2.0
Quality4.0
Difficulty25%
Would Retake314
Reviews25%
Would Retake
314
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
314 total ratings5
33
4
28
3
27
2
45
1
181
What Students Say
“Disorganized, irrelevant lectures were not helpful”
STA100 - 1.0 rating“DO NOT TAKE HIS CLASS”
STA138 - 1.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
13%
Textbook Required
0%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.57 avg changeRatings by Course
STA135
5.0
(1)STA104
4.7
(3)STA13
3.5
(4)STA102
3.0
(2)STA100
2.5
(100)Difficulty by Course
STA108
5.0
STA130
4.6
STA131B
4.5
STA013
4.3
STA103
4.3
Reviews (300)
I found Andrew to be one of the better Statistics professors. His class had 8 homework assignments (Book and R portion), 2 midterms, 1 final, and a group project. He drops the 2 lowest homeworks. I recommend that you go to class since he does not upload notes and go to office hours because the lecture was not enough when it came to homework.
If you want to get A, take his class and let it fail. You will learn knowledge of stats, and when you take another teacher's class, it will be easy work.
He didnt always go as in-depth as he needed to on lecture topics. 100% needed the book to really understand the material. The tests were hard but the grading was very lax. As long as you know whats going on you get most of the points.
Andrew is a decent lecturer but hes disorganized. Always posts hw during weekends and hw would be due on Friday. We had to turn in homework on the days of the midterms. His exams are hard. We had a final project AND exam so it made finals week rough. HW was worth a good 25% thankfully. He had to rush through the end of class bc we ran out of time.
very hard class
He is really nice, helpful and was patience with students at his office hour. The lecture was confusing in the first 2 weeks; however, as the quarter progresses, it got better. Your whole grade is based on 3 MT and 1 Final, each MT 20% and Final is 40%. He accommodated students who were disabled, and care deeply for his students.
Horrible lectures that crawl by. In class example problems are not like the ones on his exams, half of his review sessions were useless. Book and dis are required to have any grasp of the material. His lectures would be improved if he projected half of his material, instead of spending most of his time writing passages rather than teaching.
one of the best professor in sta department
Professor Farris is nice and approachable. He does tend to overcomplicate things in lecture but go to his office hours! They're extremely helpful and discussion is helpful too. The grade is all test-based, 3 midterms (20% each) and 1 final (40%). Practice exams are identical layout to the real one. I've never taken stats and it wasn't too bad.
I think Professor Farris is one of the nicest and most approachable professors in the department. However, he is absolutely horrible at responding to emails. He would respond after maybe the 3rd email. He also doesn't post lecture notes and doesn't follow the textbook, which can be frustrating. Homeworks can take up a lot of time, but tests are ok
On the test, all histograms have no accurate detailed scale for the y-axis, you have to guess for it. Tests only consist of multiply choices and true or false, and many of the questions are hard to understand in the way he describes them. Practice problems and practice exams have only the answers with no steps, and some problems are incorrect.
Midterms are multiple choice and conceptual. Get help on the R assignments early, the instruction is not sufficient for knowing how to do them in a timely manner. Applies a curve so it is not difficult to get a good grade so long as you can do the R assignments.
Pretty bland lecturer and it felt like he was writing formulas the entire time. He doesn't really do many examples. Pretty unorganized also, no notes or outlines of what was covered in the lecture are posted. Midterms were all multiple choice, so sometimes they were brutal since there was no partial credit. Overall didn't feel like I learned much.
He is not a good teacher. He doesn't respond to e-mails. He doesn't provide examples. He is literally the worst professor I have ever taken at UC Davis. I tried my best to avoid him but he taught in two subsequent quarters. I don't know how people pass his class. AVOID AT ALL COSTS!
Nice guy, ok teacher. He doesn't provide supplemental materials, the textbook is no help, and he doesn't post lecture slidesyou MUST go to class and do the practice problems or you will get lost quickly. His first exam was worded weirdly and I got a low C, but I did much better on the others when I knew what to expect. Go to office hours!
Does he really look at his email? My emails (and my friends') were never responded. The lecture is weird, he spends lots of time on easy concepts but little on those that need more explanation. The questionnaires and quizzes do push me to learn, but by myself. Choose another quarter to learn STA 100 if you see him :(
I am taking STAT 100 with him this quarter, it has been the most anxiety-ridden course of my class. For an upper division stats class, Professor Farris makes this class hard for no reason. This class is test/assignment heavy, and Prof Farris does not provide any extra resources to succeed. Class is disorganized and communication is lacking.
Farris' class is very fair (lol), but he really is understanding of the COVID crisis and his lectures are easy to follow and always posted on time. The class is curved and the MT was really easy. If you stay up to date with the reading and lectures its pretty easy. I really like the class & would take him again.
Prof. Farris is very disorganized and incapable of managing the class. There is a lack communication regarding assignments. We only heard of the midterm materials 4 days before, and it is week 9 and we still have not received our MT grades(taken week 5). There was no feedback regarding labs until week 7. Farris Is a nice person, but a lousy teacher
It's the end of week 9 and about 50% of our grade is missing. We have only received feedback on 2 /3 lab assignments (depending which section you are in) out of 8. The midterm grades & other grades will not be graded until after the P/NP deadline. Some amount of cheating occurs with or without remote learning, there is no need to withhold grades.
In the beginning, homework assignments/weekly quizzes were long and unmanageable. The weekly quizzes made me more stressed than ochem. On the bright side, Prof. Farris accommodated to relieve our stresses, but the lectures still lacked some depth and detail. Projects saved my grade and the midterm and final were dumbed down. Overall, stressful!!
Like any other college level course, you have to put in the work to earn a good grade. With that being said, his lectures can be a little hard to follow sometimes, but if you write down key details he's saying you'll be fine. Out of all my professors, he's been the most accommodating and responsive to students' stress and feedback. OH help a lot.
not the greatest lecturer but he really made this class stress-free. a lot of things to keep up with (lecture questionnaires, weekly quizzes, lab projects) but they weren't hard or long, they keep you from procrastinating and he'll even drop a few of the lowest scores in each. midterm was free-response, fairly easy. final is also free-response.
Lectures and questionnaires are extremely important! The main issue is that grades and feedback are released slowly. We've had SIX lab projects and 7 weekly quizzes so far, but grades for only the 1st TWO labs and 5 weekly quizzes are viewable. Professor Farris is nice, dropping low scores and making the midterm easy. TA was very helpful!
I took Prof. Farris during the COVID-19 craziness. He went over a lot of material, but was able to explain everything very well. Since I've transferred to this university, he has become one of my top favorite professors and I wish that I had gotten the chance to take the class in person. Do the work, pay attention, and you will do well. (STA100)
The beginning was really tough. Quizzes were confusing and worded weirdly, also 20 mins for 20 questions seemed impossible. However, I want to give credit to Prof Farris as he really did take in the feedback and improved over the quarter. The hate is excessive, although I wish the was better at communicating. Easy A if you do the work.
Improved in communicating with students as the quarter progressed and was accommodating for midterms/week 10/final. Explained material pretty well in lectures. Had no idea what my grade would be until like week 9. Questionnaires after every lecture really helped with understanding the material/what he would ask on weekly quizzes.
Very accommodating with distance learning. His lectures are pre-recorded but solid and easy to follow, and the labs are do-able. Grades did come out very slowly so be wary if you need quick feedback.
While Dr. Farris did improve towards the end of the Quarter, I feel that he was not very accessible to his students, as well as giving good feedback and in a timely manner for all of the assignments. It is already a week since we have finished the final and we still have around 5 grades left :/
Prof Farris is a nice guy who gives good lectures. But he is not organized & some students took advantage of this & put lots of pressure on him. At the end, he totally caves in & literally hands out free As to the class. His intention is good, however, it is really unfair to students who actually worked really hard to try to get a honest grade.
Farris is a good instructor. I appreciate that he is trying to teach students about big pictures of statistics. However, I agree he is not very organized. 35% of our grade comes from lab, but the grading criteria is not clear on that at all. It makes grading subjective since there is no rubric to follow. He should plan it better in the future.
