advanced macroeconomics wtf !!!!

x keo21

omg what the F*** . I hope i'm no the only one finding this class an absolute horrible. Complete nightmare of a course. I know Ivan Pastine hasnt got great reveiws on boards, but seriously , this is a joke
There's NO TEXTBOOK
His notes are like a four year old wrote them ( i dont lie)
NO Past Exam PApers
the maths is abismal

If i fail this in 3rd year, FINAL YEAR, i might not come back
but first when is this midterm?

Waltons

Midterm's on Friday, March 28.
Been finding this a bit odd too, his notes are pretty bad so I started taking my own, but I don't really think he can be blamed for no past papers; it's his first year taking the course. He might provide a sample paper closer to the date, I dunno.
Haven't given the homeworks too much of a shot yet but I agree, they seem quite hard.

The_Minister

He was asked to put the syllabus for the course up a week ago, and still hasn't.
I will fail that course if he doesn't start providing some basis for personal study.

Assets Model

OH god poor you guys we had vinnie last year and he was pretty good he was pretty much rehashing brendan walsh's notes though could you not get hold if vinnie's notes?

THe worst thing about Ivan is that he NEVER answers emails and in my experience isn't there during office hours either.

Waltons

Unfortunately it's pretty much a completely different course from last year, by the looks of it

FledNanders

I'm doing this aswell. Was there tutorials last year?
He flies through stuff too quick, writes stuff down way too shabbily, no past exams, completely different course from last year, no textbook, really hard material = FAIL. (for me anyways)

I've looked at the first couple of homeworks but there's absolutely no way I can get through them without having the answer sheet beside me at all times and looking at it every 2 seconds

The_Minister

He has now put up a syllabus (of kinds).
Thank you, mysterious Communications and IT Officer;)

EDIT:
You know what? I have an essay to do today, but tomorrow I'm going to head down to the library, and start studying as well as I can by using random books from the shelves.If I find anything good on a topic, I'll post it up.

FledNanders

reckon ill jjst do that aswell, there's bound to be something in there that's better than the scrawls he puts up

The_Minister

FledNanders wrote: »

reckon ill jjst do that aswell, there's bound to be something in there that's better than the scrawls he puts up

If you find something good, then post it up.

All together now
/sings
We will overcome......

Tan Princess

FledNanders wrote: »

I'm doing this aswell. Was there tutorials last year?
He flies through stuff too quick, writes stuff down way too shabbily, no past exams, completely different course from last year, no textbook, really hard material = FAIL. (for me anyways)

I've looked at the first couple of homeworks but there's absolutely no way I can get through them without having the answer sheet beside me at all times and looking at it every 2 seconds

Yeah there were tutorials every week for micro and macro last year. Its a disgrace they don't have any this year. FFS how are you supposed to learn the hard stuff.

FledNanders

no tutorials for advanced micro OR macro this year.
But in fairness we had a good lecturer/notes/past exams etc for micro so we were ok. For macro we're just plain f**ked

Assets Model

You should get your class rep to approach Rodney, he is nice and was pretty decent last year when we had problems getting the results of our christmas exams, poxy Ivan didn't correct the exams until March!

The_Minister

Assets Model wrote: »

You should get your class rep to approach Rodney, he is nice and was pretty decent last year when we had problems getting the results of our christmas exams, poxy Ivan didn't correct the exams until March!

There is no 3rd year Economics rep, but the Comm & IT Officer was rep last year, so I think that he might just make his way down to Rodney......don't ask how I know though.

Assets Model

**** no SU Rep? Our last year was v.good which helped. I'd say its defo worth giving Rodney a shout though. He knows what Ivan is like.

x keo21

thought id bring this thread back from the dead.

the midterm today was more than fair i would say, The mcq were actually a test of the knowlege of the course as opposed to those 'IQ' tests they would give in 1st & 2nd year. Seems that being the first years in the modular system was bad as afar as continuous assesment goes ( standard wise), but the econ department seem to be getting it right now. Micro was very do-able also last semester i thought.

Hope everyone did well

btw Ivan is a very nice person, very approachable, was very willing to answer questions i had.The math is very easy once you go through it in steps. maybe i was a little ott in the op.
Oh well, Better not speak to soon

The_Minister

I have to agree.
The exam was very fair, and I have to say, that while the notes look incredibly evil, once you adjust to having to read slower, and get used to his handwriting, they are just detailed enough to make sense, but not detailed enough to be a pain.

Pastine is incredibly helpful, and when I asked him a stupid question he just gave me the answer in a friendly manner (unlike certain other economics lecturers).

Cue Pretty*Monster lecturing us now for questioning our lecturers.

pretty*monster

Just accept that I'm always right.

The_Minister

pretty*monster wrote: »

Just accept that I'm always right.

Never.

pretty*monster

Your loss.