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Sungjin Kim
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Based on 44 Users
I would try to avoid Kim if there are other options for math. His accent is hard to follow and he spends more time in class doing proofs and theorems then on explaining the material. I watched Kahn academy videos every night before lecture so that I would be able to follow him in class. He also teaches in a confusing manner so watching Kahn academy videos helped simplified what he was trying to say.
Had him for both 31B and 32A. Pretty good professor overall. He lectures clearly and is easy to follow.
His office hour is super helpful since he is always willing to show you the answer in homework(which is closely related to the exams), and present some methods that can be used to solve problems in the exam. Be sure to do his practice exams!!!!!
Got A's in both classes.
Math 31B Fall Quarter. Worst class of my entire life. I put countless hours into this class including outside tutoring and still only got a C+. A lot of people do not pass the class. Kim was no help and very difficult to follow and understand in lectures. Tests were unreasonably difficult and homework is graded by accuracy. I would not recommend this class/teacher to anyone.
Pretty good overall. He does leave out some little things (for example, when doing substitution by parts, how to pick the u. There is a specific method but he says you just have to know how). But he covers the main concepts well. Always do the homework; it's a bit challenging but very helpful for the tests. His tests are extremely fair, occasionally he'll throw in a new kind of problem that's difficult but I think his grading scheme makes up for that. Very very slight accent, nothing to worry about. He generally seems to care about his students and wants them to do well. Overall a good professor, I would take him again without hesitation.
Professor Kim's class is very organized and clear. Even though he is not the best and most interesting math professor out there, his classes are easy to follow and he does a lot of practices and recaps. He writes all his explanations on the board (in a way that I think is even better than the textbook), so you actually only need the textbook for his homework problems. His homework problems can be a little challenging, but they are still reasonable. The two midterms were very easy for me, while the final is a lot more challenging, but overall, if you do all his practices and review your homework and what he normally goes through in class (and keep a cool head during the exams), the class is not hard at all. He has a bit of an accent, but he can answer questions very well. I also went for office hours two days before the final and it was super helpful. I will recommend this professor to anybody.
He's an alright professor. He spent most of the class just explaining proofs of theorems and formulas, which is fine, but sometimes there were a little confusing and hard to follow and you don't really need them for the test.
If you do the homework questions, go to office hours for help, and finish all of his practice exams, you should do well. This exams are extremely straightforward and as long as you know the method to solving the problems, the exams will be very doable.
His office hours are extremely helpful because he'll teach you how to do the problem and give you the correct answer, which is nice because your homework grade depends on the accuracy of two random problems.
Professor Kim is a very professional instructor. His lecture is very organized and easy to follow. By using enough examples, the concept he taught are easy to be grasped. He replies the emails on time and gives a lot of hint on his homework. Most importantly, he provides practice exam and study guide for midterm and finals which are extremely helpful. As a student in UCLA, I do feel flattered to have a math professor who provides study guide and a whole lecture for review without any students ask for it! Overall, he is a good professor and I would not mind to choose him again if possible.
Wow, one of the best professors I've had.
No, he doesn't have an accent (at least one that will prevent you from understanding anything) and he doesn't talk to the board.
He provides notes for his lectures so that you can go home and review parts you didn't really follow in class because there will be moments where you don't pay attention for a second in a proof and then become lost in the rest of the proof.
His midterm was extremely fair: provided a comprehensive practice midterm that accurately reflected the pool from which questions were chosen from; didn't expect complicated proofs - just wanted to see if you know what you're doing.
He's always available (I even walked into his office at random times to find his door open)
And he gyms LOL what more could you want?
Lectures
He made his class easy to take because he sent out his lecture notes beforehand and also did Bruincast. His lectures were useful when you looked at the notes afterwards for help on the homework. He did a fair number of examples in class. The material itself is not difficult. Having received a C+ in Math 31AB, the new material here was easier to digest. There is some multivariable stuff involving limits, so you should be careful there.
Grading Schemes
Scheme 1
Homework 15%
Midterm 1 20%
Midterm 2 20%
Final 45%
Scheme 2
Homework 15%
Better Midterm 30%
Final 55%
Homework
His homework load was fair (~10 problems per week) and the grader chose three easy problems to correct. If you somehow messed up, he would drop the lowest homework score.
Exams
They were easy. Unlike other professors, he didn't try to trick you with ridiculous functions and whatnot. I got 100% on the first midterm, 88% on the second, and 80% on the final. The medians were 93%, 83%, and 80%, respectively. Unfortunately, I ended with an 89% and received a B+. The class was too easy, so there was a traditional grading scale and no curve.
Office Hours
He had two office hours per week, but I only went once. He was nice about my question, but I preferred to attend my TA's office hours.
Pro-Tip
The only thing you need to study for exams are his practice exams. They are basically the same as his actual exams; don't bother with anything else he suggests that you study. For example, he taught Kepler's laws, but didn't test on them. I was paranoid about the final because I thought he would throw a curveball, so I studied some other things and didn't spend as much time on the practice final. The actual final was basically the same as his practice one. Cue my regrets.
tl;dr Take him for 32A, but make sure you are on top of his practice exams.
