3.1
Quality3.6
Difficulty56%
Would Retake278
Reviews56%
Would Retake
278
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
61
4
64
3
61
2
36
1
56
What Students Say
“Everything was well until the final”
MAT22A - 3.0 rating“He really wanted to be teaching a physics class”
MAT21B - 2.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
16%
Textbook Required
0%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Stable
+0.07 avg changeRatings by Course
MATH17A
5.0
(1)MAT12A001
5.0
(1)MAT21DU
5.0
(2)MAT22B
4.3
(3)PHY9A
4.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
21C
5.0
MAT021B
4.5
21B
4.4
MAT17B
4.1
PHY09A
4.0
Reviews (278)
Terrible instructor. Made a lot of mistakes in lecture. The average in midterm 1 was 43%. There may be a curve at the end. Avoid him.
He went over things very fast, seldom stopped to ask students if they had any question. Did not post homework/quiz answers, did not have practice exam. VERY bad.
Avoid this teacher for physics and math. He makes too many errors in lecture and gives out problems that the grad students can hardly solve. Review sessions are pointless(although better than lecture) and he never gave out a promised practice exam. I guess going to office hours can help but don't expect a significant change in performance.
Varn's tests are pretty difficult, but he curves even though he said at the beginning of the class that he wouldn't. The quizzes were very easy as long as you kept up with the homework (not turned in). Some lectures were pointless, and others he presented material not in the book that he would then put on the midterms.
VERY HARD CLASS. Not a ton of homework, which means very little to study for the midterms/final. Average on two midterms were mid 60s and final average was a 48%. Class is all exam based- 20% each midterm, 20% quiz and 40% final. Problems on exams were not representative of what was on the hw, he had very high expectations.
He's honestly not that bad. The first midterm was pretty difficult but he compromised by making the 2nd midterm and the final more similar to the assigned homework. He ended up curving our final grade, and I think was a fair curve. I wouldn't say he's the best lecturer but he's kind of funny.
He's honestly not that bad. The first midterm was pretty difficult but he compromised by making the 2nd midterm and the final more similar to the assigned homework. He ended up curving our final grade, and I think was a fair curve. I wouldn't say he's the best lecturer as he tends to make mistakes but he's a funny guy.
Varn goes over everything very clearly and stops to make sure everyone understands. Homework is simple, not mandatory, but the problems are often on tests/quizzes so at least look it over. He's clearly very considerate of his students! His review sessions are super helpful. Quizzes are easy, tests are a bit harder than other coursework. He curves!
Dr. Varn wasn't the worst but wasn't the best, either. His lectures went really fast and were sometimes confusing, but he was caring and happy to explain. His homework was good prep for exams, but his quizzes were deceptively easy compared to those exams. Overall, tough but pretty fair. Curved the class a bit at the end.
Varn teaches really well, he teaches exactly what you need to know for tests, unlike many math professors who teach something and put something totally more difficult than what they taught on the test. He is fair, always ask what we wanted to put on the test. Answers every question to the best of his ability and he makes great review sessions.
Varn is a really nice guy, though his lectures and labs are not in sync. His class isn't too hard as long as you pay attention to some things. The midterm average was 103/150, but I think that's more the grader's fault than his. The grading was consistently harsh, but I often took it to him to regrade and he was nice and gave a lot of points back.
Varn is super friendly and makes every student feel welcome in his class. Lectures are clear, homework is very helpful but is not graded. There are 5 quizzes and 2 exams so there is something to study for almost every week. Quizzes are easy, exams are tough to finish in time. 10/25 points for each problem are for set-up. Very slight curve if any.
Varn is a really caring guy. For the most part his lectures were useful, though I was often left confused about what we had just covered. He holds midterm review sessions before every midterm, even on his Friday nights when he is not obligated to be on campus at 9pm. His exams seemed tough to me, but that is largely the curriculum.
He really wanted to be teaching a physics class. The way he explains things can be really confusing at times with too much theory instead of examplesand his tests don't match the type of questions in the book or homework much. The problems on the tests seemed to lean more to theoretical physics than calculus and were therefore extremly difficult.
His sample tests and homework were totally unrelated to his midterms.
His sample test and real exam are totally unrelated, and his exams are extremely difficult. He is so mean; you can only get a B- although your score is above the average a lot. (The average score of one midterm is 47, but if you get 55, you can only get a B-). DO NO TAKE HIS CLASS
Dr. Varn is a good prof if you are willing to put effort into his class. Going to his office hours will help you so much because he will try his best to teach you with whatever concepts that truly confuses you. He's also a really cool guy to talk to, so if you can, give him a chance because I've learned more in his class than any other course here.
Very good lecturer, speaks clearly, teaching style is a hit or miss-- you either really understand, or really don't understand. Graded solely on tests. Decent curve considering most of the averages were around 47-60% on almost all the tests. Very word problem-oriented on tests but there are no surprises, everything discussed in review is on tests.
The averages are usually lower for the second midterm because that's where most calculus students start learning new material not learned in high school. Prof Varn really cares about his students, and offers a lot of help during OHs. Literally grabs some questions from the examples from his notes and onto his tests. Doesn't try to trick you!
This man is an absolute lad, absolute gem, gentle demeanor and such. His cheery attitude will make you smile. And, also, his -tests- are so difficult that they border on mental violence; his most "creative" test questions are illegal under the Hague Conventions. But he's thought of all that--if you study, get a 65% percent, you're doing great.
Varn held lots of office hours and review sessions, and made lots of time for his students. I used to feel prepared for the exams with his practice exams, but as the quarter went on the exams deviated from the practice and were much harder. The class kicked my butt, but he cared about how students did and really tried his best.
too many physical problems which were really hard. So many students got low grades in this class (even fail). terrible.
Varn is a great guy. He is funny and genuinely cares about his students. His tests and grading are fair and he is very democratic about tested material. Only critique is that he gives you very little study material. Curve at the end was HUGE.
Dr. Varn is a great lecturer. Clearly covers all content material and is always open to questions.
He's a pretty nice professor but I wouldn't recommend taking his class. He has messy writing so it's hard to understand what he's writing most of the time. He gives out too much homework. His study guides are mainly just lists of what you've learned so far and there are not very helpful... He does show pass exams but they're also not that helpful.
Varn is a respectful and patient professor. His class is easy to get an A. His lecture is clear and understandable. Recommend him! Don't miss him!
Professor Varn is a really caring professor but unfortunately thats all there is. He teaches the material decently but when is comes to his tests(which is 100% of your grade), most of it doesn't make sense and you will struggle. His study guides just tells us what we learned already and he has tests from the previous years but they don't help.
he seems like a very caring and nice person, but i just didn't learn from his teaching method and i feel like there's a lot of unnecessary information during lectures that makes everything too confusing.
He really cares for his students and is willing to hold study sessions before exams, but his lectures are all over the place and very confusing to follow, as he does not explain well. Tests are very difficult as a result and almost everyone has a terrible grade.
He's a really nice guy and knows his stuff but he's all over the place and unorganized.
Dr. Varn is easily the worst professor I've had at UC Davis. He doesn't understand mathematics and makes frequent errors on the board. His tests seem to have little to do with either lecture material or previous tests, and additionally are unaccountably difficult. Many students make very bad grades. I'm glad it's over. He should be avoided.
Dr. Varn is a nice person and wants students to do well, but he overcomplicates topics which leaves students confused and frustrated. He provides a study guide, the previous year's exam, and holds review sessions, but the content on those are unrelated to what's on the actual exam. Grades are solely based on exams but curve at the end was generous.
Dr. Varn isn't the best lecturer. He spends too much time going over the easy stuff and rushes past the difficult things. The study guides for the concepts on the test are helpful, but the questions on the study guide don't point towards similar problems on the tests. Only three midterms and one final exam at the end. Curves at the end are strong.
