and not given resources that are useful to learn the material covered on the exam(lectures and the textbook aren't helpful).
Robert is amazing! Super hard tests but if you reach out to him in EconAid/ office hours it gets a lot easier. This class is really about the effort you are willing to put in, the TAs and ULAs are pretty standard . The tests are all multiple choice so really be prepared to spend lots of time studying to make sure you understand concepts.
Robert wants the best for students, but his exams were hard. I attended every lecture and read the textbook and still did struggled on the exams. Questions were ambiguous and not at all like the examples he'd do in class. Going to recitation and doing the problem sets were the biggest help for me. Weekly homework was easy.
worst ever!! do not recommend. his lectures do not prepare you for the exams at all, and he makes asking questions seem like a chore for him / he acts cold. Seated students for the final based on letter grade in the class which I found extremely unfair. some students had a seat gap in-between them and others were crammed at the top.
Though he is very passionate about economics, the examples in class are the most basic while the tests' questions are not only difficult but very ambiguous and convoluted. He has a generally condescending attitude and though the class wasn't particularly hard or bad, he doesn't do much to make it great. Again not hard necessarily, just self taught.
Great guy; impossible tests. If you have to take econ101 as a prereq, take it with Robert. He's a very charismatic guy and would marry economics if he could. The homework is dumb easy, but only worth 10% of your grade. The exams, on the other hand, are worth 70% of your grade, but if you study in davis for 48 hours straight you might do fine.
Tough weed out class, quality professor. Lots of reviews on here blame him for the difficult nature of 101, but his lectures are great and easy to understand if you show up, put in the work, and skim the textbook. Learned a lot and got stronger.
Mcdonough is a decent professor and knows a lot about econ, and he tries to make class interesting. Class overall is pretty tough and he can come across as condescending if you don't immediately get it.
most miserable class I've been in. taught myself everything.
ive never had a professor with such apathy and indifference to his students. he does not care if you have a question, or do not understand the material. he does have engaging lectures, but nothing will ever prepare you for the midterms or finals, no matter how much studying you do. to put it simply, Robert cares about economics, not his students.
just dont.
Class is "weed-out" for busi so don't expect it to be very easy. Rob is passionate about econ and lectures sometimes interesting. Exams are similar to psets and practice tests but harder than lecture/hws. Huge boost in psets for doing course evals. Final was a lil harder than midterms, but very info dense. Econ was intuitive to me so not bad.
Robert Mcdonough is a decent teacher. Nothing too special. His lectures are good but tends to speak verbatim what the slides say. Exams are extremely hard. I've always been a straight A student and got an A is every single class this sem EXCEPT this one. His test averages tend to be around a ~60%. You should be proud if you end with a B or higher.
please don't take this class if you don't need to!! had to take it for pre-business but got my first b ever. classes don't prepare u for the tests AT ALLLLLL. tests are incredibly hard and he gives no sort of curve even though the entire class did bad. the final was absolute bonkers.
Most unfair professor I've had at UNC. I had all As the entire course until the final(he typed equations wrong for some questions and didn't curve). A low B on the final tanked my grade four whole letter grades. There were questions on the tests we never discussed in lecture. He expects students to self-teach all the complex aspects of each topic.
McDonough is an awesome professor who happens to teach a difficult weed out class. It is hard to get a good grade in 101, but you will learn so much if you put in the effort. Lectures were amazing and he did everything he could to accommodate 700 student's needs. Course is test-heavy, but he finds ways to provide relief.
He does not care about his students success. The average for some of the tests was a D and he still doesn't understand that maybe it's not our fault. Doesn't curve or care.
Robert overall is very nice, but his class is difficult. I studied more than I ever have for his tests, and I still struggled on them. I understand it is a weed out class, but the exam questions were just trippy and made you think extremely hard. However, I did learn a lot in his class.
