Very Predictable professor. Easy class. Ended with an A+. Selling Neuhauser book with solutions manual needed for Math 3A,3B,3C for $95. Text/call me at ********** if interested :)

MATH 3C SELLING BOOK!!!
Calculus for Biology & Med (3rd) with solution manual!!
Neuhauser pub: Pearson Edu
ISBN: **********642
looking for $100 or best offer!!!
HMU (text) **********

I took Hall spring quarter last 2014. That was when he just started teaching I think. He was a TA before. I did not enjoy his class one bit. His lectures were confusing and he seemed awkward and uncomfortable. Often times we would be left confused about problems rather than have learned something useful. Its basic high school calculus, so if you did fine in high school, just bring that knowledge back and apply it here. I'm not sure if it was because it was his first time teaching or if he is still like that but he was not great! Didn't like him at all because we had to basically teach ourselves how to do the problems.

I'm not sure why Hall has such high ratings on here. He is an okay teacher in my opinion.

I was heavily warned not to take his class by friends who had taken him Fall quarter, but I had no other option. He wasn't as terrible as they had told me, but I definitely understood their woes, especially for those who had never taken Calculus before and were attempting to learn from him.

Hall seems to explain some concepts that are unnecessary for Life Sciences students. I think that he sometimes forgets that we don't necessarily need to know every single proof and definition of the most obscure formulas. He often will explain things in class, and then when I went to do the homework, I found that his class notes did not help at all, but that I could find a SIMPLE formula in the book that made the homework not seem so hard. I have no idea why he didn't just go over the formulas in lecture instead of trying to do all this super weird math that I could barely follow. However, I went to my TAs office hours every week and got help on the homework, and ended up getting 100% on every homework I turned in (which really helped my grade in the class.)

I did pretty well on both of the midterms, but I attribute this to a) already haven taken Calculus in high school, therefore having background knowledge of what we were learning in class, and b) going to office hours EVERY week. The first midterm I got an 80% uncurved, and the class average was a 48%. Second midterm I got an 84%, and the class average was a 69%. The first midterm was way too long for the amount of time we had (just the 50 minutes in class) and almost no one finished; thus, the low average. The second midterm was MUCH better.
The final was more difficult than I was expecting, and I think I did so-so on it. However, everyone else seemed to be struggling just as much, and I know that with the curve + my first two midterm grades, I'll probably still end up with an A in his class.

Hall's teaching style was relatively straightforward (besides all the random math that didn't seem relevant.) He has REALLY nice handwriting and all of his notes are easy to follow and organized on the board, which helps if you come in late and miss the beginning. He does stammer a lot, but it is kind of adorable. He's very quirky and dorky, yet he's interesting to listen to and his lectures aren't too boring.

Despite the likelihood of getting an A in his class, I still had to work to make sure that I would get it, and if given the option to take another professor, I would have. If you've never taken Calculus before, I STRONGLY discourage you from taking him. I think it would be exceptionally difficult to learn from him, as he would often explain relatively simple calculus concepts (like integration) in a way that I would have thought would be confusing had I not already taken Calc in high school. However, if you have taken Calc before, you can definitely get by in this class.

To sum it up, Hall isn't impossible, but I would suggest looking into other professors who are available. You can definitely pull an A in his class, but it won't be as easy as it will be with other math professors. I had Gilles for 3A and I LOVED him!!! So see what other options you have, but don't be too discouraged if you end up with Hall. Just be prepared to put in the extra work.

Hardest professor I've had so far!!! Took him for 3A, during my first quarter at UCLA and man did I regret it. He made the class more difficult than it should be, wanting us to explain all parts of our problems. I mean it did help us to understand, but most of the people taking this class are Life Science majors and don't need to know too much. The midterms were pretty hard and the final was terrible. I literally thought I would end up with a C in the class but I ended up with an A- (apparently half the class failed the final and I got a D; thank god for the curve). I got a C on the first midterm and a B on the second, so I guess you really need to rely on the curve to get through this class. If there's any other teachers, I strongly suggest taking them instead.

This professor is awesome. Cares very much for the subject and his students. Yes, this guy is hard for a 3A professor but don't freak out because it's all curved. Being in a hard class with a normalized curves just means that you will be rewarded more if your intelligent since you will be able to see through the tricks in his problem. I really liked his grading system because it was very flexible. You get to drop your lowest midterm. And yes, he is very adorable. His quirks helps make listening to lecture more entertaining.

The person who posted directly below clearly does not understand the meaning of a curve.

This professor is one of the best. He is extremely enthusiastic about math. It's always a plus to have a professor who loves his subject and enjoys teaching it. There are some quirks about him that just make him very enjoyable. I took him for Math 3A in the fall so if there are any incoming freshmen reading this, you should definitely take him!

For his grading structure he offers 2 options.

