Marlow, Mike  

Economics

2.73/4.00

129 evaluations


ECON 201


Sophomore
C
General Ed
Dec 2000
This class at first seemed fine. He is better than Beardsley I have heard. However, I went into the final with a 91%. I got a 54% on the final, and I studied! ALOT! So that left me with a C in the class. It was the worst test I have ever taken in my entire lifetime. Don't take this class unless your only choice is Beardsley or Marlow. Actually, just wait until a third choice is offered.


Sophomore
Credit
Required (Support)
Jan 2001
Dr. Marlow is quite possibly the most rude person i have met. I had another class during his office hours and when i asked to make an appointment to go over some things i didn't understand, he said "No". Plain and simple "No". As if I had asked a stupid question. He is intimidating, full of himself, and extremely condesending. I would not recommend him as a teacher.


Freshman
C
General Ed
Mar 2001
Marlow was an alright teacher. His grading was fair since your lowest exam is dropped. Although, as a teacher, he is very boring and dry. He talks to the class as if we're in elementary school making sure everyone is quiet before he continues talking. I would not say he's a good teacher, nor would I say he's bad.


Sophomore
A
General Ed
Mar 2001
Marlow is a great professor. All the tests are 50 question multiple choice including the final. He lets you have the full 2 hours to take the tests but most people were done in a little over an hour. There are 3 midterms (lowest is dropped) and a final. He assigns reading, but lectures on the same stuff. You can buy all his notes from the 2nd edition, except the newspaper clippings that he puts on his power point presentation during the qtr. The lectures are very straight forward. Occaisionally he assigns reading from the wall street journal. DON'T BUY THE WSJ! Its a waste of money. Unless you like reading the wsj then you can do whatever you want. He is a very good teacher. I studied I got an A. My friend didn't study much and he got a B.


Freshman
N/A
General Ed
Dec 2001
Dr. Marlow enjoys hearing himself speak. He is the sort of person that speaks and does not teach. He is extremely insensitive if you have a question. He made me feel as if I were not good enough to talk to him. His entire class is done on power point. The information is presented purely in graph form. The book is to explain what the graphs are talking about. It is not necessary to purchase but can be a big help if you have difficulties understanding purely graphs. If you like to sleep in class this is the one to take. More heads were on desks than not in this class. There are three midterms and a final. The lowest of the midterms is dropped. Which is fair. I studied for days for the second midterm and did horrible. The tests do not resemble the slides shown in class. Good Luck


Junior
A
General Ed
Dec 2001
This class was one of the easiest classes I have taken at Cal Poly. It basically reinforced the material I learned in a one semester high school econ class. Econ 201 was even easier than high school econ. I did not purchase the book and missed about a quarter of the classes, but had little trouble on the tests because the material came from his $10 book of lecture notes.


Sophomore
A
Elective
Dec 2001
Prof. Marlow was a very good teacher to have for Econ 201. He gave three midterm exams, the lowest grade of the three he dropped. The final exam was mostly taken from previous exam questions, which were just slightly changed for the final. You won't need the text unless you need TONS of extra help understanding the concepts because all of his exam questions were taken from the lectures. The power point lecture notes are all laid out for you in a book that you use to take notes on throughout the quarter. He is very willing to help students understand concepts during his office hours and is concerned to see his that students succeed. He seemed to try to bring aspects of the "real world" into the lecture so people would understand why and how things are happening in our economy and that made economics just about as interesting as it can possibly be. Overall, I would recommend Marlow as a professor if you have to take Econ 201.


Sophomore
A
General Ed
Feb 2002
Dr. Marlow was not the friendlies man in the world. He just stands up at the front of the Silo and does his powerpoint presentation with little to no student interaction. He's really boring and I had the class for two hours, so it was really difficult to stay awake the whole time. The tests are multiple choice (and he gives you the answers as you leave so you know your grade right away, a major plus), but they are not the easiest. They cover quite a bit of material, so know the stuff well. If you can, take another professor.


Freshman
A
General Ed
Jun 2002
Marlow is a very charismatic professor who presents what would otherwise be dry material in a fairly interesting and clear way. He doesn't come across as very friendly but he's very fair and teaches well. He words his tests very trickily (which is intentional or lack of effort), so watch out. If you can get him for the small ECON 201 lecture (40-50ppl), go for it - but like I said, watch out for the wording!


Junior
A
General Ed
Jun 2002
Dr. Marlow's class was pretty good. I don't understand what the comments below are about. I was in the small ECON section - only 40 people, and it was pretty nice. Marlow lectured with powerpoint slides, and we had to buy a 2nd Edition book with all of the slides in it for notes. The system worked out pretty well. Grades were determined by the best 2 of 3 midterms (75% of your grade) and a final (25%). So dropping a midterm was nice too. And Marlow knew his stuff - he answered questions during lecture and our 5-10 minute break, and was pretty nice about the whole thing. His lectures were straightforward, and if I had to complain, I'd say there were too many examples. But hey, some people need more examples. Overall, I'd say Dr. Marlow is a GREAT professor if you have to take an economics course. He's well prepared, and teaches the material in a way that makes sense - he teaches you how to apply it, not just "This is this concept, and who thought of it". If you have to take ECON, take it with him. And if you can, take it in the small section, if there is one. It's well worth it.


Freshman
A
General Ed
Jun 2002
show up and pay attention in lecture and you can't go wrong. Class like this one does not packed with difficult stuff. If things make sense to you, you don even need to study for it. Pay attention to his lecture is the fastest and the easiest way to learn. Take midterms seriously as they pretty much reflect you final grade. If you get the first two midterms well, you cannot go wrong with about the first 31 out of 50 questions in the final and this make A easy to earn.


Junior
B
Required (Support)
Oct 2002
Professor Marlow is the first conservative professor I've had here. He presents the material in a kind of slanted way. An entire class session was spent on why he thinks we should have school vouchers, and he loves Reaganomics. He is a fairly interesting lecturer, I must admit. Even if you know the material well tests are still dificult because the questions are a little convuluded. I found many of the questions oversimplified and confusing.


Freshman
A
General Ed
Nov 2002
Besides Econ being a pretty boring class to sit through for two hours, I really enjoyed marlow's class. I had a pretty good understanding of econ in highschool, so I was pretty prepared for his class. He never gives out homework, all you do is listen to lectures,(notes aren't even necessary in my opionion) and take 4 tests. The lowest test is dropped. The tests are really easy if you pay attention to the lectures, and the final was a joke. It would have taken me maybe 15 minutes if I wasn't helping someone else cheat. If you don't like homework, and you plan to pay attention in class, go for Marlow.


Sophomore
B
General Ed
Dec 2002
kinda boring...test difficult. Or mayber i just hated econ and couldnt stay awake. Just not a very interesting lecturer!


Sophomore
A
General Ed
Dec 2002
Econ is just one of those classes you have to take. Marlow's class was pretty boring, I feel asleep regularly and even drooled on occasion. It really is a pretty brutal class, those two hours go by slower than a turtle towing a semi. Very little of the material was interesting. Try and pay attention the best you can and study the book of notes. Studying is key. The only reason I got an A was because I had an excellent Econ teacher in high school.


