2.8
Quality3.8
Difficulty47%
Would Retake369
Reviews47%
Would Retake
369
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
369 total ratings5
108
4
40
3
34
2
38
1
149
What Students Say
“He's not a professor for the faint of heart”
CS1301 - 4.0 rating“Great teacher, but the content is challenging”
CSCI1301 - 5.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
82%
Textbook Required
0%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.26 avg changeRatings by Course
CSCI4150
3.3
(12)CSCI1301
3.1
(142)CS1301
3.0
(43)CSC11301
2.8
(9)CSCI1730
2.4
(88)Difficulty by Course
CSCI1311
5.0
CSCI2710
4.0
CSCL1301
4.0
CSCI1301
3.8
CSC11301
3.7
Reviews (300)
If you want to learn computer science, take his class. Hes an expert and more than willing to share his wisdom. He loves to talk about computer science, but he can drone on about it sometimes. If your looking for an easy class, dont take his class.
Good class. Prof does his best with a large number of students. Projs and labs are too hard. Weigh them less.
Sal's class was rigorous and programming intensive like he said. This was a challenging semester, but I learned so much.
Tough grader and teaches too much stuff for an intro class.
Sal is the worst professor I've had at UGA. He gives you the same preprogrammed response to any question I've asked him. He is not flexible in anyway in the classroom. Labs and projects will take up most of your week and are not represented in the gradescale. 2 quizzes a week that are impossible and does not help when I ask what I should study.
Sal went out of his way during and after office hours to help me out. Homeworks, quizzes, and exams are challenging, but fair. I worked harder in his class than I did in any of my other classes.
Felt like I was being taught in a vacuum the entire time. Zero classes (just "optional" lab sessions), instead lecture videos were posted to eLC that would disappear permanantly after a week. Quizzes are all 5 questions long and don't test you on the important topics. The class is just "alright," but please find another CSCI1301 class if you can
Did I learn a lot? Yes Do I feel prepared for future classes? Yes Is the class rigorous? Yes Is the instructor knowledgeable? Yes Should you take the class? If you are a CS major/minor, you don't have a choice (Good Luck). P.S. The instructor is not very human friendly. IYKYK.
Good teacher, but python is better for an intro class than java.
Sal went out of his way in and after office hours to help me out. His exams and quizzes are difficult, but fair. I worked harder in this class than any of my other classes this semester. I learned so much this semester.
Initially I thought note taking on paper for video lectures was pointless, but after I started doing it, my grades improved in his class and other classes.
I took several classes this semester, and I acquired more skills in his class than my other classes. I can problem solve better, write programs, and my logic is sharper.
At the start of the semester, Sal promised us that we will learn all the syntax in Javas main method (public static void main(String args)). I know what all the syntax means. Thank you for teaching this and many other things and for saying args like a pirate!
The lab instructors were not helpful, but the teacher knew his stuff. Hard class, but youll learn a lot of stuff.
I laughed at reading the negative reviews for Sal. He is an excellent teacher. He isnt a push over like other faculty members at UGA who cave into student complaints. He teaches in a structured manner. His policies are clear, fair, and straightforward. Focus on computer science and youll do well in his class and learn a bunch of useful stuff.
Video lectures are long, but you can stop, fast forward, and rewind them throughout the week they are posted. I found this more helpful than live classes where you feel awkward asking the professor to repeat something.
After seeing a few students post to give Sal a bad review because he does not curve grades, I wanted to post an honest review about him. He is a good teacher, harsh grader, and his class will challenge you. Study hard and follow his technical instructions and examples, and youll do well. If you dont, youll have a hard time.
Don't listen to the 5/5 reviews. While I learned a lot from the class, it seems he took every opportunity to make the class harder than it needed to be. He gives impossible quizzes and tests that make up most of your grade and then the labs are way to much work for how little they count. Be prepared to constantly study if you want a decent grade.
Inspiring teacher and rigorous class where youll work hard, study hard, and learn many things.
Awesome teacher! He encouraged me to take more cs classes, and I look forward to taking them.
His grading is harsh, but the course is well structured and the teacher is exceptional at explaining technical things. The lectures are boring at times. The fun with strings lab was evil and not fun. The find the sums lab and interactive fiction game were fun.
Worst class I have ever taken.
Class was horrible for an introduction class. The labs and projects were the only instances were actual programming was graded. Exams and quizzes counted for majority of the grade and had 0 programming questions.
Im a better programmer than I was at the start of the semester thanks to his class.
Hes a good teacher, but the class is information dense and covers too many topics.
I am not a cs major. I felt overwhelmed and struggled in CSCI 1301. It is not a good class for nonmajors. Sal is an okay teacher and does his best to teach to majors and nonmajors, but something needs to be done to provide a programming class to nonmajors.
Hes not a good professor and he doesnt care to be one. The format was online and he would post 1 or 2 video lectures each week and remove hem the following week. He also would give 1 or 2 hard quizzes each week which is 20% of your grade. If you miss it, you cant retake and that hurts your grade. I would not recommend taking him.
He's one of my favorite teachers. He was always willing to explain things whenever I needed help. I enjoyed 1301. I look forward to 1302.
solid prof
Challenging teacher and class. The problem solving and note-taking skills I learned in Sal's class helped me to succeed in csci 1301 and other classes.
Exceptional teacher who is passionate about computer science. He's strict about his rules, but if you work hard and follow them, then you'll be successful in his class and learn valuable programming techniques.
Great teacher, but there is too much material covered in one semester.
CSCI 1301 is a large class that does not have enough TAs. The class would be better with smaller class sizes and more TAs to help out students in the lab. The teacher was organized and explained things well, but there was little one-on-one interaction with students.
He teaches a rigorous introduction to programming for 1301. Be prepared to work hard, and you'll be successful in his class and learn a lot. I would definitely take another class with him.
The class is tough, but the teacher is great at explaining technical stuff.
Tough class. Good teacher.
Excellent teacher for a tough programming class.
Done online for this semester so no attendance but if you miss one lecture just know that you'll fail the next quiz, which is 20% of the overall grade and has 5 questions. Absolutely no help from professor and TAs. If you don't know Java, just drop this class. All the positive reviews are fake and most likely done by the prof.
