Her online coding lecture is so confused.
Professor Swenson is a sweetheart, caring for her students success. Half the class is asynchronous, so it's nice to go at my own pace and then review the lectures once in person. The only difficulty was 80% was graded on exams, and 20% on participation/attendance. No HW credit, but you are expected to do HW to maintain a good grade.
Professor Swenson has a very organized class, homework is based purely on lecture material that you watch online. You have one class a week where you can basically just ask for help. My only issue is her exams are insanely hard, you must memorize exact wording from lecture materials. I ended up doing poorly on the both the midterm and final.
Online lectures and they're only about 1 hr long each week. Didn't have to spend much time on this class which was nice. Exams were pretty difficult though so make sure to watch every lecture and memorize everything.
the best professor in the department in my opinion. Every time I take a class w/ Swenson lectures are clear, concise, & exactly what we need for the exams; with that said, the difficulty spike between the midterm & final is really big, and the multiple choice questions test for EXTREMELY nitpicky/tiny syntax details, some of which feel unnecessary.
HW is not that bad. The exams are quite difficult and test you on how well you know the syntax and structure behind SAS. Is kinda dumb that you could know how to code decently but the exams only test you on very not pickey questions.
Great great professor! Ik Stats is a really intimidating subject for a lot of people but she makes it really manageable and easy to understand. Lecture videos are great and go over tons of examples. One of the first classes I've taken at UCSB where I felt prepared for the exams from just lectures alone. Sections were really helpful as well.
Prof Swenson is such a sweetheart! You can tell how much she cares, and does a really good job at explaining tricky concepts. She does try to trick you a lot on midterms with question wording, so be prepared for that. Our class was half online half in person and it seems like a lot of work at first but it wasn't too bad once I got in the groove.
Swenson is a great professor! You can definitely tell that she really cares about her students and wants you to understand everything. Lab wasn't too bad, and there are weekly quizzes that are very easy if you did the homework. Although, her final was a bit harder than the midterms/quizzes. Overall though, I highly recommend her!
the material itself was difficult at times but she is very helpful if you go to office hours
One of the best, if not, THE best instructor the PSTAT department has to offer. Actually wants you to learn and puts passion behind her lectures. She is also very sweet when asked for help. Lots of memorizing, but just redo the homework and review lectures and you will do fine. If the department hired more people like her, they'd be unstoppable.
Lectures are dense w/ crucial material but are clear, interesting, and not too long. Prof. Swenson is v sweet if you talk to her at OH/lecture. She genuinely wants her students to understand concepts and is eager to help. The final was harder than anticipated but manageable. It's been a week after the final, and I passed the SAS 9.4 Exam today ;)
Lectures all online with easy quizzes in them due by Wednesday with optional in person lecture on Thursdays. 15% HW 10% lecture quizzes 5% section 30% midterm 40% final. Swenson is so so nice and very clear in lectures. The exams are very detailed and require a lot of memorization for an A. Basic understanding will get you an easy B. Generous curve
Prof Swenson is better than most we have in the PSTAT department. The only qualms I have with this particular class was that homework was pretty difficult and time consuming, but only worth 15% of our grade. The exams were more about memorizing specifics about SAS coding semantics rather than actually being able to code, while being worth 70%.
I only took this class to see if I liked stats and I can say I definitely do! It was almost entirely online with the exception of midterm 2. The class consisted of weekly quizzes, easy python labs, and optional hw. It's fairly easy if you put work into it (max 4 hours a week if you take notes on the videos and do the hw).
Generally, she is nice but there are 2 midterms and her lecture videos feel like too much at once. The curve really comes in clutch! Section participation matters, she made attending lecture hall optional and posted them instead. Definitely recommend utilizing CLAS if you struggle. Did not use a textbook but it might be helpful.
I dreaded taking stats for my major but Dr. Swenson made the material so much less daunting. She makes really clear lectures and explains things in their simplest form, so I never had to worry about confusion. Definitely memorize the formulas and do the "optional" homework! All the TAs are amazing as well and helped clarify any questions I had :)
Professor Swenson does a good job at teaching the material, however, her exams are awful. So many trick questions. Homework is optional, but even if you do it, answers aren't posted until a week later (unless you attend OH which are 1x/week). She doesn't care for her students or their circumstances, despite coming off as bubbly and "nice."
If you have a chance to take a class with Swenson, do it. She is the nicest professor I've had so far in the PSTAT dept, great to talk to outside of class, and makes her lectures clear and concise. The midterm/final definitely have trick questions, so details are important.
Swenson's PSTAT 130 was very manageable for the most part. Did not require a huge time investment, and the homeworks were not especially difficult. The exams were unexpectedly difficult by comparison. You need to memorize a ton of SAS quirks and syntax if you want an A. Class average for the final was 67%.
Swenson was fine, her lectures weren't terrible but something about them just kinda put you to sleep. However, she is very fair and wants to help students. Besides her office hours, there are many TA and LA's that make themselves available if you need help.
Dr. Swenson is amazing! I absolutely adore her. She's always ready to explain confusing concepts and is very respectful and sweet. The course is set up for your success but you do have to work for it and take advantage of the resources she gives you!
I enjoyed the class and the professor but was disappointed by my grade. I wish the tests were curved! I understood most of the material and the lectures are the best but you have to work for a good grade in this class.
Very nice and patient professor. Will teach you step by step in office hour. Hope pstat department can hire more professors like her instead of hiring so many mean and unqualified professors.