2.2
Quality4.5
Difficulty33%
Would Retake112
Reviews33%
Would Retake
112
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
8
4
14
3
21
2
28
1
41
What Students Say
“if your GPA is too high and you want to reduce it, then this class is for you”
MATH135 - 1.0 rating“Gulick is quite possibly the worst Mathematics professor I've ever had the misfortune of being 'lectured' by”
MATH140 - 1.0 ratingClass Info
Attendance Mandatory
58%
Textbook Required
92%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
C
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.40 avg changeRatings by Course
140
5.0
(1)PRECALCCALC3
5.0
(1)PRECALCCALC
5.0
(1)LINEARALGRBRA
5.0
(1)MATH461
4.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
MATH140B
5.0
MATH115B
5.0
115B
5.0
MATHEMATICS
5.0
CALC140
5.0
Reviews (112)
She lets personal feeling get invoved,Told class it was her job to fail students
CLASS IS WAY TOO HARD!!!!!!!!
She has tests/quizzes on subject matter that she hasn't taught. Bad teacher!
Good teacher, she expects a lot from her students but delivers.
she was by far the worst teacher ive ever had at any level, i was an honors and ap student in high school and passed ap calc easily, this woman totally confused me as to how precalc was taught how that is possible i dont know
Wonderful teacher, very demanding but fair and genuinely interested in helping her students succeed.
She talks about 50 minutes about absolutely nothing - you end up wasting so much time listen to her babble about nothing its best just to read the book. And her exams are the most ridiculously difficult PreCal exams that can possibly be given.
This is the most annoying teacher ever. She teaches her students like high school students. She walks around the aisles in big lecture halls at times to make sure people are doing their work.
Very demanding, but also very good. I don't see why a professor that expects their students to actually learn the material should get so many bad ratings. She's doing her job and doing it well.
Shes tries to fail you. She will help you out if you want to go talk to her after class. But her tests are way beyond what she teaches you. And the online homework is really****sometimes(she writes the problems).
She'll spend 40 minutes going over the material on a 5 minute quiz she gave in class, then spend the last 5 minutes teaching the material that constitutes the 'entirely' of the homework and material on the tests. They're just afraid to fire her because her husband wrote the Calculus textbook.
I got a 5 on the AP calc ab test. I took this class for easy credit and it's the only class I have less than an A in. She gives tests with stuff you've never seen and her TAs haven't heard of partial credit.
If your actually interested in knowing the material then this is the prof you want. Her classes are challenging, but in the end I was thankful of this.
Generally she is a good teacher expecting students to read text and be self-starters.Exams are not hard but sometimes with too much content.Biggest problem is her time management.She is always 4 minutes late for lecture and is easy to lose her pace in the middle so have to rush for last 5 minutes.
she is a great professor. she teaches you everything you need to know. If you don't do well in precalc in her class, it is YOUR fault or you should reconsider your major to a not-so-intelligent major. She is demanding, but it helps you in the end.
had her for 2 semesters, great teacher! always available if you have problems, exams are hard only if you don't study for them - its usually obvious what will be on the exams
Wow her class sucked...that is all I have to say.
Horrible.
Exams significantly more difficult than homework or worksheets. Unannounced quizes in lecture, often based on what she preceves as "poor" attendance. Maybe more people would go to her lectures if she answered questions in an attitude other than "well that's becasue you're stupid." In brief: a hateful sadist ****--have pitty on her poor husband.
She can keep her students awake... but her exams are at times unreasonable on the time limits. She has a good personality though. I'd recommend her for others interested.
She is hard as****.... gives no time on the exams, i can never finish them and neither can most normal people. her homeworks on webassign (which also blows) are hard and take a long time. Overall, shes not easy
Not easy but be realistic about your performance. She is a good teacher especially one on one so go to her for help during office hours if you are not getting it. Her tests are hard but fair.
Really picky when it comes to grading tests and quizzes. And alot of homework, quizzes, and worksheets.
this class blows. she seems nice and stuff, but will lure you into a false sense of security with easy worksheets,webassign and homework, and then sucker-punches you with impossible-to-finish exams on the random**** never covered in class or discussion.
If you've taken AP Calc in high school this class is pretty easy. Otherwise you may have some trouble--but that's probably the case with all Calc I profs. Show up to lecture, actually try to get the worksheets in discussion and you'll be fine.
