2.0

Trien Nguyen

Economics - University of Waterloo

2.0
Quality
3.7
Difficulty
22%
Would Retake
101
Reviews
2.0
Quality
3.7
Difficulty
2.1
Helpful
1.9
Clarity

22%

Would Retake

101

Reviews

Rating Distribution
Official

5

7

4

12

3

16

2

15

1

51

What Students Say

If you want to do well in this course you have to dedicate your entire term just to this one course and nothing else

301 - 1.0 rating

Questions in emails were never been replied

ECON301 - 1.0 rating
Class Info

Online Classes

100%

Attendance Mandatory

83%

Textbook Required

33%

Grade Predictor

Your expected effort level

LowHigh

Predicted Grade

C

83% confidence
Based on 11 grades
Most common grades:
F (5)
A (3)
Not_Sure_Yet (1)
Grade Distribution
A(3)B(1)C(0)D(0)F(5)A-/B+(2)
Based on 13 reported grades
F: 5
A: 3
Not_Sure_Yet: 1
B: 1
Common Tags
Tough grader (1)
Rating Trend

Stable

-0.06 avg change
Feb
Aug
Apr
Aug
Oct
Nov
Last 6 months
Ratings by Course

ECON443

5.0

(1)

VARIOUS

4.0

(1)

ECON221301

4.0

(1)

221

3.0

(4)

221302

3.0

(1)
+16 more courses
Difficulty by Course

63

5.0

211

5.0

ECO221

5.0

ECON301DE

5.0

ECON472

5.0

Reviews (101)
3.0
4.0
ECON301
Jun 19, 2001

No Comments

3.0
4.0
221302
Jun 23, 2001

He literally wore the same yellow/grey sweater to every class!

1.0
4.0
ECON221
Jul 6, 2001

"I am so proud of my very expensive course notes that's not useful to students"

3.0
5.0
221
Jul 11, 2001

No Comments

3.0
4.0
221
Aug 1, 2001

classes are like a dictorship but does get his point across

1.0
3.0
ECON201
Aug 18, 2001

he rants like a crazy old man....

4.0
2.0
ECON201
Sep 10, 2001

Term work is easy. "It's time for a quiz!" Beware of final!!!!!

1.0
2.0
ECON301
Sep 10, 2001

Needs to chg clothes and style- HORRIBLE

1.0
4.0
ECON301
Sep 10, 2001

I hate Nguyen. Hard prof; needs to change

2.0
5.0
ECON221
Oct 1, 2001

Way too tough but makes you learn.

1.0
5.0
ECON301
Oct 1, 2001

****!

3.0
3.0
301
Oct 4, 2001

I couldn't understand a thing he said, and he needs to change his clothes

2.0
5.0
ECON301
Mar 19, 2002

No Comments

5.0
2.0
ECON301
Apr 15, 2002

His textbook is excellent! He definitety like his math :).

1.0
5.0
ECON301
May 13, 2002

Term work is easy but final is extremely hard and unfair

4.0
3.0
ECON301
May 26, 2002

Makes you work your ass off! But pays off in the end

1.0
5.0
ECON301
Jul 28, 2002

Incoherent self-written text read to students for four months with mandatory att

4.0
5.0
ECON301
Jul 29, 2002

I got a 95% but man I really had to work for it. Beware the final!

2.0
4.0
ECON301
Oct 9, 2002

Needlessly muddles simple concepts and makes a tidy profit on his book.

4.0
5.0
ECON301
Oct 17, 2002

Rules with an iron fist, but makes you learn. Good enough.

1.0
5.0
ECO221
Nov 22, 2002

Needs to polishup manner in delivering points across/ throws facts but not clear

1.0
5.0
ECON221
Dec 5, 2002

inconsistent; assignment specifications are unclear;assumes students don't think

2.0
4.0
SHAZAM69
Dec 15, 2002

fav punchline in class: that's the tricky part!. last 'prayer' on projector

5.0
3.0
221
Dec 21, 2002

seems to care about his good students a lot

3.0
5.0
301
Dec 26, 2002

No Comments

3.0
5.0
ECON221
Jan 6, 2003

No Comments

1.0
4.0
ECON221
Jan 7, 2003

can't understand him and he makes attendance manatory!

