Peter Olson - Indiana University Bloomington

Professor: Peter Olson
Department: Economics
College: Indiana University Bloomington
Rating # 1
Overview:
  • Course: E201
  • Grade Received: B+
  • Overall Rating: 4.0
  • Course Difficulty: 4.0
  • For Credit: N/A
  • Textbook Used: Yes
  • Would Take Again: Yes
  • Attendance: Not Mandatory
Comment:
I took Olson first semester and received a bad grade in the class and blamed him for my failure but decided to retake him second semester because I knew how the class went. If you attend every lecture, pay attention and do the readings/Aplia you will succeed and he is the best option for E201 but you have to word hard for a good grade
Rating # 2
Overview:
  • Course: ECONE201
  • Grade Received: A
  • Overall Rating: 5.0
  • Course Difficulty: 4.0
  • For Credit: Yes
  • Textbook Used: Yes
  • Would Take Again: Yes
  • Attendance: Not Mandatory
Comment:
Olson is a phenomenal instructor. While thoroughly reading the textbook is essential to succeeding in his course, his lectures help make the information more clear. He is a hilarious guy and I found his jokes to be entertaining. His class is difficult, but you will truly understand the subject if you do well, and he is accessible outside of class.
Rating # 3
Overview:
  • Course: E201
  • Grade Received: N/A
  • Overall Rating: 3.0
  • Course Difficulty: 4.0
  • For Credit: Yes
  • Textbook Used: Yes
  • Would Take Again: Yes
  • Attendance: Not Mandatory
Comment:
Very lecture-heavy. He teaches the content well but his tests are really the only way to do well in his class, those tests are pretty hard. I studied a lot and still did mediocre (B-) on nearly all of his tests. By far better than Self though, I have nothing good about that guy, take this prof over others if you have the choice.
Rating # 4
Overview:
  • Course: ECONE201
  • Grade Received: N/A
  • Overall Rating: 1.0
  • Course Difficulty: 4.0
  • For Credit: Yes
  • Textbook Used: Yes
  • Would Take Again: No
  • Attendance: Not Mandatory
Comment:
He is very conservative. He makes some crazy comments in class and is a very old fashioned person. He will kick you out of the class if you use phones. He gives some extremely tough and tricky questions in the exam. Don't take him if you have other professors available. My friends did not like him too. The entire grade is just based on four exams.
Rating # 5
Overview:
  • Course: ECONE201
  • Grade Received: B+
  • Overall Rating: 4.0
  • Course Difficulty: 4.0
  • For Credit: Yes
  • Textbook Used: Yes
  • Would Take Again: Yes
  • Attendance: Not Mandatory
Comment:
I really don't understand all the hate on Prof Olson. Yes, he's a tough professor, but it's college Economics, what did you expect? His lectures are amazing, and if you attend class and read, a B is very feasible. Just don't get on your phone in class. He'll kick you out of the lecture.
Rating # 6
Overview:
  • Course: E201
  • Grade Received: B-
  • Overall Rating: 3.0
  • Course Difficulty: 4.0
  • For Credit: Yes
  • Textbook Used: Yes
  • Would Take Again: Yes
  • Attendance: Not Mandatory
Comment:
E201 isn't easy, but it's interesting if you try to understand the material. Olson is crazy in what he talks about in his lectures, but it made me attend them since they were intriguing and surprisingly funny at times. I recommend trying to connect topics discussed in this class to stuff that goes on in your life and the class will make more sense.
Rating # 7
Overview:
  • Course: E201
  • Grade Received: A-
  • Overall Rating: 4.0
  • Course Difficulty: 4.0
  • For Credit: Yes
  • Textbook Used: Yes
  • Would Take Again: Yes
  • Attendance: Not Mandatory
Comment:
Although many people advise against taking PKO, there are plenty of ways to succeed in his class. Go to every lecture and take notes (he explains material clearly, but goes on tangents a lot). DO the extra credit (it can bump your final grade up by 2%) and DO participate in CL. Read the textbook and do the practice exams and you will be fine!
Rating # 8
Overview:
  • Course: E201
  • Grade Received: B+
  • Overall Rating: 5.0
  • Course Difficulty: 4.0
  • For Credit: Yes
  • Textbook Used: Yes
  • Would Take Again: Yes
  • Attendance: Not Mandatory
Comment:
E201 is hard. However, Professor Olson gave amazing lectures. People complain about him a lot because the tests are hard, but if you do the CL group & the EC he gives you will be fine. I took macro before & never understood it but Olson's lectures made micro really clear. I cannot stress enough, GO TO CLASS! Also super nice in office hours!
Rating # 9
Overview:
  • Course: E201
  • Grade Received: N/A
  • Overall Rating: 2.0
  • Course Difficulty: 5.0
  • For Credit: Yes
  • Textbook Used: Yes
  • Would Take Again: No
  • Attendance: Not Mandatory
Comment:
Be ready for a very hard class. Peter makes his tests unnecessarily difficult, much more so than the department exam. To get an A you don't need to know the book material much at all, but you'll need to know how Peter wants you to think.
