Professor
Will Conley
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Most Helpful Review
Fall 2021 - I wanted to write a review for this class because there were none when I wanted to take the class. First of all, Conley was an absolute godsend! He is one of the best teachers I've had in my life. He explains math concepts very clearly and will answer any and all questions really well. He is extremely helpful. However, sometimes it did feel a little slow because he would go over a concept for so long to make sure everyone gets it, but I personally really appreciated this. The class was not too hard (do his practice exams, they're very similar to the real exams) but the homework was the roughest part for me. Really double check your answers because it's VERY easy to lose points. Discussions are mandatory, and I'm not sure if it's the same each time but for my discussion we did questions that were on the homework so it was pretty useful! I believe he did offer extra credit towards the end of the quarter but I am not sure if he does that every time or if it was because our homework averages were quite low lol. Overall a great class and professor, would definitely recommend!
Fall 2021 - I wanted to write a review for this class because there were none when I wanted to take the class. First of all, Conley was an absolute godsend! He is one of the best teachers I've had in my life. He explains math concepts very clearly and will answer any and all questions really well. He is extremely helpful. However, sometimes it did feel a little slow because he would go over a concept for so long to make sure everyone gets it, but I personally really appreciated this. The class was not too hard (do his practice exams, they're very similar to the real exams) but the homework was the roughest part for me. Really double check your answers because it's VERY easy to lose points. Discussions are mandatory, and I'm not sure if it's the same each time but for my discussion we did questions that were on the homework so it was pretty useful! I believe he did offer extra credit towards the end of the quarter but I am not sure if he does that every time or if it was because our homework averages were quite low lol. Overall a great class and professor, would definitely recommend!
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Most Helpful Review
I took Math 32A with Conley (not honors), and thought this was an easy (this could be because of how well he taught the material), well structured, very enjoyable class. Pros: -Excellent lecturer: he goes over the concepts very clearly the first time and goes over them again during the next lecture (he spends the first 10 minutes on a “recall” section where he articulates the ideas from the previous lecture) and then goes over them again during the review session. -Excellent review sessions: he comprehensively goes over literally everything that's going to show up on the midterm/final 2-3 days before the exam -Easy material: Vectors and derivatives really aren't too hard, especially the way he teaches it. Some things are confusing at first (torque, component vectors of acceleration, curvature, critical values of 3 dimensional surfaces) but after attending the lecture and review session and doing the homework and practice exams, it really becomes pretty easy. -Easy grading scheme: You can do poorly on one of the midterms and not have it count towards your grade. The first midterm is really easy, so even if you do poorly on the second midterm, it's really no big deal as long as you do well on the final. -He gives out past exams to study with: These are amazing tools to use for studying, since you can see how he structures his questions and which concepts he generally emphasizes more in the tests. During fall 2014, he posted the actual midterm 1 and midterm 2, along with a past midterm 1 and a past final on CCLE, so if you take this class in the future, there are a lot of resources available for you to use. Cons: -Takes forever to post grades: It takes him the better part of a month to get grades onto MyUcla, which is pretty annoying. However, this seems to be the fault of the TA’s, who it appears are responsible for posting the grades. Regardless of who’s fault it is, expect to wait a looooong time to get back grades. -Doesn’t respond to emails: Sent him an email well before the second midterm, he didn’t respond. Left kind of a bad impression considering all of my other professors usually respond the same day. In Conley’s defense though, I’m sure he doesn’t have the time to respond to all of the emails he gets because he’s a popular professor. Overall, the pros far outweigh the cons, and 32A with Conley is a class that I would recommend to anyone who is able to sign up for it
I took Math 32A with Conley (not honors), and thought this was an easy (this could be because of how well he taught the material), well structured, very enjoyable class. Pros: -Excellent lecturer: he goes over the concepts very clearly the first time and goes over them again during the next lecture (he spends the first 10 minutes on a “recall” section where he articulates the ideas from the previous lecture) and then goes over them again during the review session. -Excellent review sessions: he comprehensively goes over literally everything that's going to show up on the midterm/final 2-3 days before the exam -Easy material: Vectors and derivatives really aren't too hard, especially the way he teaches it. Some things are confusing at first (torque, component vectors of acceleration, curvature, critical values of 3 dimensional surfaces) but after attending the lecture and review session and doing the homework and practice exams, it really becomes pretty easy. -Easy grading scheme: You can do poorly on one of the midterms and not have it count towards your grade. The first midterm is really easy, so even if you do poorly on the second midterm, it's really no big deal as long as you do well on the final. -He gives out past exams to study with: These are amazing tools to use for studying, since you can see how he structures his questions and which concepts he generally emphasizes more in the tests. During fall 2014, he posted the actual midterm 1 and midterm 2, along with a past midterm 1 and a past final on CCLE, so if you take this class in the future, there are a lot of resources available for you to use. Cons: -Takes forever to post grades: It takes him the better part of a month to get grades onto MyUcla, which is pretty annoying. However, this seems to be the fault of the TA’s, who it appears are responsible for posting the grades. Regardless of who’s fault it is, expect to wait a looooong time to get back grades. -Doesn’t respond to emails: Sent him an email well before the second midterm, he didn’t respond. Left kind of a bad impression considering all of my other professors usually respond the same day. In Conley’s defense though, I’m sure he doesn’t have the time to respond to all of the emails he gets because he’s a popular professor. Overall, the pros far outweigh the cons, and 32A with Conley is a class that I would recommend to anyone who is able to sign up for it
Most Helpful Review
Trust me, you want to take Conley. He is THE best math professor I have EVER taken. (I have finished the 31,32,33 series and math 61). His lectures are more theoretical and not so important to attend. Do his homeworks and you will score well on the midterms. He has a review session before every exam as well as office hours where he stays and teaches for ~2 hours! He is very dedicated to his students, though he didn't ever respond to my emails. -_- Haha. Seriously, take him!