WORST professor I have ever taken. Literally cried in class on multiple occasions. Received less than 50 on the first exam and had to drop. An extremely difficult course not made any easier by this professor. Seems to be pretty mad at the world and is taking it out on his students.
If you have Sal as your professor and you're looking to learn to code, you can forget about it. He does not care about his students at all. Almost as if he wants his students to fail.
I taught myself by reading the book and did great on projects/ labs, but not with his help. If you take the class online he will ask pointless questions on the quiz like "what was my program's name in class." Be prepared for anything and everything because it feels like he is out to fail you. I only got a B+ after much stress, tutoring, and help.
His class was the worst. Took him during pandemic and he deleted lecture videos every week and has quizzes going over small things from previous video. He put bare minimum effort into his class. Grades wayyy too harshly. Quizzes make up majority of grade along with tests. Doesn't seem to care about the students.
The professor is nonexistent in this course. Never got to havea one on one interaction with him even if I wanted to. Also pretty sure hes posting reviews of himself on here. Take note of how every 5 star review has only dislikes on it. Plus if you go back far enough, there are repeat word for word 5 star reviews. Seems a bit fragile about himself.
Professor Lamarca is not the worst by any means, however his quizzes and tests are the most difficult exams I have taken. The material is easy but the way the questions are asked are difficult for no reason. Projects and labs are easy and are the same for every class so just read the textbook and you will be fine and hope you get lucky on the exams
Hes probably just trying to weed people out of CS, which doesnt make sense. It was a bad way to start CS at UGA.
If you are able to, avoid La Marca. He does not explain the material well, brushing important aspects off and leaving you a bit stranded. All of the concepts he went over I had to read and find videos about that explained it properly. He also tries to "connect" by using a weird 80's hip-hop vernacular so prepare for unbearable cringe.
He does not want you to well in his course nor does he really want to help. Lots of gatekeeping in this course.
One of the best teachers for students who want to learn cs. His syllabus says this class is rigorous, and that's 100% true. I worked hard in his class, but it was worth it. I feel prepared for 1302.
The teacher is good at explaining technical things.
top-notch instructor
Exceptional teacher who is clear, concise, and an expert at cs
I would not trust the positive review s you are seeing at all!! If you take a look at all the positive reviews, they say same thing pretty much. I feel like the professor is writing them. He does not care about his students at all and is very rude. I think he likes be a hard professor. I hate that he teaches an introductory CS class.
The instructor knows his stuff. He's a good communicator. The class is organized. I look forward to taking more computer science classes.
Im glad I took this class. It made me a better programmer.
He's a good prof, but not enough one-on-one time with students outside of office hours.
Worst class I have ever taken. The professor uploaded 2 lectures every week in which he rambles on for an hour and you learn nothing. quizzes and labs every week. Quiz questions have nothing to do with lectures (ex. would ask what the name of the practice program is), labs are graded unfairly, and the final was 125 questions with trick questions.
never met a professor whos goal in life is to make sure everyone fails. do not trust the positive reviews since he writes them himself. he deletes lecture videos and gave us a 125 question final exam with topics we never learned about
I am not sure if this was his first time teaching 4150, but if it was then I can understand some of the course's flaws. The weekly lecture videos get removed on Sundays, very limited office hours for both the instructor and the sole TA, a "figure it out" approach to most of the homework assignments. Maybe things will be better in future offerings.
It's like he wants you to do bad in the course. He deletes lecture videos and content at the end of the week. If you didn't take good notes or were busy, good luck charlie. Also 25 points off an assignment for each day it's late.
Please do not take him if you care about yourself or your grades. This class does not need to be a super difficult class yet he makes it hard. Most of the textbook material and coding assignments are straightforward but the quizzes and tests he assigns are designed to make you fail. He deletes lectures needed for studying and is not a very nice guy
So let me sum this class up for you. Horrible. The professor posts hour long video lectures but then takes them away before the assignments relating to the material are released. The quizzes are stupid hard and count more than the actual coding labs or projects. The tests are all multiple choice which sounds like a blessing but sorry, it's not.
This class is supposed to be difficult in order to get us up to speed. When someone complains about this professor what they are really saying is that they did not want to work hard. If you are willing to put in time you will succeed. (Reading the book is what worked for me) I felt way more prepared after this class.
This class was ridiculously hard if you are new to CS. He posts hour long lectures and removes them at the end of the week to "motivate" you to keep up with the class. Despite spending more time on the projects and labs, they have the least weight. The quizzes had very specific questions like "what is the name of the program he used in the lecture"
BEWARE OF LAMARCA. I decided to trust the few good reviews over the multiple bad ones until it was revealed that he wrote them himself. Geez man if you really care that bad about ratings then be a good professor. This class should have gotten us excited for CS but it just made me change majors. Do not take him.
Dont be afraid to take Professor LaMarcas class. I was also nervous before taking it, but during the semester I quickly realized that the bad reviews were very unjustified. Yes, his lectures can be a bit repetitive and boring, but if you want to succeed on the quizzes, labs, and exams, above all else, you need to put the work in.
A great professor for CSCI 1301. Complaints about him should be taken with a grain of salt. 1301 is a freshman course containing mostly students who are used to their high school work ethic and don't understand the rigor of university. LaMarca's class will make you a better programmer.
This class is designed for you to fail, take any other professor. Lamarca only wants to see you do bad for some reason.
Graded on criteria that had little to do with programming. Knowledge and comprehension of the course material won't guarantee you a decent grade, you'll have to remember his dozens of irrelevant rules to do well on assignments and tests.
I'm not sure why it's his goal to make everyone fail. He posts hour long lectures and deletes them at the end of the week, so if you didn't have time to do it on Monday night, you''ll fail the pop quiz on Tues. I think it fuels his ego to be a hard professor. I like CS but the intro class shouldn't be this difficult. He's just not a very nice guy.
Sometimes felt like he wants you to suffer. Typo in your I/O? 15 points off! He simply does not care. This type of intro CS class is why people will drop out of CS as a field. Maybe that's his goal, who knows. Also his projects are the most mind-numbingly boring and uncreative I've ever experienced.
Class was hard, but once you get to the next course in the csci path, you'll see why he was so hard on you. The topics are essential to succeeding in the next level.
Dont even think about it, telling you dont take him. If you have an option dont. Just dont.
