Professor

Meliha Bulu-Taciroglu

AD
3.0
Overall Ratings
Based on 86 Users
Easiness 3.2 / 5 How easy the class is, 1 being extremely difficult and 5 being easy peasy.
Workload 3.3 / 5 How light the workload is, 1 being extremely heavy and 5 being extremely light.
Clarity 2.6 / 5 How clear the professor is, 1 being extremely unclear and 5 being very clear.
Helpfulness 3.1 / 5 How helpful the professor is, 1 being not helpful at all and 5 being extremely helpful.

Reviews (86)

4 of 7
4 of 7
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Oct. 22, 2017
Quarter: Summer 2017
Grade: A+

I feel that depending on what specific time of the year you decide to take this class will ultimately impact how well you do in the end. All the assignments were mandatory to get a good grasp of the material being covered in course. You will be tested on subjects and terms that don't ever show up in class but might be in the textbook--I'm not 100% sure since I never opened the book. Summer is fast paced and I know teachers have their agendas to follow but Mel was like a unicorn throughout the whole quarter. TA communication is minimal, extra credit assignments reward the actively contributing students, and a lot of the material gets recycled from past quarters. This (course) is not too bad when you prepare well enough. Some might consider the past assignments a right place to start, and maybe some of those might save you like a (hero). You can thank me later. Have fun!

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Jan. 4, 2019
Quarter: Fall 2018
Grade: A

Mel isn't a terrible professor but isn't a particularly good one either. She's certainly friendly and seems approachable, but her lectures were generally disorganized and hard to follow. I only went because she gives extra credit for doing her online polls during lecture. Most of what I actually learned (and studied for the final) was from slides made by my TA. Mel's own notes during lecture are largely indecipherable.

Homeworks tend to be short and not too hard, but sometimes they aren't assigned until the Friday before (and they're due on Sunday) so be on the lookout. I've had friends who missed homework assignments because they didn't know about them. Tests aren't too bad as long as you know the material and do practice problems. The final is harder just by virtue of the topics covered being harder, but is still very doable.

Extra credit is definitely worth doing - a bit tedious but worth it for the grade boost.

Overall, Mel is pretty mediocre lecturer but the class is fairly easy so its worth taking.

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June 8, 2017
Quarter: Spring 2017
Grade: NR

Horrible lecturer... long tangents and then crams material

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March 14, 2019
Quarter: Winter 2019
Grade: A-

If you've taken ENGR 110, this class isn't much different. Mel is clearly knowledgeable on the subject but her lecture style is somewhat disorganized and isn't helpful for people new to the subject. You'll likely learn more from TA slides so it's good to go to discussion.

Homeworks are pretty easy but shes not very organized with assigning them. We had weekly assignments for about 3 weeks and then nothing for the next 3 weeks. You basically just have to check CCLE every weekend to see if anything is posted.

Midterm (as far as I can tell) is a pot shot. The previous sample midterms she gave us were fairly straightforward, mostly questions similar to homework or discussion example problems. The actual midterm was WILDLY different. You could probably work your way through the questions and get some partial credit at least if you know the concepts well but it still sucked.

Final report is more work than the one for ENGR 110 since analyzing stocks and portfolio are a pain.

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March 31, 2019
Quarter: Spring 2018
Grade: A

I actually really like Mel, despite what the other reviews say, I don't think she's that bad. She's a really cool human being, albeit a bit scatter-brained.

Tbh, I didn't attend a lot of the lectures, since she posted her lecture notes online. I just had a friend text me whenever there was an extra credit quiz. Sometimes when I attended lectures I would zone out/work on homework for other classes. Lecture is useful in that when she explains concepts, she does it well and she always takes the time to answer students' questions. She's not the most organized/systematic, but she covers everything and I do like the flow of lectures (this is an unpopular opinion fyi).

The homeworks are a good reflection of the midterm difficulty during my quarter. They were pretty reasonable and you were allowed to work on them with friends.

I remember the first midterm was super easy, but the second one was a bit tougher. The final was also much harder. I think you need >=85 overall to get an A in the class. Make sure you understand bonds well.

