2.6

Natalia Breuss

Computer & Math. Sciences - University of Toronto at Scarborough

2.6
Quality
3.5
Difficulty
31%
Would Retake
152
Reviews
2.6
Quality
3.5
Difficulty
2.6
Helpful
2.5
Clarity

31%

Would Retake

152

Reviews

Rating Distribution
Official
152 total ratings

5

31

4

18

3

21

2

27

1

55

What Students Say

Do not take a course with her

MATA31 - 1.0 rating

She is the most frustrating prof ever

MATA35 - 2.0 rating
Class Info

Online Classes

100%

Attendance Mandatory

24%

Textbook Required

17%

Grade Predictor

Your expected effort level

LowHigh

Predicted Grade

B+

95% confidence
Based on 67 grades
Most common grades:
Not sure yet (26)
A+ (20)
A (13)
Grade Distribution
A(33)B(6)C(5)D(3)F(2)A-/B+(20)
Based on 102 reported grades
Not sure yet: 26
A+: 20
A: 13
A-: 11
Common Tags
Test heavy (38)
Lots of homework (30)
Lecture heavy (28)
Tough grader (21)
Caring (15)
Get ready to read (14)
Skip class? You won't pass. (13)
Clear grading criteria (8)
Rating Trend

Declining

-1.20 avg change
Nov
Feb
Apr
May
Jul
Aug
Last 6 months
Ratings by Course

MATB4142

5.0

(3)

B42B41

5.0

(1)

MATA23MATB44

5.0

(1)

MATA24

5.0

(1)

MATB44

5.0

(1)
+12 more courses
Difficulty by Course

MATA36

5.0

MATA29H3

4.3

MATA35

4.3

MATA29

4.2

MATA30

4.0

Reviews (151)
5.0
2.0
MATB4142
Aug 12, 2001

an xcellent professor... I just love the classes

5.0
2.0
MATB4142
Oct 19, 2001

nice TA, extra tutorials were helpful

5.0
3.0
MATB4142
Feb 6, 2002

excellent TA

2.0
5.0
MATA29
Feb 8, 2002

No Comments

5.0
1.0
MATB42
Feb 8, 2002

No Comments

2.0
4.0
MATA29
Grade: B
Feb 11, 2002

No Comments

2.0
4.0
MAT29
Mar 26, 2002

No Comments

4.0
2.0
MATB41
Mar 27, 2002

I wish i had more profs that did some questions for me on the mid-term

3.0
4.0
MATA29
May 12, 2002

for MATA29 she sucks!! she is so unclear...but shes the only prof for it...

5.0
3.0
B42B41
May 17, 2002

good examples for exam and understanding

2.0
4.0
MATB41B42
May 24, 2002

No Comments

1.0
5.0
MATA29
Jul 4, 2002

She is the devil incarnated! take 135 Downtown

4.0
3.0
MATB41B42
Grade: A
Aug 22, 2002

Decent TA. Has lots of good examples, marks assignments fairly easily.

3.0
1.0
MATB41
Nov 30, 2002

good for help on assignment & sneaky students

5.0
2.0
MATB41
Dec 7, 2002

Dont know where i would be without her help/clarity

1.0
5.0
MATA29
Dec 11, 2002

She is the devil - take downtown if possible

3.0
4.0
MATA29
Dec 31, 2002

No Comments

5.0
2.0
MATA23
Jan 24, 2003

the most organized & clearest prof by far, I'm never lost in lectures

4.0
4.0
MATA29
Mar 22, 2004

Poor girl tried soooo hard. She was very nice and everyone was so rude makin' fun of her accent. Teaching wise she was ok

3.0
4.0
MATA23
Apr 18, 2004

Too many new concepts with too little examples. How can you expect us to absorb all these by simply memorizing definitions and proofs!?

2.0
5.0
MATA23
Jun 29, 2004

Her lectures were completely different from the exams. She screwed me over, with her misleading lessons. She would tell us to study everything while the exam cover the last few lectures.

2.0
3.0
MATA23
Jul 8, 2004

She knew what she was talking about, but she didnt have many examples. She was also very unapproachable. I was afraid to ask her a question because I felt she would probably insult me in front of the whole class.

5.0
3.0
MATA23MATB44
Feb 4, 2005

good clear and organized

5.0
2.0
MATA23
Jun 10, 2005

you have work really hard for this course.midterm is really long, final is easy. and midterm can be replaced, so no worries. make sure you understand the notes and know how to apply them, don't just memorize them

4.0
2.0
MATA23MATB24
Sep 24, 2005

I was reading the messages below, and it say she doesn't know how to teach, well you must be either lazy or dont know how to study for math. she is and smart, organized prof. the person who says he/she was afraid to ask question dont know what he/she is talking about, I went for help and she was very helpful.

5.0
2.0
MATA24
Feb 21, 2006

SUCH A NICE PROF AND VERY EASY TO TALK TO.

5.0
2.0
MATA23
Nov 27, 2006

go to class, and pay attention and you won't fail. very elementary mathematics. take this as an elective if you need an easy math course.

3.0
5.0
MATA30
Nov 30, 2009

Uses the overhead projector a lot, which made it a bit difficult to see what she was writing.

5.0
3.0
MATA30
May 29, 2010

She's a really nice prof. Very approachable, and most of the time clear with her concepts. Her exams were between easy to average. Study from her examples in her lecture notes. Her EXACT examples appear on the exam.

