AP Macroeconomics Reviews

Mr. Burns is an amazing teacher!

For anyone interested in macro or micro economics, I definitely suggest Mr. Burns as your teacher! He was an incredible teacher that took the time to help all of his students truly prepare for the AP exam! Not only was his class super interesting, but it also really prepared me for every single topic that could be present on the test. I loved this class so much! But, one of the main reasons I loved this class was due to it helping me understand real world examples of problems with our economy. Throughout the entire class, I learned a lot about government policies and how they influence the economy. But, instead of only focusing on the view from textbooks, Mr. Burns would use real world examples, like inflation in our current system for example, and demonstrate different methods of how it can be fixed in our economy. Not only that, but Mr. Burns would have us look at economic problems from both sides to truly understand both sides of the issue. For example, when looking at raising the minimum wage or whether the government should intervene in a market failure, there are costs and benefits to both sides. All in all, I learned so much in this class and highly suggest people to chose Mr. Burns as their teacher!

Amazing class!!

Did you feel this class prepared you for the AP exam?

Definitely! I think the course covers all the topics needed to understand the subject in-depth and Mr. Burns always provides detailed feedback on all your assignments so you're sure you understand the subject. I like the revision and the daily MCQs you complete even after the course ends in January and I found it as an invaluable tool to keep in touch with the subject even after the learning part of the course is over. 

I strongly suggest watching ReviewEcon and ACDC Econ videos starting in early April till the date of the exam - I found it as a crucial review tool for my exams.

How many hours of work per day or per week did you generally put into this class?

6-7. Assignments plus FRQs plus the econ game and review tools required me to spend around an hour or hour and a half per day.

Are there any particularly favorite assignments that you found especially valuable?

I really loved the games - I found it very helpful to understand the subject in depth and apply the concepts we learned in the textbook.

Did this class enhance your interest in the subject?

This class made me want to choose economics as a major in college!

Did you find your communications with other students to be interesting or valuable?

I enjoyed the collaborative games - It was nice to bounce ideas off each other as game strategies and strengthen our understanding of the concepts in the process.

What sort of student would do well in this class? Would you recommend this class to other students (if they are willing to work hard!)?

I think any student who is curious about understanding the world around them and seeking more material in the daily political/economic discourse would love and benefit from this class! Before I took this class, I would blindly accept a side's economic beliefs, and this class has empowered me to think for myself and understand the policies that affect us and change the world around us. 

I would recommend this class to anyone who wants an understanding of economics and I would assure you that you would benefit from it - even if you don't seek an economics major or anything in that path.

Amazing class!

Did you feel the course prepared you for the AP exam?

Definitely! This class goes over all the material for AP Macroeconomics, and it offers lots of review materials to help solidify the knowledge and get a good grade on the AP Exam. Mr. Burns is also always very willing to help explain any small details you might still be confused about by the time the AP Exam is just behind the corner. I just took the exam and am confident I got a 4 or a 5!

How many hours of work per day or per week did you generally put into the course?

Overall, I'd say the average is about 7 hours per week. However, I will say that it varied. In the beginning when we had the Business Game (super fun by the way) I spent a lot of extra time doing my best to win. Not everyone spent that much time - and you don't need to do it to earn full marks. As the year progressed, some days (textbook days) took up about 2-3 hours per day, but the average assignment took much less time. In the final months, the amount of work per day also significantly went down.

Are there any particularly favorite assignments that you found especially valuable?

YES! The Business Game and other games. They were extremely interesting and allowed us to utilize our Macroeconomic knowledge in practice. The simulations were very realistic and definitely sparked my interest in the subject.

Did the course enhance your interest in the subject?

I kind of answered this in the previous part of my review, but yes. This course significantly increased my interest in both economics and the adjacent fields such as finance. 

Did you find your communications with other students to be interesting or valuable?

Yep! The interaction with my classmates was always interesting and informative. I still keep in touch with some of them even though the class is over.

What sort of student would do well in this course? Would you recommend this course to other students (if they are willing to work hard!)?

I highly recommend this course to other students! Not only does it give a great overview of Macroeconomics and prepare you well for the exam, but it's also a class that makes you understand money and politics much more. Previously, news such as the Federal lowering the discount rate didn't mean anything to me, but now I understand why it happens and what the effect will be.

You're going to be much more convincing in any political/social argument if you have economic evidence to back you up! :)

I'd recommend this class to practically everyone if they're willing to work hard and not fall behind. The class isn't math intensive (all calculations can be done without a calculator), nor is it writing intensive. As long as you're dedicated to learning the material, you'll succeed in this class. And I really do recommend you take it - it's an awesome class!

This class was great

I loved this class. It prepared me well for the AP exam. Beyond that though, this was without a doubt one of the funnest classes I've taken. The games were amazing and informative (economic warfare helped me understand the important concept of the relation between exchange rates, net exports, and currency values) and I would give a lot to be able to play another game of Guns and Butter.

MacroEconomics review

I felt very prepared for the exam. The practice FRQs, tests, shortanswer questions, and games helped so much. Mr. Burns provided helpful and constructive feedback that encouraged me and helped me learn. I put 5-6 hours per week into this course. I really liked the essays and how we applied our knowledge of economics to practical and historical situatiions. Yes, this course thoroughly enhanced my interest in economics. The discussion boards were extremely helpful with talking to fellow students about the course and helping each other with questions. A student that can put their effort into this course and takes lots of notes will succeed in this course. I definetely reccommend this course to students. I am not saying its an easy course to pass but if you make an active effort to enjoy it and the topics discussed, you will have a much better experience. 

