Rutgers ECON 102: Introduction to Microeconomics
ECON 102 (01:220:102) covers supply and demand, elasticity, consumer and firm behavior, and market structures. It's the entry point to the Rutgers economics major and one of the most-enrolled social science courses at the university.
Fennie is independent and not affiliated with Rutgers University. This is an unofficial study guide.
What makes it hard
Exams are multiple-choice but precision-based: curve-shifting logic, surplus calculations, and elasticity scenarios where plausible-sounding wrong answers are deliberately included. Students coast on the intuitive early weeks, then get caught when the graphical analysis stacks up around midterm time.
What you'll cover
- • Supply and demand
- • Elasticity
- • Consumer and producer surplus
- • Taxes and price controls
- • Costs and perfect competition
- • Monopoly and market power
The ECON 102 study guide
How to study for Rutgers ECON 102, step by step.
- 1
Don't coast on the intuitive early weeks
ECON 102 feels like common sense until the graphical analysis stacks up around midterm time. Keep weekly graph practice going from week one so the cumulative material never piles up.
- 2
Drill shift-versus-slide until it's reflexive
Whether a change shifts a curve or moves along it is the most-tested distinction in the course, and the multiple-choice traps are built around it. Classify scenarios daily until the answer is instant.
- 3
Compute surplus and elasticity, don't just shade
Exam questions want numbers: surplus areas, elasticity values, tax incidence splits. Practice the arithmetic under light time pressure so it doesn't fall apart on exam day.
- 4
Review the questions you got right for the wrong reason
On every practice exam, audit your correct answers too. A lucky guess on a trap question is a future miss. That's where the deliberately plausible wrong answers live.
Today
Today's ECON 102 plan
What a Fennie Daily Plan looks like for ECON 102. Yours is built from your own syllabus and adapts every day to your deadlines and progress.
First plan free, no card required. Fennie is independent and unaffiliated with your school.
FAQ
Is ECON 102 hard at Rutgers?
It's moderate, but the multiple-choice exams reward precision over intuition. Students who practice drawing and reading graphs quickly do noticeably better than those who just review slides.
Do I take ECON 102 or 103 first?
They're independent (102 is micro, 103 is macro) and both are required for the econ major. Many students take micro first, but order is usually flexible.
How do I get an A in ECON 102?
Drill graph mechanics until they're automatic, do every practice exam, and review the questions you got right for the wrong reason. That's where multiple-choice traps live.