Sweet guy who clearly cares but not the best lecturer. Still uses chalkboard which is hard to see if you're not in the first 4 rows. Content seems easy, especially if you took pre-calc or calc before, but the tests are weirdly difficult. Lowkey useless class if you already know pre-calc bc you still have to take placement exam to get into MAT16+
Barn was a great professor. Some of the material will be a little confusing but he will always answer questions clearly and make sure to attend office hours.
He does know the stuff that he teaches. Grades are made up with HW, 2 midterms and final. HW is separated into 2 parts: online and hand-written. Online HW is straight forward. Hand-written HW is usually outside-textbook, and it usually does something you never heard before, but they are in the form of part abcdefgh to guide you through the problem
People who are complaining probably should have been placed lower than MAT12. He gives out study guides that label every single thing u would possibly need to know for the test so if you did bad, its because you didnt look through the study guides. Practice midterms exactly like the tests.
He sometimes explained things in ways that made the topic confusing but it was easy to get by having already taken precalculus in HS. Homework not graded but some problems were on exams. Study guides were useless but previous years exams were better for studying. 3 exams/1 final entire grade. Curve were pretty generous.
Professor Varn has been one of the best Math professors at UC Davis. He taught 22A directly and simply that made complex concepts seem really easy. His homework assignments can be long, but they are really beneficial for the exams. Also, his office hours were beneficial. Overall, professor Varn is an excellent Math instructor.
Varn was an amazing professor! He had lots of OH to help us and he gave clear lectures. Yes he makes mistakes sometimes, but they're usually caught. His exams are VERY fair and are similar to hw problems. He also gave 5 points for each exam we picked up to count as extra credit for the final! He's a very caring instructor who tries to help students
Lectures are pretty helpful, but still need to work very hard after class, because mat 21c is a difficult class. Tests are hard, but the curve is big.
Everything was well until the final
He was fine. Just that the HW assignments were complicated, sometimes he would involve 21C material. Try to understand all the material, the test is not that hard if you study. I messed up on the first midterm, but go to his review sessions and that would help a lot to minimize what to study for the midterm.
I think Varn realized his tests were hard in the past and changed it this quarter. 22A is easier in general, but the tests Varn gave were very fair and similar to HW probs. Uses WebWorks and his own HW assignments. His personal HW's are difficult. Really high midterm averages so if there was a curve, it must have been very small.
Midterms for this class were pretty easy which was shocking compared to his 21B class which I think he realized bc the final was SO hard in comparison. Test questions/HW pretty lecture based but VERY helpful in office hours (gave major hints to upcoming test problems). Kind of strange guy but overall pretty reasonable and caring prof.
Professor Varn is one of the best math instructors I had. He is a funny guy and always make some kind of jokes. His office hour is extremely beneficial because he always help us a lot with the written homework. The tests are very similar to the hws, be sure to review them before the test. The average for midterms are like 80+
Professor Dowman Varn is the reason I dont hate math anymore. Every lecture I and listened and was able to understand most of the topics without having to spend days in the library because his teaching is so clear. His tests were fair and he told us pretty much everything he expected to know before going into it. "YAAYY" -DPV (A legend amongst men)
Test is so hard
Test So HARD
He takes a long time to upload homework solutions so you won't know you're doing something wrong until late in the quarter. He also didn't manage his time very well during review sessions, he mostly read off the study guide. Tests are fair but quite difficult and unpredictable at times.
Varn makes it really hard to get through lecture and stay engaged. The way he teaches makes it all really confusing to understand.
Varn is the worst lecturer I have ever encountered. He tries too hard to be funny when he should focus more on being clear during his lectures because he does not explain anything thoroughly. If you want basic formulas on the board with little to no explanation on what they are or how they work, take his class.
if you want to continually be frustrated and stressed take this class. bad lecturer, and doesnt explain concepts thoroughly.
i truly can not stress enough to not take any class from the professor. hes lazy and doesnt even give you thorough solutions on a study guide. doesnt give quiz solutions until late in the quarter. his lectures are hard to follow and gives complicated solutions where there is a more simple way to execute. DO NOT TAKE HIS CLASS. PERIOD.
Does everything on the chalkboard in the most illegible handwriting, so be prepared to be unable to comprehend anything in class. Also does not post anything on canvas and does not have lecture recordings so essentially, if you don't go to class once, you might as well not go ever again because you are going to fail.
Hes a good teacher and is available for 3 hours a week outside of class for any questions about any subject. Most of his test questions come from homeworks/the text book so most things on tests arent uncalled for. Just do the work and youll be fine (and show up for class)
SERIOUSLY! This is the hardest class ever. What he teaches on the board is unrelated to the exams. Both midterms were ridiculously hard and no curves. Homework does not help at all. And especially, the study guide is completely useless. Avoid at all cost.
He doesnt teach that well and he goes really fast and his study guides are useless and pathetic. I took Calc BC in highschool and he still found a way to make this class confusing for me
Professor Varn is the reason I now doubt my own calculus abilities. I took both Calc AB and BC in high school and never really had difficulties with either. Despite knowing the concepts of calculus I found his lectures lack relevant examples and are often confusing. Don't get me wrong he seems like a great guy outside class just not a good teacher.
He made everything more confusing than it should be. Lectures are unorganized and hard to follow. Theres no practice problems for midterms and final AT ALL. I could only understand him when I read the chapter before his lecture. He really cant teach!!! Final was ridiculously harder than it shouldve been and it weighs 40% of the overall grade.
Incredibly difficult if youve never taken calc before, like me. He assumes everyone in his class has taken calc previously and speeds through some points. Had to teach myself a lot if not all of the material and barely passed
Hes really nice as a person. Hes not necessarily the best professor, but his exams consist mainly of homework problems so as long as you do the homework you should be fine. The curve was pretty big too- I did pretty badly on both midterms but I still got an A. Also hes very nice in office hours if you dont understand something.
Dr. Varn is a very caring lecturer. He wants all of his students to succeed and it shows. His lectures, in general, are clear but he sometimes shows us proofs even though the 17 series does not test you on proofs. Just be sure to take notes and concentrate on what's on the syllabus, and not the proofs and tangents that he goes on. Would take again.
His exams were pretty difficult and the only way you could learn from him was by going to office hours: He is a terrible lecturer. He goes really fast and does not leave time to fully explain examples. Took a lot outside of class to learn topics (granted I had little experience with calculus in high school) and I barely passed. Choose someone else.
Fast-paced and archaic teaching style (chalk board only, no online notes posted), but genuinely caring about students passing and very helpful during office hours. It's important to do the homework and study outside of class if you want a good grade. My grade is a reflection of doing neither. Follows textbook, but isn't required for the class.
Amazing Lecturer. Easy to understand. He is very nice, does partial credit, only cares that you understand the process. His tests were kind of difficult for me since I never took calc so honestly I wouldnt recommend taking this class if youve never take calc before and suck at math. He doesnt curve down so yay.
Varn is a great Math professor. Very kind and funny during lecture it makes it hard not to focus. The test are pretty hard, but they are very similar to the homework so as long as you do the hw and study it before the test you will do fine.
He has a lot of potential! It's evident he cares about students and makes lectures enjoyable with his humorous remarks. The tests were difficult. The main downside was that he didn't post study guides/practice finals in a timely manner. With some outside help (recommend Shields Library drop-in tutoring), it's possible to get through this course.
Took MAT 21A Fall Qt. He assigns practice problems from the textbook that are not graded. if you read the textbook and do the practice problems ahead, you will do well on the exams, homework, and quizzes as they are similar. Final hits different though, but was curved. Exams had at least 1 tricky question not in textbook or study guide but doable.
He is a pretty good professor. Sometimes he could definitely explain things in a much simpler way, but overall a good professor. Also he literally tells you what type of problems will be on the exam, as long as you study hard you should be totally fine.
Professor Varn is a solid professor. He assigns one homework assignment a week, which are about 10-15 problems. There is a quiz with 1-3 questions during the weekly discussions, so attendance is mandatory for discussion, but not lecture. He also gives out practice problems and solutions for the exams so we know what material is expected.
