Professor Popa tries to trick you a lot on exams, so be careful. If you have taken AP Calc AB or BC before, you should be guaranteed a B or higher. Popa is very strict on his curve, however, so be wary that you must be in the top ~30% to receive an A- or higher. Overall, I thought Popa was a great professor and what I'm always going to miss about him is his accent. Seriously, you will miss his accent when you're done with this class. It is f'in hilarious.

Took Professor Popa for 3A and had no issues. He could be lacking in emotion sometimes, but his teaching and tests were straight forward.

Selling the Newhauser textbook and solutions manual together for $80.

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Even though Popa is a really nice man, I can't recommend him for anyone who has no calculus experience. Find another professor if you haven't taken calculus in high school.

I took AP Stats instead of any calculus classes and I was so lost in Popa's class even though it was meant to be an "introduction" to calculus. Many students in the class had a calculus background so Popa kind of taught the class assuming that everyone did.

His first midterm was super easy but the second midterm and the final were very challenging. In class he always spends so much time going over proofs (that may or may not be on the test), that he rarely ever goes over problems that are similar to the ones that he assigns for homework (which are very hard and annoying...) Another thing is that his writing is SO hard to read--even if you're sitting in the first row!

I tried really hard in his class and still ended up with a C+ even though I'd never received anything less than an A in high school. Not complaining though since this is UCLA. If you've never taken calculus before, I'd try and find a different professor.

Selling:
Students Solution Manual Neuhauser Calc for Bio and Med (3rd Edition)

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Of the math professors I've had thus far at UCLA, Popa has been the best. While his accent may be hard to understand, he cares about his students and their successes, and he definitely makes sure to go over concepts thoroughly in lecture with plenty of examples. He is also very helpful in office hours and will take you through any problems or questions that you may have. Also, don't be afraid to ask him questions in lecture! As for his midterms and final, they are relatively straightforward problems. As long as you practice the problems that he goes over in class and those from the book, you will be fine. A lot of Popa's exams are also on file in the SRC, and he only slightly varies the problems, so those are great practice tools!

I dont know what everyone is complaining about. Popa is the sweetest teacher and so adorable! I took Popa as a freshman for my first quarter and I followed his lectures fine and enjoyed his little jokes and his funny accent. At the time, I thought his midterms where hard, but experiencing this quarter's tests with Kucherenko and his old tests, I wish I could go back. His midterms consist of 4 questions, with the last one being multiple choice, which is basically more of a freebie. His lecture, at 8 am 4 times a week, actually kept me awake and listening because his accent made his explanations hillarious. All and all, I thought he was a great professor and I ended with an A in the class.

popa pretty much sucked as a teacher...he lectures super easy examples which everyone gets because most people in there have some calculus background in high school--but then his tests are all the hard problems which screws a lot of us over. the class is curved, thank God, but it is not worth your time to go to lecture. you're pretty much on your own if you want a decent grade. the midterms and final were challenging but doable--look out for tricks. popa was a horrible professor. i got a 4 in calculus AB back in high school but only passed this class because of the curve. otherwise, i think the majority of the class would've failed for sure.

He's a really nice guy and his lectures are pretty easy to follow. However, he speaks in a really quite voice, so you have to sit in the front to hear what he's saying. The lectures are pretty useless though, I only went to about 75% of the time because I was too tired to get up (the class was at 8 am in the morning) and still managed an A for the whole class. The midterms are really easy, everything is from the book. If you do the homework problems and take the initiative to do some extra ones that he didn't assign, you will be fine. the final is a lot harder because the material covers the whole year. Again, if you do the extra problems in the book, you will be fine. so take this guy if you've taken calculus in high school before. although it's a 8 am class, the final grade you'll get is well worth it.

Popa is one of the funniest professors at UCLA!! His lectures are pretty organized but he covers the material kind of fast. His midterms and final were difficult and freakin whack!!! But if calc is your thing then your best bet is to take it with Popa. Just make sure you do the homework and study the material. If you understand it then you're bound to get an A or B.