Sophomore
D
General Ed
Jan 2003
Professor Marlow was a pretty good professor considering that Econ 201 is NOT my class. He was very helpful when I asked him questions and never acted like there was a dumb question. His lectures consist of him lecturing from power points and the student filling in blank spaces in your student guide. His tests are fair, but hard for me. A good thing that he did was that he let you keep your test and then he posted the answers of the test on his blackboard website so you knew what your grade on the midterms were that night. I would recommend him if you can handle lectures in a big room. I would definitely say this guy is nice because he passed me.


Freshman
A
General Ed
Jan 2003
Marlow is not a bad teacher, just a boring one. I think I learned a lot, but only on the days that I stayed awake. The tests weren't that bad, as long as you do the review questions at the end of every chapter. He gives his lectures from slides, which are all in a book. There are a few blanks, but nothing to difficult to figure out if you decide to take a two-hour nap.


Freshman
A
General Ed
Jan 2003
Overall Marlow is a good teacher although his lectures can be a bit boring at times. He does all of his lectures using power point presentations. The slides are all in the course's required book. In the book, he leaves words out so that you'll come to class and copy them down from the lecture. At the end of each section, he has key questions and the answers are all on blackboard. If you can do these questions, you'll get a good grade. Marlow was very helpful in his office hours and he lets you drop your lowest of three midterms.


Sophomore
C
General Ed
Feb 2003
extremely boring class. i took it in the afternoon and still fell asleep. Marlow knows his stuff, and he can be entertaining at times, but for the most part, you can get by with looking over the slide shows online and not going to class. beware of his exams, they are confusing and poorly written, but not overly difficult.


Freshman
A
Required (Support)
Feb 2003
His lectures are pretty boring, but if you manage to stay awake and go to class every day, you'll have no trouble at all. Study the midterms for the final, and get familiar with the way he writes his questions.


Freshman
A
General Ed
Jan 2004
Marlow makes Economics about as interesting as it can possibly be. Economics is very boring, and I think he realizes this. His models and examples provide a very clear and concise look at the concepts he's trying to portray, and they get the point across very well. Go to the majority of the lectures and read his online tutorials once before eac midterm and the final, and you should be fine. Try not to take this class early in the morning, though. You'll find it's VERY hard to stay awake.


Freshman
A
General Ed
Jan 2004
This class was soooooooooo boring, but there are some good things about this class. For one thing, you don't have to buy a textbook, just some $8 paper booklet. Another thing, you don't have to go to class! I didn't realize this until after the 2nd midterm, but I didn't go for the last 4 weeks of class and I still did fine. He puts up questions and answers on blackboard, and if you study those, you'll do fine. Oh, and he also drops one of your midterms.


Freshman
N/A
General Ed
Dec 2004
Really boring class at 8AM so unless you're a great morning person, don't take this class in the early hours of the day. He seems to know a lot from what I could pick up between snores. Pay attention and get the book of notes and you should be fine. Make sure to write notes as well in the book.


Sophomore
A
General Ed
Dec 2004
BORING! but the good thing is that you don't have to go to class. I did until the second midterm, then, knowing that he drops one of the three, i stopped going. Final is worth 25% of your grade, not so bad. Overall, he does his job, and the class is not hard at all. try not to take it early though, 8am=sleep through class


Junior
A
General Ed
Dec 2004
Marlow was a great teacher for econ. No homework, no quizzes; three midterms and he drops the lowest one. Midterms are 35% each and the final is 30% of the final grade. At any rate, if you understand the things he goes over in class, it is easy to get an A on the tests. Take Marlow if you've got the chance.


Freshman
A
General Ed
Dec 2004
Class is kind of boring, but Professor Marlow makes it as intersting as he can. The class is also very easy, there are only 3 midterms, and your lowest one gets dropped. Then the final is only worth 25% of your grade. He also sells you a book of the notes for the class, and with online tutorials available on blackboard, its a very easy class. After the second midterm, i stopped going to class. With class at 8 am, its a very tempting class to skip. Good professor though.


Freshman
B
General Ed
Dec 2004
Marlow is a great econ teacher. Sometimes it gets boring listening to his lectures, because he uses powerpoint. But if you listen to what he's saying, he makes economics inresting and fun to learn. He has some good jokes and cartoons to liven up the class. Also, instead of requiring the students to buy a textbook, he only makes you buy these $10 notes of his. Marlow has 3 midterms and one final. But, he only grades 2 of the midterms. So if you screw up on one, you still have another chance to redeem yourself. Marlow is a nice guy,and he understands the students. I would take him again if I had another chance.


Freshman
B
General Ed
Dec 2004
The professor sells the lecture notes in the bookstore, and thery are worth the $8. The subject of Econ is super boring! I took this class first thing in the morning, so I fell asleep a lot; I sugest that you take this class later in the day when you're awake, or Marlow will put you to sleep and then you will miss everything. There are three tests, but he drops the lowest and the final has some exact questions that the midterms had.


Freshman
A
General Ed
Jan 2005
Dr. Marlow is a very straightforward teacher. All that his class requires is that you take exams. No homework, discussions, essays, nothing. Just exams. I found it an easy class to take in addition to my other, more difficult classes. I would say on an average class day, roughly 60% of the class seemed to be in lecture, because you don't technically have to show up for anything but exams. I really recommend attending every day because a lot of the material is much better explained in class that on his online lectures. I did not buy any of the required or recommended books and still got an A because the exams follow the lectures well. Marlow is a good teacher, relates economic lessons very well to moderm examples, and has a good sense of humor.


Sophomore
C
General Ed
Jan 2005
Marlow lectured right out of his book of notes. There are a few blanks in the notes but nothing that you can't figure out so you don't really need to go to class. The tests can be confusing, but you should definately study his online tutorials before each midterm. He also drops a midterm which is nice. The final is exactly like his midterms and he even uses some of the same types of questions from his previous midterms so make sure to study them.


Junior
A
General Ed
Jul 2005
I was scared for Econ going into it, because i didn't understand anything about the subject. Marlow starts out with the basics, which may be boring for some people, but why complain if its easy? I took this class during a summer 5 week session and although it was at twice the speed, it was still really easy if you put the effort into it. He drops a test so even if you do badly on one, it doesn't even matter. knowing nothing about econ from the start, i went to class most of the time and then studied for an hour or two before each test and did well. I definitely recommend him for this class, especially if you want to take an easy 5 week GE.


Freshman
B
General Ed
Aug 2005
This guy is the best econ teacher ever! This class was even easier than high school econ. Marlow explains this so clearly that it is hard to not pass the class. He doesn't make you buy the useless books that the other econ teachers make you buy which will save you money. I almost received an A- in this class but I was off by a few points so I got a B+. All his tests are multiple choice and I recommend you look at the blackboard site for additional help since that is where you receive most of the information. I didn't even attend all the classes because you don't need to since he posts all his information on blackboard. His final is ridiculously easy. All it consists of is questions from the previous tests that you took in the quarter. So as long as you study your past exams the final should be cake.


Junior
C
Required (Major)
Dec 2005
this class is really easy! i did not study at all and i didn't go to the lectures and still passed! :-) if you are really interested in econ you maybe should take someone else cause his lectures are extremly booooring but if you have to take the class you might choose him ...


Freshman
N/A
General Ed
Dec 2005
Econ 201 is very boring but Professor Marlow presents the material clearly. The only problem with this class is that it is at 8 in the morning. You should definately drink some coffee before class because staying awake helps! There are 3 midterms and you can drop your worst one. There is also a final. It is easy to pass this class if you study. Oh yeah, the book he requires is very helpful and very inexpensive.


