Konstantinos Varvarezos
Department of Mathematics
AD
4.7
Overall Rating
Based on 22 Users
Easiness 4.2 / 5 How easy the class is, 1 being extremely difficult and 5 being easy peasy.
Clarity 4.6 / 5 How clear the class is, 1 being extremely unclear and 5 being very clear.
Workload 4.7 / 5 How much workload the class is, 1 being extremely heavy and 5 being extremely light.
Helpfulness 4.7 / 5 How helpful the class is, 1 being not helpful at all and 5 being extremely helpful.

TOP TAGS

There are no relevant tags for this professor yet.

GRADE DISTRIBUTIONS
65.1%
54.2%
43.4%
32.5%
21.7%
10.8%
0.0%
A+
A
A-
B+
B
B-
C+
C
C-
D+
D
D-
F

Grade distributions are collected using data from the UCLA Registrar’s Office.

ENROLLMENT DISTRIBUTIONS
Clear marks

Sorry, no enrollment data is available.

AD

Reviews (20)

2 of 2
2 of 2
Add your review...
Quarter: Winter 2023
Grade: C
Verified Reviewer This user is a verified UCLA student/alum.
April 4, 2023

Konstantinos Varvarezos is by far the best professor I have ever had. He's incredibly kind, patient, and intelligent. He answers all questions asked in lecture clearly and simply. I only got a C cause I was sick on the day of the final and did horribly. The class itself is super hard and if you don't have to take it you shouldn't, but if you do, Varvarezos is the prof you want.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Winter 2023
Grade: A
Verified Reviewer This user is a verified UCLA student/alum.
April 2, 2023

Konstatinos is a gem of a man. although he may be a little timid (it was his first time teaching), he clearly cares about his students. He gave so many examples I almost got bored, he grades super fairly on the exams (which are pretty easy and not as complex as some of his examples), and will always answer any question you have.

If you have a choice, please take him, he is so nice and sweet and I def would not have survived this class if I had a different professor.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Winter 2023
Grade: A
Verified Reviewer This user is a verified UCLA student/alum.
March 31, 2023

As a life science major who did not have to take this class, I really enjoyed it. Considering this was Professor Varvarezos's first year teaching, I think he did a wonderful job explaining the material and being considerate of students. The grading was transparent, fair, and exams were to the point. I studied a lot on my own and got above the average for every exam, but most people did really well (exam averages were mainly high Bs). This class is not easy, but it is definitely doable if you put in the effort or just grasp calculus topics easily. I recommend this class to anyone who dislikes busy work or group work. It's primarily exams, discussion worksheets (which you can do by yourself), and homework. Homework is usually 6-9 problems and exams are 4 problems with multiple parts. Lecture is not mandatory, but I found it helpful to be there in person.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Winter 2023
Grade: A
Verified Reviewer This user is a verified UCLA student/alum.
March 31, 2023

Professor Varvarezos is a literal gem. He is such a sweet professor and genuinely cares about the success of his students and how they understand the material. In lecture I think he is very clear and goes at a great pace. The homework he assigns is also very helpful for studying for the midterms and final while also still being manageable in workload. For each exam he also posted a set of practice problems. For the first two midterms these reviews were extremely helpful and fairly similar to the structure of the tests. For me, when we started getting into surfaces I struggled to understand the content as well and definitely had a harder time. The final was for sure more challenging than the other two midterms, but in my opinion was still a fair exam so even though I did not score as well, my previous midterm grades saved me. Overall this class was so much more manageable than I thought it would be and that is largely because of Varvarezos. If you have the opportunity to take this class with him, definitely do so.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Winter 2023
Grade: A
Verified Reviewer This user is a verified UCLA student/alum.
March 31, 2023

Overall, Math 32B with Varvarezos is a solid class. As long as you go to lectures or watch them (recorded, which really helped later in the quarter!) and give yourself enough time to really do the HW problems, you'll be fine. He was new this quarter, which means he was probably still figuring out the adequate difficulty for exams, meaning his midterms were very easy while the final was more difficult, but I honestly think this is because he was learning what difficulty levels would properly survey the class (that is, achieve the desired grade distribution). I would anticipate that future quarters will be more balanced.