Just don't take this class unless you really have to. So much HW and he is an awful professor. He doesn't care about your grade and only cares about having a 66% average percent on midterms with no curve. If you plan on taking this class, have fun spending 8+ hours a week on studying/hw. Would not take this class again ever.
If you put in the work, you can do well in this class. I was naive up until Midterm 1 and worked much harder to do better in the course after that. The exams will kill you if you're not prepared for more difficult applications than in the homework or practice exam. People are mad, and understandably so, but you will really have to work every day.
As much as people say this class is impossible it's not. His midterms and the final were designed to trick you and lectures were not at all helpful for them, but keeping up with the textbook chapters definitely helps. Midterm averages were 73 and 67 before extra credit and final course grade average was an 80, although he curved the course 2 points
Class is a lot of work but manageable if you put the time in and are willing to teach yourself. Succeeding depends on time spent outside of class trying to understand the concepts as the lectures will not prepare you for the exams. He barely mentions the textbook but it's the best resource outside of class. No curves except final grade scale.
While Robert is engaging, and LOVES Econ, the difficulty of exams (70% of grade) makes it very hard to get an A in the class. Exam averages were 72, 67, 69 for MT1, MT2, and Final respectively. The class ended up being curved 2%. I learned a lot, but the issue is class and recitation were like doing 2 + 2, and the exams were like discrete math.
I knew this class was going to be hard. Honestly the work load was very fair. The issue was I would go to peer tutoring, do extra problems, go to the econ help center, go to office hours and still could not do well on the exams. Honestly, the first and second exams were fair I just did not fully understand the material yet. The final was not fair.
As much as I enjoyed Robert as a person and felt he really loved the material, the exams in this class determine your grade and are far more difficult than the material we learn during lecture. The amount of studying needed to do well in this class was unreal. Reading the textbook closely is the best resource for learning the material!
DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS AS A GEN-ED! This class was unnecessarily hard. Dr. McDonough is and amazing person and awesome lecturer but the tests were unfair. Not only did he talk loudly into his microphone for the majority of the time during exams, our class stayed averaging in the low 70s/ high 60s. It's also hard to find help outside of class.
Do not listen to other reviewers about "putting in the work and getting a good grade." McDonough DOES NOT prepare his students for his exams that are worth 70% of the overall grade. No practice offered is to the caliber of his exam questions, and there are complexities to concepts that are not discussed in class. Do not take Econ with McDonough.
Do NOT take Econ 101 with McDonough. His exams are very hard and make up 70% of your final grade. The final is 50% and it is the hardest exam of the semester. Robert's lectures are relativity pretty simple however his exams are astronomically harder. Take econ 101 with another professor. Robert is a condescending new grad PhD professor.
While Econ 101 is a tough class in general, Professor McDonough makes lectures super engaging. I think he's hilarious and he explains things / uses examples in college student terminology. The tests are tough and feel super rushed, but I really liked this class and having him as a professor! Hands down best option for Econ 101.
Robert is an alright teacher, his exams are rushed and make up most of your grade. Most definitely a weed-out class. unless you are an econ major, I would recommend taking this course at a CC.
This is a weed out class, but it's not impossible to do well. Robert is a great lecturer but obviously exam questions are going to be harder than examples covered in class so the textbook and the practice midterms/final are the most helpful study materials. Also, he gives extra credit after midterms that act as curves.
Professor Robert is passionate about the material and tries to teach in a fun way, but he wants to make the exams tricky (he literally said that was his goal). He mostly had conceptual questions that were somewhat/barely mentioned in lectures. And exams made up ~ 70% of the overall grade, even though we had problem sets, hw and recitation stuff
If you show up and genuinely pay attention, you should get at least a B. Robert is definitely the best lecturer I have ever had. The exams are hard but he gave free points back on both midterms if you did a reflection form. The lectures are the same as the textbook, so if you understand the lecture, there is no need to read the textbook.
