2.8
Quality3.4
Difficulty11%
Would Retake135
Reviews11%
Would Retake
135
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
44
4
16
3
13
2
11
1
51
What Students Say
“Out of the 20 class I've taken so far she's the worst teacher ever, class averages are low even when she's not your professor just because she has a tough marking scheme as well as tests”
STAT231 - 1.0 rating“Very terrible and awful prof”
STAT231 - 1.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
32%
Textbook Required
80%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
A-
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-1.96 avg changeRatings by Course
STATS
5.0
(2)STATS230
5.0
(1)MATH136
5.0
(1)MATH135137
5.0
(1)MATH1371
4.3
(3)Difficulty by Course
MAT13713
5.0
M137
5.0
STAT850
4.3
STAT450
4.2
MATH135137
4.0
Reviews (135)
terrible
Says "Be-Bobbin'" too much.
Says "pitcher" not "picture". Laughs at student questions.
Easily one of the best profs. Friendly, kind, helpful, and very fair.
Weird sense of humour. But, smart and good to learn from.
My God, what a horrible woman! Im usually a teachers pet but no way with her!
Fair and honest. Don't get on her bad side or ask stupid questions.
She loves ass kissers
Really works hard!
You might as well read the textbook, that;'s all that she writes.
Very friendly and nice! Really smart lady.
NEVER LOOK AT THE SADDLE POINT!
You'll think it's highschool all over again.
if you miss your mom's mothering in university attend her class.
She's cool and lots of fun, but I still like Conrad and Steve better
terrible teacher...bad manners
She talks down to you like you're in kindergarden. But sometime's that good.
Helpful if you go see her, interested in students well-being, repetitive
She gives good explanations for everything. Her jokes are a bit kinky though.
Good notes,assignments for calc longer then maincampus.nicer in office thanclass
so not funny, good teacher thou
Very approachable, great prof
Stay on her good side, otherwise expect sass all semester; poor teacher/humour
Awesome prof! Very approachable and helpful. Intelligent teacher.
Approachable, refreshingly high-schoolish
Compared to many main campus profs she's really good. Clear, helpful & nice :)
Great prof! Good explanations, lots of examples. Talks to you like you're a kid
No Comments
Names are a thing of the past; learn stats by Struthers personal formula numbers
Great teacher....someone should tell her to wear a camisole with her blouses.
Thought she was horrible at the time, only to realize years later she was pretty nice and you grow to appreciate her attempts at humoring the class.
Top quality prof! Really organized, meaningful lectures. Always approachable for extra help
If you want a lot of notes, she's the one to give 'em.
She's a fun prof, but there are as many people who like and dislike her teaching. It's up to you if you want to attend her class.
Bad teacher.Goes way too fast.Her notes are in language so imprecise it's impossible to tell what she means.Only examples we saw were in class. Did not provide any solutions, cause someone may just pass them on to students taking the course next year .
Best professor I had at that university! Recommended to anyone who has a remote interest in stats. Gives lots of office hours and will help out as long as you show you've put forth an effort. Definately makes attempts to give part marks!
One of the best lecturers I'm having in my 1st term!! Extremely good in her explanations!!! Plus has a weird sense of humour... Hmmm nono... A SICK sense of humour...
Boring class. Her notes are not concise. She puts down every single details until you get confused.
Worst class ever taken...worst prof i've ever had. Class avg before exam around 55% - claims we're the worst class she ever taught - however we think she's part of the problem.
I came to university actually liking calculus, then I took her class.
Great prof! Great sense of humour! Take it in while you're in first year 'cuz the 2nd year calc. profs are not that great...
She is one of my favorite prof at UW. She is very helpful and funny. She helped me understand and appreciate statistics a lot better. If you have a positive attitude going into her classroom you will have fun and learn a lot.
Excellent prof who would say things you would never think a prof would say. Nonetheless, I find her pretty comical. She explains the obvious sometimes & she's pretty repetitive (But who wouldn't want a prof like that?). Very helpful!
Boooooorring! Goes off on her own little tangents about how she accidentally used the mens washroom or about her son. Couldn't really understand what she was trying to tell us becuase she is sometimes all over the place.
You will learn lots of stuffs as long as you keep going to her class. Her tests and problem sets are highly correlated to final. A funny person.
TAKE MATH137 w/ this prof. she is the GREATEST prof ever!!! if i could...i'd take every math class w/ her.
