Tantalo went very slow for Linear Algebra in the beginning of class and it showed near the end when he crammed the last 2 chapters on one exam. Overall, his tests were very tough, but fair because we knew what was on the test. The book he chose was wonderful and an excellent source of learning.

ALL YOU NEED TO DO IS ATTEND LECTURE, AND GET PERFECT SCORE ON EVERY LAB AND PROGRAMMING ASSIGNMENT, THEN YOU WILL GET A FOR SURE. YOU DONT NEED TEXTBOOK AT ALL.

Great professor. Very clear and approachable. Very fair on his exams and grading. I would definitely recommend him! He is very knowledgeable and cares for his students and wants you to learn. H.W. is mandatory and part of your grade. It is great that it is mandatory cause otherwise you wouldn't do it and end-up not learning.Great professor overall!

easy class, makes it very clear what he expects you to know--he sorta threatens you with proofs but never puts it on the test. One or two times i found myself dosing off but since its math i woke myself up. should be able to pass with A -no exceptions (just go over his notes, only need book for HW)

Patrick is a good teacher, as long as the next class isn't kicking you out he will stay and talk to you about things you don't get. With the exception of the method (or lack thereof) of handing back homework and the microphone cutting in and out (not really his fault.... :/) I have no complaints about this class.

I disagree with all the negative comments! He is extremely fair and clear professor. You can ask him as many questions you want and he will be more than happy to help you. He is super organized and dedicates 10-15 of every lecture to review. Who ever says he is horrible is just a lazy @ss slacker that doesn't study at all.DEFINITELY TAKE HIM!

He is crystal clear and explains tough concepts very clearly. He makes calculus very interesting and is very knowledgeable. His class policies are designed to benefit the students. You have to earn your grade which is not that hard. You will definitely learn a great deal so I highly recommend him! And no HE DOESN'T CURVE!

Excellent lectures! Excellent lecture notes! Possibly one of the best theoretical computer science lecturers you will find!

Prof. Tantalo is very clear and organized. Follow instructions, ask for advice if needed. If you aren't doing well in the class, do something about it. Not hard to get an A/B if you just do the work. I had no prior programming experience, but this class left me well prepared for the much more difficult CS12B. Do it.

Very organized lectures; easy to understand. Tests are not difficult since they're mostly just simple proofs he's gone over in class or applying algorithms. I learned a lot, but if you're looking for a teacher that will really challenge you, Tantalo is not the one; 102 with Achlioptas is a huge step up.

Great teacher, lectures very boring but extremely helpful for doing labs, hw, and quizzes. Quizzes are very hard, but if you go to class and do the hw its an easy pass.

Tantalo is freakin' hilarious. He is the most organized teacher I've ever had. So organized that he we will spend 5 minutes trying to get the paper on the overhead completely perpendicular to the side, so that everything looks perfect. And if he screws up writing the notes in class he asks the class for forgiveness or says, "Oh, no... my notes!"

He's probably the clearest math/cs instructor I've ever had -- incredibly organized, and (given that the material is inherently abstract), engaging. He has a "system" for teaching which works, and he consistently applies it. Budget extra time for hw/etc. due to weekly quiz+pset, but as long as you keep up, it's fine. No curve, but fair grading.

OH MY GOD, do not fall behind! catching up is not easy, the material is dense! he does go over stuff in class, that is relavant but the hw takes TIME, as does the reading which is crucial to understanding. however this is a very BORING class, though he is clear the sheer monotany is a death kiss. Don't take this unless you like this stuf a lot!

He was the easiest professor ever. You think that his tests are very hard but it actually isn't. The graders are very lenient. I thought I got a D for my first midterm, turns out that I got a B- instead. Although he does not give out curves, you'll still be able to pass his class. Just do all his homework and do well on the midterms. Good Luck.

he's a great teacher, i actually understood what he's saying unlike other math teachers. you should attend most lectures so you don't fall behind

Prof. Tantalo is a good teacher. His lectures are informative, and he provides pretty much everything he goes over in handouts. He's extremely organized, and very fair with time extensions on projects. The projects are reasonable, and the midterms tend to be straight from the midterm review sheets.

First things first: DO NOT SKIP CLASS. While attendance isn't mandatory, and while he does tend to teach from his handouts (which are nearing textbook-quality, I suspect he's considering publishing some day), he will tend to tell you very important things during class such as "watch out for this on the midterm", and there's really no substitute to

Do Not Skip Class. Patrick will tend to tell you very important things during class such as "watch out for this on the midterm", and there's really no substitute to seeing a proof synthesized in front of you. His teaching style is almost mechanical, but it works. When he says "This exercise would be good for you to do later," he means it. Enjoy!

I am really shocked by all the negative reviews Patrick has gotten. I am taking him for CMPS 10 and he seems like both a very nice man and a very smart guy. He lectures straight from the book and he posts every single one of his lecture slides on his website after he has given the lectures. I would strongly recommend his CMPS class.

Patrick is a very funny and friendly guy. I don't see why everyone is shutting him down. His CMPS lectures are very informative and easy to understand(if you actually pay attention). He also posts all his lectures notes online, which is very helpful. Quizzes are extremely easy as well.

He is a great professor who is very clear and uses funny examples to help us see things simpler. For exa: he says to imagine a computer as a person inside a cardboard box, with 2 slots where you write on a stickynote for "input" and "output" . He also reads directly from the book, so there is no point in buying a book if you take good notes.

