I did bad in the class primarily because I had some difficulty staying awake in his 7:30 a.m. lectures, and Galles tends to teach at a relatively fast pace. However, he is a very dynamic speaker, and even with a class that early, I have observed the vast majority of students were wide awake and listened attentatively to his lectures. The things you learn from the public finance course are actually quite profound and interesting. I found Social Security and Medicare to be of great relevance.

Study his questions in his course reader for the midterm and final. It certainly helps to read them BEFORE coming to lecture and answer them SOON after he covers it in class. It also helps to have a tape recorder for his class, especially when you start losing track or cannot keep up with what he says. Reading the book can clarify the concepts he covers, but I did not find that alone to be sufficient in preparation for his exams. My advice is to take really good notes in lecture and have a tape recorder as some sort of back-up.