Im not sure who makes the good reviews, but its definitely not people who value their health, happiness, or love for cs. The tests and pop quizzes often ask about the most arbitrary and useless information which you will not know unless you watch 2 hours of lecture videos every monday. Seriously, take it with anyone else.
Its like he want you to fail the class. Does not even teach and puts lecture vids instead, but then takes them down at the end of the week. even if you miss a letter of a word, you'll get -15 on labs and projects for "inconsistent I/O." Avoid this man at all costs. Also, beware of good reviews for Lamarca, as he wrote them himself to boost ratings
Please just take any other professor.
Just don't take this guy. he will make you regret everything in life. he just is not a good professor
Lamarca is not a bad professor. You can learn a lot from him: that is, if you can get past the hours of video lectures, tons of reading, 5 question pop quizzes worth 20% of your grade, hard exams, a hostile teaching method, and 15 points off for one incorrect letter on your output. It is a brutal intro to programming. (DO NOT USE A PHONE IN CLASS!)
Save yourself the trouble. Programming assignment grades can be deducted by a letter grade if you make a grammatical mistake, quizzes can be extremely hard over content that was just learned, and video lectures covering programming concepts are deleted each week.
He takes off letter grades for having an extra space in a print statement, or anything like that. You will have lab assignments every week and sometimes lab and projects in the same week as well as quizzes every week. He will also kick you out of class and make you get a zero on a quiz if hes in a bad mood. He makes the class harder and hes rude.
I've heard he's not as bad one-on-one, but he's pretty much as bad as you can get as a lecturer. The grading weight is ridiculous: most of your time outside of class is spent working on the weekly lab assignment and bi(ish)-weekly project, yet both of them combined are weighted only slightly more than 10-15 pop quizzes.
save yourself from wasting a semester
Okay I did fairly good in the class, but the way the grading works in this class is incredibly stupid. It's very easy to accidentally get a 0 on an assignment and quizzes are based off of obscure ideas and short sentences. Anyone who likes this class or the professor hasn't had the opportunity of fail a lab due to a single line of code.
This was the worst professor I have had at UGA. He does not care about his students whatsoever and takes pride in being inflexible with his policies even in the face of the pandemic. He gives daily quizzes as well as impossibly confusing test questions where the answer could be multiple things. He does not need to be teaching an entry level class.
Ive taken Lamarca and regret it. I missed the exam 1 due to an emergency procedure due to a broke back and he didnt excuse it. Every attempt I made to work something out fell on a cold heart. He seems very knowledgeable about CS and I respect his want for hard work, but being a hard professor doesnt mean lose all sense of simple sympathy
Amazing professor. Department needs more individuals like him. Very caring, approachable, and willing to help you out. He will teach you best practices in programming, such as how to implement good control flow in your programs. Don't listen to the negative reviews.
Professor LaMarca emphasizes that this course will be a rigorous introduction to programming. He is a great professor for this course and teaches you things that will help you in future classes. He covered Java compilation using the command prompt and also how to write some JavaDoc. These tend to be 1302 material, but LaMarca gives a nice preview.
I really liked his teaching. He offers great guidance when you're stuck on a project or lab.
Sal is the best.
very hard professor. dont take him
Sal is NOT the best
Does not teach. grading very unfair. takes "rigorous introduction" way too seriously. Not approachable. He will make you hate programming. don't take him
I would take every programming language course with Lamarca if I could. My appreciation for Java grew with every lecture he gave.
As someone who had a fair bit of experience prior to taking 1301, Sal was fine. His lectures are insanely dull (Id recommend watching on 2x speed, you wont miss anything) but do just fine at teaching Java. What he doesnt do, however, is teach the thinking skills that should be taught in an intro level course. Not a fan of the 5 question quizzes
He was harsh on students. Kicked students who were 10 minutes late out of class, threated to report people to academic dishonest if they had their phone out and refused to look at any students code in a class of 70 people. Video lectures are kind of nice but their only available for 5 days at a time. Class wasn't hard but it is a weed out class.
Coming into this course knowing Java was helpful for me. If you can avoid Sal, that's probably best. If you can't, it won't be too bad if you really stay on top of video lectures, reading the textbook, and working on labs and projects in advance. Doing all of this will take a number of hours outside of class, so be prepared to put in the work.
The content is easy to learn. He just made the class harder than necessary. The weekly homework is consists of 1-2 lecture video(s) about an hour-long, lab, and project. The pop quiz (a nightmare) is about the previous lecture, and the two tests are about 50-60 questions. I don't recommend taking him if you have a choice bc it's hard to make an A.
If you plan on taking this class for kicks and giggles, this is the wrong class. If you're it anyways, just be prepared for lots of lecture material to watch every week, lots of pop quizzes (at least once in a 2-class week), and super strict grading on labs and projects. Sal has good intentions, but he comes across as a very mean teacher.
Flipped class. Puts a lecture online for the week and then takes it off after Friday, so if you miss a week of lecture videos, it will snowball and be impossible to catch back up. If a line of code doesn't compile, it's an automatic 0. Mid term and final are incredibly hard. Doesn't pass back quizzes to study. Needs 5 hours per week out of class.
Lecture videos are more important than going to class, but go to class anyway because of pop quizzes. Study for quizzes before every class, and don't be late. Small mistakes in your code will cost you many points, so check it thoroughly. Professor Lamarca will answer any questions you have in class pretty well.
His lectures were very engaging.
You will hate your life the entire semester under Sal's discretion. He does not care about you or your grade. We analyzed 3D arrays for a pop quiz. Sal is not friendly. Although he is knowledgeable and you will learn a lot in this class, again, your life will be miserable. Unsuspecting pop quizzes weekly, sometimes twice a week. Made me depressed.
I hate Sal so much. He made my life miserable. I was so excited coming to CSCI 1301 knowing that it was an introduction to programming class. However, it didn't seem like an introductory class with Sal as your professor. His pop quizzes were more like daily quizzes so be careful. Please watch the videos and read the textbook over and over again.
I don't know how anyone can get an A in this class. Lamarca is one of the worst professors I've had, constantly giving pop quizzes that he likes to trick you in, and never paying attention to students that need help. The tests are also so hard, it's like he never prepares you for anything. Lectures were not engaging, would never take him again.
