Profe Xue is such an amazing professor overall. If you want a class that does not require a lot of attention because of other heavy loaded courses, def take this class!! I was able to work on the assignments for about one week they were due, and never really looked at the course day to day. Attend lectures, be present, he will love you.

The class consisted of
2 HW assignments that were 15% and around 10 questions (easy As) (He emphasized a lot too that these answers (including exams answer) should be SHORT, ARE short and to the point)
1 Midterm (duable just study in advance so you don't waste time during the exam looking for answers and for someone that had a completely different field of study I got a low A) (also he extended the time and its about 8-10 short answer questions)
1 Final (relatively easy/difficult since he will add about 2-3 questions that are extremely difficult) ( I def wasn't able to answer like 2-3 hard questions but still received a high grade for the course)

He mentioned as long as you put some answer, you will get some credit, maybe not all but at least something. Since the Final is worth a lot more than anything, it can swing your grade quite a bit. He even said that it'll be pretty difficult to receive an A so if you're okay with getting a high B, take this course. Also, you will get a Study guide so be sure to do that. He will also basically give you an answer or the direction to an answer for HWs so go to his OFFICE HOURS. All exams require a turned-on camera bc he does not want anyone to work together but you can use notes, the study guide, the internet really anything you want.

The best part of this course was that I did not have to give full attention all the time. I was able to focus the majority of my time on my other heavy and hard science courses. I was able to balance this course easily.

I took Applied Climatology with Prof. Xue.

In all honestly, the class was not bad at all. He gives you handouts of every lecture, and lectures pretty straight to the handout. The midterm and final both have a review sheet, and that's pretty much all you need to study. The only assignments are two homeworks, and if you type up your lecture notes, you'll get a B+/A on your HW. You also don't need to buy the course reader, the book has a bit in it that you'll need but you could just use Powell's textbook reserve if you want to.

Haven't gotten our final grade yet, but I put in marginal effort into the class and am expecting at least a B+. Definitely take it if you want an easy quarter. His accent is tough to understand, but you'll get it eventually.

He also is the only professor who actually has asked me personal questions. he made an effort to get to know his students and he even recognized me walking on campus one day. He's such a sweet guy and definitely worth getting to know.

Professor Xue is a great professor, he is really nice and cares about how you're doing in class. However I dont think the reviews are correct in his difficulty level. He gives out a review for the exams, but only about half the questions come from the review. The review takes a long time to complete so be sure to start it about a week before that way you also have time to actually study it. There are two homework assignments that are very easy. Be warned, if you dont have an interest in soil and climatology, do not take this class. It is so difficult to learn the material because it is sooooo boring and uninteresting.