Prof. Farris is very nice, caring, and knowledgable. He's passionate about statistics and wants his students to get the best out of his class. Although he was not that organized, he tried his best to accommodate his students during this pandemic time. You will learn a lot from him and understand the big picture rather than just memorize things!
Lab project (35%): go to TA discussion hours and they will guide you thru everything, not hard. Lec questionnaire (10%): collaborate with your classmates! Weekly quiz (15%): watch pre-recording lectures and understand the lec questionnaire. Exam (40%): open notes and open book, but DON'T CHEAT or collaborate because it is NOT HARD AT ALL!
Professor Farris is a very accommodating professor, especially with the transition to remote learning. Though he could work on communicating better, his class was super fair and lenient which made me enjoy learning about stats!
Can't speak on his difficulty during a normal quarter, but for the pandemic he was very lenient. The midterm and final were VERY easy and we were given plenty of time to do it. The quizzes were harder but doable if you watch the lectures and don't overthink them. Labs were not graded hard as far as I could tell. only thing is DO NOT CHEAT !!
Very accomodating for online class; lenient grading emphasized and was easy to get an A as long as you understood the basic overall concepts
Very easy upper div class. 6 hours for exams, unlimited time for quizzes, all open book. Extremely lenient grading. Easy for math challenged students as all calculations can be done by computer. Make sure you understand the concepts and the final will be a breeze. IDK why people still cheat since a modicum of effort would be enough for an A.
He has a strong passion for finding cheaters in the class. (even if you don't cheat, you'll be called into question). His lecture has so much information that one will find it very overwhelming. Please avoid him if you want to learn something and live happily:)
Don't take his course. He always focus on caught cheating instead of teaching.
He is one of the more articulate statistics professors I have taken at this school. Remote learning/instructing is not easy, but Prof. Farris set up the class in a way that was fair to all students, rewarding hard work ahead of collaboration. While it is clear that some disliked his approach to cheating, I appreciated his effort to keep it fair.
Professor Farris is one of my favorite statistics professors at UC Davis, his lectures are pretty straight forward and understandable if you pay attention to what he is trying to teach. His exam questions are exactly like the question from his assigned homeworks, if you understand the homework then you can easily aced his exams.
Easy class & Farris was flexible online but is a poor teacher. There was an uncomfortable incident where publicly flirted with a student in the chat box, having to apologize the next class. He frequently misspoke in lecture, making topics more confusing than need be. He WON'T respond to emails and is a bit condescending. Avoid if possible.
Professor Farris is very professional and spends an appropriate amount of attention to protect academic integrity. He only addresses the honesty issue at the beginning of the quarter and right before or after the exam, if he found students posted questions online to get answers. Plus, Professor Farris keeps all exams fairly similar to homework.
Didn't grade that harsh and was overall a really nice professor. He explained the material well and the homework was similar to the exams. Just don't cheat and you will do good.
Great professor. A lot of lectures, but he explains things really well. Difficult quizzes accompany each lecture, but you can work on them in groups. Final and midterm were relatively easy compared to the quizzes.
I know in person he was really bad but he is the most accommodating prof ever man. His lectures are kinda hard to get through but tbh its such an easy class. Just take the quizzes with a group and youll be set. The exams just require you to know the most basic content presented in lecture. Hes the best STA100 prof to take online to get an easy A
A quiz for every lecture, open notes and book and the lowest 4 are dropped. One midterm, one final. Weekly R studio projects, not too hard. He seems like a nice guy, but you will never hear back if you send him an email. Not great at communicating with the class or TAs. Lectures are difficult to follow but very lenient on grading.
Hello, and welcome. Prof Farris is a decent professor and is willing to put in the work to help you. However, he is very difficult to get in contact with, especially through email. While the information is confusing, Farris recognizes this and is lenient with grading.
Subject matter can be confusing, but Farris is at least a good lecturer so it's not too bad. Recognizes the difficulty in learning exclusively online and was a generous grader.
Smart guy but a terrible teacher. Cannot explain the concepts really well. Expect you to know all the things after a poorly-explained video.
Don!t take his class. His everyday quiz is the weirdest quiz I ever took. I dont get where he got this experience of giving bad learning method.
This prof is highly unorganized and inconsiderate of his students. If you want to hate statistics, please feel free to take this prof. He doesn't care about his students succeeding, he cares more about catching cheaters. Be prepared to feel bad every week from his weekly timed 15-minute quizzes with 10 questions including some calculations.
He is the worst. Do not take him.
Do not take this class. Prof Farris is very smart but he is not a good teacher. He oftentimes gets answers wrong on homework and quizzes and he rarely replies back to emails. Don't expect to know your grade until after the course is over.
Great professor. Not so great at emails but hes a great professor and made me appreciate statistics. And I respect him for that. He can seem a bit rude at times but dont take it personally. In these COVID times, everyones stressed and professors are also human. He is a great professor and I would encourage anyone to take him
MC/fill in the blank quiz after every lecture (asynchronous). 1 midterm 1 final. He does NOT provide homework problems/study guides/practice exams. Lenient test grader tho. He is a smart man, but has difficulty explaining concepts. Even TA's and BASC tutors would question what he was trying to explain. Labs are only easy if you have a good TA.
Would recommend for stats 100. Pre-recorded lectures are straightforward and clearly organized, but you have to pay attention to what he's talking about. Graded quizzes after each lecture but they're fairly easy. Tests and quizzes are 90% conceptual. Midterm and final were ridiculously simple.
I don't even know what to say about this class I learned nothing. However, he is an easy grader and I ended up with a 93 what is confusing and weird is that is an A-??? He doesn't answer emails and is REALLY hard to reach. There were frequent grading mistakes in the key and he rarely fixed them.
Professor Farris is definitely a solid choice for Sta100. He wasn't accessible outside of class, but he did have 3 office hours per week during the set lecture time where you can reach him if needed. There's a quiz for every lecture which were harder than the midterm and final. If you keep up with your work you can definitely get an A.
The professor is impossible to reach outside of class, he doesn't respond to emails. The lecture quizzes were confusing and worded poorly. The lectures themselves were often over-explanations of simple concepts and taught me nothing. The exams were very simple, required almost no calculations. This class is a joke.
Explains concepts in the most long-winded way possible. Uses past recordings of lectures. He assigns work based on lectures (1quiz/lec, 1lab/wk), yet doesn't release grades until after the midterm (recurring for several quarters). Holds OH during lecture time. Overall he gives minimal effort to his students. Stay away from this guy
Honestly thought he was pretty good. Not sure about in-person though. Really easy tests and low time commitment, and I thought I learned a good amount. He doesn't really go into depth, he just kinda gives you what to use for what situations and then in real life you look up the type of test to learn how to do it fully. Friendly guy.
Easy exams! Watch all the lectures, finish quizzes and extra practice problems and you will be fine. Recommend to watch youtube videos because sometimes his explanations are not very clear. LABs are also super easy! But I'm not sure if I really learned a lot in this class...
Lectures were confusing and repetitive in the beginning but once you get used to his lecture style it becomes better. Quizzes were also a bit confusing in the beginning but were easier as you progress to the end. Both midterm and final were easy. Labs were also graded leniently. Will need to use Rstudios. Low time commitment and low stress.
Lecture is confusing. However, he grades lab and exams very generously.
Textbook is optional, I never opened it. Test heavy, one midterm and one final, but the tests are easy. The weekly quizzes are harder. The lectures are very confusing, and it's based on concepts rather than numbers. The labs are straight forward. You do the assignment, you will get credit. Conclusion: easy class, easy test, but horrible professor.
If you wanna temper your patience, take him. One of the worst Sta profs. Rarely reply to Email/Piazza. Didn't grade stuff after the quarter ended. He forgot to put the Gradescope submission link for one homework, so we did not need to submit it (I spent a whole weekend working on it). Again, take him if you want your life to be tuff.
