2.2
Quality3.5
Difficulty23%
Would Retake169
Reviews23%
Would Retake
169
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
17
4
21
3
23
2
27
1
81
What Students Say
“Thomas is an amazing teacher”
ILRLE2400 - 5.0 rating“Overall though, she's not a bad teacher”
ECON1110 - 2.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
18%
Textbook Required
0%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-1.10 avg changeRatings by Course
ILRLE4430
3.0
(1)ECON3430
2.7
(3)ILRLE2400
2.3
(25)ECON1100
2.2
(24)ECON1110
2.2
(113)Difficulty by Course
ECON1101
4.3
ILRLE4430
4.0
ILRLE2400
3.8
ECON1110
3.4
ECON1100
3.4
Reviews (169)
Thomas is an amazing teacher. For those who may have not understood econ prior, she is able to break it down in a way that actually makes sense. She assigns just the right workload -- not too overwhelming, but not a walk in the park. She is also able to make the topic interesting, which is a huge plus because Labor Econ can easily be boring.
She wants you to do well and is willing to provide extra help if needed. We have iclickers so you must attend 20/25 lectures. This was her first semester teaching intro micro so she had limited material for us to usse which was difficult. When I was studying I felt like I wanted to study more but had no worksheets or anything to study off of.
Exams are not easy, and you need to study very hard for them. You know who goes to office hours or not because she calls on some kids by first name, so it probably helps to get to know her. You must go to lecture, and you have to stay on top of your work.
It's not that Thomas is a bad professor, it's just that her tests didn't reflect her lecture material whatsoever. Our final didn't have any of the most recent material on it and the average was a 72. Enough said. This is an intro/basic business class. It's not the type of the class that should have a C- average on 2/3 tests.
Her lecture quality and teaching is fine, but she needs a lot of work on the grading aspect. People learn econ pretty well, yet only 3 exams are given and they're mostly irrelevant so most people do bad, thus their grades inaccurately represents their knowledge. Plus, she has the longest wait time for grades I've ever experienced for a professor.
Lectures reiterated the textbook. This was the first time Thomas taught 1110, and it showed in my opinion. Tests were not relevant to course material. I found Thomas to be abrasive; when my scantron for the final was not initially read I received a very accusatory email stating I would be receiving a 0 for the final when it was a computer error.
Her wait time for grades is absolutely ridiculous sometimes. Plus, her tests are also very irrelevant to what we're actually taught in the course so it's very easy to wait a long time for a frustratingly bad grade. Overall though, she's not a bad teacher.
I still haven't gotten a final grade, which is absolutely absurd. Half her exams are done on a scantron (only 2 short answer questions, plenty of TAs). There is no reason for her to take over 2 weeks to return grades, other than not managing her class/TAs sufficiently. Ended on a bad note. Wish I knew my final grade to comment on other aspects...
The first two tests were typical economics tests, if you know your stuff you will do fine. Multiple choice was fair, short answer was fair (just graphs and numbers). However for final exam the short answer was memorization. Memorization should not belong in short answer. The mean and median for the final exam was much lower than the two prelims.
Stephanie Thomas is an amazing lecturer. Her lectures are clear and you hardly leave without understanding the topic she discussed. She's also very funny and knows how to relate theoretical concepts to real life, which is really hard to do for a theoretical subject like Economics. Would definitely recommend.
What a great professor! Lectures are very clear. I walked away from each class feeling like I had really learned something. Tests are VERY fair based on class and textbook material. Highly recommend.
It was her first year teaching. Having taken AP Microeconomics in high school, I was cruising through the course with a 94 average up until the final, where I received a 68. The open ended of the final was nothing like the other prelims and purely on memorization, not analysis or critical thinking. Overall, not bad but she has to restructure.
Her lectures are almost completely unrelated to her problem sets and tests. Goes over very broad, general topics in class, then expects students to do a lot of math and whatnot on the problem sets. So, you have to carefully read the textbook and the accompanying appendices (which are pretty confusing) in order to do the assignments.
Class was easy, didn't do well because I didn't put the effort in. If you read and study (maybe an hour a week), you'll easily get at least a B+. Online quizzes (answers online too) are the homework and you can miss like 3 or 4 of them. Prelims are tough and test on material mentioned for maybe one paragraph. But if you study, you'll be fine.
She uses iclickers to take attendance, so be sure to show up. Her grading is easy (makes the lower prelim grade worth less) and the prelims were almost identical to the practice. The class is fairly easy and she is very clear in lectures. Read the textbook and you can get an A.