Don't take, unless you're really math inclined. The exams are impossible to finish and are filled with mostly unreasonable problems that are totally dissimilar to the ones in the book. She's helpful outside of class and an energetic lecturer but who cares. Also, there's no curve...AVOID!
Not an easy class, don't expect an A. Gives pop quizzes to keep you going to lecture. Can't stand that all, but she is the best math teacher I've had. I took her for MATH140, as well. If you like learning the most you can in class, take her, otherwise, avoid her if possible.
This class is pretty tough, but it is Calculus for Engineers so what do you expect. Go to lectures, do the webassigns, and do the h/w problems (even though they aren't graded) and you will pull a C or better.
This woman is completely insane. Her random outbursts are hilarious, yet sad, in a way. She is not a professor, and obviously married her way into the math department. The class is tangential and makes very little sense. I took AP Calc, so I understand what's going on with the material, but those who have never taken the course are left behind
I took calc AB in hs, got a 5, straight A's, understood math well. I don't understand this class, the tests are ridiculously hard, and now I have to drop. she teaches a concept, sort of, and then on the test will give a problem that requires ridiculous steps just to get the function in a usable form... grades quite harshly too.
good lecturer. demands attention. VERY hard grader; demands perfection. got a 69 on first exam w/ all correct answers. must make exams as if there was no exam when grading. write paragraphs justifying. didnt buy/need textbook. online hw for tues/thurs. youll be lost w/o AP calc the year before, but youll learn alot more.
This is not an easy class, but it IS possible to do well. I took the AB Calculus AP test in high school and only got a three, and didn't do so well in my high school class, but I got an A in both 140 and 141 here with Gulick. You have to attend class and do all of the homework to understand it, and a good TA really helps.
This woman is a complete lunatic. Her lectures were ok at best. The webassign hw was ridiculous. The pop quizzes were bs. Discussion was hell b/c she makes TA's give GRADED worksheets which were rly hard. The tests were complete bs. Don't ask for help cuz she will make u feel like a****for not being married to a guy who wrote the calc book
No Comments
This teacher is the worst thing to happen to me. She is a terrible teacher, she cant teach linearly. She will begin a problem and get distracted, doesnt give examples and the test questions are literally indecipherable. They will not be like any examples you may see in class/the book. this is my second time through, and i wont pass. I hate her
AHHHHHHHHH BADDDD TEACHERRRRRR
This class is hard...no lie. But if you can go to office hours and show that you're interested and dedicated, Dr. Gulick will support u in every way she can. As a mentor and support she was wonderful. If u can establish a relationship with her you will feel much better about the class. She won't give you any breaks but she will support you.
Terrible teacher. She knows the material but what good does that do when she cannot teach it!
DO NOT TAKE HER CLASS. This was one of the worst experiences of my life. The exams are just about impossible to finish in the time given, the web assign work never stops, Don't miss a disscussion(TWICE A WEEK for 1:15) because there will be work in every one of them. Also random quizes in lecture. C U Next Tuesday
This teacher is THE WORST teacher I've EVER had in my life!!!! she is TERRIBLE!!! DO NOT TAKE HER CLASS unless you want TONS of homework, impossibly hard exams and suffer and endure pain throughout ur whoollee semester!!!! he lectures are boring and unclear..she called us SLOW because we had too many questions!!!!
as a mentor or advisor dr. gulick is probably alright, she is good in office hours but if you dont understand a lot she'll kind of call you out on it in front of everyone, she gets to know students well and supports them but isnt very lenient in her grading, she gives random quizzes to ensure attendance, and her tests are hard as crap, denny uses t
Her exams are not hard. She just grades extra hard. Miss a single part, NO CREDIT. If you want a hard time with a teacher with a failing class average (she DOES NOT CURVE), by all means take her class.
She said in class one time that she doesn't even care about the students. Tests often cover material not covered in class, and she justifies this because it was "in the textbook."
This professor is not very clear with what she teaches. She is very picky and her exams are not fair at all. Avoid her at all costs. Our first exam, she took off points for not giving information she didn't ask for. Our second exam was not at all based on the material, not to mention it contained information she didn't tell us would be on it.