He's truly a wonderful professor. His class is not easy, but it would be a disservice to us students to make it so. Lamarca provided an accurate portrayal of the reality of pursuing computer science. It's not for everyone and it's a good thing to be let known of that early on, so you don't waste time.
Do not take if possible in any way shape or form.
LaMarca isnt the best lecturer, but all the bad reviews are completely unjustified. If you put in the work, youll absolutely succeed in his class. Read the textbook thoroughly and youll be straight. I can guarantee that all the bad reviews are done by people who didnt put the work in. If you dont want to put the time in, drop the class.
If you take this class, good luck. Pop quizzes are almost every lecture and are unforgiving with each quiz having only 5 questions with no partial credit. This class really makes you reconsider your major.
This class shouldn't be hard, but the issue is with Sal's teaching style. The videos he has you watch aren't good, and they're removed after a week. Lectures are completely useless. You're going to have to solely rely on the textbook for the class. Quiz difficulty is also exaggerated on here and they're not really pop since they happen each class.
Seriously, just take someone else
Lamarca's lectures were so interesting and engaging that even when on days when I was tired, I became energized and invigorated by his unrivaled clarity and communication. Had no further need of my coffee. Not really sure who writes the negative reviews, but they don't accurately reflect this professor.
Lamarca is a model for what a good CS professor should be: compassionate, engaging, and rigorous. Don't put too much weight on the bad reviews. If you're a prospective student of this professor, then it would be to your advantage to leave your high school mentality behind. Serious CS students appreciate Lamarca's lectures.
Lamarca equips you with a strong set of computer science fundamentals. People who complain about Lamarca should watch mock coding interviews on youtube to see that Lamarca was really preparing them for the real world all along.
Lamarca is an excellent professor. I hope he knows that some of us are really grateful to be his students. Some of the negative reviews on here are contemptible and don't correctly characterize Lamarca's teaching. Don't let them deter you from registering for Lamarca's classes.
I took him for 1301 and I honestly thought that he couldnt get worse. In 1730 hes more concerned with testing us on how many bits are in unsigned signed ints. One of the answers to the homework is literally x is a pointer to a function with a pointer to a pointer to an int as a parameter that teens a point to an int I would never use that irl
The most boring lectures you'll sit through. The projects are EXTREMELY boring as well. I miss the other professors, whose projects were amazing and entertaining in contrast to this entire class. The assignments are more concerned about quizzing you on the little details than they are in teaching you how to program in C++. Not worth it
had the displeasure of having him in 1301, and was terrified to see him be the ONLY professor for 1730. His lectures are ripped from the textbooks and API documentation online and offers very little outside of reading off of his slides. Random pop quizzes on class days that are 20% of your grade which you cant even ever review
Awful, awful professor. Clearly does not care for his students and comes off as condescending. Loves paper coding, 2 hour video lectures that are removed on Fridays at 5 pm, snapping at people in class... He seems to think the only people that could have an issue with his class are stupid. He's wrong. I've yet to hear a positive thing about him.
reads off his powerpoint lectures so much that you would think you're coming to class to experience a live audiobook
He would read directly off of the power point slides, and didn't give students access to the slides till Friday 12pm. It is unbelievable that we didn't have access to the notes until the end of the week. I also couldn't believe that five question pop quizzes were worth 20% of our grade, while projects were only worth 18%. Avoid him at all costs
Dr. Salvatore Lamarca is an amazing professor who loves the subject he teaches us. Java language won't come easy without prior self study, so be aware of it. Dr. Lamarca even helped me to get to GT with his recommendation letter he wrote for me. I learned a lot from him to be ready for the next step, and feel lucky that he was my professor at UGA.
I am an A+ student, have had 2 classes with him and can't get an A. He is a god awful human being in addition to a miserable professor. He gives pop quizzes on rainy days, tries to trick you on every question, and gives you no leniency if you are sick or injured. He wants you to fail at every step of his class.
A solid 5/5 professor. He taught me how RAM works and how to compile Java code from the Windows command prompt. He is also a stellar communicator of data structures and object-oriented principles. I hope he wins many awards for his contributions to computer science education.
Absolute worst CS teacher on campus. Whatever you do don't take him.
This was a tough course, but I learned a lot. The active learning exercise were engaging, challenging and fun. He was a great teacher.
Incredible teacher who prepared me for future CS classes.
One of the best professors at UGA! Great communicator. Very organized and keeps a solid pace throughout the semester.
Thank you for asking students to silence their devices during our class. In my other classes, the constant sounds of devices are distracting to me. I enjoyed the hiphip array and futurama examples. The course is tough, but I appreciate the technical details explained during class and the challenging programming assignments.
Lamarca was great! The class was interesting, and his assignments were fair.
If you read the book the class is fine. Everyone likes to whine about it though.
LaMarca fails you by deducting points based on rules unrelated to compsci. He has no forgiveness or empathy so one mistake will drop your letter grade. Take other profs, if not, it's better to graduate late than to have his grades on your transcript. Listen to the reviews, don't be me. Everyone thinks they're the exception until they're not.
Overall unfair and inconsistent grading policy. Many of our class had dropped by withdrawal deadline.
You need to know Comp Sci before this to pass. There is not a chance these 5 star reviews are real. No one laughed at hiphip array.
Dr. LaMarca is an outstanding professor. His course is well organized, and he treats you like an adult. While his class is rigorous and labs and projects can be difficult, he is often available to help student during office hours.
Do you actually want to learn computer science? or do you just want to get a easy grade... Take Lamarca to learn! The jump from 1301 to 1302 is complex and intimidating. There are probably other professors who would give you an easier semester, but you will be less prepared. If you have the time to commit, it will be worth it in the long run.
Great professor. I wish he taught more courses.
Very caring and organized professor. He gave us homework extensions when the class was struggling and even dropped our lowest quiz grade. He is the best professor for this class.
He is very knowledgeable and great to talk to. Very responsive to emails and quick to process requests. I once had a lab that was misgraded by the TA and Lamarca fixed it immediately after I told him.
Okay, I'm writing this review a year after taking his 1301 class. I originally gave him a bad review, but I'm taking it back. I'm now in computer science 1730 and have had little trouble understanding anything that came after 1301 thanks to how well Sal taught this class. He's tough, but you will do better in your other classes if you take him.