5.0
3.0
MATB44
Mar 2, 2013

Great professor,very well organized course. I wish all courses were like her's. You actually learn "how to" skills, not delta epsilon nonsense.Prof is extremely knowledgeable - can explain everything: from Latin quotes to Quantum Mechanics. Great connection to Physics.

3.0
3.0
MATA31
Sep 24, 2015

Yes. You don't understand her lecture if u didn't preview the textbook before class and yes, you still don't understand what she's talking about after you read the textbook. Basically she is teaching you what textbook's teaching you.( and textbook does better work)

1.0
5.0
MATA31
Sep 29, 2015

Do not take a course with her. Her lectures are extremely vague and does not speak clearly. You're better off teaching this yourself, because she honestly just announces what she writes with no reasonings or explanations

3.0
3.0
MATA31
Grade: B+
Oct 27, 2015

If you don't come into her class, your final and midterm must fail, I promise. Since all the tough questions are from what her covers in her lecture. Besides, MATA31 is a tough course. I suggest that everybody should drop this course because whoever teaches this course, there are a large number of people will FAIL!!! come and join us LOSER team!!!

5.0
3.0
MATA31
Grade: Not sure yet
Nov 24, 2015

Dr. Breuss is one of the best professors I've had in my first year at UTSC. Her lectures are amazing and have inspired me to continue on with mathematics. She's very open to helping students and has a good habit of remembering everyone - a rare trait among professors. Her tests are challenging, but fair. MATA31 is a hard course with proofs.

3.0
5.0
MATA31
Grade: Not sure yet
Dec 18, 2015

She's a decent teacher but she moves at a really fast pace and doesn't really review high school work. Lectures are tough because there is barely enough time to copy the notes down, let alone understand them. Weekly assignments and tests are easy, midterm and exam are very hard. Decent teacher but your effort won't necessarily reflect in your mark.

1.0
5.0
MATA35
Grade: A+
Mar 19, 2016

Terrible professor. Makes countless mistakes during lecture. Textbook that she makes you buy is custom edition and filled with errors. If you want to learn pointless math she's the prof for you.

2.0
4.0
MATA35
Grade: A-
Apr 19, 2016

She is the most frustrating prof ever!! I am good in calculus and I find it hard to follow her steps. She moves at a fast pace, makes a lot mistakes (OMG!!!!!), and the way she teaches doesn't really help you understand the concept or anything she just did. You're going to have to teach yourself.

2.0
4.0
MATA29
Grade: C-
Sep 13, 2016
Wouldn't take again

She's a sweet lady, but it's almost impossible to understand her. It's very difficult to get past her accent and she has trouble getting across what she has to say because of it. She moves very quickly and its hard to write down the notes. Most of the time I'm not really sure what or why she's teaching something because shes very unclear about it

Tough Grader
Get ready to read
TEST HEAVY
1.0
5.0
MAT29
Grade: Not sure yet
Sep 26, 2016
Wouldn't take again

She writes for herlsef not caring if anyone in the class understands. She write all sorts of equations and solutions assuming that we understand

Skip class? You won't pass.
4.0
3.0
MATA31
Grade: Not sure yet
Dec 16, 2016
Would take again

I think some of the other comments on here are misleading. I thought she a great prof. Very helpful in office hours, tells you what you need to know for both midterm and final. The first few weeks are a bit deceiving since she goes through pre calc really fast. But she gets better as you go on. Plus she had 45% bonus questions on the midterm...

Skip class? You won't pass.
Clear grading criteria
2.0
4.0
MATA31
Dec 26, 2016
Wouldn't take again

Has an accent. Makes mistakes. Not that bad but not a good prof.

5.0
3.0
MATA31
Grade: A
Jan 2, 2017
Would take again

10/10 Best math prof I've had so far. Little bit of a Ukrainian/Russian accent, but easy to understand. Easy A If you show up, pay attention, take notes, and review.

Gives good feedback
ACCESSIBLE OUTSIDE CLASS
GRADED BY FEW THINGS
3.0
2.0
MAT29
Grade: A+
Jan 6, 2017
Wouldn't take again

She was not as bad as it seems when you first start out. Yes, it doesn't help that she doesn't teach with flow but the bonus questions on her exam made this course such a breeze. Definitely understandable if you try today attention. If you learned grade 12 calc you're set for pretty much 60% of the course.

Respected
Participation matters
Clear grading criteria
3.0
2.0
MATA31
Mar 28, 2017
Wouldn't take again

Sweet lady, Her tests are fair and you can get an A in her class if you put some effort into the course. However, she is not the best teacher. She doesn't explain her steps and just goes through many examples in lectures, creating a boring atmosphere.

LOTS OF HOMEWORK
Caring
3.0
3.0
MATA29
Grade: B+
Apr 2, 2017
Would take again

She's a great prof. A lot of the questions on the the quizzes, midterm, and final were from her lectures and textbook. If you study and practice you should be fine! She has a thick accent but it gets easier to understand. However, I did use the textbook often to clarify anything I didn't understand. All in all pretty good.