Freshman
B
General Ed
Dec 2005
This class is impossible to take at 8:00 in the morning. Talk about rolling out of bed and then falling back asleep. Marlow attempts to make his lectures interesting by putting in jokes and comics into his powerpoint slides but the monotany of economics thoroughly outweighs it. His tests are okay I guess. He takes a lot of the questions from the practice tests in the back of his "book o notes" so make sure to review those. Marlow is also a bit pompous/egotistical. I suppose he has the right to be seeing as he knows this subject so well and he did work for the US treasury and stuff. But it shows a little too much when people ask questions or answer them and he acts like we should know. We don't which is why we are taking the class....So Marlow is very knowledgable and is an alright teacher. He did get one more kick in our ass though because after a quarter of having full 2 hour lectures at 8 in the morning, the final exam was at 7 in the morning...ouch Marlow.


Sophomore
D
Required (Support)
Dec 2005
If you give a rat's _ _ _ about this class then this is probably a good professor. I am sure he would of be willing to help me if I showed up more than once every two weeks and I asked. But, this is the most noring class I have ever taken. THIS CLASS SUCKS so if you can take a different elective do it.


Junior
B
General Ed
Dec 2005
I really thought Marlow was a good econ teacher. He uses a lot of visuals (graphs) to get you to thoroughly understand supply and demand. The tests were fair and I thought I would get an A in the class because I had done well on the first tests. However, the final was really difficult and I must have done pretty poorly on it because my grade dropped to a B. Overall, he's a nice guy and a good choice for an econ teacher.


5th Year Senior
No Credit
General Ed
Dec 2005
Marlowe is a great professor whose strongest attribute is being straightforward/cut & dry. Grading is simple... 3 midterms and 1 final. The midterm w/ the lowest grade is dropped. No quizzes, papers, or group projects are dished out so there's minimal work. The only reason I didn't pass this class was because I never studied far enough in advance and focused too much on my other classes. The nice part about this class is that there's no textbook, just a book of notes to purchase. The tutorials w/in the notebook are very, very helpful so make sure and read through them. Even though I hate econ w/ a passion (I tried enrolling in it 2 times and ended up dropping both times just because I found it to be so boring), Marlowe was great at simplifying all the topics covered.


Sophomore
B
General Ed
Dec 2005
had him at 8-10, and it wasnt the end of the world to go-- it doesnt take much effort to follow his powerpoints. but uh, i didnt actually go that often because you can sit at home and teach yourself at a reasonable hour... almost everything he teaches is in that book. hes a good professor.. very reasonable, and a nice grading system.. but attendance isnt mandatory to recieving a good grade.


Freshman
C
General Ed
Jan 2006
Marlow is a great lecturer, if your willing to do your part and stay awake. He presents the information in depth and spends a fair amount of time on each concept. Make sure you do the tutorials in the book and review the practice tests in the back. Hard class, long lectures, challenging tests, learned a lot, but glad its over.


Freshman
B
Required (Major)
May 2006
fuck this crimson looking, ketchup, bitch ass, fairy nigga


Junior
C
General Ed
Mar 2007
Marlow may certainly know his stuff, but the guy is a total asshole if you come to him with any problem. His lectures are extremely fast-pace and will keep you frantically taking notes. He lectures with distractingly unprofessional Powerpoints filled with 50 billion transitions and sound effects on each slide. In my humble opinion, ths class was unusually time consuming for a GE. Be cautious.


Sophomore
N/A
General Ed
Mar 2007
Marlow was the worst professor I have ever had. His powerpoints were terrible and basically impossible to follow along with his useless and unhelpful book of notes. He never handed back tests or grades so progress was a mystery. Don't take this class!!!


Freshman
C
General Ed
Nov 2007
His lectures for the most part do not involve taking notes because the textbook required for the class is actually just a hundred pages of printed powerpoint slides. He seems to assume you know what he's talking about (probably forgot most of us were non-econ majors), when he asks a question and nobody answers (and this is in the afternoon in one of those big lecture halls). His lectures helped me a little bit (went to almost everyone and didn't fall asleep) but the textbook also had sample tests in the back which I found the most helpful along with reading the notes. I think you can manage without even going to lectures, as long as you really understand the material. His tests are not that difficult (sample tests like I said help) as long as you study. Your grade is based on two midterms and one cumulative final. Actually you take three but he drops your lowest one.


Sophomore
N/A
General Ed
Nov 2007
marlow is absolutely ridiculous. his lectures are purely power point, and his "book" is the power point slides bound together. because of this, it's tough to take relevant notes. also, almost everything he says is in question form...like the teacher in ferris beuhler....like he expects the lecture hall to complete his "sentences" in unison. "so if aggregate demand is rising, the supply curve will tend to move ....where?" (10 second pause for drama, then some douche will mumble the answer just in time for everyone to forget the initial question.?) honeslty...don't take this class. i'm still in it right now and it's really hard not to heckle him. i hate him, i really do.


Freshman
A
Required (Support)
Dec 2007
Professor Marlow really isn't all that bad. The power point lectures are really boring, but that is just the nature of the beast. Marlow himself admits that economics is a "dismal science." The class is relatively easy. Outside of class expect to put in about 5 hours of studying for the quarter and you will do just fine. He gives sample exams in his book of notes. His final is 50 questions and easier than his midterms. Just don't expect to do nothing and get an A. You can do nothing and still pass though!


Freshman
A
General Ed
Jan 2008
Marlow is easy. I would recommend taking him. I literally never studied and got an A. Class averages were in the low 80's on test. If you understand high school econ you will get at least a B.


Freshman
B
Required (Support)
Mar 2008
Good teacher. Econ is a pretty dry subject, but marlow makes it interesting. he is a great teacher and knows what he is talking about. He adds a lot of personal comments to his powerpoints. Definitely would recommend him


Senior
B
General Ed
Dec 2009
Professor Marlow is very intelligent and obviously knows Econ very well, but he seems almost bored teaching lower level economics. His lectures are purely powerpoint. The text is simply all of the power points bound together, which makes it very affordable. Also, since his lecture is pretty much in the text (minus the you tube videos) it is not extremely important to attend lecture. Since he has taught econ for so long, he posts many of the common issues and answers to them that students have (most of mine were addressed) on blackboard, as well as practice tests and additional supplemental PP slides for each individual chapter. His tests are like the practice tests for the most part ( some questions can be a bit tricky though). He lets you keep the test questions and posts the answers immediately after class so you can determine your grade. The grade is based off 3 midterms (drops lowest midterm grade) and a cumulative final. I went to maybe 30% of the non midterm classes, and got a B. Just study all of the quizzes and supplemental stuff and you\'ll be fine.


Freshman
C
General Ed
Feb 2010
Professor Marlow is a very smart professor and he knows what he is talking about but he does not have any clue on how to explain it to someone who has only taken econ in high school. There is alot of material to learn in this class and some of it is still very blurry after attending every lecture. When you go to office hours for help he does not like to explain things. He just points out where I could find the answer in his own homemade book, that I didnt understand the first time. If at all possible, I would not take this class.


