Princeton ECO 100: Introduction to Microeconomics
ECO 100 is Princeton's introductory microeconomics course — supply and demand, elasticity, consumer and producer behavior, market structures, and welfare and policy — taught in large lectures with precepts and required for the economics concentration and many other tracks.
Fennie is independent and not affiliated with Princeton University. This is an unofficial study guide.
Build my ECO 100 study planWhat makes it hard
Grades come largely from exams that favor application: shift this curve, compute that elasticity, compare market structures. The questions are quick individually but cover everything, and grading rewards precision. Students who skip graph practice because lectures felt clear are the standard casualty.
What you'll cover
- • Supply, demand, and market equilibrium
- • Elasticity
- • Consumer and producer surplus
- • Costs of production
- • Perfect competition and monopoly
- • Market failures and policy
The ECO 100 study guide
How to study for Princeton ECO 100, step by step.
- 1
Practice application from week one
ECO 100's grade rides on exams that test doing — shift this curve, compute that elasticity — so study time belongs in practice problems, not note rereading, from the start.
- 2
Draw graphs by hand until automatic
Supply-demand shifts, surplus regions, cost curves, market structures. Recognizing a correct graph is easy; producing the reasoning behind it is what the questions require.
- 3
Drill elasticity computations for speed
Elasticity questions are quick individually but cover everything. Practice until the calculation and its interpretation both come without hesitation.
- 4
Build a market-structures comparison sheet
Perfect competition versus monopoly — assumptions, demand curves, outcomes, efficiency — side by side. Comparison questions are a fixture, and crammed models blur together.
- 5
Let Fennie run the prep
Upload your ECO 100 syllabus and Fennie's Daily Plan paces the chapters with graph and problem practice scheduled before each exam, plus practice questions in exam format generated from the actual material. Free to start.
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How Fennie helps with ECO 100
Fennie's Daily Plans pace ECO 100's chapters with regular graph-drawing and problem practice scheduled before each exam — the application reps the exams actually test. Chat through curve-shift scenarios and market-structure comparisons until the reasoning is automatic, then drill with generated practice questions in exam format.
FAQ
Is ECO 100 at Princeton hard?
Moderate — the concepts are intro-level, but exams reward precision and speed with graphs and scenarios. Students who practice application questions outperform students who reread notes, almost mechanically.
How do I study for ECO 100 exams?
Work practice questions in exam format: curve shifts, elasticity calculations, and market-structure comparisons under time. Draw graphs by hand until automatic — recognizing a correct graph is far easier than producing the reasoning, and exams test the reasoning.
Should I take ECO 100 or ECO 101 first?
Either works — they're independent. Many students find micro (100) more concrete as an entry point, but if your schedule favors macro first there's no real penalty. The economics concentration expects both.
Pass ECO 100 with a plan, not a cram
Upload your ECO 100 materials and Fennie generates a Daily Plan paced to your deadline — plus chat, flashcards, and quizzes built from the actual course content.
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