She's Awesome. St. Jerome's is awesome, take her classes they are awesome. However in most cases people copy down everything on the board in more in this case just copy the things that don't repeat themselves. Cyntha Rules
I have so much respect for this woman. She is such a wonderful prof who is always willing to help. Take her classes if you can get in. She made me love calculus..and even though i'm not in the math program anymore..I'll always remember the fun and enjoyable times i had in professor Stuthers class!
This woman is quite funny. She talks about her daily life, past funny experiences quite a lot, but in the right time (before we started to sleep over). She marked our exams fairly, we could never argue any marks back unless she did the arithmetic wrong. She is a good prof.
I had her for first year calculus. She explains everything very well, going through the material slowly, but surely. Gives lots of helpful examples in lectures and in the tutorials, making two easy courses even easier. She also tells amusing stories about her life, which to me works as an added bonus. Take Cyntha's classes, you won't regret it!
boring and highly overrated.
Made a hard course even harder
She is an amazing professor. STAT 330 is a very challenging course. While she did not make it an easy course she did make me very interested in the material. As a result I did as well as I possibly could on this course. I highly recommend taking any course you can with her.
An extremely bad professor. First of all, she doesn't think on her own on lectures, always uses her notes. Thus she makes a lot of mistakes, and doesn't really explain a lot. Second - she tries desperately to appear "pop" and pretends she is close to students. So she jumps a lot, tells stupid jokes and makes stupid faces. Who buys that crap?
She is helpful and very good at explaining the materials. The course itself is hard, and that is not her fault. I would have probably done worse with another prof.
Caring, ensures everyone understands.
Excellent prof. Gets to know all her students. She also gives lectures that are really easy to follow and will give you extra help whenever you need it. You'll probably roll your eyes at her jokes, but for the love of God, enroll in her calc class!
Great prof. She will one day be the definition of "eccentric." Very helpful. My only complaint is she tends to take too much time on some problems, thus lengthening lectures/tutorials
I always found her lessons really well-prepared. She made everything seem so straight-forward, and was really friendly and approachable. Always there for extra help, too!
Does not explain enough, expects everything is already straight forward and was taught in highschool
If your a frosh avoid at all cost!
excellent prof! i only wish i had her for my 1st and 2nd year classes.
Provides very clear explanations, fair exams, and gives hints as to what will be on midterms/exams. Notes are excellent. She is probably one of the best profs at UW.
her marking is brutal, you lose marks for everything
I wish I had her for my 1st and 2nd year calc/stat classes...she's awesome!
If u don't go to class,the course note means nothing to u, if u do,she will explain everything to u. After all, a great prof
you HAVE to follow HER steps in solving the questions in exams and assignments...if you solve the question using a smarter alternative way which is not taught in class, FOR SURE you have marks deducted...terrible teaching...unorganized...it's math faculty...but she does not understand there are many ways of solving same questions in math...
Very clear descriptions, but you have to go to class to understand the course. Prof is funny and insightful, all in all a great prof ^^
Cynthia is the best statistics instructor I've ever had. With her energetic teaching style she seems disproportionately eccentric, but this feature of her character is in fact very engaging. You will be rarely bored during lectures - and it is in your best interest to attend the lectures anyways. The material is perfectly structured and explained.
You have to go to class for this one. Her tests and assignments and finals are all hard.
She always pushes us too hard. She is only late 5 mins for every class, but she still takes our tutorial time as lecture time and she always finishes every class 5 mins later than the schedule. Tons of assignments have to be done. Lots of notes on the blackboard need to be written even some of the writing is just wasting time.
Her teaching is clear, but with a greate compromise in depth. If you just wanna pass the course, she's good teacher. If you indeed want to learn statistics, her teaching may appear a little superfacial. I think she's a great instructor for year 1 or year 2 courses. Not good for upper year or graduate teaching.
She's the meaning of no pain no gain... assignments are like mission impossible. glad that her tests are do-able. Overall, good lecturer but tough marker
This was a very tough course, but she's always willing to help and explain everything for you, even if it's a "stupid" question. Very well-organized notes and lectures.
Worst teacher ever. The only reason she still teaches here is her husband is a professor in Waterloo...
Worst professor ever. She can't teach, she makes mistakes all the time. She fails you if you miss one assignment or one midterm. Also, if you don't pick up an assignment or midterm, that's zero too. Never answers student question without some sarcastic remark. In general, just not a bright person and a mean one at that.
Difficult course and assignments are long, but if you go to class, take notes, and seek help when needed then you should be fine. Everytime I ask her a question she is always friendly and explains well without making me feel incompetent, even if it's a simple concept. Midterms are okay, but can be tricky.
boring material..same as calculus from high school...sometimes funny, but very friendly.
