Historical instructor

SIMEON ALDER

Adjusted rating
RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 2.87/5 from 63 quality ratings. The adjusted rating blends this with the UW review average (3.66/5), weighted as 20 additional ratings. Smaller samples stay closer to that average. Each captured review is counted once in the prior; this does not correct who chooses to leave a review.

RMP profile ↗ · All captured review dates; profile matched by name.

What students say

Original student reviews · all captured dates

ECON 312
Quality 5/5Difficulty 5/5
While the class was very rigorous and time-consuming, I do think that the stress placed on us was appropriate for the Honors level. Alder is a great guy, and he will definitely help you out if you go to his study sessions/office hours. That being said, if you're not serious about economics you should probably just take Econ 302.
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ECON 302
Quality 4/5Difficulty 4/5
Lectures have little to do with exam material, but explain real-world connections well. Use textbook/homework to review for exams, questions are similar. Exam averages are very low. Very smart guy but you have to learn a lot of material by yourself. Can drop lowest midterm which is nice. Homework is very difficult but similar to exam question type.
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ECON 302
Quality 2/5Difficulty 4/5
This is definitely a hard class, and I usually find macro easy. The math was confusing, and he doesn't really go over the question-types in the HW - which has fill in the blanks, with a margin of error of 0.1% usually. Exams were also hard, and averages were very low (like 60% for all 3 midterms).
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ECON 302
Quality 1/5Difficulty 5/5
Don't take a class with this guy. Takes attendance in class but you learn absolutely nothing. Guy goes on random tangent and covers stuff that you will not have to know. Homework's are insanely difficult and exams have an average grades in the 60s. Teacher is very pretentious and not helpful. Get ready to learn everything on your own.
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ECON 302
Quality 1/5Difficulty 5/5
I had to review mid-semester because it's ridiculous how hard the professor makes this class. The content isn't too difficult, but Professor Alder assigns impossible homework (20% of your grade), and the 3 midterm averages are all Fs. The LOWEST midterm score I got in 301 was a 93%, and I can't score above a 75% in this class. AVOID AT ALL COSTS!!!
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ECON 302
Quality 2/5Difficulty 5/5
By far the hardest class/prof I've taken at UW, and it won't get worse than this. Very difficult homework, takes attendance at lecture and discussion, exam time management is BRUTAL (exam median is F). Don't take this class if you have a busy course schedule. He's a nice guy but brutal class
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Personal experiences, not a representative survey. Profile matching and captured coverage are shown in the source details.

Classes with SIMEON ALDER

ECON 302

Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory

4 credits

Intermediate macroeconomic theory covering national income determination and analysis of economic aggregates.

No offering record · Spring 2026

with this instructor · course overall, matching historical terms

Ananth SeshadriSimeon Alder

historical GPA · grades

Fall 2021–Spring 2026
ECON 312

Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory - Advanced Treatment

Credits unavailable

Advanced mathematical treatment of national income determination, economic aggregates, and stabilization policy.

No offering record · Spring 2026

with this instructor · course overall, matching historical terms

Simeon Alder

historical GPA · grades

Spring 2022–Spring 2026
ECON 580

Honors Tutorial in Research Project Design

Credits unavailable

ECON 580 is an honors tutorial teaching students to critique research, draft proposals, and conduct original research projects.

No offering record · Spring 2026

with this instructor · course overall, matching historical terms

Simeon AlderJohn Braxton

historical GPA · grades

Spring 2022–Spring 2026 · limited sample

Recorded teaching history

Distinct courses recorded per term

Explore courses taught by this instructor →
Browse recorded courses
TermCourseTitle
Spring 2026ECON 302Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory
Spring 2026ECON 312Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory - Advanced Treatment
Spring 2026ECON 580Honors Tutorial in Research Project Design
Fall 2025ECON 302Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory
Fall 2025ECON 475Economics of Growth
Spring 2025ECON 302Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory
Spring 2025ECON 312Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory - Advanced Treatment
Spring 2025ECON 682Senior Honors Thesis
Fall 2024ECON 302Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory
Fall 2024ECON 475Economics of Growth
Spring 2024ECON 312Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory - Advanced Treatment
Spring 2024ECON 580Honors Tutorial in Research Project Design
Spring 2024ECON 702Macroeconomics I
Fall 2023ECON 302Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory
Fall 2023ECON 475Economics of Growth
Fall 2023ECON 699Directed Study
Spring 2023ECON 302Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory
Spring 2023ECON 312Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory - Advanced Treatment
Spring 2023ECON 581Honors Thesis
Spring 2023FINANCE 305Financial Markets, Institutions and Economic Activity
Fall 2022ECON 302Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory
Fall 2022ECON 475Economics of Growth
Fall 2022ECON 581Honors Thesis
Fall 2022ECON 699Directed Study
Spring 2022ECON 302Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory
Spring 2022ECON 312Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory - Advanced Treatment
Spring 2022FINANCE 305Financial Markets, Institutions and Economic Activity
Fall 2021ECON 302Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory
Fall 2021ECON 475Economics of Growth
Fall 2020ECON 302Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory
Fall 2020ECON 475Economics of Growth
Fall 2020ECON 581Honors Thesis
Spring 2020ECON 302Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory
Spring 2020ECON 312Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory - Advanced Treatment
Fall 2019ECON 302Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory
Fall 2019ECON 475Economics of Growth
Fall 2019ECON 581Honors Thesis
Spring 2019ECON 302Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory
Spring 2019ECON 312Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory - Advanced Treatment
Fall 2018ECON 302Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory
Spring 2018ECON 302Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory
Spring 2018ECON 312Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory - Advanced Treatment
Fall 2017ECON 302Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory

Teaching history may be incomplete. Course pages contain course-specific feedback and citations.

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