2.6
Quality4.6
Difficulty37%
Would Retake194
Reviews37%
Would Retake
194
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
21
4
40
3
36
2
36
1
61
What Students Say
“Lecture is not useful”
COMP550 - 1.0 rating“Do your best on assignments/readings/quizzes”
COMP283 - 3.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
27%
Textbook Required
10%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.69 avg changeRatings by Course
COMP006D
5.0
(1)COM006D
5.0
(1)COMP16
3.0
(1)COMP83
3.0
(1)COMP65H
3.0
(2)Difficulty by Course
COMP16
5.0
COMP83
5.0
COMP283
4.7
COMP550
4.5
COMP65H
3.5
Reviews (194)
Jack is awesome. He's obviously very very smart, but helps you in so many ways. Origami-great class, take it. It's easy.
This is not a easy class. You have to really study and keep up or you fall very far behind. Only take it if you already know how to do it or else you will fail. There was a test where we weren't given enough time to finish it and the TA said it took him 50 minutes to understand what was being asked.
Origami class..yeah you should take it. It's as much of a joke as it sounds and very easy. Folding sessions=good grade. Although he's very smart and goes into great detail about proteins and stuff that you won't understand..it doesn't really matter cause your final exam consists of folding a squirrel or something. TAKE IT!
His class is terrible. He wrote the textbook and basically reads it aloud in class but its so unclear that you wont learn anything. He likes to test on questions he thinks are "fun" aka murderous for students just trying to pass the class
This class is very difficult. The professor wrote the book and he just reads out of it. He also "intentionally makes the class hard expecting students to pair up with the smarter students". The textbook is very unclear, and the practice problems have little to no explanation. Only after hours of work can one hope to properly grasp the content.
had taken a Discrete Structures course before at another University and passed with a B, this course caused me to change majors. Jack is passionate and cares about students! But the material feels like it's a 500-level course. Expect to spend 20+ hours just on the take home midterm (plus studying for the in-class midterm).
This man is brilliant. If you're just trying to get by without putting in too much effort then stay far far away. His discrete structures class is by far the hardest class I've ever taken, but it's also the best. I highly recommend his class, but only if you're committed. Don't take it unless you're serious about learning. (He makes it fun, too)
This guy has TONS of office hours, yet you can't understand him at all. He cites his textbook ALL the time with no other resources. So you don't understand the textbook, you will not understand him and vice versa. I would also not trust his coaxing words on some mythical "curve." He's not good with his words or his grading timeliness. Take MATH381.
Jack Snoeyink is probably the nicest, most intelligent, and most helpful computer scientist I've had the pleasure of working with at UNC. Comp 283 is difficult, maybe, but it's not impossible to succeed. This class teaches you everything you need to know in order to do well in computer science, also life.
Took Discrete Structures with him. Yes, it's difficult, but get a study group and always ask for help. He's that kind of smart that just makes him awkward sometimes, but he means well.With this class, you get what you put in, as far as effort goes.
He's a very nice and helpful guy but way too smart. Hard to understand. Goes over your head and doesn't know how to explain well. If you're really dedicated and interested, take classes with him; if you're struggling, try someone else. His tests and assignments are crazy because he really wants you to think and all.
He is an absolute genius.
Hands down, Jack is a genius and he is extremely nice and helpful. His class? Extremely difficult, believe me. But he does it to teach us. This class is built upon his frustrations that undergraduates don't know enough of the foundational material. This class covers a wide range of computer science topics. Extremely tough, I also died.
Comp 283 is, by design, a difficult class. It is the true barrier to entry to the computer science field. If you're unable to pass it or find it uninteresting, you might want to reconsider a CS degree. Snoeyink does a fantastic job of both teaching the material and applying it to interesting puzzles. He wrote the textbook and provides it free, a .
There wasn't much teaching or practice in this class. Jack Snoeyink does not teach on a board, he flips through powerpoints and doesn't write on board. He doesn't solve problems or attempt to give practice problems. It's extremely difficult to get experience with the material. It's nothing like real world computer problems and is more like math.
He shows fun videos related to the subject before each class. He tries to make his class fun by doing card tricks occasionally. He also spends a lot of classtime discussing the applications of discrete math. The textbook he wrote for this class is very hard to understand, and so are his lectures. The tests are extremely hard. HBut, he does curve.
Very difficult. Lecture is not useful. Just read the powerpoint/PDF but seldom write down on blackboard, so it is hard to understand his ideas. Exams are difficult, don't expect to learn much from him. Self-learn actually is much better.
He is very intelligent, but just not good at teaching. Lectures are always hard to understand and also for the homework he gives us. Extremely difficult to follow him. Strongly recommend avoiding his class.
He asks for rigor, pushes students to understand more, and has his ideals about how algorithms should be taught, which might clash with the usual approach of just learning off the textbook. Consider delaying to easier professors for better grades, consider choosing him for a challenge and a flawed yet rewarding learning experience.
Jack is overall a great professor. The class is very origami based, but proteins and molecular structure do pop out at times. We are graded by like four things the entire semester but other than that its great. If you wanna A or A- this is your class. Just make sure you actually do the work and show up. Participation matters but is not mandatory.
I am going to be completely honest, this class sounds like it is going to be easy. HOWEVER, Jack is the most disorganized professor I've ever had and it is so hard to understand what he is talking about. Grading is unclear and the assignments do not relate at all to what he goes through in class. If you don't mind getting a B take it.
While Jack Snoeyink is a nice person and definitely cares about the subject of Discrete Structures he definitely is not a good teacher and probably should stick to research. He does card tricks and fun little things around the classroom like making pizza during midterms (which can be distracting) but at the end of the day, he can't really teach.