Get ready to read
Skip class? You won't pass.
LECTURE HEAVY
5.0
4.0
MATA31
Grade: A+
Jul 20, 2017
Would take again

Great prof! She explains everything and helps you a lot if you come by her office hours. Her exams are fair and if you attend lectures and tutorials you will get an A

Skip class? You won't pass.
ACCESSIBLE OUTSIDE CLASS
Caring
3.0
2.0
MATA31
Grade: A+
Oct 19, 2017
Wouldn't take again

lololololololol light work

EXTRA CREDIT
4.0
3.0
MATA31
Grade: A+
Oct 24, 2017
Would take again

good prof but needs you t work more outside class. With a little accent but fair enough to be understood correctly. Recommend!

Skip class? You won't pass.
ACCESSIBLE OUTSIDE CLASS
Caring
5.0
2.0
MATA35
Grade: A+
Dec 19, 2017
Would take again

She is a really good prof, teaches very clearly with good examples and home questions. Will help you a lot if you see her in her office hours too! Especially before the exams. Really good prof!! Keep up with the course to do well!

ACCESSIBLE OUTSIDE CLASS
Clear grading criteria
Would take again
4.0
2.0
MATA31
Grade: B+
Dec 26, 2017
Would take again

Nice prof and caring!

Respected
LOTS OF HOMEWORK
Caring
4.0
4.0
MATA31
Grade: A
Jan 10, 2018
Would take again

Going into this course I was fairly scared of uni calc, however Natalia was very good at reinforcing the basics. Overall it was a lot of work, but there's enough resources in-campus to help you out. Invest in the solution manual if you can, study examples from lectures, and try to keep your mark up so that the final won't make or break your mark.

LOTS OF HOMEWORK
Clear grading criteria
LECTURE HEAVY
5.0
2.0
MATA31
Grade: A+
Mar 6, 2018
Would take again

She is the nicest prof I've had yet. Her assessments are based off mostly off her lecture notes so if you study those you are good. She posts her lecture notes online and has weboption. I'd still recommend going to lectures and trying to understand what she is doing right away. To top it all off she gives 30 bonus marks on the final and mid term.

LOTS OF HOMEWORK
Clear grading criteria
Amazing lectures
5.0
1.0
MATA31
Grade: A
Dec 14, 2018
Would take again

She is so nice. She gives perfect and clear lectures. She really teaches very well! If you do the assignment on time carefully I think theres no problem to get at least 80 in each quiz or test.

Gives good feedback
Respected
Amazing lectures
5.0
3.0
MATA31
Grade: A+
Dec 20, 2018
Would take again

She really does try to help her students by having weboption and posting her lecture notes online weekly. Her midterm and final exams are almost the exact same ones as the past ones that she posts with solutions!! She also uploads sample quizzes which is very similar to the quizzes we get in tutorial. She also gives easy bonus questions on final!!

Skip class? You won't pass.
Amazing lectures
Caring
5.0
2.0
MATA31
Grade: A+
Dec 22, 2018
Would take again

Most generous prof. Gives lots of bonuses and curves as well. Accent might be hard to understand to some. In my year she gave weboption as well. Ended with a 100 in the course when without bonuses or curves I should have probably gotten 85.

LOTS OF HOMEWORK
Amazing lectures
5.0
2.0
MATA31
Grade: A+
Dec 22, 2018
Would take again

A professor that is very clear on what is taught and expected of the students. Although lectures may contain few arithmetic errors, they do not affect the overall quality of lectures. Also, complete lecture notes are online as well as web videos.

2.0
4.0
MATA29
Feb 18, 2019
Wouldn't take again

Quizzes/assignments do NOTHING to prepare you for the exams; the questions on the midterm were SO much harder than the ones we practiced with. I found her explanations to be rather lacking too, often leaving you to interpret long and confusing solutions by ourselves. So far I've been learning everything off of YouTube; I'm definitely dropping soon.

Tough grader
3.0
2.0
MATA31
Grade: A+
Mar 8, 2019
Wouldn't take again

She's an ok prof, I don't like her teaching too much. BUT, she's definitely the nicest prof you'll have in first year in terms of MARKS. She gives you lots of extra marks and will literally replace ur midterm with final if you did better. Also she video tapes the lectures so u can watch at home. All in all, very nice prof, not to good at teaching

Caring
2.0
5.0
MATB42
Grade: D+
Jun 4, 2019
Wouldn't take again

Natalia is good in A level classes, but killed me in B42. Her lecture structure is confusing and she tends to use examples that aren't relevant. So take at your own risk. In addition, her test/homework questions are worded in an inconsistent way.

Get ready to read
4.0
3.0
MATA31
Grade: A+
Feb 8, 2020
Would take again

Sometimes boring, but got the job done and gave decent understand to all concepts and the evaluations were fair and based on taught material.

Lots of homework
Get ready to read
Skip class? You won't pass.
4.0
2.0
MATA31
Grade: A+
Mar 3, 2020
Would take again

I found Natalia to be a decent lecturer although I found that she was a little too fast in the topics that were new and the topics that were review from high school were somewhat slow. There's not much say apart from study, do your homework, go to your tutorials and a 4.0 is definitely possible.

3.0
2.0
MATA31
Grade: Not sure yet
Dec 17, 2020
Would take again

She is a very nice professor. She is okay at teaching but there are times when it feels like she is just reading off of the lecture notes. She is not very active on Piazza, but I think that she is not very good at technology, which I totally understand.

4.0
3.0
MATA31
Grade: Rather not say
Jan 10, 2021
Would take again

Really nice and genuinely cares about her students. Tips for future a31 students is that you cannot miss lectures and fall behind in textbook readings.

