John Vrooman - Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN

Professor: John Vrooman

Department: Economics

College: Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: ECON4550
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

No homework and one fun term paper at the end of class. The class is also interesting. Tests are straightforward and not hard. He literally tells you the questions beforehand. Vrooman is a little weird, but this is 100% the move for an upper level econ elective.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: ECON4550
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Vrooman does a much better job teaching the upper level Sports Econ than the intro. The smaller class size allows him to make the class way more interactive and his casual approach to teaching makes for a fun environment. Tests are not hard; essentially just regurgitating the graphs and stories he goes over in class.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: ECON4550
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

The upper-level sports econ seminar with Prof. Vrooman is a good option for the upper-level econ major elective. He goes into greater depth on some of the sports econ theory, which is fascinating, yet the class is not, by any means, difficult. A good class to take senior year. Three reasonable exams + semester paper. Fun professor, solid choice.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: ECON2180
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Vrooman is the man. Cares a lot about the material and if you are a sports fan, you should 100% take this class. By far the most interesting class I've taken at Vanderiblt. 3 tests that are all multiple choice and he tells you nearly every question.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: ECON2180
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

No homework, just studying and reviewing. The class is solely multiple choice tests. Approx. 1/3 of the questions are ambiguous so there is a luck factor, but if you take notes and study, you'll likely land in the A range. If you are a sports fan, this is a must! It'll change the way you view pro sports, and class will be the highlight of your day.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: ECON2180
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Attendance and good note-taking are essential. Vrooman's lectures are great, and he's an authority in sports econ - he can also be kind of headstrong and intimidating, and I'm not sure he's a nice guy at all. Still, fascinating subject matter if you like sports. A caveat: tests are somewhat ambiguous and super-valuable to your grade.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: ECON242
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Let's dispel with this fiction that the tests are hard. Seriously, though, they aren't. At all. It's completely *multiple choice*, and easy multiple choice at that. There's no homework, lectures are hilarious, and Vrooman literally, specifically tells you what's going to be on the test. How is anyone going to complain about a multiple choice exam?

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: ECON242
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Really interesting class, even if you're not into sports! Vrooman is so funny and nice. No homework. Attendance is a must to get notes but be warned the tests are NOT easy. 3 tests x 36 multiple choice that are pretty tricky; it's easy to miss a few or a lot each time and tank your grade.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: 242
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

At first, this class seemed really interesting and cool. Then the test rolls around. The test questions are arbitrary and the answers are difficult. I went to every class and still didn't do that well.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: ECON280
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

If you're taking 280, you should know what you're getting with Vrooman. He's all over the place during class, but the tests won't be that tough, and it'll be an easy A- or B+ with an A possible. 2 exams and 1 paper with pretty much no work throughout and you don't have to go. Downside is the exams take close to 4 hours.

Rating # 11

Overview:

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

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Nice guy, go to glass and a B is easily obtainable.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: ECON270
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Only 3 exams. No readings or hw. You only have to know the material in the lectures. Only complaint is that his class is 50 minutes, but he expects you to take 2 hours on the exam. So, you will either miss your next class or go it it and come back after. Very nice guy and helpful

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: ECON100
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Vrooman is a fun an entertaining teacher. He doesn't assign homework and the class has no textbook so the course is very easy as long as you attend class. The tests are simple multiple choice questions and you get to drop one of them. He's a nice guy, very smart, and loves sports. I'd absolutely recommend his class.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: ECON270
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Great class, you'll learn a lot and I like his teaching style as he repeats the most important things several times and really emphasizes them so that I've left this class actually remembering the material. Don't skip class, although it's interesting enough that you should want to go. It'll help you better understand both sports and econ in general

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: ECON100
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

If you go to every class and study the old tests, this class is very easy. That said, Vrooman isn't a very good professor at all. He's completely unavailable outside of class, and his lectures can be unclear and confusing. Don't expect to learn a lot. You learn way more in AP Econ than this class.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: ECON100
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Professor Vrooman was a huge disappointment. He showed up to class late every day and was unavailable outside of class. The examples he used were often a force, and more confusing than helpful. He should spend less time trying to make his students think he's cool and more time actually teaching economic principles. I feel like I learned nothing.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: ECON280
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Great class and made me look at sports in a whole new way. A bonus is that you don't have to buy a textbook. A drawback is that the tests take forever (I averaged 3-4 hrs./test) and there are three of them.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: ECON101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

This class is great if you're happy with a B and have no desire to take any future economics classes. Vrooman mispeaks frequently in lectures, tries to use two entirely different examples at the same time, and only teaches new material in the last 10 minutes. The only way to do well is to get old tests and memorize Vrooman's cryptic answers.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: ECON101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

This professor greatly disappointed me. His class is easy for those who normally average Cs and below, but it's quite hard for people who usually get As to get As in this class. Also, I learned basically nothing compared to AP Macroeconomics in high school

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: ECON100
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

The best!