Rating # 10
Overview:
  • Course: E201
  • Grade Received: D
  • Overall Rating: 1.0
  • Course Difficulty: 4.0
  • For Credit: Yes
  • Textbook Used: Yes
  • Would Take Again: No
  • Attendance: Not Mandatory
Comment:
Welcome to finite round two. I took this class because I saw the reviews, grade distribution doesn't lie though, should go gone off of that.
Rating # 11
Overview:
  • Course: E341
  • Grade Received: N/A
  • Overall Rating: 1.0
  • Course Difficulty: 5.0
  • For Credit: Yes
  • Textbook Used: Yes
  • Would Take Again: No
  • Attendance: Mandatory
Comment:
the worst teacher, joke around the half class, and most of them are not even funny. if you want get a good grade try another teacher, if you actually want learn stuff try another one as well.
Rating # 12
Overview:
  • Course: ECONE201
  • Grade Received: B+
  • Overall Rating: 2.0
  • Course Difficulty: 4.0
  • For Credit: Yes
  • Textbook Used: No
  • Would Take Again: No
  • Attendance: Not Mandatory
Comment:
Professor Olson is not a very good professor and I would recommend trying to get in a class with Graf. The Econ department at IU is an abomination to the university. Olson's grading scale does not accurately depict your abilities in the course. His 3 main tests (not including the final) only have 25 questions each and are worth 20% each.
Rating # 13
Overview:
  • Course: E201
  • Grade Received: A-
  • Overall Rating: 4.0
  • Course Difficulty: 3.0
  • For Credit: Yes
  • Textbook Used: Yes
  • Would Take Again: Yes
  • Attendance: N/A
Comment:
Dr. Olson is the best choice for E201 at IU. Though he's not an amazing professor, he's better than the rest. His lectures are entertaining. The course is graded on 3 tests and the final.
Rating # 14
Overview:
  • Course: E201
  • Grade Received: B-
  • Overall Rating: 4.0
  • Course Difficulty: 4.0
  • For Credit: Yes
  • Textbook Used: Yes
  • Would Take Again: Yes
  • Attendance: Mandatory
Comment:
Need to attend his classes to understand material. Reading textbook will help you on exams. Grade is made up of 4 tests and 2 extra credit opportunities. His lectures get off topic very quickly, but there is never a dull moment in his class. His exams have some tricky questions as he words his exams in a very tricky way. Very Smart in his field
Rating # 15
Overview:
  • Course: E201
  • Grade Received: N/A
  • Overall Rating: 1.0
  • Course Difficulty: 5.0
  • For Credit: Yes
  • Textbook Used: No
  • Would Take Again: No
  • Attendance: Not Mandatory
Comment:
Horrible teacher, spends half the time in every class ranting. Olson can seem very snobbish most of the time. If he doesn't talk about his achievements, he's talksabout how his wife doesn't want to give him a BMW or why we are unable to afford a luxury car when half the class drives a nice car. DON'T TAKE HIM IF YOU WANNA DO GOOD IN ECON.
Rating # 16
Overview:
  • Course: ECON201
  • Grade Received: N/A
  • Overall Rating: 1.0
  • Course Difficulty: 4.0
  • For Credit: Yes
  • Textbook Used: No
  • Would Take Again: No
  • Attendance: Not Mandatory
Comment:
Olson is very arrogant and the only time he gives you his help is in class. Don't even think about emailing him or else he will humiliate you in front of everyone. He keeps lecture entertaining but the exams hard. Your course grade is based off 4 exams, that is it. If you are not good in econ, do not choose him as a professor.
Rating # 17
Overview:
  • Course: E201
  • Grade Received: B
  • Overall Rating: 1.0
  • Course Difficulty: 3.0
  • For Credit: Yes
  • Textbook Used: Yes
  • Would Take Again: No
  • Attendance: Not Mandatory
Comment:
Chooses to rant about mundane topics more than teach. For him, if you use your cell phone in class you've essentially committed a grievous crime. I made it through the class alright, but I regret taking it with him.
Rating # 18
Overview:
  • Course: ECONE201
  • Grade Received: N/A
  • Overall Rating: 5.0
  • Course Difficulty: 5.0
  • For Credit: Yes
  • Textbook Used: Yes
  • Would Take Again: Yes
  • Attendance: Mandatory
Comment:
I learned so much from Olson. His tests are difficult and requires a thorough understanding of the text. However, if you want to understand economics, he's the professor to have. There is never a "boring" moment of his class.
Rating # 19
Overview:
  • Course: ECON201
  • Grade Received: N/A
  • Overall Rating: 1.0
  • Course Difficulty: 5.0
  • For Credit: Yes
  • Textbook Used: No
  • Would Take Again: No
  • Attendance: Not Mandatory
Comment:
Terrible. Constantly rants instead of teaching. The entire class grade is based on tests. Take someone else. Anyone else.
Rating # 20
Overview:
  • Course: E201
  • Grade Received: B
  • Overall Rating: 4.5
  • Course Difficulty: 4.0
  • For Credit: Yes
  • Textbook Used: Yes
  • Would Take Again: N/A
  • Attendance: Not Mandatory
Comment:
Olson is great! People complain about him for all the odd things he says, but he still effectively covers all the material. I had a great time in this class!
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