Genuinely a great guy. Decent curve at the end (I think 88 was an A and 80 was an A-), and optional dutch knockout (although with fluff grades throughout the semester for quizzes, problem sets (if you do them well), eco career participation, and a bit of extra credit you are probably better off not doing the knockout). Problem sets were hard but not graded too harshly and most TAs would give you help just about getting you to the answer if you asked enough questions - so start early enough to meet with TAs before they are due. Lecture was fast but he posted his slides (which he wrote out live time during lecture, which was really nice). There were post lecture quizzes that were graded for completion and helpful to force you to understand the lecture content. He posted video solutions of the quizzes that were great review and his extra discussion sessions were also very helpful review (sometimes the examples he used in these were pretty close to problems on the exam). Santugini did not really have set office hours but was pretty open to scheduling them any time or just answering questions on teams. (although close to exams he would sometimes get a little overwhelmed with the questions and prep and would stop answering, so try to get your questions in a little early.) I did not read the textbook. Exams: I thought I did really poorly on the first, but the grading is super lenient especially for mathematical errors. Overall, I'm glad I took this with Santugini because he is super kind, the class is very do-able, and you will get a good understanding of the material.

Alex Sheng is an awesome TA. Smart, funny, caring. He will answer all of your problem set questions. Sometimes he would go through the practice problems a little fast in class, but was very open to stopping and answering any questions (just speak up!). This had the added benefit of allowing us to get out of discussion early at times. He would also host extra office hours sometimes before exams or before problem sets were due because he is the goat.

This is definitely one of the hardest classes I've taken at UVA. Prof Santugini is super sweet, but his lectures go really fast and his exams are tough. To prepare for them, I recommend redoing the lecture quizzes, solving the "challenge questions" he gives you in class, and just doing every type of problem until you are able to get it 100% right. The TA's were really hit or miss: they either helped you a lot on the hws or just gave you vague answers when you asked questions. Find study buddies in this class, practice a LOT, and take advantage of Santugini's office hours and the additional videos he provides. Only good thing about this class is that the curve is massive.

This is my favorite class I have taken at UVA so far. I LOVED Professor Santugini. He is incredibly engaging and kind. I have never had another professor who cares as much about his students as Professor Santugini. On non-exam weeks, I spent less than 1 hour on this class. I usually spent around 10-15 hours preparing for the midterms, and I earned a very high A on both. For a 4 credit class, I felt like I had way less work than expected. I procrastinated my studying to the week of the exams, but if you practiced a little each week, you wouldn't need to spend as much time studying. The class is very math-heavy, but the concepts are not very difficult. More than anything, this class requires a lot of practice. The homeworks are challenging, but the TAs are very helpful and sometimes give you the answers. The midterms and final are significantly easier than the homework assignments. The class is heavily curved at the end.

Like people have said, Marc is an extremely enthusiastic professor and overall nice guy. He is passionate about econ in a way I will never understand. Fall 2021 the grade breakdown was two midterms each worth 24%, cumulative final (35%), homework assignments (10%), lecture quizzes (2%), professional career development (5%). Lecture quizzes are graded for completion after every class. His lectures are extremely fast paced and you definitely have to do a LOT of work outside of class if you want to excel. He does provide a lot of review materials (practice problems, additional review sessions) if you do have extra time to put into this class. My advice is: try to do all the problems he assigns/doesn't assign and take this class during a semester where you don't have many other classes. #tCFfall2021

Really really nice guy and person, definitely go to his office hours if you're struggling/ just want some advice about Econ. He really cares about his students and is great. That said, this class is definitely really challenging and I would not say this is a fun class at all.

Santugini says himself that he's the most computational professor of 3010, so if you're not the best at math like me I'd honestly recommend a different professor.

Although this class is incredibly challenging, I really enjoyed it. Prof. Santugini is the man. By far he handled the online learning better than any other professor I had. He encourages you to send him questions via email, teams, collab and really cares about learning. He is incredibly flexible if you want to schedule a zoom call and genuinely cares about his students. I never resented the challenge of this class, and he makes it clear that it is not supposed to be easy. That being said, you need to have good math skills and a strong understanding of calculus to take this class. I would recommend asking as many questions as you need in order to understand homework questions, lecture quizzes, midterms, etc because the TAs and Santugini are very receptive and helpful. The homeworks and exams were hard, but if you have an awesome homework group (a must!) then this class would be too bad. #tCF2020

Welcome to what I like to call "Calculus with Letters 101." Don't take all of these comments praising Santugini at face value. Is he cheery and fun? Yes, absolutely. Does this make someone an effective professor? Not necessarily.
The problem with this class is that the lecture leaves no time to think. Santugini will say, "Ok! Do this problem now on your own!" In the most enthusiastic manner imaginable. He will wait approximately 10 seconds. Then, he will do the problem himself and take about two minutes to do so. You will then move on while scrambling to copy down the solution before it gets erased. This is the pace of the class. The homework is rough and the exams are extremely challenging. I'll get downvoted for daring to criticize everyone's favorite god/soccer dad/best friend Santugini, but for those of you who have yet to take this course, consider a different professor. Santugini's energy is difficult to keep up with, and with content as difficult as Calculus with Letters, you will need time to breathe in lectures. That is my honest opinion and I hope it helps at least one person reading this.

With this review coming a semester late, this class is definitely tougher than ECON 2010 and may be considered a weed-out between those who want to continue studying Econ and those who don't. That being said, I'm happy I enrolled in Professor Santugini's class after studying in his ECON 2010 lecture the previous semester.

In terms of math, much of the course involves linear graphs, although there is some calculus involved. Most of that is basic derivatives though. There is a lot of dense material for this class however, so do not fall behind unless you want to see your grade tank. Both of the midterms were pretty tough, but there's also Dutch knockout if you need it after your final. Be sure to allocate enough time during your week toward the group problem sets, as most of these examples are pretty abstract and involve long and tough algebra. If you can get through these sets though, you can apply some of what you figured out in the problems toward the tests.

Although this course is tough, Professor Santugini is a nice guy who is always open with his office hours to clear any issues you encounter with the material. I liked how he quizzed us on what we learned at the end of each lecture to make sure we were following along with him. He also posted answers to each of these quizzes and emailed us explanations on how much credit we received based off our answers. If you're striving toward an Econ major, take this required class with Santugini.

This is the best class I have ever taken at UVA. The professor is very passionate about the material, upbeat, and very approachable. The material was very interesting. Overall, I would absolutely recommend this class.

Marc is a great professor and wants his students to succeed but this class is still very difficult. He requires you to do no outside reading and tests you on what he teaches in class. If you take this class make sure you go to lecture and write down EVERYTHING he says even if you don't understand it at the time. He was very helpful during office hours and made time to meet when I couldn't come during normal times.