Todd Idson - Boston University, Boston, MA

Professor: Todd Idson

Department: Economics

College: Boston University, Boston, MA

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: EC101
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

As many before me have said, I can agree that he is pretty bland in lectures. However, I can tell he cares for the success of the students and explains all the material. For this reason, I believe he made a great professor to have for economics since he makes it manageable; the content is boring, not him.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: EC101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

The subject itself is not hard, but the way Idson sets up this class is way to hard. 100% of your grade is based off of the midterms and the final, no homework grade and no attendance grade. Hes a nice guy but his lectures are very boring and he often goes off topic, talking about his son playing the cello. Do yourself a favor and take Watson

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: EC101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Idson really makes it clear that your test grades are what matters for your final grade. Lectures were rather tiresome, and he doesn't allow computers in class so you have to take handwritten notes. I got pretty good grades just by studying the textbook and his slides. Midterms and final are very similar to the practice exams and problem sets.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: EC385
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Idson is a good guy and clearly understands the material he covers in class. His grading policy is flexible and he wants his students to do well. His lectures are a bit boring and he is fairly monotonic during class. If you see him during office hours we will answer any of your questions fully. The tests are essentially copies of his problem sets.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: EC101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Attendance is not mandatory and his lectures are similar to the textbook info, so if you study from the textbook, lecture is practically the same. He is very detailed during lectures and spends too much time on some concepts over others. Doesn't allow laptops, so note taking gets tedious.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: EC101
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

You have 2 midterms and a final exam: all multiple choice. If you go to every lecture, you don't need to read the book. Sometimes he can be interesting, but his handwriting is impossible to read so you have to listen and keep up. He gives you study guides for exams and although some questions are exactly the same, 80% of the real exam is harder.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: EC101
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Honestly, I didn't go to many lectures but I'd say I definitely understand the concepts of microeconomics. He basically reads off the slides and teaches the textbook so for those cold days when you don't wanna get out of bed you can definitely stay caught up by reading the textbook. On the days I did go to lecture, it was because he was a nice guy.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: EC101
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Professor Idson is a great lecturer who can crack some very funny jokes. He is great at explaining concepts and is easy to follow if you study outside of class. All his tests are multiple choice and are not too bad if you do the problem sets.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: EC101
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Idson is not one to waste time. He starts every class on time and waits for no one, and each lecture is very organized. The tests comprise the entire grade, but if you study the textbook and go over practice questions/tests, you'll be fine. You don't necessarily have to go to class to do well, so long as you study. Overall a good professor!

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: EC101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Lectures are very tiring and monotonous, grades solely depend on tests. Basically, getting a good grade in this class can be achieved by reading the slides and obviously the textbook material.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: EC101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Great Professor.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: EC101
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

It is a easy course and test is not so hard. In fact, the second midterm is the easiest test I have ever taken, most of the problems are from the practice test and all of them are multiple choice and you can even get a 100 if you prepare well. Those who think these tests are really hard are guys never read textbook and never go to the lectures.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: EC101
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Idson is a pretty good lecturer you actually learn economics in his class. His midterm is a breeze and you should ace it. His final is realy really hard and no one gets a 100 on that test. If you can even manage an A- on the final then you get an A.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: EC101
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

prof. idson is my first professor at BU. he is really really great. There are only 3 tests to determine your grade so this class is not very stressful. NO HOMEWORK, ATTENDENCE IS NOT MENDETORY. what's more, he is caring and halirioius. I have registered EC203 from him. enjoy his class.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: EC101
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

I never went to lecture and scored above average on all exams. Since his lectures are straight from the book, it's very face-value. I really enjoyed his class, however. Of the few times I went, he really changed my thinking on a lot of things and he's very concise on the practice exams being exactly the real exam.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: EC101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Very boring professor but I guess that is expected in an intro micro class. He reads off the slides and can go on random tangents. Tests are hard but do all the problem sets and practice exams.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: EC101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Definitely knew his material but every lecture was basically just reading straight out of the textbook. Rambles a lot and easily gets off topic and was very unhelpful when going to office hours for clarification on topics. Overall a nice guy but pretty boring as a professor

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: EC101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

For me, Professor Idson is a fairly good lecturer. His lecture is clear and logical. It is true that the test is harder than what he has covered in the lecture. However, If you do all homework and mock tests you can get; make sure you understand well of them, you will be fine. The mean of the first test is about a C- and I get a B.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: EC101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

so so so boring. He reads from slides. Attendance is not mandatory and lectures are straight from the textbook.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: EC101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

He is a good lecturer, good at elaborating and making connections to real scenario. But, his exam is overly difficult compare to concepts I learned from class. There are a lot of application problems, so it is not enough to just attend lecture and take notes. You might suppose to solve many sample problems and get used to it. Honestly, not easy