Jacob Rooney
Department of Mathematics
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4.3
Overall Rating
Based on 22 Users
Easiness 3.2 / 5 How easy the class is, 1 being extremely difficult and 5 being easy peasy.
Clarity 4.6 / 5 How clear the class is, 1 being extremely unclear and 5 being very clear.
Workload 3.8 / 5 How much workload the class is, 1 being extremely heavy and 5 being extremely light.
Helpfulness 4.7 / 5 How helpful the class is, 1 being not helpful at all and 5 being extremely helpful.

TOP TAGS

  • Needs Textbook
  • Useful Textbooks
  • Tolerates Tardiness
  • Engaging Lectures
  • Would Take Again
  • Often Funny
  • Tough Tests
GRADE DISTRIBUTIONS
19.8%
16.5%
13.2%
9.9%
6.6%
3.3%
0.0%
A+
A
A-
B+
B
B-
C+
C
C-
D+
D
D-
F

Grade distributions are collected using data from the UCLA Registrar’s Office.

ENROLLMENT DISTRIBUTIONS
Clear marks

Sorry, no enrollment data is available.

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Reviews (20)

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Quarter: Fall 2019
Grade: D-
Jan. 28, 2020

Rooney was honestly a really good professor. Even though I failed this class, I was dealing with a lot and would have gotten at least a B if circumstances were different. He is very intuitive, and does a good job of explaining material in a way that is understandable. Interestingly enough, he is a funny guy. Although there isn't homework, per se, there is a quiz every week in section covering that week's homework. The midterm and final were relatively difficult, but with a lot of preparation, you'll be fine. Overall, I enjoyed taking his class, and wouldn't mind taking another class with him in the future.

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Quarter: Fall 2019
Grade: A
Dec. 31, 2019

Rooney's lectures consisted of him copying his notes onto the board word for word. Lecture wise, he was a great professor as his handwriting is phenomenal and he explains the topics very clearly. Each discussion consisted of a quiz that mirrored the homework given for that week. Those were fairly easy as most people got 100% on them because as long as you did the homework, you were fine. The first midterm was easy mostly because the topics covered on it were easy but most people did well on it. The second midterm, however, was a different story. I found it hard as we were not given enough time and often times problems tested your ability to use math tricks in conjunction with the material. The average for that was in the 60s. The final was roughly the same difficulty as the second midterm although I managed to get an A on it as I felt we were given much more time for every problem. Overall, it is not too hard to get a good grade in the class as long as you put in the work outside of just doing homework problems.

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Quarter: Fall 2019
Grade: C+
Dec. 28, 2019

I took AP Calculus BC in 12th grade and had to take this class since I received a 4 on the AP exam (annoying but whatever), so I came in pretty unexcited to learn the parts I hated about the AP Calc BC class, again. However, Rooney was an exceptional professor. He's super young and dorky, and his jokes made the 8 am class four days a week (almost) worth it. He taught concepts in a way that made them super easy to understand, and he did tons of examples in class that added to my understanding of the topics. The weekly discussion quizzes were super easy as long as you did the homework, and the first midterm wasn't too bad either. It wasn't until the series section that I really started struggling; the homework questions were a lot more complicated than the examples in class, and therefore Midterm II was a joke. Other students in the class seemed to think so also, since the average grade for Midterm II was a C or D I believe. The final was just as bad, and although I thought I did okay, I was very very wrong, as before the final I had a B average, and I ended up passing with a C+. If I had to take the class again, I would do a lot more practice problems from the book, and really take the time to understand concepts that I wasn't too confident about. Rooney was great and I would recommend taking his 31B class for sure, just make sure not to underestimate the power of Midterm II and the final.

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Quarter: Fall 2019
Grade: A
Dec. 26, 2019

Rooney is thorough, engaging, and tests are generally fair. His office hours are generally helpful, and the TAs were good as well. He has weekly questions in discussion, which are problems taken directly from his homework with some occasional minor number changes. He tries his best to answer questions in class, but will respond to emails fairly quickly if you have any that he doesn't answer. Overall, this isn't a particularly difficult class, and if you put in the work you'll get a good grade.

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Quarter: Fall 2019
Grade: A
Verified Reviewer This user is a verified UCLA student/alum.
Dec. 24, 2019

Rooney is just a model professor. 31B is a hard class, and doing it in 10 weeks is definitely no joke, but I can definitely say he made it as easy as it could have been. As long as you're willing to go to office hours and struggle through the homework, it is more than possible to gain a really solid understanding of everything taught. His office hours were extremely helpful, he was always on time for everything he scheduled and he is amazing at explaining anything students are having trouble with. Second midterm was really difficult, but overall the grading scheme is pretty generous in my opinion (option to drop a midterm and lots of homework quizzes for credit). Hardest class I've ever taken but I feel like I'm so much better at math now, definitely worth it.