Patrick made this class a great experience for me. I had zero interest in Computer Science to begin with, but his clarity and approachability helped me grasp and enjoy the material. Really friendly guy, totally willing to go over difficult material multiple times if someone needs it. Tons of resources available, so I'm not surprised I did well.

I don't get why people didn't like him. He is like the easiest teacher to understand in math. He is quite clear in his lectures. Although, he did not give a curve, his midterms and final was so freaking easy! I definitely recommend him for math11B. GREAT TEACHER!

awesome teacher. pretty easy. Straight forward teacher and his handwriting is a bit sloppy, but i saw that he was teaching another computer class and i decided to take it. in fact, im in his class right now typing this review, i would recommend this teacher since he is straight forward and what he teaches in class is what is going to be on the test

A solid professor. He is clearly an expert and very bored during class. However, his slides are helpful. I had no program experience prior to this course and I got an A. When in doubt, read the textbook. Get help in the labs. Even though it says accelerated, its not, this used to be the only intro to programming course until 2003.

His handwriting is cursive, not sloppy. He's a mathematician, so expect a lot of very precise definitions in class. He can seem abrupt, but I've never seen him not answer a question. His handouts are exceptionally helpful. Do all his exercises, they might be on the midterm. Tests are closed note, you must know formulas. Overall, hard but good.

Great professor as far as UCSC engineering goes. Took 12B with Mackey and didn't learn a thing. 101 with Tantalo is still pretty rough and moves very quickly, but he at least does a good job of teaching you the material with the time allotted. If you have trouble with C, read through the tutorial on his website.

I have been fortunate enough to have Tantalo for both CS 12B and 101 at UCSC. Compared to other teachers I have had and stories I hear about others, he is one of the best. CS 101 is a fast moving class and he does a good job covering everything relatively clearly. No curve, but just study his handouts and test reviews and you will do well.

You can tell he is a big math guy. He explains things mathematically and very precise which I appreciated. Very straight forward and fair. Always extended the lab deadlines. Material was pretty easy if you go to lecture regularly. I never used the book, only his notes and my notes. I got an A. Friend who barely went to lecture got a B. Drop 1 quiz.

The comment below is off the your mark. Tantalo does prepare for each lecture and if you wait (ie don't bail during the break like 2/3's of the class) he'll blow your mind with some insanely cool stuff(Game of Life, sine wave color shading) It's University bro, get wit it!

Dope teacher, if you have any background with java/processing class will be a breeze. Very reasonable and nice too. You probably don't need to buy the book to pass.

I'd never programmed in my life, but signed on to do a major with it. Glad I had Tantalo to teach me! I learned to enjoy programming, didn't get intimidated, and did pretty well. I found that I felt way more prepared for 12b than my classmates with different professors.

Teaches very simply and assigns easy projects. Exams are nothing (35 minute final). Likes to toy around with his own examples during class.

What he says in class isn't nearly as important as understanding the examples that he posts on the website. Toy around with them and you'll be able to do your assignments. BTW, tests are a joke as long as you attend the class.

Tantalo is one of the most relaxed and yet competent CS101 teachers at UCSC. He teaches Algorithms very well and gives a TON of extra help in office hours. I would highly recommend him if you want to learn the fundamentals of algorithms the right way.

Amazing teacher. He doesn't smile much, but that doesn't mean he's not friendly. He'll answer any question and prepares students for his class. He understands that people forget things and goes of remedial stuff as he teaches new stuff. I'm so pleased I took this class with him.

I loved this class: material + lecture == so fun. Tantalo made the material very accessible and clear - not immediately clear in class 100%, but if you put in reasonable time and engage with the homework, class site, lecture, and office hrs. excellent professor. thankfully no tricks on exams, i felt very prepared. nice guy too.

I enjoyed his lectures. He has an elegant explanation for most topics. Programming assignments were fun. Especially towards the end. No big surprises on exams. Provided review material. I would take him again.

Very easy testing and the programming assignments are very manageable. He tends to ramble a bit in lectures, but is a very relaxed person and easy to deal with.

Tantalo has a very easy to follow way of teaching. Attending his lectures made the material very manageable. He is not afraid to go over material again to clarify for students. Would take his courses again in the future.

I would highly recommend anyone taking CMPS101 to take with Prof. Tantalo. He really knows his stuff and his teaching style and lectures are great. Programming assignments build on each other and no surprises on exams. Overall pretty good class.

Tantalo is a good teacher. Lectures weren't too fast or too slow. He's very flexible with due dates for assignments. Programming assignments covered some cool topics and weren't particularly. This is a math class, so be prepared for lots of proofs.

Teaches the material well. He will extend deadlines if you ask. But you have to ask. I had no problems with this course and am glad I took it with Prof. Tantalo. He loves proofs-- and you'll need them later on, so it's good to learn to do them correctly.

final is basically the quizes

The material itself is very boring discrete math but Tantalo is an excellent prof.

Tantalo is a great professor, he goes over, in-depth, on the material covered in class. Everything on the midterms and finals are covered in class as examples. He goes over everything you need to know in lecture, I did none of the homework assignments and got a B+ in the course. He's an easy grader and doesn't curve (because of his easy grading).

Took this class since I'm a CS proposed major with no prior programming experience, and it was a breeze. Just attend lectures (try not to sleep through them), read a little from the book if you have to, and practice. Practice your programming with the examples he gives you. If you can understand the examples, you'll get an A. Not a hard class.

Tantalo really knows his stuff, and will make you know it too. Class was very heavy on proofs, especially Graph Theory. Programming assignments aren't exactly easy, but you are given plenty of time to do them and an excellent problem statement, so you're never stumbling your way through an assignment not knowing where to go. Study the exam guides!!

