The practice midterms and exams are definitely not reflective of the actual midterm and final, which really threw me off since they were more difficult...almost ambiguously and confusingly difficult. Exams were hard and I get why Dr. Tsiang made it harder due to remote learning. Nothing can really prepare you for it since there's no "practice exams/midterms" for remote learning. Recorded lectures were long and he read from the slides but it was digestible and Dr. Tsiang just followed the textbook (that is not required!) I really appreciate Dr. Tsiang not mandating purchasing textbooks and materials for the course.

Aside from emails, the primary mode of correspondence for this quarter was a Discord server which I really didn't go on much except to clarify a few things that someone else already asked.

His love for Parks and Rec definitely permeates into the course, so if you're a fan, you'll appreciate the incorporation of the show into the work...if you're not, just nod and smile.

Labs are easy since the TA just uploads the video doing the lab step by step, question by question. No problems with that. Labs were probably the easiest thing to complete from this course.

This is a class many of y'all probably need to take, so just bite the bullet now and take it and hold on. Don't let go or fall off the wagon mid-quarter and don't let time slip away.

This was the worst class I took at UCLA. I changed it to P/NP because I literally thought I was gonna fail. The highest grade I got on an exam was 35%. Yes, in the end it was curved. But the stress/depression that this class caused me was not worth anything. The TA (I had Jake) was intimidating, not helpful whatsoever, and smug! The lectures were actually super clear and the notes were helpful so you'd think it would be straightforward! But it wasn't at all...it was like learning the ABCs in class then having to write your own code for ranked choice voting for homework. For an introduction to programming class, it was absurd. They said you didn't need any prior experience coding to excel in the class but this was not the case at all. Not to be dramatic but I wouldn't recommend this class to my worst enemy

I absolutely loathe every second that I spent on this class. All Professor Tsiang does is reading the pdf handout. He does not explain things most of the time ( maybe he assumes that we just know it all? ). This class is hard for people with no previous coding experience. Professor Tsiang will give you the most basic knowledge of R and then give you questions that require a lot of R coding experience. There's a lot of homework, and all the questions are difficult and tricky. Maybe I'm too dumb for this class. I found it quite discouraging talking to professor Tsiang. I don't want to say this, but this is the worst experience that I ever have ever since I attended UCLA.

I personally really liked Professor Tsiang, he seemed really relatable and always slipped in funny TV show references on tests and in lectures and instructions. He was genuinely caring towards students' well being, especially mental health. He stressed this multiple times throughout the quarter, gave us free points on quizzes and exams related to this, and extended deadlines when he felt the workload was too much. Additionally, no textbook was required and you get everything you need just from his lectures. They were generally shorter lectures too, the allotted time is normally 50 min a lecture but most of the time they were closer to 30-40 minutes. The labs were pretty straight forward, with the instructions basically telling you everything you need, so don't stress for people who haven't used R or coded before!
That being said, I did feel that there was a lot of work for this class, weekly quizzes, homework, and biweekly labs. It was manageable if you didn't leave things to the last minute however. I felt that the graders were a bit harsh, but still did well on most assignments. Prof Tsiang did require Campuswire participation, which you could also get EC through which I thought might be a nuisance at first, but was super easy and the majority of the class got most points for this. I would say try to get most of your points early on so you don't have to worry about it as much later on, but I checked Campuswire maybe three times a week and tried to answer or ask a question each time and achieved the extra credit level before week 8.
The exams were a bit harder, but you have plenty of time and open notes so I think just understanding concepts, and understanding the wording Professor emphasizes and keeping a diagram of the validity conditions is super helpful. He does not provide practice questions, so I reviewed the quizzes and did some from the suggested (but not required) textbook.

This is the best professor I've ever had at UCLA. He really cared about the students and never took points off for minor mistakes. The TA Jake is the best TA in the world: he never yelled at us. I don't understand why here are so many negative comments about these two wonderful and lovely people. I would definitely take Michael again!

Well, I feel mixed about this class. Tsiang is really a nice person. Besides what I experiencing in the class, I do really like him. He always care about the students and let us know that wellbeing is the most important thing in our life. But I don't think this class is meaningful.

First, the class is just like from CS department. As a CS major students, R is not a good language to write functions. But we have to spend more than 5-10 hours if you decided to finish all the homework(based on completion, you can show you hard working to get a full credit.). It's not difficult for me but very boring.

If you have coding experience and not a stats major, buy a book for R and don't take it. Else if you(haha) are a beginner, maybe this is a gate for coding. Don't take it as a stats class, it's a CS class. Trust me.

Second, the exams are very difficult. I have no idea how my classmates can get a perfect score on it. But this class is not a GPA killer, prof will curve your score. Even you mess up all the exam, you can get a B or even a A-.