Only take this class with this professor if you want to be ghosted a few days before the final. This man uploaded the practice questions 2 days before the exam. If I wanted to be ghosted, gaslighted, and receive no answers to my questions, I would have stayed with my cheating ex. The first exam was easy but the second had me sweating like a sinner
As someone who is gonna get an A: He is a nice guy. However, going AWOL a week before the final and not answering any emails is unacceptable. Didn't have midterm solutions till the night before the exam, didn't post the final "project" till a few days before it was due, and gave vague instructions. Will cause stress and anxiety for no reason
Doesn't answer to any emails. Posted practice exam like two days before final. And midterm solutions the night before our 8 am final. It is final's week and we still do not have grades for any of the homework. This class has a piazza, but we are ghosted there too. He is the most uncaring professor I've had in Davis in four years.
Prof. Farris is one of the most ridiculous professor I ve ever seen at Davis. No grading, no practice, no replies to emails and piazza. Totally nothing! Also, the lecture basically explains nothing about the course content. He can explain a simple graph for 15 minutes but skip the code that actually generates them in 5 minutes.
He is the most terrible professor in the UCD. The lecture is poor. For final project grade is not fair since it depend on his interest. If your topic is relative to the course material or other groups, he will give you pass grade but not high grade since it is not interest for him. Very ridiculous!! He also not respect to students.
Ridiculous professor!!! Did not receive the grades for assignments and midterm until Christmas week and final grade is still not ready yet. The lecture is not helpful and homework is using something never taught in the class. I don't know why such a professor can still teach stats at UC Davis, especially teaching a difficult upper division course.
Dr. Farris was a nice guy and lenient grader. I thought he taught fine but wish he posted notes. The only issues I had with him is how disorganized he can be or how inaccessible he is outside of class.
Professor Farris is a really solid lecturer. He does a good job of presenting the material in a very easy to digest way and tries his best to make sure everyone is keeping up. Although he is a little disorganized, this does not affect the course too much. The exams and assignments are fair. Overall great professor that really cares about teaching!*
He is a little grumpy sometimes, and talks using a lot of unnecessary words but at the end of the day he's a good lecturer and his exams and assignments are very straight forward and will give you a good understanding of the material.
Terrible professor. Unorganized lectures, does not respond to emails, no corresponding textbook to lecture material, Overcomplicates every topic without fail.
The professor was a nice guy. However, his lectures are at times felt like it could've been simplified because he stretches concepts out and makes them feel incredibly complicated than they really are. I understand his passion for it though. During this quarter, he had recordings of his lectures so those can help in case if you don't understand.
Man's has unorganized lectures. It's not clear what he's trying to teach or what is important. Barely teaches how to code R. We have weekly quizzes based on lectures, but he overcomplicates every topic. Midterms are open notes though, so that's a plus.
Really nice guy, not the best professor. Has a deep passion for stats which is cool but that means he tends to over complicate topics during lectures. This makes his quizzes slightly difficult since he teaches everything but how to do a simple stats problem. However, practice midterms really helped and allowed to use a page of notes on exams.
During lectures, Farris 1) talked really fast, and 2) used a lot of unnecessary explanations, and this made it somewhat difficult to keep up / take notes on what was actually important. You don't need to think hard for his R assignments though. Exams were wildly easy too, since you get to bring a 8.5x11 sheet of notes.
His exams and hw are not related to his lectures. Even I wrote exactly what he taught in lectures I still get only half of the points and don't know why. Just DON'T take his class.
There are always a few mistakes on his slides and some formula he is using is much more complicated than the one in the textbook. He sometimes explained too much and make it even harder to understand the course material. The grading policy for his exams is also unreasonable.
Exams are not similar to the HW or practice problems at all.
the guy changes his mic batteries half way through every lecture
I've taken statistics at a community college before taking him and I got a very easy A at the cc. In his class I am fighting for my life trying to do well in his course but he makes it very very difficult to do. He is extremely unorganized and his lecture power points is literally just a sentence at a time on a white backdrop. boring and unengaging
the lecture is so unorganized. you cannot get the point during class and had to watch the recording repeatedly. PPT is not useful since it has few words and sometimes even don't include topic. I had to watch videos on youtube to understand idea. He should do more research but not waste students' time.
Professor Farris seems like a nice guy but he talks too much in lectures, complicating simple ideas. The wording of the quizzes and midterms is unnecessarily complex. You have to decipher the questions in the midterm, leaving little time to finish them or review them. There are no additional practice problems other than the quizzes.
Professor makes me hate stats when it should be fun and interesting. His lecture slides are NOT helpful at all blank. Does not give many actual examples he is just talking the whole time but nothing actually makes sense. He does not know how to explain statistic topics well. I am sorry if you have to take him.
If you want to cry yourself to sleep every night then take him. He is Very unorganized, talks so fast, can't get his point across, UNNECESSARY and COMPLEX words to describe a simple topic. TEST HEAVY!! his quizzes and practice midterms are a waste. Horrible Class HORRIBLE PROF. GET READY TO TEACH YOURSELF. Worse class and prof I have ever taken!!!
He mentioned at the beginning of the quarter that programming is not a strength of his and that he didn't even know he would be teaching this class until the last minute, but my main complaint was that he was trying to teach coding through powerpoints. Homework was often not actually related to lectures, so prepare to spend a lot of time on google.
The course material itself is very difficult, but he does a good job with breaking down ideas and teaching them. Make sure to attend office hours for clarification or questions since he is friendly and patient. Very generous curve at the end of the quarter. Cares about students' learning. Impossible to contact through email, however.
His lectures are hard to keep up with and REQUIRE you to retwatch them to understand what is going on. He talks really fast so he can fit all his useless explantions of material in a 50 minute class. If you think this class will be easy pick someone else. If only the word limit was higher I would explain all the other things wrong in this class.
What's the probability of me thinking that this professor is so bad that I recommend everyone not taking him because he rambles a lot, doesn't give enough info, and just straight up doesn't teach well? Depends on the probability model because everything depends on the freaking probability model, even the sun can't rise tomorrow.
Farris is quite interested in what he teaches, so if you can match his energy you'll be fine. He lets you use a note sheet for all of his exams which makes them very easy. Personally, I find his lecture quizzes much harder than his exams. There's not much textbook material or extra practice, so make sure you pay attention very well.
Don't take Farris unless you have prior knowledge of statistics and it is something that comes naturally to you. You have to teach yourself. The quizzes are nothing like the exams. Just avoid him if you can. If you can't, then be prepared to go above and beyond with this course if you want a decent grade.
I don't get why people have so many complaints about this wonderful professor. When I took the class I had absolutely no issues with his teaching resources or exam administration. The material was taught wonderfully and explained in depth. Don't listen to people who refused to apply themselves in order to succeed.
Applying yourself in this class doesn't correlate to a successful outcome. Contrary to previous reviews the issue is the manner in which information is presented. Having a strong background in math is required for this professor. The way he presents the information fails to be attainable to ALL students.
it is the day of this final exam and I have no idea what my grade is. Half of my lab assignments have not been graded, and I don't even know where I stand in respect to the rest of the class. This class will make you hate your life and its mostly because of how prof. farris teaches.
Farris is clearly passionate about stats which I love for him. But even though this is an upper div class, I think he overestimates peoples' ability to follow his Aristotelian-y & math-y lecturing style. To his credit, he really does try to emphasize understanding concepts, so I do think his exams are fair/doable if you get the big picture stuff
Farris is an extremely knowledgeable and amazing statistician. However, he is not meant to be a professor. His lectures are very mathematically dense, even for an upper division stats class. Farris is extremely unapproachable, can be rude and condescending, and impossible to reach outside of class.
The class is initially fine bc concepts were simple enough (eg. mean, mode) but as soon as we go onto harder material, you'll get all the 1 star reviews. So much jargon and expects students to have prior knowledge - glosses over formulas and terms. On exams, he expects you to read his mind + lose points for not having something he didn't ask for.
Bad professor I have ever seen. Also, someone said that he was so generous in grading stuff, but no, he deduced your grades minimal mistakes. Please stay away from that guy bc it waste your time and money while you take this class. He can ruin your GPA.
Only pay attention to what he says in lecture, don't use tutors. FORM STUDY GROUPS. Records class lectures but if mic cuts out he won't care. Curves at end of class based on class performance, this quarter an A- was as low as 85. No extra credit. One sheet of paper front and back for MT/Final. Some exam questions easy, others a bit tricky.