I thought the final project was pretty reasonable. Basically, all you had to do was apply the concepts from class. She gives out a sample paper. Make sure to start early though, since some parts are pretty time consuming.

The extra credit polls and discussion forum posts are actually pretty useful when it comes to boosting your grade.

Disclaimer: I took this class in Spring 2018, I heard she was super disorganized and unreasonable in terms of when she assigned homework, tests etc during Winter 2019. I also have a bunch of friends who don't like her teaching style so I may just be the exception. Also apparently the midterms/final were a lot harder that quarter??

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April 9, 2019
Quarter: Winter 2019
Grade: A-

Mel is not very organized. It took until Week 2 of Spring Quarter to receive our grade for Winter Quarter, even though ALL number scores were inputted for over a week.
The class is not very good. The only useful thing you learn is compounding interest and how to think about if you should take out a mortgage or invest elsewhere, or pay it off early.
The class is pretty boring, she goes off on weird tangents, isn't engaging, or much.
If you're taking this for a tech breadth, I recommend MGMT 108 and MGMT 160 over this class, you learn much more in those.

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April 6, 2019
Quarter: Spring 2019
Grade: NR

I think she is the most disorganized professor I have had; 1 week into spring quarter and still no grade. The notes she provided were garbage and illegible. She means well but for some reason she cannot present clear and coherent concepts very well, often giving weak examples or just a fuzzy explanation. I think there are more capable prof's out there, sorry Mel.

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Feb. 17, 2020
Quarter: Fall 2019
Grade: A

We simply have no choice but to stan Mel. She truly cares about your learning, and it shows, even if she can be disorganized. This class used to be much harder, as evidenced by the practice midterms/finals she releases from previous years. She's restructured it to focus on key topics that might some day be useful/relevant to your personal finances. You get a cheatsheet for exams and there's only a few homeworks throughout the quarter. The group project at the end is simple enough and boosts your grade with free points as long as you do it properly. One of my fave professors!

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Dec. 24, 2019
Quarter: Fall 2019
Grade: A-

This class is quite an enigma to me. On the one hand, Mel is a very engaging and intelligent lecturer who clearly wants to teach better and help students understand the material. On the other hand, she struggles with this vision, rushing through concepts and not explaining them well at a pace that students like me (who don't have much of a background in economics) can understand. What made this even more difficult is the fact that those in-class quizzes other people mention in prior reviews are no longer optional; they are now part of your participation grade. So when she asks these questions right after explaining a concept, if you don't understand all of it well enough on the spot, it'll be pretty hard to get it right. The way she organizes the quizzes is kind of problematic too: she uses the UCLA online poll site, which no one could seem to log into 30% of the time. I just feel like there's a much better way to implement all this.

On the one hand, Mel is a very generous grader, with an average of 80 on all assignments being curved up to an A- (85% or above = A, 80 or above = A-, 75 or above = B+, etc.). I'm still quite confused how I got away with the grade I did, given my abysmal midterm score. On the other hand, I still felt like I was falling behind all quarter because the homeworks, practice quizzes, and some exam questions were very convoluted and confusing (sometimes completely wrong), and Mel seemed disinterested in helping resolve this. She also said she would answer questions on Piazza but then practically disappeared for days on end, which was a bit frustrating around midterm and final exams.

I can't really fault Mel for trying harder at making the course better, and I can't really complain about the generous grading either. But I feel like the concepts are being taught too fast and not being explained well enough. There are just so many wrinkles that should've been ironed out years ago.

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Nov. 10, 2019
Quarter: Spring 2019
Grade: A

Probably one of the most engaging lecturers I've had at UCLA.The trick to this class is to show up to every lecture and pay as close attention as possible! Mel often will explicitly state what material she's putting on the midterm and final, so just by showing up to class and listening to lecture you will be guaranteed at least 3/4 questions. We received extra credit each week by responding to a discussion forum and answering a form of clicker questions in class (no clicker required). Homeworks were pretty easy; you could work in a group on them. The best way to study for the tests are to do the practice problems in the book, and to read the textbook before class. Each lesson builds on the last one, so make sure you're staying on top of the material!

