MATH 118B
PONCE G
Gustavo Ponce
2.5
107 reviews

108
2.5
4A . Ponce G 1 Year, 2 Months Ago

Prof Ponce has a thick accent that can be hard to understand (especially if you are new to linear algebra and its vocab), and his handwriting is sloppy cursive. He gives 20 hw problems a week, however, lectures are often too concept-based or unrelated so you'll find you'll assistance understanding the problem types. The final is 50% of your grade.

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4A . Ponce G 1 Year, 2 Months Ago

Despite the efforts of the TA's and the Math Lab, myself and a lot of my peers struggled very hard in this class. The lecture's are hard to follow and the handwriting is very bad. Broad concepts that are critical for this course are not explained at all, only dense math material. The tests so far are fair, but if you fall behind you're toast.

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MATH4A . Ponce G 1 Year, 2 Months Ago

Went to 1 lecture and then just went to CLAS 2x a week. He was just looking at another professor's slides and figuring it out as he went along. Terrible lecture. The 2 midterms were online and the tests were the same for the entire class. I haven't taken the final yet and it is 50% of your grade (and you need at least 50% to pass the class)

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MATH4A . Ponce G 1 Year, 2 Months Ago

Horrible professor, hard to understand, terrible handwriting, and lectures are dense and often hard to understand. 2 Midterms and a Final worth 50% of your grade, only take if you have to, otherwise avoid

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MATHCS122A . Ponce G 2 Years Ago

Terrible class; professor refused to follow a textbook, he just said we can use any book but none of them were relevant. Homeworks were unrelated to lecture. He kept saying we haven't learned anything difficult so homework and exams should be easy; take his class if you want to be called stupid on a regular basis I guess.

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MATH122A . Ponce G 3 Years Ago

- easy exams - really good lecturing style. Happy to slow down or re-explain - will straight up do some homework problems during office hours - there was a textbook for the class but he didn't teach or assign homework from it

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MATH122A . Ponce G 3 Years Ago

I love prof Ponce. Gave practice midterms and final that were very similar to the real thing. He's extremely fair. Homework is kinda long, but utilize his office hours and you'll be fine. I can't wait to have him again.

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MATH108A . Ponce G 3 Years Ago

hard homework, easy mid and final

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108A . Ponce G 3 Years Ago

Lectures are engaging. Tests are things we have practiced a lot. As long as you fully understand the concepts and know how to utilize them, his class is definitely not hard.

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MATH108A . Ponce G 3 Years Ago

Ponce is definitely one of my favorite professors. Weekly homework might be a bit rough and his lectures are fast paced and difficult, but tests are EXTREMELY fair. He really cares about his students, and if you visit in OH, he gives careful answers to your questions. Do his midterm & final practice problems and you will ace any test he gives.

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MATH8 . Ponce G 3 Years Ago

Was worried to take him bc of his ratings, but he was seriously the most caring and helpful math prof I've had so far. HW was worth 50% of grade which was nice and when it was difficult he went over anything you needed in OH. No midterm, occasional quizzes that were super fair, and final was long but not too bad. Excited to have him again in fall.

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MATH8 . Ponce G 3 Years Ago

I think he might bad at lower div. math class and also have heavy accent but look at his syllabus, 50% of HW is def. worth it. though HWs are tough to do so go to his OH he will show you how to crack them down. Final is not tough but the grading might be strict if you are not clear. Recommend for MATH8 and might take 108A with him again

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MATH4A . Ponce G 5 Years Ago

DO NOT TAKE HIS CLASSES. He is difficult to understand, writes lecture slides as he goes, always sounds annoyed. One time I asked a question in class, he talked down on me for asking a dumb question. Had to buy a $100 homework system I only used for that quarter. Material was hard but he looks like he doesn't care about his students.

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MATH4A . Ponce G 5 Years Ago

i will never take his class! I even don't know what he is saying at class that one day I heard "cilo" which I don't know what it is . after half of the class I noticed that he said is "zero".... bad professor

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108A . Ponce G 5 Years Ago

Dr. Ponce i s absolutely brilliant, and was one of the best professors I have ever had here at UCSB. He is very helpful and cares that his students learn. The exams were not easy, but very doable, and nothing unexpected or unfair showed up. There was a large amount of difficult homework, but it's weighted high and is fair. I will miss Ponce.

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MATH8 . Ponce G 5 Years Ago

Awesome prof, he really made sure people understood the material and encouraged questions. Easy to get an A or B if you go lecture and read the textbook. The tests were easy, often straight from the textbook and never unexpected material. Would recommend for upper div math/conceptual classes.

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MATH4A . Ponce G 5 Years Ago

He had his lectures pre-written (sloppily too) which made it difficult to read. Worse, he went through them SUPER fast. When answering questions, he just wanted to quickly get through them. Sections were mandatory and helped a little with the grade. Each test (there were 2) was easy in concept but one miscalculation fudges up the whole grade.

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MATH5A . Ponce G 6 Years Ago

Just never ever take his class.

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MATH4A . Ponce G 6 Years Ago

Bad lecturer, had to buy the textbook for online homework even though I didn't need the book. Just used CLAS and got a good grade.

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MATH4A . Ponce G 6 Years Ago

The accent is a problem, but if you take lectures and read notes carefully, you can get a good grade. He always says the tests are hard, but actually they are fair, and the topics are covered in examples. More practice and participation are important.

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4A . Ponce G 6 Years Ago

tbh, His tests are not that hard. Just study the textbook and make sure you understand the homework problems. Go to CLAS if you can. I could of getting an A if I can get one more question right though.

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MATH4A . Ponce G 6 Years Ago

The grading for this class was pretty ridiculous as there was no partial credit for the only midterm we had, not sure about the final. The midterm was 4 questions so making two stupid mistakes resulted in a high F. Luckily hw and section attendance was waited as heavily as the midterm. Definitely not clear about what would and wouldnt be tested on

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MATH4A . Ponce G 6 Years Ago

Overall I'd say Ponce is a very poor teacher. His accent makes it hard to understand and his handwriting is so illegible even he cant read it most of the time. The class itself is super straight forward, but there is one midterm and one final and they have combined 10 questions and NO partial credit at all. If you can get another professor.

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4A . Ponce G 6 Years Ago

Since lectures weren't mandatory and at 8AM, I didn't go to all of them but I read the textbook, went to section, and did the homework. Ended up with a C+. The final was way harder than the midterm, which I didnt really expect from what the professor and my ta were telling me beforehand.

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