I took him for STA 100 and didn't learn my lesson. Took him for STA 138 again, worse decision I made this whole year. Doesn't response to emails, only way to reach him is in person at his office hours. There was a strike, but still, I received my grade on the first day of the next quarter. Very tough grader, minimum/no partial credit. Just don't.
He will never respond to an email you send him, it could take years to get ahold of him. He's very smart and you can tell when he teaches but he often just teaches as if you have a masters degree in stats already. Letting us use a full sheet of notes for exams was his most generous thing. He will never put grades in till the last day.
Least accommodating professor in the stats department by far. If you have a personal emergency, be prepared for your grade to take a hit. Lectures are okay and the homework is relevant
THE WORST! He is not accessible outside of class whatsoever, does not respond to emails/piazza nothing!!! The midterms are nothing like his quizzes, he makes basic things SOO OVERLY COMPLICATED! AVOID AVOID! I don't know why we get bad professors when we're paying so much money for our education!
I didn't hate this class but the sheer amount of quizzes were insane. NO Lab assignments have been graded and our final is tomorrow. He doesn't answer emails. Tests are straightforward but the grading is pretty harsh for such a conceptual class. TA wasn't very helpful. I wouldn't recommend this course to anyone who is taking stats for the 1st time.
This man is incapable of making much sense during lectures. He speaks in riddles. Grading wasn't clear. If you've taken a regular stats class before prepare to be bamboozled cuz its nothing like that. at all. never available outside of class. OH weren't even OH he j had the TAs there who were j as confused as us there to help. he popped in sometime
Farris is a difficult prof, I had never taken stats before and consistently had to rewatch lectures to understand concepts, class consists of weekly R studio assignments, long lecture quizzes, 2 midterms, and a cumulative final. To do well in this class, focus on what Farris says rather than his lecture slides, go to OH, do any practice problems!
Farris is not a good lecturer, but the class is not too bad. He let's you use a cheat sheet on the exams, and gives a lot of partial credit. The weekly labs are also graded on completion. The canvas homework quizzes are sometimes challenging though. Just take notes on what he says, and it should not be too hard to pass the class.
Disorganized, irrelevant lectures were not helpful. Professor tended to go on tangents while lecturing, and provided no time during class for any discussion or questions from the student. Unable to start our midterm on time, and although that was out of his control, refused to provide more time or adjust grading accordingly.
I think that he is a great statistician and a great lecturer for statistician, just not for people pursuing biological sciences. The way he explains certain concepts are probably very correct. I just couldn't understand or comprehend how he explained his concepts. I certainly know for a fact that it could have been explained easier but it was not.
Andrew is a good guy but the quizs and exams are very tricky, you should know the concepts well. I felt like having a language class instead of a statistics class
I genuinely don't understand how people found this prof hard. yes, it takes some effort but good lord, his midterms are easy as hell (conceptually heavy, almost no calculations). very similar to quizzes and the practice problems. pro tip: review material briefly before lecture, go to lecture, and watch recording after! i just took the final
He recorded lectures which were pretty cool. He has a funky way with words but if you watch lectures and make good cheat sheets with the practice exams you should be fine. The only annoying thing was the R labs. Overall I would say he is a decent guy, pay attention to his wording.
Farris is a very disorganized lecturer. His tests are extremely unfair because he tests on concepts he skimmed over; he is unresponsive to feedback. He will not release scores on Canvas even after the quarter has ended, he will not tell us the test averages, and he makes taking this class an absolute nightmare. Would never, ever take him again.
I do not recommend taking Farris. Although I received an A, I went to 8-10 hours of group office hours per week. His lectures are very dense and he makes easy topics complicated. The midterms were fair, but the final was ridiculously hard. Be prepared to learn most everything on your own. Unless you're already good at statistics this will be hard.
Pros: Lab assignments are a free 20% of your grade if you attend discussion, midterms were mostly fair, curve was also pretty big due to class difficulty. Cons: confusing lectures for complex material, lecture quizzes after every single one which can be long sometimes, final was difficult. Would not take again, but wasn't the worst experience.
Prof Farris makes things very confusing. His lec slides don't have much on them at all. Grades for the MTs and lab assns are on Gradescope while the weekly quiz grades are on Canvas, so it's hard to gauge how well you're doing in the class. The MTs and final get a cheat sheet + a curve at the end. He gives partial credit. Glad the class is done.
had him 2 quarters ago and it took me this long to write bc of how badly traumatized i was. long story short, i was forced to enter a psychiatric facility because of him. he's a mean guy but an ok lecturer and his exams weren't too bad. just don't get on his bad side.
The exam is not related to anything taught in the class. Never read emails and ignores all the regrade request.
Thought the class was relatively easy. Not very demanding in terms of work since there weren't a lot of assignments to go off of. You do need to take good notes in his lectures. His programming tutorials weren't great.
He is AMAZING. My brain is the size of a normal human brain, and a colleague and I received the highest possible grades in his class. Please study guys, or just be me. Either way!
He explains knowledge highly conceptually, making it hard to understand. Examples talked about in class are extremely easy and you can learn nothing from them. The exams would be harder 100 times than hw because the information is very raw, and sometimes you don't know how to deal with them and thus can't answer the questions. Never read email.
Exams are way harder than what's on the assignments and practice exams. His way of teaching is not too organized and is sometimes confusing. Both the Prof and TA are not actively responding to students on the piazza, only accessible during OH. If you miss one lecture, you will fall behind. Yet, there are recordings but in poor quality.
Lectures were the most boring and unclear that I've ever had (so I stop attending after week 2), and for some reason the professor thought he was super humorous. He was not responsive and never post grade on time (3 weeks slower than usual), so annoying because you don't know what to expect. First exam was hard, the rest were ok. TA was great.
I have to say that Farris is one of the best professors I have had at Davis. He is always understanding and willing to explain even the most rudimentary topics. His midterms are doable and accessibility is not an issue as he records his lectures and posts them every day. I look forward to taking classes with him in the future.
Worst professor ever if you haven't taken statistics before, literally impossible to follow him in lectures, they were so theoretical and vague. Slides don't help you understand anything either, I literally didn't even know what to study for because I don't get a single thing he says in class.
The amount of work itself is manageable. A quiz after each lecture. Couple of midterms and finals. Like how he has OH most days of week+group based. His lectures make absolutely no sense as he has no examples and rants/speaks at you. He's a nice guy but doesn't know how to lecture. Def use OH and review lecture slides.
All you really need to do is show up to lecture or watch the recordings. His midterms aren't exact facsimiles of the practice exam, but if you have the skill to do the problems, exams are an easy A. Most of his bad reviews are from non stats majors, but if you have even a basic understanding of statistics, he's one of the best in the department
Professor Farris does not know how to lecture whatsoever. His slides are pointless as they have no context. Quizzes after every lecture that are due within 48 hours. Midterms are absolutely nothing like the quizzes or practice tests, very theoretical. He does not post grades other than the quiz scores that are automatically posted by Canvas.
DO NOT TAKE FARRIS, his lectures teach you nothing. His exams have nothing to do with his practice exams or quizzes. He rushes through lectures, you will not be able to understand a thing. I would rather learn off youtube
Lectures with no examples related to midterms or quizzes. Quiz after each lecture which is manageable load. Exams unrelated to what is taught in class and is conceptual. Will have to utilize outside sources. Won't answer questions because you should already know it and was stated in lecture.
Great professor. Extremely clear and succinct lectures. Everything is explained in detail. Midterms match the lectures and the sample midterm very well. Homeworks are essentially worked through in discussion before the deadline. Only issue is that he does not grade the homework until after the quarter ends and he does not respond to email.
A really understand professor that make sure you learn and at the same time not stressed out! Homeworks are relatively easy and exams are doable.