Great lecturer. concepts were easy to pick up. two midterms worth 20% each, final worth 30%, participation/homework worth 30%. I took AP macroeconomics in high school, so I think that helped too. definitely would take econ 101 with McDonough.
he was fine. i took him fall 2024 and i think based on what ive heard he got better over time so maybe he'll be better for future courses too. the content isn't easy and its a heavier workload but as long as you get your achieve homeworks and problem sets done you'll be fine i think
Not a fun class to take
Robert is great and makes class interesting to college students. Class is a weeder and is rushed - take only for major requirements. Grading is fair: 1 midterm is replaced by final exam, easy assignments weighted at 30%, course curved slightly. It is difficult to get an A because the practice is not too similar to exams. The final determines a lot.
I love Robert and the way that he taught this class so much. Not too much work, lots of assignment drops, and extra credit for both midterms which helped a lot of people. His exam questions were also easier than the other econ teacher that semester.
The most charismatic lecturer I have ever had. Tests are the heavy work so you need to prepare the most for them.
not a good prof to take for 101 especially if you want to apply to the business school. take someone else.
Great person, good professor, still learning the best way to go about a large lecture. Knows the content well, yes its a hard class and a weed-out but he will help you a lot at office hours
His lectures are amazing, and it is really easy to understand the topics covered. He gives a lot of chances for extra credit and the assignments outside of class aren't too bad. However, the exams he gives are near impossible. Studied for days/weeks and still barley passed them. They resemble nothing you've done throughout the semester.
Way to many people complaining on here. This class is genuinely not hard at all, to be clear had 0 experience with econ before. I am also not a genius, just study the concepts he goes over and if you understand them tests are easy. Just because they are not the same as homework does not make them hard, it is clear which concepts to apply.
This class is manageable. Not too much work! Just be ready to study quite a bit for the midterms.
Overall McDonough was a great lecturer. He is obviously very passionate about economics and if you lock in during his lectures you should have no problems on the problem sets or homework. The problem is the exams are 70%. The exams are meant to trick you (this is a weeder class after all) so be careful
Econ 101 has a bad reputation at UNC, but McDonough is fantastic. The exams are very difficult, but I would recommend going to extra tutoring for anything you don't understand. His lectures are very clear, and he is very engaging.
I'm not done with ECON101 yet, but I currently have an A in the class. It is a lot of work, and definitely requires you to put in the hours, but Dr. McDonough is really good at explaining topics that the textbook couldn't quite convey. He's also helpful in office hours and offers quite a few chances for extra credit/small assignment drops.
RM is definitely the best of the ECON 101 professors. He is VERY passionate about economics and truly does want to see his students succeed. He has a lower rating on RMP simply because ECON 101 definitely is a weed-out course and is challenging. That said, he does provide you with all the resources to succeed. He is very accessible outside of class
the issue is how he writes his exams. you could be doing all of the other assignments w 100% accuracy but still get a D on the test. his goal is to trick you and although all multiple choice sounds better than free response, they are extremely difficult and convoluted. this class made me go on anti depressants, if that means anything to you.
Last midterm was extremely unfair. Some of the questions were unsolvable (he had to omit them after because of his own mistake), his answer key was wrong, and he talked the entire test yelling in his microphone. You cannot think during the test.
He explained how the class worked in the first lecture- if you put in the work, you can get a good grade. You have to study for the tests, do the homework, go to lectures and participate in recitation if you want to be successful, but he gives a lot of easy points and is always available to help if you need. 10/10 recommend him for Econ 101.
Professor McDonough's lectures are much easier than his exams. I think I understand everything during class, but when I get to the exam, I have no idea what is going on. He is also too strict on his anti-cheating measures to the point where he will not accommodate if you need a make-up exam.
While ECON101 can be a challenging class but I was glad to have Professor McDonough as my teacher! He provides a ton of resources and is open to answering questions to help you succeed but you will have to put in the work to use the resources to the max. Do the homework, actually read the textbook, and pay attention in class and you will do great!
