He claims you don’t need any prior programming experience. This is not true. Homework takes a very long time, and there is not much help given. The professor and the TAs don’t like to give answers when you ask for help. Instead, they ask you questions that you need to think through by yourself. The tests are hard and out of left field. They cannot be done in the time given. He said he wanted at least an 80% average on the midterm. The actual average of the first midterm was 58%. If you enjoy this kind of environment, you might enjoy the class. However, if you don’t need it for your major/minor, I’d recommend not taking it. If you absolutely have to take the class make sure your other classes aren’t too difficult.

Best professor at UCLA!! Exams are extremely straightforward, just make sure to pay attention to little tricks in the conceptual questions. Learned a lot while keeping the workload light. 10/10 recommend!

Mike is awesome, I didn't even do very well in the class but he was always super helpful.

This class was great. Labs were a bit annoying but not terrible and TA’s were super helpful. The homework was also fine (he drops the lowest one). We had weekly online quizzes (he drops the lowest one). You didn’t even have to go to class to understand it because the class is bruincasted and slides are online.

I am not a huge fan of statistics, but Tsiang made this class bearable. He’s such a nice person and you can really tell how much he cares about each student. He was very generous with grading, and tests were pretty straightforward, though some questions are trickily worded. (However, he allows cheat sheets) The coding labs were difficult, and somewhat harshly graded, but the last lab was entirely extra credit, so it was all okay. I wish every professor could be like Tsiang. He loves the class material and his students, and it really shows. Take this class!!

Tsiang is an amazing professor! Take this class with him. The midterm and final are somewhat aggressive but he lets you use a sheet of paper for notes. Make friends and do the homework and labs together and they are not too bad. Here's the grade breakdown:
Homework- 16% (Lowest is dropped)
Online Quizzes- 16% (Lowest is dropped)
Labs- 18%
Midterm- 20% (Was 30 multiple choice)
Final- 30% (Was 40 multiple choice and he gave 2 extra credit questions)

Not hard to pull an A because:
1) midterm+final not too hard
2) a good portion of your grade is assignments that you can check with TAs for accuracy if necessary
3) extra credit: up to 0.5% for Campuswire discussion, 0.5% for section/lab attendance (can miss up to 3 sessions), entirety of last lab
4) lowest grades in each portion of grade (quizzes, hw, lab) is dropped
5) no clickers/participation for lecture
6) unrelated to grading, but textbook isn't required though hw assignments refer to it. you can get by with pictures from friends or the pdf
7) some real homies on the Campuswire discussion forum (like Piazza but less ugly) pretty much give answers out to questions if you get stuck on assignments bless yall

Despite all this, I found it harder than a lot of the other LS major prereqs. Before you think poorly of me, this material is SO DRY my constantly chapped lips are like an oasis in comparison. First day of class, "new quarter new me" mentality in place, and I still fell asleep. It's really not Mike's fault that I found the course material boring-- he's a pretty funny guy and not uptight like some profs can be at times. Class attendance at lectures the few times I went was ABYSMAL because you can just watch it on 2x on Bruincast if you want (and still probably nod off while watching the video too).

Not hard to pull an A because:
1) midterm+final not too hard
2) a good portion of your grade is assignments that you can check with TAs for accuracy if necessary
3) extra credit: up to 0.5% for Campuswire discussion, 0.5% for section/lab attendance (can miss up to 3 sessions), entirety of last lab
4) lowest grades in each portion of grade (quizzes, hw, lab) is dropped
5) no clickers/participation for lecture
6) unrelated to grading, but textbook isn't required though hw assignments refer to it. you can get by with pictures from friends or the pdf
7) some real homies on the Campuswire discussion forum (like Piazza but less ugly) pretty much give answers out to questions if you get stuck on assignments bless yall

Despite all this, I found it harder than a lot of the other LS major prereqs. Before you think poorly of me, this material is SO DRY my constantly chapped lips are like an oasis in comparison. First day of class, "new quarter new me" mentality in place, and I still fell asleep. It's really not Mike's fault that I found the course material boring-- he's a pretty funny guy and not uptight like some profs can be at times. Class attendance at lectures the few times I went was ABYSMAL because you can just watch it on 2x on Bruincast if you want (and still probably nod off while watching the video too).

Tsiang was a great professor and made stats manageable. He really cares about his students and is super helpful. Midterm and final are multiple choice but a few of the questions were a little tricky. He allows cheat sheets though which are really useful. Homework can take awhile but he gives a lot of time between due dates, and the lowest grade is dropped. Labs were pretty easy, and the last one was extra credit. There are also weekly online quizzes of 5-9 questions which weren't too bad, and the lowest grade is dropped. Discussion is twice a week but weren't mandatory and counted towards extra credit. Tsiang was pretty funny and tried to make the material engaging, but lectures were kinda boring just because it's stats and a lot of people stopped showing up to class

Great professor and relatively easy class. The homework and lab are busy work but it isn't too much work, especially because some of the labs are bi-weekly. Tsiang is a great professor and if you love Parks n Rec, you have to take this class.