John Neri

School: University of Maryland
Department: Economics
Location: College Park, MD
Overall Rating
rated by 20 students
Helpfulness
Clarity
Easiness
Rating Comment
Overall
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Clarity
Easiness
Pros: Personally, Neri is hands down my favorite professor at Maryland. He is funny, engaging, and offers help to the class. He also gives out extra credit if you go to class which helps your grade tremendously. Exams are curved alittle but the final grade is curved the most.
Cons: Lecture hall has 300+ kids
English was definitelly NOT the first language for these TA's
Exams were hard (you really need to study)
This class is notorious for being hard, and it is. It is not impossible to get an A though, all you have to do:
1. GO TO CLASS... material is explained and he gives out extra credit
2. Keep up with the material, it all builds on eachother and if you struggle in one area you can link the concepts
3. STUDY FOR THE EXAM... Yes they are hard and yes they are curved. I was terrified for the midterms and studied 4 days out about 5-8 hours a day and I got a A's on both exams and i'm no genius
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Probably one of the most overhyped courses in Maryland, but that's because people think they don't need to show up to class, and end up doing terribly. I actually found this course to be very accessible, and Prof. Neri is a great lecturer, who explains everything very well, and actually knows what he is teaching (the best one I ever had among all my econ classes). Even though attendance is not required, I found it helpful to go to class, just to hear the material explained, and to get the random extra credit opportunities he gives (usually in days that a lot of people don't show up, to reward the people who actually showed up; this semester he did it 3 times). More about the course, there are 6 problems sets, which are not hard if you attend class, two midterms, and a cumulative final (which are not overly difficult, since he covers everything in class). Prof. Neri is really helpful, and always willing to help, during office hours and even after class. He also offered a bit of a curve at the end of the semester, which usually varies from semester to semester. Take him, you won't regret it!
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knows his stuff, is helpful, and makes lecture as interesting as possible.
gives weekly problem sets for a grade. exams can be difficult, so do the problem sets he gives you and study. does random attendance checks for extra credit, so come to class.
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Pros: Gives 5pts extra credit for attendance.
Cons: Monotone voice, students correct his lectures so he doesn't seem to know what he's doing, doesn't curve until the end of the semester so you have no idea what you have all the way through.
DOESN"T RESPOND TO EMAILs ABOUT GRADES!
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Pros: Nice guy
Enthusiastic about his information
Gives extra credit for attendance three times a semester
Cons: Exams are beyond difficult
Easy to get lost
Can be extremely overwhelming
Go to class, and even if you're not going to take notes, stay until the end in case he decides to take attendance (10 extra credit points). The problem sets take a decent amount of time but they can help you learn the material and usually if you show your work and put forth effort, you'll get a 10/10. The course is hard, but it's possible to do well
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Pros: Great, amiable guy
TA's are lifesavers
Quizzes are easy
Cons: Class is an absolute must
Quiz/Problem Set every week
Exams can be very hard
You are not going to get an A in this course if you skip class and try and learn from the textbook. You also won't get an A if you go to class but don't pay attention (which might be hard, as I personally don't find the material too interesting.) His exams are hard and based off lectures. Though he puts PPTs online, they're only very basic outlines - you HAVE to go to class to get all the material.
That said, the professor himself is friendly and a very nice person. And definitely go to the TAs to go over your problem sets - they grade for completion towards the end, and you really need them to be correct to study from for exams.
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Pros: - Great teacher
- knows stuff really well
- jolly most of the time
- gives extra credit for attendance
Cons: - exams are hard
- if you fall behind its hard to catch up
- lot of material to cover for exams
- if you want to get an A, you need to keep up in class. Neri is a good professor and if you take good notes you will have a good review for exams. For exams, the best way to study is to review notes and slides. If you dont take notes or are just lazy and also dont read the book, the only way to get a decent grade is to study the slides. The slides are your best friend, remember that. If you dont understand something in the slides check it up the the book. Good luck.