He's a great guy, really cares about people. However, the biggest indictment against Snoeyink aside from his incomprehensible lectures is the fact that the final is in two days and I don't have a single grade from the last 6 weeks. What will I get in this course? I don't know, and neither does he.
Jack is a great knowledgeable professor, unfortunately he expects his students be from MIT. Don't get me wrong he knows his material but we are a bunch of idiots who are two uncultured to understand his language. While jack states math is a language perhaps he should learn the language of teaching. He's a good guy though
Jack is one of the smartest people Ive ever met, and that can make him hard to get. But TAs make the class accessible, and he makes it interesting and fun. This is one of the hardest classes Ive ever taken, but I really feel like it was one of the most worthwhile endeavors Ive ever embarked on. Learned more than I have in any other class ever.
Snoeyink is an amazing professor. This has undoubtedly been the hardest class I've taken at UNC, but Jack is a caring professor, passionate about what he teaches. The class is challenging to say the least, but doable if you work for it. Definitely learned a lot by taking 283 with one of the smartest professors at UNCalso Rosh (the TA) is an angel.
Snoeyink is a very smart man but the topics he teaches are very hard to explain to a large amount of students. Because of this, he holds office hours with very helpful TA's almost four times a week where he can be there to walk you through any problem you have. Although his course is difficult, he is definitely a very good professor.
This was one of the hardest classes Ive taken, but also one Ive learned the most in. Jack is an absolute genius and sometimes the lectures are hard to follow but he really cares about the students. The TAs are also super helpful with assignments and exams !!
Expects a lot from his students but is very understanding and cares a lot in making sure every student leaves the class having learnt a lot without killing their GPA
This was the hardest class I've ever taken, but I also learned so much in this class that retaking it with a different professor will be a breeze. Highly recommend Jack if you're up for the challenge, but be prepared to work.
He's a fun and cool professor. It's obvious from listening to him speak that he loves what he does. The class goes over stuff that might seem sort of granular and boring like set, tuples, etc.; only someone who truly loves computers could be as enthusiastic about it as he is. Overall, I think he's an excellent professor!
Dr. Snoeyink is an amazing person who truly cares about his class and his students. You'll learn a lot in this class, but you'll work very hard for it. Would still recommend taking it with him. While Dr. Snoeyink may not be the best lecture, assignments were closely related to the material and had very good feedback.
Jacks a pretty quirky guy, and it matches the atmosphere of the class. The material is some pretty daunting and confusing stuff and he sorta over complicates a lot of the material. His textbook reads like he made it in a speech-to-text and it's pretty unstructured, which is unfortunate as it's your major learning resource. Office hours are useful!
The key to this class is going to office hours. At the beginning I struggled because Jack can sometimes be hard to follow in lecture. The TA's will help you tremendously ! Definitely a difficult class, but you will be fine if you use the resources available.
Took his course as a COMP minor and ended up withdrawing because of the difficulty. My main problem is that he gives almost zero feedback on your assignments. I was spending serious time and still getting F's on everything. You're better off taking MATH 381.
Just take MATH 381. I'm a comp major so I had to take 1 of the 2 courses, and someone recommended me this one,,,, DO NOT TAKE IT. This class has taken more of my brain power than all of my other classes combined. Lots of the class is based on office hours, and not Jack actually teaching in class/with textbook. Assignments are way too hard.
Jack is super smart and nice. But apparantly he expected too much to his students. Homework and Exams are extremely difficult. Go to office hours to survive from the course. and he's SUPER disorganized. Know most your assignments and first midterm in last two days of class. Take second midterm in the week before final.
Most of the people on here griping about Snoeyink are butt hurt that the class is hard. It's a LOT of work. The material is challenging. Snoeyink's instruction can be a bit cryptic. You'ill be pushed to think deeply about problems. You'll also be given plenty of resources and a HEAVY curve though. You won't be handed the A, you have to do the work.
This class was the most difficult that I think I've ever taken. Prof Snoeyink was very disorganized but seemed genuinely interested in teaching us the material. He used cool magic tricks as well to keep us engaged. Read the textbook to help gain understanding. Get started on the homework early. You won't survive unless you go to office hours.
Professor Snoeyink is understanding and very helpful. I would recommend him as a professor. His class was very pleasant to take and he gives you a lot of support to succeed in his classes.
Jack's a homie but this class was just so disorganized it brought way too much un-needed stress into the picture. Class is extremely difficult, but office hours are the saving grace and the LAs are saints. The class is made to be challenging but I felt that the line between difficult and unreasonably confusing was blurred too often.
Jack is definitely a nice and very smart guy, but he can't explain these very difficult topics to students who don't already understand them. Also, the grading in this class was unacceptable (getting midterm 1 grades back and submitting midterm 2 in the last week of class!). Going to office hours with the TA's (angels!!!) was the only way I passed.
Major grades like our midterms were only given right before the final so it was hard to understand where I stood in the class. The final exam was exceptionally difficult but he understood and curved it beautifully. He is very nice, but you'll need to go to office hours every week to do well! Don't take this class lightly.
This class was challenging, but it is one of my favorite classes at UNC. Jack is such a caring, intelligent person. The lectures are sometimes confusing, but office hours will save you/your grade. Also, don't be afraid to ask Jack questions either... he can be intimidating but provides great feedback and gives a generous curve at the end.
Jack is great. People that complain about him just didn't make an effort. Yes, this class is very hard and he grades very harshly, but he also gives his students plenty of resources to succeed. He has a website where you can ask him questions and he respond to ALL of them. They are at least 20 hours of OH per week, just use them. Don't be lazy.
This is a very challenging class. Office hours will save your bacon! Some glitches with converting this class to the online only format induced by COVID-19. Grading took a long time, got 1st mid-term grades shortly before the final. Got 2nd mid-term grade after the final. LA's didn't always understand what they were helping us with.