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0 1 Please log in to provide feedback.
ECON M134
Quarter: Summer 2017
Grade: A+
Oct. 22, 2017

I feel that depending on what specific time of the year you decide to take this class will ultimately impact how well you do in the end. All the assignments were mandatory to get a good grasp of the material being covered in course. You will be tested on subjects and terms that don't ever show up in class but might be in the textbook--I'm not 100% sure since I never opened the book. Summer is fast paced and I know teachers have their agendas to follow but Mel was like a unicorn throughout the whole quarter. TA communication is minimal, extra credit assignments reward the actively contributing students, and a lot of the material gets recycled from past quarters. This (course) is not too bad when you prepare well enough. Some might consider the past assignments a right place to start, and maybe some of those might save you like a (hero). You can thank me later. Have fun!

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
ENGR 110
Quarter: Fall 2018
Grade: A
Jan. 4, 2019

Mel isn't a terrible professor but isn't a particularly good one either. She's certainly friendly and seems approachable, but her lectures were generally disorganized and hard to follow. I only went because she gives extra credit for doing her online polls during lecture. Most of what I actually learned (and studied for the final) was from slides made by my TA. Mel's own notes during lecture are largely indecipherable.

Homeworks tend to be short and not too hard, but sometimes they aren't assigned until the Friday before (and they're due on Sunday) so be on the lookout. I've had friends who missed homework assignments because they didn't know about them. Tests aren't too bad as long as you know the material and do practice problems. The final is harder just by virtue of the topics covered being harder, but is still very doable.

Extra credit is definitely worth doing - a bit tedious but worth it for the grade boost.

Overall, Mel is pretty mediocre lecturer but the class is fairly easy so its worth taking.

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1 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
ENGR 110
Quarter: Spring 2017
Grade: NR
June 8, 2017

Horrible lecturer... long tangents and then crams material

Helpful?

3 1 Please log in to provide feedback.
ENGR 111
Quarter: Winter 2019
Grade: A-
March 14, 2019

If you've taken ENGR 110, this class isn't much different. Mel is clearly knowledgeable on the subject but her lecture style is somewhat disorganized and isn't helpful for people new to the subject. You'll likely learn more from TA slides so it's good to go to discussion.

Homeworks are pretty easy but shes not very organized with assigning them. We had weekly assignments for about 3 weeks and then nothing for the next 3 weeks. You basically just have to check CCLE every weekend to see if anything is posted.

Midterm (as far as I can tell) is a pot shot. The previous sample midterms she gave us were fairly straightforward, mostly questions similar to homework or discussion example problems. The actual midterm was WILDLY different. You could probably work your way through the questions and get some partial credit at least if you know the concepts well but it still sucked.

Final report is more work than the one for ENGR 110 since analyzing stocks and portfolio are a pain.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
ENGR 111
Quarter: Spring 2018
Grade: A
March 31, 2019

I actually really like Mel, despite what the other reviews say, I don't think she's that bad. She's a really cool human being, albeit a bit scatter-brained.

Tbh, I didn't attend a lot of the lectures, since she posted her lecture notes online. I just had a friend text me whenever there was an extra credit quiz. Sometimes when I attended lectures I would zone out/work on homework for other classes. Lecture is useful in that when she explains concepts, she does it well and she always takes the time to answer students' questions. She's not the most organized/systematic, but she covers everything and I do like the flow of lectures (this is an unpopular opinion fyi).

The homeworks are a good reflection of the midterm difficulty during my quarter. They were pretty reasonable and you were allowed to work on them with friends.

I remember the first midterm was super easy, but the second one was a bit tougher. The final was also much harder. I think you need >=85 overall to get an A in the class. Make sure you understand bonds well.

I thought the final project was pretty reasonable. Basically, all you had to do was apply the concepts from class. She gives out a sample paper. Make sure to start early though, since some parts are pretty time consuming.

The extra credit polls and discussion forum posts are actually pretty useful when it comes to boosting your grade.