An exceptional teacher. His class was organized well, and he was helpful in answering questions.
Run for your life- he writes the 5 star ones himself. I had to withdraw from this class but got an A+ in an upper-level Java class taught by another professor.
Sal is the worst teacher I've had at UGA. He gives impossible pop quizzes that make you miserable. I spent hours completing assignments. He was not approachable to ask questions. He would berate students and yell at them. He kicked students out of class for being late. Overall, he made the class experience miserable. :( He writes his own reviews.
Too difficult? No, you didn't bother to show up to class or study. Day 1, the syllabus showed how to get an A. Attendance NOT mandatory, but if you want to learn it (it's cumulative) show up. Lots of homework & quizzes helped me get info & points. No pop quizzes. Grading is fair (again, syllabus). Don't ask for an extension - it's not happening.
Not really sure where all the 5 star ratings are coming from, because Salvatore LaMarca is one of the biggest a-holes I've ever met. He gets off to berating students for being late to class, but seems unbothered about the daily 50% attendance. The class itself, simply isn't that hard. If you have to take him, it isn't the end of the world.
Incredibly boring, condescending, and unhelpful in every regard. His grading and makeup policies are geared towards making as many people fail as possible instead of succeed. The five star ratings on this page are also clearly fake.
I thought he was a pretty decent lecturer, but he makes his class significantly harder than it needed to be with all of the surprise pop quizzes at the end of lectures. He's incredibly mean and uncaring toward students, and I think he prides himself on failing them. Again, he's a decent teacher, but no one should have to put up with his behavior.
Sal was extremely knowledgeable on the subject matter, he just was an extremely tough grader. As long as you checked your code over once or twice to make sure there were no errors, you'll be pretty good. Also, showing up to lectures isn't mandatory but it is difficult to understand the content without going to lectures
Professor LaMarca is an excellent teacher who truly cares about his students' success. He always goes out of his way to help. His teaching style makes the material engaging and understandable, and I would highly recommend him to anyone looking for a great CS professor.
Splendid professor. I landed a competitive internship using what I learned in his class. Thank you Sal. If you're serious about computer science, then I highly recommend him. If you want an easy A, then don't take him.
Mr. Lamarca is knowledgeable regarding CS topics, however his teaching does not communicate that knowledge well. Lectures are him reading PowerPoints and the occasional handout. You have weekly labs and bi-weekly projects that often need more explaining from the TA. 2 tests, 6 quizzes. You need a CS background to be successful in his class.
This is a tough class, but Sal is an exceptional teacher. He shows up to class early, answers questions before and after class, and is helpful during office hours. I'm excited to take more cs classes.
Great teacher and great course. The class is challenging at times, but there are enough quizzes and assignments to make-up for one bad grade. Textbook was helpful sometimes.
We are very lucky to have Lamarca here at UGA. His instructional methods are indispensable to any institution of higher education. His explanation of sorting algorithms is of award-winning standards. Do yourself a favor and take this professor.
Sooo glad I took Lamarca. He is definitely one of the finest computer science educators of this era. I couldn't find a single resource that explained the array data structure as well as Lamarca did. I will certainly be using this heavily in my future courses. Thanks, Lamarca!
Great teacher who knows his stuff. I didn't have much programming experience at the start of the class, but after taking his class, I could write programs that have hundreds of lines of code.
Brilliant lecturer. I would take every programming language course with him if I could.
Lamarca goes above and beyond in bringing you from confusion to clarity. He answered all my questions after class and was very patient. Highly recommend Lamarca.
Sal's class makes you a better student. This course helped me to develop good study habits. I learned to stop cramming and use spaced repetition. I thank Lamarca for deleting his lecture videos each week, so I would be compelled to take notes.
He's a wonderful person and teacher! I recommend him if you want a sucessful career in computer science.
I have lots of respect for this guy. He is very dedicated to the intellectual growth of his students. I hope the department gives him more classes to teach.
I enjoyed the class and the way he taught it.
Outstanding prof!
My favorite lecturer at UGA! He's great at explaining things and puts lots of energy into lectures.
I hadn't coded before, so I went in a little scared because of the overwhelming negativity I heard about him. He wasn't even half as bad. Respect the guy, he clearly loves what he does. If you put in the work, you will be just fine.
Instructor used active learning exercises to make sure students understood cs concepts.
Lamarca was not a good teacher by any means. I taught myself a lot more than he taught me. Your grade consists of your lab assignments, projects, the midterm, and the final. The midterm and final are weighted pretty heavily and can definitely make or break your grade. The class and its assignments took a lot of time, so you need to be dedicated.
Man is smart ill give him that but tbh reading out PowerPoints isn't the best for everyone. I found myself struggling through this on my own time so be warned. Exams make up the lion's share of your grade so if you aren't familiar with programming this probably isn't the move. TBH i'd be skeptical of some of the higher rated reviews.
I was scared before taking this course, having heard that Lamarca was going to be a horrible professor from many upperclassmen. However, I found that he was actually a really good lecturer, and for me who had never taken a coding class before, I found it very doable. Lab attendance policy was annoying, but that's really my only gripe.
Sal clearly knows a lot about computer science. However, when it comes to lecturing about it, I can't say he's the best. His lectures are boring and can be really hard to understand for someone with little experience. If you must take his class, I'd recommend teaching yourself the basics first. Important: I changed my major after taking his class.
He's not a professor for the faint of heart. I think he's good to introduce coding to CS majors because you REALLY have to WANT to do this for a career. If you don't try, you won't pass. It's not some class where you can cram the night before the exam and pass. It's about knowing your stuff and how to apply it. He pays attention to good students.
He's not a great dude, kind of strict, and if you have any questions you're better off asking the Lab TA. Overall the class is fine if you do well with lectures and the CS concepts are the same as AP CSA.
Great teacher, but the content is challenging. Helpful and accessible outside of class and in office hours.
He always shows up to class early, asks us how we are doing, and is willing to help students. His class is tough, but I'm a better programmer after taking his class. I recommend taking his classes to anyone serious about a career in computer science.
Lamarca's a good prof. He's good about answering questions in detail. He knows a lot about computer science, and he's willing to help students.
Exceptional teacher! He enjoys teaching the material and knows it at an expert level.