This class was difficult, but as long as you attend lecture, do the assignments, read the textbook, and utilize office hours, you should be okay. The exams are difficult, and were not graded very quickly. However, the curve given at the end of the class was very generous.
Prof. Snoeyink was unnecessarily disorganized when it came to grading and feedback. He ended up giving a HEAVY curve at the end of the semester, but this class is very hard. If you must take it with him, ATTEND OFFICE HOURS. We did not get our midterm grades back for 8 weeks. I ended up with an ok grade and Prof is smart, but class was GRIEVOUS.
This class was the hardest I'd ever taken at UNC. If you want to do well, prepare to have no life outside of COMP 283. This class leans heavily toward collaborative projects which are not hard provided you spend lots of time in office hours. Projects did not prepare us well for the timed midterm and final. However there was a very generous curve.
COMP 283 was a really difficult course, and you definitely need to invest a lot of time and effort to do well. Jack is an enjoyable person but admittedly wasn't great when it came to organization. Grading is usually generous and he likes seeing participation and effort. I wouldn't take this class unless you're really interested in the content.
Jack is a very interesting professor with quite an eccentric personality. He has this philosophy: students can master an underlying topic only when forced to use the basics in an advanced course. In other words, he intentionally covers advanced topics to ensure his students apply and master the basics. Naturally, this renders the class... trying.
Participate early and often, office hours with the helpful LAs was a must for me. Cares about students learning and interacting with the challenging material more than a strict rubric but rewards you if you put in the time and effort.
One of the worst professors I've ever taken at UNC. He cares more about the way you structure your homework than whether your work is actually right or not. He'll give you a 0 if you don't write everything exactly how he wants you to, even if all of your work is right. You're better off taking MATH 381.
Disorganized hot mess. Instead of teaching, just pulls up code and gives commentary on the code. Impossible to both focus on what he's saying (which is incoherent and unordered) and what the code is showing. I wish he'd just lecture concepts off PowerPoints THEN assign jupyter notebooks. Epitome of why UNC CompSci is bottom-of-the-barrel.
This is a tough class. The professor expects a 65% average grade in a 200 level class. There is a lot of work, ALOT! It is required for the COMPSCI major, so maybe take it early? He does have a huge curve and if you show your trying, rumor is, you will be fine... but it is not an easy calss..
This class is hard. Very hard. Partly due to the material, partly due to confusion from prof Snoeyink. He is a genius, but struggles to convey that information sometimes. The grading was harsh, and the assignments are tough. At times grading and assignments were confusing; for example you can get negative credit on assignments. Buckle in.
He is a nice person but extremely disorganized. He always had excuses for why he didn't grade our assignments and made it difficult for us to know what grades we had in the class (even after LDOC). The class has good content but is taught poorly. He removed the final project and then said he didnt know what the final would look like bc he was busy.
Jack cares about the material and his students, and he tries to be fair and rewarding. However, this is by far the most difficult class I have ever taken and it is extremely disorganized. Without going to office hours there is a 0% chance I would pass (which idk if I even will at this point despite going to OH 24/7). I would advise taking MATH381.
For his level of genius, he isn't the greatest lecturer or teacher, per say. He makes it seem easy, but gosh does it take a ton of time and effort to figure thing out. The content is fantastic, and I learned an absolute ton. But even with a literal week spent in office hours, I would feel lost on every assignment or exam. Zoom uni saved me.
To start, this class is hard, so be prepared to study. Essentially, this class is about solving puzzles. This class and discrete math in general is extremely precise (the notation and work must all be correct to get full points). If you work hard, ATTEND OFFICE HOURS, and do all of the assignments you will realize at the end that you learned a lot.
Jack is one of the most caring professors I've ever had. Don't be afraid to take this class, it is very interesting and you will learn a ton. As long as you put forth the effort you can do well in this class. No one offers as much help to their students as Professor S.
Jack was a good professor, the material is difficult though but he manages to get his point across. ATTEND OFFICE HOURS though, you won't pass the class just off of lectures. Assignments are unnecessarily difficult, but as long as you attend OH they'll walk through the entire thing with you. Grading is vague, you won't know it till the last week.
I'm in COMP 283. Professor Snoeyink is knowledgable and gives interesting lectures, but the material itself is very hard so it is tough regardless. One of the LAs has been hateful during office hours and in class, has a habit of getting onto people, and gets frustrated if you ask stupid questions in office hours. People learn at their own pace.
COMP 283 is definitely the hardest class I've taken at UNC. Jack sometimes assigned us stuff that not even the LA's could figure out. Jack is a very smart guy, but it was sometimes difficult to follow his lectures/the textbook (which he wrote).
Terrible professor
Incredibly disorganized, a horrid lecturer, hasn't returned many grades whatsoever. Strongly recommend you find an alternative to this class
Terribly disorganized, we used multiple different sites throughout the semester to do homework. We have no grades in. Lectures are terrible and you have to attend office hours frequently if you want to understand anything. He wrote the textbook himself which doesnt help. If theres another 283 section take that or MATH 381.
This class was the most disorganized class I've ever taken. They kept switching platforms throughout the semester. Information and worksheets were all over the place. Lectures don't make sense so you need to live in office hours to understand anything. Textbook doesn't help because it doesn't go into depth according to the scope of the class.
This class was incredibly hard. Don't take this class unless you have time to put in the effort required. If you put in the time and go to office hours regularly, you will learn a lot.
Jack is a very smart and talented professor. That being said, he sometimes fails to properly dumb down the material enough to where everyone would be able to understand it. He also wrote the book, and that has a lot of useful stuff that won't be covered in lectures sometimes. Office hours and TA's are your best friends. Consider living there.