Learned a lot in this class, lectures are recorded, homework was not long and discussion helped with it. Practice exams were given, and were somewhat helpful for the actual exams. Exams were mostly conceptual with few calculations which made them easier than expected if you understand lectures. Downside are grades not posted til late.
made difficult tests and no curve at all
Dr. Farris' lectures can be confusing as he will sometimes go on side tangents and come back to an entirely different concept. However, his midterms and final are very similar to his practice ones. Dr. Farris' passion for the field of applied statistics does make lecture engaging though, and the R assignments were very helpful in learning RStudio.
His lecture is clear and with great logic. He always guide you to the knowledge, instead of just telling the answers. He is willing to answer questions. It's not difficult to get a good grade if you go to most of the lecture and some office hours. The exams are similar with practice exams, but always more difficult than the practice exams.
Farris is an OK prof. His exams are largely conceptual and not many calculations are involved. His lectures can be confusing, because he will go on tangents and then get back to the point he is trying to make. His practice exams and TAs are probably the best resources for this class.
Impossible to finish the questions for midterm and impossible to do
I have no idea what I'm learning, that is how lost I am.
Im so lost, I have no idea what I'm learning or how any of the topics are connected, and don't even get me started on how convoluted the homework and midterms are, they make no sense. This feels like graduate level course work. I try to come to office hours and the TAs try their best but they also understand how difficult this class is. 130B
I just felt so hopeless for this course, I tried my best but believe me, his test has the hardest question from the whole sta department, extremely undo able, not to mention his extremely poorly teaching techniques, I have never felt this miserable.
He's not the best stats professor but he is far from the worst. He is very conceptual and theory based in his lectures and tests which can be painful. His midterms are tricky but doable. Approachable in office hours and after class.
Test questions are kind of like the homework questions except he just puts way too many questions on the exams that you run out of time. Clearly a very knowledgable lecturer but exam experience is a solid 3/10. Would take another professor if you could delay it but not the worst choice out there. Very approachable in office hours/lecture.
Worst Stat prof in UCD. The tests are hard and impossible to complete in 50 minutes. Avoid him if you can!!
Tries to sound smarter than he is, uses big words. Doesn't teach well. Spent a whole lecture explaining that assigning x and y to new variables gives them new meanings. convolutes his points. I took AP Stats, and if you took that, you'll be fine. makes descriptions far more complicated than they need to be. can't answer questions straightforwardly
Whatever you do, for the sake of your own sanity because I lost mine do NOT take Farris.
The professor was 15 late for the final exam and offered no extra time. Lectures are useless, go to the AATC they are far better. Passionate about STATS but cannot simply explain anything. Better off self-studying. Only pro is that practice exams are very similar to actual tests.
I worked with a tutor who has helped with stats before. She was confused by his lecture material and questions. The class was a mess, he is clearly passionate but cannot relay the material to students effectively. Also we have to code and its hard w/o a solid background
It's intuitive... do not take Farris.
His class was alright. Took AP stats >3 yrs ago, content is mostly the same. First MT might be hard, but understanding his testing style makes the 2nd MT and final easier. Tip: copy the exact wording of his example explanations during lecture to use on exam questions. For coding projects, go to discussion and it's easy points for 20% of your grade.
In order to do well in this class, you need to understand the concepts really well. He curves nicely in the end but the exams can be pretty challenging. His lectures are okay but a little disorganized. Accessible in office hours.
Stats 100 isn't inherently a hard class but Farris makes it hard. He talks like a Redditor and makes the simplest topics seem really complicated when they really aren't. I mostly had to self learn everything (luckily, the concepts are pretty simple, Farris just makes them seem hard). For what its worth, he is a caring professor.
This class wouldn't have been so bad if Farris actually explained things clearly. Unfortunately, he speaks like he's reading from a thesaurus, so understanding the information we were given in lectures was quite difficult. If you do take his class, get ready to spend a lot of time in office hours.
I had a very good experience with Dr. Farris. He was always happy to answer students' questions and provided practice problems that were very helpful in studying for the exams. He did speak in technical language during lecture so just pay close attention to what he is saying, don't be afraid to ask questions and you'll be fine.
I didn't like Farris from the start of the course, he was super rude + unhelpful to people asking genuine questions. His lectures were confusing/hard to decipher, exams were eh (partial credit was nice tho + cheat sheet),+ discussions weren't helpful for R hw. I think it's a doable class IF YOU TEACH YOURSELF. Otherwise horrible, idk how I got a B-
Lessons are not organized and difficult to follow. The material is easy but you will need to teach yourself on your own time. Exams place more emphasis on conceptual/theory explanation and comprehension than on mathematical computations.
Great curve and easy to pass without trying but terrible professor that only yaps
Not a bad professor but not a good professor either. I understand the course is challenging, but he makes the course even more difficult. Lectures are useless, I've spent 2 hours on lectures every week but I feel I've learned nothing. Fortunetly, the HW take 20% and graded on completion, the exams are difficult but curved.
He talks a whole lot of nothing relevant to learning actual stats during lecture time. The only time I found him slightly helpful was during OH. However, I gave this class my all and attended OH weekly and still ended w/ a C. Definitely take the other prof if possible as I hear they are straight forward with teaching the contents of the course.
To be completely honest, this class is doable. I didn't attend many lectures (they were useless), and relied on self-studying. Took this class with 3 other STEM classes, and I think if I focused on this class more it would've been an easy A. Utilize the AATC! His practice tests are nearly identical to the actual tests.
He only lectures on theories, no application during lectures, no specific example questions. Basically doesn't know how to teach. His lecture is very abstract, without logic. He teaches only a few things during lectures, but still makes no sense. He said there is no mandatory attendance, but gives in-class pop quizzes which are worth 20%.
He has some logic issues and uses other class material to teach STA 013. He used R studio to solve the problem while we used his script for homework but he needed to solve the problem manually during the exam. Doesn't explain concepts well. He is a lecturer but does not know how to lecture.
He has no idea what he is teaching about. Lectures are chaotic. Lack of experience of teaching STA13. Context is more like STA100. VERY CONFUSING! Teach about abstract concept expecting students to process these concept and apply it by themselves. He solved given examples using R studio, but we are not allowed to us R in exam. DON'T TAKE HIM! RUN!
His lecture is super abstract, and he explains the theories awfully. He is being super irresponsible on Piazza and leaves the questions unanswered, and sits there forever. The practice exam was provided without announcement you have to check on canvas all the time.
Andrew was a solid professor who cares about the material. The lectures are slightly abstract but you gain familiarity with R studios. Labs are pass no pass. If you follow the study guides it is impossible to do badly. Lots of grade cushion. Basically no calculus. I would totally take this class again.
I have never met a statistics teacher who makes stats like philosophy. His curriculum is not organized so it is very hard to follow. He claims attendance is not mandatory however the class has pop quizzes for grades. His lecture slides are extremely hard to follow.I would not take this professor, unless you want a testimony about stats.
I've had AWFUL profs and Farris isn't one. He talks a lot & gets too deep into simple topics, but I'd rather that than a prof who UNDER explains. You can't do poorly on exams bc they're identical to the practice and we get a cheatsheet. I'm convinced you'd only do badly if intro stats is the hardest class you'd have to take. Pop quizzes suck tho.
Hes a yapper about everything other than the actual content. Never checks his email and if he does he replies back the next week or longer. if I could give 0 stars I would. good person, terrible teacher
I expected the class to be extremely difficult going in, but I ended the course feeling okay about the material. I don't think he was an exceptionally great professor, but he did a solid job. The exams were stressful, but I think the inclusion of a cheat sheet made it very possible to do well. I do think he rushed material toward the end though.
What do you think of when you see your professor has a 3.0 on rate my professor? Me personally, I thought I was cooked, but 3.0 is "good". That is all Farris is. Not bad. 3.0. Pretty okay class, don't worry about it.
A good professor that talks a lot about theory will teach how to apply it and when. Farris does not do that. He yaps a lot and makes the material more complicated than it needs to be. TA was also practically no help and Discussions didn't help you prepare for anything other than a few discussion problems (which is why basically nobody went).
He provided extra practice problems (prior to actual exams) that were way easier than our homework and actual midterm exams. Homework are not graded until end or beginning of next quarter. Not sure why this class had to be made harder than it actually is. Find another professor that actually wants to help you learn and succeed in this course.