Gives good feedback
Respected
Caring
1.0
4.0
MATA29H3
Grade: Rather not say
Feb 24, 2021
Wouldn't take again

She made her online lectures over 3 hours. Out of all the classes I've taken, her course was the only one with lectures over an hour long. Also, on the first test she expected us to have all trig identities memorized, and to be able to solve such questions without a calculator. I can understand if you're a 3rd/4th year, but this is madness!

Lots of homework
Get ready to read
Test heavy
1.0
3.0
MATA35
Grade: Not sure yet
Mar 21, 2021
Wouldn't take again

Prof Breuss is not a good prof by any means. She posts 2+hrs of recorded lectures every week. Half the time in lectures she is looking for chalk/thinking about what notes to use. Trust me u r better off learning the material from YouTube. She has very little communication with students, her instruction regarding assignments & quizzes is very vague.

Participation matters
Test heavy
Lecture heavy
1.0
4.0
MATA35
Apr 8, 2021
Wouldn't take again

Don't take a class with her, trust me.

Lots of homework
Test heavy
Lecture heavy
1.0
4.0
MATA29
Grade: Not sure yet
Apr 9, 2021
Wouldn't take again

Sends weekly assignments that take a good chunk of your day to complete. Lectures are so disorganized I resorted to using Khan Academy to learn the content in the course. Professor Breuss is not good by any means.

Lots of homework
Get ready to read
Test heavy
1.0
5.0
MATA36
Grade: A-
Apr 14, 2021
Wouldn't take again

Is not open to help and give out a hand to students in need

Test heavy
So many papers
Tough grader
1.0
5.0
MATA35
Grade: Not sure yet
Apr 14, 2021
Wouldn't take again

Prof Breuss doesn't communicate with the class properly regarding quizzes or exams. She also gives 2 hour+ lectures every week. Most of her solutions to problems are all wrong and we're expected to solve them the right way during the quizzes or exams. I recommend to just watch YouTube or khan academy because her lectures have wrong answers.

Lots of homework
Test heavy
Lecture heavy
1.0
5.0
MATA35
Apr 26, 2021
Wouldn't take again

She does not communicate well at all. Id email before a quiz to get info on it but wont get a response till after the quiz. Would not recommend. If you see her name on acorn, RUN

Skip class? You won't pass.
Test heavy
Tough grader
1.0
4.0
MATA35
May 10, 2021
Wouldn't take again

I liked her at first but the course was just overall disengaging. She didn't communicate much through Quercus so it's easy to fall behind in the course when lecture vids are 2+ hours and sometimes confusing. Everything was closed book and the live proctored zoom sessions during quizzes made me super anxious. Definitely try to take with another prof

Test heavy
Lecture heavy
3.0
4.0
MATA31
Grade: C+
Sep 9, 2021
Wouldn't take again

She is an ok prof in my opinion. Had her for the online class and it wasn't as good as I expected. For the first few weeks of this class, things will be easy, but once the proofs come, the course gets intense. If ur taking her in online, you will have a hard time catching up with her lecture pace.

Lots of homework
Skip class? You won't pass.
Lecture heavy
1.0
4.0
MATA31
Sep 26, 2021
Wouldn't take again

One of my worst first year experiences. Doesn't communicate with students at all, whether its questions about course content or logistical issues. Many of the solutions she gives us to review with are wrong. I haven't heard her answer a single student's question clearly, it feels like she's reading off a script of pre determined responses. AVOID!!

Get ready to read
Skip class? You won't pass.
Lecture heavy
1.0
5.0
MATA31
Oct 25, 2021
Wouldn't take again

Worse online course experience.

Skip class? You won't pass.
Test heavy
Tough grader
2.0
4.0
MATA31
Grade: B-
Oct 31, 2021
Wouldn't take again

Smart person, but very atrocious at teaching. She is the prime example of why professors should have a mandatory teaching degree and not a stupid phd in whatever they are teaching. Goat man Fazle is teaching better than Nutella Bruce. Please help me.

2.0
5.0
MATA31
Grade: Incomplete
Nov 2, 2021
Wouldn't take again

The online experience was garbage. Had to complete assignments in 3 when the normal time given was a week due to the lectures being posted 3-4 days later. My second quiz took 2 weeks to be graded and I got my mark on the day of the 3rd quiz, and even though it took them 2 weeks to grade, no reason was given for why I lost marks on any questions.

Lots of homework
Test heavy
Lecture heavy
3.0
3.0
MATA31
Nov 3, 2021
Wouldn't take again

* Overall, an okay prof :'') * However, the pace of her lectures can get a little too fast at times * Her teaching style needs some improvement ( needs to try to make her lecs more engaging and fun) * Assignments and quizzes due every week * If you don't understand a concept, and you ask for help, she can definitely make you understand the material

Lots of homework
Test heavy
Lecture heavy
1.0
3.0
MATA31
Dec 23, 2021
Wouldn't take again

Decides to change the grade weightings two days after the final and tries to play it off as if nothing has happened. Quizzes are generally either really easy or they become a test of writing speed. As for teaching, self learning would probably be a better option because the lectures only lead to more confusion.

1.0
3.0
MATA31
Dec 24, 2021
Wouldn't take again

Changed grade weightage last minute before the final, because the final was 'too easy', totally our fault. Regardless, the course isn't hard if you put in some effort. Course will probably be curved, so try your best to not help your classmates, actively sabotage them! Remember, we're not in this together, UofT's prestige is for you alone.