His homework is very light, 10 or fewer problems per week, all of which are doable. Sometimes you need to read the textbook to solve them and there are always a few challenging ones, but I suppose for the foretold difficulty of Math 32B this is justified. I believe compared to other professors, his homework is reasonable and his grading scheme is forgiving. His lectures are also very helpful, well structured, and to the point; he labels all the important conjectures/theorems and does a recap at the beginning of each lecture, so you never feel lost. His explanations make sense and in general he cares to help you if you ask. There's also a Piazza to ask for additional help, and he is pretty responsive in general on there.

The only thing of note is that the final exam is very heavily weighted; 40 or 45% of your grade depending on the scheme you use. So, you can do terrifically throughout the course and mess up on the final (which had only 4 questions and 40 total points) and destroy your grade. So just, be careful, and study/prepare well for the exam. I think a lot of people this quarter rode the wave of easy midterms and assumed the final would be just as easy, forgot how heavily weighted it was, and then lost out as a result. Even if the class feels easy, still treat it as an important class. Then you can't be surprised on the final.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Winter 2023
Grade: A
Verified Reviewer This user is a verified UCLA student/alum.
March 30, 2023

Konstantinos is amazing. I actually looked forward to going to his lectures because he is just an adorable human being - genuinely wholesome and kind. He answers questions very well without just restating what he's already stated, and his lectures are clear. Both midterms were very easy and the final was much more difficult, but still graded fairly. Overall, he was a very good teacher and I would definitely take him again if I had the opportunity. Highly recommend!

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Winter 2023
Grade: A
March 30, 2023

The professor does a good job with explaining the material and gives a lot of example problems in class that are really useful. The homework isn't too bad, there's usually that occasional one or two problems that are tough, but if you go to office hours, you'll get them solved. We also have discussion worksheets every week. Those are tough, but they're graded on completion and they're tougher than the tests. As for the tests, the two midterms were pretty easy, and the final was kind of tough, but he gives fair numbers and as long as you know all the concepts, you'll do fine (he won't throw anything you've never learned). Overall, great professor and considering it's only his first quarter, I'm sure he'll only get better.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Winter 2023
Grade: A
Verified Reviewer This user is a verified UCLA student/alum.
March 30, 2023

BEST PROFESSOR - Had a very similar experience with Fumiaki in 32A. He has engaging lectures and the tests are very straightforward (especially the midterms). The final was a little tricky and took me all 3 hours, but it was still doable. Don't get overconfident before any tests and do all the homework and you should get an A. Discussion work is mandatory.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Winter 2023
Grade: A
March 30, 2023

Overall, 32B with Professor Varvarezos was certainly an interesting experience to say the least - as I probably should have expected considering he's a brand new instructor.

All said and done, Professor Varvarezos as a person generally did an adequate job - for a first-time lecturer at least. He definitely could have been a lot worse, though I will say that he without a doubt has a great amount of room to improve. In terms of clarity, some of his explanations of the concepts in class were just bizarre and incoherent, which led me to attend office hours frequently, where he usually was fairly responsive and able to articulate himself a bit better. Continuing on the topic of accessibility, he also set up a Piazza chat for the class to ask him questions online, though his responsiveness on that platform was questionable to say the least.

My biggest gripe with Varvarezos definitely related to his structuring of some assignments. He openly admitted on at least one occasion that he just straight up didn't even read through the weekly homework questions all the way before assigning them, which led to a lot of needless confusion when certain assigned prompts covered topics we hadn't mentioned in class. Needless to say, this was a completely unacceptable oversight that he might just get a pass on only because he's a brand new teacher. I hope he rectifies this mistake quickly.

In terms of the other aspects of the class, both of the midterms were quite straightforward with generous time limits given to complete them in (two hours instead of the usual fifty minutes), but the final was significantly elevated in difficulty (likely because the class instructing team realized the average grade was a bit too inflated). Discussion sections were generally pretty uneventful.