I took him my first quarter at Davis and it was his first time teaching the 17 series so it wasn't a good match for my grade butt, he is a very good at explaining things in his lectures, hw was alright, his test were only 10qs and worth a lot, which is why a lot of people has points taken off. overall he was okay, have to put in that extra work
Homework was very reflective of exam material, overall helpful and funny lectures
I feel bad because he is quirky and seems to be a nice guy but he is a terrible, terrible professor. His lectures are all over the place and his exams are very difficult. I learned absolutely nothing useful in the class.
Professor Varn is the nicest guy. He genuinely cares about students and thinks about what we are going through. His homework is very fair and super helpful along with weekly quizzes that each have one dropped. He also has a midterm and a final which are hard but curved. He is very respectful and willing to compromise with students.
Professor Varn is a nice guy, but not the best. He gives a weekly homework & quiz. He is also prone to go very quickly so it's hard to write down all the material and understand it. Lastly his tests are ridiculously long. For our midterm we had 10 questions in 12hrs reasonable right? But for the final we have 20 questions in 2hrs. STAY AWAY!
Varn is a very caring and understanding professors. His expectations are clear. As long as you read and do the necessary practices, there's no reason for you not to pass. He is very enthusiastic during lectures and tries to crack up jokes.
Varn's lectures varied in clarity. Sometimes he made topics sound way easier than they actually were while other times he made them way harder. Weekly quizzes and homework were straight forward. Attend review sessions to do well on midterms/finals. Nice guy but I didn't really like his class very much while I was in it. In retrospect, it was decent
Really good at teaching! He made calculus tolerable for me. Gives you weekly quizzes and homework. Every week he gives a list of optional practice problems to do from the textbook along with the homework. The exams were hard, so make sure you practice a lot.
An amazing teacher who stepped up during the pandemic. Takehome midterm was very hard and timed final was a little on the tough side, but all quizzes are take home 24 hrs, they were mostly easy and so was the homework. He is fun, caring, and really good at explaining material. Highly recommend.
Took MAT 167 over the summer. It was his first time teaching the class, but despite a few bumps he was a very informative and caring instructor. Graded by hw, quizzes, one midterm, and a final project. He is very helpful in office hours, so I recommend attending as many as you can.
There are a lot of terrible professors in the math department. Dr. Varn is one of the rare few who teach his students so that they learn, and not just to flex his own expertise. He's a great communicator, and gives great guidance for learning. If you are deciding between Dr. Varn and another professor, you can't go wrong with taking his class.
A caring professor with very good lectures. The linear algebra was always a headache to me but he made it crystal clear and easy-peasy. He takes complicated concepts/definitions and makes them simple. The grade distribution is considerate. Very reachable by emails and office hours and very friendly. Comparing to other professors, he is an angel.
Broke the concepts down well and was flexible in terms of grading. Sometimes a little disorganized but otherwise a very solid prof.
I had him for 21A and wanted to take him again for 21B. He's a solid professor and explains things pretty well. I had him during the pandemic (Spring 2020) and he was very understanding. Weekly homework and quizzes, 1 midterm and 1 final. Lowest homework and quiz dropped from average. Curves at the end according to the class. Take him if you can!
Very caring and made himself for additional OH by staying after class to answer any questions. At first I disliked his class because I felt he went too fast and didn't explain well. However now moving toward the end of the quarter I understand better. If you have a Precalc background this is easy class. 2 hw's per week and then a quiz based on them
Hands down the best math professor at UC Davis! His lectures are great. He's super compassionate.
Best math professor!
He is not a good professor all he does is read over his already written lecture notes and he just overcomplicates the lessons. I also, unfortunately, got COVID and I emailed him and he didn't even respond please don't take him.
Lectures are not helpful hardly at all. He doesn't show you how to actually work out a problem or do the actual material but just reads over his already written notes. If you try to ask questions in class he can sometimes be condescending and not helpful. He only gives 30 minutes to download, do, and reupload quizzes and doesn't respond to emails.
I am not sure how he is in regular classes, but for online classes, he is not the best. If you have a good background in precalc, you will do fine. If not, you will need to do lots of outside work. He is late to assign work many times. He is a very nice professor though. His lectures can be helpful at times, but other times it skips over content.
DO NOT TAKE! Unless you want a professor who assigns homework during FINALS WEEK, doesn't respond to emails, is late to posting homework and quizzes, gives a short window to do quizzes, doesn't show how to do work/problems, not compassionate (at least to MAT 12 students), etc. The only good thing is lots of office hours.
The WORST instructor at UC Davis. This class was by far the most horrible experience of my life. Too much homework, really bad lectures, never responded to emails, and can't explain how to do anything. Most students are failing.
Really Amazing teacher. lots of office hours. does give out homeworks and deadlines but he will change it if enough students request it. Awesome TA as well. Easy A for Mat 12A. 100% recommended if you guys want an easy A. Do the work, and you will pass.
Alright the one thing I can say is that he's Nice, to some degree Other than that, terrible professor. Already written notes are nearly impossible to read along with his confusing lectures he gives over it. Homework submission are also confusing. Get ready to use stacks of paper for 1 tiny problem, take a picture, and waste precious time.
Am I the only one who had a bad experience with him for mat 167? Hes absolutely terrible. Ive never seen this unorganized prof in my entire school life. He does not even respond to emails, and make so many excuses for grading late. The worst part of him is lectures. Like he just uses other profs notes and reads it. I absolutely learned nothing.
Such a bad professor! Never responds to emails, reads lectures from another professor instead of giving his own lectures, his tests are too hard, and he's always late in doing about anything! Not enough office hours, and he's not very understanding when students' have problems. Avoid at all costs!
No clear way to tell if ur doing ok. Do well on the home works, quizzes and webwork assignments---but then do bad on the very hard final exam---and then get a bad grade in the class! Doesn't explain stuff in lectures---does easy problems there and gives hard problems for home work and impossible problems on exams! So many students get bad grades!
Professor Varn is a nice guy, and the format of the class was fairly straightforward and organized. The only issue that I had with his class was it was difficult to tell what your grade was because he took a long time to grade assignments and the canvas grade was incorrect. Overall, he was available to students w/ OH but don't expect an easy A.
He never responded to emails, never updated the grades and it wasnt until days before the final he told the class that our grades on Canvas werent accurate. He gave lots of OHs which was great but his method of lecturing online learning is terrible. He just showed his notes and had minimal examples. Didnt really learn anything.
He was an okay professor but for students who hadn't taken pre-calc in high school, he still expects us to know the concepts and hardly explains them well enough. Also, he only read off his notes with pre-answered problems that made it inefficient to learn from.
Dr. Varn is a solid choice for a professor and he is really excited and passionate about the type of mathematics he teaches (calculus and matrices). He would always take breaks during lecture to make sure we could ask questions. One thing to note is that I took his class as part of the UHP, which meant that my class size was small.
Entire grade just based off of webwork homework, gradescope homework, quiz, and the final which is a nice buffer for your grade if you generally understand topics. Homework was a bit much and his lectures dont really cover examples on homework. Quizzes and final were ok. He uploads office hour and lecture notes which helped with homework.
Dr. Varn is a really caring/understanding prof but his lectures were hard to follow at times. Aside from that, I really liked the format of the class (grade just based on worksheets, webwork, quizzes, and final) because as long as you do the homework and do ok on the final, you're set! The study guide and final reflected what we learned in class
Professor Varn is a nice person. you will earn an easy B or even A if you tried your very best. Other than that, he will help you and is very enthusiastic during lectures.
He's awesome! 167 is hard but he's very enthusiastic, approachable, and caring towards students. I think his grading was kind of tough but his lectures were great. He was somewhat disorganized, honestly, but aren't we all after a whole year+ during this pandemic? Just one of those professors you enjoy taking a course from!
