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 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.

Truly one of my favorite classes ever taken. Dr. Garfinkel is an awesome and engaging lecture who clearly cares about each of his students and really made a subject (stats) I always thought would be dry into a joy to learn about.

I strongly recommend taking LS 40: Statistics of Biological Systems in spring 2025 for your statistics requirement. LS 40 is developed and taught by biologists to share the statistics and data analysis methods biologists actually use now (and health care professionals need to interpret). We use the programming language Python, so you already know the programming you’ll need from LS 30A (LS 30B is not a prerequisite). In comparison to Statistics 13, which is also accepted for statistics requirements at UCLA and graduate/medical schools, it uses a computer language you already know and can take with you for future research, as well as modern statistics based on recent recommendations (rather than formulas developed many years ago that don't make sense now that we have computers), so it prepares you much better for conducting research and understanding scientific papers.

DON'T LET ANY NEGATIVE EXPERIENCES WITH LS30 DETER YOU FROM TAKING THIS COURSE. This class was undoubtably the best that I've taken at UCLA so far. Dr. Garfinkle is an excellent instructor who's passion for the subject shows through in each lecture. The homework was a bit time consuming but it wasn't very difficult and neither were the exams. While he homeworks were graded sort of harshly, people generally did well on the tests, making those few lost points not a big deal. As far as the content goes, I believe this is a course that any student with plans to conduct scientific research should take. It was very enlightening and the knowledge I gained was very practical. I was hesitant to enroll in this class because I was not a fan of the 30 series, but I am so grateful that I did.

LS40 was very interesting and applicable to the rest of your college career. I know in the past it was considered to be more difficult, but since then they have made the workload much more manageable, the coding isn't as hard and if you have any confusion the TAs help walk you through it. The midterm and final were pretty straightforward, not too difficult, you just have to write psuedocode, which for me I struggled with fitting in the box they gave. Other than that I would say to stay on top of the textbook, but truthfully you should get most of what you need from the lectures themselves, reading the textbook just helps a lot. I definitely recommend.

If you have any interest in stats or research in general, this class is a must take. Dr. Alan uses this course to disprove classical statistics and explain why, while giving us newer methods that are more accurate and more applicable, especially if you plan to do any research in the future.
As far as grading goes, this class is very easy, especially if you're coming from the LS30 math series. The tests are fair and entirely match the content of the reviews, and it also has the same format where the final overwrites the midterm if you do better on it. Most of your grade comes from these tests, a final project, and the homework, and pretty much everything else is participation. Homework can be a little confusing at first but the TAs and LAs are always willing and able to help.
Please do not discredit this class if you were also scarred by LS30, it's much better and Dr. Alan is a great professor who genuinely cares about his students.

Take this class! Professor Garfinkel makes lectures interesting and engaging, which makes the material much more digestible. I had only taken 30A before this class, and you really don't need any more experience with coding than that. Homework assignments can be a little time consuming and can be graded kind of harshly, but nothing insane. Professor Garfinkel doesn't try to trick you on the midterm and final, and the questions are pretty straightforward. The data analysis assignment was relatively short, too. Overall, I would highly recommend this class!

Do not be discouraged by the 30 series if you took that, in my opinion this class is a lot easier to understand and see the modern day applications. This is my favorite class I have taken at UCLA so far and I would highly recommend especially if you are pre med. Dr. Garfinkel is funny and engaging and the class is very interesting and applicable to current day statistics. To get the most out of this class go to office hours which was especially to get help on homework as it was graded on accuracy, but this was not a big issue in the class. The tests are manageable and straightforward so pretty much if you pay attention in class you will be fine. The LS 40 team is goated and passionate about the subject so thank you so much. 10 out of 10 would recommend.

I disliked the entire LS30 series with a passion but OH MY GOD this class was so goated and it's ENTIRELY due to the incredible teaching staff. In terms of content, it's nothing crazy. The coding is slightly bulky but it's very easy (easier than the 30 series) and the actual statistics of the course is very manageable. Now I'm not even a very statistics/math-based person, however, with Professor Garfinkel's lectures, I felt very compelled to listen to every word he says. Even though it's only been my first year, he's the best professor I've had. Sure he'll go on little tangents, but you can really tell this man is passionate about what he does and just really wants whats best for the class. Furthermore, the TAs are all insanely knowledgeable and easy to understand. Homework was always pretty manageable with like 5-8 problems per week and the coding labs were completion based. Lastly, the midterm and final were all very fair questions (it never felt like I was being tricked).

At the end of the day, if I had any other professor who was just sub-par, I do not think I would have gotten that A. Thank you Prof. Garfinkel you are truly the GOAT!

The homework is graded a little harshly (you will lose points for the most random things sometimes), but the tests are easy. You only really need the lectures and lab; you do not need to read the textbook. This class has two grading schemes, similar to LS30A and B, so you do not need to worry about the midterm as much.