Surro did a great job teaching and stands out as one of UCLA’s stronger economics professors. If you have the chance to take him for a core class, I highly recommend it

My review of other professors: https://www.reddit.com/r/ucla/comments/1gmshzu/review_of_econ_professors_as_a_transfer_student/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

people aren't lying when they say econ 11 and 41 are tough. i'd say 11 was so much more manageable than 41 (and tests were far more reasonable) but that may be because I enjoyed the more econ related topics covered in this class. professor surro makes his class extremely organized- there are quizzes after every lecture to help test yourself on how well you understood the content (graded on completion) and weekly problem sets which are also graded on effort that are practice for the exams. both the quizzes and problem sets are actually optional but doing them is highly suggested and will only help out your grade at the end of the quarter. at the start of the quarter surro goes over STEP BY STEP instructions on how to stay on top and succeed in the class. the tips are effective for sure but doing every single one of them wasn't very feasible imo especially if you're taking other hard classes because they can be very time consuming. but he definitely sets his students up for success it's just a matter of whether you're willing to put in the work (so it's pretty much pointless trying to make excuses if you don't get the grade you want). the lectures were nicely paced and surro tries to make new concepts digestible. students can post on campuswire if they have questions about anything and he responds in a timely manner. the exams were TOUGH but that's to be expected. one of the most structured classes I've ever taken and prof surro is indeed a gem in the econ dept.

Here's everything you need to know to get an A in econ 11 with Prof Surro. 1) Listen to his advice. I personally followed about 95% of what was on that "how to do well in econ 11" doc. 2) Print out the typed notes / download the typed notes to your ipad and follow along during the lecture. Add any material that you think may be useful to you on that same document. This way, you are able to connect the typed notes to Surro's ipad notes and it just makes studying for the exams so much easier. 3) To do well on the exams, you MUST be able to quickly recognize what each question is asking. This is especially important on the midterm, which can be a time crunch for many people. That is why I suggest that you do ALL the practice material for the exams, which include problem sets, short answer questions, long answer questions, and the practice midterm/final. 4) This class will REWARD you for doing everything Surro assigns. Even though the exams will contain questions you have never seen before, they are still asking you to use the same methods you used for the practice material. 5) When working on the homework for this class, remember that you are taking an econ class and not a math class. If you focus too much on the math and forget about the economic explanation, the class will feel much harder. The math actually becomes pretty simple with enough practice. 6) Definitely make sure that this is your main class for the quarter. I would not recommend taking this class with econ 41, for example. 7) Have fun! I personally found this class to be very enjoyable. There is not that much material, and it felt great understanding each problem! 8) If this is helpful, here's everything I reviewed for the final: Problem Set 7 Answers, Problem Set 8 Answers, Additional General Equilibrium Practice Question Answers, All Lecture Notes, All Short Answer Questions, Problem Set 4, Final Exam Practice Long Questions, Fall 2023 Final Exam, Midterm Exams, Cheat Sheet, and the Practice Long Questions for the Midterm. I spent about 40 hours preparing for this exam.

Take this class with Surro. He gives everything we need, and very clear. You can drop your midterm if you get a better grade in final, which is really helpful. In addition, problem sets and quizzes are not required, but you should complete it since they are base on completion.

Surro is an excellent professor. You get out what you put in for this class. He gives you an amazing amount of resources; you just have to be disciplined enough to actually use them when you're not required to. None of the homework is mandatory, but doing them helps your grade. The class does get harder in the last few weeks, so watch out for that.