His first time teaching 17C, he took it much easier on us with the quizzes compared to 17B. Overall simple class, webwork due Thursday, gradescope homework due Friday and a quiz Tuesday every week. However he would end up posting stuff late so we'd get more time but who wants to work on weekends. Really wish I could've had him in person.
His lectures were extremely confusing and homework problems were impossible. The only way to finish was to go to his office hours. His final was insanely difficult compared to the midterms. His weekly quizzes were a grade booster though and honestly if you have the time to go to his office hours the class wasn't too hard to get a good grade in.
He doesn't go by the syllabus which makes it extremely hard to organize the class work. Everything is so inconsistent and his teaching is not the best. I depended solely on Grant's co-class to do well in this class. I contacted him about this and he basically said "what do you want me to do about it?". Not the worst but definitely not the best.
Honestly my favorite MAT17 Professor that Ive had. His lectures are super straightforward if you pay attention, super helpful in office hours, and his grading criteria is reasonable- no midterms, but weekly quizzes and a final. His final exam was also very doable as well. Super great Professor and I highly recommend taking his class!
I had Varn for both 17B and 17C and found his classes rather easy. Homework does a good job of practicing material from lecture and Quizzes and Finals weren't that difficult and were very similar to his written homework assignments. I didn't work that hard, just learned and reviewed all the given material and got As in both classes.
I really enjoyed taking this class! I liked how there was no midterms and the homework and weekly quizzes made up 70% of our grade. For homeworks make sure to go to the calculus room and get help from the TAs there. Overall great experience for a 17 series class.
A solid choice to end the MAT17 series. Weekly quizzes and no midterms. The quizzes and the final exam are very similar to the homework, which he goes over in office hours and after lectures.
While Professor Varn is a super caring person, I wasn't too fond of his lectures. They felt rushed and poorly planned, and usually left me confused. Sometimes it felt like the professor didn't fully understand the lectures either. The assignments and exams, however, were of reasonable difficulty. Don't recommend if you really care about learning.*
Professor Varn's lectures are not the most thorough. He goes through the material quickly so if you don't understand the concepts at first glance, you're going to have to put in the extra time. However, Varn will always be there to help you whether it's during OH or even just after class. He is much more thorough outside of class.
Very kind professor. His lectures are usually very clear but sometimes he wastes too much time answering students' questions and falls behind on lecture materials. His exams are very similar to past exams. He has a very generous grading policy, but when you do his exams, make sure you SIMPLIFY your answers to the very end.
Super funny and sweet professor. He really cares about his students and wants them to do the best. Of course, quizzes, midterms, and final is a bit tough but as long as you study lecture notes and know the concepts, you will get an A!
He's alright. His lectures are mostly good, but he is unclear at explaining some very simple topics. Homework was manageable but was way harder than examples we did in class. The exam questions were also harder than in class problems he worked out. Go to office hours because that's where you get the most out of him, he is always happy to help.
Need to attend lectures, but if you're lost, go to office hours. He's always very more than willing to help and very kind about it. I did poorly on the first two midterms but with his help and more studying, I was able to do pretty well on the final, which btw is exactly like the first two midterms. Use the resources he provides and u'll be fine.
Best professor ever, makes everything look like a peace of cake even if it's hard. Hosts a lot of office hours and exams are easy if you understand the material and the HW. Idk why is his rating 3 overall but I would give him a 5.
His lectures can be confusing and hard to follow at times, and each test had questions with concepts never seen before in lectures or homework. Go to office hours and do the practice problems and you should be ok, definitely a tough class to take if you don't have prior exposure to integrals.
Professor Varn's tests are extremely difficult and take much longer than the time allotted. In addition his examples he uses in class are much easier than what you'll see on the homework or the exams. He even put a problem he didn't teach us how to do on one midterm. Homework took me 4-5 hours each week.
WORSE PROFESSOR EVER! HATED EVERY MINUTE IN THE CLASS. CONFUSING, DEMANDING, UNCARING, ..., JUST A TOTAL DISASTER.
He's a very nice guy, loves math and physics, but his exams are a little challenging. Typically, you can expect 4-5 problems on midterms and maybe like 8 on a final, but his midterms are 10 questions, and the final is 20 questions. They aren't easy problems either. Even our TA was surprised at the number of questions and difficulty.
Dr. Varn is one of the BEST professors I have had at Davis so far! He is so kind, positive, and caring. His enthusiasm makes his lectures so much more interesting. He takes time to ask students if they have questions during class and will stay after lecture for questions you may have. The tests were very fair. I wish he was teaching 16b!
He's clearly knowledgeable about Calculus but is moreso passionate about physics and relates lectures to it. His lectures can be confusing and I've read the textbook often despite it not being required. His tests are very long and difficult. His homework schedule is erratic and you get 2-5 days to complete hw/ww. He's on top of emails though.
Dr. Varn is one of the best math professors I've had. He is caring, funny, and gives clear and organized lectures. His homework is very helpful and relevant to the material being taught. He is very difficult and admits it but provides lots of practice materials and is an honest and fair grader. Tests are hard, but the final grade is curved.
I'd say if you're going into calculus with a brief understanding, then this class is not as difficult. Grades are really only dependent on homework and exams so homework can really impact your grade. Lectures are very surface level information, so the textbook helps and exams include questions similar to homework and lecture examples.
I love Varn! He is very caring and his exams were always fair. Webworks homework sucks and I had to go to tutoring for it. The exam problems come from the lecture & homework problems. He always asks us how the midterms went for us, if we thought it was hard or unfair or too long, and took feedback from us at the end of the quarter. He really cares.
Although his class is kind of hard, he is very kind that he is willing to give students a curve to help them pass the class. But his class is a little bit hard if you keep doing the homework by yourself and do some practice you will get a high grade in this class.
Professor Varn is a good teacher. He's not very tech savvy so his online lectures were hard to figure out and follow along with. His tests were hard but reasonable if you follow along in the lectures. The only difficult part was some of the homework would be different than the example problems he provided in class.
Test is really difficult
Extremely Hard Test with no curve. Not Again
No curve whatsoever. Very difficult. He's very passionate, which apparently means long tests (10 questions in 50 minutes) & lots of trig problems. If remembering your trig identities is at all challenging for you, don't take this class. If you want to unnecessarily push yourself because of self hate or pass trauma, then this is the class for you
He doesn't curve and his lectures are awful. He goes by too fast on the notes and doesn't properly display them. There's weekly quizzes in the discussion sections but they're based on things we don't learn in class, same with homework. He will mention a topic once and never come back to it. You might as well get Nasiri to teach this class.
Varn has been a great prof for 21B. The class is very difficult and demands very in depth knowledge of calculus and trig. Lectures are clear and digestible but simplified. Weekly quizzes and tests are easier if you do suggested text book problems. Office hours are amazing for quiz prep, if you take good notes and study hard you can do well
Dr Varn is a goober. His tests are quite hard, 10 problems in 50 mins with averages around 60%. He doesnt really teach to well but if you can find resources by yourself its pretty easy to pass this class. Quizes are easy if you pay attention in class. Probably the most averae prof ive had. Not terrible, not great.
He is a really awful professor. Don't take his class, plz!!! He gave the lectures in a genius way, but we are not. If you are a genius, you can have a try.
Professor Varn is a nice and caring teacher. His lectures were clear and understandable. His energy was great too. However, Varn's test were dreadful. Midterms and the final were long and difficult. Then his schedule on uploading assignments felt so random like he would just upload it without thinking. He did allow extensions though which is a plus
His lectures were great, he was clear, and kept us engaged in the topics. But his tests were so hard, mainly because they had 10 hard questions and only 50 mins to do it. He was also inconsistent with hw since he would give like 3 days to complete it. Pros: Organized lectures. He is nice and tries to be funny Cons: Tests are hard and difficult
Very test heavy, no room for mistakes. A lot of questions on exams. Lectures are difficult to understand.