Sophomore
A
General Ed
Apr 2014
Dr. Marlow created a clear, concise, and fairly easy intro to Econ class. As long as you take your time through the online reading and pay attention to the tutorials, you should be fine. I think it's also really important to go to class, as he explains things that can be difficult to grasp in the tutorial. His tests were based almost completely off the tutorials. I was very intimidated by the 'hybrid' class set-up, but ended up really enjoying it. I spent maybe 2-3 hours a week studying outside of class and easily attained an A.


Junior
A
General Ed
Dec 2014
To be honest, the lecture of this class didn't really do me any good. I went every time, but I could never quite understand what he was saying - he would always go off on these tangents that confused me more than anything. Never read the book, but the online tutorials were AWESOME. All i did was work through the tutorials and study them for the exams and I got As on both. If you're worried about econ, definitley, definitely take his class with the tutorials. You have a significantly higher chance of passing.


Freshman
B
Required (Major)
Jun 2015
This guy is awful. He really made me hate econ. The class is 40% midterm, 40% final and 20% online tutorials. Thank God i only had to go to this class once a week. I actually skipped this class more than any other class because i never felt like i got anything out of it. He rambles on and on and talks to us like we know everything about economics. I don’t think anyone could follow what he was saying. I literally learned NOTHING from sitting in lecture. I learned everything from his online tutorials. Basically they are anywhere between 20-50 quiz questions with guided reading to help you figure out the answer. The midterm and final weren't too hard if you were able to figure out the material on your own study time. The final, in my opinion was much easier than the midterm. He doesn't curve the tests but curved the class by 2%. It also really bothered me how there wasn’t a real textbook for this class. The other econ 201 teacher uses a textbook so i got the name of it and then bought an older edition of that book for like $3 on amazon. It had all the topics we learned and it clarified many things that i could never comprehend from listening to marlow alone. I don’t really understand why this guy has the polyratings that he does.. he may be better for upper division econ but definitely not for introductory.


Freshman
C
General Ed
Jan 2016
Marlow's class is pretty much worthless to attend. Everything that he lectures on in class is available online. You can learn everything you need to know if you just study from the online assignments. He is an extremely boring professor and hardly anyone attends class except for on his exam days. I had an A going into the final with only attending two classes. I didn't study for the final and failed it causing my grade to drop to a C+. If you want to take a class that you don't even have to attend, take Marlow. He has an extremely monotone voice and even if you wanted to pay attention in his lecture he makes it extremely difficult/impossible. I never heard anyone in the class ask him a question or even say anything. Overall, my least favorite class of my first quarter here at Cal Poly.


Freshman
N/A
General Ed
Feb 2016
professor was highly disengaged. did not even attempt to interact with students. do not take the hybrid class- i would rather have sat through an extra two hours of class a week than have to teach myself for far more than two hours a week


Freshman
C
Required (Support)
Mar 2016
Marlow is really really good at explaining this but his voice is so full and monotone that it puts me right to sleep. AKA his lectures are only useful if you have coffee beforehand.


Freshman
B
Elective
Mar 2016
I enjoyed the hybrid class. The "tutorials" were fairly straightforward and I got A's on most of them. It would teach you about something and then ask questions about it. I ended up not going to lecture for the last half of the quarter and learning through the tutorials because lecture was boring. Midterm and final were fair. It is a survey course so it felt like as soon as I understood a concept we were learning a new and totally different one. In summary: Not the most interesting class, but if you understand the concepts of economics it should be an easy B or A if you put in the work.


Sophomore
A
General Ed
Mar 2016
I only went to class the first day to make sure I didn't lose my spot, and for the midterm and final. For what it's worth, the first day was really, really dry. It's a hybrid class, so once a week in class and some online tutorials due every week. The tutorials (30%) were pretty easy, some reading and then between 30 and 40 questions on average. The midterm and (not cumulative) final were average in difficulty, and worth 35% each. Overall, this class is pretty easy to get a B in, and some work/studying before the tests to get an A.


Freshman
B
General Ed
Mar 2016
Marlow was not only a crappy teacher but is overall a crappy person. He gives no flexibility on the day/time you are allowed to take the final, even in extreme cases. He doesn't understand a student's life at all and thinks of himself as so superior to you. I went into his office hours to ask for help and all he told me to do was do the tutorials, which I already had been doing. He makes the midterm and final way harder than they need to be, and I had to work my ass off to get a B in the course when I had taken econ before and had received an A in the class with no problems. Do not take this class unless you absolutely need to.


Junior
N/A
General Ed
Apr 2016
This class was very boring and you practically have to teach yourself. He is not very personable.


Freshman
A
General Ed
Dec 2016
Dr. Marlow knows what he's talking about, and I heard he's authored a few books on economics. This class is very boring, not really his fault, unless you're super into economics. If you take the hybrid class you don't really need to go to the lectures, and if you do, your attention span will likely run out after the first hour. The class only meets once a week, with four hours of online tutorials a week (realistically you can finish them in under 2-3 hours). There's only one midterm, and the final isn't cumulative. He curved the class by at least two percent at the end of the quarter. Easy B if you at least pay attention to the online tutorials.


Freshman
B
General Ed
Jan 2017
Perhaps Marlow's strongest suit is his plain and clear way of explaining his material. The course consists of one two-hour lecture per week (of which attendance is required), weekly tutorials which you must complete by Friday, and two non-cumulative exams. Now, I might have gotten a non satisfactory grade (low B), but it is not Marlow's fault; it is entirely my own, and my inability to fathom the concepts of economics. In fact, I might have gotten a lower grade were it not for his simple way of presenting the material.


Freshman
B
General Ed
Jan 2017
You're probably going to fall asleep during the lecture. It's a two hour class where you kinda have to just sit and take notes. He does put tutorials online that make up for what you slept through in class though. He also doesn't require a textbook, so bonus points there.


Freshman
B
General Ed
Jan 2017
Mike Marlow is not a good professor. He's incredibly conceited and talks to students in a really condescending tone. his class is half lecture and half online doing tutorials. I found that i got literally nothing out of his lectures because he did a terrible job explaining each subject so i just stopped going to lectures altogether and only doing the tutorials. I got a B with very little studying and attending 4 lectures, the first two, the midterm, and the final. I would recommend finding another professor but if he is your only option i'd recommend doing as i did, acing the tutorials and not going to his lectures. I probably could've gotten an A if i studied but i just couldn't be bothered to do so.


Freshman
C
General Ed
Jan 2017
DONT TAKE IT, don't do it!!! Unless you are already amazing at Economics do not take this class. It was hell, theres only two tests and if you take the hybrid class like I did then there's really stupid online tutorials. I was blocked into this class and at first I was like oh cool we only meet once a week and have tutorials, I started off always going to lecture until I realized what a waste of time it was. I took AP Econ in highschool and this class honestly made me unlearn econ. Furthermore, I stopped wasting two hours of my life by not going to class and tried teaching myself and did awful, he also doesn't help at all understand anything. If you are blocked in to this like I was as a first quarter freshman..... peace and blessings


Freshman
A
General Ed
Feb 2017
Econ 201 was a really easy class. It's a hybrid online/in-class lecture, but really you don't have to go to class. All of the information is in online tutorials from PolyLearn and he posts lecture slides as well. He only has a midterm and a final, which are pretty much the only days you need to go to class. To give you an idea of how useless (and boring) his lectures were, he would give us a break half way through the lecture and half of the class would just pack up and leave. I didn't really talk to the guy, but the class was really easy.


