I don't think this class was as horrible as some of the comments say it is. Granted it wasn't an easy A, but if you go to the TA sections and watch his video lectures, it's not that difficult to do well. Plus, the curve for exams is super generous. Even if you bomb the midterm, you still have a chance to get an A in the class if you do well on the final, which can count for 100% of your grade if you do better on it than the midterm.

Farmer is a good professor and he really cares about his students. Sometimes he can be difficult to follow in class, so if you just print out the lecture notes and watch the videos, you don't even have to go to lectures. I have to say though, he does tend to focus on too much theories and concepts instead of actual problems, since his exams consist of maybe 1/3 short answers (usually conceptual questions) and 2/3 math related problems. But if you do the practice exams and homework questions, you should be fine.

Farmer is by far the worse UCLA econ prof I ever had. He just cannot teach! every time i attend the lecture, there are always people sleeping! He is very boring, don't get to the point, and when he does finally mention something important, he says so fast that you will have no time to finish writin down the notes. there are alot mistakes on his slides, and even himself a lot time makes mistakes during lecture. his book doesn't help either. also his tests ask the weirdest questions; most questions are not really related to what he teaches. i would definitely recommend taking another prof than farmer.

This was the worst econ class I took. He made it ridiculously hard an unnecessary pain. My buddy took 102 during the summer with another prof and it was a breeze.

Lets see... Yes, I did read all his chapters in the useless book. And yeah I did all the practice questions. It did nothing for me on the exams. His tests cover the most obscure tidbits that you'd never expect to be on there. Doing problem sets did nothing for my grade in the class and I got the worst grade in his class in my career at UCLA. No, I'm not bitter. I'm just pissed that hard work is not rewarded in his class. Take someone else. I was sitting here a few months ago just like you, thinking about who to take for 102 and thought "How bad could he be?" Well, I learned the hard way and taking his class was my worst mistake at UCLA.

those who did good in this class would always say how easy Farmer is..and those who did bad would say how hard he is...funny how you never hear from someone who did good and has complaints about the class. Well here I am. I got an A in Farmer's class and I don't think he did a good job. Referring to the previous post....just because we're "complaining" about how hard he is doesn't mean we're whiners. Anyways..here's the basic overview of the class...

the TA's...just because you're a TA doesn't mean you know how to teach. the TA's in this class tried, but proved to be ineffective.

Exams...study his practice exams and lecture notes..that's it.

His book? Why read it when the stuff he says in class is IDENTICAL to what is said in the book HE wrote. i found that to be somewhat amusing at times...not to mention several errors in the book which the ta's and the prof. neglected to tell us about

lectures...he dims the lights and expects us to stay awake the whole hour and 15 minutes? c'mon..some would say if you have an interest in econ, you should be able to follow along...oh give me a break..go out and find SIX ucla econ majors who absolutely LOOOOVE macroeconomics.

let's see...during every lecture, the same FIVE people ask questions and they usually sit near the front where farmer talks. unlike the previous post, i DO like macroecon, BUT farmer is without a doubt very BORING and yes..dry. In the first half of the quarter, all the TA's made a very respectable effort to help us, but somewhere during fifth week, they all decided to do their own thing and not bother with us anymore..this is shown by the decreasing number of people who attend discussion..or in my case..i was the only one there. Exams are fair, but this doesn't mean the material covered in this class is easy. A majority of Econ majors would tell you that Econ 102 is a tough one that we must all take.

He is very nice person. I don't agree that his lectures are dry, though it depends if you are interested in the subject of economics. Tests are not difficult at all, particularly the final was easiest I had ever (my previous finals - Econ 11 with Budin, Econ 101 with McDevitt); there were 10 questions in the midterm and same on the final; you will have plenty of time to finish and check your work. Macroeconomics is much eaiser and more interesting than Microeconomics. I would recommend this professor! Study lecture notes, read textbook and do homework and you will be fine.

Prof Farmer is a nice, approachable guy. His lectures are most of the time dry and boring..just like any other econ lecture. Other than that, he does make the effort to help us in understanding the material. His exams were fair and doable, but you have to know the material pretty well. Econ 102 material is hard. Just like the previous post...you probably won't find a better person to teach 102 than Farmer.

Professor Farmer is an interesting professor. He shows a lot of interest when teaching macroeconomics. His lecture may be dry sometimes, so if you're sleeper, just get ready to fall asleep. In terms of grades, he gives out better grades than you'll expect. Just study the questions from the quizzes, review your lecture notes, and you'll be fine for the midterm and final. His exams are tricky, but know the material from the lecture slides well, and you'll do fine. You don't really need the book for the class, but it gives you other explanations of the material gone over in class. Take Econ 102 with Farmer, it probably won't get any easier than this.

His lectures are really boring (more cause the material is really dry). The tests and material are pretty hard, but his grading scheme and curve are pretty generous so getting a good grade isn't that tough. I recommend him for 102.

I am really interested in macro, and really enjoyed taking Prof. Farmer's class. I dropped two other professors before him, including Ohanian, because they did not really seem interested in teaching. I can care less if someone does a lot of research or whatever. My perspective is to learn the material since I will need it for grad school, so I wanted someone whose explanations are thorough, and make a lot of sense. Farmer totally fits into this picture. Very concerned about student learning, very prepared for lectures, even though some students are complaining that power point presentations are boring.... whatever. LISTEN TO WHAT HE SAYS because that is what's important!!! Content is what counts! Farmer is also a very nice guy, so take him. He will explain so well the IS LM model for you that you really could not wish for better. Overall, great professor.