Very Good!! Good hand writing! structured lecture. Fair midterms

Amazing professor! Takes doubts meticulously, maintains class decorum, and teaches flawlessly. Would recommend taking him. Tests may be challenging to some but overall you learn something from them. Also he is very approachable and will try his best to cater to everyone's doubts during and after class.

I absolutely loved 31B with Rooney. He is an amazing professor who teaches all the concepts extremely well. He also goes over a wide range of examples during class and is very patient and helpful during office hours. 100% recommended. The quizzes and homework are really helpful to keep up with the content.

Professor Rooney is a great lecturer and I felt like the concepts during lecture were clear, well-explained, and made sense. The only problem was that the examples, sample problems, and overall depth of what we covered in lecture were NOTHING like the homework problems. Test questions are significantly harder than the problems you do in class. The first half of the class was really easy and well-paced, so I got a perfect score on the first midterm, but after the first midterm the pace quadrupled and I felt like the second half of the class could have been its own class in itself. It was just way too much information that we weren't really given enough time to master and we also weren't really given hard-ball questions in class that he worked out of the board, so they were difficult to self-study. The last week of lectures felt rushed to squeeze in the last bunch of concepts for the final. The second midterm and final were WAY harder than the first midterm and quizzes in discussion and brought my grade down.

Honestly, I think Rooney is such a skilled lecturer and great at explaining things, so I think if he were to pace the class better and include more complex/difficult problems in class rather than basic examples, we would have all felt more prepared. But by the time the final rolled around everyone in my study group felt solid about the first half of the class and clueless about the second.

- Lectures: he goes to great lengths to make sure that students understand the material, often answering any questions/clarifying information during lectures or office hours. They are not recorded though, so definitely go to lectures/make a friend. If you go to lectures and do your homework, then you'll definitely pass the class.

- Homework: assigned every week (roughly 4-10 problems from the textbook) but not collected/graded. Instead, there are 15-minute quizzes each week regarding the previous week's homework during your discussion (excluding the week of midterms/finals/breaks). The quizzes are usually just 2 problems taken from the homework with the numbers slightly changed. They're 10% of your grade, super easy, and he drops the lowest quiz grade.

- Midterms: Usually 4 questions w/ multiple parts. 1st midterm was extremely easy, average was an A. The 2nd midterm was a stark contrast to the 1st. It was harder than the first and the average was like a D; with that being said, the material itself was already tough, so as long as you study and ask questions regarding the midterm practice problems he sends out, then you'll be fine. Also, the class is curved, so he'll adjust accordingly. I'd study harder for the 2nd final though, whether that be going to office hours or asking your TA, unless you understand everything about the series tests.

-Final: Half of the final was on material after the 2nd midterm, the rest was a culmination of the 1st & 2nd midterm. I study a lot more for the final and it definitely helped out. The first half was not difficult, just a check to see if you knew what you learned from the entire quarter. The second half was a bit tougher as it was new material but still doable. tldr; it's not hard, just know what you are doing and you'll be fine. Most people finished within 2 hours.

- Grading: 10% HW, 25% midterm, 25% midterm, 40% final; OR 10% HW, 30% better midterm, 60% final (he'll choose the grading scale that gives you the best grade). There is no extra credit or makeups for quizzes or midterms/finals, so make sure to try your best. His tests are pretty fair (only the 2nd midterm was questionable), and he's really approachable and nice so don't be afraid to go in during office hours to ask for help.

tldr; if you have the chance, take his class. jacob knows what he's doing and he does it well.

Great professor tbh! He gives such clear and engaging lectures and he tries to answer every students' questions. He would always go to class with a big smile and enthusiasm. The material is a little hard but it's manageable. Just do lots of practice problems and you will do well on the exams.
Love him so much as a professor since he really cares about his students and his lectures are amazing

I think Rooney did a good job. It's tough with math classes because a lot of it just needs to be practiced individually, but his HW, quizzes, and tests were very fair. He teaches clearly so ultimately if you study a bit you'll do fine. I would recommend him.

I completely agree with a previous review so I'm just gonna add it here
"Professor Rooney is a great lecturer and I felt like the concepts during lecture were clear, well-explained, and made sense. The only problem was that the examples, sample problems, and overall depth of what we covered in lecture were NOTHING like the homework problems. Test questions are significantly harder than the problems you do in class. The first half of the class was really easy and well-paced, so I got a perfect score on the first midterm, but after the first midterm the pace quadrupled and I felt like the second half of the class could have been its own class in itself. It was just way too much information that we weren't really given enough time to master and we also weren't really given hard-ball questions in class that he worked out of the board, so they were difficult to self-study. The last week of lectures felt rushed to squeeze in the last bunch of concepts for the final. The second midterm and final were WAY harder than the first midterm and quizzes in discussion and brought my grade down.

Honestly, I think Rooney is such a skilled lecturer and great at explaining things, so I think if he were to pace the class better and include more complex/difficult problems in class rather than basic examples, we would have all felt more prepared. But by the time the final rolled around everyone in my study group felt solid about the first half of the class and clueless about the second."
He is a GREAT professor and will work with you however much you need to attempt to understand the concepts. HOWEVER, his tests will get you! and they're basically the only thing in the grade book. This class is hard and there's no other way to put it.

I simply did not understand the material of this class. But that is no fault to Jacob. He makes concepts, or at least made them appear to be, very clear and took many questions to ensure everyone understood. His handwriting is impeccable and his lectures are incredibly well structured. That being said, his tests were rather difficult. The first midterm was fine (I think median was around an 84) but the second midterm was a sh*tshow (median around a 62). They weren't conceptual or anything like that, but they were just really hard problems. Other than his tests (which determine your grade which most people will weigh as the most important factor in choosing a professor), you will leave his class feeling as though you understood everything he just taught perfectly, only to then bomb his midterm

He is a pretty solid professor. He is a good lecturer I will give him that. However, the problems he goes over in class are not as difficult as the homework or the exam problems so it is kind of hard to do the homework just based on the lectures. He is pretty helpful in his office hours, he clearly knows his stuff. I struggled a lot because the rubric for when he grades the test essentially makes it so you have to be PERFECT to get a good grade. Little mistakes are harshly graded with his rubrics. However, they were pretty fair in terms of difficulty I must admit.