6 programming assignments, 7 to 8 lab assignments (super easy, basically free points). His midterms and final are very straightforward and usually very similar to his review problems. If you need an extension for an assignments just ask and he extends it for everyone; he gives multiple extensions but there's a limit. Super helpful in office hours.

Lecture is really helpful and he is a great teacher. I would recommend him over any other CS professor I've had by far. Gives a lot of help on programs and labs and is guaranteed to extend pretty much all of them.

He's great. Does good examples. Really clear. Taking classes with him again as much as possible.

He moved to another location to get more waitlisted students in for 12B, and consistently gives extensions. He extended an assignment for more than a week. It's probably because of the midterm, but I've never seen him do that before. He will also take any questions you have through email or lecture. Lectures are nice, but he uploads class notes.

Patrick Tantalo is one of the most amazing CS professors I've had at UCSC so far. If you've had him for 5J, 11, 12A, or 12B, make no mistake, 101 is a different ball game and he says from the get-go it's a hard class. But he does a hell of a job explaining the content in class. The book he uses, CLRS, is also the gold standard for algorithm books.

He's really organized in his lectures, assignments, and tests. Very clear guidelines on everything and always happy to answer questions. Lectures aren't the most engaging but always clearly explain what you need to know. All assignment due dates are postponed a few days!

Tantalo's CS12A is a pretty good and pretty easy introduction to programming that requires no prior programming knowledge. You have 6 Programming Assignments and 8 Labs (he extends the deadlines for these if you are behind). His lectures are crystal clear, the assignments are clear. You don't need the book. Great class, would recommend over 5j-11.

Professor Tantalo is a gem in an otherwise lacking computer science department at UCSC. I've had this guy from CS10 all the way to CS101. I attribute my programming abilities to the foundation laid out by Tantalo. He's a VERY good teacher, is considerate of student progress, and is very helpful during office hours. Take as many classes as you can.

I took this class with little knowledge of CS. He held easy quizzes every other week. He tries to make jokes to make his lectures more interesting. There was no midterm and an easy-ish final. For the first 3 weeks, the class was a breeze but then got harder. Homework was the least easiest part of this class. I sometimes used the book to study.

Professor Tantalo is probably one of the best instructors I have ever had. He could be doing his job somewhere else and probably get paid more. But nevertheless, UCSC is lucky to have him. He lectures in a near perfect fashion, I bet a 5-year old kid could follow along. Do not be afraid to take 12A if you have no programming experience.

Tantalo's class is great. Study his midterm review and you'll definitely get an A in his class. his tests are the same questions but easier the ta's give the answers the day before the test He has lab assignments but going to lab itself is not mandatory you will get the units even if you never go. Also you will learn a lot even if u hate coding.

Clear for the most part. Dry lectures, but if you can pay attention for long enough you'll get a decent backbone in programming. Basically the same stuff he'd teach in 12A. It's easy to stop paying attention, so don't let it happen. Assignments seem a little tricky, but are doable in a few hours. Mostly Java, a little bit of C.

Tantalo is a great teacher. What he wants on his homework assignments are really clear and easy to follow. Pat puts his lectures online and attendance in class is not mandatory. he is very helpful and accommodating in office hours. His review sheets are very similar to the tests, if you understand those you will pass the class with flying colors.

He is a an awesome professor/lecturer. His programming assignment are well written and you can always go to office hours to ask him. This guarantees that you can do well on the homework. Not only that, his exams are easy, so if you do his review worksheets, you will do well.

Can be hard at times, the second part of the quarter is the harder part of the class. You don't need a book. The tests are easy if you follow the review. Going to class helps a lot.

The class isn't so hard. The final was very hard for me even tho I studied the review problems like crazy. Study midterm reviews he provides. There are 6 programing assignment that are alright but the last three are pretty hard so start early and get as much help as possible. He is the best CS prof. so take him his classes if you can.

Clear assignments. Gives you plenty of time to work on them. Omg he gives extensions. Definitely start early. Last few Programming Assignments (PAs)can be tricky. Expect some math in your PAs I mean, Calc 1 _is_ a prereq. Don't worry, he's a great prof. If you need help, go to TA sections & office hours. Book is optional, but read it if you need it

I loved my time with Tantalo. I feel like he prepared me for the rest of my time here as a CS student. He was so clear, you were never left wondering what you needed to learn. He answers questions clearly in class, and paces the class really well to maximize learning. He's the perfect CS instructor for developing a solid foundation.

Good professor. Very clear in class, and very clear in assignments. Takes time to explain things well. Lectures can be boring, but such is the nature of the material, I think.

Patrick Tantalo really is a gem. His lectures are amazing, he explains everything clearly and he is incredibly helpful during office hours with both programming and theory. This course is pretty math-heavy, but it's actually enjoyable math. He also extends programming assignments BUT YOU MUST ASK. I would take all my CS courses with him if I could.

Yeah! Pick this guy here. He's a great professor and does everything so thoroughly. The only problem I have with his classes is that his lecture and voice are dry and monotone. If you need any help, please go to his office hours or any of the the labs as they are useful and critical (to a good extent) to pass the class.

I absolutely loved this professor. I have had him from CMPS 5J all the way to CMPS 12B/M and plan to take his courses as long as I can. His lectures are amazing, the tests and homework is not too difficult. If you can, take as many courses with him as you can.

