This is an easy class, however it is not a free A. 25% midterm, 10% lab and 55% final, so you basically need to get an A on the final if you want an A in the class. The exams are not difficult but they are very short (midterm was 20 multiple choice questions and final was 30 multiple choice questions) so there is not much room for error. Neither the midterm or final was curved, but since it was multiple choice you could just guess if you didn't know the answer and you didn't need to show work to get the points. I think the average for the midterm was 16/20, but he gives you a practice midterm and final. They are not that similar to the actual thing but it is really the only thing that helps you study for the exams because the homework is irrelevant to the midterm and final. The midterm and final are also open note but that is lowkey just an excuse to make the exam unnecessarily difficult. There is only 4/5 assignments the whole quarter about 5-7 problems each and will take you less than 30 minutes to do and they are graded on completion, not accuracy. The labs are free points, as long as you go to your discussion section, the TA will spoon feed you the code. If you took AP Stats in high school you should get at least a B in this class.

The actual content of this class wasn't difficult, but the way Schoenberg structured class made it really difficult to do well. Homework was 10% of your grade, labs were another 10%, and the rest of your grade was 35% the midterm and 45% the final. While this sounds manageable, the midterm was 16 multiple choice questions and you had 50 minutes to take it. The final was 18 multiple choice questions and you also had only 50 minutes to take it, which leaves a very small margin of error to get a good score on either exam. The questions could be very wordy and I felt really rushed during both exams. He also didn't give us any practice exams and the exam questions weren't very similar to homework or any examples we did in class, with the exception of a few. If you're going to take Stats 13, do not take it with Schoenberg if you want an A.

Selling old Midterm. email: *************

The review below me hit most of the points. Stats 13 with Schoenberg is mediocre. The professor is boring and dry, making it difficult to listen to him in class. The TA's are all too smart and can't relay the information in a way for the students to understand well. However, there is a way to get an A in this class.

First off, the lab homework (10%) are all related to R-code. The labs are a pain and way beyond the scope of the course. But the good thing is that there is nothing related to R code on the tests. To be honest, find yourself a person who knows R-code and ask them to help you out.

The homework isn't that bad. there was only 4 homework assignments for the whole quarter and I'm pretty sure the homework between all stats 13 classes are similar. The best way to study for the tests is to print out all the slides, go over them on your own time by writing down the problems and concepts. Schoenberg gives you a list with all the concepts that will be covered on the exam, make sure you have an example that illustrates that concept if you make a study guide (along with what the concept is).

Do all this, and you are pretty much guaranteed an A. It's definitely a self-study class, but very manageable compared to all other self-study classes. Besides the R-code, nothing is that bad. I would go as so far to say this is one of the easier lower-divs out there for life science.

Selling the following: Midterm, R-code for the labs (TA: Duncan), In-Class slides, textbook, Study guide (includes concepts + example problems for every concept) and Homework problems.

The professor is nice and he goes through the material thoroughly during class time. That being said, it can be difficult to pay attention because he will go over the same slides repeatedly- which is great if you can stay awake! This class was supposed to be a walk in the park, but unfortunately I had an awful TA and it ruined my experience. If Duncan Clark is TA'ing, DO NOT take section with him. He is awful and gives out labs that are significantly harder than the other TAs. He gave his sections 8 labs, versus the other TA who only gave 3 labs during the quarter that were much easier. Both midterm and final are open book and multiple choice, so as long as you pay attention and have a good TA you should be set. I just want to caution that the midterm was only 16 questions, so make sure you have everything you need going into the exam. I made the mistake of not printing all the slides with notes, so I missed more questions than I should have. Lastly, Schoenberg does award improvement from midterm to final. He doesn't have an exact metric for it but if you show up for class and your score goes up, he will bump you up a bit. Overall, this class really wasn't my jam but Schoenberg was very fair and made it a tolerable experience.

Also, make sure you compare your midterm with other students as soon as you get it back for grading errors. He didn't post an answer key.

GRADING:
HW (10%) -> 4 in total, turn in at beginning of class to get full points possible
Labs (10%) -> optional attendance
Midterm (30%) -> 16 MC questions
Final (50%) -> 40 MC questions

His lectures are helpful but he moves through material at such a slow pace...which I guess isn't a bad thing except that you have to sit through every one because most of the material he tests on is specifically from details in his lecture and not the textbook.
However, if you do manage that, his exams are pretty much easy As, especially with the notes he allows you to have. I went to class about 80% of the time, spent an hour max preparing for each exam (which consisted of making my notes sheet) and nearly aced every one.