I thought that Professor Garfinkel was very passionate about this subject, and that normally made the lectures very engaging and interesting. He explained concepts in a way that made sense and unlike the 30 series-the coding that we did outside of class was INCREDIBLY relevant to what we were learning in class and it actually really helped to solidify my understanding of different statistical methods. The coding was actually talked about in the lectures and didn't feel like two separate lectures, as 30 a and b did.
However, the workload for this class was very unreasonable. It seemed like the LS40 professors thought that this was students only class. The content was actually really interesting and I think it is very important to learn the problems with "traditional" statistical approaches.

I found myself consistently spending 10-15 hours on the weekly homework and lab. It was difficult to get help because when I went to office hours, the TA was so overwhelmed with questions. Sometimes, the TAs also weren't able to give concise answers-they often seemed just as confused on the material as the students.
There were two team data analysis assignments that were worth a total 20% of the grade. These assignments weren't unreasonably difficult but were a TON of work-especially considering that we also had weekly homework and a midterm on top of these assignments. I also found myself doing the majority of the work for my group, and it was frustrating because we all got the same grade and I received little help with the coding.

took: ls30b

okay. Let's face it. You're a pre-med, I'm a pre-med. We're both worried about our GPAs, because well, to be quite frank, we both need to go to med school. Well guess what? Put all that b*llsh*t aside, and be prepared to learn some real stuff that will change your life. I'm not saying that this class is insanely hard. No. Quite the contrary. Do yourself a favor and take a look at Prof Garfinkel's ratings from 61 raters. Do you see the bar next to "easiness"? Do you know what makes this class "easy"? It's the brilliance in teaching that Prof Garfinkel possesses and successfully executes. His lectures are never boring, and are in fact, crucial to your success. two 3 hour lectures a week too harsh on you? I've been there, and let me tell you down-to-earth and simply: those three hours will fly by, and you'll in fact, stay afterwards to ask him questions. Have questions that need to be reached to Garfinkel before an exam? No worries. Not only does he provide awesome final reviews, but his teaching assistants are incredibly diligent. They will respond when all else fails. They are the A-team. Also, find smart classmates and form a study group.

This man deserves much more attention than what he has received so far, and I really do believe that his class will change your life. This is college, and you're here to learn. You will learn more from this class, than any of the other b*llsh*t classes that you've probably taken to get free 'As'. End of rant, and God bless prof Garfinkel.

Notes:
Much less coding now than previous quarters.
Data analysis assignment is solo now.
Class uses iClicker for lectures (2? are dropped).

The Class:
WHO NEEDS STATS 13!
Genuinely my favorite class I've taken at UCLA. Thought the material and instructor were great. I did not know I liked statistics, but now I do! Felt like we learned truly cutting-edge methodology in comparison to traditional stats courses. Finishing the course has left me feeling very capable of being a strong asset in a research setting.

Professor Garfinkel:
Super great guy who's clearly very passionate about what he teaches. He mainly teaches at David Geffen School of Medicine, which I think is pretty cool (as I am one of the many UCLA premeds myself). Lectures were always engaging. He does not post slides beforehand because he wants you to pay attention to what he says during lecture, but he posts them right after class. Favorite STEM professor I've had; it was always very rewarding to talk with him and engage in class concepts, especially with "out-of-the-textbook" ideas.

Homework:
If you've taken LS30A/B, I would say this is a similar flavor of homework but to a significantly lesser extent. Roughly 50/50 split between conceptual and coding questions, the vast majority of which the labs/lectures prepare you well for. In my experience, LS 30A/B homework took me roughly 6-12 hours a week (I take a very long time and am not the norm). The homework in LS 40 took me roughly 4-8 hours a week.

Labs:
Graded based on completion. Usually a reasonable length to finish during our 2 hour lab (unlike LS 30A/B). I thought they did a pretty great job preparing you for the homework. Our labs had 1 TA and 2 LAs, which was a pretty healthy allocation of learning facilitators for our lab of ~32 students.

Understanding Checks:
Every week you get a quiz on Bruinlearn covering concepts from that week. You get two attempts with the highest score saved. Felt kind of similar to the prelabs from LS 30A. Doesn't take long, maybe 20-25 minutes if you're slow like me. Pretty reasonable content-wise.

Exams:
You're given a very healthy amount of prep resources with problem-solving worksheets, practice exams, and the core coursework. Both the midterm and final were very predictable, and I felt the homework/labs/understanding checks did a good job preparing. I did not read the textbook in this class except for assigned problems and certain conceptual holes I had (though the textbook is pretty good). The exams were based purely on material we learned in lecture and homework. Combination of very basic calculations, conceptual questions, and pseudocode. Felt very fair.

Data Analysis Assignment:
More so than anything else, this is the culmination of what the class teaches you. It's open book and you have many days to complete it over, but you're not allowed to collaborate. It's very similar to the homework data analysis questions that you get throughout the course, except you have the reins on the kinds of questions/analysis you address. As the name implies, it's basically a mock study where you do everything. I REALLY liked it.

Conclusions:
This is the class my bros, broettes, and non-bronaries. Highly recommend. GOATed. I don't want to leave.