Lectures were usually understandable. Hard tests though. Weekly quizzes were alright. Study and practice and you probably won't fail.
Out of all mat21b professors, he curves the least. A 60% was passing, in other classes a 50% is passing (despite having similar MT/final AVG's). Exams are extremely difficult, attend lectures and get an avg of 60% on midterms, finals, and do extremely well on quizzes and homework and you will pass. Go to office hours, he's very helpful.
Varn would often make mistakes during lecture that would need to be corrected by students and was never able to finish an example problem in one class period which caused a lot of unnecessary overflow into the next class. His HW often did not reflect class content and required external help. Tests were graded harsh. Recommend taking the coclass.
Varn is definitely the worst math professor at Davis. He may be the worst professor in any subject at Davis. His lectures are not comprehensible by normal persons. His exams are super-hard and super-long; he uses lotsa trig identities; and he doesn't seem to care about students. I'd never take his class again and I'd advise others not to either.
His lectures was the best I've ever given in my freshman year, but his exam is very difficult too!
Varny boi is the best professor ever. Although his tests were extremely difficult, he curved to make up for it. I loved every second I was able to bathe in his intellect and glory.
terrible lectures, they do not prepare you for the horrors that are his exams. basically no curve. does not care about students at all. posted final study guide at 8PM on the day prior to the actual final. had to find his alternate email account to get in touch with him because God forbid he check his ucdavis email.
Varn was great in explaining concepts during lecture, but that was about it. He expected high lecture attendance and for one of the midterms didn't want to curve the grades because the attendance was low. Quizzes in discussion about every week which actually served as good study guides for exams. Have to study to pass doing the hw isn't enough.
I took this course during summer session when everything moved twice as fast and classes were only for about 5 weeks. The scheduling on his syllabus was not useful at all since he changed deadlines around at his will. Also only about 15% of our grades were made known to us (graded and posted on canvas) before the pass no pass deadline.
Everything was so so late in this class! We only had one midterm and that was graded and posted during finals week, finals and homework assignments were due up to a week after summer session ended. Learned nothing in this class but to avoid unpunctual professors
There was like no TA's this quarter and made it even harder to access resources. He didn't want to curve and also the lectures were extremely fast paced with little to no time to retain anything he actually taught us. 1st and 2nd midterm are easy if you study, the final was extremely hard with little to no room to learn the new unit.
This class was difficult, but, at least for me, Varn had a great lecturing format. I felt like I understood the material, and retained the material.
Midterms were difficult and so was the final. Do not recommend taking Professor Varn if you have not taken calc before.
Varn is a funny professor who clearly cares about his students and was always available after class and during office hours to help workout homework problems. Calculus is a hard subject but he helped by dropping 3 lowest grade homework and curved the final grade. Two midterms and one final. The final was very difficult.
Professor Varn wants students to succeed, however I wouldn't consider him to be necessarily a good teacher. He takes the first 10 minutes of class to not talk about math and then he rushes through the lesson and goes until the last possible second of class, never finishing. He also started to call on students randomly halfway through the quarter.
Don't be phased by the bad reviews. Professor Varn really cares that you understand the material and provides alot of study materials with solutions for all 3 exams. Did decent on the 2 midterms and even though the final exam was horrible, he provided a chonky 4ish percent curve to the final grade. Great professor and a funny guy.
Run and avoid him. Hes very nice, but his tests are awful, the average grade on the final was 120/200. The final grades are heavily curved, but its really intense. I asked what I could do better after the first midterm and he said be better.
Tests were way harder than homework problems and practice exams. And assigned homework on Webwork (a really stupid website), if you get it wrong and ran out of tries, you'll never know the answer.
Dr. Varn is a solid choice for calc. His lectures are clear, engaging, and entertaining as he tells numerous funny stories while teaching. His tests are fair and he provides practice materials to help you do well. Varn is also very helpful during office hours, so go if you need help. One of my favorite math professors at Davis, take him!
Varn was a good lecturer but discussion is mandatory because he gives quizzes every week. They aren't too difficult but the midterms are graded very harshly in my opinion. He takes off a lot of points for small errors, but I will say that they are similar to his practice exams.
Dr. Varn is enthusiastic about calculus. Lectures are very organized, likes to crack jokes. Past quizzes & exams are great practice for the real deal. Office hours are VERY helpful! Willing to go overtime just to help you with problems. Weekly quizzes were very doable. Don't be fooled, ppl like to hate Varn because they hate calc...he's a great guy
Great lecturer who is passionate about calculus. Made jokes frequently and posted neat lecture notes. Weekly quizzes during discussion which were pretty easy, along with two exams. Exams were very similar to previous ones, which he posted. Weekly homework on WebWorks were a little tricky (OH was helpful), but overall a good calculus professor.
Varn is an okay professor. His lectures cover basic examples, but the homework problems are harder. His midterms were fair, but the final was difficult. Had weekly discussion quizzes that weren't hard but I would have preferred to not have had them. You can succeed in this class as long as you self-study. The AATC resources were a huge help for me.
interesting and entertaining lecturer, keeps students engaged in lectures with funny stories and examples. gives lots of good examples.
Professor Varn is a nice guy. His lectures are very fast paced and sometimes confusing. His lecture notes are neat. The midterms were difficult and tricky but the final was straight forward and not too long. His office hours are very helpful. He gives us help on the webworks.
Really nice and caring and cute professor! He is my favorite because he is so humorous! He loves to teach the content in such a passionate way that you can even feel his love for math. The exams are not hard and homework also won't take up a lot of time. So if you pay attention to his class exercises and mock exam, you will be fine.
Varn is one of the most caring professors I've had in my time here. His lectures are recorded and works along side the coe-class. He sometimes skips steps because he's very knowledgeable on the topics he teaches, but will clarify after class. If you are looking for a class to get fairly graded and set up to do well, take Varns.
If you get the chance to take a class with this wonderful man that is Dr. Varn, DO IT! Without a doubt the best math instructor I have ever had. He makes concepts understandable while making it interesting.
varn is super funny but his lectures mainly consisted of how formulas came to be and doing very little examples. I learned so much more through the co class. the first 40 minutes are just him talking about a formula and then the last 10 minutes was one example and that's it. homework was hard lol but it makes up a lot of the grade.
Lectures were short and he spent the entire time just going over formulas not actually doing problems. Really nice, caring professor but was not clear at times. Tests and weekly homework were difficult.
This Professor is AMAZING. Nothing else to it, he's that good.
Dr. Varn is absolutely amazing and so funny! It was his first time teaching 21D and he absolutely crushed it. Lectures were very clear but just slightly too slow. Gives many examples so if you pay attention in class you'll almost always get it (OH great too). HW is representative of exams, which were straightforward and representative of lecture.
God Bless Dr. Varn. Amazing lecturer. He genuinely cares about students and wants everyone to learn. He also stayed numerous times 2-3 hours after his office hours times because he wanted everyone to have their questions asked. Tough exams, but if you go to office hours and put in the work, you'll be alright.
Take anyone else for 16b.
Dr. Varn is very knowledgeable but does not teach effectively. Uses both typed and handwritten notes which can be difficult if you're trying to copy notes down. Does a lot of examples in class but speeds through them and does not explain the steps at all. Does not use Canvas for overall class grades and does not respond to emails.
Go to the lectures, take notes. He is very straightforward with his quizzes and exams.
Not the best, not the worst. Definitely a character (not my taste but generally fine). 15-20-problem HW due SATURDAY/SUNDAY. I do not understand in the SLIGHTEST why HW had to be due on the weekend. Was tedious but could be good practice if needed. Tests were fair but very strict with test-taking (assigned seats, ID check, took pics of each row???)
20-problem homeworks due Saturday/Sunday; expect anywhere between 2-4+ hours each depending on your understanding of the material. Exams are all very fairly graded but relatively challenging. Homework is an easy 100% as long as you take your time and do it correctly. Prof. loves going off on tangents and has a long-winded way of explaining things.