This class is def one of the hardest classes I have taken. I never EVER understood lecture. I would HIGHLY recommend going to office hours, I spent about 15+ hrs/week especially towards the end. Go to the TAs they make life so much easier, they were the only reason I passed, they understand the struggle. If you put in the hours, you will be fine!
By far the hardest class I have taken but also my favorite class I have taken at UNC. People giving 1.0 reviews are just upset with the amount of time you have to spend on work (I spent 6-10 hours there a week). Jack is a genius and is so nice but gets distracted. Put in time and care, and youll leave the class realizing you learned alot.
He's a very nice person and clearly passionate about the content, but very disorganized. He dug himself into a hole with everything he assigned, our Sept midterm wasn't graded until Dec and our final grades two weeks after the final. Hardest class I've had, you need to go to 10-15 hours a week of office hours to pass. TAs did the real teaching.
Prof. Snoeyink is passionate about the contents of the class and is a nice guy who is more than willing to help students. This is why it sucks to admit that the class was disorganized with unpredictable grades and lectures that were at times useless. OHs helped, but were always overcrowded and understaffed. I recommend taking Calc and 381 instead.
Stupidly hard and I have no idea what I learned from the class even after being done with it. Insane amount of work and arbitrary grading system. Avoid at all costs. Jack is a great guy though he's just too smart to communicate with us.
Sometimes unclear grading parameters that are inconsistently applied by the TAs. Expect to write about twice as much as you think you need - that is, be redundant - when explaining answers to proofs and problems.
I'll be honest I don't understand anything he said after the first 2 chapter but it is what it is. He's brain is just too big for me. I thought I speak English before I took this class
THIS CLASS WAS SOO HARD UNNECESSARILY. The lectures and textbook (which he wrote) were exceptionally confusing. He doesn't explain things well, I think he assumes students come in with a very deep understand of math which is simply not true. The number of times I had to look things up on wikipedia and learn the material from there was too much.
THIS CLASS WAS SO HARD. The lectures and textbook (that he wrote) were really hard to follow. I think he assumes that students come in with a much deeper understanding of math than they do. Everything was explained on such a high level and there was a lot of assumed knowledge. I spent a lot of my time trying to find explanations on the internet.
Lectures didn't really help me learn; it was more just the textbook and office hours, because he explains the material pretty unclearly. Also one of the most disorganized classes I've been in -- assignments are unorganized, our second midterm was a disaster, and you never really know what your final grade is going to be. I'd probably take MATH381.
This class that prof. Snoeyink taught was extremely difficult; you really need to read and reread the textbook as well as put in tons of work outside of class to understand. His lectures are mostly straight from the textbook (which he wrote) so could have been more helpful. I will say that he is very caring and understanding in his class.
OFFICE HOURS ARE YOUR SAVIOR. This class is definitely the most difficult one I've taken at UNC. Jack is a really nice guy and cares about his students but lectures can be confusing as he isnt the best at simplifying hard concepts. The assignments he makes are difficult but very interesting. His magic tricks are pretty enjoyable to watch in lecture
Snoeyink is a great person and even gives us his textbook for free. This class is very hard, partially because Jack has a tough time explaining things in class, but that's why the class is very office hours oriented. You HAVE to go to office hours to understand anything, but OH is kind of fun when tackling hard problems in groups.
I think he is great person and genuinely cares about us learning the material, but the class is unnecessarily difficult. I learned a lot and think I'm a better problem solver, but if I had a redo of this semester I would have enrolled in MATH 381 instead. I haven't received grades for assignments I turned in months ago.
Dr. S is a great professor and does magic tricks in class, but his lectures are based on advanced applications of topics rather than the basics. Unless you are a math prodigy, you will not pass this class without going to office hours. Grading is vague (I have no idea what I'll end up with), but I will say I learned a lot this semester.
Jack's grading criteria were not clear and although he is a nice person his class was extremely disorganized and confusing. He would change class guidelines and nobody in the class really understood how our final grades were calculated. I would really emphasize going to office hours for help with assignments and not getting behind on lectures.
Jack is a great guy that has a true passion for the subject and loves to do some magic but is a very disorganized and subpar professor. He's too smart to be able to teach students, so you will leave most lectures confused. Also, grading is very confusing. However, there is a large curve that helps at the end of the class.
Professor Snoeyink is one of those rare gems from whom you can learn so much! Although, his lectures aren't the best, office hours and TAs are extremely helpful resources that I would highly recommend you utilize to the fullest. You practically have to live in office hours if you hope to get anything out of this class. Not an easy A.
Perhaps one of the worst classes I have taken, I would rather have a professor who better knows what he is doing and has a better method of teaching rather than an arbitrary way of testing knowledge that according to him is relevant. Grades are not returned on time, worst organization. Not surprisingly he was even late on the day of the final exam.
RUN!!! This class has been the worst class of my college life! He wrote his own textbook and had over 8 LAs which should have been a red flag... You have to live and breathe COMP 283 or you're not going to pass.
RUN! This class is extremely difficult due to the professor not laying out clear guidelines on how to complete or even understand the material! He straight up told us he is experimenting with our grades and wrote in the syllabus that he expext there to be a 60% average on the first test! How is that going to promote learning? Oh, he writes the book
Do not take this class unless it is the absolute last option for your pre/co-requisite for COMP 210. Take the MATH equivalent class instead. This professor simply makes the class way to hard to even comprehend unless you study it every day for 4+ hours. Even then it is still too confusing for some people.
RUN!!! Don't take his course! Take MATH instead. The success of future generations is based on the blood and sweat of their predecessors. 1. He wrote his textbook, which is very difficult to understand 2. He does not teach you any coding skill 3. You need to spend a lot of time in this course to do something that doesn't make any sense.