I disliked the entire LS30 series with a passion but OH MY GOD this class was so goated and it's ENTIRELY due to the incredible teaching staff. In terms of content, it's nothing crazy. The coding is slightly bulky but it's very easy (easier than the 30 series) and the actual statistics of the course is very manageable. Now I'm not even a very statistics/math-based person, however, with Professor Garfinkel's lectures, I felt very compelled to listen to every word he says. Even though it's only been my first year, he's the best professor I've had. Sure he'll go on little tangents, but you can really tell this man is passionate about what he does and just really wants whats best for the class. Furthermore, the TAs are all insanely knowledgeable and easy to understand. Homework was always pretty manageable with like 5-8 problems per week and the coding labs were completion based. Lastly, the midterm and final were all very fair questions (it never felt like I was being tricked).

At the end of the day, if I had any other professor who was just sub-par, I do not think I would have gotten that A. Thank you Prof. Garfinkel you are truly the GOAT!

The homework is graded a little harshly (you will lose points for the most random things sometimes), but the tests are easy. You only really need the lectures and lab; you do not need to read the textbook. This class has two grading schemes, similar to LS30A and B, so you do not need to worry about the midterm as much.

the goat, the man, the icon. always made me silently cackle. his slides are in-depth and it provides so so so much help especially with homework. literally didn't even look at the textbook and when I did, it was only for the homework problems. he's funny and very sarcastic and will make you enjoy the lecture. he cares a lot about statistics and informing people the importance of it. the tas are amazing. they always provide such helpful information and explain things amazingly. the same goes with the las. love them all. such queens. i was scared of the coding because i'm not a good coder. luckily, alan made changes to this course where there was less coding and made the course more doable. i also had the peer learning sessions so that made me succeed even more. the tas and las do review presentations for the midterm and final which are SOOO helpful. the homework are graded on accuracy so i advise you go to the tas. the homework does take a while but most of the time, you can just reference your labs you did in discussion and change it up a bit to fit the homework problem. for me, the hw takes maybe 2-3 hours but can honestly be 1-2. just know, when you are taking this class, there are a lot of resources to help you succeed. would take againnnnn!! also this is a very great class if you want to get into research. you can talk about your amazing statistic skills you learned from ls40 and help the researchers with coding. aye.

less intensive coding than previous coding; spent 3-4 hours/week on homework (because I attended LA sessions!) and stayed maybe 20 minutes after my labs ended to finish things up.

- simulation based approach to statistics
- very engaging professor -- I've never seen a lecture hall with such great attendance or such an animated, passionate professor and TA/LA team!

- homework, labs, participation, and extra credit make up big chunks of your grade
- midterm and final were writing-heavy, provided practice materials were very representative
- data analysis project after final exam

- the class was amazing (even though cocalc sometimes bugged out on us) and there's a real sense of 'we're in this together' in this class. It's much more interesting than, say, AP Stats, and also much more applicable today. Traditional stats classes like stats 13 cover how we did statistics like 100 years ago, but now that we have technology and computers and can run simulations, we can change the way we do statistics for the better.

- I'd say no matter who you are, just take this class. Besides the time-consuming homework (that you should attend PSS for help with), this class is very easy for how much you learn and everyone I know loved it. There is so much support from the instructional team and TA's/LA's and lots and lots of practice material for exams that are super duper representative. My only regret is that I didn't read the textbook more -- the way it's written is so funny and engaging!

- one more thing, cocalc is like 17 bucks and the textbook is free, have fun and enroll!

I took this class because stats 13 was completely full, and I had heard terrible things so I was not excited. However, this was one of the most engaging classes I have taken, and definitely the best statistics class offered at UCLA. Professor Garfinkel is funny, his lectures are easy to follow along and actually pay attention to, and the class itself is not difficult if you put in the effort. There is a decent amount of coding but it is super manageable with the help of TAs and LAs (who are all great). Overall I would definitely recommend, especially because the material is much more relevant than any other statistics class you could take.

I loved the TAs, LAs, and Professor in this class. Extremely interesting content, everything condensed manageable. Very practical, it's the diamond at the end of the LS30 Math Series, would make the effort to take this class, yes, Stats 13 is easy. But the skills and learned concepts learned from this class and Professor are well worth the time put in. Love Garfinkel as well.

Alrighty, so basically, if you take this class, you can get an A. However, that’s also true for Stats 13, where the workload is wayyy lighter. My main problem with LS40 is the homework, which is almost entirely coding. It unlocks Tuesday night, and you have until Friday at 10 PM to submit it. This seems reasonable until you factor in your other commitments and the fact that the homework takes half a century to complete. I spent at least 12 hours a week coding, and it was beyond brutal. Content wise, the class is interesting, easy to understand, and actually applicable.

So, the class is easy but also I wish I had taken Stats 13. In hindsight, this class wasn’t that bad, but I complained every single day about LS40 and told everyone how much I hated this class. It was beyond frustrating, and the content isn’t even hard. Like, the content and lectures were totally easy. My only issue with this class is the homework and the countless hours I spent on the stupid, soul-sucking coding.

As a professor, Garfinkel is engaging and an amusing guy. The TAs are helpful, and the LA review sessions were actually super duper helpful. The content you learn can definitely be applied down the road, but I don’t think the workload is worth it unless you’re taking a light schedule and want to learn something applicable. If you want to get your stats credit without losing your marbles, take Stats 13.