I'm glad I took this course. He was great at explaining things, and he organized the course well. He helped a lot of students during office hours. I felt prepared to take 1302.
Such a great teacher who cares about his students. Learned so much about programming and being a better student.
To be upfront, this class is a lot of work. There are labs and projects due every week, but this is normal for programming classes. Prof Lamarca is a great teacher. He's always willing to help students during office hours.
Exceptional teacher and class. Sal knows his stuff, he's good at explaining things, he organized the course well, and he did step-by-step walkthrough for tough problems.
GOAT!
Professor LaMarca is an epitome of academic eccentricity, a maestro of pedagogical perplexity. His sesquipedalian verbosity conceals a dearth of genuine erudition, leading students down a labyrinthine path of confusion. Beware, ye seekers of knowledge, for within his hallowed halls, wisdom dissipates, and bewilderment prevails.
One of the best teachers I've had! He cares about his students, is always open for questions, and explains things well.
Sal is incredibly knowledgeable about Computer Science. He is good at explaining things and keeps the course interesting.
Dr. LaMarca is one of my favorite professors. You can feel his passion towards computer science and wanting us to be successful.
Exceptional! I enjoyed this class. He made it interesting and fun.
Would definitely take again! He puts a lot of work into organizing the class and it shows.
Great communicator! Extremely organized and keeps a solid pace throughout the semester.
He was friendly and helpful all semester. Additionally, you can do well in this class if you put in the work. I learned a lot in this class and would happily take again!
He cares about his students & prepares them for the future. His tests and assignments are fair, but they require a lot of work, time studying & showing up to class. He has lots of experience in computer science & is willing to help students.
Good teacher, but there are way too many things covered in one semester. Object oriented programming and 2d arrays should not be in an introductory programming course.
Lamarca is a great professor. 1301 is a great class.
Professor Lamarca is a really good teacher. His class is difficult, but if you pay attention, do the assignments, and ask questions, then you should be fine. I recommend taking his class.
Nice and helpful. He made the class interesting.
Really good professor, large class size. There was a good variety of types of programming labs and projects.
Hard class, obnoxious guy, but you will learn a lot from his class.
Sal is knowledgeable when it comes to C and C++, but he is not a good professor. He was not very flexible or empathetic to his students' needs, and didn't inspire me to learn or challenge myself. His lectures are extremely dry, and he gives pop quizzes that can easily ruin your grade. Unfortunately, I can't recommend taking this professor.
Gotta say he is extremely insensitive and insecure about his teaching. He made me drop the class on his very first lecture. I would definitely not recommend taking him, especially after he announced he's gonna have pop quizzes in a class he doesn't even teach properly.
I have never been more confused in a class in my life. Gives very hard quizzes with no answer key afterward so I don't even know what I'm doing wrong and expects you to be able to do very advanced code tracing with no instruction on how to actually do it. Labs are also graded very harshly. Not a very nice guy
- Labs/Projects are graded to insane levels of tedium - No feedback is ever provided from quizzes - Two exams = 50% of your grade - Quiz and Exam format are entirely different so good luck studying - Search Algorithms / OOP Protocols in intro... really? - Voice was personally grating but he cared when lecturing. - Fake RMP Reviews
If you ever see equal distribution between 1 and 5 on RMP, just run. Every student has given them a 1 and the 5's are fake reviews written by an insecure professor that tries to meddle with a resource made for students that want to make smart choices about who they want to get their paid education from. I'd give a 0.5 because the lectures were ok.
It's well-known that he writes his own reviews. He posts no content on ELC and does not provide answers to past quizzes or tests which makes it difficult to review for exams. Projects and labs are tedious and graded very strictly. Wouldn't recommend.
I had him for 2610 which isn't really a coding class so I can't speak on that but tbh the reviews over exaggerate how bad he is. For Discrete he really wasnt that bad and basically all the quizzes were free 100s as long as you were there in class to take them. He's basically an AI, IMO if I could give a 2.5 I would cause he's the definition of mid.
Take someone else if possible. Lamarca is not approachable and does not like answering questions. Quizzes and exams test book memorization rather than the relevant concepts covered in lectures/assignments. Labs and projects are not too bad as long as you stay on top of deadlines but he is a tough grader; tiny error = entire letter grade deducted.
Not the worst, glad i didn't waste a semester and wait for soheyla like others told me. Stickler for details, especially on weekly homeworks. Quizzes were free 100's if you were in class but he never told us when we would have them, and he's a painfully dry lecturer to sit through on top of randomly spazzing out about phones + kicking someone out.
I mean you have to work hard. .
If it is your first CS class ever, DO NOT TAKE! If you have some CS background, I would still be wary. Huge stickler for grading criteria and the tests/quizzes have some super niche questions that WILL tank your test grade. Has no wiggle room or mercy for his rules. Projects/labs aren't too bad but if you are stuck, he will not help you; Ask a TA.
This man is the reason I decided to switch majors from computer science. His lectures were so boring and always went over time and the tests were impossible to prepare for. I had 3 people pass away in my hometown in the same week and I asked for an extension on a project so I could go home and attend the funerals and he said no.
He writes his own reviews. Do not trust the 5 stars. Weeping that I did not get the other professors due to the competition being high. Unless you are ready to completely independently learn to code by yourself, don't take this professor. The tests are really tricky and are made to intentionally trip you up, even if you know java, it's high risk.
Professor LaMarca... respected, inspirational, caring. This past fall was my first at The University of Georgia. Truthfully I'm not sure I would've survived without Professor LaMarca. He made UGA feel like my home away from home. Not only was he caring, but he was inspiring during lecture. LaMarca is the reason I will master computer science.
1 student of ~80 in the class was on his phone, Sal scolded him in front of everyone. Another guy far in the back just shook his head disapprovingly, scolded him too. Treats students like middle-schoolers. Not v helpful when answering questions. If you're smart you'll probably get a good grade regardless, but he should not be your first pick.
I thoroughly enjoyed my time in this course with Dr. Sal, The content was interesting and he was available to discuss questions after class. Due to the smaller class size I felt that there was more time available for the students to receive help from Dr. Sal personally. I even showed up after my final ended and Dr. Sal let me take it anyways.