Prelims are very easy- direct questions from the practice prelims. Homework isn't that bad if you read the textbook. She makes the final impossible though so that she can have the satisfaction of failing a few people. Take her if you think you can reteach yourself all the course material for the final otherwise try to find a new professor.
Thomas relies on online problem sets, the grading system for which can be confusing/frustrating. The prelims are underwhelming but they leave you unprepared for the math-heavy final if your TA doesn't make problem sets. As long as you put effort into attendance, homework, and the prelims, you should still do well even with a rough final.
Not a bad professor, but the final was a joke. She claimed that it would be "slightly more difficult" but it was significantly harder. The first two prelims are ridiculously easy and the online hw and attendance will help your grade. If you don't want a class where essentially your entire grade depends on one test, don't take econ with Thomas.
Gave ridiculously low participation grades out of nowhere to the entire class, grades way too harshly for a class that has no difficult material, but since her lectures are useless, you learn nothing
Good class, good lectures and not a difficult class.
She seems like a nice person from her first lecture but this is extremely misleading. Over the semester she went from nice to terse and this also was evident in her lecture slides. The material itself is decent but the final is actually unbearable. If you can, try to find a different professor.
Tests can be a bit tricky sometimes. But if you get to know her and meet her during office hours, you can definitely do a lot better on exams and get full credit on your homework!!
There are three major exams in one semester: two premiums and one final. The first premium is very easy, and the second one is harder, and the final is the hardest one. Her class is lecture based from the textbook. I recommend you to read text book first before taking class. Her homework always takes one to two hours to finish.
I took her class over the summer. It wasn't too hard. Her review lectures were extremely helpful. I liked all of her lectures. She made the class very interactive. She used students as examples in some problems. The only tough thing about this class is the homework. There's a problem set that is due about every other class.
Prof. Thomas is great. She's always available for one-on-one meetings (as long as you schedule a week or two in advance) and really explains material in a way that YOU can understand. She'll break lecture questions, homework/prelim questions, and textbook jargon down a thousand times without getting the least bit upset or frustrated. Solid 10/10
Spends too much time on very simple examples, doesnt always cover all the material that is on the homework.
Prof. Thomas is one of the most amazing and involved teachers/professors I have ever had! I took ECON 1110 as part of the summer session, and, as only a rising junior in high school, was initially worried I would struggle in the class. But, Prof. Thomas helped me so much and made sure to explain everything in a way anyone could understand! Amazing!
Thomas was a decent teacher. She did good examples in the lecture that often times went off topic. She didn't really go into deep applications in lecture. Discussion is a joke. Really the best way to do well is to teach yourself the lessons. There is HW due every week but really enforces the topics. HW is 25% of your grade and each test is also 25%
I went to almost every lecture and discussion and kind of regret it. If you schedule your time efficiently and make sure to be on pace with the chapters, you will be fine. I'd take Thomas over Sanders even though I think Sanders is the better professor from what I've heard since Thomas has easier exams that are all MC. Sanders has short answers.
Easy class, but lectures are very boring and useless. I ended up only reading the textbook and got an A
Professor Thomas was amazing. I am would take another class. The grading is simple 25% for each of the 3 prelims and 25% for HW. The tests progressively get harder. The lectures are very simple and only a review of the chapters. To get a good grade you just need to take the practice exams provided and do the HWs. DO THE HW AND THE PRACTICE PRELIMS!
Not a great class but not too bad. She is not great at explaining concepts when they get a little more complex, and the tests are not easy. You may have to do a lot of textbook learning.
Easy A if you're good at understanding functions/graphs with some intuition. Interesting class and doesn't go at a fast pace. No need to attend lectures but the lectures are good. Tests all multiple choice.
If you have any passion for econ, Thomas will be the professor for you. She cares about all of her students and is an extremely energetic and motivational lecturer who's examples help me understand the concepts. If you to her practice tests and review every question before a test, you'll be fine. Probably my favorite professor this semester.
This class is the definition of disorganized. The style of learning differs between lecture, discussion, homework, AND exams. There's no consistency so you're better off skipping lecture and discussions all together because she doesn't take attendance. Just teach yourself through the textbook and pray you can figure out the weird exam format.
Thomas is an extremely frustrating professor. Her lectures are excruciatingly simple yet the homework and exams cover more material and are more difficult. That being said, the class itself is not too difficult and a decent amount of work should get you an A. Her exams are extremely annoying to take with a lot of poorly worded questions and typos.
This class was extremely challenging for me. However, there are two things that you should keep in mind if you choose to take Thomas. First off, the class gets easier as the semester goes on. If you do not do well on the first exam I would recommend keeping it. Secondly, Thomas will help you if you are honest with her. GO TO OFFICE HOURS!
nice person but super boring lectures. Keeps making football analogies that don't add anything to the course material. tests are solely based off of lectures and be sure to pay attention to the case studies. Not quite sure she understands the material herself but textbook help. overall easy class but not worth the boring lectures.