DO NOT TAKE HIS CLASS. You will appreciate me. First of all, the midterm average for his STA138 class is a 54/100, basically the whole class screwed up. His midterms have nothing to do with his homework, the practice midterm is very easy but the actual midterm is very hard. Second, he is very intimidating, like he actually scolds his students.
Farris makes lectures more complicated than they need to be, poorly explains theory, has hard exams, hardly answers emails, and will avoid answering questions. TA didn't know how to answer basic questions related to the course.
Farris is a good professor, and here is the evidence: the top 25% of students can get a B, and 50% of students get a C+. There is no grading curve, and the exam content is not related to the assignments or practice exams.
90% of the grade is tests, horrible teacher who rambles on 24/7, said he would probably curve grades a little bit and didn't. avoid this guy like the plague unless you want to have a super stressful quarter.
Nightmares for students. The lecturer makes the course much harder than it should be. Feel free to take his STA138 if you can stand with unfocused lectures, unorganized materials, tricky exams (with no curve). The mean and median of midterm 2 and final are around 54 and 65 respectively, which take up 50% of grade. Over 1/2 students get C+ or below.
I'm a Freshman at UC Davis. I do NOT recommend this professor; he doesn't explain the slides. He just yaps and does not explain the rules or how to apply them; he only shows slides with our information.He is definitely trying to trick you on every question. My tutor are confused most of the time because he calls the concepts different. BAD BAD BAD
He literally doesn't teach.. the content is one thing and then his tests are another thing. We be mad stressing over his assessments - don't really appreciate the way he teaches.
he doesn't explain anything I being going to drop in hours, worshops and tutoring twice a week and still can't pass the midterm
the practice midterm is very easy but the actual midterm is very hard.
Don't just don't he is the worse
bad bad bad do not take worst professor at davis.
Honestly if it weren't for the necessity of a prerequisite I would not take this class. The instructor clearly indicates one thing during lecture but then completely demonstrates it another way for assessments and midterms. Heavily talks about the theoretical aspect of statistics without implementing visual demonstrations. Wouldn't recommend.
Drop this class, change your major, change schools if you have to but do NOT take this class. His lectures were just ramblings, and you could not rely on his slides to understand him. I've taken stats before and have a good understanding of stats but his weekly lecture quizzes were all written in format of ancient riddles.
I believe he is making the point very clear, easy to understand, voice is loud and clear with no accent
This class is Horrible; I was checking the comments and feel much better knowing I am not the only one. Even thougth I am getting less than 50% in this class, I know the average is 65%, hopefully, he curves it, but I don't think he is nice. Anyway, I saw a good comment, and it must be him, guys, no ONE likes that man.
This is the most boring professor ever. Bro teaches this class like its philosophy. DO NOT RECOMMEND.
Midtermns are 50%, the hardest ones ever 25 questions with 50minutes, it sound normal but you are not allow to use a calculador and blank paper to do your problems;( anyways I think i should drop this and i went to his office hourse once and he wasnt there.
He doesn't answer gmails and sometimes, when you ask him questions either before or after any lecture, he would overexplain and make it seem even harder without answering your question.
RUN, AVOID IF POSSIBLE. Professor grades based on three midterms and weekly quizzes. Proper study guides are not provided. His lectures are extremely confusing and often rambles on random topics. I went to get tutoring for help and even they were confused at how he phrases questions. Do not recommend at all, TAKE ANY OTHER PROFESSOR.
If you're taking this guy for 130B at all just know you're genuinely cooked. I studied for at least 3 hours every single day of the quarter, went to his office hours, and attended all of his discussions just to have any practice he taught us to be completely useless. The class average was a C- to C and the homework is so insane do not take if u can
I would give 0 stars if I could. This guy is absolutely horrible. Such a bad lecturer, he yaps about anything and everything except applicable concepts. He speaks completely in hypotheticals and riddles, which makes it next to impossible to answer exam questions. The average for the latest midterm was a 50. This guy is so so bad, please don't take.
Really disorganized, doesn't answer questions on Piazza. Exams were difficult and long, some of the people I talked to were only 70% finished with the midterm. I understand that it's a difficult class but having exams that students aren't able to finish is not okay.
His test, quizzes are fair and not too different from his lecture. If you study his lecture carefully and do the practice test then you should be fine. He encourage students to go to OH. His lecture is confusing and need careful listening. You need to watch his lecture because he included small things he said in the test.
Monotone and boring lecturer. If you're interested in the philosophy of statistics, take him. If not, beware.
-homework quizzes for each lecture were very confusing & never posted at consistent times; took 2 hours -no calculator on tests!! -hard to get help-TAs and professor not on same page & outside resources & textbook are different than what professor wants -not many practice problems & answer key was often wrong -lectures key! Take another professor!
He won't curve generously cuz "we're messing up on literally the simplest and easiest problems he can possibly put on the midterm." midterm 2 average is ~57%. Could be a reflection of his teaching style, but he'd find all the opportunities to uno reverse card us and say it's a reflection of our performance. That's wild.
No required HW, only quizzes after each (recorded) lecture. prof was passionate about the subject but often got lost in the sauce and overcomplicated things. if you put in the work and go to office hours, an A or B is attainable, I was just lazy LOL. 3 midterms, 25MCQ, lowest 1 dropped. Final was 34 MCQ
I never missed a lecture and got a C+. Lectures were confusing and often off-topic. Tests (4 total) were all MCQ so no partial credit for work and had extremely difficult questions for no calculator. Also TA's were terrible and had inconsistent advice. On the final a TA told me any answer was safe for the free question and yet it was marked wrong.
You'd think for an “elementary” labeled statistic course, the material would be such a cake walk, but even for professor Farris he manages to mess that up. The course consists of 3 midterms, 23 quizzes, and an unforgiving final. My knowledge from high school had to carry me throughout this course as I refused to even take in what he'd teach.
Farris knows his stuff but his lectures are kinda all over the place and hard to follow. There's no curve either, so your grade is exactly what you get, which kinda sucks. I pretty much had to teach myself most of it. Definitely not an easy class if you're just trying to pass.
Possibly one of the worst professors on campus. Has no idea what he is talking about so neither do his students. Avoid at all costs, should be fired.
Get ready to study for everything in Statistics within one class in 10 weeks. Absolutely value
currently crashing out for the final. do not recommend. stay away please
I'll probably fail; am I just too dumb or is he teaching it too hard? Never used rmp but I'm going crashing out so I have to say it.
Although the class was not very difficult for me but the professor made it so so much harder that what it should have been. The mean for the first midterm was around 70 and the mean for second midterm was around 50. Homeworks only account for 10% of the grade and the prof decided not to curve the class so everyone fails.
This professor should not be allowed to teach!! Please do not take him!! Please.
Have you ever met a professor who would claim that the entire class is dumb because the average is low. That is Andrew Farris.
He might be the one professor who genuinely enjoys giving students a hard time and making them suffer as much as possible. Please for your own health, DO NOT TAKE HIM.
Do yourself a favor and not repeat the mistakes that I made. Dude made me so stressed about the final that I reached a point where I couldn't even study. And beware, by any chance, DO NOT open the exam until you are told to, he will lose his freaking mind and will yell at you if you do that in front of everyone during the exam!!
This professor can be the reason to genuinely drop out of college. Hopefully you don't do that if you take him. But just to be on the safe side, do not take his class. All I can do now is help you by writing this, rest is up to you.
if i could tell my past self to stay away i would. he started off the first lecture with sharing mental health resources so i really should have saw it coming T_T.
Prof Farris is passionate professor but the content in the lecture is confusing and test are hard I attended almost all lecture but still had to rely on youtube since I couldn't attend the office hour There was homework due on final which is crazy but is based on completion If the lecture had more of example it would have been helpful
Bruh didn't just flunk a quarter of the class. A couple points below lower quartile on exams results in a FAIL. Average person got C+. I scored two standard deviations above midterm 1, one standard deviation above midterm 2, and above upper quartile on final exam, still only got an A-.
He's pretty rude. One ups students for his own enjoyment. 25% of people didn't pass and has to suffer with him for another 10 weeks.