Doesn't know how to teach, she goes to details of things you've never heard of, I can only catch what she's talking about at the very end of the lecture. Also, exams involve too much wasting time things such as calculations. As a result it's hard to finish her exam on time, even if you know everything you still get bad grade because not enough time
No matter what the circumstances are, DO NOT take her class. Even if you are a math major and her class is the only one open. She does not respect her own students and she even uses the TA's to spy on her students. She even gave a quiz where 3/10 was the minimum grade. The Median was a 3. . . If you have to take a class at 8 instead of 11, TAKE IT!
terrible teacher
She gave very fair tests: they were very similar to the homework. If someone were not a math person they may have trouble following her. Just keep in mind that you shouldn't get worried that you don't understand what she's talking about when she goes off on some theoretical tangent: you don't need to understand it and she knows no one gets it.
miserable teacher, makes little to no sense in class
She doesn't provide review sheets, so you have to know everything. 50% of the grades are a C or below. You have to be a genius to get an A. I don't recommend her. Why can't she be more like her husband?
This lady is the worst experience a freshman could have. She throws you straight into the oven and turns it on high heat. It is so hard to follow. Please do not make the same mistake as me in choosing this class. LOOK AT THIS POST BEFORE CHOOSING PROFESSORS! I normally dont have a problem with teachers but w.o a doubt this is the worst teacher ever
Class was pretty easy, shes a good teacher if you pay attention you can get it. However, her tests are not hard, she grades REDICULOUSLY hard and takes off points for rediculous stuff. Im convinced the only way to get full credit on exams to do the work to get your answer and then write a 2 page essay explaining how and why you got those answers
She is a VERY tough grader. However, if you are willing to work and do the homework, you can at least pass. If you attend classes and really pay attention, then you have no problem getting an A or B. She is tough, but a good teacher.
She complicates the class by using analogies that don't actually make sense, and grades unfairly at times. If you have to take a course with her, make sure not to have a class within 15 minutes afterward- she is convinced that her watch is set correctly and yells at students for leaving, although she runs over by 5 minutes every day.
She is very hard. But you can get an A if you go to her for help. She will help you. And don't judge her by her grading style or lecture. She's really patient with helping. C=
The Second worst math teacher i've ever had. You can do good in the class as long as you go to every class.
Repeated this course. Dr. Gulick got the material across better than Rosenburg, but she's much stricter about grading. There are more homework assignments & there is discussion work, but the extra work helps you understand the material more (& is worth a fraction of your grade compared to exams). Recommend Francis/Denny Gulick over Ros./Johnson.
People seem not to like her, but she's not bad. She will answer questions and offer help all the time. If you study the prac. exams well and do the webassigns at math success there should be no problem. Clickers were used near the end of the year. People who complain typically don't try in class and blame the teacher -- even if she tries to help.
You must attend all lectures (pop quizzes), discussions (graded work), and do all the homework. She concentrates on proofs rather than practice problems in class, and always ends late. However, if you do all of the assignments, you are likely to do very well on the final, and really understand the material.
Avoid this teacher at all costs. She makes you feel awkward every class, she singles people out, she cant teach the material at all... the only reason she's allowed to teach is because her husband wrote the book. Take Denny Gulick over her, or even Rosenberg, and you'll be happy you did. Francis isn't worth your time.
You really have to work in her class to get an "A". If you are not willing to spend at least an hour every night studying, don't take her.
Professor Gulick was the worst instructor that I have ever had for a class. She is completely unapproachable, mildly rude, and terrible at explaining important course concepts. I'm unable to come up with a worse way that I could have used my time and money. It was a very disappointing experience.
Professor Gulick is a rude woman on a high horse. Her expectations are irrational, her teaching methods are inadequate. She might as well go ahead and have her TA's teach. She makes tons of little errors. The fact that she even has a degree is ridiculous. Take my advice, transfer out, then go with her husband's course. This woman is a menace!
I do not, under any circumstances, recommend her as a professor. Before, I was an A student. Her tests are what kill you. You can know all of the material perfectly, but when it comes to test time, she expects students to be able to finish under 50 minutes when she gives problems with long steps. Long story short, she is irrational.
Please if you are taking Math 140 or any math class for that matter, avoid Mrs. Gulick at all costs. Take any other teacher, even a class at 8am. She gives quizes and graded assignments during her worthless lectures filled with her just writing long theorems that you will never need to know again. Her test scores are the lowest among all classes
DO NOT TAKE THIS PROFESSOR! France Gulick is not a teacher for anyone who wants to receive an A in the class. Lectures are comprised of long complicated proofs instead of practicing the concepts. The exams are almost impossible to finish in the time given, and very little partial credit is given. The class is not graded on a curve. AVOID.