I took this class via zoom + over the summer so all the exams were open note which made the exams SIGNIFICANTLY easier. HW is much harder than exams. Exam questions range in difficulty. Practice prelims are helpful but easier than exams. Prof is hit or miss when it comes to explaining concepts. Sometimes she dodges the question
Not my best experience with a professor. Her lectures were boring and had little to no engagements during discussions. Most of the content was self-taught through the online textbook.
Please do not take any Econ class with this professor. She is not accommodating at all; her lectures are below average; she, herself, is not a very pleasant person.
PLEASE DO NOT TAKE HER. SHE IS TERRIBLE, PLEASE DO YOURSELF A FAVOR. A waste of three precious credits of my Cornell tuition and semester. I took her during COVID and I honestly feel like she was less accomodating than regular semesters bc she wanted to make the class harder since it was all online and she cant tell if we cheat
I took her during COVID and she genuinely was THE worst quality, least accommodating professor/instructor Ive ever had. The other class with other Econ prof, had taken their Prelim #1, a week before our class already took Prelim 2. She stuffed so many chapters in a short sem, whereas the other prof actually cared ab the material/went at a pace
Professor Thomas is god awful. This woman is an outright poor teacher. Her lectures are not well done and the tests are problem sets are bad as well. Try to get into Smith's section of this class, hear it is SUBSTANTIALLY better.
Its as if she taught like we werent in a global pandemic. She noticed averages were less than last year and didnt say or do anything about it. People were genuinely concerned about their grades and she would respond with, you read this in the syllabus at the beginning of the year. Exams never reflected the hw and too much content was taught.
Prof Thomas prepared very clear lectures and was not unfair or mean, but had realistic expectations of us as college students; what you put into this class is what you get out. As a non-major, I found this class to be manageable. Def read the textbook before doing HW, and to study for exams do all the section probs & make practice tests on APLIA!
This class is heavy on textbook reading and doing the online homework assignments. I stopped going to lectures halfway through the semester because they were very shallow on teaching the material and she often did in-class activities that took extremely long to do for a simple concept. She was probably the most unaccommodating professor I had.
Lectures are extremely simple and do not correlate to the test at all. I took this course online during COVID and she was not very accommodating to different circumstances. Overall the class should have been easy but it was extremely unorganized and there was no relation between the lectures, discussions, homework, or tests.
Lectures in this class were practically useless, and professor Thomas was often very rude and unhelpful when people would ask questions during class. She seemed like a really immature professor and threw some temper tantrums in the beginning of the semester when kids used zoom chat when she disconnected from class and disabled chat for the semester
Really difficult class. Material in lectures does not correspond to exam. Has assigned textbook, but doesn't clearly assign reading - you're supposed to figure out what chapters go with a topic on your own. Pretty rude to students with concerns about grades. Average on the 1st Prelim was a 68, no curve. Does not provide answer key to practice q's.
Thomas is condescending and annoying. She is a terrible teacher who fosters a bad teaching environment. I would not recommend delaying this class to get a different teacher unless it would be easy to do so- you can still get an okay grade and learn the material.
Horrendous. Horrendous. Horrendous. And horrendous.
Confusing schedule in order to stay up to date with topics. Barely attended lectures but overall easy material to understand with some intuition. If you read the textbook, you should be fine.
Almost wants you to fail
Very boring lecturer, completely destroyed my interest in pursuing economics as a major.
She gets a bad rap. She isnt that bad. her lectures are quite clear if you choose to go. The homeworks reinforce course content and are interesting. You do not need to go to lecture or discussion for a grade
Solid introductory economics class, really felt that material wasn't so tough to learn, as there were many resources to use throughout the semester. Professor Thomas's lectures often were slow moving but had notes that connected with the new material learned from the textbook. Class helped develop an interest towards learning econ in the future.
Honestly, the worst professor at all of Cornell and I hope that she sees this. She has such an odd way of thinking she is right and will send 5-10 emails a day ad nauseam just to say i cant help you. dont ask me. you shouldve figured it out in ur own. Shes no help and she honestly doesnt even seem that bright, unsure why cornell hired her
Take her if exams are in person. DO NOT TAKE HER IF EXAMS ARE ONLINE. I REPEAT. DO NOT TAKE HER IF EXAMS ARE ONLINE. I was doing well in the class until we had an online final which messed me up badly. I would've gotten an A if it wasn't for that, and while I didn't do horribly in the end, I'm still pissed off at her for making the final so hard.