Dr. Varn was just an okay professor for my course. Offered a lot of example problems in lectures which I appreciated but the homeworks were often long and frustrating. I found the formatting to be hard to work with and the nature of the problems themselves could be a lot to deal with. Exams were pretty detailed but also rather fair.
Dr. Varn was a great professor. He knows the subject extremely well and is able to teach really well. I also really like his humor, it's really weird but funny in class. The class is hard and I had to go to a lot of studying but overall I was really appreciative for Dr. Varn. Studying and finishing all the homework will definitely help.
Gives old exams as study guide and really similar to what the exam actually is. Homework is weekly and can be very annoying and difficult, but if you do good on the homework and understand it, the midterms should be easy. Lectures are recorded and are posted a day after. Pay attention and get some outside help and you'll pass. Overall fair prof.
Professor Varn truly wants his students to do well. He provides excellent study guides for midterms and the final. Tests don't have trick questions and reflect lecture material. Varn is pretty funny and makes learning calculus less boring. Also, I actually understood calculus for once in his class!
Nice guy but very disorganized. Out of five HWs, only 2 are graded by the start of finals with HW5 due during finals. He drops lowest HW. HW due almost a month ago is still ungraded. Midterm was ok but too much calculator punching for upper div math class. No practice exams but study guide lets you know what will be covered. Notes allowed for test.
Decent math professor. Taught the material well and test feedback broken down in a very easy-to-understand way. Homework is tedious but good practice for the tests.
He's a nice guy, he just isn't a very good teacher. In-class examples were limited, and homeworks were very tedious. His HW had limited attempts, and even if you run out of tries it doesn't give you an answer/solution. Test averages were about a 60, even after curve. I got an A purely based on my math ability, if you struggle with math avoid him
People hate on Varn but I actually liked him. He is a bit quirky and goes on tangents but in my opinion he taught well and his tests were for the most part fair. I am good at math however, went to co-classes and constantly did practice problems. If you like math and put the time in you will do well, but it isn't an easy A and be prepared for HW!!!!
unresponsive
Very hard class, lectures and practice exams are not helpful at all, and he didn't set the exams for students to do well. The midterms are so hard and not related to any materials he gave. Don't take his class.
Calculus is a challenging course, and unfortunately, Dr. Varn did not make it easier. The exams, although they represented the course material well, were very challenging to finish on time. Studying the homework assignments repetitively helped - learned the material best from online tutors.
Varn was fair and cares about his students. He's very passionate about math, and likes to assume you are too-- which means lots of homework, and sometimes pretty hard tests. However, the homework and practice tests prepare you well, he makes himself available for students, and is always open to addressing concerns and answering questions.
I took AP Calculus AB in high school so this class should have been an absolute breeze. But I am afraid I won't even pass this class because of how ridiculous his homework and test questions are. They are beyond mean and I went to tutoring every day and even the tutors said his questions made no sense. Plus he has a horrible curve. Avoid!!!
Webwork assignments are torturous, but he drops the lowest two. Really funny professor, very charismatic and personable during lectures. Tests are pretty true to practice midterms. Very clear about what is expected to be on tests and what isn't. I would def. recommend him!
Usually only did one example per topic that was very easy. Homework was difficult with limited attempts. Practice exams are nothing like the actual exams. Exams are very difficult with some questions that had never been discussed in class. Made the class unnecessarily difficult. Do not take unless you already have a strong understanding of calc b.
People hate math! If you don't like the subject matter, don't punish the professor. Dr. Varn is bar none best math professor on campus and makes math lectures fun and engaging. If you don't do well it is completely on you. Don't take college math if you are not ready for college rigor. He is extremely helpful and will give you resources to do well.
gave us practice exams to review on but they were NOTHING like the actual midterm. started our midterm less time to complete, had so many questions that were time consuming examples in class was easy homework and exams they were so difficult i had no idea what i was going on hws have limited attempts on them I would avoid this prof do not take him
Weekly HW. Records Lectures. Fun and nice. Wants you to succeed. Him and his TA's are very accessible outside of class. 3 Exams total worth 70% of grade. Practice exams are pretty much identical to actual exam with the exception of 1 or 2 problems, but the problems are a little harder. Overall easy class if you put a little effort into it.
Do not take any classes with this man. He cannot explain basic content. You also won't know if you're failing or passing until you get your grade. Im sure he's got a nice personality but god he is not who you want teaching basic calculus.
Got an A in 16A, struggled for a B+ in 16B with Varn. Would spend a majority of the class focusing on how to get to a specific equation as opposed to utilizing it. Lots of homework, worth 30% of your grade. Had two different exams per section, one identical to the practice test and one not. Prepare to do a lot of learning on your own.
I got an A in 16a but struggled to get a B in 16b. I really liked Varn (he's quite the personality). Tests were hard IMO but thats what the course requires. Only thing I did not like were the study guides, since the questions on it were way harder than the final. However he provided past exams which were fairly similar to the 2 midterms and final.
I really loved varn, I had him for 16A & B. His class was pretty difficult but his personality was amazing. His practice exams are similar to the actual exam but sometimes, he puts in problems that haven't been on any practice exam. So make sure to study everything. Besides that, everything else is pretty fair. HW was weekly and nice + he dropped 2
Varn's 16B is challenging but rewarding. The practice exams don't fully prepare you, so stay on top of the material. unstuck ai was a lifesaver for extra practice. Overall, a fair professor who wants you to succeed.
His class is really interesting and he explains things clearly. If you attend the class rather than just watching video, you could feel the easy atmosphere and vibe in the class. But the discussion sheets are usually much harder than the exam or the things you are learning currently. The exam is moderate if you do the HW.
A great professor :)!! his tone of voice is quite entertaining.The difficulty level of the exams is similar to the homework. He doesn't require you to do extra things (you don't even need to practice with mock exams before tests). It's worth noting that his homework doesn't provide solutions to teach you how to arrive at the correct answers.
This is a great professor, and I feel at ease in his class. He explains concepts in great detail and always stays after class to answer students' questions. If you complete the homework seriously, you'll find his exams relatively easy. However, he doesn't provide solutions in the homework. His group assignments are challenging but very engaging.
Dr. Varn is a silly goofy guy! He's really enthusiastic about math and teaches everything like a story which was really helpful. He does talk quite a bit so sometimes it's hard to process all the words coming at you at once. Tests were tricky but not impossible. I do wish he was more proactive about posting resources on time.
Professor Varn is one of the lead professors for the math department in Davis. Not only do his lectures tend to be longwinded, but he can also be rude in his emails. Very weird, takes pictures of students during exams, came up to me and took a picture right in my face MID EXAM.
Very difficult class if you haven't had any calculus background, lectures are almost all practice problems with little explanation. Homework mostly tedious to complete. Funny and cool professor but doesn't really fit most teaching styles, hard to actually gain a lot of info from lectures/in general. No curve was given for exams this quarter.
pretty okay. I don't have a whole lot of good or bad to say about this prof. His lectures are very simple, he explains concepts well, doesn't go into much detail on anything. Test very fair but take forever to be graded. TAs were not that helpful, discussion section kinda sucked. If you don't have a better option, Varn is not that bad.
He seems like a really nice guy, but not the best teacher. There's a really big difficulty jump in the examples in lecture and hw/exams. Also wasn't the best at getting stuff out on time, I wanted to see if he had office hours the day before the final and he was writing the final less then 24 hours before the test.
I don't like math, but he really wants you to learn math. His exams don't go off script, if you know the material then you will succeed in his class. No gimmicks and surprises in his midterm and final.
Professor Varn, although I believed he was a funny guy and pretty nice, he was terrible as a professor, in terms of exams he does not prepare you at all. He released the study guide for the final the day before the final and it had no practice problems on it at all. He does not curve exams, making it tough to do well when he sucks at preparing.