2.0
2.0
ECON301
Feb 10, 2003

for math students: this class is a joke

1.0
5.0
ECON301
Feb 10, 2003

Worst Prof!! English? Screws you on his textbook. Doesn't care about your gr

1.0
4.0
ECON301
Mar 10, 2003

Should not be teaching. I ask for help, he reads me the quesiton. I ask again, he all but calls me stupid.

1.0
5.0
ECON221
Mar 22, 2003

Made the class SO aggravating to go to, I just stopped going. Worst mark I ever got because of it.

2.0
5.0
ECON301DE
Apr 12, 2003

I just finished writing the final...I might have been more disappointed if I hadn't walked in knowing that I was going to fail (even though I went in with an A).

1.0
5.0
ECON342
Apr 13, 2003

only one words: worst, I do not know how to fill out the evaluation form

4.0
4.0
ECON301
May 17, 2003

Nice Prof, willing to help. Not very good in English but has good notes.

3.0
1.0
ECON301
May 18, 2003

Big problem - made us pay 80 bucks for what turned out to be bound course notes he wrote. WHAT A JOKE! I can't believe he could get away with that. Class itself was a joke, but leave it to people who dont know how to study to complain about that.

1.0
3.0
ECON301
Jun 11, 2003

I couldn't figure out what language he was speaking...DONT buy his text is is a rip off...but the entire course revolves around how to format your mathematical answers...you don't really learn anything

4.0
2.0
ECON301
Jun 13, 2003

With the money he makes off his course notes by ripping off poor students, he can retire a millionaire!

1.0
5.0
221
Jul 26, 2003

run...and run fast!

1.0
5.0
ECON221
Oct 4, 2003

hard to understand, is not very helpful, can be ignorant when a question is posed, unreachable only 3 hours a week of office time

1.0
1.0
ECON301
Oct 16, 2003

No Comments

1.0
1.0
ECON301
Nov 11, 2003

I hate this guy! He claims that the course notes are in short supply so he has to get the payments so the publisher(Narada Press) can make special copies. Little does everyone know, he IS Narada Press. Just memorize the 3-step process.

1.0
2.0
ECON302
Nov 21, 2003

Teaches micro in macro; contradicts himself; always seems nervous; can't seem to part from his overheads; only picks guys to answer questions in class; sleep alert.

4.0
2.0
VARIOUS
Dec 4, 2003

Notes made the course easy to follow. Relied heavily on overheads. Make sure you know your stuff because he asks a lot of questions in class.

3.0
3.0
ECON301
Dec 5, 2003

The course is fine, but hardly special. The grading system is hgihly random and terrible. If you can't afford a random mark between 65 and 85 on your transcript, take the class next term. You will not understand why you got the grade you did.

3.0
2.0
ECON221
Dec 15, 2003

he is not so bad, you need to go to many lectures before you get used to him.final was hard, but he gives bonus marks.

1.0
1.0
ECON301
Mar 2, 2004

3-step process. Let me make a 10-step process for him. Hard worker, but has a very annoying grading scheme. Can't think for himself. IQ < 85. Bad English.

2.0
2.0
ECON301
Mar 2, 2004

If you plan on engaging in any thought whatsoever, do not take this class with this prof. He preaches blind memorization. Luckily, he generally preaches in a foreign language, as he can't speak English. AND he is an unfair marker.

3.0
2.0
ECON301
Mar 10, 2004

Make sure you do any past tests he post up or get them from a friend. Tests are just the same with different numbers. Final was weird and hard. Thought I failed it, but end up with an A, maybe everyone failed it.

2.0
1.0
ECON301
May 12, 2004

Course is a joke. What a fool. Mathies beware. This guy takes away all your creativity in making solutions -- but wait- he's an engineer- surprise surprise. He thinks like one too, with blind memorization and NO UNDERSTANDING!

5.0
3.0
ECON221
Jun 13, 2004

Easy course. Some work though. Follow his directions and you'll be fine. A bit scetchy that he is publishing the course notes himself. (That's what I've heard anyways...)