HW 20%
Midterm 1 20%
Midterm 2 20%
Final 40%

OR if you do badly on a midterm

HW 20%
Highest midterm score 25%
Final 55%

The opted for the second one because as an incoming freshman, I guess the pressure and unknowns of my first college midterm got to me. I didn't do as well as I wanted. The two midterms are all of the same difficulty, but the average is higher on the second because people become more prepared. The final is pretty dam hard lol. It's the same material that he teaches in class, but the concepts are applied uniquely in a way that's really just trying to make us think harder. It's not impossible. You just have to recall certain math concepts like formulas for surface area and volumes of different shape and apply the calculus concepts. Hall is definitely one of the harder math 3A professors but you should definitely take him. Why? Because in the end, difficulty doesn't matter. He gave A's and A-'s to 25% of the class which is in line with other math 3A professors except professor Greene. Professor Greene is the only math 3 series professor that hands out an absurd amount of A's. I think it was over 30% lol. I took Hall, got an A, and it really prepared me for my other math classes. It made other math classes seem easy and your not increasing risk on your GPA because he gives the same amount of A's as all, but one other math 3 series professor. Studying for his final is the kind of pain that makes you stronger. (House of Cards reference)

Recap: He has one of the best personalities. His midterms are easy, but final is hard, but it doesn't matter because he gives the same percentage of A's. His grading structure gives flexibility since you can drop a midterm. TAKE HIM!!!

This professor is one of the best. He is extremely enthusiastic about math. It's always a plus to have a professor who loves his subject and enjoys teaching it. There are some quirks about him that just make him very enjoyable. I took him for Math 3A in the fall so if there are any incoming freshmen reading this, you should definitely take him!

For his grading structure he offers 2 options.

HW 20%
Midterm 1 20%
Midterm 2 20%
Final 40%

OR if you do badly on a midterm

HW 20%
Highest midterm score 25%
Final 55%

The opted for the second one because as an incoming freshman, I guess the pressure and unknowns of my first college midterm got to me. I didn't do as well as I wanted. The two midterms are all of the same difficulty, but the average is higher on the second because people become more prepared. The final is pretty dam hard lol. It's the same material that he teaches in class, but the concepts are applied uniquely in a way that's really just trying to make us think harder. It's not impossible. You just have to recall certain math concepts like formulas for surface area and volumes of different shape and apply the calculus concepts. Hall is definitely one of the harder math 3A professors but you should definitely take him. Why? Because in the end, difficulty doesn't matter. He gave A's and A-'s to 25% of the class which is in line with other math 3A professors except professor Greene. Professor Greene is the only math 3 series professor that hands out an absurd amount of A's. I think it was over 30% lol. I took Hall, got an A, and it really prepared me for my other math classes. It made other math classes seem easy and your not increasing risk on your GPA because he gives the same amount of A's as all, but one other math 3 series professor. Studying for his final is the kind of pain that makes you stronger. (House of Cards reference)

Recap: He has one of the best personalities. His midterms are easy, but final is hard, but it doesn't matter because he gives the same percentage of A's. His grading structure gives flexibility since you can drop a midterm. TAKE HIM!!!

As an incoming freshman this year, I took Hall because no other teacher was available and heeeeeeee...is ok. But you will probably be stressed out all quarter if math is not your #1 strongest subject.

As a person, Hall is a really great guy! He's very approachable and receptive in his office hours and likes to make sure that people's questions are answered to their fullest. In class, he also has these quirks that I found very likeable. For example, his whole body bobs up and down when he writes on the board and he has this adorable stammer. His antics were strangely attractive to me...haha!

Anyway, I found that his teaching technique is very much based in formal definitions. If he gives you the definition of a theorem in class, I would recommend memorizing it word for word because some of his test questions are based off of them. A lot of people didn't like him for this, but it worked for me. If he gives a tricky example in class or on a practice midterm/final, it will most likely show up on the midterm/final. He usually goes over how to solve these in class, but if he doesn't, make sure to go to his office hours and review sessions.

If you took Calculus in high school, don't underestimate how difficult this class can be. I thought I would get at least a B on the first midterm and actually ended up with a D+! I got a B+ on the second one and a C on the final, but ended up with an A in the class. Overall, this class turned out well for me but the constant stress and uncertainty of knowing what your grade will be is not worth it.

He's a nice guy, but don't take him if you can. Out of all the math 3 series, I would consider math 3A to be the hardest.

What can I say about this professor? Yeah sure, I will agree with the comments on this page, he has a nice personality and good intentions, however that is only part of the experience of having him as your professor. If you have the option to take another professor with higher reviews, definitely take the other one.

Hall is a nice guy, but what it comes down to is leaning the material. Yes, Life Science majors do not have to take many math courses, however,this professor does not explain the material all that well. More often that not, he wont get really into the concepts, he will just give you these long equations and formulas to do a particular math problem. I did not understand conceptually why I was doing certain things, I just knew I had to do them because they were a part of this formula. Fortunately, I had someone explain to me what all these concepts meant in regards to one another and it made the math so much easier! Hall likes to be tricky on both his midterms and the curve ends up being low. His study guides are not that relevant to the exams and his homeworks are time consuming and tedious. He does not do a good job of explaining the material and he does not prepare you for exams. He gives study guides, but they are usually really close to the exam date and can be pretty irrelevant, but that's if you get a practice guide. He just happen not to send a review for the final. If you take this Professor, feel prepare to be thrown in with the wolves... and hope you can find a tutor to fix his lack of instruction.