I absolutely loved this class! I learnt so much and made so many friends. Definitely the best class I've taken at UNC. Jack got stung by bees during one of our exams so he gave us extra credit but we still failed. I love the class so much I failed on purpose so I could retake it. I can't wait.
Hardest class in comp sci. Jack is a great and caring person but he does not explain things well in class. I recommend reading the chapter before going to class so you know what's going on. An upside to this class is you will make lots of friends because of collective suffering! Overall go to office hours 5-8 hours a week and you should be good
Thanks to Professor Jack, I gained the ability to learn by myself. I studied the entire content by finding materials online. LAs were far more helpful than anything he did. I think the tuition I gave for this class should have gone to the LAs instead of him.
The people who gave him anything above a 3 for quality are lying. Yes he's a genius. But the way he structures the entire course is absolutely rancid. He has no idea how to make any topics accessible to students, the only way to do good is to spend too much time in office hours.Without TA's, no one would learn anything. He should not be teaching.
In the 2022 Fall course, the second midterm test and the final exam were very easy. Instead of reading other people's complaints about Jack, think about what you can learn from this class. There is no doubt that this course is very difficult, but what you gain is worth all the effort you put in.
Jack is actually really helpful and nice, but you must go to office hour otherwise you cannot finish your assignments. There're always so many people in the office hour and I was scared by how crowded it was and I hate the crowded little room. Contents and lectures are really confusing. No enough instructions to help you get through if u hate OH
This class is like if Jack was your swim instruction when you were 3 and he asks what you know about swimming. You say well I know you move your arms and legs. He says "Great" then pushes you in the water. Right before you drown he picks you up and says, "Now what did you do wrong?" after you give a answer he pushes you in again. Rinse and Repeat.
- Extremely difficult assignments. Impossible to complete without going to office hours (room is always packed), every time - Rambles during lecture and is hard to follow - His online textbook (which is free) is very difficult to understand - The class is so difficult that missing class on the wrong day will leave you confused (usually does PollEv)
I'm not sure why this class is required to be taken with 210, but this is the hardest class I have ever taken. Please, take MATH381. It's so hard to learn anything.
do NOT i repeat do NOT take this. it has nothing to do with the corequisite 210 and teaches you things you will never need to know. if you want to do well on assignments go to office hours for them. ta's are very nice and helpful. averages for all the midterms are always failing. he takes forever to grade so you have no idea how youre doing
Hardest class I've ever taken. Office hours are essentially mandatory; if you don't go to office hours you will not do well. Jack is a good guy, but his teaching style just doesn't work for this class. He expects you to fail and make many mistakes because you're "learning a new language". Good luck to anyone who takes this course.
The amount of time you must put into this class is insane, to do well it takes about double the work of other "hard" intro classes like Econ 101. If you want to go into computer science, this class is much more relevant than 381 and will show whether you truly want to go into the field. Jack is super disorganized but I'm glad I took the class.
Jack was super disorganized throughout the year. It's clear he is a genius in the subject (he wrote the textbook himself), but he really struggles teaching it after the first midterm. Strongly recommend taking the math equivalent to this class if you are a compsci major looking for the credit.
Very disorganized class. It's hard to focus on his dry lectures as he just pulled off the notebooks and codes and explain them with monotonous voice. Team assignments and exam were challenging.
I think the class's greatest flaw is the sheer number of hours you must invest in OH. The assignments are not designed for you to solve on your own. For those of you that must take it: find a good study group (I owe my grade to this; saves you from burnout). Do your best on assignments/readings/quizzes. Worship the TAs. Try your best on the tests.
I personally really enjoyed this class. Yes, it's hard- it's true that you will spend a lot of time in OH, but I honestly think people over-exaggerate how bad it is. If you put in the effort throughout the class, you shouldn't find yourself cramming for the exams. Jack is also extremely generous with grading. Take it if you're math/logic savvy
If you have to take this class, don't do it during a hard semester (looking at you 17-credit hour folks), this class demands a LOT of time and it's not worth risking your GPA. It's a nice balance to a lighter slate of classes. Them Disney lessons about teamwork makes the dreamwork are true while you're here. Your CS students, you got this!
Part 1 (bc character limit): Lectures can be hard to follow. You need to have some understanding of the material before the lectures (reading the textbook chapter and/or watching YouTube videos). If you don't do this, you're better off not even going to class. Go do work for other classes so you could go to Office Hours when the TAs are there.
Part 2: If you want a good grade, don't submit work you don't understand simply because he allows collaboration on assignments. If you do, make sure you understand it at least a week before an exam so you can review it and solidify it. Review his feedback on assignments so that you are able to perform better on the next assignments and exams.
Part 3: The assignments are indeed tough and you should spend a lot of time in Office Hours so probably not a good idea to take it during a heavy semester. The exams are extremely hard; making a cheat sheet, write only things you understand. Hard exams means participation, assignments, and take-homes should be mastered (>95%).
Part 1-3 can be found below: Part 4: Make sure you do any and all the extra credit he assigns. You will need it to make up for some of the points missed on assignments and exams. This is one of few classes that the struggle builds critical-thinking and is rewarding in the end. Being able to figure questions out on the exam is really rewarding.
Yes, this is a hard class, you'll have to be in office hours for a crazy amount of time. However, being forced to work so intensely led to good friendships. Jack's teaching is still tough to grasp no matter what, but there isn't anything in the class that is impossible to learn, just takes time and effort. I could say so much more, but the 350 char
Take MATH 381 instead, all I can say.
His class is lots and lots of hard work; office hours are a must. It felt like an uphill battle the whole time. Take MATH 381; my suitemates took it, and it seemed way better.
Jack is a very competent professor who genuinely wants us to learn/be proficient at cs. Assignments are challenging but office hours is great, midterms are honestly fair with only the content we learned, grading/due dates are pretty lenient, but don't expect to learn much at lectures (yet, it gets very hard to self study later on in the class).