Tantalo is the gold standard against which other CS professors are judged. His clarity with respect to the material and assignments is unparalleled, and he's probably the single nicest person in California. CS101 isn't an easy class (you're going to be working a lot), but you can't really take it with a better professor than the legendary Tantalo.

Great professor! Homework is due every week. Programming assignment (PA) due dates are clearly written on his website. Practice midterms/final are very helpful and gives you a good idea on what to study. Doesn't try to trick you. Lecture is online, notes are uploaded. Office hours are also helpful. He's got a Ph.D in math - he's a math guy.

I can't stress how amazing Tantalo is as a professor, even for graduate courses. He's by far one of the best professors you can have at UCSC. CMPS 201 is, as it should be, a step up from CS101/2 though and extremely proof heavy, so be ready for topics from 101, 102, and things not covered in either. But there's no surprises - do the HW and do well.

Tantalo is an excellent instructor. I admit the hw/review sheets is challenging. However, there will be no big surprises on his exams. His descriptions for his programming assignments are very clear. Lecture style is good. I found his few tangents in lectures to be very funny. Overall, you are probably going to have a good time in this course.

Absolutely phenomenal. Patrick demystifies complex concepts most lecturers struggle to pass on. Incredibly light work load and interesting programming projects accompany the math underlying computing.

Had him as a professor for 3 of my CS classes (12a, 12b, and 101) and I 3 him. His midterms & finals follow v closely to review sheets & his lectures (also webcasted) are v easy to follow. He's v nice & approachable during office hrs. His programming assignments & HW teach you a lot. Will prepare you v well for upper divs and future projects/jobs

Wonderful professor

Tantalo is best cs professor in UCSC! Very amazing lecture and very organized!

Great lectures. It's a shame I took a class with him for my intro to programming, as I did not get out of the class what I could've. He's a fantastic professor who knows his stuff and explains it well. 12A is alright with him, but take upperdivs from him if you can.

Great teacher, very understanding. Not the best of all the CS teachers for actually learning the material as the class with him is not very rigorous, but an easy A and an overall very smart guy.

6 programming assignments. The last three PA assignments are killer, so start early on those. Midterms are about the same as review questions, but slightly harder. Final would be slightly harder than previous midterm and final review. Pass all the test scripts, or else you can loose a good chunk of your grade. Easy labs. Lectures are dry.

easy to understand lectures.

I have taken 4 classes with Tantalo. He extends if necessary and the assignments and exams are not so difficult.

I'm one of those students where this was only the 2nd cmps class i've taken. Supposedly a lot of cmps is self taught, so I really appreciate the lengths he goes to to explain things in detail. All lectures were available on webcast, all written notes uploaded online. He always extended hw's and tried to help us do better. Chill guy

GET HIM! Professor Tantalo is the best CS professor at UCSC. He genuinely cares about students and is very clear at lectures. I never had programming experience before and still did great, but I did go to MSI for help. Last 3 programming assignments are tough but doable. Midterm and Final were similar to the review and was not too hard. Thumbs up.

Tantalo is the boy. Never took a computer science class before, but he explains everything in detail in class. He extended every single one of our assignments, so you have more than enough time to finish your work. Final was an exact replica of the study guide.

Extends every assignment. He's really good.

Great intro class. Tests are similar to practice. Go to lecture. His office hours are helpful.

I will definitely recommend taking CMPS 101 with him.

I've taken mostly all of my CMPS classes from him. He does a good job at explaining everything. The lectures are good and he posts videos and slides online. Very helpful at office hours. The midterm and final is basically the same as the review test but with a few minor changes.

He's one of the few professors I've ever had who can explain concepts both clearly AND with mathematical rigor. I highly recommend you take as many classes with him as you can for the optimal experience as a CS student.

Good professor, lecture kind of boring but the test is very straightforward. Always give the extension for the homework assignment.

I took CMPS 5J, CMPS 11, CMPS 5P, CMPS 12B/M and CMPS 101 with Tantalo and I absolutely loved him. His lectures may be boring, but he is excellent at teaching the concepts. The programming assignments, midterms, and finals are straightforward and I recommend taking as many courses as you can with him.

Tantalo was easy to understand. First 3 assignments are easy. pa4 takes a lot of time, definitely get started ASAP on that one. pa5 is slightly challenging if you're new to C. lectures are clear, worth going to. midterms were almost the same as the review. threw a curveball for the final but still did ok

Tantalo is a great professor who gives lots of materials to get students started on the assignments. The assignments still aren't all easy, but he makes sure you understand how to do them and what they are. Also he almost always extends every assignment by a week. Straightforward exams and class. Great professor.

Pretty clear professor, though a bit on the easy side. If you've taken one of his classes, you'll know exactly how they go. 2 midterms and a final, all of which draw heavily from the review problems/homework sets. Programming assignments are really, really easy. Took him for 12A, 12B, 101, got A's each time. Might take him for 201. Good professor.

For 101, the PA's were simple, and if you've taken 12B with him they are even easier. The main work is just memorizing all the proof's he gives you for the midterms and final. Always pushes back assignments. Doesn't curve but you don't need it if you put a good amount of studying in.

Patrick is a great lecturer who surveys a lot of material in a short amount of time. Attend class and hopefully MSI and everything will go well.

I had to give this class a 1 difficulty because 0 wasn't an option. Understanding ligamas is literally 75% of the class. Programming assignments were as simple as a hello world program. That is in python... In other terms, if this class was instantiated into an object, all of its features would be set to easy.

The grade was based on 7 labs (10% grade), 5 projects (20% grade), two mid terms (20% each), and a final( 30% grade). Most of his labs are straight forward and informative. A couple of his project assignments are difficult but he gives many due date extensions. Mid terms and final are similar to the review sheets so study them and u'll be chilling.

