This course is challenging yet fun. You get to learn how to use stat software like stata (which presumably could be very useful for future relevant jobs, like economic consulting etc.) I highly recommend Phai as TA! She's very efficient during discussion session. Often I feel she clarified things that were not so clear to me during lecture.
This class is required for a lot of econ majors. I definitely recommend taking it with professor Reshef, he is very enthusiastic about the subject matter, and makes what could be an extremely boring and dry class, pretty entertaining.
It was a hard class. Some of the homework questions can be seen on the test but majority is based on lecture notes. The prof. is quite boring but knows his material well. Do not take the class unless you absolutely have to.
Ariel clearly tries to help students succeed, but as has been abundantly noted, the material is very difficult. Nevertheless, the curve is generous--I got a 62 on the first exam and ended up with a B+ in the class. The text is unclear but you have to read it to understand the theoretical aspect of the course: the lectures can be convoluted at times. The Econ department is notorious for having unhelpful TAs and this class is no exception.
Don't take this class unless you absolutely have to or have a strong interest in statistics. Prof. Reshef is slightly more helpful than the book, but not by much. Problem sets are time-consuming and sometimes difficult. Tests are almost impossible to ace.
Reshef is a great professor to talk to. He is very nice and friendly if you take the time to get to know him. I completely failed the midterm but he was very helpful and kind about it, and I ended up with a B in the class. The material is very useful and shows real applications of economics. Take this class if the rest of your schedule isnt too bad, because you will need to devote a lot of time.
Major: Economics (concentration in Public Policy) Reshef is a very cool guy, and he has an accent that somehow makes him easier to understand. He's very animated during lectures and it's easy to stay awake. Unfortunately the material is difficult, so the homeworks and tests are pretty hard but he provides excellent lecture notes online and if you put in the time you will do well in this class. I recommend it... especially because your alternative is 472, which is supposed to be much worse.
He made the tests extremely difficult and it was a lot of proofing. If you don't need this class or aren't really into statistics, I wouldn't advise you to take it. It's not really the professor's fault, it's just bad material.
I'm torn about this class. On one hand, you can see Reshef tries to throw in jokes into undoubtedly boring material, and approaches each class period with an outline. However, maybe because it was his first time teaching the class, I absorbed little from his lectures in the first half of the semester, and had to read the book. I never thought I'd say this but I wish we'd had more problem sets; he provided no practice questions so you didn't know how to study for the tests. I don't know about the final, but the midterm's average was a 64%. Overall, the material is important to learn, and maybe Reshef will be clearer his second time around.
I enjoyed the class. Reshef is a really good teacher, sometimes is a bit awkward but I think it keeps it interesting and keeps me on my toes. He does a good job explaining stuff and is good at responding to questions (and always does).