He is the most unorganized professor ever. Even if your'e a "good" student, it will make you feel stupid. Lectures did not help learn the content or actually solve any of the problems. TA's did all of the work, even they didn't know what was going on at times. Thankyou Jack for teaching me how to learn all the material by myself, but no thanks.
This class hard but Jack is a good person & wants u to succeed. Just really hard content. Have to dedicate lots of hours to OH and assignments, but u make friends and it becomes fun! Jack isnt always the easiest to understand, but he cares ab his students and makes the class bearable and rewarding. Def make study groups!! I genuinely enjoyed 283!
Evil man
He is the worst professor you will ever take.
He told us the entire semester that the grades we got on exams would be curved. In the end, he didn't curve anything even though the mean and median for the final were ~50 and the highest score was ~80. A lot of us tried to get him to explain the grade calculation through Campuswire and he viewed all our posts but never responded to a single one.
The class is hard so be prepared to sit in office hours the entire day for every assignment.Found Jack a little confused but not terrible up until the final exam.He promised to drop the lowest midterm and curve the final grade but did not do either.He refused to reply to any student and simply uploaded our grades with no explanation.Unbelievable.
Lied about how grades would be calculated the whole year and super confusing
Jack is honestly a wonderful and caring person. COMP 283 is clearly his brainchild and he pours a lot of time and effort into it. That being said, his lectures are useless. He's obviously a genius but often expects students learning the content for the first time to understand it at his level. Only take if you're ready to live in office hours.
dude literally told us every day he would curve our grade and then proceeded not to do anything and he refuses to communicate with us about anything. L professor. don't take. take math 381 if possible
While I would say that Jack is a decent professor who cares about his students' success, even while being disorganized and it being difficult to understand any material presented in his class, he promised from day one to give a curve after the final, but not only did he not do that, he also ignored any student that tried to reach out to ask why.
Really hard but fun class. You make a lot of friends in office hours. The professor (Jack) is hard to follow in lectures, but the TAs are very clear and helpful. The book is free. Exams are graded leniently. Promised a curve but never gave one. Still, it is a hard class but also a hard class to fail. Take this over 381. More people fail 381.
abort abort mission!!! RUN as fast as you possibly can. save yourselves!!!! take it over the summer if you can, and save your time/sanity. period.
Young kids, only if you go through the two-year UNC CS department experience you will realize that Jack seems to be one of the few good people in this department. I thought Jack was terrible at first as well, but that's really nothing compared to the other professors. I have to express my repentance to Jack.
You think "oh its not that bad"? YES, IT IS. Jack must think this is the only class you are taking and that you have no life outside of this class. Spent 90% of time in office hours. Sweet guy, the workload is impossible. Proof portfolio will cause you actual pain. If not done perfectly, automatic 2/5. Too much work and proper time not given.
This class was doable until the second midterm. His lectures are genuinely so hard to listen to. Unless you vibe with Jack on a spiritual level and understand this dude's passion for CS, this class is absolutely miserable. The Proof Pro folio, which is equivalent to this course's final project, will cause you physical pain.
I could yap on and on about how miserable this class is. Please read all of the reviews before taking this course; this course is notorious for a reason. I have practically spent an average of 10-15 hours in office hours per week. This is the most interesting math course i've ever taken, but actually is my nightmare. pls don't take this course
People love to make this class seem like a nightmare but to be honest this was one of the most chill and fun classes I had. I barely went to lectures this semester, went to office hours once and am doing fine in the class. The workload is completely manageable as long as you don't start problem sets the night they're due and study before the tests.
This class is exceptionally difficult for no reason, and needs a massive overhaul in structure and style of teaching. The fact that office hours are a must is honestly one of the things that probably bothers me the most about this class, office hours are supposed to be supplementary, not required! After 2nd midterm, class went so downhill.
Interesting course, interesting professor. Literal h3ll :) Life wasted away in office hours. Trauma bonded with people ig.
we traumabonded
s: student . s_i: intelligence of s [1,2,..,inf] . C: set of students in 283 . d: difficulty of 283 [1,2,..,inf] . suffer(s, d): true iff d < s_i . jack(d) = s_i+1 . . . Base: |C| = 0 (all s took 381) . Rec. rule: for s iff (suffer(s, d)=false), let d = jack(d) . Closure: for all s in C, (suffer(s, d)=true) .
Jack cares, but prepare to spend the majority of your life in this class. However, you will find friends in this class because of you guys working on the same assignments. Please use the office hours, the TAs are great resources. While this class is hard, it is really rewarding. If you have a heavy semester, take 381 instead!
Jack is a caring professor, and you can tell he truly loves teaching this course. He is probably one of the smartest professors I have had at unc, which sometimes makes it hard for me to understand his lectures. Office hours/lectures are the key to success in this class. This class is time consuming, so don't take it during a hard semester.
Do not take this class. Jack is a great person but a terrible professor. God awful. Your only chance of learning is through office hours (TAs are the few, maybe only positive about the class.) and living in the textbooks. The proof portfolios are cruel and unnecessary. If you have any sort of social life, prepare to sacrifice it for 283. Take 381.
Professor Snoeyink is characterized as a man with harsh standards compared to a military drill sergeant. Which is correct. His approach to teaching discrete math at UNC makes it more a self - taught course / a course taught by the TA's while also giving you some of the hardest tests known to mankind.
Professor Snoeyink is like a mathematically inclined version of Gordon Ramsay, except instead of yelling about undercooked risotto, he's barking at you about improperly applied induction proofs.
Snoeyink is a genius and if you take his class seriously, you will 100% come out smarter, more logical, and great at discrete. However, his work is extremely difficult. You will not survive without friends and TA's in this class. He teaches at a graduate level to freshmen and the pace is extremely fast. Be wary!
