I took this class a while back but back then bruinwalk did not have a section for LS30B with Bennoun, so my review is not going to be as extensive as my other reviews for my profs.

The Class: I hate this class so much, it’s so lame, just the LS30 and series in general, the content is so dumb. It's almost like "fake" math, it’s very odd. They really dumb down the actual math part of the class and teach you these really stupid concepts about populations that nobody cares about. You might think “Oh this is applicable to my major and relates more to what I want to do,” but I highly doubt it. I’ve met maybe one person who liked the content and found it interesting. Never once have I been interested in the content that we were learning. You use some calc, touch on some linear algebra, and obviously coding. I didn’t really care about the coding part of this class or the content. The coding final when I took the class was a "Capstone Project" that you did with a group in your lab. courses. The tests were kind of difficult, not the worst exams I've taken but gave me a run for my money. This might be a controversial opinion, but I really don't like “xxx courses for Life Scientists" (LS30 Series, Chem 14 Series etc.) because they really dumb down the material and you really don't get the full understanding of the subject. At the end of the day even though we are trying to get good grades for med school/grad school etc. we are still here to get a good education and to learn something of value. The LS30 series and specifically LS30B made me realize that even if a class is easier, if you don’t enjoy it and value what you learn, there is no point in taking it. Unless you are here just to get a grade then by all means do whatever works for you. I ended up taking Math 32A the following quarter (Switched into a major where it was required). Even though it was harder, I enjoyed it so much more and did a lot better in the class because I was actually motivated to learn the content and to study.

The Prof: He's a decent professor, pretty good at explaining things, occasionally throwing in some jokes. The workload was not too bad, and he was pretty helpful. Sorry I don't have much to say I took the class last year, so I don't remember too much about my thoughts on Bennoun as a professor. The one thing I can remember is the only thing I liked about this class was Bennoun himself.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do not take this class. Your NSA will tell you to, and you’re probably thinking “Wow this sounds super awesome and applicable to my major and life science.” Do not take this class. It’s awful. I know not a singular soul who doesn’t regret taking this wishing they took regular calculus instead. It’s made up math, the accent of the teacher and the TAs is hard to understand, the coding is teach yourself, and office hours are out of the door full. I know the grade distribution looks fine. It's not. It's from COVID, it’s not true. I know a handful of people who failed. While I got 98, it was the worst experience of my life. I wish I was kidding. It’s actually horrible. It’s fake math (the teacher made it up), it makes no sense, the tests are hard, the coding for the smaller section isn’t even related. Please kid, take my advice. I'm giving you what I wish I had. I swear dud you don't wanna take this. I got a 5 on AP BC calc and didn’t listen when people said it sucks. It sucks. You can do it and get n A whatever, BUT YOU DONT WANT TO PLEASE PLEASE IM PRAYING FOR YOU

I absolutely loved this class! Dr. Bennoun is hands down one of my favorite professors, and I was sad to not get a spot in his 30B lecture. I did not have any experience with coding or calculus before taking this class, but that ended up not being a problem at all because he starts from the basics. His lectures are very engaging, and a good portion of them are spent working out problems. I didn’t open the textbook once the entire quarter, and you won’t need to either if you just follow along with his lectures and take some notes. I would recommend downloading his slides beforehand and writing directly on them rather than trying to copy down everything. I would say that it is important to attend lecture, and if you have to miss one, be sure to watch his recording. The midterm and final were very fair, I got a 92% on the midterm and a 98% on the final. That being said, it’s definitely helpful to review all of the practice exams he posts as they will give a good idea of what to expect. The clicker questions are pretty helpful, as he makes sure to explain not only why the correct answer is right, but also why the other options might be wrong. I would also recommend going to his office hours if you have questions about any of the material, he is incredibly helpful and patient. Dr. Bennoun truly cares about the success of his students, and I’d recommend his class to everyone.

Many people found the midterm to be pretty tough, but Bennoun heard us and the final was a breeze. Labs were pretty disconnected from what we were learning but it was pretty easy to do well if you did the work. Solid class.

TAKE THIS CLASS WITH BENNOUN!!!!! He is the best professor I had at UCLA so far!! He tries so hard to make sure everyone is included and that math isn't only for old white men -- he played a clip of Hidden Figures during class which was so sweet. Besides that, he is an amazing lecturer and his slides are super helpful! He uses fill in the blank style slides so I recommend downloading them on your iPad before lecture so you can fill them out. Practice the problems he gives you for exams and you should be fine!

Dr. Bennoun was an amazing professor! His lectures were very well taught, however, the homework/exams are more for applying the lecture material so expect it to be a bit harder. Keep in mind that the lab for this class is coding (which was something I did not look into). Another great thing about the class was that it had a 3-option grading scheme and they automatically applied whatever gave you the best grade :)) definitely recommend taking this class w/ Dr. Bennoun

Dr. Bennoun is an amazing professor and I would highly recommend you take him for 30A. I think what everyone figures out in this class is that its a really weird math and takes a little bit of adjusting if you're used to conventional calculus. I definitely recommend that you utilize the TA's and office hours as they are very useful with helping you understand the conceptual aspects (I would say the majority of this class is conceptual). I highly recommend studying a lot for the first midterm as it was comparatively harder for most people, but as long as you study thoroughly you should be fine. It was a little unclear whether or not the homeworks were graded on accuracy or not based on the syllabus, but after you get your first few graded, I think it's safe to assume that they are graded on accuracy. Overall, the class gets decently easy as the year progresses as long as you utilize the resources provided and study for exams properly. My biggest tip would be to listen to stuff he says in class/watch the lecture recordings because sometimes on exams he will use topics that he elaborated on verbally and are not particularly on the slides. Highly recommend Dr. Bennoun!

Gonna keep this short and sweet

Lectures: Funny guy. I do strongly believe his lectures are easy to follow and he explains well, but then the homework sometimes felt like a stretch of what he actually taught us.

Midterm: Was not as easy as the practice midterms, felt super unprepared during the test, got lots of partial credit though.

Final: WAY EASIER THAN THE MIDTERM. The feeling that the final was going to be like the midterm made me study for days in the library and it ultimately prepared me well.

Coding Labs: Trial and error focused, TRY TO GET AS MUCH DONE IN THE LAB SECTION. Once you leave class and you encounter an error with your code its harder to receive help

Lab Practical: I personally did not really like how some discussions got easier questions because the lab practical is taken over the course of week 10, so not everyone takes it at the same time, thus causing them to change the questions for each discussion. It was generally easy if you study, it was only four questions.

Overall - had the minor hiccup with my midterm but the grading scheme came in clutch since I got an A on my Final. I am taking him again next quarter and hope for the same results. He is great at explaining and will walk around during lecture during group discussions.

Professor Bennoun was super nice. The class lectures are easy, but the homework often was more challenging and often didn't match up with the learned material. The lab were tough for first time coders, like myself, but office hours help with those. Otherwise the class was an encouraging and engaging environment!

Went in with no calculus experience and found it pretty easy. Very light workload compared to my other classes and I didn't study as much. Lots of people complained how it wasn't "real math", but I jsut think it's very niche (honestly just focuses on populations). Liked Bennoun even though I never talked to him myself. Slides were helpful. Melody is the BEST TA. I actually ended up loving coding when I had minimal experience! Lab practical was 4 questions and super easy as it wasn't anything too specific.