Beware of pop quizzes
Lecture heavy
Tough grader
1.0
5.0
MATA31
Dec 25, 2021
Wouldn't take again

Lectures were not engaging at all and actually cause confusion on concepts, notes provided with wrong answers, so be prepapred to learn by yourself. Plus, get good grades on everything cause you wont know when she's gonna change the grade weightings, like maybe 2 days AFTER the final. Imo, the only good thing about this course is its TAs.

Lots of homework
Skip class? You won't pass.
Test heavy
2.0
4.0
MATA31
Grade: A
Dec 27, 2021
Wouldn't take again

Pros: Very nice lady, lectures and subsequent lecture notes are fairly good and organized, albeit a bit fast. Cons: confirmed what would be on a quiz but put material outside of it, confirmed multiple times exam vs quiz weight yet changed it after finals, does not give any leeway for technical issues or problems completely out of your control.

Get ready to read
Test heavy
Tough grader
2.0
4.0
MATA31
Grade: A
Jan 7, 2022
Wouldn't take again

Lectures were dreadfully slow and did not help learn at all. Didnt bother watching half of them. Quizzes are very inconsistent in difficulty across tutorials so its a die roll whether you get an easy or difficult quiz. Lots of misinformation about content of quizzes. Fazle best TA, but they all mark hard. Midterm and final were big mark boosters.

Lots of homework
Test heavy
Tough grader
1.0
4.0
MATA35
Grade: Not sure yet
Jan 27, 2022
Wouldn't take again

lecures are super long 2+ hours, are difficult to follow and hard to understand. No communication from her, she uses prerecorded lectures.

Lots of homework
Skip class? You won't pass.
Lecture heavy
1.0
5.0
MATA35
Mar 16, 2022

In nutshell, she is awful! DON'T EVER TAKE HER CLASS!

1.0
3.0
MATA23
Grade: Not sure yet
Mar 23, 2022

Avoid her at all costs. She is horrible at lectures, pretty much reading from the textbook and doing examples that are already in the textbook the whole time. Makes tests extremely difficult, recent midterm average was a 43%... does not care about helping students. Weekly assignments worth 1-2% take 3-8 hours. Bad at explaining concepts.

Tough grader
Test heavy
1.0
5.0
MATA35
Mar 24, 2022

Boring lectures, don't make sense, just reciting what's on the board without explanation. Either a quiz worth 6% of your grade or an assignment that takes days to work on worth 2% every week; a heavy load. Uses most difficult questions possible beyond the difficulty of textbook and class notes provided have mistakes. Class average is below 50%.

Get ready to read
Lots of homework
Test heavy
3.0
4.0
MATA29
Grade: Not sure yet
Mar 27, 2022

The textbook is pretty much irrelevant for the quizzes/assignments. Just focus on problems from the lecture (know them inside out) and practise using your old quizzes and assignments when studying for the midterm. Her lectures can be long, but just try to get through them, and really engage in tutorials to make sure you grasp the content.

Lots of homework
Test heavy
1.0
5.0
MATA23
Grade: Rather not say
Mar 30, 2022

How can you have a class average of 43 and not try to curve up in a first-year math course, and also assignment every single week which has 20-30 questions each, doesn't provide any kind of help between the transition from online to in-person study, definitely the most ridiculous and inhumane professor.

Lots of homework
Lecture heavy
Test heavy
1.0
5.0
MATA29
Grade: Not sure yet
Mar 30, 2022

The lectures were sooo long yet unhelpful! The recent midterm average was about 40% but she's not even considering curving it. She made the easy topics sound hard too. She usually teaches winter mata29 so I'd suggest everyone avoid taking it that time.

Tough grader
Lecture heavy
Test heavy
1.0
5.0
MATA35
Grade: Not sure yet
Apr 4, 2022

It's terrible, my TA doesn't even know what she taught us so our quizzes don't even match up. She recorded the entire lecture last semester so now she won't show up to do irl lectures but expects us to do irl tutorials. Uses a really old textbook which doesn't even help with assignments or quizzes. Grades far harder than she's earned.

Tough grader
Lecture heavy
Test heavy
1.0
5.0
MATA35
Grade: Not sure yet
Apr 18, 2022

Her lectures are over 2 hours long and useless, she doesn't respond to emails and the entire course is a mess. She "teaches" material that requires calculators but has her quizzes and tests no calculators. She just reads off of her notes so she's not teaching anything. Do not take this class.

Lots of homework
Lecture heavy
Test heavy
2.0
4.0
MATA29
Grade: Not sure yet
Apr 20, 2022

Her lectures are pretty bland especially for two hours, and her quizzes and assignments are very difficult. The midterm was abysmal with a 41 average but the exam went easier. She does seem a bit stoic but understanding with the marking, but she also makes some frequent mistakes they may confuse you. If you put in the effort, then you can do well.

Tough grader
Lots of homework
Test heavy
2.0
4.0
MATA29H3
Grade: Not sure yet
Apr 20, 2022

Her lectures are dreadful but the examples in her notes are extremely important. Inverse trig functions are your friends in this course; know them in and out. I will end up with a meh grade because she loves tricking people with her quizzes and midterms. For future takers, just know her notes inside and out and you should be good.