Prof. McDonough is a very smart individual who really cares about the material he is teaching. However, this course is definitely a weed-out course. The homework, achieves, and practice exams are good, but the exams are way too difficult in comparison. In order to actually succeed, you should definitely read the textbook as it's very digestible.
Robert is a super funny and kind guy. He is extremely smart and really knows what he is talking about. His class is lecture heavy but he makes it enjoyable. This class is definitely difficult and you have to work hard outside of class and homework to get a good grade, but Robert really tries to help you succeed to the best of your ability.
Apparently his target GPA is 2.7 and his confusing lectures really prove it! It sucks because I am interested in the course content, but he's horrible at explaining concepts. The exams were also super difficult even with a lot of studying. This was also my first econ class ever for reference
I don't understand the bad reviews. He was so helpful during lecture. Also just a cool dude. However, it is econ and that is hard and you will have to study to get a good grade.
McDonough is a good professor but the content is extremely difficult. He does a good job teaching and is always willing to help but the midterms/exam are pretty difficult. Gives extra credit opportunities and lots of homework/pollev drops but is never quite enough to counteract poor exam grades.
While this class was certainly not easy, Robert is easily one of my favorite professors I have had at UNC. He brings a constant, genuine enthusiasm and passion to lecture that is deeply infectious. He maintains objectivity when speaking about potentially divisive topics, and is always open to questions and discussion.
He is very enthusiastic. For economics, an old man course of study, he's definitely a unique young guy to be teaching it. He was very generous answering questions in a big lecture hall. He held us late every class. "We have 1 minute left..." and would proceed to talk for 4 minutes. Tests are convoluted with sports references. Tests count a lot!
great professor, sometimes lectures were behind curriculum. explained things well and super engaging. class tends to be challenging and exams are tougher than the homework and course material. best way to do well is take practice tests and do the problems that he/TAs/ULAs design. make sure you understand the material super well and study for exams
Great professor, best class I've taken at Carolina. Just do the work and read the textbook, and you're good.
Robert is great and you shouldn't be deterred by the poor reviews (most are from a previous year where he hadn't yet calibrated his tests properly). If you keep up with lectures, take notes, and go to office hours, you will be fine. Robert is a really great lecturer, makes the class interesting, and is really good at explaining tough concepts.
Not sure why the rating isn't higher. There was clearly a lot of effort put into the assignments and lectures to make sure we had plenty of time reviewing the concepts, and he is an animated and engaging lecturer. A bit test-heavy (70% of the grade), but you could easily get extra-credit if you did short reflections on the midterms.
McDonough is a great lecturer, he is able to simplify complex topics and and put key ideas into real life scenerios. Tests are difficult because theres a lot of content but I wouldnt blame him for that. He covers everything you need to know you just have to know how to apply it.
Econ 101 is a for sure a weed out class as the B school is pretty competitive and this is one of the key pre reqs for it. Mcdonough's lectures are usually pretty interesting just know the class is pretty test heavy. Overall, solid class just make sure to really work as the exams can be difficult.
Robert is a fine professor and a pretty funny guy. It's just that ECON 101 is a hard class since it covers both micro and macro in a single semester. The tests are hard because every question seems like a trick question. To that, make sure you actually understand the content and not just memorize the information. Also gave lots of extra credit.
Although McDonough is very passionate about econ and is a great lecturer, it seems like he doesn't care much for his students. I had a medical emergency and had to miss the second midterm. Makeups weren't allowed and the weightage was shifted to the final instead. This made it difficult to be successful in the course. If you can avoid econ, do it.
hard midterms hard final makes you read a billion pages of econ textbook.
He sets you up to fail. I found this class interesting and really enjoyed the content. I felt that I understood all of it. I read every single page of our textbook, start to finish, and cannot even tell you how many hours each week I put into this class. He screws you over on tests. His final exam average was a 67% and that tells you everything.
