Alexander Shkolnik

14 reviews
Group projects EXTRA CREDIT Amazing lectures Lots of homework Accessible outside class Tough grader Hilarious Caring Respected Clear grading criteria Gives good feedback
Past quarters
PSTAT 262MC
13 / 30 Enrolled
Seminars in Probability and Statistics
Alexander Shkolnik 3.7
F
10:00 AM - 11:50 AM
92.9% A
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MathCS121 . 22 Days Ago

This guy's class is the most enjoyable out of any class I've taken at UCSB. I can't overstate how funny he is. He adapts his lectures and makes sure no one gets lost. And if you get distracted for 10 minutes and ask a dumb question, he'll happily explain everything again. Also, as a straight man, I cannot stop looking at his incredible jawline.

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PSTAT160B . 1 Year, 7 Months Ago

The course is very difficult, but Alex taught it in the most engaging and understandable way possible. Homework is hard but fair. Quizzes and midterm are difficult but manageable if you actually do the homework instead of freeloading off your groupmates. Reach out to him on Discord or during office hours. He will go out of his way to help you.

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PSTAT160B . 1 Year, 7 Months Ago

Best professor ive had. Alex feels like a real human being instead of just a lecturer. Grade is heavy on group HW which get pretty difficult. VERY accessible outside of class and very approachable. Works hard to give us extra resources (writing extra practice exams/extra credit) You can tell he loves what he does & wants us to enjoy class & succeed

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PSTAT160B . 1 Year, 8 Months Ago

Very generous grading scheme, 60% hmwk, 25% midterm and 15% final project, 80% overall and above for an A. The hmwk is all in a group, but they're all incredibly hard. Super accessible outside of class, the man lives on discord and is very helpful. Good and chill lectures, tons of extra credit. Overall prolly my fave stats professor so far, big fan

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PSTAT160B . 1 Year, 8 Months Ago

Very accessible outside class. Super lenient grading, easy A if you put in efforts. You can tell Alex really cares about students, and unlike most professors, he will actually spend hours outside the class, writing additional practice midterms, answering questions on discord. Overall pretty good professor. He deserves a 5.

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PSTAT160B . 2 Years Ago

Pros: 1)Great Lectures 2)Lenient Grading(curve) 3)Nice & Understanding 4)Take Home Midterm(but not final) 5)EC Opportunity Cons: 1)HWs are group works, very heavy. Some ppl are lazy cuz you share the same grade. 2)Take home midterm. It's kinda hard but doable. Final is extremely hard and I got like only 40%. Best Prof. Hardest Course. Love him!

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PSTAT160B . 2 Years Ago

Met with project groups often to make sure everyone was on track and gave good feedback about work done. Going to office hours with him or TAs is helpful to complete the difficult homework assignments.

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PSTAT160B . 2 Years Ago

Professor Shkolnik is one of the best in the stats department. Genuine, smart, and funny. Class consists of 4 homeworks which are difficult but you can go to office hours for, and a fun group project with minimal expectations. 80%+ is an A. Learned the most in this class compared to other stats at UCSB.

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PSTAT199 . 3 Years Ago

You will learn way more than merely classroom subject if you take your own initiative and I promise you it'll be a promising experience doing research with Alex. By fat the most genuine and helpful professor I ever met. Thank you Alex.

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PSTAT160B . 3 Years Ago

The hw difficulty + adapting to online made the class a bit rocky at first, but he individually met with groups and things turned around fast. Office hours is a must, Shkolnik genuinely wants to help students. Take this if you want a challenge, he presented various examples presented were pretty fascinating (physics, finance, networks).

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PSTAT160B . 3 Years Ago

By far the worst prof at UCSB. Posted 11 lectures for an entire quarter and assigned HW without posting the lectures it was on and without doing it first so when I went for help, he had no idea how to do it. Sometimes he would point students in "right direction" and be wrong. HWs were almost impossible and grad students (tutors) couldn't solve

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160B . 3 Years Ago

You are expected to know latex and get 0 credit for learning it. hw's are so hard that stats grad students & profs can't do them(I know bc I reached out for help). He only posted 11 lectures when there should have been 20. I have never worked so hard for a class and yet I don't feel like I actually learned anything. Avoid if you want to stay sane

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