Review:
Professor Downes is a nice guy who is understanding, very concerned with each student's progress, and -from what I've heard from his advisees- a great econ advisor... but that doesn't mean he teaches well.

Downes' EC13 is the most excruciatingly boring econ class I've ever taken at Tufts. His lectures were dry and filled with poorly explained formulas, few of which were ever necessary to know, even for exams. He made the concepts incredibly difficult to pick up on (forget fully understanding them) and none of this helped at all in motivating students to get up for the class, which was at the unearthly time of 8:30am. He was also incredibly inarticulate (though I heard he wasn't that bad back when EC13 wasn't a huge lecture course). And while he set up a plan for what would be discussed each class, he almost always ended class late and had to try and catch up the next day. As a result, the last topics in the syllabus were rushed; and even better, they made up the majority of the final.

Professor Downes is one of the most caring professors at Tufts... he just doesn't teach that well.

Workload:
Problem sets every week, and annoyingly, often overlapping and on topics first taught the days the p-sets were due.

2 midterms and a final (cheat sheets allowed).

review a class you took with Thomas Downes - help your classmates make informed decisions!

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Thomas Downes | EC013 - Statistics | Economics

2007-01-18

Review:
Professor Downes is a nice guy who is understanding, very concerned with each student's progress, and -from what I've heard from his advisees- a great econ advisor... but that doesn't mean he teaches well.

Downes' EC13 is the most excruciatingly boring econ class I've ever taken at Tufts. His lectures were dry and filled with poorly explained formulas, few of which were ever necessary to know, even for exams. He made the concepts incredibly difficult to pick up on (forget fully understanding them) and none of this helped at all in motivating students to get up for the class, which was at the unearthly time of 8:30am. He was also incredibly inarticulate (though I heard he wasn't that bad back when EC13 wasn't a huge lecture course). And while he set up a plan for what would be discussed each class, he almost always ended class late and had to try and catch up the next day. As a result, the last topics in the syllabus were rushed; and even better, they made up the majority of the final.

Professor Downes is one of the most caring professors at Tufts... he just doesn't teach that well.

Workload:
Problem sets every week, and annoyingly, often overlapping and on topics first taught the days the p-sets were due.

2 midterms and a final (cheat sheets allowed).

professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics

review a class you took with Thomas Downes - help your classmates make informed decisions!

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Thomas Downes | EC015 - BASIC ECONOMETRICS | Economics

2006-01-18

Review:
While he is difficult to understand and verbose with lectures, he is very open and clear during office hours so definitely go see him in Braker during the week if you want clarification.

Workload:
The workload is tough, 5 problem sets, one midterm, one final, and a 15-20 page research paper (work in teams of two). The problem sets are always difficult and time-consuming, but the examinations in-class are easier. A difficult course overall in terms of understanding the material.

professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics

review a class you took with Thomas Downes - help your classmates make informed decisions!

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Thomas Downes | EC015 - BASIC ECONOMETRICS | Economics

2005-12-27

Review:
I've taken other classes with Downes and thought he was great, but this econometrics class with him was AWFUL. The lectures are uninsightful and RIDICULOUSLY dry. Downes spews jargon left and right and fails to explain the meaning behind many of the terms brought up (at least in a way that students can understand). For once, reading an econ textbook was actually necessary as lectures are not insightful at all.

Workload:
There is a midterm, a final, a research paper (expect approx 15 pages), and 6 problem sets. You will be teaching yourself on how to do the problem sets and it will take hours upon hours. The exams are easier than the problem sets and you will be amazed at how you were able to actually come up with answers. Mind you-- just because you know how to solve a problem does not mean that you have a good understanding of what you just did...

He provides you with the raw data for the research paper (your choice of topic) but you must research everything else and use Stata to analyze. The work is actually not unbearable and he provides you with helpful advice and direction.

He takes an extremely long time grading problem sets and exams, so don't expect to have your problem sets or midterm back until weeks after you've handed them in.

professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics

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Thomas Downes | EC124 - State and Local Public Finance | Economics

2005-07-14

Review:
Professor Downes is great! I was glad I took this class. It was not very difficult, but I learned a lot, and really appreciated Professor Downes' availability outside of class and caring about our learning.

Workload:
Very reasonable workload, though it was really end of the semester heavy, and felt a tad overwhelming.

professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics

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Thomas Downes | EC124 - State and Local Public Finance | Economics

2005-05-13

Review:
Professor Downes is extremely concerned for his students' progress. He always made himself available to help with any questions. His lectures were very clear and concise, though perhaps a tad boring.

Workload:
The workload varied. There was nothing due for the entire first month and a half of the course. However the work gets heavy towards the end. The work consists of a midterm and final, two papers about 6-7 pages, and involvement in a class debate.

professor rating: | course rating: | major: Economics

review a class you took with Thomas Downes - help your classmates make informed decisions!