You get out what you put into this class. Can be overwhelming if you take textbook notes but it's more helpful to stick to class slideshows. He is very passionate and has interesting lectures. Yes his lectures are not as hard as the test but you would get the same from any other Econ 101 teacher- you have to apply yourself outside of class
Excellent lectures but exams were extremely difficult. Offered extra credit and a midterm drop. I really struggled at the beginning and did horribly but put in a LOT of work and ended up doing well in the class. I think Robert cares about his students but has a weird way of showing it. He is very accessible and helpful. Use EconAid/peer tutors!!
ECON101 is a weed-out for a reason but you can get an A if you put in the hours. Find a study partner, always read textbook before lecture, always go to recitation, and study hard before midterms and finals because they are weighted heavily. Dr. McDonough is very dedicated and engaged. He was also very generous with curves, extra credit, and drops.
The class was pretty chill, he was a great lecturer. All the assignments were not too hard and didn't take too long. Tests did feel unnecessarily hard though. Not a terrible option for 101.
You need to work hard for a good grade!! I strongly recommend skimming the textbook and taking notes.
You need to work hard for a good grade!! I strongly recommend skimming the textbook and taking notes. I found it really important to go to lecture, recitations were pretty helpful too. His tests are fairly difficult and have a few trick questions, but he offers some partial and extra credit! He was really passionate and cared about us learning
McDonough is my favorite professor to date. He is very passionate about economics & gives clear lectures. ECON 101 requires a substantial amount of work - I read the textbook chapters before class, took detailed class notes, & spent hours studying concepts. If you genuinely put in effort, you'll do fine even on his often quite challenging exams.
One of the best lecturers I've ever had. Very passionate about economics. Only issue I had with him was that his exams had very tricky questions. He makes the questions himself which can lead to a lot of unclear questions. This results in very low test averages (60s and 70s) but he does curve the final grade if needed so I wouldn't worry too much.
All the bad reviews are most likely first years not taking responsibility for truly understanding the stuff. Not the easiest stuff but very doable if you are consistent in reading the book and doing practice problems. Exams are very fair, people do not understand how to prepare.
Dr. McDonough is awesome. He teaches incredibly well - so much so that he makes you forget the class can be hard. He gives out a ton of extra credit so it's not that bad. Go to the lectures, listen, and do the homework and you should be fine. You do not have to read any of the textbook unless you feel super unconfident. Study maybe 4 hours per test
The classes are good but unnecessary, just do the mandatory poll everywhere from your dorm for the atttendance credit. Study the powerpoints as thats where the questions come from. Midterm 1 is the easiest and the final is super duper hard. It's a weedout class for a reason.
Every lecture and recitation is extremely dumbed down and then every exam question is a extremely harder level with no access to practice of that level except a measly 2 previous practice exams that feel nothing like what you end up taking day of. Relies completely on TAs and textbook to teach anything that isn't the most basic definition/question
The lectures and homework do not align with the difficulty of the tests. You think you know what you're doing and then are completely blindsided by his exams. He's a good guy, you can tell he cares but he makes this class WAY harder than it needs to be. Go to Econaid and interact with the peer tutors; it's the only reason I got a B.
Class and material itself weren't too difficult but exams were very tough compared to other classes I've taken. I liked McDonough except for on exam days where he created an environment that was extremely uncomfortable to be in. Would take again for 101 though.
He is clearly a passionate lecturer. The reason for the low rating is due to how unreasonably difficult his exams are relative to how he prepares us. Averages for each exam were often below 70. I felt I did everything I could to study but some of his exams questions are worded to trick you. FYI, this is the only class I did not receive an A in.
Professor McDonough is a great lecturer and I learned a lot, but the exams were extremely difficult, tricky, and focused on the hardest topics. They made up 70% of our grade. He curved our final grades and gave extra credit on midterms, which helped. Only take this class if required—it's very hard to get an amazing grade even with lots of studying.