Not very clear or helpful, makes tons of mistakes on the chalkboard which makes it very confusing to take notes. Is disorganized and seems to always have a pissy attitude. Also doesn't curve and has a very low class average.
I've never gotten below a B in math and I FAILED this class. She is an absolutely terrible teacher. She gives tests and graded work on things that she barely teaches in class and she messes up quite frequently. The TAs are just as useless and the people who work in math success have often found her problems confusing and absurd.. DON'T TAKE HER
Gulick isn't a good teacher. Her lectures usually just confused me, and lab didn't really help my grade at all because WebAssign was a bad system to use.
This professor is a nut. I do think I learned a lot and she was nice to talk to in office hours, but there is much more bad than good. When there is an area where she know her students are struggling, she does not fix it. Her tests are very hard and she does not offer any consolidated resources for preparation. Avoid her if you can.
She is easily the worst teacher I've had. Math has never been such a struggle. In lecture she would go over one problem and then go on a tangent about herself and calc until it was time to give us a quiz or white paper. The problems on web assign and in lecture are nothing like the exams. I will make sure to never have a class with her again.
Teacher grades soooo hard. I always learn so much in this class and come prepared for exams, but she takes off sooooo many points for little things when grading. Seems to be all or nothing on 10 and 15 point problems. Oh, used a negative sign instead of a positive??? F.
Extremely picky in terms of grading. Doing a simply error can lose full points for a problem, which is really major when there are only 5-7 problems on a test. I once lost points because she thought my x was written a little to big. Ridiculous professor. Do not take.
If you can avoid this teacher, PLEASE DO. She is not helpful and she is extremely picky. If you want a good grade, she is not the teacher to go to. Her lectures are messy and she does not teach. She just shows examples and proves them. DO NOT TAKE HER CLASS IF YOU WANT ANY GOOD GRADE.
Just...bad. Not there to teach you. Pretty condescending, but at the same time assumes you already know everything (when you dont, thats why you are taking her class). Try to teach yourself as much as you can before coming to your mandatory class, so that way youll have less to teach yourself later. She is a babe though.
Very helpful especially if you have one of her lab section courses. Makes good use of very helpful TA's.
She is very hard and disrespectful to students. She always goes over on time, probably because she thinks she can teach 3 sections in 50 minutes. Expect to work VERY hard to earn your grade. I averaged about 15 hours a week working on homework/lab assignments and I am good at math.
The worst teacher I've had at the university. Math has never been the least bit difficult and I ended up dropping the class so that I could take it again with a different professor. She's condescending and doesn't understand how you don't understand. Lab portion of the class could be helpful if it was actually what was tested on the tests.
She is best teacher I ever had.
She is not a good teacher
She makes it hard and the TAs were of good help but relied mostly on other classmates for understanding
The class is inherently tough, however if you do all the practice problems that she gives you the beginning of the semester you will not have a problem passing her class. If you have any problems she is very helpful during her office hours.
Frances Gulick is a mixed bag. Her office hours are really, really helpful IF you can get the questions. If you can't think of questions, you can always go and listen to other people's questions and check your understanding. She will make you work to do well on your exams and if you don't read ahead, you will fall behind really fast in lecture.
Frances gets a bad rep sometimes and honestly I think it's just because of her endless stories and weird mannerisms, but overall as a math teacher, she does a good job. If you want someone who goes through things step by step, she's not for you. She wasn't as bad as everyone said she was. Taking her for 141 as well.
She makes it very hard to learn. She does not teach well, and by that I mean that she does not fully teach or give you all the information needed to learn a lesson. She also talks down to students who ask questions, making them feel inferior.
Do not take this class with her.
She's not as bad as people make her out to be. As long as you pay attention & actually try to understand what you're doing, you'll do fine.
I assume that you're reading this because you ended up with Ms. Gulick for the semester. People say such terrible things about her, and once I saw I got her for Calc II this semester I was horriifed - well turns out, she's not as bad as people say. Nice in class, happy to help in office hours - even curved the class a percent or two. :) good luck!
Frances is a very tough professor. She is hard to follow in lectures and a ruthless grader. Her tests are very difficult. Also, she never curves tests and barley curves the class. Other MATH141 professors at UMD curve and will make it easier to get that B+C- that most engineers need. I didn't get into the engineering school because of her.
She's a very nice lady, however, you have to learn the majority of the material on your own. Webassign is a nightmare, but if you can do it all you should pass the class.
Not as bad as people make her out to be. Her tests are harder than Denny's, but she gives better notes. She takes off points easily on tests, so make sure everything is clear & correct.
