I hold Professor Ravetch in high esteem and regard. I have taken Management 1B three times. I failed three times. I gave it everything I had but I felt like maybe there was some skill missing that was not allowing me to continue in accounting. I went into Ravetch's class with a 3.4 GPA in 2011 and came out with 2.8 in 2016. It made me re-assess everything in life. I dropped out of UCLA during this time trying to figure out what was missing. I would never blame the Professor for my short-comings as a student but I am embarrassed to have come out with such low grades time and time again. He is the first Professor to fail me. It did have a psychological effect which I don't know if it may replicate in others, but it's definitely a good thing.

I went to a community college and took a Math Assessment Exam to see where I stood. I was placed into Pre-Algebra. So, suffering from a severe handicap in my math skills and given Professor Ravetch is one of the greatest mathematical minds you will ever come across, I deduct that I was not on par with the standards this Professor requires.

I have been in college since 2006 and at UCLA since 2010. For me, Professor Ravetch has the toughest exams ever (if you do not come from a mathematical mind-set). I recall the first exam, watch out how he phrases the Revenue Recognition question. I could not figure it out during office hours. I strongly recommend you prepare for the Market Capitalization or PE Ratio question which is very easy but use algebra and be 100% SURE OF YOUR WORK.

I felt like quitting so many times or just getting a no pass deal but it seemed like taking the coward's way out. As the class proceeded, things got rougher for me. I was totally lost when it was Flexible Budget and Taxation. I recorded all his lectures and went to his class no matter what. I learned so much from his lectures but unfortunately I have not been able to translate it to a proper grade. Regardless of the fact that I am a few days from graduation, I feel like I don't deserve my B.A for the fact that I could not do better in this class. It has haunted me and continues to. I intend on returning to take his Management 1B course as an Extension class. I have enrolled in mathematics courses at my community college with the sole goal of passing his class one day. I have never earned so many F's in my life, I am in too deep. Professor Ravetch has permanently attracted me to accounting and for that I am eternally grateful. This is the best Professor I have ever had in my life. These failures have emboldened me to pursue accounting in order to one day pass his course.
I feel like Professor Ravetch embodies the Bruin spirit. I am honored to be failed by him.
My highest respect to those who did well.

Good God almighty. I put myself to the challenge and failed miserably. Every single rumor you heard about Ravetch is true. He is very funny, witty, and a good professor; however, his tests are beyond impossible.

I studied for over 50 (literally) hours and did every homework assignment, office hours, etc, and was still blindsided by Ravetch’s exams.

There is no amount of studying that can prepare you for his tests. Steer clear of Ravetch if you care about your GPA at all...

This class did not fulfill any major requirements for me-- I just took it because I wanted to learn about finance. I'm pretty disappointed to say that I didn't learn too much. This class goes over a broad range of topics (buying a house, car insurance, credit cards, stock market, etc.) The thing is that each week/lesson goes into something new, and no topic is given enough depth, so in the end you learn such little information that you might have been better off just looking it up online.
He teaches each new topic by bringing in a guest speaker who works in the field, but the only thing is that many of the guest speakers aren't teachers and some of them really didn't seem that prepared to give a lecture. You feel like you're in some random presentation or even a marketing pitch for their company as opposed to an actual class where you're learning practical information.
Also, he computed the grades in such a way that even if you got an A based on points alone, you would not necessarily get an A in the class. The syllabus does not tell you how he will grade the class, it does not tell you how much any of the assignments or projects are worth, you don't know anything until you get the grade. I really thought I was doing fine in the class until I got a B+ at the end (for reference, I've never gotten anything lower than an A- in any other class at all 4 years of university, even much harder classes like computing or chemistry)
I will say that there was a few highlights where I did learn something I considered valuable. Additionally, the professor does seem to be really caring and passionate about the class. But if you want to take it and it's not a requirement for your major, I would take it pass/no pass.

I’ll be honest, this class was the most disappointing experience of my college career. I came in with high expectations, excited to learn practical financial advice from a professor that so many people held in high esteem. The sad truth, however, was that Ravetch’s nice, charismatic, and eloquent lectures hide his single biggest flaw - the dude cannot teach. His lectures and assignments were incredibly vague, and as others have pointed out, he uses a grading quota to curve down the number of As in his class to appear “tough,” without ever specifying his grading methodology in his syllabus. I had a 94% at the end of the class, but he curved me down almost 10% without ever explaining himself, despite my numerous emails. For Christ’s sake, this is supposed to be an introductory class, not some GPA killer like Comm 10. Anyway, my advice would be to take P/NP. He grades like an absolute dick, doesn’t care whether you actually get an A, and blows you off when you inquire further. You are a disappointment, Ravetch. Thanks for nothing.

All the rumors you heard about Ravetch is TRUE. He IS a great lecturer, making boring accounting classes kind of interesting. He is the best choice for mgmt 1b when you don't care your GPA at all because when he says he gives around 15% A's means probably less than 5 people in a class of 100 can actually get an A.

Exams were very difficult, at times poorly written as seen by the fact that we had to retake midterm 1 due to faulty questions. Flipped classroom makes it very hard to keep up. Lectures were fun to watch however. Would not take a class with Ravetch again

Professor Ravetch not only teaches practical skills that rarely get taught in higher education, but truly cares about his students and makes an effort to be a resource to them even after the class ends. I would absolutely take this class again, as it was not only the most useful class I have taken at UCLA, but also taught by one of the most caring and understanding professors.

Ravetch is a very nice, funny guy. He's engaging as a professor, but his class is just impossible. I read the reviews about him and thought I would be fine. Halfway through the course, a good portion of the class was trying to figure out how to drop it. I had a 4.0 prior to this course. It's so hard to do well in that I ended up doing worse in my other courses because of the time this course requires. Genuinely, just save yourself the trouble and take this class with someone else.

Professor Ravetch has a no-bullshit and simultaneously engaging approach to teaching. His class is entirely based on three midterms which almost everyone found incredibly difficult. I ended up dropping this class week 5 because I needed to get a good grade to enter the accounting minor. Ravetch knows his stuff and is genuinely funny, but I can't recommend this class if you value your GPA highly. You'll leave this class knowing a ton, but with probably a B or C.

Life hack: take this class P/NP if you're not an econ major. This content is super interesting and useful, but everyone is turned off by Ravetch's unnecessarily unforgiving grading policy. Like why would I take a GPA hit if it doesn't even count towards my major?

Even though the class says "mandatory letter grade," you can fill out a Blue petition (ask the College) before week 6 and they'll let you take it P/NP as long as you're in good academic standing and don't need it for your major.

Anyway, the class is great. You'll learn about investing, retirement accounts, mortgage, budgeting, etc. I took it P/NP, loved every lecture, became WAY more financially literate because of it, and barely put in any work and passed the class. Everyone should do that!!!!