My favorite class with my favorite class at UCLA. Very applicable material to real life situations and super helpful knowledge to spill upon during interviews. The tests are difficult but not impossible and Professor Christou always curves VERY generously. Like the other person said, the workload is a bit heavy at times (1 hw due/week and sometimes a project update (coded in R) due) but its not unbearable and Professor Christou has always helped me through problems I don't understand during OH (which is has every single day and on weekends before exams - amazing). He doesn't really care about deadlines but rather puts a focus on students well being and understanding of the material. I appreciate this a lot.

Christou is the GOAT, but 99% of my time taking his class I was fighting for my life trying to pass only for him to curve the class to the moon. Anyway, here's my review. 

Pros:
1. Material is interesting and practical. IMO he strikes the right balance between theory and application and even if you're not interested in finance like I was, it's cool to see stuff we learn from other stats classes transfer over to things like portfolio theory and options. This class definitely sets you up pretty well to pursue some kind of financial stats career if that's your thing, I'd still take this class if you need an upper div stats elective.

2. CURVE. I flunked the first midterm (<50%) but clutched up in the second one and idk how I did on the final but somehow got an A. I also know for a fact that half of my HW answers were wrong, but I got nearly full credit on those as well. That being said, having a super low grade throughout the quarter definitely pushed me to take this class more seriously, so this might be some kind of jedi mind tricking for him to get his students to try harder and pay attention. I don't get too anxious for tests and stuff, but I can see how it might affect students who do. Just keep your head up if you think you're struggling and try your best, I 100% believe he notices and appreciates your effort.

Cons:
1. The workload is crazy. You basically have two assignments each week for the first 6 weeks, one on paper and one in R. Granted, he posts 99% of the code, so it's actually not too bad. It also helps because you get used to where things are in his Canvas page which is very important during his open-note exams. However, two assignments per week is a bit crazy especially if you have other commitments going on, so definitely find a workflow to manage it all. Later on in the quarter, he allowed us to submit hw late without any penalties. I submitted a HW and project 2 weeks late and got 100%s on both, so that helps a bit.

2. Exams can be hard af. I think most people didn't answer every question on each test, but partial credit is given if you did some work. Don't assume because they're open note that they'll be easy. Definitely do the practice exams. Sometimes you can just copy paste a solution since the exam questions might be questions from previous exams/hws.

3. Attendance is not mandatory, but you definitely need to go (or at least have a friend send you their notes). None of his class is posted online (not even lecture notes) since he goes old school and writes everything on the black board from memory (like a true stats G). This means he also erases things he writes on the board once he runs out of room, so you really gotta write everything down before he does. This is super important since some questions on the exam are directly from lecture notes, so you can copy down his proofs / explanations directly from your notes and get free points. Even if you don't understand what he's talking about, it's worth copying down everything so during the exam you have a wealth of equations and theorems to look through.

One of the toughest classes I have had with Professor Christou simply because it had the highest workload. My recommendation is to only take this class if you have enough time to invest (no pun intended).

Best professor at UCLA ever. He is the type of professor who truly cares more about the students than his own image as a professor. He is so kind and such a good human being. He made tons of adjustments for students' situations in the pandemic. Office hour everyday so you can always find support from him.

This class is not like other class he teaches, this class workload still do able , one assignment each week and the professor is very helpful! He hold office hours every day and I think this class is very applicable to daily life. He cares alot to all his student and understand students very well. I recommend to take this course!!

One of the best professors I've ever had at UCLA, especially during such a difficult time. He was extremely understanding, patient, and flexible, usually allowing late submissions on everything with no penalty. I learned so much valuable information and am so glad I took this class even though it was not required for my major or minor. He really cares about students' learning and holds office hours literally every single day. He even came to campus one day to show us all the buildings for those who were at home during COVID. Highly recommend this class!!!

The workload for this class is sooooooo freaking heavy. Can you imagine of having 3 homework due in one week.... Ridiculous...