In comparison to the other econ classes this one is significantly more work. I would recommend taking the class with other professors. The median class grade was B+ which is lower than other years. 2 of the 3 exams were online. The online exmas were more difficult and was from a bank of questions meaning each student had different questions.
Gives the most homework out of other econ professors. Other professors also offered extra credit and this class does not offer extra credit. With the online exams, the material did not match what was covered in the textbook or class. The lectures did not help with homework or exams.
Prof. Thomas was accommodating, as she moved 2/3 tests online. Prelim 1 was very easy, online tests were much harder. Lectures are very boring, but if you read the textbook, do the homework, and go to section, you should do fine. Homework isn't that much, just 2 textbook assignments per week. She can get mad at times; don't be late to class!!!
Just do yourself a favor.. stay away from her class. Her homework, test, and lecture are entirely different. She talks about 5% of the book in her lecture and makes her test 10x more hard. If econ is not your thing, assignments can take 6 hours+ per week.
I loved this class, and thought Prof. Thomas was awesome. If you're a future student reading these reviews, listen: I know this teacher, and I know these students. Attendance dropped a ton after the first few weeks, then a bunch of kids did poorly on the prelims/final and came on here to complain. Prof. Thomas was excellent, clear, fair and kind!
Actually going to class is not necessary. Lectures are boring and she reads directly off the slides which are posted before class, so as long as you actually read the slides and the textbook, you'll be fine. Textbook readings can take hours some weeks and aren't horrible other weeks. DO THE HW seriously it will save your grade bc she doesn't curve
Professor Thomas was one of the most inconsistent professors I have ever had. Her online tests were clearly not her own and did not represent class material. I received an A+ on the first in person exam and a C on the final which was moved online - and believe me when I say I studied. Do your self a favor and take the other Econ class.
Took microeconomics with her and had good experience so am now in her labor econ class. Uses good examples to help students understand the material. Posts practice prelims which are very helpful. Also very accessible in office hours. Doesnt deserve the low rating - take her class instead of Jakubson.
This easily has been the worst class I've taken at Cornell so far. Average of the first Prelim was a 70, with a 15 point standard deviation. Material taught in class is super simple, and does not reflect at all the exams or problem sets. Grading is mostly writing and very subjective, as she wants it a certain way and does not articulate. Awful.
She doesn't seem to like her students. Definitely a better choice than Jakubson, but my least favorite core ILR class. I don't feel like I learned anything except how to struggle last-minute. Lectures make it seem like tests would be straightforward but then tests were kind of brutal. Averages were ~70, ~90, ~80 for prelim 1, 2, and final.
Go to office hours and lectures if you want to do well in this class! Thomas is very accessible outside of class and will go over every homework problem and practice prelim with you. Labor econ is a difficult course and the grades for the first prelim were ROUGH, but she does not deserve the low ranking. Make an effort and you should do fine.
Tests are easy and homework is a decent amount but not too much and not too difficult. Lectures can get a little boring but there are interesting parts.
You are better off learning off the textbook because her lectures are awful and confusing.
Very aggressive and uncompromising for an introductory economics course. And also in general. Half the class isn't even attending her lectures, yet she stops lecture to call out a student arriving 10 minutes late. Cengage is horrible platform too. After taking econ1110 with her I actively avoid her classes.
She gives our practice exams that no relation to the actual test and most material learned from lectures and textbook are not on exam. Lectures repeat what is exactly on the slideshow. Tests are unclear and worded poorly. You will see problems you have never seen before on the tests--material is not hard, but the test barely touches the material.
A big part of this class is learning on your own from the textbook because she covers little material in her lectures. She tends to focus on one small part of the chapter during lecture and the rest you need to figure out on your own so her lectures aren't very helpful. Prelims are Ok. Also discussions for this class aren't helpful
Material covered in lecture tracked well to prelim material. Prelims and finals are very easy, basically multiple choice questions asking for the definition of terms and finding the area of a triangle in a supply and demand graph.
Practice exams have no relation to the actual exam. She reads off of slides for the entire class and adds no actual insight. You learn directly from the textbook and learn nothing at all from the professor. Exams are much more difficult than what is taught in class.
Self teach class. Assignments given every week and graded harshly. Must read the textbook in order to complete the homework, it can take some time. Lectures teaches nothing, goes over a quarter of what was said in chapter of textbook, each lecture goes over one chapter. It's better to spend time studying on your own than attending her lectures.