3.0
2.0
ECON301
Jun 13, 2004

memorize 3-step procedure then you will be fine! But it is unfair to make us pay $70 for his course notes.

1.0
5.0
ECON301
Jul 30, 2004

This guy is a fool...a joke of a prof...guys like him should be forced out of school...hell we are paying his salary. No help whatsoever.

1.0
3.0
ECON221
Oct 12, 2004

I can't understand a single word this prof says. He also preaches that he is a very helpful guy but when I went to talk to him he was no help whatsoever.

1.0
4.0
ECON301
Oct 20, 2004

Warning: Don't take his class! Lectures are a waste of time, not organize, not informative at all, talking nonsense for most of the time, but muddle through materials which students want to learn! He doesn't intend to "teach"...just talk n talk, I'm so regret that i took his class!

2.0
4.0
ECON221
Oct 22, 2004

This man is a ****le on the profession of teaching. Spend 1/2 a term learning a stupid computer program, all the while listening to him assault the english language. Takes attendence every single day.

1.0
4.0
ECON221
Dec 2, 2004

Worst class ever!!! The guy sounds like Cartman from South Park. No clue as to what the guy is saying half the time. Not approachable at all cause he'll just yell and say "Do I know YOU!" DO NOT TAKE THIS COURSE!

1.0
5.0
63
Dec 10, 2004

Who is better for ECON301 him or Busch?

1.0
4.0
ECON221
Dec 28, 2004

Not a fun class at all, really hard to understand his lectures and he leans way too much on Shazam!nails you in the last quarter of the term with all the important material... publishes the course notes/text only way to get it is to pay him

1.0
5.0
211
Dec 30, 2004

Worst prof ever: English is horrible. Makes us learn Shazam for half the course (stupid program) Test/Exam very hard Don't get on his bad side or prepare for bad marks.

4.0
4.0
ECON301
Jan 5, 2005

This is the kind of prof you hate initially, but learn to appreciate. While this class was quite difficult, I found that I learned a lot. He really does make you work for your mark, although in the end he bell curves the marks. His course notes are very practical for other courses. Just keep with it

1.0
3.0
ECON301
Jan 22, 2005

horrendous horrible and extremely mean , this i one guy who you cant expect help or any assitance from.the course is basically a memorization of his favourite tho tho tho models and is utterly useless.take this class with him only if you urgently need to or otherwise avoid him at all costs.

3.0
5.0
ECON221
Jan 25, 2005

Get ready for the biggest bell curve of your life. Everyone fails!!!!

2.0
5.0
ECON342DE
Feb 25, 2005

His lectures on the CD sounded like one continuous run-on sentence, which made it hard to understand. This class involves too much math, which is way beyond my abilities. This is an Arts course, not a math course. Not suited for students who do not have a strong math understanding.

1.0
5.0
ECON301
Grade: Not_Sure_Yet
Mar 17, 2005

Sounds like Cartman from "South Park" and takes attendance during classes. Can it be any worse?

1.0
4.0
ECON342DE
Mar 18, 2005

I can't understand anything the prof said. And he's also one of the worst prof I've ever had in UW. He doesn't care about students and I really think he just doesn't want students to bug him at all. His markings are ridiculously hard and his 3-steps of solving problems r just purely stupid!!

1.0
1.0
ECON342
Apr 16, 2005

This professor and army of TAs doing there masters... let me tell you that these masters students are jealous we are getting higher marks than them so they are marking us poorly and unfairly so we don't get into top-tier masters, because masters here is****

2.0
3.0
ECON221
Sep 26, 2005

He made us learn shazam, which is a retarded program. The only reason shazam is even in the curriculum is because he wrote a book on it, which he also made us buy. I guess that is the only way someone would buy his book...

5.0
3.0
ECON743
Oct 3, 2005

He is a tough prof but he teaches very well. he has a very unique style but it helps to understand the subject better

1.0
3.0
ECON221
Grade: A
Oct 13, 2005

RUN, run and hide - or bring a translator. Yet another prof who speaks terrible english at the university of Waterloo. Translators should be included in tuition. Class requires more commitment than a marriage - have fun... you will fail with this man.