Sophomore
A
General Ed
Mar 2017
This hybrid class was pretty easy. With 2 hours of work a week and one 2 hour lecture, this class was a breeze. The tutorials (online work) covered everything he mentioned in class so you really only need to show up for the first class, midterm and final.


Sophomore
A
General Ed
Jul 2017
Unless you’re good at econ, I would take a different course to fill this GE. I had SO much trouble learning from this course, as the lectures were basically an online textbook. I went to lecture, but it didn’t even help, as it was often very different from online or didn’t help me learn it effectively. That being said, Marlow is a super nice guy and a great professor- it was the style of his course that got me. He is super helpful in office hours, but I would recommend studying for the midterm and final ahead of time so you can ask him questions on things you don’t understand.

ECON 221


Freshman
B
Required (Support)
Mar 2000
Marlow makes econ as good as it can get. We all know economics is not the most exciting subjuect and he relizes it as well. He does all his lectures on with the use of a power point presentation which makes really easy to follow. Plus he passes out an outline for his lecture. He also relates the information you're learning to what's going on in the economy today (often with articles from the Wall Street Journal). His tests are a little tough, but no bad. You can do the whole class off the lecture, no need to read the book. He oftne doesn't even know what chapter he is lecturing on. He knows what he needs to teach and does it. Show up to class and you'll do fine.


Sophomore
B
Required (Support)
Jun 2000
The above review is pretty accurate. I found the tests to be harder- they required a lot of brainpower and were very tricky. I think Marlow liked to be vague in class on certain subjects, then put it on the test just to see if we knew it. You have to know the stuff WELL. The lectures are as interesting as econ can get (DON'T take early morning or night class). If you miss a class, you're behind quite a bit. The good thing is that he's a pretty cool guy and the grade is only based on three tests and nothing else.


Freshman
B
Required (Support)
Jun 2001
Powerpoint and lecture notes.. don't even bother with the book, everything on the test is from his lecture notes and the books will just confuse you. marlow will stress knowing the graphs for different situations.....LEARN THEM! if you know them and can set them up, the tests are easy as cake.. someone said he talks to his students like they're kindergardeners..and he does, when 1/2 the class is asleep and the few that are awake are giving him blank stares. econ's not the most interesting things and he knows it and does his best to compensate.

ECON 222


Freshman
N/A
General Ed
Oct 2007
This is so far my favorite professor at Cal Poly. He knows how to present all the material and I really enjoyed listening to his lectures. He is a really chill person and he points out how Economics's takes on a different mind set then a lot of people want to take. I find it easy to listen and follow along with is Power Points and he gives plenty of resources to use to study for test. I recommend him for Econ.


Freshman
A
Required (Major)
Oct 2007
i thought his tests were easy and i liked his no attendance, no homework policy. his lectures are very biased though... this guy is super conservative.


Sophomore
A
Required (Major)
Feb 2008
GREAT PROFESSOR. Period. You will learn a lot. His tests are fair and the workload is reasonable.


Freshman
N/A
General Ed
Nov 2008
Ridiculously easy class. I barely ever went b/c all he did in his lecture was read from the slides that were posted on his blackboard site. Tests and quizzes are easy too.


Freshman
N/A
Required (Support)
Nov 2008
If you like online quizzes that you can retake and printed notes before every lecture then take this class! Its just 2 hours of following along power point slides but he goes beyond what the slides say and elaborates everything. This guy knows what he is talking about. Cumulative final, midterms were reasonable. I would recommend this professor for sure


Freshman
B
Required (Major)
Dec 2008
I took Marlow for Macroeconomics during my first quarter here at Cal Poly. The class was in the silo, and I really enjoyed the class as a whole. I am an economics major, and this class was going to determine if I was in the right major. After now completing the class, I can say I am glad I chose economics and I am glad I took Professor Marlow. The material requires logic and reasoning, and if you study hard enough, you should be able to get it. I would recommend Marlow because I felt he knew the material well and was trying to present it to us so that we were able to get a grasp of our macro-economy. So overall, I would take him and again and I probably will be taking him again in my upper-division courses.


Freshman
B
Required (Major)
Dec 2008
I thought Professor Marlow was an average teacher overall. His lectures are very hard to stay focused in, so I usually skipped class and taught myself through his lecture and tutorial notes, which turned out fine. His method of teaching was a little irritating to me as he would constantly expect you to finish his question with a completely random answer he expects everyone to know. Just study the lecture notes and tutorials and you'll be okay. The online quizzes you can retake and get 100% on all of them so that's cool. Online quizzes, 2 midterms and a final.


Freshman
A
General Ed
Jan 2009
Such an easy class. He writes out the notes for you, and then reads them during class. I skipped about half of the class and taught it to myself in half the time. No textbooks. However, if you want to go to class, he adds little stories that make it very interesting. You can retake online quizzes, and the midterms and finals aren't too bad. He curved at the end. He really seems to try to give A's. Take the class.


Freshman
B
General Ed
Jan 2009
Went to maybe 2 classes other than test dates. You can just teach yourself from the notes he puts online and 20% of your grade is in online quizzes u can retake as many times as you'd like. Good, decently easy class.


Freshman
B
Required (Support)
Feb 2009
I really liked Marlow. He does a great job presenting facts, and he has experience to back up what he teaches. He hasn't just been a professor his whole life... he actually has real world experience. He's fair... meaning he won't cut you a break unless you deserve it... but he won't screw you over either. His online quizzes were pretty easy, and he does curve the class a little. I would have gotten an A in the class but I was sick the week before and the week of finals, so I missed the last two classes and went into the final totally out of my mind. But that's not really his problem... anyway, got a B... probably would have gotten an A. You'll do fine as long as you have a basic understanding of Econ... and if you actually do understand it, you can just skip class and take the online quizzes and just go in for the midterms.


Sophomore
B
Required (Support)
Nov 2010
Take this class if you don\'t want homework/want cheap textbook. However, if you appreciate being engaged or interested in any form don\'t take this class. He seems like a nice guy, but when he just lectures from a PowerPoint that you have a copy of in front of you at 8 in the morning. . . zzzz


Freshman
A
Required (Support)
Dec 2010
Marlow is excellent! I have no idea why his rating is not higher. He presents the material very clearly, and provides you with plenty of resources to do well on his three midterms (the lowest of which he will drop)and the cumulative final. He gives you online tutorials and sample questions of which all of his test questions are basically derived from. His test questions are predictable (if you study)and the class moves at a really nice pace so it is easy to keep up with the material. Contrary to what many of the reviews state, I thought he was really good at keeping the class interested. Since I had him at 8 am, there were a few times that the class was distracted or sleepy, and he was very good at gauging the audience\'s interest level. On these occasions, he spiced up his lecture with entertaining econ rap videos that were not only funny, but pertained to the material at hand. An added bonus was the fact that his course material was very inexpensive. Definitely take him, I thoroughly enjoyed his class, and as long as you attend class and go over the tutorials, his class shouldn\'t be a lot of work.


Freshman
C
Required (Support)
Dec 2010
sucks


Freshman
A
General Ed
Dec 2010
Easy class. He gives you everything you need to pass (tutorials, sample questions) and the tests are easy to predict. You don\'t really even need to go to class....take this class!


