ECON 3720

I think I am the first one to say that econometrics is my favorite econ class at UVA. However, I know that is 100% due to the teacher. UVA is lucky to have him as are you if you take his class.

This is the class structure:
4 exams each worth 15%
1 project worth 20%
HW 15%
In Class questions (pollev) 5%

The class is definitely manageable. The HW (1x a week) is on cengage so whenever you get it wrong you know why. No endless nights being stuck on questions because there is zero explenation. The exams are also very straight forward. He prepares you well and doesn't quiz on anything you didnt actually learn but "should have deducted" like lots of other econ classes may (depending on the teacher). If you pay attention in class and study beforehand you will do well. He is also always will to help whenever.

There is zero question. If you are going to take econometrics take it with ruediger, otherwise econemetrics will be make for a terrible semester with other teachers

Professor Ruediger is hands down the best econ professor I have taken so far at UVA. After hearing tons of horror stories about econometrics I was terrified of taking this course, but Professor Ruediger made it fun by applying real world examples and really only putting an emphasis on things that would be useful to know in the future. I have found that what you put in, is what you're going to get out of it with him- make sure you understand the slides very thoroughly, and especially the examples he does with stata, it will really help come test time. He very clearly wants to see his students succeed, and is always willing to give a helping hand if you have any questions related, or even completely irrelevant to the course. I would strongly advise you take this course with him if you can help it, especially compared to some other options.

Take this class with Ruediger. Stefan is a great guy who you can tell really likes to interact with students and help them. He doesn't make the class unnecessarily hard like other teachers, and the grading is pretty lenient. This class has problem sets for homework, three exams + a final, and a project that encompasses everything you do all year but isn't super stressful. Even if the class itself is pretty dry(it's a math class in reality with some econ thrown in), Stefan really teaches to student feedback, so he makes the best out of it. All in all, much better than any other econometrics teacher from what I've heard.

From what I understand about other instructors, Ruediger is definitely the best one-- personally I like classes that are well structured with well-defined due dates and things like that, but this class is very prone to changing (though it's always to the student's benefit. I never did this but I'm pretty sure that If you asked for an extension on something he would just give it to everyone). The homeworks are somewhat difficult but made easy by giving you three attempts; the exams are graded very leniently (with half credit given back for doing test corrections). The final paper was good for me because I was fortunate to have good group mates, and he graded it very leniently. My only major gripe with this class was that I thought that the lectures were a little bland with the intense focus on proving concepts thoroughly instead of applying things. Also, I usually attended class through zoom for reasons not relating to the course at all so take that last comment as you will (and I would add that the class is live, on zoom, and recorded, but he wasn't too good about always starting recordings).
Overall, I didn't find the content to be what I expected, but I still found it mildly interesting and not too stressful because Ruediger really seemed to want everyone to do well (he's also just a nice guy).

I highly recommend taking econometrics with Ruediger! He's not the best at explaining concepts sometimes but the textbook is helpful and straightforward. If you do have questions, don't be afraid to ask him because he genuinely does want everyone to succeed. You can attend lectures in person or online (zoom) which was amazing. The homeworks were very easy because you get multiple tries but it can be time-consuming. There's a semester-long research project which was also VERY time-consuming but it definitely helped me understand concepts better. You get to choose your own research question so make it something you're interested in and it won't feel like busy work! The exams were not too bad. The first exam is pretty easy and then they kinda get progressively harder. There are a total of 3 midterm exams and 1 final exam. Since the lowest exam score is dropped, I did not have to take the final and ended up with a grade I was very happy with. He provides concepts to study before exams and I would recommend studying from his slides than using the textbook

Take this class with Ruediger - wait a semester if you have to. I was busy with a lot of other things and took 3720 as a last minute decision, but he made the class one of my easier ones (ended with an A). I probably spent an average of two hours on this class a week, and one or two hours extra before exams. If you understand the STATA on the HW (really easy to figure out) you will end with at least a A- in this class. I do not kid in you in saying that he made the class interesting and engaging and you learn a lot, while making the workload very light. He is a great man and great teacher and you have to take this class with him!

This is by far the best econ course I've taken at UVA. He's an extremely nice guy that really cares about all his students even if he has 180 of them. The lectures are some times a little dense as he likes to show a lot of derivatives that you don't need to know they just help some people understand the ideas better. They just confused me. The tests are fairly easy if you can do the Stata problems on the HW well. There is also a test bank online for all his MC for the test just look some practice questions up and you'll find it. Please take his class you're doing yourself a favor.

I took this class with Ruediger because I had heard some great things about him. While he is a smart professor, I would not say that he is a particularly good professor. The homeworks have almost nothing to do what we learned in class and even less to do with what will be on the exam. We are never taught stata, besides some in class examples, and that is what we are shown on the exams. You do get one drop on exams so you may not have to take the final but the exams are tough so don't bank on this. I had friends who took the class with other professors and heard horror stories but this class Ruediger is not a walk in the park by any means. #tCFfall22

Dr. Ruediger was a great way to take Econometrics, probably the best available at UVA from what I have heard of the other profs. He drops the lowest exam and curves so that the average of the three highest scores is 100, which is a tremendous help. For context, the first exam was curved by 9 points, the second by 7, and the third by 21. They are tough but definitely doable if you put work in and understand the slides. Ruediger is super helpful during office hours, especially with the research paper. The pollev questions during class are a really good way to test understanding during the lecture. Ruediger also makes sure to actually review things people are unsure about if a pattern shows up in the feedback (which is every class). He also has review days before the exam, which are extremely helpful for everyone and give a good summary of what will be on the exams. Definitely recommend taking Econometrics with Ruediger if possible!

Based on what I've heard from students in other classes, Ruediger is the best professor to take Econometrics with. I personally struggled to follow his lectures at times, but I still managed to get an A in the class by reading the textbook before exams! I actually cannot recommend this enough - the textbook is straightforward and allows you to put the material in context and make more sense of everything you learned in class at your own pace. His midterms are long and time-wise difficult but he generously curved our grades. I did better than the average usually which I credit entirely to reading the book as I hardly paid attention in class. The group project was not fun and he actually grades pretty harshly!! So you definitely need to be prepared to put in actual work for this group project. Its manageable but definitely not a walk in the park.