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Pros: Amazing professor
Really knows what he is talking about
Such an interesting topic
Goes above and beyond what is covered in the textbook to give you a good, real-life perception of money and banking
If you make an effort to do well, he will reward you
Cons: Exams are some of the hardest I have ever taken
Doesn't curve hardly at all
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Pros: Knows the material he is teaching very well. He gives attendance extra credit at random points during the semester so go to class even if you just sit there.
Cons: His lectures can stray from the textbook material. Tests are very difficult in the way he words the questions.
Not even sure what the best way to study for this class was.
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Pros: Extremely nice professor.
Class material fits nicely together and comes back full circle.
Cons: The material is hard at first if you dont know what your doing.
Reading the textbook and coming to class is only part of the puzzle, you must really study!
This class can be as interesting and easy or as dull and difficult as you make it. You have to understand simple econ and be able to look at the bigger picture. I recommend reading the textbook before your lectures it REALLY helps! With some effort achieving an A isnt too difficult.
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Pros: 1. You can learn useful economic and financial concepts.
2. Pretty easy six problem sets.
3. Extra point for attendace.
4. Huge curve at the end of semester.
Cons: Difficult exams.....
He looks like a good professor, but it is a difficult course because exams are too difficult.
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Pros: Extra credit pop quizes, Problem sets help with understanding concepts
Cons: Hard exams, run on powerpoints, boring lectures
Prof. Neri, you all have probably heard of horror stories about this class already. And it's probably close to what you have heard already. The class is challenging and exam questions are hard. The curve in the class however is steep. As for the problem sets, it all depends on your TA, some TAs grade it hard as the case of mine and other TAs just give out grades. If you work moderately hard you should at least pull a B. an A requires considerable amount of work.
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Easiness
Pros: Neri is a great guy who is certainly passionate about what he teaches. He also gives a lot of extra credit and almost always ends class 15-20 minutes early. Also, the curve in this class is huge: an 81% final average earned you an A last semester.
Cons: -The exams are tough, but if you read the textbook, in addition to his slides, you should be fine. I think many people bombed the test because they only read the slides, which don't offer enough information to do well.
To get the extra credit, you have to attend class on the two or three days he decides to give it out.
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Pros: He is a really nice guy.
Cons: It's a really hard class.
He teaches in sort of a roundabout way that only economics professors know how to teach. It is because the material itself is extremely difficult to teach. If you attend lecture and do the homework you will get a C. If you're blessed with an awesome knack for econ then you'll get an A.
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Pros: Neri does the best he can with the difficult material and the huge, aging lecture hall
Uses his own website where he posts all of the course information so that it is easy to review before exams
Responsive to personal questions and comments after class
Cons: Terrible, terrible TAs who don't speak English. I was lucky enough to have a good one, but most of my friends were unable to communicate with theirs for help or to get their grades on homeworks changed when they were incorrect.
This class has the reputation of being challenging, but it is definitely manageable if you study and review the powerpoints. Attendance to class is not necessary, but you will miss out on extra credit opportunities if you do not go.
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Pros: Slides all online. Lecture not too bad. Kept it lively and interesting. Exams all multiple choice.
Cons: Homework was very tough and exams were also hard. A lot of information to take in.
Good professor in a not so interesting subject area.
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Pros: Funny teacher. Jokes alot and cuts class short alot. Explains very well and is very knowledgeable. light workload
Cons: Need to keep up with the book and powerpoints, Difficult class.
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Pros: Extra credit problem set
Occasionally drops short answer hints
Cons: Dull and boring
His graphs on the board can get confusing because he puts everything in one graph such as A is given and B increases is on the same graph as A decreases and B is given. Can make some graphs look really jumbled.
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Pros: best teacher out of econ
Cons: bad communication unless you continuously go to class
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His class is really hard. You have to read the chapters and study to do well in his class. He caters his class more so to the students who know/understand economics. However, you can tell he understands the material very well and is very helpful if you ask questions.

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