She's an extremely mean person and it's difficult to get help from her. The marking in her course is horrible. If your solution differs from hers in the slightest, you will loose marks.
Please dont take her course. Tests and finals are all hard. Assignments are extremely long. If you dont collect assignments before a date you get a 0. I emailed her a couple of times to ask some stuff..never got a friendly reply. was just redirected by her to the course webpage. AVOID
Midterms were hard, and she didn't make the final any easier but harder. Avoid to take her class.
she is a great prof! learnt a lot from her class. If u go to all lectures, do every question from the problem set, should get over 90 for your overall grade. first test was super hard, but can be dropped. Final is long, but if u have done what she suggests, there should not be any problem.
the worst profesor you will ever have, avoid unless you are a masocist
She tries but unfortunately for her trying isn't good enough especially when you treat students like they are so beneath you.
if you go to her office hours and ask her about certain concepts, she will give you a textbook page number and tell you to go read it on your own. not willing to teach struggling students. terrible. why would waterloo hire someone that is clearly not capable of teaching to waterloo standards ?
Ignores student questions, I asked a question in class and she looked at me like I was stupid then didn't answer it, apparently she's too good to answer student questions. Is too lazy to re-explain concepts that were explained poorly the first time, thinks her style of teaching is perfect (it is not even close). Generally treats students like dirt
awful teacher, why did i get stuck with her? you can already see less students showing up for her class and more showing up for the other section, people are tired of putting up with a teacher that's not there to teach you mathematics. she's simply there to collect her salary and go home. poor preparation for all classes, reads off of a paper.
she is very mean and not willing to help students.
I do not like this professor. She does not seem like she cares about the students or material that she is teaching.
This proffessor gets EXTREMELY upset when you ask for clarification of things. In fact I think she gets downright offended. Which is disadvantageous as a student because if you're not 100% sure on a concept, you can't ask her for help since she'll respond with some sarcastic comment and not answer your question.
This professor is not up to University of Waterloo standards.
I remember when I had this teacher it was so bad, but at least her class is a joke. Just don't show up to class you're mark will actually go down lol!
Mean, rude and demeaning.
Sometimes she is helpful and sometimes not. I felt that she is nice to some students~ the ones she likes. Just have to get on her good side. I want a good grade for the course but her exams and assignments are tedious. She tests you in everything. Makes you work hard. Try to Avoid if you want the easy way out.
Not only demeaned students in class, but also on the discussion board for the class. Don't go to her lectures unless you absolutely have to. Go to Surya Banerjee's instead.
Excellent lecturer. This course is not impossible, but requires substantial time commitment. MUST ATTEND CLASS since the course notes package does not present any answers to example questions (same for 330).
I love this prof so much cuz she has solid skills on the distributional probability, estimation and hypothesis testing. You MUST ATTEND her lectures since the notes provided is SUPPLEMENTARY. taking her lectures is the way to love stat and definitely enjoy it =) PS: STUDY HARD AND DO EXERCISE!
She is a very responsible teacher. She explains everything clearly. Don't know why some people think she is bad...I love her jokes too.
It's like she enjoys seeing her students fail. Don't bother asking her questions, she will just say she already explained it in class and make you feel stupid. Go ask the TAs instead.
terrible teacher.
Out of the 20 class I've taken so far she's the worst teacher ever, class averages are low even when she's not your professor just because she has a tough marking scheme as well as tests. Like everyone else says, don't even bother asking questions she'll say she explained it in class already or tell you to go to the website
Very terrible and awful prof. ever seen so far. Not helpful and rude on piazza and office hours. Wait for Surya Banerjee's term.
terrible teacher
terrible old whatever
Most terrible so-called prof in UW
Not a fan. Degrades students regularly like she's trying to be cool, but it really is just rude. Also extremely rude on Piazza - a simple yes or no is fine, but she gets extremely sarcastic. "Does that make any sense??????????" Spends more time talking about her personal life than teaching, focuses on all the wrong things. Avoiding her for STAT 231
I took STATS 230 and 231 with her.. Don't know what people are complaining about. She is really nice in class. If you focus on the material and actually go to class with a positive attitude, she will guide you through and help you learn! I went to office hours once and she was really patient. sometimes rude on piazza though.
Enjoys her work, makes the tutorials fun. Approachable, and understandable.
Extremely disappointed and upset with Cyntha's teaching/behaviour this term. Questions on tests are misleading, marking schemes are strict, and do not follow the nature of the question asked. Rude on class forums, over email, and in person. Extremely unprofessional, and makes people feel degraded with how sarcastic, unhelpful, and mean she is.