Lots of homework
Lecture heavy
1.0
5.0
MATA35
Grade: Rather not say
Apr 24, 2022

She makes math the most aggravating class of all time and makes me want to bash my skull in. Quizzes in this class are chosen by the hand of god (in this case the prof) and its just down to luck about what your quiz could be like. Midterm and assignments are the only way how you can get good marks, otherwise good luck and welcome to hell.

2.0
5.0
MATA29H3
Grade: Drop/Withdrawal
Apr 30, 2022

Pre-recorded lectures, focused more on the theoretics of calculus than on calculations, which were what we were graded on. Questions were extremely difficult compared to what little we were taught (mostly by TAs). Communication was detached, difficult (announced a change to the midterm 2 days before on an unrelated page we'd have no reason to see)

Tough grader
Get ready to read
Test heavy
4.0
4.0
MATA31
Grade: A-
May 3, 2022
Would take again

Honestly, the notes that she provided really really helped now that I look back. With less time spent on taking notes, I could spend more time understanding and mastering the concepts. Her diagrams and illustrations are very good too. I was never really good at math but I still got a pretty good grade in her class when I put in the time and effort

Tough grader
Amazing lectures
1.0
4.0
MATA35
Grade: A+
May 15, 2022

The workload for this course is very heavy. The professor teaches without explaining and lacks communication with students so I used a lot of time self-studying. The only good thing about this prof is that the quizzes and midterm are relatively easy, make sure you do the homework and textbook questions. Run away from this course.

Lots of homework
Lecture heavy
Test heavy
1.0
3.0
MATA31
Aug 14, 2022

Assessments are decent, pretty defined and reasonable. Lectures are almost impossible to understand.

Get ready to read
Clear grading criteria
3.0
5.0
MATA35
Grade: B+
Sep 23, 2022

a sweet person, and willing to help if you reach out, however lectures make no sense, its basically watching a 3h video of someone writing on the board. workload is very heavy, but questions on assignments/exams are fair. I've always been pretty good at math but found my self struggling with this course. course is less calculus, 60% linear algebra

5.0
1.0
MATA31
Grade: A
Oct 7, 2022
Would take again

Professor is one of the best professors in UTSC CMS department. Everything in her class are not very difficult. Even if some students out of CMS can get higher points follow with her.

Gives good feedback
Caring
1.0
2.0
MATA31
Grade: Not sure yet
Oct 24, 2022

very easy to make mistakes at her class

Hilarious
1.0
5.0
MATA31
Grade: Drop/Withdrawal
Nov 1, 2022

NEVER AND EVER GET HER CLASS PLZ

1.0
5.0
MATA31
Grade: Incomplete
Nov 3, 2022

Cannot explain how much I struggle. Prof doesn't explain ANYTHING. Half the time the lecture notes are wrong. I think she expects us to know everything, but then why are we taking this class.. You genuinely won't understand anything if you're not good at math. Even people who are average at math will struggle.

Lots of homework
5.0
1.0
MATA31
Grade: A
Nov 10, 2022
Would take again

Professor Bruess is kind and easy to communicate. She can show everything clearly and highly relative to assignments and quizzes. Just cherish her, you may not find a second professor which kind and not difficult in the following CMS courses.

Lots of homework
Caring
Respected
1.0
3.0
MATA31
Grade: Not sure yet
Nov 17, 2022

her notes were great at first, but they are awful in the later units. lectures are super boring and you will go out of them learning nothing.

Lots of homework
Lecture heavy
Test heavy
5.0
2.0
MATA31
Grade: A
Dec 4, 2022
Would take again

A nice professor to learn with. Everything in her courses are stated clearly and assignments are fair. I don't know why there're so many bad comments. Heard what she said and do as her standard.

Get ready to read
Lots of homework
Caring
1.0
5.0
MATA31
Grade: B+
Dec 14, 2022

Final exam review material has nothing to do with inverse functions, but it has two inverse function questions inside the exam

Tough grader
Lecture heavy
Test heavy
1.0
4.0
MATA35
Grade: F
Dec 15, 2022

took this class with her twice. First time dropped the course because I was failing. Second time failed Her lectures are long, boring, hard to understand, lots of mistakes, and just generally don't help at all. no helpful,TAs tutorials didn't help at all. you basically have to teach yourself the whole course. She doesn't respond to emails either.

Lecture heavy
Test heavy
1.0
5.0
MATA31
Grade: B+
Dec 16, 2022

The final was horrible with nothing to do with what was taught in the lectures, covered in the class or textbook. Was at a 95 before the final, now wondering if i will even pass the final.

Lecture heavy
Test heavy
1.0
3.0
MATA31
Grade: B+
Jan 3, 2023

Best final exam I ever had in my entire life. Just absolutely fantastic.

Hilarious
Graded by few things
3.0
3.0
MATA31
Grade: A-
Jan 5, 2023
Would take again

tough lecture with a lack of explanation, quizzes are easy, homework are tough

Lots of homework
Lecture heavy
5.0
2.0
MATA31
Grade: A+
Jan 17, 2023
Would take again

Professor Natalia is very kind. She also cares to students' grades. Her lecture notes are also very helpful. She is not really strict with the grading rubric.

Gives good feedback
Caring
Accessible outside class
5.0
2.0
MATA31
Grade: A+
Jan 17, 2023
Would take again

Professor Natalia is very kind. She also cares to student's grade. She fixed my final exam mark and my crowdmark name. Thanks a lot, Professor.

