Dr. Bennoun is an incredible lecturer. He explains concepts in a way that is so succinct, clear, and easy-to-follow despite the LS30 curriculum being a little wonky. His slides are very, very helpful since he has sample questions in between explaining concepts. He also genuinely cares for student learning, going out of his way to answer questions (Piazza is like an online forum where you can post questions/receive answers within 1 day usually).

I was ambivalent about the LS30 philosophy, but Dr. Bennoun explains it in a way that it actually makes sense without us needing to know complex proofs or theorems like in traditional math.

Tips:
- Take advantage of all of Dr. Bennoun's resources from problem-solving sessions to review sessions led by TAs before exams
- Definitely come to the last review session lecture, since it was very helpful for me to understand all of the content before the final.
- TAs are usually super willing to help during office hours if you have questions on the lab or homework. The labs in LS30B are significantly harder and take more time than LS30A, so don't leave them for the last moment...
- The class moves rather fast, keep up

Good luck!

Do NOT listen to the grade distribution for this class. I was honestly so deceived when I was planning out my classes at orientation. The class seems okay when you start doing fine on homework and in labs, and the lectures are alright to follow... until the midterm hits you like a TRUCK. It was SO much harder than the practice exams he provided, you're better off studying from the homework and re-doing those problems. Luckily, the final could replace your midterm if you absolutely bomb it, weighing about 60% of your grade instead of 25% midterm and 30% final. I studied extra hard for the final, went to office hours weekly but even more so during final season, and had additional tutoring outside UCLA. I went into the final and THOUGHT it was much more fair than the midterm, until I got my grade back and it was barely higher than my midterm, fucking over my whole grade because of the strict grading. Thank God I had the labs and homework as a buffer though. Bennoun himself is an okay lecturer and is helpful during office hours, but don't expect to get much help because they're always packed. Right now I'm taking 30B with the same professor so let's pray I don't get fucked over again. Fuck the 30 series fake math bs and rip any hope for a 4.0.

Take Bennoun if you can! His lectures are clear and engaging but I will say this class will be hard if you haven't taken calculus before. I enjoyed the class but it is difficult to get a good grade since the midterm and final are worth so much. Class content was interesting and I like how the math is applied to science and real situations. Wish I had him for 30B this quarter.

Professor Bennoun is a very clear lecturer. He posts unannotated slides before lecture, and annotated slides after lecture. He uses iClicker for attendance and lectures are quite engaging. Homework was due every Monday at 11:59pm. The homework is really helpful-- its repetitive and can sometimes be difficult, but once you get one concept you can do the rest. For the midterm, the practice material they provided was much easier than the actual midterm. The midterm seemed really difficult, but they give generous partial credit (I got an 83%). But Bennoun's grading scheme allows your grade for the final exam to replace your midterm if you score better on the final. I studied a lot more for the final exam. I think the practice material they provided was pretty similar to the final. I thought the final was easier than the midterm, but that could have just been because I studied harder. I ended with an A in the class. I would highly recommend this professor.

This class was super easy and I loved my TA

I, like many others, came into this class thinking it would be a better choice than the 31 series. The first few weeks of the course were manageable, but towards the end it just felt like complete nonsense. the concepts were so abstract and unrealistic. I felt like I was at times arguing for things that have no relation to anything science OR math related. It was busy work and I didn't take away much from the course. The coding is easy, but sometimes time-consuming and in my opinion was also useless. They try to connect it to what we are learning in class but it vaguely correlates. The bonus points do nothing because it is only worth 0.5% of your grade. Seriously, it doesn't do anything. Homework was helpful but I found it to take a really long time. Not based off of correction, but off of work, explanation, and how close you are to being right (if you get a part wrong). I got 100% on the HW but I know that TAs liked to take points off very often so keep that in mind. I did good on the MT (higher than most of the people around me at least) and thought I would be okay for the final, but man was I wrong. Graders were much harsher and it seemed like they were either giving all the points or none, even if there were some portions explained correctly. The second grading scheme ended up not helping me and I had to use the first one, even though many people on BruinWalk said that the second scheme saved them.
TLDR: this class was the bane of my existence. if you can do calculus save yourself the pain and take 31A instead
Stats:
MT: 90%
Final: 83%
100% on all other categories

I came into this thinking it was going to be an easy A+ like many of the other reviews and it was nothing like it. To be fair I only took AP stats in high school and no AP calc so I felt behind to learn some of the rules and solving mechanisms towards the end of the year. I recommend having a study group, tutor, or PLF sessions because the concepts are hard to grasp and the tests were long and confusing. I really wouldn’t take this class again but I think if you study a lot, go to office hours (which get insanely packed within the first 5 minutes), and do practice problems non stop you should be fine. :(

Honestly, this class is a hit or miss. Bennoun is a good lecturer, but the examples he gives in class fail to replicate the questions you will receive on the homework or exams. The first half of this class was taught well, but then he fell off toward the end of the class, especially with creating bifurcation models. I will say that the grading is very strict. Every homework assignment is graded based on accuracy. The instructions for the questions are unclear, and I would constantly find myself getting points taken off, not because I did it wrong, but because I forgot to add specific details (which are not asked for, instead just expected, which is kinda stupid). This class also has a lab portion, which I thought wasn't too bad, contrary to the other reviews on here. The coding itself is pretty straightforward (even if you don't have any experience). I agree that the lab assignments are a bit useless because you don't have to code on the final, but the lab potion itself was helpful because we would always end early, giving me the opportunity to ask questions about the homework. In terms of the exams, it almost felt like the rubric is designed for you to lose points, as, like the homework, it fails to give a clear line of direction of what they actually want the student to say (I do agree that this may sound like I'm just complaining, but they can't just expect you to have specific details when the practice problem solutions themselves don't include those details either). The review sessions aren't the best help, as the TAs will give broad explanations that would still lose you points on the exam. To sum it up, this class does have its highs, more with the light workload and lenient deadlines, but it is a bunch of useless/made-up math you'll never need. If you took calculus in high school, I would strongly encourage you to take another math series that is more calculus-integrated. Just adding this in, don't expect Bennoun to round up a grade or curve any of the exams if that's what you're hoping for. Also, don't take this class if you're looking at the 2022 grade distribution (it doesn't seem like many people are getting many A+'s or A's at all).

I’ll let others go into the specifics of the class itself but let me just say, you should strongly reconsider if you are planning on taking this class. Only take this class if you don’t plan on using math AT ALL in your entire life, are CERTAIN you want to be a life science major, are confident you don’t want a minor/double major outside of life sciences, and only care about an easy A instead of learning anything. The math taught in this class is completely made up and is not at all useful in real life despite what the professor tries to tell you. If you ever want to leave life science or do a double major/minor outside of the life sciences you have to take the math series so please just save your future and don’t take this class. The professor is great, the problems I have are with the course itself.