Tantalo explained every topic well, using both drawings and actual code to make sure we all understood everything. There was lots of homework, but it was all doable. The midterm and final were almost identical to the review problems, so they were pretty easy. Overall, a very good class.

Professor Tantalo is a great professor, I really appreciate how he always shows us an example similar to our projects so we get a basic understanding of the programming and lab assignments before we start them. His midterms and finals were also pretty easy and very similar to the review (some exactly off the review).

His midterms and finals are generally easy and reflective of the study guides that he'll give you. Programming assignments are always extended. The lectures can get boring sometimes, but there is always beneficial information in them. He gives a lot of examples as well, which personally helped me quite a bit.

Professor Tantalo is a great professor and I honestly greatly enjoyed my previous classes with him, but 101 just covers alot of boring proofs and theory's which makes it less interesting. As always his midterm's and finals are pretty similar to the practice exams. The pa's were pretty simple and usually related to the concepts discussed in class.

A great professor. I learned a lot. The tests were just like the practice. However, he is nit-picky about wording of proofs and will take off credit if your proofs aren't perfect. Felt like I was memorizing rather than understanding to do well. PAs and HW weren't too bad.

The first third of this class was brutally difficult, and we sped through a LOT of material. After that, though, it became pretty manageable. There were a lot of assignments, both written and programming, but most of them weren't too hard. Make sure you understand old CE16 and MATH19A material, and you're good.

Pat is incredibly clear with what he expects on assignments and tests. Practice tests are given and are very similar to actual tests. No curve balls, but sometimes the questions are from lecture material or homework. Pat gives lengthy assignment extensions. Lectures are uploaded online, I recommend attending though.

Tantalo does a great job of explaining the material and going over many examples of how algorithms are ran. He has a course website that includes handouts, example programs, and homework/exam solutions which are very helpful. He is also accessible through office hours. He also does his lectures by hand instead of using slides, which is great too.

Pat is an amazing prof. He explains all the math very clearly, and is fair with homework and tests. He made the class truly enjoyable, and I learned a lot. The class really benefits from his attitude towards teaching.

Pat has a great passion for this subject it seems. This was a brutally hard class at times (those programming assignments) but pat always gave generous extensions throughout the quarter. Exams were very fair and straight forward as he provided a study guide every time. As a previous review said "the man is incapable of throwing a curve ball"

Tantalo is a funny guy and he's super kind and forgiving with extensions. (And he knows it!) He will give out extensions like they're candy and is helpful during lecture, on piazza, and in office hours.

Webcasted. 1 Programming HW (though he might not have it for the next 102). Midterm reviews were really hard, but midterms were relatively easy. The final was extremely hard. This is the class where the Grad strike entered and shouted chants while we were taking a midterm. Tantalo handled the situation and the affected midterm extremely well.

All the rumors about Pat are true. He really does his best to make sure students succeed in his classes with his TA/MSI help, detailed lectures, and extensions. This class was not easy as it was based mostly on programming assignments after the course changes, but I definitely did learn a lot.

Professor Tantalo is a real gem. Especially for an Intoduction to Python, he really wants everyone to understand the course material, and will give multiple extensions on programming assignments to achieve that. His programming assignments are not very difficult, but you will fully understand the basics of programming by taking his course.

After failing cse101 with a different professor, I retook it with Pat. Definitely did not go wrong there - he is very understanding with extensions and the grading scale, the only thing is the lectures are a bit dry but hey, its a comp sci class. (Also took this class during covid so it was all remote, and he handled it very well)

Great guy. Very generous with his assignment extensions. If you pay attention during lectures, the quizzes are pretty easy. Programming assignments for the most were straightforward but definitely should start early on them and ask questions on piazza if necessary.

My favorite Professor my entire undergrad, Tantalo has amazing vocabulary, which is rare in CS . It can be hard to understand concepts in programming classes because of the layers of abstraction, but Tantalo has great metaphors and tools to help ground you in whatever he's currently talking about. Couldn't imagine someone doing a better job!

Lectures are clear and easy to understand. 70% of our grade is programming assignments, 20% is quizzes, and 10% is the final. The assignments are doable and you'll learn a lot from completing them. Overall good lecturer and clear assignments. Recommend taking this professor. 10/10

Pat's a great professor. Very clear during lectures and very generous with extensions. Not a super easy class, but he makes sure that if you're willing to learn you will succeed.

I love him. Everyone will appreciate the extensions he is willing to give out.

He's a great professor but coming into an intro to python class with no experience in programming it could get a little tough at times. He gives out a lot of extensions based on kids needs but its always best to get them done early as some assignments overlap. Paying attention in lectures will make the assignments easier.

Pat is amazing! He clearly wants his students to succeed and do their best. He is known for giving extensions but it's a double-edged sword. If you ask for too many extensions, you won't get enough time to finish all the assignments and you'll be missing out - they're fun! His class is a no-brainer.

He is caring and gives out clear lectures that everyone loves. Assignments have some difficulty, but you can always work them out if you started early. He legit used one lecture to let me understand a topic that I struggled with in the entirety of a previous class. Attendance is not mandatory, but lectures are super helpful.

Incredible transparency in terms of grading criteria and grade breakdown for each assignment; I wish all my CS professors had as organized of a system as his.

