Having taken 107 a year prior, I was initially apprehensive about what to expect for this class, in particular the mathematical rigour. However, let me assuage your fears if you’re also in my shoes entering the course - most of the difficult math is past. Definitely have a rudimentary knowledge of complex numbers and complex analysis, but the intense calculus requirement for 107 is notably absent. This is not to say 171A is by any means easy. I would argue in some ways it is more difficult than 107 because it is more conceptual.
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The grading scheme was 15% HW, 40% midterm, and 45% final, and up to 5% extra credit. The extra credit was awarded through in-class quizzes (which definitely incentivised me to get out of bed at 8 AM). Essentially, you would get full credit for answering correctly, half credit for answering incorrectly, and no credit if no attempt was made. I highly recommend going to lecture for this reason, as a 5% boost at the end of the quarter will do wonders to your final grade. The quiz questions for the most part were not particularly difficult, either.
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The first bit of the class was a review of the modelling aspects of 107 as well as Laplace transforms and transfer functions. Then we moved onto frequency domain representations of systems. Get really proficient at sketching Bode, Nyquist, and root locus plots as they’ll be used extensively in the middle part of the class. And don’t rely on computer software like MATLAB or WolframAlpha either because those are forbidden on exams. At the end, we learned about some canonical controllers like PID and lead/lag compensators.
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We had 8 homeworks in total, and they were all fairly time consuming, although informative, and not unnecessarily difficult. I felt that seriously treating the homework assignments and diligently attending office hours was sufficient in doing well on the exams. The exams were of similar difficulty to the homework, and Franco provided her old practice exams so you could get a feel for what to expect. The midterm had around a 78 average, but the final was only a 52. Personally, I felt confident walking out of the final exam, but after checking the feedback it turns out they graded much more harshly. But again, if you attended a majority of the lectures and completed those extra credit quizzes it was more than enough to offset a poor performance.
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Overall, the class is definitely one of the harder MAE upper divs, but it’s more than manageable, especially compared to 107. From what I’ve heard, you can’t really go wrong with any of the other 171A professors too, but if Franco is teaching again in the future, I will definitely recommend her class!

Franco is the GOAT of MAE

Professor Franco is a great professor, and despite the difficulty of the class, I enjoyed the class quite a bit (or as much as you can enjoy a browbeating with control systems). Like M'Closkey (another great 107 professor) she uses a series of typeset notes, which are like a textbook but better and more concise. I read the textbook once the first week and never read it again, that's how useless the actual course textbook was.

The hardest part of the course is the homework. Each week there is a series of 3-5 problems, each of which challenges your knowledge in unique ways, and very often includes MATLAB (so make sure you know how to plot and create basic for loops). A lot of the homework sets are interconnected (i.e. they contain a continuation of previous problems with new changes). It is clear Franco put a lot of effort into curating the problems to cover the most critical parts of the content. However, the homework is almost impossible without external help, most often through office hours (both TA and professor), so utilize those resources.

Attending lecture is very important, not only because she does not record lectures, but there are also participation-based quizzes, which will provide some extra credit for your entire grade. Fair warning that the exams are hard, but if you diligently do homework, attend office hours, and prepare adequately for the midterm and final, the course is very doable.

Overall, I think Franco is one of the best professors I have had at UCLA. Her lectures, homework, and office hours are all helpful, and she is always willing to answer questions.

(Notice I didn't mention labs... that's because they're completely useless. Shoutout Jimmy though, best TA!)

Professor Elisa is extremely kind and cares for students' learning. This is one of the hardest classes in the MECH&AERO major but she does her best to teach it as clearly as possible. Each lecture has multiple opportunities for extra credit (only possible if you are there for the live lecture). Discussions are recorded but lectures are not, but they are not mandatory. She also offers extra credit for completing the course evaluation. Labs were pretty easy just annoying in having to make a report as well as doing the weekly homework, but there is only 5-6 labs for the total quarter, so you won't have it every week. The tests were the roughest parts, they were in theory easier than the homeworks, as well as open note, but as the topic itself is hard, the tests were still tough. Professor Elisa is super kind and I would (an am for 171A) take a class with her again!

Tough class. Very tough class. It was the biggest mindfuck I've ever had. Franco is a fantastic professor and she explains concepts clearly. But the homeworks are so bloody difficult. If it weren't for the TA's office hours, I would've actually failed every homework. The midterm was fairly challenging, but the final was fair. I would certainly recommend Franco for 107, but it's a tough class (not her fault - just difficult material)/