Prof. Snoeyink's disorganization made each class feel painfully unprepared. His lectures were dull, and he merely skimmed Jupyter Notebooks without much in-depth explanation of material. The group projects were enjoyable, but the workload is imbalanced for most groups. Honestly, it was a disappointment all around.
You would feel so confused throughout semester but confused != hard. The midterms aren't hard except for countings, and you have the opportunity to redo some of them. The hardest are the Proofs, but make sure not to start 1 day before the ddl, otherwise, it would be fine. Jack is a great professor, he genuinely wants you to succeed in this class.
comp 283 is a hard class and you will be teaching yourself the material. most of your time will be spent in office hours rather than lectures, as he is horrendous at teaching. he talks to his students like they are his coworkers, not his students. hard class, and although I learned a lot, get ready to have no life outside of class.
Worst professor I have ever had. He waited until the last possible day to put all the grades in, his lectures are useless, his feedback and teaching are both very convoluted, and he is bad at any form of communication with his students. To get any good grade you have to live the rest of your life in office hours. DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS!
Terrible. Just terrible. Even after the class is over, he's still finding a way to screw us over by not releasing grades. He is a terrible teacher. If you want to learn in this class, you must spend countless hours in office hours. The material, while hard, is interesting (in a good way). I wish someone better could teach it. Don't take this class.
This class isn't as hard as people say if you go to office hours and put in the work. It's not easy by any means, but not terrible. However, if you lack patience and are lazy to break problems down, you will struggle. For insight into the workload: we did ten proofs for our proof portfolio and each one takes ~3-5 hours to write out and figure out.
Dr. Snoeyink is a very caring professor, and his dedication and love for CS are shown clearly throughout this class. Yes, this is a difficult class; however, I learned so much, and I feel smarter and more prepared for all of the subsequent CS and math classes to come. All of the concepts are central to CS, and must be known to be a good programmer.
Jack is a great professor and I learned so much from this class but the pacing of this class was poor. In the first 2/3 a lot of new content was taught while in the last 1/3 almost none was taught. The first 2/3 of the course could have been disturbed more evenly. Also, the proof portfolios took up too much time and were assigned too late.
Hi is a nice guy who cares about his students. However, he will prioritize his discrete math class over this class, resulting in grades and assignments being released extremely late. He is very open to helping you and guiding you through your projects, and is very understanding of circumstances.
The only way to get through this class is to dedicate your life to office hours (at times 5 hrs a day). You may learn from his lecs sometimes but he often rambles. He also makes you read his own textbook, which I personally found very confusing.. I resorted to watching other prof.'s lecs for understanding. Curve/credit back on midterms is nice tho.
Snoeyink knows his stuff, but he's not great at teaching it. Constant rambling and seemingly random magic tricks way too often. I believed I might've failed this class but his generous partial credit helped tremendously. Not that I knew that during the semester though, as assignments were overly difficult and almost no grades were put into Canvas.
This guy is truly an awful professor, I can't believe people are giving him positive ratings. Don't listen to the people who got As who think the class was easy just because they're the exception. Not everyone is the exception. Take MATH 381 if you can, please.
COMP 283 was the hardest class I've taken and I went to office hours almost every day. Despite this, Jack is a fair professor who provides many opportunities to succeed, like exam corrections, and most of the grade isn't from exams. People unfairly criticize him, but many of them don't put in the required effort for this tough class.
I think this class is very interesting, but the structure of the class and teachings is often disorganized and hard to follow. Jack is a great, smart guy, but I find it difficult to follow his lectures (rambles), and I have to spend lots of time figuring out things for myself. Be prepared to attend OH, and seek help! Don't make this mistake..
Adversarial. Bad lecturer, but not a bad person; rely on TAs if you need help. Defining experience of the class was, after a test, when he put wrong answers on the board and made fun of them. As a student with anxiety, made me constantly fearful of being publicly embarrassed for showing any confusion. Thanks for that. Happily switched majors after
Did not formally teach proofs yet assigned many questions on it (both on a take home and on a regular assignment). The chapter on proofs was due a month before semesters end. It was hard before this but I really dont get why he decided to do that. Awful introduction to proofs and some pompous ULA's
COMP283 is a challenging course, but if you put in the work, like attending office hours and using study aids like unstuckstudy, you can succeed. The professor is fair and provides opportunities to do well, even if the material is tough.
The worst course!! The homework were heavy and the grades were strict. 2 in-class midterms and 2 take-home midterms were really hard, and all the average scores were ridiculously low. Even worse, students have to complete several extremely difficult and complex proof portfolios (average 0.5/5 usually) in the weeks leading up to the final exam.
This class was the worst experience of my life. If I had to either take this class again or drop out, I'd drop out! Jack isn't a good lecturer. Textbook doesn't help because HE wrote it. He assigned proofs on a midterm before teaching us how to do them! Some assignments are impossible to complete without spending 5+ hours on them. Horrible class.
THE WORST OF WORST!!! DO NOT TAKE IT!!! Lectures are disorganized and unhelpful! Key concepts like proofs weren't formally taught before being tested! Assignments are overly difficult! The textbook is confusing! Students must rely heavily on office hours! Extremely frustrating class!!!
Before speaking about Jack I should make clear that this is purely based on my experience in 283. By no means is Jack an ideal professor, lectures can be tough to follow, homework is quite difficult, and exams can be a kick in the face. However, every single tool needed to succeed in the class is at the student's disposal, office hours being key!
Do take MATH 381 instead of COMP 283!!
Class is incredibly difficult and is definitely what you make of it. Jack is really sweet and wants you to succeed, but he is very ambiguous with grading and rambles in his lectures. Office hours are a must to pass the class, however the TAs are really helpful.
