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.
Pretty decent overall. Sometimes he goes really fast and doesn't explain what he's doing. He also makes a lot of mistakes
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!
Great teaching style for those who learn through visual examples. He provided good intuition for tough concepts through excellent examples during lecture. His teaching approach for linear algebra was a bit different from that of other professors, but I feel that I couldn't have learned more from anyone else. Definitely recommended.
Lectures were okay, he went kinda fast. Pretty good about office hours though, very helpful. Expect to study on top of lectures and book!
He's hard to follow because he doesn't really explain what he does, he just does it. But if you take notes and actually study them you'll do fine. I got a C on the midterm (raw score), but then I rocked the final and still got an A. You just have to do a lot of independent studying.
AVOID. Worst professor I have ever taken. Hard to understand, very unclear in exactly what he wants students to study for exams. AVOID. Pretty much independent study, and TAs weren't much use due to the fact they had horrible guidance from the professor.
Absolutely horrible professor. He doesn't even know the subject matter while teaching. He messed up problems on the board multiple times and never even went back to see where he went wrong. It was amazing how as the quarter progressed, I saw more and more seats becoming empty. It was easier reading the book than listening to this idiot teach.
I couldn't understand anything this man said because of his incredibly thick accent. If you want to pass this class memorize his stupidly hard examples. those were the hardest part of his tests. You need to study A LOT outside of class if you want to pass.
This professor has got to be one of the worst at UCSB. He was incoherent, confused, and didn't even explain the concepts of each lesson during lecture. Avoid taking this class with him.
I seriously do not understand the people that said this class was hard. The class was very well organized and the professor was always glad to help durring office hours. Exams couldn't have been made more simple and straight forward, and I doubt that you will find an easier prof. for 3b.
Has a very thick accent. Doesn't teach well. Should generally avoid the class. Final was extremely difficult.
Skips steps, doesn't explain his logic, moves too quickly, heavy accent, avoid.
Awful class. Never take this class. If you have to take it with Ponce, good luck I suggest taking CLAS and go to every section. Lectures are more confusing than anything and are pointless. Learn out of the book because he isn't clear in lecture.