DO NOT TAKE ECON 1100 WITH THIS PROFESSOR. What is supposed to be an easy course turned into my worst one, despite attending every class and spending 8 hours working per week. Cengage is an awful platform, the lectures/discussions do not teach how to do the problems that are on the tests, and the tests always have topics that were NEVER mentioned.
My experience with Professor Thomas was fine, although I have to admit I took micro in high school and did not attend any of her lectures. The textbook was a lot more useful for the homework and the exams. Her exams, especially the final, were a bit unreasonable with lots of trick questions. It's definitely necessary to check your work.
There is very little importance in going to class since every single thing can be found in the textbook. The textbook provides better practice than the practice exams, which are significantly easier than the actual prelims. Make sure you put effort into the first exam because each exam was worth 25% of the total grade and there is no curve.
Avoid at all costs for Labor Economics. Her grading is extremely unclear, lectures are unhelpful, and I learned nothing. Also, very difficult to read her handwriting, which is where the answers for practice exams are given. Averages for exams were 73, 88, 71.
Tests are difficult but doable. Practice tests are not that helpful. Just read the textbook and you'll be fine.
There are 2 prelims and a final, and each are worth 25% of your grade. The final 25% is determined by homework accuracy. I found this class way too concept-based when most questions on the exams are all calculations and problem solving. She doesn't give enough practice at all, and her test questions did not resemble the ones in the txtbk/hw. Avoid!
This class was not worth taking. She basically uses the slides from last year to "teach" the students. I found her class so boring that after the fourth lecture I stopped showing up for the rest of the semester. All you need to do is read the textbook and you'll get a A. If you can, take the other professor instead!
I do not recommend her because she is rude and seems like she never wants to help students. She seems like she is helpful, but she is not. If you can avoid her, please do. She is also a lazy teacher who never grades anything for ECON 1110. All assignments were online and graded and created by a computer. Please avoid her at all costs that you can!!
Not very accessible outside of class and when I was able to meet with her she was dismissive about my questions. All exams were multiple choice and only 25 questions, so there was little room to actually show your knowledge
Personally didn't find the lectures that useful. Final Exam was rather difficult compared to the rest of the course and was far more computation-heavy than the hmwk or practice final. Definitely check your work. Not a very difficult course overall as the homework is based exactly on the reading. Prof. Thomas is decent at explaining concepts.
Micro was rough, but you can get a good grade in this class. Before submitting my homework & assignments, I went to her office hours, and she was soo HELPFUL and practically checked my homework and writing assignments. Exam 2 was substantially easier. Please choose a research topic that already has a history and data. Good luck!!
Took her class a few years ago. Avoid her like the plague if you don't want your GPA to crash
Go to her Office Hours!! I went to her office hours before submitting any assignments and it surely reflected on my grade. This class requires a lot of time and effort to get a good grade. There were 2 exams (Exam 1 is harder), 10 writing assignment, 5 homework assignment and a research paper. Try to do well on the assignments & you'll be good!
horrible experience. she is obnoxious and the course material is beyond silly. I actively avoid any classes taught by her.
Don't be too scared off by the other reviews, she teaches 2 massive core requirement classes (Intro to Micro Econ and Labor Econ) so there's always people who flunk and then blame the teacher. In my opinion the only negative thing I'd say about her Econ1100 class is that the tests are not similar to the homework at all so study the textbook.
avoid her class at all costs. a tough grader and her grading scale doesnt even make sense. prelims were ROUGH. this is my least favorite class ive taken at cornell
I tried to give Prof Thomas a chance, but she genuinely sets her students up for failure. She preaches that the best way to study for her exams is by taking practice exams but then only provides minimal practice that is not applicable or useful for the prelims. Do whatever you can to switch out of this class. She should not be teaching intro micro.
God awful professor who does not care about her students. She purposely sets her students up to do terrible. Doesn't give enough time on exams and her exams are "open note" but you have no time to check the notes adequately.
She is well organized. There was a gap between readings and lectures & tests. This, combined with being given only one practice test for every exam, made test prep difficult. Final exam was significantly harder than the first two prelims and had many long, calculation-heavy problems--not ideal for an online test. HW was plentiful and tedious.
Professor Thomas is very accessible and eager to help. I took her during the summer, so it is likely different in the fall/spring, but she offered to meet me whenever I asked. Go to her office hours and schedule appointments and you will be fine! She wants you to succeed!
only attended lecture a few times, absolutely not necessary. taking textbook notes and doing the homework got me through homework/prelims, which is 75% of ur grade. final is much harder and seems like questions are almost intentionally worded poorly to get u, and some questions r calc-heavy with little time. take the other section if u can!!!!
Take the other professor.