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Quarter: Fall 2019
Grade: C
Dec. 24, 2019

honestly i think i'm just dumb as fuck, my friends did well and the professor is nice, i'm just bad at math and relieved i passed, but like his class is most definitely pretty good apart from the fact it's an 8am. the TA's are super committed to their work too, so it's nice.

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Quarter: Fall 2019
Grade: A
Dec. 19, 2019

Professor Rooney is a relatively new professor, but his lectures were very easy to understand and follow. He also put in the effort to make 8 am lectures engaging with his jokes. The material in the second half of the quarter was definitely more difficult, but the final wasn't too bad and he does curve fairly.

Helpful?

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Quarter: Fall 2019
Grade: A
Dec. 19, 2019

If you go to lecture and take notes, do the homework, and go to office hours with questions about the homework, then this class should be an easy A.

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Quarter: Fall 2019
Grade: B+
Verified Reviewer This user is a verified UCLA student/alum.
Dec. 19, 2019

Rooney is approachable and engaging, and he does his best to make sure that students comprehend the material he teaches in lecture. My only criticism for him has to do with the difficulty of his examinations. After exchanging midterms with a friend who had a different professor for 31B, he and I quickly realized how much more difficult Rooney's exams were in comparison to his professor's. As previous reviewers have already pointed out, the second midterm was particularly unpleasant—the average sat at around 64%.

From my point of view, this professor's class was rather painful because a good portion of his examinations relied on the student's ability to come up with clever tricks to solve problems instead of the comprehension of key concepts taught in lecture and highlighted in the homework assignments. Although exposure to these types of problems can teach you something, it may not be worth taking a hit to your GPA.

In sum: Although this professor is a great teacher, his examinations are more difficult than those other professors who teach the same course. I would advise taking this course with a different professor if the grade distributions seem better.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Fall 2019
Grade: A-
Dec. 19, 2019

He has really neat handwriting and basically writes everything he is saying on the board. Our first midterm was fair, the second one was bombed due to time pressure, and the final was fair though there were 1-2 questions that I really couldn't find anyone that knew the answer to. Homework wasn't collected but there were homework quizzes in discussion that were fair (not worth much, only 10%). Replies to emails at a fair pace, and offers 3 office hours, though I didn't attend many of them in lieu of my TA's instead. Final grades were calculated on two schemes, 10% quiz 25% each midterm, 40% final OR 10% quiz 30% better final and 60% final and he would do the higher of the two. The class ended up being curved a bit at the end I think because my overall grade was a 88% but I got A-

He's young and approachable and kind of quirky, so reach out to him!

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Fall 2019
Grade: D-
Jan. 28, 2020

Rooney was honestly a really good professor. Even though I failed this class, I was dealing with a lot and would have gotten at least a B if circumstances were different. He is very intuitive, and does a good job of explaining material in a way that is understandable. Interestingly enough, he is a funny guy. Although there isn't homework, per se, there is a quiz every week in section covering that week's homework. The midterm and final were relatively difficult, but with a lot of preparation, you'll be fine. Overall, I enjoyed taking his class, and wouldn't mind taking another class with him in the future.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Fall 2019
Grade: A
Dec. 31, 2019

Rooney's lectures consisted of him copying his notes onto the board word for word. Lecture wise, he was a great professor as his handwriting is phenomenal and he explains the topics very clearly. Each discussion consisted of a quiz that mirrored the homework given for that week. Those were fairly easy as most people got 100% on them because as long as you did the homework, you were fine. The first midterm was easy mostly because the topics covered on it were easy but most people did well on it. The second midterm, however, was a different story. I found it hard as we were not given enough time and often times problems tested your ability to use math tricks in conjunction with the material. The average for that was in the 60s. The final was roughly the same difficulty as the second midterm although I managed to get an A on it as I felt we were given much more time for every problem. Overall, it is not too hard to get a good grade in the class as long as you put in the work outside of just doing homework problems.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Fall 2019
Grade: C+
Dec. 28, 2019

I took AP Calculus BC in 12th grade and had to take this class since I received a 4 on the AP exam (annoying but whatever), so I came in pretty unexcited to learn the parts I hated about the AP Calc BC class, again. However, Rooney was an exceptional professor. He's super young and dorky, and his jokes made the 8 am class four days a week (almost) worth it. He taught concepts in a way that made them super easy to understand, and he did tons of examples in class that added to my understanding of the topics. The weekly discussion quizzes were super easy as long as you did the homework, and the first midterm wasn't too bad either. It wasn't until the series section that I really started struggling; the homework questions were a lot more complicated than the examples in class, and therefore Midterm II was a joke. Other students in the class seemed to think so also, since the average grade for Midterm II was a C or D I believe. The final was just as bad, and although I thought I did okay, I was very very wrong, as before the final I had a B average, and I ended up passing with a C+. If I had to take the class again, I would do a lot more practice problems from the book, and really take the time to understand concepts that I wasn't too confident about. Rooney was great and I would recommend taking his 31B class for sure, just make sure not to underestimate the power of Midterm II and the final.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Fall 2019
Grade: A
Dec. 26, 2019