Caring
Respected
Accessible outside class
5.0
3.0
MATA23
Grade: Not sure yet
Apr 24, 2023
Would take again

Honestly Prof. Breuss is not bad at all. She posts all the lecture notes so it doesn't matter if you weren't paying attention and the material should make sense given you read the textbook and go over the notes. Very fair in terms of the tests too and as long as you understand the material well, you should be fine. Super nice professor.

Get ready to read
Test heavy
Graded by few things
2.0
4.0
MATA23
Grade: C-
May 2, 2023

I had to teach myself this entire course. The lec notes she uploads have many errors in them, which confuses students even more. Attending lecs is useless since she just reads off of her notes and doesn't explain things properly. Aside from her disorganized teaching style, her exams seem fair and assignments are mostly freebie.

Lots of homework
Test heavy
5.0
2.0
MATA23
Grade: A
May 11, 2023
Would take again

Absolutely love her as a person. One of my fav profs at CMS.

Clear grading criteria
Caring
Respected
4.0
2.0
MATA23
Grade: A+
Aug 27, 2023
Would take again

This professor is great. She genuinely wants the students to understand the material, which is why she asks for feedback on the lectures//tutorials/assignments. Her lectures help understand the material and if you have questions she is open to answer them. The weekly assignments can take around 2-6 hours, but they are pretty much free marks.

Participation matters
Caring
1.0
4.0
MATA29
Oct 15, 2023

Marks are ONLY based on exams. Her teaching style is basically doing practice questions on the board and saying what she's doing. No time given to actually explain material or concepts clearly. If you learn math this way, then she might be a good prof for you. Her exams are honestly not that bad, so if you get a tutor or something you might be ok.

Test heavy
1.0
5.0
MATA31
Grade: B+
Dec 13, 2023

got ruined

1.0
3.0
MATA31
Grade: B
Dec 13, 2023

Final had no questions related to any class material or study sheet provided.

2.0
5.0
MATA31
Grade: B
Dec 13, 2023

misleading review document. disorganized teaching style. lectures are useless, super hard final, 12 questions for just 2 hours. wrong/incomplete questions in the final and time-consuming questions. She is a good person, just not good at preparing for exams. course material and final content do not exactly match.

Tough grader
Test heavy
1.0
5.0
MATA31
Grade: B+
Dec 13, 2023

natalia breuss rate my prof = very unfair final. its universal. 6 studnts are planning to tranfer unis. even fred became gay. 96% on piazza thought final unfair. its unprecedented. this final should be given to 4th year sudents

Hilarious
1.0
5.0
MATA31
Grade: A-
Dec 13, 2023

Avoid taking this prof at all costs! Quizzes, assignments and midterm are straightforward. However, the final is insanely hard to the point where most of the students feel they failed. She posted an exam review, however, the final exam had nothing to do with the content, it was way more questions and those questions had many errors in them.

Tough grader
Test heavy
1.0
5.0
MATA31
Grade: Not sure yet
Dec 14, 2023

If you have ever thought of ruining your self esteem, then take her class. Her exam was truly unfair, and not even 2% of what she posted for Exam review was on the actual exam day. DO NOT TAKE THIS COURSE, unless it is REQUIRED for your program!

1.0
5.0
MATA31
Dec 14, 2023

If you don't want to lower your average, just run!!!!!

1.0
5.0
MATA31
Grade: A-
Dec 15, 2023

this prof is greatttttttttttttt

1.0
4.0
MATA31
Grade: Not sure yet
Dec 15, 2023

2023 final exam was just downright malicious and intentionally made for you to do poorly.

Tough grader
Hilarious
2.0
4.0
MATA31
Grade: Not sure yet
Dec 18, 2023

pretty easy for most of the term till the final. the final was literally crafted to curve the average grade down by 10% at the least! no amount of studying can prepare u for the final. but for most of the term she wasn't too bad.

1.0
5.0
MATA31
Grade: Not sure yet
Dec 19, 2023

final not fair. future students be aware. try to get as much as possible on assignments and quizes or it's over.

4.0
4.0
MATA31
Grade: A-
Dec 27, 2023
Would take again

The professor explains everything well in the lecture and is patient to every students. Although the course is harder compared to MATA30, u can still do well if u work hard.

2.0
3.0
MATA31
Dec 28, 2023

Her assignments and quizzes are fair. The final exam is a different story with an average of 51% and over 200 students saying it was plain out unfair. Overall, a great professor to begin your University of Tears experience.

Tough grader
Lots of homework
Lecture heavy
2.0
4.0
MATA31
Grade: B-
Jan 5, 2024

Course content is moderate to challenging, coming from a mediocre Ontario school. Quizzes and midterm were fair on average but make sure to pick a good TA. The avg was too high/~80s from a midterm leak -> no bonus Qs + final was AWFUL to drag it down to 71 (still too high!). Accent takes a while to adjust to; easier to understand in recordings.

Get ready to read
Lots of homework
Lecture heavy
4.0
3.0
MATA31
Grade: A
Jan 8, 2024
Would take again

Tough final beware

Lecture heavy
1.0
5.0
MATA31
Grade: A-
Jan 18, 2024

Not gonna say much new the 2023 final was comedically unhinged, it was designed for people to fail that is she not only didn't want people to succeed but actively worked to have as many people as possible fail which can be shown from the only proof not on the exam prep guide being the only proof given on the final. If you need to take her I'm sorry

Hilarious
Lecture heavy
Test heavy
5.0
2.0
MATA31
Grade: A+
Mar 13, 2024
Would take again

Her lecture style is great if you have problem solving abilities (i.e. you're not a database). The final might be a bit harder than expected if you have cheaters in your class, but overall still free because it's worth so little.