She's not helpful during office hours and is incredibly vague with her answers to questions. Going to various TAs during their office hours completely saved my grade. I'd spend more than 12 hours on homework weekly. Tip: enroll in the supplement course and go to tutoring.
not good
She is a very harsh grader and does not reply to emails quickly. She is particular about what she wants on the exams, and if you are off by even a bit, she will remove points and won't give partial credit. Her TA is also a harsh grader.
Read the textbook and take decent notes. Lecture not necessary at all.
Thomas doesn't teach and simply reads off the same set of slides that she has been using for years, which contain basic concepts that are in the textbook and doesn't explain how to apply these concepts to exam problems. Exam questions are significantly harder than the homework. The course is basically self-study. Take with any other professor.
I wish I had listened to the site/friends who said not to take her class. Even if you understand the lecture materials which are relatively easy, her grading and timing is very harsh, so that the test averages are all Cs and less than 5 students actually get As in the class and majority get Bs/Cs. There also is no curve which is unfortunate.
When grading problem sets, does not even tell you what you got wrong, only puts checks or Xs. It is clear she just skims through and marks off whatever she thinks does not sound like how she wants it. Even for prelims she will just mark off points just cause.
The homework (on a terrible online platform) often extends far beyond lecture material. The lectures consist of reading directly off slides and occasionally saying bye to students that leave early. The exams focus on material that was covered in neither homework nor lecture. You're better off not going to class and just reading the textbook.
Horrible just horrible do not take with her
Difficult professor.
Since previous comments have already addressed how horrible of a lecturer she is, it is only fair to also bring up how badly the class is structured. The lectures do not cover the homework, the textbook does not cover any calculation-based parts of the homework, and the homework does not match the content/problem types of the test at all. Good luck
As a lecturer, Stephanie Thomas does not succeed at her sole job - lecturing. The overwhelming advice for this class is to skip lecture and to learn material from the textbook itself. By wasting time on singular slides for nearly half of the class, she fails to cover content that would actually be useful. Do not take this class with her.
The only way to learn how to apply lecture concepts to calculation based problems is by trial and error through the online homework, which penalizes you for making mistakes. She emphasizes exam prep through practice but only gives one practice exam per exam. I initially thought these bad RMP reviews were exaggerating, but no. AVOID AT ALL COSTS!!!!
Read the textbook! All homework is about the textbook, lectures are kinda useless but they're worth going to simplify main concepts. Really tricky wording on tests, but overall tests are easier (online 25 mcq open note) than other econ sections.
I rarely went to lecture because they were not helpful at all. The class is essentially a self-study for microeconomics due to the poor quality of the lectures. I've heard that this section is much easier than others, so I'd recommend it, but be prepared to teach yourself most of the material. Also, discussion is the biggest waste of time.
Lectures were just an unnecessary regurgitation of the textbook readings. Just self study honestly
Online exams that are 25 mcq long and straightforward if you studied. Sounds easy right? If you don't come to class and do badly, it's on you.
Barely had to put work into class but did not learn much. 75% of your grade is based on the open note and online exams. They are only 25 MCQs so it's easy to get just a few wrong and end up with a B which can be frustrating. Learned most of the material through the textbook. Section was definitely a waste of time and lecture was sometimes helpful
Everyone here is so dramatic, the open note part of this class makes the tests completeable without studying lol
Didn't learn much from lectures, she mostly read the ppts but did provide examples that helped convey the message clearly! Homework is easy and exams are online and open note!
I only went to one class, then skipped every lecture. From my experience, the lecture was very surface-level and not worth your time. However, this course is completely doable through the online textbook. Major benefit is that all her prelims are online and open-book.
Highly recommend Thomas for Intro Micro—slides in conjunction with some of her in person examples are perfectly helpful. Doing the homework helps you study for the exams, and given that they are open note MCQ, you'll do fine as long as you create a notes document for the class to use. This is all you can ask for this level, easy and transparent.
Professor Thomas can be a tough grader, but going to office hours makes a big difference. The class requires a lot of work, but using resources like unstuck ai can help with study prep.
Very aggressive grading on prelims 1 and 2, worth 50% of your grade. Unclear multiple choice exam questions which can be hard to perform well on. Difficult to study for exams. Unengaging lectures that no one attends.
Her lectures are frankly useless. They're only loosely related to the content on homework/tests, and she spends 70% of class on the easiest part of a lesson. Open note format is nice, but you learn very little in this class. She pretends to be very nice and caring but ultimately provides little support and is not good at answering questions.
Overall just a really bad professor. Going to the lectures meant looking at her powerpoints that explained nothing. The textbook was the most helpful thing in this course. It also seemed that she would favorite students who regularly attended her office hours. I took this class my freshman fall and I wish I had chosen the other professor!
