Easily my favorite class of the semester — Engers does a really great job organizing the material (and all the slides are uploaded) and presenting it in class, and since the class size is pretty small there's plenty of opportunities to ask questions during lecture if you don't get anything. I almost never did any of the assigned textbooks readings but was still fine from just studying the lecture slides + my notes. The class name "Mathematical" might sound scary when compared to the more standard 3010, but from my experience comparing workloads with a friend who took 3010 at the same time, there isn't too much of a difference in terms of the actual mathematical difficulty of the assigned homework problems. You only really need basic understanding of derivatives anyways — the entire class revolves around optimizing functions, so there's basically zero integration needed. It sometimes helps if you know Lagrangians, but everything can be done by simply maximizing functions in the normal way. I think what makes the class "mathematical" is that we probably spent more time in lecture going over the math that derives the various economic concepts — stuff like demand curves, etc. If you're not into that this class might not be for you, but I think it really helps with understanding the underlying reasoning of *why* you're doing what you're doing.
The exams are quite tricky, especially compared to 3010, but Engers curves the class quite generously. I scored around a B average percentage between the midterm/final and I ended up with an A in the class.

Maxim is so awesome as an Econ Professor! Yes this is a hard course but his course design makes everything so clear and easy to follow. Taking this course is definitely my best decision at UVA(however beware if you really have difficulty in calculus). The class is much smaller than 301 which makes it easier to discuss and ask questions whenever you have trouble to follow along, and your classmates are all very smart people. Strongly recommend!!

Engers is so wonderful- if you enjoy math and plan to continue with econ especially, I highly recommend pushing yourself and taking this course. It is more about understanding the concepts (math and econ) behind what you're doing than about memorizing random stuff (which I really enjoyed), and his lectures are so so interesting, and very clear. Office hours with the TA are a must to really reinforce the concepts, and also, office hours with Engers are enjoyable.

Definitely one of the best professors I had so far. Class at first might be intimidating, but bear with it and you will learn so much. Professor Engers is a great at explaining the concepts and he keeps the pace reasonably fast so that you are forced to pay attention in class. Homework given by Dan (the TA) is tough and takes a lot of hours at first (hw seems to get easier as the course goes along tho). Be sure that you're comfortable with Calc 3 level math, although I don't think we used that much math in class. He posts all of his lecture slides that are very detailed so no note taking required (just sit and pay attention). I definitely will miss this class next semester.

Prof. Engers is one of the best professors I've had at UVA. The course is mathematically and generally challenging, but I think the entire class is worth it. The homework and the midterm are both difficult, but the curve at the end is generous.

Extremely difficult and extremely rewarding. You will learn a lot and make terrible grades. However, there is an extremely generous curve at the end, so don't worry about your grade; everyone basically makes it out with A/B. You'll have to invest a fair amount of time into the problem sets. Midterm/Final are designed to have a few near-impossible problems, but if you try your best and write something down, your final grade ends up okay. I averaged 80's/90's on the problem sets, got a near-average score on the midterm, and probably did terribly on the final, but ended up okay. I highly recommend this course for the amount of economics knowledge that you'll learn, and Engers is a great professor. Very good experience.

I went into this class having taken only through calc 2 in high school. It was initially quite a bit of catch up, Going into this class already knowing partial derivatives, la grangians, etc., will be very beneficial. That being said, it's an extremely rewarding class that teaches and requires a high level of thought. My suggestion for approaching this course is to establish a regular group to work on the problem sets together. You'll get much better grades on them and will come away understanding everything much better. Ultimately, because everyone who takes this would have gotten an A in 3010, it's curved much more generously than almost any other course in the econ department.

This class is definitely what you make of it in terms of time and effort, and I think the curve really does help a lot and allows you to worry less about your grade and more about learning. Once you learn how you best study for this class, it becomes more manageable and less difficult than it seems at first. The textbook is a really good one, but the lectures make up the core of the class and you really only need the textbook to supplement concepts you have trouble understanding (and the appendices are very helpful for problem sets!) - so while you really should pay attention to every lecture, that + homeworks essentially make up the whole of the class other than the exams. Plus, Maxim is very knowledgable and has a good sense of humor, so they go by fast. It's a really good class to take if you're interested in economics and is really good preparation for any other class in the field - a great first look into the real world of economics for sure!

I have so many mixed feelings on this course. It moves incredibly fast and the problem sets can get very difficult. Only take this class if you have a lot of time to devote to it. However, Varian (the textbook) is helpful and to the point and you will learn so much from this class. The midterm is easier than the problem sets are. The final is really hard but overall the class is curved. This class is extremely challenging, but you will get out of it what you put into it. Only take it if you are really committed but Engers is great- lectures are long and fast but interesting. Also don't be too freaked out by the readiness test, I got a 15 on it and ended up with an A in the class.

Lectures w/ slides, and homework online. Make sure you read the book and look over the slides before the class or else you will be lost. I wouldn't recommend this class because it moves VERY fast. Like 3 chapters per lecture.

However it was a challenging class, but the tests were fair, and the curve is pretty good. I failed the midterm, but got a B- in the class.