Got an A- but would definitely not recommend zhipeng. His notes in class are basically word for word from the notes that he posts. He does not go over many examples in class and a lot of the notes are just long proofs for things that really dont matter. He is hard to understand (accent) and often spells things wrong when he writes them on the board. I never went to him one on one so i can't comment on that. He tries his best to answer questions and you can tell he cares about the students he just lacks the ability to convey things properly and effectively. He just writes stuff on the board and doesnt explain how you would use something or what it is for. Basically says use this and plug in this and you get answer. You won't learn anything. Midterm was easy final was hard, He uses the department curve 25% A 35% B 25% C everyone else D/F. So it is possible to get screwed by the curve. Don't take this class and avoid a ton of stress.

It was so easy that I got A+ even though I did not go to any of his lectures after the midterm. It's extremely helpful if you take Stats 10 before taking this class.

Good class overall. Need textbook for HWs and exams. Selling book for $80 (new costs $120). Email: *************

A fair class...Contents can be a bit confusing if you don't go to the lectures at all or they are completely new to you because there is more width than depth in this course. But just because of that, once you are able to comprehend the core concepts, it would be an fairly easy course.

Taking this class online, his accent made it REALLY REALLY hard for me to get through the lectures. I felt quite lost in this class as the professor focused only on delivering the material and did not really address anything else in the class? Just read the syllabus. Discussion sections are basically office hours with the TA, so you could use that if you're lost at lecture. This class uses R and they go at a pretty decent pace so just make sure to keep up with it each week.

I feel bad saying this, but it was difficult to understand Zhipeng because of his accent. It made going to lecture pointless, so I exclusively used the slides. That being said, the slides are very comprehensive and give you almost everything you need to know for the class. The workload is decent, but is mostly graded on completion. The labs supplied all the code necessary for assignments, so an understanding of R isn't really needed. Overall, a decent class with a high ceiling, if the subject material really speaks to you and you want to learn more.

I find it hard to review this professor due to personal ups and downs during the quarter. I performed well on the midterm after studying hard and received a high grade, but struggled on the final. Thankfully, my midterm grade balanced things out. Overall, he is a fair instructor.

Professor Liao is a good instructor. He explains concepts from the first principles and is very knowledgeable about the material. However, this course is more theoretical than practical, so avoid this course if you want to get hands-on experience in financial engineering.

Grade-wise, Professor Liao is a lenient grader. It is quite easy to get A/A- but requires a lot more work to get an A+.

Overall, a decent quantitative upper elective. Would take it again.

Avoid this professor if you can. His tests are unreasonably hard for the given amount of time, with over half the class failing the final if it weren’t for the curve (even with curve about a third still failed). His accent is so thick that you can barely understand his lectures and you end up solely relying on the slides. Hw is optional so the whole grade is based off the midterm and final or just the final (whichever ends up being higher).

Bottom line: wait till next quarter to take this course if you can.

I am both a native English and Mandarin speaker yet his accent was so difficult to understand. He does not explain much unless you ask and mostly reads off his slides and answer keys (when going through homework questions). My only saving grace was my TA, HanYan. The mid term was extremely easy, but the final was horrid. I did not know how to even approach at least 7 questions, and towards the end I was just estimating answers because of the time crunch. Do yourself a favour and look for a different class or professor to save yourself the stress.