Basically what everyone else is saying: AVOID HER. She's bitter about students not showing up to class and takes her anger out by grading way harsher than necessary. This is an econ class, not a writing one, but she treats the weekly essays like exams. Do not be fooled by her cane... she is not the one.
really hard class - it being open note doesnt really help
Try to take Micro with orlov or sanders
This is one of the hardest classes I've ever taken at Cornell. The first and second prelim averages were incredibly poor, and the class average was a B- which is much lower than the other labor econ courses. I recommend taking another class. I heard Sockin and the other LE professor were pretty good from my friends. This class destroyed my GPA.
Don't rely too much on the open-note format—few questions and tight timing make exams tough. She's a strict grader, but her feedback is clear and constructive. This is a foundational ILR course for a reason. The second half is easier, and she's approachable if you need help. Tutors were also helpful.
This was a great class, very applicable. Grading guidelines are very clear. If you do the practice exam well, and pay attention in the review class, there is no way you can do poorly on the exams. Problem sets are a bit time consuming. No textbook reading necessary, attendance not required. Thomas is a boring lecturer, but the class is easy.
Bad professor in general
Please do not take this class for your own sake.
DO NOT TAKE! While her lectures are clear and she explains concepts well, her exams—though similar to the practice exams, homework, and lectures—are extremely time-pressured. You know the material but won't have time to write the details she expects. With only five questions per exam making up 75% of your grade, scoring high is nearly impossible.
Is extremely boring and just throws tantrums in class out of no where.
This was a solid class with a standard format: 2 prelims and 1 final. I took micro in high school and found the material was mostly review up to the first prelim. Prelims were online and problem sets were assigned (allocate more time to learn the concepts on these). If you do the practice exams and pay attention in review sessions, you'll be fine.
Absolutely terrible, lectures were not helpful in the slightest Get ready to teach yourself and FAIL Prelims are nothing like the practice prelims she provides, no proper way to study for this course only ppl who excel are those who are econ majors that already understand the material SO MANY ppl are struggling and study for 15+ hrs
Thomas's lectures are not useful in the slightest, and are definitely not enough to pass the class. She gives good examples to topics she discusses but she misses out on many topics that are later covered in the homeworks. It wasn't too bad, but prepare to teach yourself the material.
lectures are mostly useless, and the 3 tests worth 75% of grade, with each only having 25 questions. she is a pretty reasonable person but the structure of grading is kinda brutal.
do not take her class.
Shes a terrorist, do NOT take her class
I think that Stephanie Thomas cheated her way through school. Exams could not be designed in a way to make cheating any easier. I think that she wants people to cheat so that she doesn't actually need to teach anything. This women has no idea what she is talking about and is so disorganized I question if she even knows that her TAs exist.
The exams were much more difficult than the practice exams and lectures useless, you have to study 90% on your own from the textbook.
The exams used to be online, but she changed them this year to paper. Averages used to be over 90 (duh), but now they're in the 70s. Yet, she refuses to curve. The prelims are substantially harder than the practice exams/homeworks. Do not take this class if you want to actually learn. Take Sanders or Orlov.
Possibly the worst professor I have ever had. Lectures are useless, as they spend time demonstrating first-grade-level problems just so the tests are astrophysics-like. Final exam had a problem with no answer. You have to learn the whole class on your own from the textbook or YouTube. Can't really say anything good about this class or her.
As I write this review, I find myself struggling to convey the deep anger that resides within me when I think of Econ 1110 with this sad excuse of a professor. Please do yourself and your GPA a favor and literally avoid this entity like the plague. You have been warned. Take a different class your fall semester and WAIT for a different professor.
🥀Weak excuse of a Professor. She will teach an elementary topic, such as utility, for 40 minutes. This topic will then never appear on any prelim, and will barely appear on the homework. The assignments are tedious, she seems to find joy in her students' hardship, and she is so corny.
do not take this class
Pt1) This class was unequivocally the single worst organized class I have ever taken in my life. In fairness, to Prof Thomas I never went to lectures so she might be a good lecturer, but the difficulty of the material was far from the problem in the course. 25 multiple choice questions does not work.
Take Econ 1110 with any other professor. Her lectures are very elementary compared to exams. This class was much harder than it should've been and I did almost all my learning through youtube (DrAzevedoEcon you are the GOAT) and through the textbook. Also, do not be fooled by her open note policy as I found it was not as helpful as it seemed.
actual exams are so different from practice exams and only 25 questions on each gives little room for error. poor at answering student questions and dismisses concerns about exam difficulty.