Freshman
A
Required (Major)
Dec 2010
Marlow makes things really straightforward and easy to understand through his tutorials and powerpoint book. That being said, going to class actually confused things for me so I just stopped going. He just tends to teach more than you need to know, which isn\'t always a bad thing but can be at 8am. I thought he was pretty funny in a dry sort of way. Clearly leans to the right but not in a way that makes you angry or irritated at all. Nice guy, I\'d take him again for an econ class.


Sophomore
A
Required (Support)
Dec 2010
Easy class. He\'s very clear and straightforward, and there\'s no book, just a booklet of his powerpoints. Study and you\'ll be fine- you don\'t even have to go to class every day. I don\'t see how anyone could have done poorly, since he has online tutorials for each topic and practice questions, which are very similar (sometimes the same) as his exam questions. That being said, I the averages were high (freshman scores were the only thing that brought them down). He is very anti-Keynesian/pro-free market. If you\'ve taken 221 or even econ in high school, the entire first midterm will be review. Great teacher, take him.


Sophomore
B
Required (Support)
Jan 2011
Let me be clear: this might be the most boring class I've taken at Cal Poly, and I actually find economics quite interesting. It's not even the subject matter. First of all, I took it at 8 am. Secondly, he's extremely monotone. And then when he's lecturing, he sometimes will stay on the same slide and go off onto long tangents for 30 minutes, and you lose interest. You buy some book from a site which has all his slides so most of the note-taking is done for you. I eventually stopped going since I wanted to fall asleep anyways and sometimes did (which I haven't done in any other course). His Blackboard is extremely helpful. It has practice tests and tutorials for each chapter that correspond with the notes you have. If you need help, just go to his office hours as he's supposedly helpful, although I never want. Not too hard to get a B, as he drops one of the three (might have been 4?) tests.


Sophomore
A
Required (Support)
May 2011
Awesome teacher, he really knows his stuff. I like econ so I enjoyed his class but if you don't, the class is super straightforward and he DROPS YOUR LOWEST MIDTERM GRADE so you can definitely get an A.


Sophomore
A
Elective
Mar 2012
Your grade in Macroeconomics is based on your top 2 of 3 midterm (50 multiple choice) tests and a 50 multiple choice test final that essentially uses the questions from the 3 midterms. The class is very straightforward and incredibly simple if you grasp econ concepts easily. If not, Marlow did not seem very approachable to me. The couple of times that I talked to him he came off as condescending. Also, he previously worked for the Bush administration and is very right-leaning in his lectures. Overall, Marlow is an easy A - especially if you've already taken MicroEcon.


Sophomore
A
Required (Support)
Mar 2012
Class is not that bad especially if you follow economics well. Its a fairly logical class, that requires way more than just memorization. Marlow is cool enough and i would recommend this course with him.


Freshman
B
Required (Support)
Mar 2012
If you work well studying by yourself, this class is good for you. Usually, you just have to look over the powerpoints and "tutorials" he puts on PolyLearn to study for the tests. The only thing I hated about the class was it was based 100% on tests, so you definitely need to get As on them if you want an A in the class.


Sophomore
B
Required (Support)
Mar 2012
3 Midterms (lowest grade dropped) and 1 cumulative final. Do NOT take at 8am b/c the fact that he posts lecture slides online will lead you to not go to class. Boring, monotonous, but endurable. Marlow’s a good and interesting professor. Take him for an easy solid B.


Senior
A
General Ed
Apr 2012
Marlow was a decent processor. Not the best professor I've had but definitely not the worst. I was kind of looking forward to economics since I'm a nerd, but was slowly discouraged over the course of the quarter by his constant ranting about National Debt and Social Security - we get it, move on. He's obviously conservatively biased, which I don't hold against him, but it was a little too much. The course was pretty easy. Just 3 midterms with the lowest score dropped plus a final, all evenly weighted. The best thing about Marlow, was that he presented the material in a common sense way rather than a memorize this way. Tests were straightforward and never tricky.


Freshman
B
Required (Support)
Dec 2017
Marlow is a very traditional professor. His class consists of tutorials (30%), midterm (35%), and a final (35%). His class only meet one day a week which is very nice throughout the whole semester as you meet one day a week, and only have 1 or 2 tutorials to complete in the week. Once it gets to finals week, the pressure for Marlow's class increases. His first midterm was very easy to get and A and do well on, however the final was the complete opposite. It was very specific to the tutorials and it only incorporated 3 tutorials out of the 7. Overall, this class was not difficult to get a B in, however his lectures are very dry especially at 8 AM and there is a lot of self learning through the tutorials as they teach you more than Marlow.


Freshman
A
Required (Support)
Dec 2017
I thought the class was a relatively easy A. All you have to do is go to class once a week, although it is at 8am, and do the super easy tutorials assigned each week, which are meant to boost your grade. I never went to office hours, so I can't speak as to how helpful Marlow is outside of class, but in class he knew what he was talking about. Yes, the class can be dry sometimes, but from my pov that was because it was early in the morning and everyone wanted to go back to sleep. To get an A, just do the tutorials two or three times before the midterm/non-cumulative final, and go over the slides posted on PolyLearn.


Freshman
A
Required (Support)
Jan 2018
Professor Marlow was a great teacher. He presented all the material well and very clearly. Although class was scheduled for twice a week he only held class once a week and the other class block was used as office hours. Although his lectures are long and often pretty dry he tries to include a few jokes to lighten up the class. He is not the most interesting lecturer but does a great job of explaining the material. Overall, I would take him again.


Freshman
B
Required (Support)
Dec 2018
This class required minimal effort. You only have one lecture a week, and you really don't have to go since he posts his powerpoints online. There is 1 online tutorial per week, which takes probably 45 minutes tops. The grading is 30% tutorials, 35% midterm, and 35% final. I got high 90s on each tutorial and 80s on the midterm/final. The midterm and final are questions basically pulled directly from the tutorials so that is what you should use to study for them. If I studied a little more for the midterm and final I could've gotten and A. I would highly recommend taking this class.


Freshman
B
General Ed
Dec 2018
Alright so here's the deal with Michael Marlow, you show up for weeks 1-5 and it seems manageable. The midterm is smooth and easy. You may feel tempted to skip class but avoid this temptation at all costs. The class itself is boring but he only lectures for one class a week and the other "class" is filled by doing online tutorials which can amount to be a pain in the ass. After the midterm, it's super tempting not to get lazy and to ditch class. The week or so leading up to Marlow's final is when the sudden stress hammers down. It's nearly impossible to teach yourself all the material again and understand it for the final. Re-do all the tutorials right before though! I don't know how I got a B but I did!! Best of luck in this difficult class...


Junior
N/A
General Ed
Feb 2019
This dude will tell you that all the information for his BS tutorials are in the tutorials. They aren't. Good luck. Only pro of this class is you only have to deal with his boring lectures once a week.


Freshman
C
Required (Support)
Feb 2019
This class is super difficult. Don't even bother showing up to the lectures because they'll just put you to sleep anyways. I really loved the online portion of this class and you can honestly get by on just that. I have absolutely no interest in Economics and hence my C+ grade. I left both the midterm and final feeling great and ended up with awful scores. Just study the online material rigorously and you should do great.