STATS 20 will let you feel depressed. But you will learn a lot. Make the decision by your own.

To preface, I had very low expectations going into this class. However, I was pleasantly surprised. Mike, the TA, and the LAs were all very helpful throughout the quarter and really placed an emphasis on thinking critically to solve difficult problems. The homework assignments and exams were all challenging, but not unnecessarily so; I felt that they tested the material in a fair way even though I didn't do as well as I wanted on them. Mike's lectures and notes are all very well-organized, so make sure you read through them thoroughly and reference as needed.

This is a hard class, and there's naturally a lot of anxiety about grades (I know I stressed A LOT). Listen to Mike when he says that he will assign a grade that reflects your learning. If you put your best foot forward and make an honest effort, you will get a good grade. I performed at or slightly below the median on both midterms and the final and ended up with an A, so the curve is very generous.

Lastly, do not hesitate to go to office hours or ask for help on Campuswire. I wasn't able to attend office hours too much due to my schedule, but there are 6-7 different timeslots a week that should hopefully work.

I know the other reviews are scary, but Professor Tsiang has completely changed this course now and there's no more horror stories about the new TA.

It's going to be hard and frustrating at times, but please believe me when I say that your grade is in great hands. Tsiang/TA may be strict at times, but it's for your own good and learning. The course is meant for you to be challenged and get equipped with a toolbox of skills and knowledge.

The way to succeed is pay attention to lectures, everything that Tsiang/TA says, and do your BEST -- just try and put in an effort and your grade will show the same!

Grading scheme: 30% Final, 20% each Midterm, 3% Discussion attendance, 2% Campuswire participation, 15% HW, 10% Final Project

The HWs are graded on completion so that's some easy points (although start early and work strategically on them!)

** Before you take this class please read**

I have a lot to say about this class. This class was seriously what almost broke me. I was having full on breakdowns about this class every day and my friends can tell you that I was a completely different person while taking this class. It took me so long to write this review because I didn't want to relive how stressed out I was while taking this.
First of all, I ignored the reviews on Bruinwalk before taking this class and this has officially made me learn my lesson. This is the first B I've ever earned in college and as a previously 4.0 student, this was a hard blow. If you do NOT have prior coding experience or familiarity with computers, have SERIOUS CAUTION about taking this class.

ABOUT THE PROFESSOR AND TA: Even though this class was literal hell, I don't have much bad to say about Dr. Tsiang. If you go to office hours, he will spend hours and hours of his time trying to help you understand. He's a likable guy and I liked that he kept his Christmas tree up in the back of his zoom calls through March lol. Additionally, he does curve grades a lot which is greatly appreciated. I really think that he's a great professor and Edouardo was a fantastic TA. However, I think they greatly underestimate the workload. I think that since this is introductory coding and they are much more experienced at coding that they don't understand how difficult this can be for beginner coders.

ABOUT THE MATERIAL: I have taken calculus, biology, and chemistry classes and earned A+ in all of them so I thought that I would be okay, but coding is a whole other monster. Even though previous coding experience is not required and the professor insists that, it truly puts you at a disadvantage because coding requires a very different logic and way of thinking.

ABOUT THE WORKLOAD: The workload in this class is A LOT. There are 2 midterms, a final, a final project, weekly in-depth homeworks, and participation credit through an online forum. I hate to say it, but the TA and professor both insist that the weekly homeworks should not take you more than 4 hours, but that's just frankly not the case. I spent probably 20 hours at least per week on the homeworks and that's lowballing it. The questions are never basic and require you to know the lecture material IN DEPTH and think very outside of the box other than what he's shown you to use. Also you are not allowed to have tutors outside the class.

TLDR: The professor highly curves this class and is helpful and kind, but the material is EXTREMELY DIFFICULT especially if you've never had interactions with coding before. My personal experience with this class was also combined with personal emergencies that made trying to juggle both REALLY difficult and gave me some extremely dark thoughts that a class has never given me before. Designate A LOT of time for this class and GO TO OFFICE HOURS. I could not have survived this class without office hours. And DO NOT**** plagiarize!!! The professor is VERY SERIOUS about plagiarism and if you get even close he will report you.

This was my third class with Professor Tsiang (STATS 20 and STATS 199 prior to this) and he never ceases to place things into perspective. As another review noted, this class provides the reasoning behind STATS 101A (and a little of STATS 102B). The pacing of the class was nice as, because this quarter was conducted remotely, Professor Tsiang made the class asynchronous and held office hours during the time listed with the registrar. Professor Tsiang gives ample time for both the midterm as well as the final and combines a little theory with a little application so that we understand not only the reasoning but also the practical use of the concepts of 100C.