The most difficult course for sure. The workload is sooo heavy, but the professor and TAs are always willing to help students succeed. The grading standard is really ambiguous. (the professor didn't even announce it in the end) I didn't find out until the last minute that I got an A, but throughout the whole semester I thought I'd only get a B.
Major concepts aren't taught before being tested on the midterm, and simply given a chance to redo later. Lectures are impossible to follow. Extremely difficult exams just to round everyone's grade 20 points. It is possible to get a good grade but it is not worth the suffering. Unnecessarily difficult, please just take MATH381. :(
Imagine having to do a Broadway performance with no theater experience. Imagine having to swim in the Olympics without knowing how to swim. Imagine doing proofs without knowing how to do proofs. Jack takes an approach of learning by giving us extremely difficult problems, which makes it difficult to grasp assignments but he is lenient on grading.
Jack has a bad reputation for a reason. The lectures are absurd; half of them are just an hour of magic tricks. Core concepts are poorly explained, if at all. Exam questions can be easy or ludicrously hard, and it can take months to get grades back. Still, the material is interesting, and you make friends in office hours. Thank god for the curve.
This will be the most difficult class you take at UNC. Lectures range from somewhat useful to highly skippable, depending on if he's teaching or doing magic tricks. Jack is a lovely guy though, a bit of a mad genius. Exams are brutal, but are manageable if you learn the concepts. The proof portfolio will make you suffer. Loved this class.
unclear grading criteria, and challenging material. Need to be in office hours all the time to do well, and make lots of friends. Many people needed to sacrifice an A in another class to pass this class, so try to take other classes that are easier at the same time as this one. TAs are amazing, still recommend the course.
Jack was very knowledgeable, sometimes to a detriment. He would go off on tangents that were a much higher level than out class. The grading is also super unlear. Tbh if he likes you and you participate you'll do okay.
Snoeyink literally copies all the work that Dr.Ringel has made for the course, and still manages to be unenthusiastic and lazy in the class. We didnt get any of our project or exam grades until like the last day of exams, and the midterm was autograded... One of the midterm questions refers to what happened in Dr. Ringels class!
Jack's not a bad guy. He is a horrible professor that teaches a terrible class. You'll see my grade and think "of course they're going to be harsh." And that's true, but objectively this class is so unnecessarily difficult. Think you'll learn in lecture? No. Go to OH. Think he'll curve? No, let's have half the class near failing. Avoid at any cost.
Sacrificed more than my pre-Snoeyink self could fathom for this class. On day one, he said grades are at his discretion. Not a great sign. I was cocky. Freshmen: don't think you're the exception drawn to the allure of discrete structures- be humble, take 381. Its the same stuff. There's no nobility in more work for the same grade. Learn from me.
Learned nothing--rambler who wants to be eccentric. Don't take his class, just get a Gemini subscription its the same thing
dont take it
Practice exams are nothing like the actual exams and doesn't have quality study materials. Lectures are very boring and he just yaps the entire time with little info on his slides. Also takes points off for the smallest details that no other teacher would even think to do.
This guy is the WORST prof. Avoid at all costs I beg of you. He ruined my life and GPA
I did not gain anything from this class. The lectures were long-winded and too complex for the topics he was teaching. The homeworks were created by AI, the exams were created by AI, and everything else was also created by it. The exams were filled with errors and extremely confusing. The average for the midterm was 77.
Snoeyink simply does not know how to teach. He's a nice guy, but does not know how to lecture. Professional yapper and rambler. Uses AI for homework, class slides, and probably to create the midterm and final. Takes FOREVER to grade stuff. This class should not be that difficult, but somehow he makes it hard. You will teach yourself everything.
Confusing textbook (that he writes), very difficult to understand his questions on hw, and will answer a genuine question you have with magic tricks. He is also an incredibly slow grader, and he makes us do proof portfolios but takes forever to grade them while also not giving us time to redo them like promised. Don't recommend him.
Every assignment and exam is made by AI, which he openly admits. Grading criteria is unclear. You cannot tell what grade you have at any point, and he can't tell you either. Assignments and attendance are sporadic, he's unavailable after class, and instructions conflict. You will be so confused. Take him if you want to hate your life. DON'T DO IT.
All of the bad reviews and criticism of Dr. Snoeyink exist for a reason. He teaches a very hard subject and doesn't teach it in a way that makes it easy to understand. That being said, it definetely isn't the worst class ever as some claim. It just takes a ton of effort and going to office hours. He does give some extra credit and curves
"My TA took 2 hours to figure this problem out and technically probability is not included in your syllabus but I believe that it is important to learn in exams." He said he would curve, he lied. He also does not teach and his textbooks are as helpful as he is. He makes you extra credit and forgets about them.Take MATH 381 it is the lesser evil.
Horrible class. I
Enjoy the magic tricks. It is all he can do (can't teach). DO THE PRACTICE QUIZZES BEFORE THE SECOND MIDTERM. He is secretive about grading for some reason but yeah.
Advice if you wish to walk the path of Jack: Try to learn the content of this course independently from an external source, do all work ahead of time, read the textbook + quiz prep before classes (only way to understand his lectures), and hang out in office hours the whole semester.
This is a class where you get what you put in. Snoeyink is a chill guy that is passionate about the content. If you're a math nerd and really want to know the fundamentals of the math behind CS, or are just naturally good at math, he is best suited for those type of people. Else, best to take a different instructor or MATH 381.
He is smart but it was hard to learn from lectures. So, I stopped attending lectures at some point and did better just by studying myself
Never grinded harder for an A. I depended a lot on the TAs and the office hours. Do exercises from the book, do the practice quizzes. Get a team On the final I had to translate stuff from English to my native language in order to understand some of the exercises. I have been in university for 2 years I've never needed to do that. He is chill IMO.
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