The meanest professor I have ever encountered at UW. Never put her feet into students' shoes!!! Switched out of her section after she mocked at me because I got one clicker question wrong!!!
Dont know why she appears to be so mean on our marks: the lecture room is far from the other lecture buildings but she will always start the participation questions at the very beginning of the class? She doesn't consider if people would get injured on a slippery road when rushing from another classroom far from hers. Tends to give everyone lowmark
Extremely rude professor. Not very helpful to student responses, more often to just respond with a snark comment. Poor teaching skills, and course coordination skills. Doesn't listen to student feedback.
Stubborn and unaccommodating professor. Not willing to help students who approach her. Doesn't consider student feedback at all -- 0/10 would not recommend
Absolutely awful. Not helpful to students who approach and has the most terrible marking scheme. Avoid her class.
She explains stuff very clearly and always willing to answer questions! Very engaging during lectures. Exams are fair!
Lets you write a cheat sheet and the exams were very similar to the practice exams. Taking this course with her online is a really hard to screw up.
Tough grader. Rude. Stubborn.
She is by far the most rude professor I've ever had when responding to questions and never answers the student properly, instead just telling them to read the textbook again. The content of the final assignment was entirely around coding in R when the there has been literally no content covering R until that point. An absolute embarrassment.
I've never met a prof who specifies using a (TERRIBLE) template for submitting assignments and refuses to let students add/remove space after questions. There's not enough space and all she can say is "you can format it to fit". These are equations we're talking about, NOT a resume. Assignments are also not on the actual content "taught". Horrible.
After reading the other reviews here, I think we can all agree on the fact that she's absolutely horrible at answering Piazza posts. She never actually answers your questions, she only dodges it, asking you to find the answer yourself (I wouldn't be asking you if I didn't need clarification!!) Lazy and very rude with her comments. One of the worst.
Very dismissive. Makes no effort to answer questions in detail. Very tough/unfair marking. Stubborn/unwilling to make accomodations to help students, even in difficult times like COVID. Uses same assignments each term, so no solutions are released and you can't know where you messed up. Interesting course, but she is not a good prof in my opinion.
Worst professor ever. Her lecture videos are completely useless. I learned better through reading the course notes. Kept making mistakes in quizzes and penalize students for her own mistake. She has never ever admitted that she made a mistake, even when it's very obvious that the question had an incorrect solution or worded ambiguously. Avoid her!
AVOID HER AT ALL COST!!!!!
This is her response after she put up a misleading question in a quiz "Not all facts you are given on a test (and life!) need to be asked in such a way that NO person will ever make a mistake. The onus is on the student to read the question well and think!" (while in fact, almost everyone misunderstood the question and got wrong answer) What a joke
worst prof ever, doesn't want to help students, makes everything so difficult for students, stay away
She is the worst prof I've ever had. If you ask her a question, all she ever replies with is "read the textbook" which is also written very poorly. The Mobius quizzes are the literal definition of torture. It is timed 1h and you won't know how many questions there are (involves a lot of calculations as well). I don't understand why she is a prof.
4500 words report + 1.5 hr quiz for final. NEVER answer your question properly. Whatever you say is a complaint.
worst prof ever, she was not willing to help students and didn't teach anything
Honestly, a score of 1 flatters her. Her course modules are just her reading off the course notes. To make it worse, she casually skips steps in derivations and randomly throws in unproven formula. Her assignments are long, dry, and repetitive. Also, I have never seen her give a helpful answer on Piazza.
not recommended
Very cliche
Boring content, hard to understand.
I took her course in Fall 2020. The assignment difficulty was okay (but long). The quizzes were hard but passable. The lectures made me fall asleep. The midterm and final exams were unnecessarily difficult. Most questions on the exams were challenging proof or theoretical questions instead of application.
This prof is the definition is useless. Any question you ask will be responded with "please check X file in learn" rather than answering the question. Does not promote or inspire kids to learn, only to do the work she assigns so she does not have to do any more than the status quo. Avoid at all costs.
The professor is very mean to student. She is very bad at teaching.
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
32%
Textbook Required
80%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
A-
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-1.96 avg changeRatings by Course
STATS
5.0
(2)STATS230
5.0
(1)MATH136
5.0
(1)MATH135137
5.0
(1)MATH1371
4.3
(3)Difficulty by Course
MAT13713
5.0
M137
5.0
STAT850
4.3
STAT450
4.2
MATH135137
4.0