One of the best CS profs at UCSC. You've heard of his infinite extensions, but his lectures are also great and he gives detailed answers to students' questions. He's super into math and he'll actually make you understand proofs. CSE 101 is a tough class, but really rewarding and you'll learn a lot. He's a fair grader and has clear assignments.

7 programming assignments in C/C++ (70%). 5 Quizzes(20%) & final(10%). Professor Tantalo is a great teacher. He explains everything and provides many examples for new concepts. He is very organized and prepared for lectures to ensures lecture times not be wasted. I wish BSOE ask him to train other instructors to learn how to manage their classes.

Good professor and is very catering towards people who are having trouble with homework or projects. Has a zero-tolerance late policy so that is something to be careful about. Gears his class more towards people who already have some coding experience, new coders would have to work hard to do well in this class.

Easy A if you put in the effort. Professor gives out extensions every week and his quizzes are very similar to assignments/concepts he goes over during lecture. Grading is very (and I mean VERY) generous. Great Professor and great human being. Very welcoming to new, up-and-coming Computer Science students.

I felt that CSE20 with Tantalo was pretty easy, although for people with less computer science experience it may have been more challenging as the difficulty of the class increases a lot over the quarter. Tantalo makes ultra clear requirements for the programming assignments though, and overall the class is instructive. The quizzes are super easy

CSE102 is a hard class but Tantalo provided us enough material and supplemental lectures to succeed. Taking this class does require a lot of hard work and restless nights, but his tests were reasonable in difficulty(hw felt a lot harder) and hw is graded by students. There is also a programming project, but it isn't too hard.

Extremely clear grading criteria with plenty of extensions for assignments. Good selection of clear, easy to understand materials. Open to students and a clearly laid out syllabus. Course was difficult, but not for any confusion or mistakes on his part. Best professor I've had so far.

Best CS professor so far. Lectures + Labs are very related and he helps me understand data structure very well from C to C++.

Tantalo's wonderful! He provides challenging but doable assignments with clear goals, he goes over assignments if people are struggling, and he has a very generous extension policy! Sometimes I feel he rewards procrastination a little much sometimes, but it's obvious that just wants students to succeed!

Tantalo is a good lecturer, but the lectures don't fully cover the content of the assignments, in which you'll have to do some self-learning. Labs are easy, but the programming assignments can be difficult as you progress. Every 2 weeks was a quiz which were also relatively easy. Also had a final, which was more like a big quiz worth 10%.

This was a math class, so it involved weekly homework assignments which were fairly easy. Quizzes were easy if you studied, as was the final. Just do the homework and study, and you'll do well. The lectures were alright.

He is a great teacher, however, he made the grading scale for this class to be pretty tough. 75% of your grade is based on tests/finals so there isn't much room for error especially since everything is graded harshly.

Tantalo is the GOAT. His classes are difficult but fair. He does an amazing job explaining the material. You have to put in the work to practice the stuff he teaches but if you do, you will succeed in his courses.

His teaching doesn't fully cover the homework he gave, so I had to do a good amount of self-learning. The assessments were relatively easy and grading was all done through an autograder so it was easy to get the grade you want on the homework. This class is meant to prepare you for CSE30, and some of what Tantalo taught was not useful for it.

For 101, he gives us all the pseudocode, and his midterms aren't too bad. I'd take his classes again!

Pat is a great lecturer and gave clear assignments. We had access to pseudocode that made it go by smoothly. He's also very generous with extensions, though many of them are unnecessary as we're given a week for each assignment. Midterms and final were difficult, but fair. Could definitely do extremely well with effort, but I didn't put much in.

Professor Tantalo is a great CS lecturer (he's not in CS, but Math dept) and knows algorithms very well; Suggestions for passing his class: - Attend his lectures, it helps to stay on top of his Programming Assignments, which there are 7-8 of them, 1-4 in C, 5-8 in C++. - Partner with others by attending tutoring in BE 105/109 rooms EVERYDAY (tip)

He's really good at explaining concepts. Homework and quizzes are a bit tricky but not too bad if you pay attention to the lecture slides and textbook. Just go through any related topics in the textbook. If you ever have any problems, attend his office hours! He's really helpful then.

the best

Prof Tantalo has been great in CSE102. Highly recommend. Go to TA OH and attend lectures. It is a tough class due to the concepts but his lecture is detailed. Sometimes he has supplemental lectures (not a fan) but is still interesting to learn and work with.

CSE 102 with Tantalo was a tough but valuable class in my opinion. The exams are challenging but he prepares you well for them.

Only wanted to write a review since all the other ones were so negative, Tantalo was a great professor and all tests have been challenging yet not impossible if you put in the work..

Blue horse type beat.

Lectures were extensive and rigorous (as would be expected from someone with a math background). Office hours were incredibly helpful and he guided people over homework problems. The labs offered a lot of leeway in how they could be approached, which made them a lot of fun. He is approachable in class, if you have enough patience and tenacity.

Great Prof. Enjoyed the course. You will find the blue horse.

Prof displayed the concepts and represented it in lecture. Project are a bit repetitive but nice class. Enjoyed

I really enjoyed Professor Tantalo's course, he seemed so cool during his lectures. Almost all of his programming assignments are easy enough to do in a couple of days, yet he still gives us extensions. Gives study guides for exams with solutions posted. Gives tests for code so you know exactly what your grade will be for that assignment.

After 13s, 101 with Tantalo was a breeze, love him

Great professor with decent lectures. Even though he reuses all the material from previous 101 classes, I still felt his lectures were really helpful with completing the programming assignments. His 101 course was challenging at times, especially being new to C, but nothing too crazy.

