Professor
Vivian Lew
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Most Helpful Review
Lew was a very good professor with pretty aloof TAs. She was an amazing lecturer and extremely personable. She learned everyone's name in the class and made a strong effort to make sure everyone knew the material that cared to know it. The work in the class was quite easy and homework and labs are easy but you can get docked on points quite easily if you're careless and leave small mistakes. You may not think you need to go to discussions but you get free answers which is pretty awesome. The labs aren't too hard either, just have a lot of diagrams included. As for her exams, I never liked them. There were usually multiple errors and she was trying to change them during the exam which is just frusturating, and they questions are ten times harder than any homework problem. But, if you can figure them out, you'll do well in the class, because her curves are very good usually. Not hard at all to get a B in the class but an A is difficult. I recommend her strongly.
Lew was a very good professor with pretty aloof TAs. She was an amazing lecturer and extremely personable. She learned everyone's name in the class and made a strong effort to make sure everyone knew the material that cared to know it. The work in the class was quite easy and homework and labs are easy but you can get docked on points quite easily if you're careless and leave small mistakes. You may not think you need to go to discussions but you get free answers which is pretty awesome. The labs aren't too hard either, just have a lot of diagrams included. As for her exams, I never liked them. There were usually multiple errors and she was trying to change them during the exam which is just frusturating, and they questions are ten times harder than any homework problem. But, if you can figure them out, you'll do well in the class, because her curves are very good usually. Not hard at all to get a B in the class but an A is difficult. I recommend her strongly.
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Most Helpful Review
Summer 2023 - Professor Lew is great! She cares about her students actually understanding the material and the processes but doesn't make us actually do the calculations. There are no midterms or exams rather than the final, which is 30 minutes and worth 10% of your grade. Her lectures may be kinda boring sometimes but they do provide a thorough understanding of the material. Her office hours are also very helpful to clarify any topics that you didn't understand. The workload is pretty manageable with one assignment and one reflection a week (6 assignments, but the lowest score gets dropped, no drops on the reflections, they are graded complete/not complete) but the labs can be confusing, especially if you've never coded before. However, my TA (Hao) was great and happy to answer questions. The meet-the-professor is also worth 10% of your grade. However, coming to lecture is crucial because the in-class assignments (there are two per class) make up a significant portion of your grade. Overall, it's an extremely class to pass and pretty easy to get an A! If you can, definitely take it with Lew.
Summer 2023 - Professor Lew is great! She cares about her students actually understanding the material and the processes but doesn't make us actually do the calculations. There are no midterms or exams rather than the final, which is 30 minutes and worth 10% of your grade. Her lectures may be kinda boring sometimes but they do provide a thorough understanding of the material. Her office hours are also very helpful to clarify any topics that you didn't understand. The workload is pretty manageable with one assignment and one reflection a week (6 assignments, but the lowest score gets dropped, no drops on the reflections, they are graded complete/not complete) but the labs can be confusing, especially if you've never coded before. However, my TA (Hao) was great and happy to answer questions. The meet-the-professor is also worth 10% of your grade. However, coming to lecture is crucial because the in-class assignments (there are two per class) make up a significant portion of your grade. Overall, it's an extremely class to pass and pretty easy to get an A! If you can, definitely take it with Lew.
Most Helpful Review
Summer 2020 - Professor Lew is absolutely fantastic. Having come in with little to no programming experience (AP CS in high school), she makes learning R fun. Especially during COVID, she has been so understanding of students' struggles (e.g. recording lectures, providing opportunities for up to 10% extra credit, dropping lowest grades). Though she might seem intimidating, I would recommend anyone to attend her office hours at least once: she has so much professional experience in the stats field (i.e. not just as a professor) as well as so much wisdom to offer. This class is primarily based on projects and assignments, and unlike the other professor who teaches Stats 20, there are no formal exams. I'd say that it is very easy to earn a decent grade if you put your best foot forward; even if she were not as lenient because of the pandemic, I'd assume it'd be the same. Although I haven't received my final grade yet, I'm very confident about my performance in her class because she makes it clear how to earn points/what she's looking for (tip: don't over analyze instructions!). Some other notes: (1) there is no curve for the course, though I don't see when one would be needed and (2) don't get the recommended textbook. Because of her, I feel like I have a solid understanding of R and have decided to pursue a minor in stats! I'd love to take any future courses with her.
