I thought that Professor Garfinkel was very passionate about this subject, and that normally made the lectures very engaging and interesting. He explained concepts in a way that made sense and unlike the 30 series-the coding that we did outside of class was INCREDIBLY relevant to what we were learning in class and it actually really helped to solidify my understanding of different statistical methods. The coding was actually talked about in the lectures and didn't feel like two separate lectures, as 30 a and b did.
However, the workload for this class was very unreasonable. It seemed like the LS40 professors thought that this was students only class. The content was actually really interesting and I think it is very important to learn the problems with "traditional" statistical approaches.

I found myself consistently spending 10-15 hours on the weekly homework and lab. It was difficult to get help because when I went to office hours, the TA was so overwhelmed with questions. Sometimes, the TAs also weren't able to give concise answers-they often seemed just as confused on the material as the students.
There were two team data analysis assignments that were worth a total 20% of the grade. These assignments weren't unreasonably difficult but were a TON of work-especially considering that we also had weekly homework and a midterm on top of these assignments. I also found myself doing the majority of the work for my group, and it was frustrating because we all got the same grade and I received little help with the coding.

took: ls30b

okay. Let's face it. You're a pre-med, I'm a pre-med. We're both worried about our GPAs, because well, to be quite frank, we both need to go to med school. Well guess what? Put all that b*llsh*t aside, and be prepared to learn some real stuff that will change your life. I'm not saying that this class is insanely hard. No. Quite the contrary. Do yourself a favor and take a look at Prof Garfinkel's ratings from 61 raters. Do you see the bar next to "easiness"? Do you know what makes this class "easy"? It's the brilliance in teaching that Prof Garfinkel possesses and successfully executes. His lectures are never boring, and are in fact, crucial to your success. two 3 hour lectures a week too harsh on you? I've been there, and let me tell you down-to-earth and simply: those three hours will fly by, and you'll in fact, stay afterwards to ask him questions. Have questions that need to be reached to Garfinkel before an exam? No worries. Not only does he provide awesome final reviews, but his teaching assistants are incredibly diligent. They will respond when all else fails. They are the A-team. Also, find smart classmates and form a study group.

This man deserves much more attention than what he has received so far, and I really do believe that his class will change your life. This is college, and you're here to learn. You will learn more from this class, than any of the other b*llsh*t classes that you've probably taken to get free 'As'. End of rant, and God bless prof Garfinkel.

Notes:
Much less coding now than previous quarters.
Data analysis assignment is solo now.
Class uses iClicker for lectures (2? are dropped).

The Class:
WHO NEEDS STATS 13!
Genuinely my favorite class I've taken at UCLA. Thought the material and instructor were great. I did not know I liked statistics, but now I do! Felt like we learned truly cutting-edge methodology in comparison to traditional stats courses. Finishing the course has left me feeling very capable of being a strong asset in a research setting.

Professor Garfinkel:
Super great guy who's clearly very passionate about what he teaches. He mainly teaches at David Geffen School of Medicine, which I think is pretty cool (as I am one of the many UCLA premeds myself). Lectures were always engaging. He does not post slides beforehand because he wants you to pay attention to what he says during lecture, but he posts them right after class. Favorite STEM professor I've had; it was always very rewarding to talk with him and engage in class concepts, especially with "out-of-the-textbook" ideas.

Homework:
If you've taken LS30A/B, I would say this is a similar flavor of homework but to a significantly lesser extent. Roughly 50/50 split between conceptual and coding questions, the vast majority of which the labs/lectures prepare you well for. In my experience, LS 30A/B homework took me roughly 6-12 hours a week (I take a very long time and am not the norm). The homework in LS 40 took me roughly 4-8 hours a week.

Labs:
Graded based on completion. Usually a reasonable length to finish during our 2 hour lab (unlike LS 30A/B). I thought they did a pretty great job preparing you for the homework. Our labs had 1 TA and 2 LAs, which was a pretty healthy allocation of learning facilitators for our lab of ~32 students.

Understanding Checks:
Every week you get a quiz on Bruinlearn covering concepts from that week. You get two attempts with the highest score saved. Felt kind of similar to the prelabs from LS 30A. Doesn't take long, maybe 20-25 minutes if you're slow like me. Pretty reasonable content-wise.

Exams:
You're given a very healthy amount of prep resources with problem-solving worksheets, practice exams, and the core coursework. Both the midterm and final were very predictable, and I felt the homework/labs/understanding checks did a good job preparing. I did not read the textbook in this class except for assigned problems and certain conceptual holes I had (though the textbook is pretty good). The exams were based purely on material we learned in lecture and homework. Combination of very basic calculations, conceptual questions, and pseudocode. Felt very fair.

Data Analysis Assignment:
More so than anything else, this is the culmination of what the class teaches you. It's open book and you have many days to complete it over, but you're not allowed to collaborate. It's very similar to the homework data analysis questions that you get throughout the course, except you have the reins on the kinds of questions/analysis you address. As the name implies, it's basically a mock study where you do everything. I REALLY liked it.

Conclusions:
This is the class my bros, broettes, and non-bronaries. Highly recommend. GOATed. I don't want to leave.