Tantalo is the GOAT. After CSE 13S, 101 is really simple and fun. If you're a transfer student, he's very accomodating with extensions and his exams never throw anything that's a curveball. If you can, go to his office hours, and he will clarify any doubts you have. He's one of the best professors on this campus, take this class with him!!

Professor Tantalo lectures well and has good handwriting. There are 8 programming assignments in total. He is very lenient with extensions. He hires many tutors so there is plenty of help to receive. He is also always available via email and is very understanding. Overall a great professor and very knowledgeable about the material.

Prof. Tantalo teaches the material well. I didn't attend most of the lectures but I still succeeded in all assignments and exams. I'd say if you did well in 13S, this should be a breeze. C++ isn't much of a learning curve from C. For the exams, know the theory from the class, it's required. Otherwise, a good intro to algs and data structs.

Smart professor, but sometimes lectures are boring.

great class.

I took cse101 with Pr. Tantalo, and was incredibly surprised. I had just gotten out of the hellhole that was cse13, and was expecting the same treatment in 101. However, Pr. Tantalo blew me away, with reasonable assignments that seemed to be designed to teach instead of torture. The grading was clear and timely, with no attendance, so I could rest.

107 with Tantalo can be challenging at times, specifically the homework, but overall the class was really wet taught and organized. The lectures could be proof heavy at times but I thought the pacing and explanations were perfect, and this is coming from someone who has historically failed at probability type questions.

You learn quite a bit from this class. The first half is in C, second half C++. You create a doubly linked list data structure which is used for 4 PAs in C and 2 PAs in C++ (with a different implementation). The last 2 PAs are a binary search tree, in C++. His lectures are fairly proof-heavy compared to other CS classes, but they are interesting.

Tantalo's 107 is a lot more proof-based than other professors. This means that we don't cover the full syllabus (we reached Markov chains this quarter, so 3 weeks behind schedule). I think this is a good thing since we go quite in-depth with the material that we manage to cover. Homework is peer-graded and very hard, but exams are much easier.

Incredible CSE101 professor. Highly recommend to take him if you can. His PAs are well structured and have clear and concise instructions on how you should complete them. Attendance is not required, but every lecture is rich with information to help you with programming assignments and perform well on exams. A true breath of fresh air after 13S.

I definitely recommend him for 101.The class is basically an easier 13S, simple labs and a lot of topics you've already covered in other classes.The tests are very easy, almost identical to practice tests he gives. Everything is very clearly explained in lectures. He is very kind with extensions and the the TA are very forgiving for small errors.

Tantalo was pretty good for this class, and the work was all relatively straightforward. Definitely worth going to the sections, they help out a ton with the homework. The lectures can be a little confusing, and are very heavy on proofs, but don't always correspond to how to actually do the homework and test problems. Tests were very easy though.

Super chill prof. 8 assignments which were on a spectrum of difficulty but teach you data structures and algorithms pretty well. He's the king of extensions and the students always show great respect towards it. Lab sections are super useful too since there are so many tutors. Provides good resources to succeed in the class.

You get lots of extensions on the assignments. If you consult the tutors in person or online on Zoom or Discord and reserve ample time to complete the assignments and pass all of the public test cases, you will succeed in this class. Practice midterms are a good representation of the actual exams.

Overall, Tantalo does a great job of teaching his students the necessary topics to succeed on his exams and his HW. He is generous with extending due dates and the class Discord is very useful. The one gripe I have is that for the exams, he will teach several new concepts just days before (which are on the tests), which I think is quite unfair.

Everybody told me this class was a piece of cake after 13s, so I was a bit surprised by the difficulty of some of the labs. Still, it's doable with lots of extensions and practice finals which are similar to the real thing. My only gripe is that his handwriting can be hard to read at times, which makes it a bit harder to follow along in lecture.

Labs are worth 50% of the grade with the rest consisting of 2 midterms and a final. The exams were similar to the given practice which was nice. Weekly labs with due dates that get pushed back every time. It is a good idea to get your labs done early because there are a few that are challenging and will take a decent amount of time.

If you do the assignments and practice the algorithms discussed during class ur good. Granted some topics weren't discussed during class near the end and we had to do that ourselves but the tutors were very helpful. Assignments will pile up so just deal with that and you should be good to go. Tells us exactly what we need to know for exams.

Tantalo is a good professor. The labs are easy if you understand basic coding. The midterms are very similar to the homework so work to understand those. Sometimes the midterm questions were easier than the HW questions. The only negative is that I failed to see where the material would be useful in CE. I hear it's useful in ML and data science.

Great lectures. Very easygoing, willing to accommodate students needs in terms of due dates. Most difficulty will come from the nuances of C/C++ rather than the data structures/algos themselves. Exams are extremely easy and follow the study guides very closely. Grading scripts are given to you and assignments are fairly doable if started early.

Extends every assignment, but tbh the original due dates weren't always realistic. Grading scripts were frustrating at times, so start early. Exams were mostly close to review content, but study beyond that. Being tested on material we had just learned in lecture was annoying. Overall, lectured well on most content, but still sometimes hard.

This was a wonderful class. The programming assignments aren't hard compared to CSE13s, and the tests were very easy compared to the PAs and other course material.

His lectures were really helpful in explaining the concepts, and would often provide pseudo code and a lot of clarifications for the PAs. However, he would often go on tangents and leave content that is on the exams to the last minute.

I recommend going to lectures, they helped me a lot for understanding what we were doing in the PAs and exams. He's good at explaining concepts but he does kind of drone on so try to pay attention. ALWAYS START EARLY ON PAs!! For exams, ALWAYS do the review and if you can find them do the reviews and exams of past quarters for practice.