I would try to avoid Kim if there are other options for math. His accent is hard to follow and he spends more time in class doing proofs and theorems then on explaining the material. I watched Kahn academy videos every night before lecture so that I would be able to follow him in class. He also teaches in a confusing manner so watching Kahn academy videos helped simplified what he was trying to say.
Had him for both 31B and 32A. Pretty good professor overall. He lectures clearly and is easy to follow.
His office hour is super helpful since he is always willing to show you the answer in homework(which is closely related to the exams), and present some methods that can be used to solve problems in the exam. Be sure to do his practice exams!!!!!
Got A's in both classes.
Math 31B Fall Quarter. Worst class of my entire life. I put countless hours into this class including outside tutoring and still only got a C+. A lot of people do not pass the class. Kim was no help and very difficult to follow and understand in lectures. Tests were unreasonably difficult and homework is graded by accuracy. I would not recommend this class/teacher to anyone.
Pretty good overall. He does leave out some little things (for example, when doing substitution by parts, how to pick the u. There is a specific method but he says you just have to know how). But he covers the main concepts well. Always do the homework; it's a bit challenging but very helpful for the tests. His tests are extremely fair, occasionally he'll throw in a new kind of problem that's difficult but I think his grading scheme makes up for that. Very very slight accent, nothing to worry about. He generally seems to care about his students and wants them to do well. Overall a good professor, I would take him again without hesitation.
Professor Kim's class is very organized and clear. Even though he is not the best and most interesting math professor out there, his classes are easy to follow and he does a lot of practices and recaps. He writes all his explanations on the board (in a way that I think is even better than the textbook), so you actually only need the textbook for his homework problems. His homework problems can be a little challenging, but they are still reasonable. The two midterms were very easy for me, while the final is a lot more challenging, but overall, if you do all his practices and review your homework and what he normally goes through in class (and keep a cool head during the exams), the class is not hard at all. He has a bit of an accent, but he can answer questions very well. I also went for office hours two days before the final and it was super helpful. I will recommend this professor to anybody.
He's an alright professor. He spent most of the class just explaining proofs of theorems and formulas, which is fine, but sometimes there were a little confusing and hard to follow and you don't really need them for the test.
If you do the homework questions, go to office hours for help, and finish all of his practice exams, you should do well. This exams are extremely straightforward and as long as you know the method to solving the problems, the exams will be very doable.
His office hours are extremely helpful because he'll teach you how to do the problem and give you the correct answer, which is nice because your homework grade depends on the accuracy of two random problems.
Professor Kim is a very professional instructor. His lecture is very organized and easy to follow. By using enough examples, the concept he taught are easy to be grasped. He replies the emails on time and gives a lot of hint on his homework. Most importantly, he provides practice exam and study guide for midterm and finals which are extremely helpful. As a student in UCLA, I do feel flattered to have a math professor who provides study guide and a whole lecture for review without any students ask for it! Overall, he is a good professor and I would not mind to choose him again if possible.
Wow, one of the best professors I've had.
No, he doesn't have an accent (at least one that will prevent you from understanding anything) and he doesn't talk to the board.
He provides notes for his lectures so that you can go home and review parts you didn't really follow in class because there will be moments where you don't pay attention for a second in a proof and then become lost in the rest of the proof.
His midterm was extremely fair: provided a comprehensive practice midterm that accurately reflected the pool from which questions were chosen from; didn't expect complicated proofs - just wanted to see if you know what you're doing.
He's always available (I even walked into his office at random times to find his door open)
And he gyms LOL what more could you want?
Lectures
He made his class easy to take because he sent out his lecture notes beforehand and also did Bruincast. His lectures were useful when you looked at the notes afterwards for help on the homework. He did a fair number of examples in class. The material itself is not difficult. Having received a C+ in Math 31AB, the new material here was easier to digest. There is some multivariable stuff involving limits, so you should be careful there.
Grading Schemes
Scheme 1
Homework 15%
Midterm 1 20%
Midterm 2 20%
Final 45%
Scheme 2
Homework 15%
Better Midterm 30%
Final 55%
Homework
His homework load was fair (~10 problems per week) and the grader chose three easy problems to correct. If you somehow messed up, he would drop the lowest homework score.
Exams
They were easy. Unlike other professors, he didn't try to trick you with ridiculous functions and whatnot. I got 100% on the first midterm, 88% on the second, and 80% on the final. The medians were 93%, 83%, and 80%, respectively. Unfortunately, I ended with an 89% and received a B+. The class was too easy, so there was a traditional grading scale and no curve.
Office Hours
He had two office hours per week, but I only went once. He was nice about my question, but I preferred to attend my TA's office hours.
Pro-Tip
The only thing you need to study for exams are his practice exams. They are basically the same as his actual exams; don't bother with anything else he suggests that you study. For example, he taught Kepler's laws, but didn't test on them. I was paranoid about the final because I thought he would throw a curveball, so I studied some other things and didn't spend as much time on the practice final. The actual final was basically the same as his practice one. Cue my regrets.
tl;dr Take him for 32A, but make sure you are on top of his practice exams.