Freshman
A
Required (Major)
Mar 2019
Professor Marlow is honestly not a hard teacher if you're looking to take this class as a GE. It's a hybrid course meaning you only show up to class on one day, and then due online tutorials for the other part where the answers are all on quizlet. If I'm being completely honest, I showed up but then left at the break during class up until the midterm, and then after the midterm I never showed up again until the final. He just reads right off the slides that he also puts up online, so if you think econ comes easy to you, then this is the class to take. If it doesn't come very easy to you, I would be careful about taking this class considering he doesn't exactly teach.


Freshman
B
Required (Support)
Dec 2019
Professor Marlow seems like a nice professor, but he does not seem to care about his students succeeding in his class. He has hundreds of students, and he only has three hours of office hours each week, and he is not willing to meet with you outside of those hours. Half of the class is online tutorials that can be very confusing. I am a diligent student who never missed a lecture, I went to tutors, and I studied over 15 hours for the final exam, but I got a low C on it. I did everything he said to prepare myself for the final, yet, in my eyes, I failed it. My final grade in the class was a B. If you want to get an A in an Econ class, I recommend you look for a different professor.


Freshman
B
Required (Support)
Jan 2020
He's a good teacher who knows his stuff, but he's very condescending. He doesn't really help you that much if you have questions and he sometimes just leaves you in the dust. He's a very knowledgeable guy though and his tests were hard but not impossible.


Freshman
C
Required (Support)
Mar 2020
take this class if you don't actually go to class. I only went to the midterm and final and got C's on both. the online information helps a lot too.


Freshman
C
Required (Major)
Mar 2020
If you are REALLY good at Econ I would highly recommend Prof Marlow. However, if you're like me, in high school I would have an Econ quiz ever day and a test every week and a half and thought that would help me in the class. However, although the tutorials are all online for the entire quarter, they really don't help you on the midterm and final. They each probably took 2 questions out of all the tutorials to put on the midterm and final. Overall, if you want an easy GE I wouldn't recommend this class even though it is only meeting once a week from 4-6 PM in the Business Silo on Tuesdays and hybrid on Thursdays. The tutorials are 30% of your grade and the midterm and final together create the other 70%. It is also frustrating because he offers zero extra credit and tells you in the syllabus don't ask for extra credit or a boost in your grade because if you're not doing well then that means you're not taking charge of your education. Which is frustrating but has to be understandable.


Sophomore
B
Required (Major)
Apr 2020
Marlow was an alright professor, I suppose it's hard to be great or personable when you're teaching such a huge class. Grades were split pretty evenly between online tutorials, a midterm, and a final, and we only met once a week. Lectures were entirely useless. He was too quiet, and it was too easy for me to fall asleep, can I make it any more obvious?...... It was way easier to take notes from the powerpoints and tutorials online or watch Khan Academy. Just save yourself the two hours for an extra nap or something. The midterm and final were both 50 questions, all multiple-choice, which was a welcome change after taking ECON 221 with Soldati. Not a terrible class, just do it on your own and you should be able to get at least a B.

ECON 311


Junior
D
Required (Major)
Jun 2006
Good professor but EXTREMELY difficult

ECON 337


Sophomore
C
Required (Major)
May 2006
Not to brag but I am an exceptional student. I know how to take tests, allocate my time.... etc. I took Marlow for econ 337 and this muthafucker is hard!!! he had 3 tests all worth a third of your grade, no hw, no attendence, no group projects, no easy points, I studied my ass off to get a C, and my worst grade prior to this in my whole life was a B... this professor is hard dont take him,,, trust me

COMS 343


5th Year Senior
B
Required (Major)
Nov 2016
he sure does like his women, wet!!

ECON 410


Junior
B
Required (Major)
Mar 2004
Public Finance is a really cool class and Dr. Marlow knew a ton about the subject. He is an extremely insightful teacher who talks about real issues. He is an excellent speaker and the class tackles basic public policies. Dr. Marlow incorporates lectures about smoking, drinking, taxes, into this class. There is a midterm and a final, all essay like questions that are not bad if you read the chapters in the book. He assigned a few homework assignments in order to prepare for the midterm. Dr. Marlow is one of the few Economic teachers who understands students and can actually teach. 410 is a cool class and don't hesitate to take it.


Senior
A
Required (Major)
May 2009
Econ 410 was the second class I had with Marlow, and it was as equally enjoyable as the first (Econ 424). First of all, Marlow is super intelligent and whip-smart. He is politically biased in favor of the free-market and against government control/regulation...so what? That really should be a non-issue in my opinion (some people complain about it). Econ 410 is a politically charged class, and playing the fence on important economic issues would be a pretty flaccid attempt at teaching economics. I appreciate a teacher who expresses his opinion on any issue while leaving it open to debate. If you disagree with him, go ahead and talk to him about it. Chances are he has encountered your comment a 1000 times before and thought about it long and hard, at which point he will respond and quickly leave you stumped. Marlow thrives off of debate and ideology, which is great for the subject. His tests/quizzes are straightforward, and if you attend class regularly, you'll do fine. Marlow is a great guy and I strongly recommend him. A+


Senior
B
Required (Major)
Mar 2010
Marlow is the most elitist, name dropping teacher I’ve ever had, and personally had a hard time stomaching his “I know more than you do” personality. He is so disgustingly pro free-market and never even hints that there may be another side to the argument. This being said, he is a smart guy who has his discussions laid out in a clear, easy to follow way (off of powerpoint). I never took notes in this class, but you have to go to every lecture if you expect to get an A. He grades super hard on quizzes and tests, so don’t be discouraged if you do poorly on them – I have a feeling he’s never given a 100% to anything in his life. Overall, I felt like I learned a lot in this class and have some views on issues that I would have never been exposed to had I not taken it. I’d recommend it, but be prepared to grind your teeth and hold your tongue throughout the quarter.


Junior
B
Required (Major)
Mar 2011
ECON 410 is Public Finance/ Cost-Benefit Analysis and I really enjoyed the class. He gave all the slides before so you don't have to take notes during class and a lot of people would fall asleep because of that. However, his grading was favorable for students, I think the midterm average was around 87 or 88. Also the questions on the test covered the topics he talked about in class, there weren't any tricks on the tests. Overall, Marlow is straight forward with the material and made the class enjoyable.


Senior
B
Required (Support)
Mar 2013
Marlow is an old school economist. He doesn't like anything to do with behavioral economics, government, evidence, logic, or any thinking outside of "Marlonomics." If you want to be beaten over the head with the free market speel then take this class.


Senior
C
Elective
Mar 2015
Marlow was one of the most cocky, pretentious teachers that I have ever had the displeasure of taking. He does not at all care about the students and grades extremely harsh. Marlow seems to think he is the best economist teacher in the world but he is nothing in comparison to Zambrano or Lepore. Definitely do not take this class.


Junior
A
Required (Major)
Apr 2015
Marlow is a bit pretentious, but he knows his stuff and cares about his students. No homework, midterm, final, and paper. Tests are essays, very conceptual with no math. If you lack quantitative skills, this is a great course to take. I was entertained by his lectures, but be aware of his libertarian views.


