Professor
Grigor Sargsyan
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Most Helpful Review
Hard class, but Sargsyan is very effective and wants you to succeed. He makes math enjoyable with his light-hearted humor and really tries to connect with the class. The length and complexity of the derivations and proofs may seem daunting and confusing at first, but Grigor really breaks them down into bite sized pieces for you to understand. He is a very fair grader and his test truly test your retention of what you have learned and your ability to apply those skills to more complex, outside the box type problems. Great professor!
Hard class, but Sargsyan is very effective and wants you to succeed. He makes math enjoyable with his light-hearted humor and really tries to connect with the class. The length and complexity of the derivations and proofs may seem daunting and confusing at first, but Grigor really breaks them down into bite sized pieces for you to understand. He is a very fair grader and his test truly test your retention of what you have learned and your ability to apply those skills to more complex, outside the box type problems. Great professor!
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Most Helpful Review
I had Sargsyan for two quarters, both Math 31A and 31B. I didn't particularly think that his class was hard per say, but it was annoying to have to memorize all of the proofs, which is the easiest way to get an A in his class. Out of the Math professors I've had at UCLA, he was actually one of the better ones. The reason being that during lecture, if you did manage to muster up the courage to ask a question, he did try to explain his answer so that you would get it. And if he found that the class was struggling on a particular topic, he went over it again, which is more than I can say for the other math professors I've had. He does have an accent, but its not terrible. Like the other reviewers said, he is obviously a really smart guy, he's just not the best professor. The best thing to do if you have him is to go to his office hours and ask him to do any of the problems on the homeworks (especially the further insights) questions that you might not have gotten. Those further insight questions usually pop up on his midterms and finals. Even if you don't actually get how to do the problem, just memorize it -- thats the easiest way to get an A. That's why I didn't really understand why people often failed his midterms and finals -- usually the problems were ones that you did before on your homework. He's definitely an interesting character -- but he's not a total douche. He actually tries to interact with the class (he makes weird jokes and then he asks the everyone why they aren't laughing) and he seems care at least somewhat cares about teaching, which, once again, is more than I can say for other professors. The bottom line is that if there is an easy professor (ie Brown) then don't take him, but if the other professor doesn't have great reviews then take Sargsyan, he's not a terrible choice. No one actually failed his class in the end (although I think he did give out Ds).
I had Sargsyan for two quarters, both Math 31A and 31B. I didn't particularly think that his class was hard per say, but it was annoying to have to memorize all of the proofs, which is the easiest way to get an A in his class. Out of the Math professors I've had at UCLA, he was actually one of the better ones. The reason being that during lecture, if you did manage to muster up the courage to ask a question, he did try to explain his answer so that you would get it. And if he found that the class was struggling on a particular topic, he went over it again, which is more than I can say for the other math professors I've had. He does have an accent, but its not terrible. Like the other reviewers said, he is obviously a really smart guy, he's just not the best professor. The best thing to do if you have him is to go to his office hours and ask him to do any of the problems on the homeworks (especially the further insights) questions that you might not have gotten. Those further insight questions usually pop up on his midterms and finals. Even if you don't actually get how to do the problem, just memorize it -- thats the easiest way to get an A. That's why I didn't really understand why people often failed his midterms and finals -- usually the problems were ones that you did before on your homework. He's definitely an interesting character -- but he's not a total douche. He actually tries to interact with the class (he makes weird jokes and then he asks the everyone why they aren't laughing) and he seems care at least somewhat cares about teaching, which, once again, is more than I can say for other professors. The bottom line is that if there is an easy professor (ie Brown) then don't take him, but if the other professor doesn't have great reviews then take Sargsyan, he's not a terrible choice. No one actually failed his class in the end (although I think he did give out Ds).
Most Helpful Review
Sarsgyan is definitely a smart guy, but he was an all right professor. During lectures, he'd be reading off his notes most of the times and these notes would just be the textbook reiterated. What I did like was his humor. He did try to make sure we laugh during class. The class is definitely hard, but then again, Math 31B is one of the harder math classes. His main focus was PROOFS. Although his notes are a reiteration of the book, going to lecture is helpful because he highlights the proofs and problems that he wants you to know. Doing ALL the homework (which is unfortunately massive at times) will help get you get a great grade in the class. Overall, a hard class with a decent professor, but can have a GENEROUS curve. Many people failed the final, but still managed to come out with a B.
Sarsgyan is definitely a smart guy, but he was an all right professor. During lectures, he'd be reading off his notes most of the times and these notes would just be the textbook reiterated. What I did like was his humor. He did try to make sure we laugh during class. The class is definitely hard, but then again, Math 31B is one of the harder math classes. His main focus was PROOFS. Although his notes are a reiteration of the book, going to lecture is helpful because he highlights the proofs and problems that he wants you to know. Doing ALL the homework (which is unfortunately massive at times) will help get you get a great grade in the class. Overall, a hard class with a decent professor, but can have a GENEROUS curve. Many people failed the final, but still managed to come out with a B.
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