Ponce will be one of the worst math profs you take at sb. The midterm was straightforward but final was difficult. My friends and I studied for almost a week and got a C+ on it. Theres no partial credit so one little mistake can cost you about 7 points. Also, he mentioned the final was going to be conceptual two lectures before taking it. Avoid!

His midterm was relatively easy and straightforward but his final was so much more difficult than I could've imagined. His no partial credit policy for his tests make getting a good grade extremely difficult. Not really much of a curve at the end of the quarter either. Hardest class I've taken at UCSB.

One of the worst prof ever, spent the last 3 weeks on learning a very hard chapter but never tested it on Final. Midterm is okay but Final worth 50% of your grade and it is hard so be prepared for it. Once again, try your best to avoid him unless you have abosolutely no choices

BAD!

HE IS TERRIBLE

Spending a good amount of time on the homework is the only way I learned anything. My TA is honestly the only way I got through his class, GO TO SECTION- attendance is graded and helps. Lecture is very difficult to follow and he often doesn't take questions even though he'll ask for them. A lot of self-learning to be expected.

Worst professor ever. I understand 4A is supposed to be hard but he just made it HARDER. His accent is so bad that there is no way you can follow without teaching yourself before lectures. I also think it's funny how he always asks "Is this clear" or "are you with me" but never clarifies anything even if the whole class was like "No!" AVOID HIM.

his lectures arent as clear so i decided to teach myself the content. hard to follow lectures and rarely stops for questions. homework varies by week but it took a considerable amount of time to do.

Prof Ponce is the worst professor on this campus. He grade ridiculously difficult and has absolutely no sympathy for his students. His accent is horribly difficult to understand and he lacks any recognition that his students have questions or dont understand his lectures in which he doesnt describe anything or give clear examples.

He had one midterm and it was after the drop date, which was less than ideal for a lot of people. Difficult to follow his lectures and understand his accent, so if you have to take his class, don't take the 8am. Homework is long and hard and there's a lot of it. I had to drop the class late for health reasons, but I'm very glad I got out of there.

Lectures are hard to get through and the homeworks are pretty tough. However, the quizzes are fairly simple and the exams are just as easy as the quizzes.

He's really good at explaining the material and the overall class is easy so long as you pay attention.

Ponce is a very respected professor. But he is really a tough grader. Be care of that, besides he is really helpful in office hours. But try to take care of any details of the homework.

Fantastic professor. He REALLY knows his stuff and he focuses on trying to help us develop a very intuitive understanding of the material overall. Very challenging homework (can submit it in groups), but his exams are consequently a breath of fresh air (for 118, at least). Super helpful in office hours. He really wants everyone to get the material.

Ponce is an incredible professor. His lectures are very thorough and if you read and understand the notes you can get an A in the class. Tests are not hard but beware his harsh grading and make sure to provide every detail when preforming a proof for him. Understanding is a far greater ally in his class than memorization. One of the best lecturers.

Ponce is very unique in the UCSB math department. While most professors seem approachable in class, and intimidating in office hours, Ponce is the opposite. He goes very fast, and is a little hand wavy sometimes, but he cares more than any other teacher that you're learning. Go to office hours, ask him to explain things in lecture, you'll do fine.

Had a 100 percent in the class until the final and ended up getting a N. Could never fully understand his accent which made the lectures essentially useless. He made the class much more difficult than it needed to be.

Lectures were incoherent and super hard to understand. Midterm was doable, but the final was insanely hard. Grades very hard and doesn't give out partial credit. Avoid at all costs.

Ah Ponce, possibly the worst professor I've ever had. His lectures were incoherent, the midterm was do-able but the final was insane. He originally stated you needed a 50% on it to pass the class but he posted the solutions & I know I got 40%, which means everyone failed and the curve was insane. Go to CLAS, you'll need all the help you can get.

CLASS 4B NOT 5A!! So this class was a unique one to say the least. The Midterm was so easy and straightforward, 4 Questions with some partial credit. I literally got a 100%! But the final was freaking insane and out of this world and you need above a 50% on it which is harder than getting a 100 on the midterm. His final is tricky, be ready for it

A lot of people didn't like his lectures, but I thought they were very helpful. However, he gives almost no communication about anything - what's on the finals, what the curve will be, etc. The practice problems he gave weren't very related to the test and some were not solvable. Also, his tests have no partial credit.

Tries to teach material solely through complex, unorganized examples, all while speaking with a barely intelligible accent. Don't trust the homework, or even the lectures, as his tests will actually be on things he spent 2 minutes talking about. On tests, be prepared for the most complex questions he can think up (pun intended).

couldn't stand going to lectures. very disorganized, lots of examples but no structure. never knew what we were supposed to be learning. try to get a good ta

4B is tough as it is, and Ponce's accent doesn't help much. He teaches by giving a lot of examples but there is no order of organization to his lectures (which are just chalk on the board) so it ends up being confusing. He doesn't like to give partial credit even though all the tests are free response. Hopefully you get an amazing TA!