1.0
5.0
ECON221
Oct 14, 2005

Worst Prof ever. Honestly. LOL It would be hilarious if he was teaching preschool. All the little kids would cry. But yea, SHAZAM shouldnt be part of stats.

1.0
4.0
ECON221
Oct 21, 2005

This is the worst teacher I've ever had. Never have I disliked a course so much. He won't even mention the midterm or final, answer your emails, and you can't get anything useful off his website (not even lectures because he doesn't update). You also have to learn a stupid computer program just because he wrote a book about it.

1.0
5.0
ECON221
Nov 3, 2005

No Comments

4.0
3.0
ECON221301
Nov 6, 2005

Language is a barrier but it can be overcome. If you go to his office more than the day before a midterm he WILL help you and is VERY understanding. Being forced to buy his book is unfair but he did not write shazam as some stupid ppl said ... it used EXTENSIVELY in 321/421 you'll be thanking him later that he made you learn it

1.0
4.0
ECON221
Grade: B
Nov 25, 2005

worst course ever!!... and he is such a horrible prof! I didn't understand what the hell he was trying to say!!

2.0
4.0
ECON221
Dec 16, 2005

this class sucked. its not like the assignments were hard or anything, its just I don't speak Vietnamese or whatever incomprehensible language he mumbles away in. He does seem quite happy about whatever he IS talking about.

2.0
4.0
ECON221
Dec 27, 2005

Nguyen seems to be one of those profs who gets hired to do research but clearly has no interest in teaching; he's rude, unhelpful, doesn't respond to e-mails, can't speak English to save his life, stops updating his website after the first month, and personally sells the textbook (which he wrote himself) so you can't buy it at the used bookstore.

1.0
3.0
ECON221
Jan 22, 2006

Just a terrible professor. He made the STATS class into "Shazam for Dummies". Shazam, by the way, is a program that nobody uses but him and his econ 221 class. He also makes you buy his book, "stats with shazam", through him. IT is a book that nobody use except him and his econ 221 class. See the connection here?

1.0
5.0
ECON301
Oct 26, 2006

One of the worst professors in the dept: stresses 10th grade math; made-up and inconsistent models, arbitrary marking schemes, terrible accent, empasis on how much he likes you rather than how much you know, and oh yes, just downright narrow-minded, incoherent and STUPID! This guy should've stuck to being a Chemical Engineer...

2.0
3.0
ECON221
Nov 10, 2006

Broken English. Features his own textbook. Relativelt easy exam. Multiple Choice. Not great prof.

5.0
3.0
ECON301
Dec 7, 2006

He is the best, most hilarious ECON prof i have ever come across, his classes are easy to understand, and his classes are a lot of fun.. guaranteed good time in class.. if u want it to be. It may take some time to understand him initially, but once ur over that, its quite magical.

5.0
3.0
ECON301
Jan 2, 2007

He is a Great Teacher he really cares about his students, although some of his questions are hard he provides you with enough resources to do well! Amazing Teacher !!

1.0
5.0
ECON301
Jan 2, 2007

Questions in emails were never been replied.

4.0
5.0
ECON301
Jan 3, 2007

The prof stated that "A" students end up reading thru his 300 pg textbook 7-8 times over the term. That's what I ended up doing and I got my best ever ECON mark. The prof gives you LOTS of chances for bonus marks... so show up in class and do his extra assignments. The prof has a trainwreck sense of humour; it adds variety to the many models.

3.0
1.0
ECON342
Apr 25, 2007

its hard to understand his accent but you get used to it after a couple of classes. his exams are fair and he does not try to trick you. assignments are pretty easy!

2.0
2.0
ECON221
Jun 20, 2009

Seriously i dont understand him mumbling in class, but his stuff is easy, MC for mid term and final. Plus 25% of the final mark goes to attendance and online quiz. Just that I really dont get how SHAZAM is related to Econ after all.

1.0
3.0
ECON221
Jul 28, 2009

I understand zero of what he says. the text book he wrote is absolutely awful. the multiple choice was pretty easy though.