Pauls my GOAT. always extends pas (hw) an extra like 3-5 days. exams are fairly easy if you do the reviews and at least skim through lecture notes.

Took him Winter 2024 for cse 107. Very proof heavy in the lecture that were usually unnecessary for the homework and exams. Had a supplementary lecture every weekend. Labs were simple if you understood how to code basic programs. Midterms were usually easier than the HW. Very generous on points for midterms + exams though. Recommend for CSE 107.

Tantalo is great for 101, but I'm a bit mixed on his teaching of 102; some really like him, some don't. Many lectures were just reading off the handouts; get ready for some tough proof homework! However, he deliberately picks easy problems for his exams, and the class is easier than other 102 profs, so I'd still recommend taking the class with him.

Very love-hate relationship with this man. Lectures were very comprehensive with many examples. Homework was tedious, only the hardest questions were graded, and students had to grade each other's homework which was annoying. Quizzes were worth way too much which hurt my grade but labs were very easy. The final was tough imo but I enjoyed the class

Lectures were very useful in understanding the concepts. I wish there wasn't so many supplemental lectures. There's 4 quizzes with it being 40% of your grade. However since each quiz only has 3 questions, if you miss one, you lose a lot of points. Outside of that, it was a really enjoyable class despite Tantalo's ratings not being high for 16.

If you liked CSE16 this is a good class for you, otherwise look elsewhere. Tantalo fit a semester-ish worth of material into a quarter, and his lectures are pretty good! However, to do so he posts extra, supplemental lectures. Homeworks are considerably harder than exams (good). Homework is done via crowdgrader, a peer grading platform.

This class is hard but Tantalo teaches the material very well. The amount of time he expects you to spend on the class feels unreasonable. Lectures are dense and there was 7 full length supplemental lectures throughout the quarter, and you gotta watch them to keep up. Exams aren't bad if you prepare how he tells you to.

This is a very good class. The only issue were the many supplemental lectures that you need to watch over the weekends. The homework is sometimes difficult, but the midterm and exam are 10x easier than the homework, so if you understand the homework and occasionally read through the textbook, you should do good in his class.

If you get 100% on all homework assignments and do decent on the exams you will get a high B/low A. He doesn't curve and only gives out 0.5% extra for SETS. Exams are really easy. HW is challenging toward the end but he gives you the pseudocode. I didn't go to lecture once and ended up with an A.

Very good for 101 as he teaches very well. Not great for 16. Class is heavy on programming assignments which make up bulk of your grade, these assignments are medium hard level of difficulty, but can be completed if you start early. 2 midterms and 1 final, if you know your algorithms for this class, you are set. Good for 101, but didn't learn a lot

OK lectures, easy exams, and medium-difficulty programming assignments. I would highly recommend actually doing the HW instead of using AI for everything, because its literally the only way you will get anything from this class.

Tantalo is the one you want to take for CSE101. Super lenient with programming assignments, and class information is pretty easy to learn too (few things he covers only in lectures though, be sure to note that as they'll be on the midterms/final). If you cheat make sure to change your code up enough or you'll be flagged by their script.

Tantalo is a good professor. The material is difficult and the book is hard to read but the class is doable if you put in consistent effort. The midterms and final are relatively easy, though if you are only doing the homework and not extra practice, the material is easy to forget.

I took this class over summer and it was great. You will have a few quizzes and very easy coding assignments. Professor Tantalo is a great lecturer and if you show up to class and understand the in-class examples, you should be all set!

This is one of the most organized, and structured courses that I've ever taken. This really helped me feel engaged as I knew what to expect in terms of when assignments were due and resources are easily accessible on the class website. There's no guessing of what to study because he's a good communicator about what topics to focus on.

Class is easy and all the pseudocode is given. He/TA's will basically give you the answer straight up

He's overall a good professor. The most annoying thing is the extra makeup lectures he gives because he doesn't get through material fast enough. The midterms and finals are much easier than the homeworks. Reviewing the discussion and review problems are more than enough to pass the midterms and finals.

The class is alright. Make sure to start on your assignments early and PLEASE test your code through the grader they give you, so you don't lose 40 points on a lab for a segfault you didn't notice. Exam review problems are very similar to actual exam content, and plenty of pseudocode for labs are available on the website.

Weekly homework and labs with bi-weekly quizzes makes the class kind of stressful. The content is hard to learn as is but he does a really good job with lectures. However I also recommend doing the textbook readings he assigns, that's really helped me. He also uses crowd grader which I personally like.

Lectures are very straightforward and to the point. Writes down all his notes handwritten and is great at explaining topics. Also, easy to reach outside of class and is transparent on grading. However, deadlines/quiz dates are hard to keep track of, since he prefers his website (which has no notifications) over canvas. Also not a fan of crowdgrader

Lectures were slow but helpful. Lots of homework, and not guaranteed full points for hw because of Crowdgrader. Quizzes 1-3 okay, quiz 4 harder. Don't stress too much for the quizzes. I recommend practicing homework problems to prepare for the final (Tantalo's review also had most of the material on the final). No opportunity for extra credit.

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He's the only professor I've had that actually had a useful study guide.

Honestly I really enjoyed taking his CSE101 course. He explains topics really clearly and if he catches you cheating(for any reason) he just gives you 0s. While his PAs aren't the easiest to do, they're also not that difficult. His exams are pretty self-explanatory. Overall, he is the GOAT for CSE101. I'll miss having him.