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Lara Dolecek
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If you're a CS major (or basically any major not required to take 131A) don't take it imo. I would have taken Math170E or Stats100A in hindsight. The topics are interesting and presented well, but the TAs this year sucked at making exams. We had a pretty wide distribution for the midterm (70 median with 1 std dev getting you to a 90). Homeworks were pretty easy outside of some really dumb questions. Towards the end it became all calculus and no probability. Also, the final exam was terrible this winter. The TAs who wrote the exam changed one of the PDFs for a question worth 1/6 of the final exam about halfway through. There were too many questions also. A couple parts of some questions were just wacky algebra that we've never seen on discussion, homework, or in-class. It was a top 2 worst final exam experience and it's not #2.
Fair lecturer, fair exams. Dolecek is a very fair professor and clearly knowledgeable.
I can summarize this class in 2 words: Simple Calculus
This is a quite difficult class and goes at quite a fast pace. It is very important to not fall behind on material. Professor Dolecek is a great lecturer and explains things well. She also sets expectations quite well and the TAs make homework that is quite representative of the test difficulty, and if anything the homework is a bit more difficult. The class is topped with a project that is a bit of a grade booster, but make sure you start it on time. The professors notes are also quite good since she literally writes down everything she says, but sometimes it is a bit hard to read(fortunately there are anon questions on piazza!)
While not the easiest class out there, it was certainly doable. The grade breakdown for the quarter was as follows:
15% - Homework
20% - Exam 1
20% - Exam 2
20% - MATLAB Project
25% - Final
The professor was really clear in her explanations, but her handwriting could be hard to read at times. Lectures are done on iPad, recorded, and posted on Canvas. The homeworks were all doable, but also got harder as the class went on. These assignments were all representative of problems you'd see on the exams. Because of the quarter system, the class does go at an increasingly fast pace, and feels especially rushed by the end of the quarter.
I am a big fan of Professor Dolecek. She writes lots of clear notes in her lecture and I find it very easy to follow. I can always view her lecture notes on canvas and find exactly where she discusses a specific topic. Her midterms were both very fair and straightforward. The project was a decent amount of work but the TA and professor did a good job of walking us through it over the course of the last few weeks.
I'm not going to lie, the final hit me like a truck. It was much more difficult than I expected, and I did not do well. The other parts of the course were enough for me to hold the A but it was close. The exam made me upset at the time. I wish it was more like the midterms, but it's in the past. I still highly recommend taking this course with Dolecek as it is required. Out of the required classes for EE, this is one of the better ones. They are all rough.
I did not really like her.
She basically wrote the course reader on the board.
She has an accent and is hard for to understand.
She is not very clear and does not do very many examples.
Questions on the hw are impossible and u need to have past solutions.
Midterms and finals were fair but her curve was non existent/bad.
Did above average on final, average on midterm, 100's on all the hw's, top 10% on the matlab project and i got a B.
The TA was pretty whatever, tl dr i would not recommend taking the class with her.
Solid professor. Lectures worth attending and work load isn't too high. Final exam average was really low but curved.
Lots of material is covered in this class. Lara knows her stuff but can be very intimidating sometimes. Final was ridiculously difficult.
131 is a hard class in general (unless you're a math major taking this for fun, in which case it was probably child's play), but Lara is a good professor.
If you're a CS major (or basically any major not required to take 131A) don't take it imo. I would have taken Math170E or Stats100A in hindsight. The topics are interesting and presented well, but the TAs this year sucked at making exams. We had a pretty wide distribution for the midterm (70 median with 1 std dev getting you to a 90). Homeworks were pretty easy outside of some really dumb questions. Towards the end it became all calculus and no probability. Also, the final exam was terrible this winter. The TAs who wrote the exam changed one of the PDFs for a question worth 1/6 of the final exam about halfway through. There were too many questions also. A couple parts of some questions were just wacky algebra that we've never seen on discussion, homework, or in-class. It was a top 2 worst final exam experience and it's not #2.
This is a quite difficult class and goes at quite a fast pace. It is very important to not fall behind on material. Professor Dolecek is a great lecturer and explains things well. She also sets expectations quite well and the TAs make homework that is quite representative of the test difficulty, and if anything the homework is a bit more difficult. The class is topped with a project that is a bit of a grade booster, but make sure you start it on time. The professors notes are also quite good since she literally writes down everything she says, but sometimes it is a bit hard to read(fortunately there are anon questions on piazza!)
While not the easiest class out there, it was certainly doable. The grade breakdown for the quarter was as follows:
15% - Homework
20% - Exam 1
20% - Exam 2
20% - MATLAB Project
25% - Final
The professor was really clear in her explanations, but her handwriting could be hard to read at times. Lectures are done on iPad, recorded, and posted on Canvas. The homeworks were all doable, but also got harder as the class went on. These assignments were all representative of problems you'd see on the exams. Because of the quarter system, the class does go at an increasingly fast pace, and feels especially rushed by the end of the quarter.
I am a big fan of Professor Dolecek. She writes lots of clear notes in her lecture and I find it very easy to follow. I can always view her lecture notes on canvas and find exactly where she discusses a specific topic. Her midterms were both very fair and straightforward. The project was a decent amount of work but the TA and professor did a good job of walking us through it over the course of the last few weeks.
I'm not going to lie, the final hit me like a truck. It was much more difficult than I expected, and I did not do well. The other parts of the course were enough for me to hold the A but it was close. The exam made me upset at the time. I wish it was more like the midterms, but it's in the past. I still highly recommend taking this course with Dolecek as it is required. Out of the required classes for EE, this is one of the better ones. They are all rough.
I did not really like her.
She basically wrote the course reader on the board.
She has an accent and is hard for to understand.
She is not very clear and does not do very many examples.
Questions on the hw are impossible and u need to have past solutions.
Midterms and finals were fair but her curve was non existent/bad.
Did above average on final, average on midterm, 100's on all the hw's, top 10% on the matlab project and i got a B.
The TA was pretty whatever, tl dr i would not recommend taking the class with her.
Lots of material is covered in this class. Lara knows her stuff but can be very intimidating sometimes. Final was ridiculously difficult.
131 is a hard class in general (unless you're a math major taking this for fun, in which case it was probably child's play), but Lara is a good professor.