Trust me, you want to take Conley. He is THE best math professor I have EVER taken. (I have finished the 31,32,33 series and math 61). His lectures are more theoretical and not so important to attend. Do his homeworks and you will score well on the midterms. He has a review session before every exam as well as office hours where he stays and teaches for ~2 hours! He is very dedicated to his students, though he didn't ever respond to my emails. -_- Haha. Seriously, take him!
Most Helpful Review
Let me first say that I have never been in Professor Conley's class, so I cannot comment on his exams or grading. However, I have been watching his old BruinCasts as a supplement to my own professor's lectures, and MAN IS HE GREAT! Professor Conley is very clear and thorough, and he has a way of explaining even tough concepts in a simplified manner so that you can actually learn. I especially like the way he helps you visualize mathematical concepts (through computer-generated models, for example). Once again, I cannot speak for his grading, but from his lectures, I think that he is a fantastic professor.
Let me first say that I have never been in Professor Conley's class, so I cannot comment on his exams or grading. However, I have been watching his old BruinCasts as a supplement to my own professor's lectures, and MAN IS HE GREAT! Professor Conley is very clear and thorough, and he has a way of explaining even tough concepts in a simplified manner so that you can actually learn. I especially like the way he helps you visualize mathematical concepts (through computer-generated models, for example). Once again, I cannot speak for his grading, but from his lectures, I think that he is a fantastic professor.
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Most Helpful Review
Fall 2023 - Professor Conley is one of the best professors I have taken a class with. He is a very good lecturer and often uses visual representations to go along with the explanations he gives in class. He also includes a lot of examples in lecture. If you're stuck on homework or are confused, go to office hours. He will spend hours making sure you understand the material and will walk through tough homework problems with you. He also holds 3+ hour review sessions before each exam and essentially tells you exactly what will be on the test in terms of topics. This class is relatively tough, since it is multivariable calculus, and the tests were sometimes a little unreasonable (just my opinion). I honestly think it's just because Professor Conley is a genius and underestimates how hard some problems can be. Despite this, I would definitely take this class again with him. It's a cool way to look at how biology and math intersect.
Fall 2023 - Professor Conley is one of the best professors I have taken a class with. He is a very good lecturer and often uses visual representations to go along with the explanations he gives in class. He also includes a lot of examples in lecture. If you're stuck on homework or are confused, go to office hours. He will spend hours making sure you understand the material and will walk through tough homework problems with you. He also holds 3+ hour review sessions before each exam and essentially tells you exactly what will be on the test in terms of topics. This class is relatively tough, since it is multivariable calculus, and the tests were sometimes a little unreasonable (just my opinion). I honestly think it's just because Professor Conley is a genius and underestimates how hard some problems can be. Despite this, I would definitely take this class again with him. It's a cool way to look at how biology and math intersect.
Most Helpful Review
A tad overrated. No doubt he is a great professor, however he is not for every student. Lectures are sometimes frustrating to get through because of the constant repetition, however he makes up for it with fairly easy and straight forward tests. If you're the type of student who can pick up material quickly then Conley is not for you. This professor tends to move slowly to make sure every student understands even the most basic concepts. But if you're like me then you wish he wouldn't write short novels every lecture and gave more examples (some of us don't have the time to attend office hours.) I am not saying he is a bad professor, because that wouldn't be true it's just that some of us would rather move at a faster pace.
A tad overrated. No doubt he is a great professor, however he is not for every student. Lectures are sometimes frustrating to get through because of the constant repetition, however he makes up for it with fairly easy and straight forward tests. If you're the type of student who can pick up material quickly then Conley is not for you. This professor tends to move slowly to make sure every student understands even the most basic concepts. But if you're like me then you wish he wouldn't write short novels every lecture and gave more examples (some of us don't have the time to attend office hours.) I am not saying he is a bad professor, because that wouldn't be true it's just that some of us would rather move at a faster pace.
Most Helpful Review
I've never seen a professor try to help everyone in the class understand the material more than Conley. He has 4 and a half hour review sessions for midterms and finals. Had him for 33a and taking him for 33b. I got a B in 33A but I made errors on the final. If I didn't screw up I could have gotten an A-. And his lectures are always recorded. Take him as much as possible.
I've never seen a professor try to help everyone in the class understand the material more than Conley. He has 4 and a half hour review sessions for midterms and finals. Had him for 33a and taking him for 33b. I got a B in 33A but I made errors on the final. If I didn't screw up I could have gotten an A-. And his lectures are always recorded. Take him as much as possible.
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