My opinion of Dr. Varn definitely improved over the quarter but STUDY!! Learned my lesson from MT1 (thought I knew enough from AP Calc - was wrong). Study the things you don't think will be a big part of the test. Textbook really helped, do the practice problems. Didn't care for the group worksheets and they were graded pretty harshly. He is funny.
Quirky guy. Lectures were helpful and he records them which was great! Overall he wasn't really bad or good there was a lot of homework which didn't really help with test preparation. The tests took forever to grade, and he would only post the study guide a day before, and there were never any practice problems. Difficult group work.
Although they seemed nice and gave fine lectures, the class was bad. Discussions were group assignments which I am not a fan of and the tests had no good study material, no practice questions and the study guide was just study everything even though it wouldn't be on the test. Very disappointed since I don't have the ability to remember that much.
Need to study hard in this class. Lectures are done very well, clear explanations and does example problems for every concept. Quirky in lectures, very useful in office hours. Study guides are useless, no practice problems except HW. Discussion is difficult group work, requires extra time outside class. Lectures recorded on canvas.
Varn is a great, funny professor with entertaining lectures. If you took AB in high school (I did) you should be 100% fine. Exam averages were in the 60s, but I didn't find the tests to be too difficult. Be prepared to work outside of class with your discussion groups to complete work. Gradewise he rarely curves, but the class isn't too exam-heavy.
This course was a nice refresher on derivatives (alr took BC). Varn is a GREAT explainer who makes calculus make sense. His tests are fair; everything is covered in lecture. However he is slow when it comes to grading. It took more than 2 weeks for our midterm scores to be released. He also doesn't let you see your course grade on Canvas.
A very okay class. Not too difficult but the lectures definitely don't make things easier. Be ready to study on your own and create your own practice exams or find existing ones because they will not be provided. He also does not curve tests or allow you to see grades on canvas which can be frustrating.
Dr. Varn genuinely cares about his students, even if your grade on an exam or discussion post doesn't fully reflect it. He's meticulous with notation, so be cautious—small mistakes can cost you points. He's fair with regrades and partial credit. Don't make the mistake I did: take the class seriously, even with his jokes, or you'll regret it.
Varn is very meticulous with notation, be cautious, small mistakes can cost you points on discussion assignments. He's fair with regrades and partial credit. Take the class seriously from the beginning, if you get behind early on you'll for sure fail. Very accessible outside of class with office hours almost every day.
Make sure to do as many hw problems as possible (they're good practice). He can be funny but he tends to yap a lot and rushes towards the end of most lectures (he also writes rlly fast). The GroupWorks are a pain and a half, but make sure you know how to solve each problem on there because similar questions may be asked on exams.
Professor Varn was a great prof! He has a big personality and his lectures can go a bit fast but he teaches the material and makes sure we understand the material. He is one of the better teachers at davis. You have to show up to lecture but that is what is expected of a math class. Take him. you wont regret it! there are FAR worse teachers!
He is a great professor but the study guides he gives aren't study guides it's just a list of topics. He is great in explaining certain topics but most of the course is just you teaching yourself.
Very fair professor and doable. Do the webworks hw and especially the discussion sheets (discussion attendance is mandatory but lecture isn't) Beware the tests though, his study guides are very generalized— but if you did the hw and the worksheets you should be fine. I only have a B- because I was taking multiple STEM courses.
Great lecturer, super passionate and makes content really easy to understand. I think other students struggled with the content conceptually but for me he made the content really digestible and easy to apply. 2 midterms and 1 final + random hw, tests graded on work shown pretty strictly.
Dr. Varn's lectures are good and his class can be engaging at times. However, he did not give enough practice during this course. 22A is a course that requires immense repetition and memorization. Varn assigned little to no practice, with no practice exam, and be prepared for some surprises on the exam where you have to remember an identity.
Do not take a class with this professor. Exams are WAYYY too long for a 50 min exam and be ready for the final because that was 20 questions with multiple parts!! His lectures are mediocre at best. He is a great guy but this class is not organized at all. Graded by only 6 homework assignments and did not provide extra practice.
Avoid this professor, pretty wired guy with weird teaching style. Midterm is 10 questions within 50 minutes, final is 20 questions(3 to 4 questions under each big question) within 120 minutes which is crazy… no practice exams and grade strictly on showing everything clearly. Make simple class difficult.
Pretty funny guy! Syllabus listed way more HW than we were actually given (6 total). 10 q midterms that ranged in difficulty, budget your time, not too hard. Concepts are explained well in class, but he goes fast sometimes. Final was insane ngl (20 q's w/ parts), so do the easy ones first and just attempt the rest.
Save yourself the trouble and take a different prof. This class was a mess organizationally. Fine lecturer, I didn't like the style. The content is ordered very weirdly. He reviewed vectors super slowly, then went super fast, and we didn't get to the last course topics. Midterms were easy, the final exam was ridiculously long.
Dr. Varn was right about one thing: he is not a lecturer. MTs were 10 questions each, final was 20 questions with parts. Way too many questions in allotted time for final. Decent lecturer otherwise. Class was also slightly disorganized in the order of topics taught. Webwork was a good indicator for exams for MT1&2 but not final, it didn't cover all
Dr. Varn was hilarious. I loved his jokes. He lectures too fast and it's easy to fall behind. 10 questions on each midterm and 20 on the final (way too much), but other than that, I thought they were fair questions. You have to answer them quickly. It's clear he cares about his students. I did most of my learning outside of class watching videos.
Funny and personable professor. A bit disorganized and very fast talker in lectures. Also wasn't consistent in giving hw (not necessarily a bad thing until you get to exams) or really in outlining what section we were on so you had to take it upon yourself to really understand and practice the material. Exams were hard but there was a small curve.
Dr. Varn was great! His lectures were excellent and he walked through every concept very clearly so we understood each step. Homework was good except I wish we had more. Exams were a bit long but most questions were pretty easy. He does take forever to grade, but that's not a big deal. Easy to get an A if you review everything he covers in lecture.
Lectures fast and crams a lot of concepts in a short amount of time especially in the final weeks. Tests are long (midterms had 10 questions and final had 20) and no formulas or calculators are provided. He also took off points for pedantic reasons. The homework wasn't too bad. Some of the concepts were tedious and took a while to complete.
Dr. Varn was super kind and understanding. His lectures alone aren't enough to fully grasp the content though, I consulted YouTube a lot. My biggest gripe is that his tests were long. The final was easy if you stayed on top of the material throughout the quarter, but it felt like running a marathon. It was so unnecessarily long.
Average ~70. Tests were hard but doable if you memorize properties & steps. Funny. Harsh & slow grading. Couldve been worse. Couldve been better. I bet class average wouldve 90 if we had a practice test or cheat sheet. The math is easy the hard part is memorizing everything. Lectures werent for me. Learned everything with YT & AI
Lowkey never struggled more in a class. Lectures made me feel like I knew what was going on and then the tests had nothing to do with material we went over. Impossible to study for.
He is pretty funny, and I thought his lectures were clear and easy to understand. There's only like 2 homework assignments per week, but they take a few hours to do.
get him an ipad ...
Dr. Varn is a knowledgable professor with clear hand-written notes. HW were easy and manageable. Material is not very hard, but the tests were heavy with 10 questions for midterms and 20 questions for final. He did not provide any practice exam except study guides. Following notes and study guide is the best way to take his class.
i genuinely believe all these good reviews are fake because there is absolutely no way ANY student would enjoy the way he structures his class. . that's it.
Dr. Varn is a goober. Friendly, understanding, and amazing lecturer. Should be an easy class not hard to get an A. I got a C because I thought this class would be easy enough to wing. Very little hw.
One of my favorite instructors!! Very nice guy with a fun personality. Over the summer, weekly homework, easy weekly quizzes, midterm was open note with no limit (literally allowed to bring a LA textbook too), no final just a group project. Taught using Saito's notes and records class.