3.0
2.0
ECON301
Jun 22, 2010

Prof. Nguyen is great! He is hilarious and enthousiastic about teaching. You can tell that he really loves his job. The material is somewhat confusing but he goes through it at a relatively slow pace. If you go to class, you will get a great mark and learn a lot. Midterms = Easy. Final = Hard, but he rewards loyal students and boosts marks.

4.0
3.0
ECON301
May 22, 2012

Very enthusiastic professor with a sense of humor; willing to help students and genuinely wants everyone to do well. The material may be confusing at times but his notes are great and very comprehensive!

4.0
3.0
ECON221
Sep 10, 2014

I had a few classes with Prof. Ngugen in the 1990s. His accent is heavy but he's a fluent English speaker. At the time, he was willing to mark you with 100% weight on final exam but his finals were tough. Mid-terms, by comparison, were easier. He injected humour well. Fave quote: "You have no competition in a monopoly because you killed them all."

1.0
5.0
301
Grade: Not sure yet
Apr 14, 2015

If you want to do well in this course you have to dedicate your entire term just to this one course and nothing else.

1.0
3.0
ECON301
Grade: A-
Jun 2, 2015

INCOMPREHENSIBLE!!!! Heavy accent and he mumbles. He is rude to you in office hours. Avoid at all costs.

1.0
5.0
ECON472
Feb 5, 2016

- Focuses on course technicalities, rather than if students learn - Can't understand anything he says, because he ALWAYS mumbles - Unreasonably hard marker, who doesn't give any comments that justify his marking Avoid him if you can. I think the university deserves a better professor.

3.0
4.0
ECON442
Grade: A
Aug 5, 2016
Would take again

Trien Nguyen is a really nice professor. He cares about his students. You need to put in work though. Do the assignments and readings and you will do well on the course. He uses his own textbook for the course.

1.0
5.0
ECON342
Grade: F
Apr 9, 2019
Wouldn't take again

garbage.

1.0
5.0
ECON302
Grade: F
Apr 9, 2019
Wouldn't take again

Never understand what he is talking about.

1.0
5.0
ECON302
Grade: F
Apr 9, 2019
Wouldn't take again

Don't take any course of him.

1.0
5.0
ECON743
Grade: F
Apr 9, 2019
Wouldn't take again

Has no words except Awful

Tough grader
1.0
5.0
ECON301
Grade: F
Apr 10, 2019
Wouldn't take again

I took his Econ 472 and this person is the worst teacher in this university. He gave us no help in writing paper and could not remember anything. Each class he says the same words over and over again.

5.0
4.0
ECON443
Grade: A
Aug 20, 2021
Would take again

nah you know what, he's pretty generous so you can't even complain

1.0
4.0
ECON101
Grade: B+
Oct 22, 2022

Doesn't reply to emails unless it's being passive aggressive, doesn't post quiz solutions so you have no idea what you did wrong the entire semester, rude, clearly doesn't care about his students, makes a simple course 10x more difficult than it needs to be

1.0
4.0
ECON101
Nov 23, 2022

DO NOT TAKE THIS PROFESSOR you will regret your entire existence. Doesn't know how to teach and forgets what class he's in and what assignment he assigned. I don't even understand why and how the university even allowed him to teach. Genuinely has no idea what he's doing and keeps rambling about the same thing over and over.

Class Info

Online Classes

100%

Attendance Mandatory

83%

Textbook Required

33%

Grade Predictor

Your expected effort level

LowHigh

Predicted Grade

C

83% confidence
Based on 11 grades
Most common grades:
F (5)
A (3)
Not_Sure_Yet (1)
Grade Distribution
A(3)B(1)C(0)D(0)F(5)A-/B+(2)
Based on 13 reported grades
F: 5
A: 3
Not_Sure_Yet: 1
B: 1
Common Tags
Tough grader (1)
Rating Trend

Stable

-0.06 avg change
Feb
Aug
Apr
Aug
Oct
Nov
Last 6 months
Ratings by Course

ECON443

5.0

(1)

VARIOUS

4.0

(1)

ECON221301

4.0

(1)

221

3.0

(4)

221302

3.0

(1)
+16 more courses
Difficulty by Course

63

5.0

211

5.0

ECO221

5.0

ECON301DE

5.0

ECON472

5.0

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