bank on the curve. his class is awful. he does change his grading scale so if you make any attempt at all you can alteast make a C. I used to spend hours studying.. but after getting a high C on the 1st exam i figured why put in all the effort if it doesnt make a difference. From then on, i didnt put my effort in and still received the same grades. the rough part is that his exams are only 25 questions..so if you miss a few, you're already in the low B range. Overall, he's okay. he gives a huge curve because the class averages on exams are always in the 50's... but i wish he would have improved his teaching and/or exams instead of just curving.

Pros: no hw, no quizzes

Cons: 4 tests, 25% each

Cothren, Cothren, Cothren..where to start...

He is very knowledgeable about the subject. Translating that to his students is not one of his strong points. There were many nights where I would read the book and go to class feeling like I knew the subject so well, only to listen to his lecture and get confused. I liked the book he used because it explained concepts with ease but he uses random equations and models that are not mentioned in the book. His tests were pretty hard, hence he has a huge curve. This was my hardest class so far at tech. I ended up with an A for the year but I really had to earn it. If you're willing to put in the work then take his class. If not go for another teacher.

I had to take it as a major requirement and I was told early on that it was not a terribly difficult class, but Cothren seem to be an exception. He's a nice enough guy, and he tries to make jokes, but when it comes to grades he's very stringent. Don't expect any special cases, BUT he's very good about curving the entire class' final grade, so that's a plus. Oh, and his tests were a bitch.

Pros: Absolutely none.

Cons: WORST PROFESSOR AT VIRGINIA TECH.

DO NOT TAKE COTHREN. The worst teacher I have ever had in my entire college career. Does not care about his students. After exam #2 the class average was a 55%. His grading scale is : >80 (A), 70-80 (B), 60-70 (C), 50-60 (D). Sad that with such a large curve it is still impossible to do well. EXAMPLE: After exam #2 I did not understand why 2 of the questions I got wrong were wrong. Went to the TA and the TA said the answers were right and that he did not understand how they could be wrong. Went to Cothren and he simply stated "the TA does not know what he is talking about." Pretty much manipulated the answer to be right but had no evidence to back it up. This guy should be fired. I thought we went to Virginia Tech...

Cothren is as hard as people make him out to be. You do not need to pay attention to his lectures because at test time he will post a Sample Test with about 80-90 questions. That will be his test. THe only difference is that he will change a few word here and there to trick you, so all you really need to do is just memorize those sample questions really well.

I hate ECON in general, and Cothren was one of the hardest teachers I've ever had. I read and did the homework but econ is so subjective that when I tried to put my 2cents in about why I chose a certain answer, he would just say it was wrong.

Pros: No homework or out of class assignments to speak of.

No required attendance.

Cons: No possibility of boosting grade with out of class assignments.

Teaching style is overly complicated, hard to follow at times.

Doesn't really teach geared toward the test, you need to study old tests and koofers to really understand the material.

Definitely provides a healthy curve which is welcome. The class is dry and you'll most likely find yourself bored most of the time. Tests are pretty heavily based off of older tests which is helpful, but he tends to switch around little things and questions, which can be very frustrating. I feel as though coming out of the class I didn't really gain much from the class or material (and I did attend every class).

Pros: He knows his stuff...and you actually learn something...He does curve everyones grade by like a letter at the end (because everyone is failing...)

Cons: HIS TESTS ARE TERRIBLE. You can understand the material as well as you possibly can and you wont make it out of a test with more than a C. Unless you are a super hero. Also his class will put you to sleep. Dont both going.

Cotheren is a super smart guy, knows his econ through and through, however its obvious he is used to teaching higher level econ courses and has absolutely NO CLUE how to relay basic econ information to students in an intro course. His tests are hard, flat out, and quizes almost weekly (due fridays) are rough as well, even if you do get to use the book.

He is not the most interesting professor but he does prepare you well for the exams if you go to class. I had it at 8am which was a killer and hard to go to, but I did MUCH better on the exams that I actually went to class for. Go to review sessions after quizzes, he explains tthe material much better for the exam during those.

Cothren expects everyone in his class to live and breathe econ and gets angry when surprise... people aren't excited to be in his class at 8am Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. His tests are also unnecessarily complicated. He designs questions to be so complex that it is possible to know the right answer and get it wrong.

Very knowledgeable, but he talks to the class like everyone else is economists. Confusing to understand, and tests are pretty hard, but he does supply sample questions that he bases the test off of. Study a lot and you'll be alright.



He also tries to throw jokes in, but if you think he's funny then I'm God.

There is no homework, just 4 tests to make up your grade. that seems awesome, except that he is one of the most boring professors and makes his tests WAY more challenging then they need to be for an intro econ class.

Pros: No homework!

Cons: No homework

Can be difficult to prepare for tests. He gives practice questions and such, but nevertheless, much of the tests seem surprising and blatantly tricky

puts all class notes on blackboard so you don't really need to go to class. gives random extra credit for going though and will highlight things that will be on his test.

Pros: he knows his subject

Cons: he doesnt know how to teach it

tough to grasp most concepts, there are probably better teachers

Pros: none

Cons: exams are really hard.

study practice questions and old tests for your exams.

very very republican. Only sees things his way

Cons: very dry lecture

Pros: Knowledgeable

Cons: Cannot communicate material

Tests are ridiculous

It is clear that Cothren knows what he is talking about. Unfortunately, he seems far more interested in showing off his knowledge than in communicating it in a way that students can understand. Like the vast majority of the students in this class, I am not an Econ major but was required to take this class. However, Cothren assumes that the class has a background in Economics and often uses terms that the rest of the class and myself did not understand. You get the feeling that he is trying to confuse you. As far as his tests go, I read the book every day and memorized every word of his lectures and ended up with a C for the class. Taking his exams are more comparable to solving a Sudoku than to testing your knowledge as they are clearly designed to trick you. I've had some bad professors but Cothren is most likely the worst. If at all possible, don't take his class. If you don't have a choice, take it pass/fail.