Probably the most insufferable and boring person I have ever had to be in the presence of in my life. Avoid him at all costs you will want to drop out of school and give up. Really really really annoying
Attendance is not mandatory, though ALEs and quizzes are given at random. Lots of content is covered in this course, though equations and notes are not posted and must be written down during class time. Do not get me wrong, taking notes will definitely help as exams and quizzes are open-note and open-MATLAB. But personally, would not recommend.
Everyone talks trash about Sal but he is actually a good teacher. If you have him for 1301 he will be tough but in higher level classes he is very helpful and gives you all the tools you need to pass the class. Show up to his class, start on the homework early and crack a joke in his class. He is not as bad as people make him out to be. I promise.
I would say I'm pretty indifferent if not slightly amiable with Sal. He's pretty chill in this upper level course as well as being amicable, chatty, and overall much more easygoing. He'll also get a chuckle outta you here and there :-). I would definitely say there's no need to be shy when taking his upper division courses.
It's been 2 years and I still hate him. From time to time I check his rate my professor and his efforts to write a 5 star review for himself for every 1 star is mind boggling. He puts more effort in keeping his rating to marginal 3 than teaching the course and making sure everyone understands a crucial language. Certified Benchod!
Dawg reported and got my first review removed. Says a lot about the dude.
This is now my second time having Sal as a professor. I had him for 1301 and 1730. After 1301, I told myself I would not take Sal again, but here we are. He is not a very nice person and boring. Very hard class and basically just reads of the slides in class. You have pop quizzes and worksheets every week graded for accuracy and not completion.
13 ALEs, 13 labs, 4 projects, 10 pop quizzes, and 2 exams (25% of grade). Stupidly time-consuming class and professor wasn't much help. He was like a robot and always clearly defined what he wanted in every assignment. The class is difficult if you aren't a coding whiz. Labs and projects are solo assignments. I aged 10 years after this class.BEWARE
This is not a fun class. It's difficult with a heavy workload and an uninspiring professor who gives pop quizzes on eLC at the end of class. Most quizzes are free responses so if you don't have a clue what you're doing, be prepared to suffer. Lamar has an obsession with bits, unsigned/signed variables, and memory maps. Good luck to future students.
Dr. Lamarca is given a bad rep, but he's really not that bad. The TAs do all the grading so the class difficulty hinges a lot on whether or not they are tough graders, this semester the TAs were pretty chill graders. The exams basically just cover everything on the slides and he gives a lot of participation points with in-class group assignments.
Dude is a super dry lecturer. But if you pay attention you are golden for this course. Not very understanding and follows his syllabus to the T. Expect atleast one ALE and Quiz each week that counts as attendance. Midterm and Final are easier than he makes it out to be. For God's sake don't have your phone out visible in class. Extra credit at end.
Lamarca isn't as bad as people make him out to be. Can be very robotic and gives dry lectures but the grading and assignments are very clear and he tells you what you should know in each class. More difficult than 1301/1302 but very doable to get an A if you pay attention and keep up with the assignments
Knowledgeable professor, but very monotonous lectures. Lots of assignments that aren't always the easiest (weekly labs and also projects that overlap with the labs). At least one pop quiz and active learning every week. Exams are okay but study every single little detail in the textbook/powerpoints. Class can be very hard if you don't keep up.
Systems was smooth sailing as I had experience with almost all concepts. Even so, most of the LaMarca criticism is overblown and wasn't apparent to me. I really recommend attending the lectures and dedicating an appropriate amount of time to the Labs and Projects, they are fun. Course is easier if you have genuine interest in some of the material.
Seems like a chill person. Unfortunately, that doesn't carry over to his teaching. Vague covering of the readings, very slow paced, and leaves you with little to no information about assignments. ~12-13 labs, 6 quizzes, 4 projects, a midterm and a final. Very rigorous class, so stay on top of your work and finish labs & projects as soon as you can.
He writes his own reviews. Avoid him, unless you already know the class material. He is a mean person. On the first day of class, he told people who have mental health problems from his class that they should not come to him, because he is not trained to handle that. His grading rubrick is tough and nitpicky. His tests were mostly fair.
He wrote all the fake 5-star reviews. His lectures put you to sleep. His grading rubric is nitpicky. He is mean. On day one, he said not to come to him if we have mental health issues from his class because he isn't trained to handle that. Pop quizzes. Avoid this man at all costs unless you know the material already. Bad look on the CS department
Don't take him!
I would never take him again!
Beware of Mr. Lamarca's fragile ego! He doesn't allow phones out during lectures, and if you look at him the wrong way while he's chastising another student, he might go after you too! He doesn't take attendance for lectures, but there are frequent in-class pop quizzes. The "lab" is just a homework session with graded attendance.
took in Spring 2024 and his class is straightforward. To succeed, simply attend classes regularly, be prepared for pop quizzes, complete ALEs, show up to labs, and stay on top of your work. If you do, you'll find that his examples are super helpful for homework and projects. Lamarca may come across as strict, but trust me, you'll learn a ton!
Occasionally tests for irrelevant knowledge - always tests for intimate knowledge. One MCQ read, "What command was page X of the manual?". Wants his students to come to class, but instead of taking attendance, just doesn't upload material. One of his favorite pastimes is drinking students' tears on RMP and writing/coaxing fake reviews.
The lectures are dry, but if you stay engaged and use helpful study tools like unstuckstudy ai, you can do well. Lots of work, but manageable if you keep up.
As other reviews mention, he is very strict and not a very fuzzy person. However, he knows what he's talking about and explains concepts well. Weekly hw, 4 projs, midterm, final. Good teacher and the course is well organized, but he may not be your favorite person ever.
After reading all the reviews on here, I was pretty nervous about taking his class. However, he's not as bad as everyone says he is. He's a pretty good but boring teacher. However, he is easy to talk to in terms of anything class related or cs related. You can tell he is passionate about CS. Yes, it is a hard class so be prepared and start early.
Decent professor but horrible person. Can NEVER skip class cuz one day you'll have a quiz and other day of the week an ALE. Lectures are boring but if you pay attention, he explains well. Labs every week (13 total), 4 projects, and 10 quizzes + ALEs. He doesn't encourage questions at all so dont even bother.