The actual tests were very different from the practice tests. Also, many people were able to cheat on our final due to the way she organized it.
ALERT: DO NOT TAKE. Lectures are useless as she just reads off the slides. Prelims and finals are only 25 multiple-choice questions, worth 75% of your grade, and she refuses to curve. Also, she drags lectures way longer than needed. Worst class I have ever taken. If she took her own class, I don't think she would pass. I would give 0/5 if I could.
PLS DON'T TAKE ECON1110 with Stephanie. The class used to be online and everyone cheated so the historical avgs are high. Now the class is in person and harder, yet she refuses to curve the grade at all. Its crazy how in almost every exam she gives questions that are wrong. She would make a better student than a professor for this class. Horrible.
Thomas is probably the worst professor I've ever had. Not only can she not teach, but she's also extremely rude to her students and does not care about how people are doing in her class.
DO NOT TAKE ECON 1110 WITH THOMAS! All of the exams were the weirded in the worst way possible you would probably get a better score if you guessed. Also constant typos and errors in exams.. For example she forgot to put THE ENTIRE ACTUAL QUESTION for one problem and just gave a graph and answers and then "forgot" to add a correct answer to another
Consistent exam errors and refuses to curve despite low medians. Claimed the historical median was a B, after our final, contradicting the syllabus stating that it was a B+. Extremely disorganized—made two sign-in lines for 200+ students, wasting 40 minutes of our time. Ironic for an economics professor who preaches efficiency but practices none.
Stephanie Thomas is an ineffective, disorganized teacher. She will cover surface-level material during lectures, but you'll have to know the material on the bottom of the iceberg for exams. There were dozens of typos on the second prelim, and a question on the final had no correct answer... in a class with 15+ CAs. Greg Mankiw is the GOAT!
It's really hard to study for the exams—her practice prelims and homework's don't reflect the difficulty of the final exam at all. The exams basically decide your grade so they're really important, too. No one goes to lectures because she doesn't teach well.
Avoid Econ with Thomas if you can. I left lecture every day feeling worse about the content than I had self-studying. Her slides are badly done, horribly explained, and whatever "group work" she had us do was irrelevant to the test. Prelims are 25 questions, no curve, so the difference between letter grades is often 1 question wrong. HW also sucks.
THIS IS A JOKEEEEEEEE. Do not take this class no matter what like seriously. The prelims and final exam was literally insane, like the questions were so hard and nobody was prepared for that level of difficulty. Also she is actually evil like she made a class of 300+ students line up and sign in for the final exam, which wasted 45 min, like what??
Avoid intro with her! Lectures are boring. Her practice exams are in no way an appropriate reflection of the actual exams, and all exams are 25 question MCQs so if you get more than 2 wrong be ready for that B! Highly ineffective and made students line up to get the final exam which wasted more than an hour.
Do not take her ever.
lecture slides, hw, and practice prelims are SO UNREPRESENTATIVE OF THE REAL EXAM!!! not enough practice problems, class is 75% graded on exams, and exams are 25 MCQ!!! NO CURVE!!!! if you take this with her, be prepared to self-teach yourself EVERYTHING.
She's a lovely person and I had several insightful conversations with her during her office hours that I really enjoyed. Economics is just not for me, unfortunately.
Disorganized + careless. Professor mishandled the final: some students seemed to start 30–40 min early, discussed questions, took photos, and bragged about ChatGPT with no enforcement. Exam was nothing like practice/MindTap. Lectures felt rushed, questions dismissed, expectations unclear all semester. Grading felt arbitrary too. Avoid at all costs.
People who say Thomas is a 'bad teacher' or 'doesn't know what she's doing' simply don't go to lectures or do the homework. The class is extremely straightforward if you put the work into it. 1. Read the textbook, its not that bad. 2. Ask questions in lecture, she is very helpful. That's it. I never went to office hours but I'm sure they're helpful
I started the year attending every lecture... I quickly realised that was foolish and a waste of time. Her slides are poorly made and horribly taught. It was far more useful to spend class time self-learning all the concepts from the textbook readings. Also, her exams are 25 MCQ with no curve. Get 2+ questions wrong, and u can kiss an A/A- goodbye.
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
18%
Textbook Required
0%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
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-1.10 avg changeRatings by Course
ILRLE4430
3.0
(1)ECON3430
2.7
(3)ILRLE2400
2.3
(25)ECON1100
2.2
(24)ECON1110
2.2
(113)Difficulty by Course
ECON1101
4.3
ILRLE4430
4.0
ILRLE2400
3.8
ECON1110
3.4
ECON1100
3.4