Grade gotten for course: C
I have to agree with comments from 11/12/2002. Although the majority of these reviews praise McDevitt as if he is the econ god, I found out the hard way what the consequences are for taking an econ class when u'r not a econ major. It is true that McDevitt is very organized and the lecture notes do help to a certain degree. However, Lectures are a MUST ATTEND if u want to understand the concept. Don't bother visiting him at office hours, he's not very tolerant of people who are ignorant of econ concepts. Although everyone says McDevitt's easy, my experience told me no.

So I took McDevitt's class in Spring quarter last year because I read all the great reviews he got and thought it would be a good idea...big mistake. I soon found out that although the majority of the reviews he got were positive most of the people who I actually talked to told me McDevitt is one of the worst econ professors you can have. Now, I did get a semi respectable grade in his class, yet I don't think I really learned anything because we weren't allowed to look at the multiple choice questions that we missed on the midterm and final. Throughout the whole quarter I had no idea what I was doing wrong and still don't to this day. Unfortunately he is the only professor who teaches Econ 11, so I'm forced to take him again.

Even though I got a bad grade in this class, I think a lot of it had to do with my own effort and not so much with McDevitt. He was actually pretty nice, and he even answered some of my questions after a his office hours were over before finals. His study guide questions are a lot like his tests, so go through those and you should be alright. Don't wait until the last minute, though, because stuff in this class builds on previous lessons (like taking supply and demand analysis one step further). If you don't get something, it has a good chance to get you back in this class (unlike some others), so do your best to ask questions and get help if you don't get something. That would've helped my grade a lot. The tests were mostly straightforward; I did feel like it sucked when I lost some points for unnecessary things (like not labelling EVERYTHING on a graph), but if you are careful, those should be easy points to score. The curve is pretty nice too. McDevitt could benefit from being more energetic when he speaks though. And it'd be nice to throw in a joke or two once in a while. However, he spends like 99.999% of his lecture time focusing on the material. That's not such a bad thing, but it was sometimes hard to stay up in an 8am class dealing with econ. Bottom line: this class isn't easy, but if you put in the work and study enough and all, you should be fine. Don't take this class in the morning. Ask questions if you have any. And of course, GO OVER THE STUDY QUESTIONS.

Professor McDevitt, I admit, is not one of the most engaging or entertaining lecturers at UCLA, but he is by far, one of the few teachers who actually teach you something valuable and who won't waste your time. Although waking up for an 8 a.m. class was a drag, it was very important to go to lectures and listen to what he said. His lecture notes are extremely organized and when studying for the midterms and final, you have everything laid out right in front of you. Though he is difficult, if you are an Econ major, you MUST take McDevitt if you want to succeed and thoroughly understand what you are learning.

Prof McDevitt was a good professor. His lectures were very straight forward and he went at a pace that was slow enough so that you can write down everything. It is very important to go to lectures for this class. His tests are from his lectures and even if you buy lectures notes, you should still go to lecture because he explains a lot of things that he write down that aren't in the notes. And the curves are great. I never went to any discussion either, it's not mandatory and you should go if you don't understand the concepts but they are pretty much straight forward as wel. Oh and don't bother buying the book, it's too expensive and you don't need it at all for this class. If anything, you might want to get the lecture notes, but even those aren't necessary if you go to lecture. YOU MUST GO TO LECTURE!!!

McDevitt is everything an econ prof should be. He's organized, concise and repeats explanations for extra emphasis. It is true that he doesn't make jokes often, but he teaches econ, what is he supposed to joke about, fiscal policy or foreign trade? Believe it or not he actually takes the subject seriously and tries his best to teach it, not provide an exciting hour and fifteen minutes for his students. He gives great preperation for the tests. Make sure you go to class, and try to pay attention, no matter how boring he may be, that's the key to getting a good grade in his class.

McDevitt is highly recommended by a lot of people, but I don't know what all of the fuss is about. He is mediocre. His voice is very monotone, but he does lots of examples to try to hammer the concepts into young minds. Very thorough prfessor, yet boring. But then again, how exciting can anyone make econ?

He's predictable and simple. His class is cake if you do the study qns and understand the lectures. He may be a bit boring at times, but I liked him a lot and liekd that he didn't seem like he was out to get you or anything with his tests.

McDevitt is an awesome professor. Definitely one of the best I've had in UCLA. His lectures aren't that bad, if you're interested in learning about macroeconomics. He explains really well too. Definitely an easy class if you go to lectures. His exams are not that difficult if you can understand the material.

good teacher for ECON 2!! i'd definitely recommend him. his lectures are very organized & straightforward. true, they are extremely boring, but econ as a whole is a pretty dry subject. for econ 2, the key to success is just doing the practice questions he gives before every test & if u just know those, u're set. i'm taking econ 1 w/ another prof rite now & i realize more how must better McDevitt was. so DEFINITELY TAKE MCDEVITT FOR ECON 2!