Frances is a very smart person, who knows math inside and out, but her ability to teach math is horrible. Do not take this professor at any costs.
She lectures so fast and throws so much information in at oncit's as if she expects us all to know how to do calculus already
Her tests are very fair. They are extremely similar to her practice exams, so if you practice those, you're good. Horrible lecturer. She is very unclear, moves way too fast and doesn't explain her work. She is there to help you during office hours if you need and is approachable. You will have to put in extra work because of her poor lectures.
I don't have a huge issue with the teacher, but mostly the volume or work and the harshness of her grading. You could get all the answers right but still fail if your work isn't perfect. I also don't think she or her TAs realize how condescending they can be, which makes asking questions humiliating. This class and lab makes me miserable every day.
Ms. Gulick is quite possibly the worst Mathematics professor I've ever had the misfortune of being 'lectured' by. She isn't clear with her examples, she deducts points for the most ridiculous reasons, and she takes pride in watching her students suffer. AVOID AT ALL COSTS!!!
Why as a Psych major I needed to take this class, I will never know. But her lectures are the most confusing thing ever, and she always makes mistakes, leaving your notes in a hot mess. She expects you to get the answer her way, and her way only. Even if you get the same answer, if you use a different method, she'll fail you. Would not recommend!!!
if your GPA is too high and you want to reduce it, then this class is for you. if your previous semester was a bit boring and you want to add a little suspense and drama for your next semester, then register for her class, you will not be disappointed.
AVOID THIS PROFESSOR AT ALLLLLLLL COSTS! SHE IS NOT HELPFUL, CLEAR, OR NICE. she makes studnet's feel stupid for asking questions during lectures and zooms through her lectures while trying to cram 3 sections in one. i have taken this class before (a couple years ago) and am more lost than the first time i took it. DO NOT TAKE HER!!
She is not helpful and does not explain things well. She expects you to know everything without her even teaching you.
She is neither clear nor helpful, belittles students for asking questions, and has convoluted grading criteria for exams, even the TA's agree. There is a quiz every lecture (basically for attendance) and homework before each lecture and in the beginning of the week in the morning, along with lab/classworks in discussion. DO NOT TAKE HER CLASS
Professor Gulick was just terrible. I did not like the class at all, and the TAs were not very helpful either. Overall, just avoid her at all costs.
You do labs and homework on webassign but she stated at final review "Webassign accepts answers that I'd mark wrong because webassign allows for more error." Wrong, she allows more error. She thinks you can find polynomial functions from basic graphs. You can't tell (x-3)^3 from (x-3)^7. She says otherwise. Out of ignorance she'll say (x-3)^3. Sad.
Seriously stay away. Whether it would be using a different method to find an answer or spelling errors, she always found a way to screw you. I tried so hard by going to review sessions and her office hours but she wouldn't be any help. She is such a sweet lady but she is a horrible math teacher. In fact, it was the worst class I have ever had.
Avoid!!!!!
Very full of herself and overall just a bad teacher. There was one exam that if you did not pass it she would take points off of another exam.
Where do you even begin with this woman?! She is by far the most difficult teacher I have ever had to deal with. Her lectures are very difficult to follow, and she has very high expectations. However, it is possible to pass her class! If you get her as a teacher, don't freak out! I recommend going to her husband's lectures. He is much better!
Calc 2 is a hard course, but she makes it harder.
Kinda annoying at 8 am
Worst professor I had while at UMD
don't let her super grandma adorableness deceive u. her class was too difficult for the course that it is. barely goes over stuff in class and the worst part is that she only holds lecture on monday and wednesday and not friday which eliminates an entire 50 mins full of valuable time and potential for practice problems, questions, etc. it sucked
After reading reviews of F. Gulick, I was nervous about taking this class, but she ended up being the best prof I ever had at UMD. Her tough grading revealed I had a hidden weaknesses in concepts lighter graders allowed to slip. See her at her office hours if needed. She's tough, but it's because she cares, and you'll be a better off for it!
Class Info
Attendance Mandatory
58%
Textbook Required
92%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
C
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.40 avg changeRatings by Course
140
5.0
(1)PRECALCCALC3
5.0
(1)PRECALCCALC
5.0
(1)LINEARALGRBRA
5.0
(1)MATH461
4.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
MATH140B
5.0
MATH115B
5.0
115B
5.0
MATHEMATICS
5.0
CALC140
5.0