Surro is a very clear and helpful professor, and you can tell that he really wants his students to succeed. He really provides all the tools necessary for you to do well in the class. He even gives a step-by-step guide on how to succeed in Econ 11 at the very beginning of the class. The hw quizzes and problem sets are obviously much easier than what will be on the exams, but they are still helpful for building a solid understanding of the material. You'll get the best studying done through the review sets he provides prior to each exam, which are just exact questions he's asked in previous quarters' exams.
That being said, you definitely need to put in the work for this class. The material is definitely a step up from previous econ classes. It combines the microecon intuition you learn in econ 1 with some basic levels of partial derivatives. If you're a mathy person and good at basic calculus, it should be very manageable. Even if you're not a mathy person, Surro makes it understandable.
The class consists of one midterm and one cumulative final. For our class, the midterm wasn't terrible, and the average was about an 80% if I recall correctly. The final was definitely harder in my opinion, even compared to the previous exam questions he provided. Surro came in clutch and curved it to make the median grade in the class into a B.
I'd definitely recommend making the most of all the resources he gives you in this class. Do the problem sets and quizzes and turn them in; though they are optional, they are graded for completion and will give you free points for your final grade. Read the lecture notes or rewatch the lecture recording if you need review. Discussion is very helpful for reviewing the material and oftentimes, the TA's will provide their own practice questions that will help you even more in prepping for the exams. As long as you're willing to grind for this class, you will do very well.

Based on the BruinWalk reviews for this course, I came in very nervous. Not only did the poor ratings make me anxious, but with the experience I've had with Econ professors throughout my 4 quarters here, I managed my expectations and just focused on trying to get an A in this class.
At first, it took a while to get a grasp of the materials but Professor Surro paced the class very well. He set our expectations from the first lecture and I truly found all the resources he provided to be of help. While the midterm was a little tough, I was genuinely able to navigate through it because of practice. I thought it was fair and believe that doing the problem sets and practice problems prepared me well enough for it.
I'm not a very STEM-inclined student but I've been enjoying math a little more than I used to in high school and I want to say - that this class, this mix of math and economics, has made me reconsider my stance because I genuinely enjoy the math we had to do.
The class structure was as follows:
Midterm - 150 points (25%)
Problem Sets (only have to complete 6 out of 8 for full credit, also only graded based on completion and effort) - each problem set is 15, so 90 points (15%)
Quizzes (only have to do 12, graded based on completion) - each quiz is 5 points, so 60 points (10%)
Final - 300 points (50%)
If you do better on the final than the midterm, he'll change your grade scheme so that the midterm is dropped and the final counts for 450 points (75%)
He also curved the final grade cutoff because the final average was lower than the midterm average. So the cutoff for an A- was 89% overall, and for an A was 91% overall. (He assured us at the beginning of the quarter that he would not curve down, which some econ professors do and should be a crime :( )
Also, Professor Surro's reminders with regard to prioritizing mental health and just our health, in general, were definitely something that made me like this class. His continuous notes of encouragement and grading schemes that allow for flexibility in what our final grade is, were incredibly helpful.
I would definitely take a class taught by Surro again - best professor in the econ department.

Surro was a very good professor due to the amount of resources he provides for us to succeed in his class, however, I found the class to be extremely difficult. The only grades in his class are the midterm which is 33% and the final which is 66%, or if you do better on the final it can be 100% of your grade. He adds points to your grade if you complete the quizzes and the problem sets and also curves the exams if he feels necessary. Although the information itself wasn't too difficult to grasp with practice, his exams were really hard for me. I studied every day for two weeks before the final reviewing every resource he provided in the class and still got a bad grade. In the past, Econ 11 teachers would do multiple choice exams but his is free response and all of the questions are 15-30 points each and many of them build off of each other. So if you didn't get one question you would lose so many points. I'm not sure what I could've done differently to do better in the class, but there are many students who do succeed in this class.

I would recommend taking Econ 11 with Professor Surro. I was scared taking this class as it is a weeder class but I was surprisingly a pleasant experience. He gives every resources students need to be successful from his notes, recordings, practice questions, quizzes and past exams. Going to class and ta sessions are not mandatory. The content of this class isn't that difficult, you just need to remember the steps to approach a problem and do basic math with some calculus. There is an option for your grade to be your midterm and final or final as 100% of your grade (there is quizzes but it is graded on completion so that serves as natural curve). I think the midterm was easier but I made a bunch of random mistakes and got 83%. I think the final was quite challenging but it is not too different to the practice questions and I got 92%, which is curved to an A. I believe that as long as you put effort in, it is very possible to get an A in his class.

Best Econ Professor ever.... So organized and explains things in an extremely intuitive way. Exams are tough but there is significant practice material provided. If you do all the practice material and understand it thoroughly, no reason to not get an A.