To be totally honest, I just really disliked the actual material that the course focused on, so this class became more of a slog as the quarter went on. Varvarezos has much work to do in order to become a solid teacher, but I feel like he definitely has the potential to grow into the role with time.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Winter 2023
Grade: N/A
March 7, 2023

highkey top g, nice af, really good lecturer and recorded, tests are literal cake, absolute dub of a class and u actually learn stuff

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Verified Reviewer This user is a verified UCLA student/alum.
Quarter: Winter 2023
Grade: C
April 4, 2023

Konstantinos Varvarezos is by far the best professor I have ever had. He's incredibly kind, patient, and intelligent. He answers all questions asked in lecture clearly and simply. I only got a C cause I was sick on the day of the final and did horribly. The class itself is super hard and if you don't have to take it you shouldn't, but if you do, Varvarezos is the prof you want.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Verified Reviewer This user is a verified UCLA student/alum.
Quarter: Winter 2023
Grade: A
April 2, 2023

Konstatinos is a gem of a man. although he may be a little timid (it was his first time teaching), he clearly cares about his students. He gave so many examples I almost got bored, he grades super fairly on the exams (which are pretty easy and not as complex as some of his examples), and will always answer any question you have.

If you have a choice, please take him, he is so nice and sweet and I def would not have survived this class if I had a different professor.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Verified Reviewer This user is a verified UCLA student/alum.
Quarter: Winter 2023
Grade: A
March 31, 2023

As a life science major who did not have to take this class, I really enjoyed it. Considering this was Professor Varvarezos's first year teaching, I think he did a wonderful job explaining the material and being considerate of students. The grading was transparent, fair, and exams were to the point. I studied a lot on my own and got above the average for every exam, but most people did really well (exam averages were mainly high Bs). This class is not easy, but it is definitely doable if you put in the effort or just grasp calculus topics easily. I recommend this class to anyone who dislikes busy work or group work. It's primarily exams, discussion worksheets (which you can do by yourself), and homework. Homework is usually 6-9 problems and exams are 4 problems with multiple parts. Lecture is not mandatory, but I found it helpful to be there in person.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Verified Reviewer This user is a verified UCLA student/alum.
Quarter: Winter 2023
Grade: A
March 31, 2023

Professor Varvarezos is a literal gem. He is such a sweet professor and genuinely cares about the success of his students and how they understand the material. In lecture I think he is very clear and goes at a great pace. The homework he assigns is also very helpful for studying for the midterms and final while also still being manageable in workload. For each exam he also posted a set of practice problems. For the first two midterms these reviews were extremely helpful and fairly similar to the structure of the tests. For me, when we started getting into surfaces I struggled to understand the content as well and definitely had a harder time. The final was for sure more challenging than the other two midterms, but in my opinion was still a fair exam so even though I did not score as well, my previous midterm grades saved me. Overall this class was so much more manageable than I thought it would be and that is largely because of Varvarezos. If you have the opportunity to take this class with him, definitely do so.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Verified Reviewer This user is a verified UCLA student/alum.
Quarter: Winter 2023
Grade: A
March 31, 2023

Overall, Math 32B with Varvarezos is a solid class. As long as you go to lectures or watch them (recorded, which really helped later in the quarter!) and give yourself enough time to really do the HW problems, you'll be fine. He was new this quarter, which means he was probably still figuring out the adequate difficulty for exams, meaning his midterms were very easy while the final was more difficult, but I honestly think this is because he was learning what difficulty levels would properly survey the class (that is, achieve the desired grade distribution). I would anticipate that future quarters will be more balanced.

His homework is very light, 10 or fewer problems per week, all of which are doable. Sometimes you need to read the textbook to solve them and there are always a few challenging ones, but I suppose for the foretold difficulty of Math 32B this is justified. I believe compared to other professors, his homework is reasonable and his grading scheme is forgiving. His lectures are also very helpful, well structured, and to the point; he labels all the important conjectures/theorems and does a recap at the beginning of each lecture, so you never feel lost. His explanations make sense and in general he cares to help you if you ask. There's also a Piazza to ask for additional help, and he is pretty responsive in general on there.