Senior
C
Required (Major)
Feb 2017
This is a good class to take if you are an econ major trying to fufill your 400 level electives and gtfo. There is no math, it is all concept based which is nice for an econ class. His lecture however are very boring and he just reads off of his powerpoints. There is also quite a bit of reading as he wrote his own book and you are expected to read all the chapters. One giant group project, two exams and a pre-exam. Public finance is actually very interesting and the material isn't bad. If you're looking for an average Econ class, this is it.


Senior
A
Required (Major)
Nov 2017
Marlow is one of the most opinionated professors I have ever had. He is clearly very politically right and does not even attempt to teach from an unbiased position. He teaches out of his 20+ year old book that clearly hasn't been changed since then and loves to talk in length about his past research. Thankfully if you can simply regurgitate his opinions on the tests and quizzes they are very easy. Pretty easy A if you can stand to sit through incredibly dry lectures.

ECON 424


Senior
N/A
Required (Major)
Aug 2008
really interesting class. great teacher who really understands free markets (viva hayek). Tests are straightforward and class was good, went everyday. no book or materials needed which was a plus as well (i.e. blackboard).


Senior
A
Required (Major)
Oct 2008
I sit here thinking of better days...the days when I took Monetary Economics with Marlow and when the free market still had a chance to survive. Now, days are grim with ominous accounting midterms hanging over my head, dealing with incompetent finance teachers who can barely speak english, and with the government nationalizing our financial system. The only thing that comforts me in my last days of Cal Poly is knowing that one day I will be able to take another Econ class with Marlow. With that said, let me tell you that Marlow's Econ 424 class was the most interesting and stimulating course I have ever taken at Cal Poly. This is the type of subject that really got me interested in Economics. At the heart of it all is the debate between Keynesians and Friedmanites, which is essentially the debate between modern Democrats and Republicans. I don't really know what to say as far as the class goes. There is no textbook, there is no homework or quizzes, there is no major math or calculation. Marlow gives you a powerpoint slides which he goes over thoroughly in his lecture, leaving no stone unturned. The tests are mainly essay questions. I honestly believe Marlow is the best teacher in the Business/Econ department. Take him any chance you get. Young freshmen: take him for microeconomics, intermediate microeconomics, monetary economics, public finance, and the senior project. You won't regret it.


Senior
A
Required (Major)
Apr 2009
Marlow is a very interesting teacher and his class was very interesting as well. He is a pretty tough grader and requires a lot of work from his students. That being said, his class was very entertaining and introduced me to lots of ideas that I didn't realize were involved in economic thought. This class very heavily emphasized the current mortgage crisis and explained in full detail what we are trying to do to get out of it, past historical examples, what we are currently doing that is harming us, and how we got into this mess in the first place. Marlow excellently used Wall Street Journal videos and lots of political cartoons to break up the class material and give us real world examples of what is going on. Lots of the interviews and videos he showed us had a lot of relevance to the class and were a great way of learning the material through a different medium. The class is organized as having two midterms and a final. The midterms are pretty tough and require a lot of studying. The tests are very open ended and the questions require a lot of background information and lecture material recall. There is very little calculation on the tests, they are mostly essay tests, making you use the information you have learned in class to answer some very broad reaching questions about our economy. I feel that I learned a lot in this class and that it was really cool to finally be in an economics class that talks about current issues and not just textbook topics. Every other econ class i have taken is just about static models in a textbook and it was great to get some real world application to these macroeconomic ideas. The final was very open ended and was a hard test requiring lots of study. The textbook is made up of Marlow's power point slides, which I was a little concerned with at the start, as I like to have the textbook author be different from the teacher to get another viewpoint on the material, but Marlow's textbook was well written and had lots of good data in it. It really helps to read these before class! There was a lot of additional reading on blackboard, lots of WSJ and other news articles including some longer 10 to 20 page articles. There was a very long, over one hour, podcast we had to listen to, and it was interesting, but very long. This class required a lot of work, but I feel it was worth it and it was pretty interesting. Take Marlow if you can.


Junior
A
Required (Major)
May 2009
Marlow does in excellent job of teaching monetary economics with a Hayeaken(Free market) and Milton Freedman(Monetarism) bias. I think that it was great that he taught it this way because it allows the student to really understand what an extremely intelligent professor actually believes. If he tried to make it completely objective the class would have to of been dumbed down heavily. I love learning what an intelligent economist's position on economic issues is and learning as much as i can from them. If you enjoy the subject it is hard to do poorly in the class. I highly recommend him.


5th Year Senior
C
Elective
Jun 2009
I had Marlow for 3 classes at Poly, Econ 311, 410, and 424. 424 was by far the most interesting and useful class I took at Poly. I didn't study as much as I should have, but I have to say Marlow is the best professor I had at Cal Poly, hands down. Thank you Professor Marlow!

ECON 464


Senior
A
Required (Major)
Jan 2009
The Economics Senior Project class with Professor Marlow was difficult in that we only met once for the quarter. The rest of the time is your research time and writing time on your project. It was good that he made us meet a prospectus (a detailed outline of the paper) and a rough draft due date. It was hard staying focused and completing the project in a timely manner. Prepare to be planning and working on your paper for the entire quarter. Don't put it off 'till the end, work on it for as long as you can. In this class the goal is to research and write a very professional paper and to fully develop your researching and writing skills. Marlow challenged his students to write at a high level and to create great work. I am very proud of my project and the effort I put into it, and Marlow will make you work hard. The project is pretty much under your own supervision, so stay focused! The grade in the class is pretty much based off of your final draft of your paper. Marlow is a very helpful teacher. He can be a bit difficult at times with wanting better writing or clearer writing from his students, but don't get discouraged, he just wants to push you to do your best. He is helpful via email and in his office. I can't stress this enough, work on your project early! There was also a final exam in this class for all of the Economic thought that has been taught throughout your progress at Cal Poly. It is a difficult test, but it doesn't count toward your grade, which is nice. Overall the class was pretty difficult and challenging, but if you start early and put a lot of effort in, as well as get help from Marlow either via email or in his office hours, you will do fine.


Senior
A
Required (Major)
Jun 2010
You only meet for this class the first week which is nice. Otherwise you are on you own just doing research, writing, editing. I had a really hard time picking a topic and starting but once I did, I just powered through it in 4 or 5 weeks. Don’t be afraid to take an unfinished draft to Marlow and ask him what’s good and bad about your paper. Although I only talked to him two or three times throughout the quarter, he just helped me to have some direction and provided some motivation to keep the process moving. START AS EARLY AS YOU CAN. I can’t stress this enough…I ran into so many speedbumps along the way that took so much more time than I had initially thought. I finished and turned it in a week early – I suggest doing the same so you can actually enjoy the end of the quarter/graduation.

GSB 500


Graduate Student
B
Required (Support)
Mar 2001
Mike is a great teacher...I would love to take him again. He is lacking some objectivity, but that is fine with me...

GSB 523


Graduate Student
B
Required (Major)
May 2005
Runs his whole class off PowerPoint slides and has a very smug attitude. Also tries to teach beyond the scope of the course and crams too much information into too short of a time span. Not recommended.

GSB 533


Graduate Student
B
Required (Major)
Sep 2003
This guy knows more about economics than God does. You don't have to buy a book, all you have to do is print a bunch of slides that have some words missing and fill them in during class. He is kind of opinionated, but I didn't care 'cause he knows a lot of stuff. His tests aren't that bad, and he's a fairly easy grader, just write what you can and go for partial credit if you don't know anything.