I got a good grade, but wouldn’t recommend the professor. She would be a good mentor and person to know otherwise, but she will mess with your mind as a professor. Expect all of her quizzes to be filled with trick questions. Don’t bother with the textbook problems (I never even looked at them), just study the examples on her slides. Do the tax return project with your peers, because she will pick it apart viciously.

Class is relatively straightforward, with weekly quizzes, a group project, and a final. The final was like the quizzes, which were very similar to class problems. Lectures were informative. The group project was a bit difficult because of the tax software but our professor is making the effort to add more supplemental how-to content for it.

I would not recommend that you take this class as it is rigorous, but it is rewarding for those who invest the time and preparation.

This course is very practical as learning about personal tax law is highly applicable. However, she does go into plenty of nuances, which can make absorbing concepts challenging. The assignments are also rigorous so follow my prep recommendations (below).

Also, attend office hours. I found it to be extremely valuable in understanding complex content from lecture, working through quiz problems I got wrong, and discussing any grading contentions I had. You can also pick her mind on career advice and for letters of rec.

Finally, attend lecture (it is recorded but attend in person anyways). Doing so will help you learn better and earn extra credit (Berges gives extra credit points for in-class practice problems and observations, which are really valuable).

Professor Berges is a compelling and interesting lecturer, very seasoned accountant, and helpful/approachable.

Grading Weight:
- Quizzes (25%): She assigns take-home weekly quizzes (20 minutes each). They include plenty of application questions that are challenging given that her lectures and assigned readings are more conceptual. To best prepare for this, complete the suggested homework problems.
- Research Problems (6%): Throughout the quarter, she assigns six research problems, in which she asks you to research and write about certain aspects of tax policy. They are quite short (1 hour each). The grading is arbitrary, so if you feel wronged, attend office hours, make your case, and she is quite accommodating.
- Group Project (31%): You prepare the tax returns and a tax planning letter for a sample client. When preparing the returns, you are inputting ~25 pages of source data into tax software. This part is time consuming and confusing as you are getting adjusted to the tax software, so be sure to start early (around Week 5-6). The tax planning letter is fairly straightforward. It goes without saying, attend office hours and seek clarification. Also, take a strong leadership role as she evaluates group dynamics.
- Final Exam (38%): The exam is rigorous but fair if you prepare well. It is closely modeled on your weekly quizzes so be sure to study those questions, ask AI to generate similar questions, and practice (this is the most effective strategy). You are also allowed a 3-page study guide.

This course is rigorous but rewarding to those who invest the time/prep, practice, and apply themselves. It is not for everyone so avoid if you are trying to protect your GPA.

Berges applies a heavy curve upwards (bumps you up 7-8% on average).

She is truly dedicated to helping her students. She is very caring, and if you visit her office hours, she will support you with anything she can. She also appreciates when students participate in class. She also gives out extra credit points here and there.

Her class is structured to keep you learning throughout the entire quarter. You have a quiz every Friday, which means you study a little each week instead of cramming before a midterm or final. The material builds on itself, so consistent studying is important no matter whose tax class you take.

Before every quiz, she requires a one-page note sheet. Since there are 10 quizzes, you end up with 10 pages of summarized notes by the end of the quarter. When exam time comes and you’re busy with other classes, these notes make it much easier to prepare your cheat sheet. She allows up to three pages for the exam.

There is also a tax software project that can be a major part of your grade. The software is challenging and can take 20 to 30 hours to complete, so you need to start early and plan ahead. Even though it’s time-consuming, it’s extremely practical and very helpful if you want to go into tax or plan to get your CPA license.

All of her lectures are recorded, which gives you extra support and flexibility.

Overall, Professor Berges teaches in a very structured and steady way. She expects students to keep up with the material and study throughout the quarter. Some people may not like this style, and that’s completely fine. If you prefer to learn everything right before a final or don’t want to work in a group on a tax project, this class might not be the right fit. But that absolutely does NOT mean she is a bad professor. Many negative reviews come from students who struggled with the workload, not the quality of her teaching. In my experience, she was one of the most caring and helpful professors I’ve had at UCLA. Her teaching style is specific, but she is an excellent instructor.

I really appreciate the way Professor Berges teaches. Although she speaks quickly, she shares a lot of practical advice that’s relevant to real-world tax work. She’s also very supportive when it comes to answering tax-related questions or offering career guidance. One plus is that there’s no midterm—just a final exam and a group project.

That said, this class is not for the faint of heart. There are weekly quizzes, so you need to stay on top of the material and study consistently to do well. The final is quite lengthy, with around 80 questions, and can easily take the full three hours. The group project can be confusing at times, but with a reliable and committed team, it becomes manageable. If you are confused, you can always go to office hour and the professor is more than happy to help you. Thankfully, cheat sheets are allowed for both the quizzes and the final, which helps a lot.

Take this course with a different prof if you can
- the quizzes, final exam and project were all very hard
- she's nice and helpful in class but ignored one of my emails and responded with a passive-aggressive tone to another. maybe she doesn't like talking to students outside of class?
- she gave unclear instructions for the final group project, which was also VERY time-consuming

Berges was a pretty decent professor, but I don't think she would be the best professor to take this class with. Weekly Friday quizzes do keep you on top of the material, but they are not easy and thus require studying that no one wants to do on a Friday. The group project is large and just annoying as you have no guidance on it whatsoever and will get a poor grade no matter up, which I think just gets curved. Final is hard but gets curved.

I liked her, we talked a lot about life and career shiz but she def is hard. Theres a weekly quiz thats hard af, review the online notes and practice the problems and u should be okay. Theirs lots of EC so maek sure to capitilize on it all. Final and project are def really fkin hard, so really put a lot of time for this class. Cool thing tho is that u get cheatsheet on final.

The class is hard and you have to really keep on top of things each week. Each week there was a quiz covering the material taught that week and sometimes it consisted of two lectures. The quizzes are pretty tricky and there is a time limit, but it's not too much of a scramble to get your answers in. The group project was also incredibly time consuming as we blindly navigated a tax software and filed a tax return for an individual who has various expenses and deductions involving situations that we learned in class. The final was not terrible because we had more time and we were allowed some notes to use. The professor's office hours were extremely useful and she is a great mentor, giving advice to students about internships and careers in Tax.

Overall, I recommend attending lecture and taking good notes. I did not use the textbook, but I know the class would have been much easier if I did some of the practice problems she assigned. Working with your group for the project is vital and you will be screwed if you try and solo it.

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