This class was easier than AP stats. He might be unorganized, but the material is straightforward. Focus not only on the math, but also the conceptual stuff (both tested on). Exams and the final are fair and similar to the practice he posted, and you get to use 1 page of notes for each exam and the final (take advantage)! He curved my B+ to an A-.
Stingiest professor ever. And he's not even tenured. Let's all collectively email the dean and try to get him fired.
I don't even care to put the tags. Just need u all to know.. NEVER take this class with him!!! He does not follow the curve he set at the beginning of the quarter. Crashes out for no reason talking about I've had a hard week. If u enjoy stats whatsoever he will make u hate it prob forever.
Tough exams. Great lectures - he contexulizes and relates material with previous or future material through actually insightful examples. Inherently hard class, and he doesn't make it easy. But if you really try, you will learn so much. Take him if you care about learning prob theory. Don't take if you only care about your grade.
have no idea what he is talking about in the lectures. hard hws and probably hard tests.
Confusing lectures, disorganized slides, no lecture notes or recordings. Homework graded on completion. Your not special, avoid if possible.
This guy is beyond terrible. Never gives a clear idea of what will be tested, and expects you to remember everything from all math/sta classes you ever took. Half of his midterm were problems we've never seen anywhere, and the practice test he gave late was useless. Worse prof at Davis, and his only good reviews are written by him. STA130B btw.
bad lecture, heavy homework, avoid avoid avoid avoid
seems like a stand up respectable guy, but not a good lecturer. the examples he uses are very confusing. practice exams are similar to actual exams. 3 midterms each 25 questions. exams are 85% of grade, online quizzes 15%. a is achievable, go to office hours and use discussion
Professor Farris is the worst Statistics professor I've ever had and an extremely rude and mean-spirited person. He insults students and uses extremely inappropriate and hostile language during every lecture. He needs to face seriously disciplinary action from the university and the Stats department must end his teaching contract immediately.
having to deal w the most convoluted lectures at 8 am are not for the weak. asked him once about how many questions will be on final TWO DAYS before it and seems like he also didn't know. watch his recorded lectures at 2x and review on your own and you'll get a good grade
I never wore my seatbelt while driving to this class because I wanted to die before making it to his class
Every time I walked into this class, a piece of my soul died a little. It's ironic how the discussions, not the lectures, actually helped me understand the material.
absolutely absolutely absolutely TERRIBLE
This review is intended to comfort those who are looking at all these bad reviews. I was you last quarter. This is a very difficult class, but it is not unmanageable. If you study diligently, do the homework, and go to class your grade will be just fine.
His lectures suck and hw assignments do not match the tests at all. He puts very difficult problems that you've never seen. Teaches theory more than actual practice problems on tests. Not approachable for help. Hw - 10% grade (do it and get 100%), 2 midterms - 50%, final - 40%. He did curve but barely. Horrible experience, don't recommend.
Worst grade I got in my four years of college. So rude. Makes the materials 10x harder to understand. 90% of your grade is based on exams. Makes his students feel so dumb. Threatens students to go to his office hours by lying about exam score averages. Never responded to Piazza questions. Did not feel like giving any partial credit for final. RUN!!
His teaching style is horrible, uses a terrible powerpoint. Outside of class he is unhelpful and rude. Avoid at all costs
Worst Lecturer ever met, rude, disrespectful. Getting a poor grade when achieving >75 percentile in class. Unimaginable how many classmates are getting D and F.
run as fast as you can
Lectures were a little hard to follow, but he has lots of passion and cares for students who apply themselves. He had HELLA extra credit at end of lecture as incentive for attendance. It bumped my grade up 12%. I would take again as someone with no stats experience. If you're struggling, just go to office hours, he's more than happy to help :)
ive never seen a professor with this many low ratings before in my life and yet every single one is entirely valid isnt that crazy........
Run for your life
one of the hardest classes for stats majors in general, but this guy's exams are something else. scared students by threatening to not curve, but had mt's with averages of 40-50%. blamed students for poor academic performance wh
nothing to say. Respect.
In his exam, some questions that only stated the materials needed for this question were from the lecture but did not provide the materials.if you can't remember example the question need, you can't answer the questions at all. after his first mid-term exam, he canceled all students' grades because it was too chaotic when submitting the paper.
A terrible professor! The exam rules change however he want. Do NOT take this professor.
TERRIBLE!!!
Just take this class with someone else or even at a community college and transfer the credit. very lecture heavy while also gives little information on the topics he lectures about. threatens to not curve and also has confusing exams. quizzes do not accurately reflect his lectures. not worth going to at 8am.
His class made my hair fall out every midterm...
He lost students multiple points (about a whole letter grade, or two) on a midterm because they did not remember a model shown for 1 minute on a lecture 2 weeks prior. He makes you play by his rules and would rather "reward" those who pay attention to him, rather than those who actually know statistics. It is narccastic
His slides dont teach you anything and he expects you to pay attention to everything in the lecture because he might say that a certain table of data is coming on the midterm and if you missed it and dont have the data for the test, you wont be able to answer the questions.
DO NOT TAKE. Awful teacher!!!!!
Professor Farris is one of the worst professors I have had in my time at UC Davis. His class is graded off of quizzes, midterms, and a final. For the first midterm, people were cheating (using calculators and on phone). He decided to cancel that midterm and make us take it the next Friday which was extremely difficult. Do not take him please.
The courseware is incomplete, the video has no sound, the email reply is not timely, and all kinds of tricks are used to deceive students. The teaching always goes off track
Do not underestimate this class and rely on office hours to get your questions answered. This class teaches SO differently that AATC tutors and friends who taken statistic class before tanked my grade (not their fault). Pros: lots of office hours provided, no hw (but that means test heavy) Cons: only inside help, take lecture notes!
Horrible lectures, he orally conveys information, says a myriad of topics, and fails to connect them meaningfully. You don't know what questions to ask since you don't even know what you need to know. Bad lectures lead to insufficient notes lead to an incomplete understanding of the material which lead to the median grade being 50%. Don't take him.
The teacher was hard to understand because it wasn't good lectures.
You're expected to know how to do all calculations in your head within a 50 minute time frame when taking a midterm. Completely unreasonable. He is generally not a nice person and threatens to start taking negative points on tests. He blames his students for low test scores instead of realizing that his teaching style is awful and unhelpful.
I took his class stats 13 as a freshman in my fall quarter and never have been so stressed. Lecture and discussion sections were difficult to follow, and his way of teaching is confusing and misleading in my opinion. Study hall sessions were semi helpful but the tutors in the library were unable to help because it was all professor based learning.
Dont take him. He claims to care about mental health but is ready to be mean to students to their face. Lectures are hard to follow, he never annotates on his slides, so you just have to listen to him solving calculations and using formulas. He also takes a while to post lecture slides. On midterms you have to do multiple calculations within 50min
Makes easy concepts soooo confusing dont take....RUN FOR YOUR LIFE. He thinks only his ideas are right and do not take others into consideration. Grades were based on super confusing and hard quizzes (10%), midterms (50%), and final (40%). He made us all retake the first midterm of the quarter because HE "proctored the exam wrong"....
DON'T TAKE THIS CLASS! He can't teach at ALL. I learned more from the TA than him. We have a quiz after almost every lecture, 2 midterms and one make up midterm the day before Thanksgiving break, and a final so keep that in mind when registering for classes. If you arent that good at math like me just do yourself a favor and take the class at a CC!
Registering to take this class is an agreement that you are willing to teach yourself all the material with the expectation that going to lectures will leave you worse-off and more confused. Essentially the class is pass-able, if you are willing to learn everything on your own time. Don't expect the mid terms to reflect any of the course material.
he thinks when students fail its their fault. It's like when you give someone flag pole instead of fishing pole to go fishing, and then you get mad when they don't catch anything. He explains in the most confusing possible way, its like he has a thick accent from "I can't teach sh*t" land. The latest midterm had an average of 50% btw.
You NEED to be there for lectures b/c I've been to every single one of his lectures and they make sense. You may get lost a few times but he's happy to take questions! As long as you are willing to learn and you're attentive in class, you should be okay. Downside? His grading is harsh. 40% finals, 50% midterms. Study hard and go to office hours!!!
