Cool prof, spoke to her during the quarter in OH/before class. Given my grade though, it wasn't her teaching style, but the 2 midterms+intimidating 50% final w/ detail-heavy questions which make up a majority of your grade that makes it tough (as others said). She curves but unless you want a challenging intro to R/data science, I'd look elsewhere
prof is a sweet lady. lectures are good, make sure to read through the slides and take notes beforehand. midterms were fine, very detail oriented. however, the final was insane. super detail oriented on things no one would study or know. make sure you study every single possible detail of codes, syntax, rules, and even the possible error codes
Holmes's attitude was rude and her questions extremely unfair, you quickly get the overwhelming sense she does not want you to succeed, worst professor I have had, for years students have been telling her that her questions are unfair but nothing changes
Midterms were chill but Final really caught me off guard..
final focused heavily on details and even content that wasn't explicitly taught in class. I spent what felt like millions of hours trying to memorize everything but the final still caught me off guard with obscure questions. lecture notes and slides have points presented misleading, and has errors with no correction. luck matters more than efforts
50% final need I say more
The class covers a lot of material quickly, so staying on top of the lectures and practice is key. The exams focus heavily on specific R syntax, so using unstuckstudy alongside your other study resources can really help. Overall, a challenging but rewarding course.
Goes pretty fast in lectures, be sure to pay attention. Works for this specific class because none of the material is difficult to grasp, it's just a lot of material. R-related questions on the exams tested very specific details on console output. Adjust your studying methods accordingly after each exam.
This class was based heavily on exams (three midterms and one final), with section participation worth 10%. Although exams were difficult, she indeed gave generous curve -- my raw score was B but I ended up getting an A. Make sure to study a lot, do hw practices, and read the textbook though she didn't require if you want to get good grades.
i have had this professor before and didn't like her. you basically teach yourself the material, all she does is read off the slides, and give very few examples. the concepts were doable but i had to teach myself everything, no point in going to her lectures. as a professor she sucks, and is basically very useless.
dont take this class
Don't take this class period. Worst professor I've ever had in my life. Also took PSTAT 10 with her, which I didn't do too good on. Please take this class with some other professor if you want to pass your major class.
Lecture: OK grading proportion: Too much for exams: 2 midterms 35%,final 45% exam contents: rubbish, did not ask you the syntax, but many questions of output which is over-detailed and useless. E.g. the difference of ' in the output(without prior notice), the practice question is very simple so it may confused you that the exam is simple.
I enjoyed all of the content and felt it was one of the only lower division classes that felt applicable to DS. I think this class is difficult and I had to work very hard to get a B after not doing well on the first midterm, but I really enjoyed the time I spent studying. Only thing is, the test questions were console heavy which was a bit random.
This class is manageable if done the correct way. You will have three exams in this class that will make up for the vast majority of your grade. Study really hard each of those weeks and you will be successful. Make sure to copy the code from the lecture to your notes and be sure to know SYNTAX.
The course is essentially graded on only the tests. Holmes provided us a super long study guide of old theorems and formulas to memorize for the final, which was extremely time consuming, and then proceeded to mostly ignore them on the actual test. Class is mostly just proofs by induction, which can be hard to engage with. She is quite nice though.
Lectures were very clear and easy to understand and learn from. For the midterms and final, I heavily recommend practicing R and SQL and testing the different syntax you can use. I also recommend going through the lectures, homework, and section worksheets when studying for exams.
She's a good lecturer. The tests are on very specific syntax things. However if you review your section labs, homework, and lecture code you should be good. She puts all her lecture slides and code on Canvas. The material isn't hard at all it's just a lot.
Tests cover a lot of unnecessary syntax, but they were all multiple choice. 45% final. Grades were curved up slightly at the end of the course.
Good professor, wonderful person. She's taught the class loads of times and has it down to a science. Class expectations are clear and tests are detail-oriented but fair. Highly recommend going to office hours and seeking help outside of class.
Dr. Holmes is truly a gift, very sweet and understanding! Super fair midterms and final gave us everything we needed to succeed. Tests resemble the lectures and worksheets that she provides. Homework is relatively straightforward and makes a good chunk of the grade.
The exam is very tricky and tests too many unnecessary R syntaxes.
Test about weird and really detailed things that won't happen in real life (nor covered in the lecture since it's so detailed). You'll doubt your reviewing strategy after experiencing the midterm.
The final tests on detailed things which are not important in actual coding. The other part of the course is just fine.