The only thing of note is that the final exam is very heavily weighted; 40 or 45% of your grade depending on the scheme you use. So, you can do terrifically throughout the course and mess up on the final (which had only 4 questions and 40 total points) and destroy your grade. So just, be careful, and study/prepare well for the exam. I think a lot of people this quarter rode the wave of easy midterms and assumed the final would be just as easy, forgot how heavily weighted it was, and then lost out as a result. Even if the class feels easy, still treat it as an important class. Then you can't be surprised on the final.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Verified Reviewer This user is a verified UCLA student/alum.
Quarter: Winter 2023
Grade: A
March 30, 2023

Konstantinos is amazing. I actually looked forward to going to his lectures because he is just an adorable human being - genuinely wholesome and kind. He answers questions very well without just restating what he's already stated, and his lectures are clear. Both midterms were very easy and the final was much more difficult, but still graded fairly. Overall, he was a very good teacher and I would definitely take him again if I had the opportunity. Highly recommend!

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Winter 2023
Grade: A
March 30, 2023

The professor does a good job with explaining the material and gives a lot of example problems in class that are really useful. The homework isn't too bad, there's usually that occasional one or two problems that are tough, but if you go to office hours, you'll get them solved. We also have discussion worksheets every week. Those are tough, but they're graded on completion and they're tougher than the tests. As for the tests, the two midterms were pretty easy, and the final was kind of tough, but he gives fair numbers and as long as you know all the concepts, you'll do fine (he won't throw anything you've never learned). Overall, great professor and considering it's only his first quarter, I'm sure he'll only get better.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Verified Reviewer This user is a verified UCLA student/alum.
Quarter: Winter 2023
Grade: A
March 30, 2023

BEST PROFESSOR - Had a very similar experience with Fumiaki in 32A. He has engaging lectures and the tests are very straightforward (especially the midterms). The final was a little tricky and took me all 3 hours, but it was still doable. Don't get overconfident before any tests and do all the homework and you should get an A. Discussion work is mandatory.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Winter 2023
Grade: A
March 30, 2023

Overall, 32B with Professor Varvarezos was certainly an interesting experience to say the least - as I probably should have expected considering he's a brand new instructor.

All said and done, Professor Varvarezos as a person generally did an adequate job - for a first-time lecturer at least. He definitely could have been a lot worse, though I will say that he without a doubt has a great amount of room to improve. In terms of clarity, some of his explanations of the concepts in class were just bizarre and incoherent, which led me to attend office hours frequently, where he usually was fairly responsive and able to articulate himself a bit better. Continuing on the topic of accessibility, he also set up a Piazza chat for the class to ask him questions online, though his responsiveness on that platform was questionable to say the least.

My biggest gripe with Varvarezos definitely related to his structuring of some assignments. He openly admitted on at least one occasion that he just straight up didn't even read through the weekly homework questions all the way before assigning them, which led to a lot of needless confusion when certain assigned prompts covered topics we hadn't mentioned in class. Needless to say, this was a completely unacceptable oversight that he might just get a pass on only because he's a brand new teacher. I hope he rectifies this mistake quickly.

In terms of the other aspects of the class, both of the midterms were quite straightforward with generous time limits given to complete them in (two hours instead of the usual fifty minutes), but the final was significantly elevated in difficulty (likely because the class instructing team realized the average grade was a bit too inflated). Discussion sections were generally pretty uneventful.

To be totally honest, I just really disliked the actual material that the course focused on, so this class became more of a slog as the quarter went on. Varvarezos has much work to do in order to become a solid teacher, but I feel like he definitely has the potential to grow into the role with time.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Winter 2023
Grade: N/A
March 7, 2023

highkey top g, nice af, really good lecturer and recorded, tests are literal cake, absolute dub of a class and u actually learn stuff

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
2 of 2
4.7
Overall Rating
Based on 22 Users
Easiness 4.2 / 5 How easy the class is, 1 being extremely difficult and 5 being easy peasy.
Clarity 4.6 / 5 How clear the class is, 1 being extremely unclear and 5 being very clear.
Workload 4.7 / 5 How much workload the class is, 1 being extremely heavy and 5 being extremely light.
Helpfulness 4.7 / 5 How helpful the class is, 1 being not helpful at all and 5 being extremely helpful.

TOP TAGS

There are no relevant tags for this professor yet.

ADS

Adblock Detected

Bruinwalk is an entirely Daily Bruin-run service brought to you for free. We hate annoying ads just as much as you do, but they help keep our lights on. We promise to keep our ads as relevant for you as possible, so please consider disabling your ad-blocking software while using this site.

Thank you for supporting us!