I don't love math, but Professor Vern really does his best to teach students and help them understand. Actual exams are a bit harder than the practice, and there was homework every week (about 15ish problems). He wants everyone to succeed, it's just that the material comes to be a lot if you aren't putting your best effort continuously. Very funny!
I have never written a review before but I HAD to with Varn. His lectures are confusing, he rants for 30 minutes during lectures, he gives no practice exam problems, and doesn't curve. If you can take another professor, do it. I regret choosing Varn. I've never disliked a professor this much. I used to love math, now… I'm doubting my existence.
Auditing his class to take the final for a grade from a previous quarter. He is very kind and always willing to help students during office hours. You can tell he is very passionate about math and helping students succeed. I wish I were continuing calculus to retake a class with him teaching. He posts lecture recordings online.
I dont advise taking this professors. He teaches in a very fast pace and doesn't allow you to fully understand. His homework is relatively easy but his midterms and final are way beyond what you learn in lectures. I studied 15 hours for one of his midterms and felt pretty confident just to find out what was on the study exam wasn't on the midterm.
He does not provide practice exams or any example problems of that matter. Lots of points, I'll give him that, but ALL of the exam questions are meant to "stretch" you. I've never seen any of these questions set up like this before the exams. He doesn't curve and doesn't upload his typed notes which he annotates in class, and is very fast paced.
He is a goober in a good way
Varn is a kind person, but horrible lecturer. Does not provide cheat sheets, practice exams, or will not curve the final exam. His lectures are pretty entertaining, but for math content eh.
Was not a huge fan of him but he definitely came around at the end. A bit disorganized, HW was assigned randomly, calls his MTs "his parties", lectures are done on paper so you have to wait until he remembers to upload it to canvas if you missed class. Big pro is that his exams are very fair (avgs ~76)+questions are like disc and easier than the HW
honestly he's a sweet guy. 2 midterms, 1 final, discussion not mandatory (group worksheets due every week). his lectures are a bit disorganized bc he goes on random tangents and he takes a while to upload notes. i thought his tests were pretty fair (know the conceptual concepts). squeezed in more hws sporadically in the second half of the quarter.
Hides grades for no reason. No curve. Evil tests. Peculiar guy.
Worst math professor I have ever taken. Be prepared for no curve whatsoever. Either take a different professor or wait till next quarter if you want a good GPA. Locks your canvas grade so that you can't complain about it untill after it is finalized. Does not provide practice exams for tests and is not very good at explaining concepts.
I throughly enjoyed Dr. Varn's teaching and lecture style for 17A. Grade is based on 2 midterms, 1 final, homework, and group worksheet assignments (lowest one dropped). Very funny and engages students in class, very accessible during OH and encourages students to ask questions!
I chose to take Dr. Varn again for 17C after having him for 17A, material was a little difficult but grading was very fair and lots of partial credit! Final pulled questions from both midterms, which was very helpful and made studying a little easier. I scored
I had Dr. Varn for 17A and nearly failed it, so I was reluctant to try him again. However he really surprised me, the class was easy to follow along. If you go to lecture, and take notes you should have no issues with the tests they are really strait forward. He does have a quirky personality but it makes the class interesting.
Varn was hilarious, loved the dude. He also taught the material during class which was nice, no flipped classroom stuff. Recorded lectures. Unfortunately, as per usual there were no practice exams for midterms but they reflected the material quite well. Varn would give hints about midterm and final exam questions in class. Would recommend him
Dr. Varn is a middle-of-the-road professor. He goes at a good pace in lecture, but his exams were quite difficult and fast-paced. At least this was an easier course than 17B. I did pretty well in the end, but I needed a lot of self-studying. I wish he gave out more practice materials.
Don't take him if you're not already knowledgeable about the class. His tests are very difficult and long. HW takes a while to do, and it's not very reflective of what you'll see on the test, also you get no practice test. He just gives a useless study guide that basically just lists every subject you've gone over. I regret picking him, good luck!
Compared to his 17A class, his 17C class is much more well-paced. He's a pretty funny guy, but he can ramble sometimes. His lectures teach you what you need to know, and the exams don't have any big surprises. Midterms were decently challenging, but Varn is clear on what will be provided/what will be tested on.
He was a chill/nice guy and was receptive to questions. He's a good professor but his exams were fairly difficult. Out of the 17 series I found this one to be the easiest, I think his teaching style helped.
Oh Varn, my extremely divorced king. He's actually a great teacher, the negative reviews are just there because 21b is hard imo. He records his lectures and posts the notes, so attendance isn't mandatory, but you don't really need the textbook at all. He is very scatterbrained (always posts the homeworks late), but doesn't punish students for that.
The class is very difficult. He is a sweet, understanding professor but his way of teaching doesn't explain material well (doesn't elaborate on how he reaches each step). Tests are fair if you understand EVERY single thing he's taught in EVERY single lecture. Stay away unless you already know calculus. Good luck chat.
I was ready to give him a glowing review until I took that soul crushing exam! But in all seriousness, he's been a pretty good professor. Grades fairly. The class is just difficult, the co-class lectures were super helpful though. The discussion worksheets gave me insane anxiety every week and homework was sporadic so it's difficult to plan.
Probably the most mid professor I've had so far at UCD. He was very last-minute when it came to uploading homework, worksheet grades, & study guides. I didn't find the way he teaches to be very helpful, so I relied more on online resources to pass his class. But his exams were fair. You won't find out your grade until the end of the Quarter.
Varn heavily values feedback and is super willing to answer questions and clear confusion. His midterms were easier than the final but doesn't really provide practice problems other than discussion wksts and HW. Reasonable grader but takes long to grade. Notes and lectures are recorded which is helpful and gives clear expectation on what's on exams
Genuinely such a caring professor. His exams are very similar to the homework and worksheets he gives in class. Just redo all his lecture problem, worksheets, and webworks hw a week in advance of the exam and you will get at least a B. I recommend him greatly and I hope you take him! My favorite lecturer by far.
Great teacher and takes constructive criticism seriously (2nd midterm was easier than first due to ppl saying it was too difficult). Clarifies questions and steps when asked, and worksheets relate to tests. Guides you through the basics and expects you to apply that to something more advanced, which is the only challenging part about this class.
Caring professor with reasonable amount of homework + reasonable midterms, but no curve and the final is unreasonably long and difficult (20 hard questions in 2 hours). His lectures are good but sometimes he rambles and can fall behind, leading to some topics being rushed and others cut out of the course.
Professor Varn is funny and gives good lectures. But he is very slow at grading and doesn't let you see your overall grade until he submits it. Also doesn't curve any test even though this is Calc. Midterms were fine but finals was difficult as he purposely put trick questions or questions on topics that we barely focused on.
Lectures had good examples and he uploads the notes and recordings. Homework was just a couple hours a week and easy to get 100% on. Exams weren't very complicated and mostly tested if you're familiar with the integration methods.. Highly recommend trying to get a good group for the weekly discussion worksheets.
He's a good lecturer and very funny; however, he's a big procrastinator. He always posts his lectures and exam scores super late. Overall, his exams can be difficult. Ensure that you review every concept thoroughly. The final was rough because some concepts that he vaguely mentions pop up randomly. Also, don't hope for a curve to save you.
If you put effort into the discussion assignments and hw you will do fine exams are reflective of those and what is taught. However, this class requires a lot of memorization for a math class and some lectures were explained more complicated than the actual material so I self taught myself 80% of it.
Varn is an amazing lecturer, very captivating and explains the material very well. If you do the homework and study you will be fine in his class however tests can be harder than expected. Nonetheless it is up to the student to study properly and if you do so you will be fine.
Varn is a pretty good lecturer. He's good at engaging the students with his quirky personality and he's very passionate but he sometimes goes off on random, hilarious tangents. His tests can get kinda tricky but he's pretty generous with partial credit. Assigns about 20 questions of homework every week. Not too hard if you study a bit and do the hw
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