Summer 2020 - Professor Lew is absolutely fantastic. Having come in with little to no programming experience (AP CS in high school), she makes learning R fun. Especially during COVID, she has been so understanding of students' struggles (e.g. recording lectures, providing opportunities for up to 10% extra credit, dropping lowest grades). Though she might seem intimidating, I would recommend anyone to attend her office hours at least once: she has so much professional experience in the stats field (i.e. not just as a professor) as well as so much wisdom to offer. This class is primarily based on projects and assignments, and unlike the other professor who teaches Stats 20, there are no formal exams. I'd say that it is very easy to earn a decent grade if you put your best foot forward; even if she were not as lenient because of the pandemic, I'd assume it'd be the same. Although I haven't received my final grade yet, I'm very confident about my performance in her class because she makes it clear how to earn points/what she's looking for (tip: don't over analyze instructions!). Some other notes: (1) there is no curve for the course, though I don't see when one would be needed and (2) don't get the recommended textbook. Because of her, I feel like I have a solid understanding of R and have decided to pursue a minor in stats! I'd love to take any future courses with her.
Most Helpful Review
Spring 2017 - Professor Lew didn't teach this class. An undergrad did, Connor Hennen. I think she was his advisor or something. But it was a cool class. Nice guy, tried hard to introduce us to the data science world in an exciting way. Don't know if it'll be offered regularly, but I'd recommend it.
Spring 2017 - Professor Lew didn't teach this class. An undergrad did, Connor Hennen. I think she was his advisor or something. But it was a cool class. Nice guy, tried hard to introduce us to the data science world in an exciting way. Don't know if it'll be offered regularly, but I'd recommend it.
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Most Helpful Review
Spring 2024 - Class Breakdown: 25% Five In-Class Quizzes (drops lowest quiz score) 20% Five Homework Assignments 20% Attending Class 20% Attending Class 20% Working with your TA during section Review: I have nothing bad to say about Professor Lew AT ALL. She cares so much about student health and wellbeing outside of class, she's literally like a close friend. She makes the class VERY REALISTIC to real life--the questions she asks are related to actual interview questions as if you were applying to become a Data Scientist. I haven't had a professor that is actually "real" in terms of going beyond just textbook and helping us develop us the skills necessary to survive in the real world. Attendance was mandatory BUT I have met so many new people that I have never met before in the same major as me which is honestly so sweet (and networking too haha). Slides were way easier to understand than the textbook. Also I'm pretty sure everyone got an A in this class because she grades leniently and gives out a lot of credit -- there's no "wrong" answer if you tried your best. I would 100000% take Professor Lew's class again in the future. TAKE HER!!! Thank you Professor Lew and I hope to see you again!
Spring 2024 - Class Breakdown: 25% Five In-Class Quizzes (drops lowest quiz score) 20% Five Homework Assignments 20% Attending Class 20% Attending Class 20% Working with your TA during section Review: I have nothing bad to say about Professor Lew AT ALL. She cares so much about student health and wellbeing outside of class, she's literally like a close friend. She makes the class VERY REALISTIC to real life--the questions she asks are related to actual interview questions as if you were applying to become a Data Scientist. I haven't had a professor that is actually "real" in terms of going beyond just textbook and helping us develop us the skills necessary to survive in the real world. Attendance was mandatory BUT I have met so many new people that I have never met before in the same major as me which is honestly so sweet (and networking too haha). Slides were way easier to understand than the textbook. Also I'm pretty sure everyone got an A in this class because she grades leniently and gives out a lot of credit -- there's no "wrong" answer if you tried your best. I would 100000% take Professor Lew's class again in the future. TAKE HER!!! Thank you Professor Lew and I hope to see you again!
Most Helpful Review
One of the most awesome professor ever in UCLA. She is so helpful during her office hour. She would try her best to solve every problem you have but without telling you the answer directly. The lectures were OK,just like other normal lectures(the good ones). Not to mention she brought a whole bag of candy for the class on Halloween. I will definitely take her again if I have a chance if I probably will for stats 140SL. BESTEST professor eva!
One of the most awesome professor ever in UCLA. She is so helpful during her office hour. She would try her best to solve every problem you have but without telling you the answer directly. The lectures were OK,just like other normal lectures(the good ones). Not to mention she brought a whole bag of candy for the class on Halloween. I will definitely take her again if I have a chance if I probably will for stats 140SL. BESTEST professor eva!
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