I loved the TAs, LAs, and Professor in this class. Extremely interesting content, everything condensed manageable. Very practical, it's the diamond at the end of the LS30 Math Series, would make the effort to take this class, yes, Stats 13 is easy. But the skills and learned concepts learned from this class and Professor are well worth the time put in. Love Garfinkel as well.

Alrighty, so basically, if you take this class, you can get an A. However, that’s also true for Stats 13, where the workload is wayyy lighter. My main problem with LS40 is the homework, which is almost entirely coding. It unlocks Tuesday night, and you have until Friday at 10 PM to submit it. This seems reasonable until you factor in your other commitments and the fact that the homework takes half a century to complete. I spent at least 12 hours a week coding, and it was beyond brutal. Content wise, the class is interesting, easy to understand, and actually applicable.

So, the class is easy but also I wish I had taken Stats 13. In hindsight, this class wasn’t that bad, but I complained every single day about LS40 and told everyone how much I hated this class. It was beyond frustrating, and the content isn’t even hard. Like, the content and lectures were totally easy. My only issue with this class is the homework and the countless hours I spent on the stupid, soul-sucking coding.

As a professor, Garfinkel is engaging and an amusing guy. The TAs are helpful, and the LA review sessions were actually super duper helpful. The content you learn can definitely be applied down the road, but I don’t think the workload is worth it unless you’re taking a light schedule and want to learn something applicable. If you want to get your stats credit without losing your marbles, take Stats 13.

As a survivor of the LS30 series, I DID NOT want to take LS40 but heard amazing reviews from many students and gave it the chance. This class is so much more interesting and rewarding. I previously hated coding because of LS30 but this class made it SO MUCH more enjoyable, and Professor Garfinkel actually discussed the coding during class. The material we covered was relevant and applicable to the medical field, and we also delved into why some form of modern statistics are inaccurate. Garfinkel is by far, the best professor I've had at UCLA. He's engaging, funny, passionate, and actually cares about students and the class. I'm ngl, homework was lengthy and would take me around 2-4 hours and it is graded on completion (but that's the only workload I had from the class). If you go to OH or refer to campus wire, you should be fine. But it srsly helped for the midterm and final. Exams were some of the easiest I've ever taken at UCLA because we reviewed so much and they were similar to the practice exams they give out. Also bless up that they let us use a notecard for the final exam. There's also a data analysis project that I was scared about when it was assigned at the end of the quarter, but it's pretty light as it is based on the labs and homework you've done. Only downside is it's assigned during finals so make sure not to fall behind. Highly recommend this class if you're willing to put in the time and even if you disliked the 30 series.

Honestly there is absolutely no reason not to take this class. The midterm and final are content based and as long as you go to or watch most of the lectures there is no reason you won't do well on exams. The labs are very straight forward and only based on completions (and the TAs and LAs will hold your hand through any lab you find confusing). Homework is graded on accuracy, but as long as you understand the labs it is a breeze and you can always use campuswire to help. I nervous for the data analysis assignment since it is no longer a group assignment, but as long as you got the correct code from your TA/LA during labs throughout the quarter you will have zero issues with the coding aspects plus the conceptual/interpretation aspects are really straight forward if you got the content from the lectures. You also learn some coding that has more real life implications compared to LS30A/B. Overall if you have the option to take this class I would take it 10/10 times ESPECIALLY if you get Garfinkel, he really is the best!!

I’ll try to talk about the main stuff:
- ended with a 95%
- he records his lectures and participation is counted
- midterm and final very similar to practice exams and past exams so recommend studying those as well as the PSS worksheets they have questions from past exams so good for seeing the type of questions he might ask
- I’ve never coded in my life before so I was intimidated at first. You aren’t really going to be doing any type of math you just code. That said it’s doable to take this class with zero coding experience. Just pay attention in lab and utilize the LAs and your labmates.
- the prof. is very passionate about teaching and is very nice and engaging
- Homework can be difficult since little points get taken off here and there. But once you figure out what you keep losing points for it’s very easy to get As on the homework. For me I kept losing points for the written portion explaining my results and data because I was missing info or just wasn’t explaining it correctly. Highly recommend reading the feedback given on gradescope on what you did wrong and look at the homework answer keys.
- The midterm and final (you get a notecard cheat sheet for the final) are fair and reflect well what you learn in class and lab
- You’ll have a data analysis assignment towards the end of the quarter and it’s essentially free points. You just do a mega assignment encompassing some of the stuff we learned in lab and homework. It’s pretty much the homework and as long as you reference the homework answer keys and your labs you’ll pretty much get full points for the assignment.

This is by far my favorite class at UCLA and I would recommend this class over stats 13. Professor Garfinkel is amazing and is very passionate about statistics. His lectures are super engaging and I feel prepared to work in a lab because of this class!

Garfinkel is the GOAT! I went into this course just trying to get my statistics lower div finished, but his lectures are some of the best I've ever had and he makes statistics incredibly interesting, engaging, and applicable to your own education. Highly highly recommend this class, but especially this professor. The workload could get heavy at points, but if you are coming directly from LS30A or 30B you will honestly be fine since the coding syntax will be fresh in your head.