Disclaimer: I took this class in Spring 2018, I heard she was super disorganized and unreasonable in terms of when she assigned homework, tests etc during Winter 2019. I also have a bunch of friends who don't like her teaching style so I may just be the exception. Also apparently the midterms/final were a lot harder that quarter??

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0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
ENGR 110
Quarter: Winter 2019
Grade: A-
April 9, 2019

Mel is not very organized. It took until Week 2 of Spring Quarter to receive our grade for Winter Quarter, even though ALL number scores were inputted for over a week.
The class is not very good. The only useful thing you learn is compounding interest and how to think about if you should take out a mortgage or invest elsewhere, or pay it off early.
The class is pretty boring, she goes off on weird tangents, isn't engaging, or much.
If you're taking this for a tech breadth, I recommend MGMT 108 and MGMT 160 over this class, you learn much more in those.

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1 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
ENGR 110
Quarter: Spring 2019
Grade: NR
April 6, 2019

I think she is the most disorganized professor I have had; 1 week into spring quarter and still no grade. The notes she provided were garbage and illegible. She means well but for some reason she cannot present clear and coherent concepts very well, often giving weak examples or just a fuzzy explanation. I think there are more capable prof's out there, sorry Mel.

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1 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
ENGR 110
Quarter: Fall 2019
Grade: A
Feb. 17, 2020

We simply have no choice but to stan Mel. She truly cares about your learning, and it shows, even if she can be disorganized. This class used to be much harder, as evidenced by the practice midterms/finals she releases from previous years. She's restructured it to focus on key topics that might some day be useful/relevant to your personal finances. You get a cheatsheet for exams and there's only a few homeworks throughout the quarter. The group project at the end is simple enough and boosts your grade with free points as long as you do it properly. One of my fave professors!

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
ENGR 110
Quarter: Fall 2019
Grade: A-
Dec. 24, 2019

This class is quite an enigma to me. On the one hand, Mel is a very engaging and intelligent lecturer who clearly wants to teach better and help students understand the material. On the other hand, she struggles with this vision, rushing through concepts and not explaining them well at a pace that students like me (who don't have much of a background in economics) can understand. What made this even more difficult is the fact that those in-class quizzes other people mention in prior reviews are no longer optional; they are now part of your participation grade. So when she asks these questions right after explaining a concept, if you don't understand all of it well enough on the spot, it'll be pretty hard to get it right. The way she organizes the quizzes is kind of problematic too: she uses the UCLA online poll site, which no one could seem to log into 30% of the time. I just feel like there's a much better way to implement all this.

On the one hand, Mel is a very generous grader, with an average of 80 on all assignments being curved up to an A- (85% or above = A, 80 or above = A-, 75 or above = B+, etc.). I'm still quite confused how I got away with the grade I did, given my abysmal midterm score. On the other hand, I still felt like I was falling behind all quarter because the homeworks, practice quizzes, and some exam questions were very convoluted and confusing (sometimes completely wrong), and Mel seemed disinterested in helping resolve this. She also said she would answer questions on Piazza but then practically disappeared for days on end, which was a bit frustrating around midterm and final exams.

I can't really fault Mel for trying harder at making the course better, and I can't really complain about the generous grading either. But I feel like the concepts are being taught too fast and not being explained well enough. There are just so many wrinkles that should've been ironed out years ago.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
ENGR 110
Quarter: Spring 2019
Grade: A
Nov. 10, 2019

Probably one of the most engaging lecturers I've had at UCLA.The trick to this class is to show up to every lecture and pay as close attention as possible! Mel often will explicitly state what material she's putting on the midterm and final, so just by showing up to class and listening to lecture you will be guaranteed at least 3/4 questions. We received extra credit each week by responding to a discussion forum and answering a form of clicker questions in class (no clicker required). Homeworks were pretty easy; you could work in a group on them. The best way to study for the tests are to do the practice problems in the book, and to read the textbook before class. Each lesson builds on the last one, so make sure you're staying on top of the material!

Helpful?

0 1 Please log in to provide feedback.
4 of 7
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