Great teacher and class

This course did a great job preparing me for the AP exam, and I'd recommend it to anyone willing to work hard. If you put in the time, the course is really fun too!

AP Macro review

I really enjoyed the Macro course, and I think that anyone thinking about taking micro as well should take this class first. Even though the class structure was confusing at first, there were very clear assignments to help us get used to it, and soon enough, the website became easy to navigate. One aspect of the class that really helped me were the Random multiple choice questions--I recommend doing them throughout the year, even if the official "classwork" has already ended. Most of the material was relatively easy to understand and learn; the TT lectures are really helpful, and the ACDC econ videos on youtube are also good. If I were to take this course again, I would definitely watch more of those ACDC videos. The only hard topics for me were the bank balance sheets and calculations associated with GDP tables. In the real econ exams they won't be a big deal, but for the exams this year due to Covid-19, the questions really concentrated on the harder topics, so study them just in case! 

I think any student willing to spend about an hour a day on this course would do well; I really appreciated how all the due dates were made very clear on the site. The class environment was great, and Mr. Burns and our TA (Forest) always answered our questions quickly on the discussion board. Thanks again to them for a great year!

superb economics course

Did you feel the course prepared you for the AP exam?

I definitely felt that the course prepared me for the AP exam! I really enjoyed all the past FRQ that we did starting in November, and the practice MCQ tests were really helpful as well (even though we didn't get to complete a full exam for the AP test this year). The daily RMCQ were super helpful also in reinforcing things that we had learned throughout the year. Also, the games each covered the major topics in Macro, which I found really useful for review for the exam, as each of the games helped to reinforce old material.

How many hours of work per day or per week did you generally put into the course?

the days generally varied, as the essay writing day and the textbook day took about 2-3 hours, but the claim a topic day and the respond to essay day took under 10 minutes. I'd say around 6 hours a week in total.

Are there any particularly favorite assignments that you found especially valuable?

the games were definitely my favorite part of the course! they really helped to solidify new concepts in a fun, engaging environment, as we were able to really examine specific areas of macroeconomics through these games. Additionally, the essays we wrote were really fun, as I was able to write on current events and debate with others on really relevant issues (such as universal healthcare, Brexit, Trump's tax cuts, free university education, and environmental protection rules, among many others). 

The FRQ and MCQ that we did at the end of the year were also very valuable to exam prep, as well as the final review session that we did right before the exam. Even though the exam was shortened, I felt ready for the exam at the end of the year, and I had the confidence, knowing that we were thoroughly prepared through the course. 

Did the course enhance your interest in the subject?

the course definitely enhanced my interest in the subject! I hope to now study economics in college in some form. additionally, I'm able to decipher between different economic policies that politicians propose and understand why some will work and others won't work. Oftentimes, we blindly accept the advice of party leaders and media spokespersons and don't critically examine economics for ourselves. Through this course, I'm now able to understand all the jargon that goes around.

Did you find your communications with other students to be interesting or valuable?

I definitely found my communications with other students valuable, especially in the form of the games and debates on the essay board over current economic events. I made some great friends in this course.

What sort of student would do well in this course? Would you recommend this course to other students (if they are willing to work hard!)?

definitely a hard-working student would do well. I think that anyone can take and succeed at this course, as you don't need to really have an understanding of economics before coming into this course (I didn't, and I think I did fine). Remember to always ask questions about things you don't understand: there will always be people who will answer them (such as Mr. Burns or our great TA Forest or fellow classmates), because economics will be new for almost everyone, and it's important to ask as many questions as you need to in order to ensure that you understand the material. 

Review of AP Macro Class

At the beginning of this year I was really not looking forward to taking economics. From what I heard from friends it was a very difficult class to understand and that it was very time consuming. As the year progressed my appreciation and comprehension of the subject became more and more clear. For this I can thank PA Homeschoolers and especially my teacher Mr. Burns. While I did have to dedicate a lot of my time to this course, every minute was worth it. I feel now that the year has come to an end and I have taken the AP exam, I have a very strong grasp of basic macroeconomics, and I would definitely recommend this class to anyone who is eager to learn more about the world in which we live.

On Mr. Burns' AP Macro Class

• Did you feel the course prepared you for the AP exam?
  • I feel that the course prepared me well for the exam even after they made significant changes to it in mid spring. 
• How many hours of work per day or per week did you generally put into the course?
  • At the least, I put in an hour or less a day. However, when we had games running I tended to spend more time than necessary. ;) I would say that it is up to the particular student and how long it takes him/her to learn new information. Compared to all of my other courses (AP and not-AP), this one did not take up most of my time. 
• Are there any particularly favorite assignments that you found especially valuable?
  • Of course the games were amazing! I also liked the FRQ corrections that Mr Burns let us do for extra points. It was helpful to go back to my mistakes and go through the process of correcting and fixing them. 
• Did the course enhance your interest in the subject? 
  • Considering that I had very little interest in the subject before this course, I would be lying if I said my interest has not increased. It's not something that I want to pursue in college but it is definitely something that I'm proud to understand the basics of. 

• Did you find your communications with other students to be interesting or valuable?
  • We talked all the time even though we didn't have live meetings. There is the www board for discussions. We emailed frequently while playing the games (sometimes negotiating prices). We also had a googlehangouts where we could get help informally and chat with one another. I don't think I've gotten as many texts in my life as I did immediately after the AP exam! :) I definitely enjoyed this course more because of the interactions I had with other students in a casual manner that you don't often see in other online classes. 
• What sort of student would do well in this course? Would you recommend this course to other students (if they are willing to work hard!)?
  • This is a good first AP course especially for someone like me who is better at math than writing. I would say that as long as someone paid attention to the material and worked with the information consistently he/she would do very well.