If you want a professor that uses trick questions on exams, quizzes on content either not mentioned in lecture or briefly touched on, a general passive aggressiveness towards students, midterm reviews with wrong answers, and spends more time talking about the philosophy of statistics in an introductory course, this professor is for you.
Good luck on your second attempt!
Please do not take this class via Farris. He is good at explaining concepts from different angles, may that be of use to some, but the way this class's credit is divided up is heinous. He gives trick questions or answers to "throw you off," has above high expectations of students, "isn't inclined to curve" (even though averages hover at around 50%)
istg don't ignore these red flags,Lectures are terrible, doesn't teach how to solve, but goes over it in a philosophical way that won't even help with midterms. MT questions are so random and all over the place. Average midterm scores are 50% with no info about a curve.. SIMPLE AH models for probabiltiy solutions not provided in the midterm
no calculator for calculating SD, VAR, and etc, makes it so hard for students, lecture does not help with solving problems. Please run or your gonna feel like kys every time u walk into his lectures. He also makes up his own theories for stats , which confuses everyone , "happy about 50% average" and "job is not for him to get us an A"
The worst class I've ever taken, get ready to lose your hair. Exams are much harder than what we learn in class, professor is rude, sets expectations too high. Feels that instead of wanting to help his students, he wants to punish them. Two midterms in one week, He puts questions on the exams from past lectures, so if you skip them, you are cooked.
someone needs to fire this man, straight up evil 50% average = PROUDDD TEACHING - farris , "happy about it" HE DID NOT LIE, when he said his JOB was not for US TO GET AN A LMAO nah but dont takke this guy , terrible, horrible, insane, drop ts , ts pmo
Farris's lectures are genuinely a slog to listen through, especially at 8 AM. Goes through lecture slides way too quickly, unengaging slides AND tone. Does not claim responsibility for technical difficulties in regards to lecture recordings. Good luck asking for help, if you can even identify where you're confused! tl;dr: DO NOT TAKE DO NOT TAKE
Mr Farris more like Mr Not Fair :( We had to take the first midterm twice because students didnt sit in their assigned seat. The second, i mean third midterm-I missed more than 10 points because I couldn't remember how many fish were in a model from a lecture I attended. We were told to be familiar with it not memorize. Nice man during OH not class
bro got me so messed up his nickname was andrew fuc*ahh farris
DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS WITH THIS PROFESSOR. Does not write anything out, hopes to surprise you or test you (like randomly saying you have to write out models for exams but will not post this info anywhere), always has something unkind to say about class/scores, and I genuinely think he wants his students to fail, very unkind. Not a good intro class
Please dont take his class. He tried lecturing by teaching the concepts a lot more which just led him to have 20 minutes of straight yapping when a calculation/concept is actually really easy to understand. At one point, you just gotta watch org chem tutor instead. Also for some reason his midterms weigh like 15% more than the final.
So i never rate but this professor genuienly makes no sense even though I watched lectures and went to them in person. His quizzes and exams always have trick questions and he constantly contradicts himself. I wouldn't take his class if you're not prepared to teach yourself. Also pulling all nighters for his class is NOT WORTH UR HEALTH
college is SUPPOSED to be hard. You NEED to listen to lectures, and if you don't understand it still – which a lot of the time I couldn't from a short 50-minute lecture – you need to go to OH or ask questions. With this class, the onus if very much on you, but he is always more than willing to help and reexplain if you show genuine effort be nicer
only good ratings here are prob by farris himself LMAO, trust the ratinngs , don't ignore like i did or your gonna struggle
Run. Run fast and far. If you take this course you can expect to teach yourself. He over complicates simple tasks and he single handedly depleted any ounce of happiness I once had. He claims the students are the issue when class averages on midterms are 50%. My only hope was my TA, so you better hope and pray your TA can teach you bc Farris won't.
class avg was 50% across the board. prof refuses to curve bc it's a "disservice" and an issue with all students' dedication. this is intro stats not O-chem. Don't take the course unless you already have experience with statistics or if you value your GPA. i'm so fried i can't believe this situation's real.
Easily the worst professor at UC Davis DO NOT TAKE his class. Concepts that are actually easy he makes impossibly hard to understand I went to every single lecture and the only way I could understand anything was to watch over the lectures 2 more times. If you end up in this class I am sorry for you the best bet is use chatgpt to try and understand
Exams weren't difficult, just more tedious and confusing over being actually conceptually hard(long calculations w/o calculator). HWs never graded for some reason so I don't even know my grade. Lectures were fine, prof does seem to genuinely care about the field and subject. Just more annoyed at the exams and grading over anything else.
Listen to every single bad review. Tests and quizzes are impossible to pass with the trick questions, always has angry students in his Piazza to which he responds to passive aggressively, nothing prepares you for his exams. RUN PLEASE. genuinely impacted my mental health
Worst motherless person I ever seen in my whole life. First quarter ruined. TAs useless. Ur life style will be ruined by taking this class by him. Yall that wrote reviews that are more than 1 should go to hell ( i bet it's farris himself). Davis is evil for not firing this guy, I learned more from my highschool stat teacher than this pure evil.
One of the WORST professors of my undergrad experience. He's an a hole who believes the 50% average on his exam isn't because of his terrible teaching thus he's not gonna curve. Avoid his class.
Professor Farris is a blind communicator. He has an attitude towards not responding to student emails, which is extremely rude and unprofessional. He flips around his lecture slides, does not know how to teach properly, and is extremely disorganized. He fakes his kindness by deceiving and tricking students. Avoid him at all costs if possible.
2 midterms, 1 bonus to replace lowest grade. The take home quizzes are super difficult. He makes everything so confusing and just uses fancy terminology to make himself sound smart but he manages to confuse himself mid lecture. Harsh grader and lacks empathy. Blammed students for any problem. Absolute joke
He is as bad as it gets! He will talk for an hour and you will leave the lecture without understanding anything because of the way he teaches. If he was tasked to teach basic addition/subtraction he will find a way to make it so complex that you wont be able to learn it. Unnecessarily difficult exams irrelevant to the lecture material. Rude person
So the reviews for Farris are a bit harsh in my opinion. He has 2-3 questions every test that are MEANT to be difficult. Everything else is easy if you pay attention. As long as you are genuinely making an effort to do well in this class, you will be absolutely fine. He is also very helpful during office hours, and is open to help.
He ruined my life. Please run as fast as you can, and do everything you can to avoid this class.
Only found out that I wasn't failing an hour ago. he doesn't put grades into canvas until end of quarter. bunch of trick questions, derogatory verbage, 40% of class failed. go to every single thing of office hours. he shows up late, but what he talks about ends up being on the midterms and finals. no clue how i got a B+ when I had a D+ all quarter
Honestly I find his lectures kind of annoying and boring, but be sure to pay attention otherwise you'll get a low grade on the midterms/final. He's pretty generous with bonus points and having a bonus midterm. I scored low (63/100) on a midterm and it did not make or break my grade in the class. Most (if any) extra credit is from lectures.
Stats is a very conceptual class in general. It's different from calculus where it's possible to pass the class by knowing formulas and knowing how to solve familiar problems. Learn the concepts in depth & you WILL pass the class. That's what I did and ended with above a 100. It is not the professor's fault if you do not put in the actual effort.
Listen to the lecture recordings and not just look at the slides because they don't have a lot of writing (TED TALK VIBES) Good at explaining concepts but you still have to replay to understand it. Claimed that many didn't even try and therefore failed the midterms. Passive aggressive but honestly just be good at math. don' trust ur gut or google
Watch the lecture videos. You will 100% have to teach yourself but sometimes he gives helpful hints about the tests. Most of the class was failing so brutally that he literally had to give away free points on the test. Just pay attention, watch lecture videos, and teach yourself and you'll be fine.
The overall material was not difficult but he is very condescending and not a good professor. He took the little attendance to the 8am lectures so personal (well what do you expect) and he was weirdly mean in all his announcements (again so so condescending). Avoid him if you can, his bad side is Bad,
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