Amazing lectures
Inspirational
Hilarious
3.0
5.0
MATA31
Grade: A-
Mar 26, 2024
Would take again

Assignments, quizzes, midterms are fairs. Final (fall 2023) was made to fail people, because of high avg of class. Her lectures are easy to understand(she gives a lot of examples of midterm questions), but you really need to work on questions by your own to get high grades on assessments. Your grade mostly depends on class avg and final.

Clear grading criteria
Lots of homework
Test heavy
2.0
3.0
MATA31
Grade: C+
Jun 25, 2024
Would take again

You will not be able to understand most of what she says in the first class, due to accent and no use of layman terms. this was a first year course so should have been more accommodating. was doing great in the course, until final exam, since our class avg was too high she made the exam lengthy and difficult dropping grades dramatically.

2.0
4.0
MATA31
Grade: C
Jul 4, 2024

Do you know what mean that needs to do the final test that 12 questions in only 1 half hour for your first semester ever of university career? FAILURE

1.0
3.0
MATA31
Grade: A-
Jul 15, 2024

She found out how to cut student's final grades by 20% with one exam, impressive!

5.0
1.0
MATA31
Grade: A-
Aug 17, 2024
Would take again

I really like her feedback on assignments!

Amazing lectures
Gives good feedback
Inspirational
3.0
4.0
MATA31
Grade: B
Nov 15, 2024

Challenging course, but engaging lectures. Utilize study tools like Unstuck study alongside the textbook to prep for tough exams. Attendance is a must, but the workload is manageable.

1.0
5.0
MATA23
Grade: F
Feb 25, 2025

meichiguoshidedoulaishangyixiazhemengke zhegegouniangyangdebijiaoshouwocaosiniquanjia

Tough grader
Lecture heavy
Test heavy
1.0
3.0
MATA23
Grade: A
Apr 19, 2025

Some of the solutions she gave for the practice final were wrong!! which is super misleading, I tried to figure out what I did wrong for 30 min before I realized the soln was wrong! I would prefer to read the text on my own rather than go to her lecture, as she talks about things that she will teach in later lectures during early lectures.

1.0
5.0
MATA23
Grade: Not sure yet
Apr 21, 2025

OMG she gives questions in exams that she has never even taken up in class once. We are doing linear algebra but what is its use, no explanation at all. Her solutions are often wrong and no question in the exam is worth less than 12 marks at least. No calculators and no cheat sheets, PLEASE DO NOT TAKE THIS COURSE.

Tough grader
Lots of homework
So many papers
2.0
5.0
MATA23
Grade: Not sure yet
Apr 24, 2025

I would say she doesn't really go into explaining the concepts. I had to watch youtube videos to understand what we were learning. She just starts teaching about the dot product, cross product, etc without actually explaining what it is. It happens frequently. The weekly assignments take so much time. But she was very sweet in person.

Lots of homework
Lecture heavy
Test heavy
4.0
2.0
MATA23
Grade: A+
May 9, 2025
Would take again

Dr. Breuss was pretty good as a professor! Her lectures were pretty clear and engaging. The textbook is mandatory and the weekly homework did take a lot of time but they weren't that hard and most of the answers could be found in the textbook. The weekly tutorial quizzes aren't the hardest but her midterm and exam did have some tricky questions.

1.0
1.0
MATA23
Jul 23, 2025

She is so insincere.

1.0
3.0
MATA31
Grade: Rather not say
Aug 12, 2025

Her lectures are terrible and notes add so much unnecessary complexity to what should be the easiest course of first semester uni

2.0
5.0
MATA35
Grade: Not sure yet
Aug 19, 2025

if you see her on acorn, avoid the course like you will get cooked if you take it with her

Tough grader
Lots of homework
Lecture heavy
4.0
3.0
MATA35
Grade: A
Aug 23, 2025
Would take again

Her exams were fair, and her quizzes were fair too. Prof Breuss does not deserve a 1/5 rating.

Test heavy
4.0
3.0
MATA23
Grade: A+
Aug 27, 2025
Would take again

Honestly a very sweet professor. I went to her office hours and she helps you understand where you are stuck. Quizzes, exams are all fair and nothing you haven't seen before (all in homework / practice quiz/prev. exams, etc.). dont know why the ratings are so low (?) the prof isn't the problem, linear algebra itself isn't always intuitive

Caring
Class Info

Online Classes

100%

Attendance Mandatory

24%

Textbook Required

17%

Grade Predictor

Your expected effort level

LowHigh

Predicted Grade

B+

95% confidence
Based on 67 grades
Most common grades:
Not sure yet (26)
A+ (20)
A (13)
Grade Distribution
A(33)B(6)C(5)D(3)F(2)A-/B+(20)
Based on 102 reported grades
Not sure yet: 26
A+: 20
A: 13
A-: 11
Common Tags
Test heavy (38)
Lots of homework (30)
Lecture heavy (28)
Tough grader (21)
Caring (15)
Get ready to read (14)
Skip class? You won't pass. (13)
Clear grading criteria (8)
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