Robert is an amazing teacher. Some people give him a bad review because it is a hard class, but the reality is ECON101 is a weed-out class and has hard content. If you are diligent about studying, practice problems, and actually understanding the concepts of econ, not just memorizing things, you will be fin in this class. Great lectures, too
This class is notoriously hard and although I took both micro and macro in HS this class was tough. He is a great lecturer and makes the content pretty engaging and has a genuine passion for the subject. When it comes to tests on the first mid term I would probably compare him to a drill instructor with how stressful he made the test on the day.
His lectures are informative, and the textbook is a very helpful resource. The class is test-heavy heavy but he offers some extra credit, and depending on overall performance, dropping of a midterm or curving of grades at the end of the term.
His tests are not fair. He is kind, lectures are good, HW is retakable, problem sets are fair. BUT his exams come out of nowhere. He asks questions that he never taught. The math is the easy part, true/false is basically impossible unless you're a fantastic guesser. It's like jeopardy, but your grade depends on you being a good guesser. Frustrating
I took in Spring 2025. Prof. McDonough is tough and speaks very bluntly, but I cannot speak highly enough of him. He deeply cares about his students and is passionate about all things economics (great guy to have for 101). He curves exams, drops the lowest grades on assignments, and most of his lectures are entertaining and have real world meaning!
McDonough is very overhated, don't be scared because of his reviews. If you put in the work, read the textbook before class, and give yourself enough time to do the problem sets and achieves you will be fine. Your midterms and final make up a lot of your grade so really lock in for those, you'll get out whatever you put into this class.
As long as you're willing to put in the work, you'll be fine. Reading the textbook is pretty important. McDonough cares about us doing well and is a respectable guy - he gets so much hate because his class isn't an easy A
People only dislike him because they didn't put in the work. This man is a goat. So accesable outside of class and gives so many resources and practice. If you put in the work and truly understand things and go to econ aid you can do well and he is such a smart and nice guy who explains concepts wonderfully.
His lectures were engaging, but didn't really prepare us for the difficulty of the tests. We were expected to know the material at a higher level and we just didn't have enough QUALITY practice material to get to that point.
Very enthusiastic about economics which is great. Somehow lectures are still incredibly boring. No point in going to class cause tests are exactly like practice tests. Super forgettable class and teacher like most in the UNC econ department.
This class was one of the only classes I didn't struggle to pay attention in. Classes were engaging, and he was clear about what would be on the test, so it was easy to prepare. By far the best elective ECON class I have taken. Anyone who complains about this class just didn't prepare enough.
Not an easy A, but this was my favorite Econ class at UNC! Robert is a great guy and made the material relatable and engaging. Exam was harder than expected, but he took our feedback about not having enough concrete practice and actually followed through with it. It's clear he actually is interested by the material and wants us to be too
Professor McDonough is very passionate about economics. However, I do feel like sometimes his lectures get boring and it's hard to stay focus in class. His exams are also harder than the practice exam and honestly the Achieve homework does not help me prepare at all. I feel like I learn a lot in class when it comes to the test I still feel lost.
Do not choose this for Econ elective. Doesn't explain the math in class and makes exams harder than practice. I genuinely think he doesn't know how to do the math himself. Gave us impossible numbers to work with on exams. Lectures are pretty engaging tho and McDonough is a very passionate lecturer. He puts T/F trick questions also. Don't recommend
McDonough is a good professor and his lectures are good. He is inspirational, genuinely cares about his students, and is overall a really nice guy. Beware though his tests and final exam are absolutely horrendous and there is no way to practice them bc that level of difficulty is not taught. Not an easy A at all
Tricky exams even though he said the at he wasn't trying to trick you. Exams are worth 70 percent of grade.
I loved Professor McDonough's lectures, this class was very interesting and relevant overall. Some of the quantitative stuff could be difficult at times but he gave opportunities for extra credit throughout the course and was always willing to answer questions.
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