C719 Macroeconomics

Posted by C.T. Gray on August 07, 2019 · 3 min read

Credits: 3

Time to Complete: 4 days

Just like Microeconomics, there is a ton of material to absorb. I didn’t even use the supplied reading material and mainly focused on the cohorts and Jacob Clifford’s macro video series. There are a lot of cohort recordings for this class and it took a while to get through all of them.

When I was taking the micro course, I bought the micro/macro bundle off Clifford’s website for $19. It was worth it. His videos, while only about 30 min each, cover the topics. He does not go into Classical/Keynesian economic theory, though, so I paid particular attention to the cohort on that stuff.

This class builds off of Micro so there is some overlap. It quickly divulges into aggregate supply/aggregate demand graphs so it is important to understand the cause and effect when it comes to interpreting the graphs. After watching all the cohorts and Clifford’s summary videos, I scheduled the OA.

I read that people regarded this class as a little simpler than micro but when it came time to take the OA, I didn’t think so. I found the OA more difficult than the PA and that they only aligned a bit. A lot of the questions I had to take an educated, logical guess. Some questions had a couple answers that could be immediately discounted but left the remaining two with similar and just slightly different wording.

Shortly into the exam, I got bounced from the test and an error message came up saying something about network issues. I was still connected to the proctoring site and goto meeting was still working normally. I chatted the proctor and she sent me a link to log back into the exam where it picked up right where I left off. That was the first time that ever happened so I found it unusual. The proctor didn’t seem phased, however, so maybe they are used to that happening.

As I worked through the exam, I kept track of the questions where I wasn’t 100% sure of the answer. When I finished, I calculated the ratio and found that if I missed all those, I’d end up with 63%, which is below the cut score. I went ahead and submitted the test then waited anxiously for the notification. I breathed a huge sigh of relief when I learned I passed in the 80% range.

Jacob Clifford - Youtube

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Takeaway

  • Don’t underestimate this class. There is a lot of material to absorb.
  • Learn the most important formula in macro: GDP = C + I + G + (X - M). (Pro tip: this is also the formula for aggregate demand)
  • Learn either marginal propensity to consume (MPC) or marginal propensity to save (MPS) formula. You just need to learn one and you can figure out the other: 1/(1-MPC) or 1/MPS
  • It’s VERY important to be able to read and interpret AD/AS graphs and be able to figure out what shifts when any of the GDP variables are changed
  • Get the Ultimate Review Packet. It’s $12. When I purchased, he offered a Micro/Macro bundle for $19. It’s worth it!