Professor
Marek Biskup
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Most Helpful Review
course: Math31A, Fall 2010 He's clear in class, neat, & polite when it comes to answering Q's in lecture. HW: will take up most of your week(going to TA OHs). NONE of the problems are from the textbook (textbook probs are too easy compared to Biskup's. even the TAs struggle with explaining them) MIDTERMS: failed the first one? DROP the class -- you need to brush up on precalc. aced it? You must've taken APCalc & passed well -- it'll hurt after the 2nd midterm. You've been warned so don't brag & slack like everyone else after the first one. FINAL: He takes a bunch of Q's from past HWs & switches up the numbers & small stuff. That shouldn't be a problem right?! NO!!!! You won't have time to finish if you did NOT memorize the annoyingly intricate math tricks for the problems; they're not about understanding the overall concepts. If you have a photographic memory, good for you. Curve: Do you know how many desperate freshmen in Math31A winter quarter are from Biskup's class? A LOT I thought he was a good prof even though he gave me my first F during freshman year, fall quarter (chem major). That MEANS something. I failed because the last time I took math was in junior year (precalc & college-level stats). Best way to judge that you're READY for this class? -- Don't just pass the math benchmark exam like I did. Ace it with 90% & brush up on trig before taking the class. -- You got a 3 on APCalc AB. Want to PASS it? -- Go to OHs. Do all the HW. -- Try to take 2-3 other easy classes with only this one math course. (good recommendations: GEs, a GE cluster with light reading, EngComp2, EngComp3). If you can handle it, just don't overboard by taking this along with Chem & Physics. Hope that helps.
course: Math31A, Fall 2010 He's clear in class, neat, & polite when it comes to answering Q's in lecture. HW: will take up most of your week(going to TA OHs). NONE of the problems are from the textbook (textbook probs are too easy compared to Biskup's. even the TAs struggle with explaining them) MIDTERMS: failed the first one? DROP the class -- you need to brush up on precalc. aced it? You must've taken APCalc & passed well -- it'll hurt after the 2nd midterm. You've been warned so don't brag & slack like everyone else after the first one. FINAL: He takes a bunch of Q's from past HWs & switches up the numbers & small stuff. That shouldn't be a problem right?! NO!!!! You won't have time to finish if you did NOT memorize the annoyingly intricate math tricks for the problems; they're not about understanding the overall concepts. If you have a photographic memory, good for you. Curve: Do you know how many desperate freshmen in Math31A winter quarter are from Biskup's class? A LOT I thought he was a good prof even though he gave me my first F during freshman year, fall quarter (chem major). That MEANS something. I failed because the last time I took math was in junior year (precalc & college-level stats). Best way to judge that you're READY for this class? -- Don't just pass the math benchmark exam like I did. Ace it with 90% & brush up on trig before taking the class. -- You got a 3 on APCalc AB. Want to PASS it? -- Go to OHs. Do all the HW. -- Try to take 2-3 other easy classes with only this one math course. (good recommendations: GEs, a GE cluster with light reading, EngComp2, EngComp3). If you can handle it, just don't overboard by taking this along with Chem & Physics. Hope that helps.
Most Helpful Review
Winter 2017 - This professor is EXTREMELY EXTREMELY difficult. As you all know, Math 31A was just a review. Biskup expects you to be a master of 31A so when you first arrive to class he throws at you insanely difficult homework which can only be done if you go to his office hours. And you can't take notes at those office hours. The medians on the midterms were around 40 and there are 3 of them. Although, this class is only 4 units, it takes some serious effort to pass it. If you do decide to take this class, do the homework. Know how to do EVERY SINGLE problem without any aid and go to his office hours. Do not make the same mistakes i did.
Winter 2017 - This professor is EXTREMELY EXTREMELY difficult. As you all know, Math 31A was just a review. Biskup expects you to be a master of 31A so when you first arrive to class he throws at you insanely difficult homework which can only be done if you go to his office hours. And you can't take notes at those office hours. The medians on the midterms were around 40 and there are 3 of them. Although, this class is only 4 units, it takes some serious effort to pass it. If you do decide to take this class, do the homework. Know how to do EVERY SINGLE problem without any aid and go to his office hours. Do not make the same mistakes i did.
Most Helpful Review
Winter 2023 - This review is for 23W 131AH. Biskup's lectures are extremely organized and clearly explain the motivations. He is patient in explaining proof details during lectures and offers an insane amount of office hours. Biskup is a very knowledgeable and interesting person, so you would enjoy his office hour even if you don't have questions prepared beforehand. Additionally, the exams are similar to the homework (even easier), and Biskup's grading is more than very lenient, so the workload will not be too bad compared to other 131AH classes. My only possible complaint about this class is that we spent weeks on the fundamentals, including building the natural and then building the reals, and the pace was probably a bit slow. However, this class is still amazing and provides an excellent, comprehensive foundation for further real analysis. Don't forget to take the BH because the AH doesn't cover much real analysis.
Winter 2023 - This review is for 23W 131AH. Biskup's lectures are extremely organized and clearly explain the motivations. He is patient in explaining proof details during lectures and offers an insane amount of office hours. Biskup is a very knowledgeable and interesting person, so you would enjoy his office hour even if you don't have questions prepared beforehand. Additionally, the exams are similar to the homework (even easier), and Biskup's grading is more than very lenient, so the workload will not be too bad compared to other 131AH classes. My only possible complaint about this class is that we spent weeks on the fundamentals, including building the natural and then building the reals, and the pace was probably a bit slow. However, this class is still amazing and provides an excellent, comprehensive foundation for further real analysis. Don't forget to take the BH because the AH doesn't cover much real analysis.
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Most Helpful Review
Spring 2022 - This review is for Math 131BH. He's an amazing lecturer and has a lot of office hours where he is extremely helpful. He does often cover material outside the textbook (Rudin), but it all seems like it does definitely belong in this class and he writes really high quality lecture notes for the extra material. The class is extremely extremely difficult and painful and the final was brutal but I do definitely recommend it if your goal is to really work hard and learn analysis. He's also a great person and is very very entertaining in his office hours. He really is an amazing professor.
Spring 2022 - This review is for Math 131BH. He's an amazing lecturer and has a lot of office hours where he is extremely helpful. He does often cover material outside the textbook (Rudin), but it all seems like it does definitely belong in this class and he writes really high quality lecture notes for the extra material. The class is extremely extremely difficult and painful and the final was brutal but I do definitely recommend it if your goal is to really work hard and learn analysis. He's also a great person and is very very entertaining in his office hours. He really is an amazing professor.
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