Rooney is thorough, engaging, and tests are generally fair. His office hours are generally helpful, and the TAs were good as well. He has weekly questions in discussion, which are problems taken directly from his homework with some occasional minor number changes. He tries his best to answer questions in class, but will respond to emails fairly quickly if you have any that he doesn't answer. Overall, this isn't a particularly difficult class, and if you put in the work you'll get a good grade.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Verified Reviewer This user is a verified UCLA student/alum.
Quarter: Fall 2019
Grade: A
Dec. 24, 2019

Rooney is just a model professor. 31B is a hard class, and doing it in 10 weeks is definitely no joke, but I can definitely say he made it as easy as it could have been. As long as you're willing to go to office hours and struggle through the homework, it is more than possible to gain a really solid understanding of everything taught. His office hours were extremely helpful, he was always on time for everything he scheduled and he is amazing at explaining anything students are having trouble with. Second midterm was really difficult, but overall the grading scheme is pretty generous in my opinion (option to drop a midterm and lots of homework quizzes for credit). Hardest class I've ever taken but I feel like I'm so much better at math now, definitely worth it.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Fall 2019
Grade: C
Dec. 24, 2019

honestly i think i'm just dumb as fuck, my friends did well and the professor is nice, i'm just bad at math and relieved i passed, but like his class is most definitely pretty good apart from the fact it's an 8am. the TA's are super committed to their work too, so it's nice.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Fall 2019
Grade: A
Dec. 19, 2019

Professor Rooney is a relatively new professor, but his lectures were very easy to understand and follow. He also put in the effort to make 8 am lectures engaging with his jokes. The material in the second half of the quarter was definitely more difficult, but the final wasn't too bad and he does curve fairly.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Fall 2019
Grade: A
Dec. 19, 2019

If you go to lecture and take notes, do the homework, and go to office hours with questions about the homework, then this class should be an easy A.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Verified Reviewer This user is a verified UCLA student/alum.
Quarter: Fall 2019
Grade: B+
Dec. 19, 2019

Rooney is approachable and engaging, and he does his best to make sure that students comprehend the material he teaches in lecture. My only criticism for him has to do with the difficulty of his examinations. After exchanging midterms with a friend who had a different professor for 31B, he and I quickly realized how much more difficult Rooney's exams were in comparison to his professor's. As previous reviewers have already pointed out, the second midterm was particularly unpleasant—the average sat at around 64%.

From my point of view, this professor's class was rather painful because a good portion of his examinations relied on the student's ability to come up with clever tricks to solve problems instead of the comprehension of key concepts taught in lecture and highlighted in the homework assignments. Although exposure to these types of problems can teach you something, it may not be worth taking a hit to your GPA.

In sum: Although this professor is a great teacher, his examinations are more difficult than those other professors who teach the same course. I would advise taking this course with a different professor if the grade distributions seem better.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Fall 2019
Grade: A-
Dec. 19, 2019

He has really neat handwriting and basically writes everything he is saying on the board. Our first midterm was fair, the second one was bombed due to time pressure, and the final was fair though there were 1-2 questions that I really couldn't find anyone that knew the answer to. Homework wasn't collected but there were homework quizzes in discussion that were fair (not worth much, only 10%). Replies to emails at a fair pace, and offers 3 office hours, though I didn't attend many of them in lieu of my TA's instead. Final grades were calculated on two schemes, 10% quiz 25% each midterm, 40% final OR 10% quiz 30% better final and 60% final and he would do the higher of the two. The class ended up being curved a bit at the end I think because my overall grade was a 88% but I got A-

He's young and approachable and kind of quirky, so reach out to him!

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
2 of 2
4.3
Overall Rating
Based on 22 Users
Easiness 3.2 / 5 How easy the class is, 1 being extremely difficult and 5 being easy peasy.
Clarity 4.6 / 5 How clear the class is, 1 being extremely unclear and 5 being very clear.
Workload 3.8 / 5 How much workload the class is, 1 being extremely heavy and 5 being extremely light.
Helpfulness 4.7 / 5 How helpful the class is, 1 being not helpful at all and 5 being extremely helpful.

TOP TAGS

  • Needs Textbook
    (17)
  • Useful Textbooks
    (18)
  • Tolerates Tardiness
    (11)
  • Engaging Lectures
    (16)
  • Would Take Again
    (13)
  • Often Funny
    (12)
  • Tough Tests
    (10)
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