With a name like Salvatore Lamarca, you'd expect to be at least somewhat of a decent human being, but somehow this guy couldn't live up to the bare minimum expectations. TERRIBLE teacher. A WASTE of an awesome name. And doesn't care about students welfare, mental health, or performance in his class. DO NOT TAKE.
This man thrives on chaos. The syllabus was a mess, assignments were poorly explained, and he made it clear that our struggles were not his problem. If you enjoy confusion, stress, and absolute indifference, this is the class for you. Otherwise, RUN.
Professor Lamarca cares more about his image than his students. He boasts about being tough, but it's just a front for bad teaching. Half the class dropped out by midterm. Save yourself some time and don't enroll.
I mean does he expect a bunch of computer science students to look at this distribution of reviews and believe it???
Lectures are soo boring. You're basically have to teach yourself everything because he's no help at all
In NBA terms, Lamarca is the Dillon Brooks of the CS department at UGA.
I didn't even take his class I just had to constantly listen to my boyfriend complain about him and so now I have beef with him
Course itself is already hard but its not too bad since I had prior knowledge on C. But he always wants everything done HIS way which made me spend an unnecessary amount of time on certain projects.
Great lecturer, not the nicest person. Definitely knows his stuff. I had no experience with C before this but have done just fine. Pop quiz and ALE practically every week. Projects are easy, just start on them early. Most labs are straightforward, but 2 or 3 are trickier. Exams aren't awful, but he throws in some random things you don't expect.
i could fill a book with my complaints. pettiest prof ever. made a 41 question study guide for the final and only gave it to the 3 people who stayed for his lecture the day before fall break and refused to post it online. if ur stuck with him i sincerely apologize, read the sections he assigns thoroughly bc you will not learn anything from lecture.
Take course over the Summer with a different professor to keep your sanity. The United Healthcare of UGA CS trying to deny you from getting into the major.
I've heard a lot of negative things about him, but imo he was decent. He just is very picky over project criteria and honestly does not give a lot of grace if you miss a quiz/lecture. Had a friend that made a super small error on his project and ended up getting a 0. Just be sure to follow project instructions clearly and you should be good.
Look at the review distribution and tell me nothing is wrong here. He's not fooling a bunch of CS and math students with this. Everybody knows how he is as a prof and still takes him because he's the only option. He needs to listen to the bad reviews rather than dismiss them with his colossal ego
Definitely over hated, but wouldn't say he's amazing, just okay. Didn't really pay attention, just read the textbook and notes that he posted. Attendance is mandatory, and he has pop quizzes and group activities based on what he just taught in class. Projects and labs are easier than those in 1302. Tests are difficult. Take him if only option.
Reviews are kinda dramatic. Of course if there's a project you have to do it his way... That goes for any class. They're not particularly difficult. Expectations and assignments are straightforward. If you really think this class is so unreasonable, CS may not be a good choice for you. He's a chill guy. Just study and do your work
Not understanding when it comes to grading. Will give you a 0 if you make any error in your code despite the instructions being unclear. Will rather tell you to "use it as a learning experience" instead of hearing what you have to say. Lab every week & you will have weeks where you have a lab, project, and test all in same week. Not too hard tho
save yourself and do not take this professor.
He reads from powerpoints or codes in front of the class. There is little actual teaching. Its not really an issue at first because the topics are simple and easy to grasp but as they get harder his lack of teaching becomes more apparent. I learned far more in lab than in lecture. He has active learning assignments randomly to ensure attendance.
I never wore my seatbelt while driving to school because I wanted to die before making it to his class.
Coming in to the class I expected the antichrist with how people talk about him. Genuinely if you just do the projects and follow each guideline (they're pretty clear) then you'll be plenty fine. Best professor I've had in the computer science department at UGA so far.
Teaches off of slides (sometimes code), and knows what he's talking about. Attendance is not taken, but graded handouts and pop quizzes are given almost every class. The exams are okay, just expect for there to be material that is only found in the textbooks (yes, two). There is a lab assignment every week, and 4 projects throughout the semester.
Two exams make up 50% of your grade while projects and labs only make up 30% COMBINED. A “coding” class that prioritizes memorization. Good luck getting a good grade in this class since the exams pull from the textbook and random in class statements that are never mentioned twice.
This professor tries to fill a word count with every single sentence he speaks. Two exams worth 50% of the overall grade. If you are late to an exam, you get points off, so be careful. Projects and labs are not bad though. But, would never take another class with him if I have the chance, and I'd advise to get someone else if you can.
Really Sucks Lectures are boring, pop quizzes or ALE's for attendance. Really hard grader and hard tests.
never have i loathed a professor like this before. wanted to do anything but go listen to him try and fill his daily word count
He's pretty boring and attendance is mandatory, its whatever. What I really hate, is how labs/projects are extremely vague and he will take off 50% for an improper readme file. I had one character missing(yes it happened to me) and he did that. Exams are 75% memorization and 25% code tracing. midterm is 50 mcq and final is 75 mcq.
He knows what he is talking about but his lectures are boring. He is strict with his grading and using phones. Only 2 exams. Midterm is 50 mcq while final is 75 questions mcq. Final is hard. Exams test on memorization. Study guide he hands out for final doesn't even help for final exam.
goofy ahh professor, bro literally has a salty mood, would get crash out on us for sleeping or peeking on our phone, he mad he got no maidens, and he lashes us alot. TA's are chill doe.
Not too sure why his rating is so low. He's pretty strict but overall he is a really solid lecturer, and the labs/projects are pretty easy. Attendance “isn't required” however there's daily graded activities meaning it's essentially required. The midterm/final are super tough as it's just a lot of material. Just go to class and pay attention.
go to class bro, i didnt. i still passed so just go.
Sal is fine, he's whatever. He just reads off the slides every period but the work for the class really isn't that hard, other than the final project which I thought was WAY harder than anything else we had to do, so start early on that. Make sure you follow the syllabus and the homework/project instructions to a tee otherwise you get a 0.
He's super by-the-book and doesn't really teach, just reads off powerpoints. Make sure you attend class cuz even though attendance technically isn't mandatory there are assignments or quizzes every class and you'll get a 0 if you miss them. The quizzes can get very annoying, so make sure you're well-versed in the material.
Always have quizzes or small exercises in class that make you have to be in class. Quizzes are frequent and annoying. He's harsh about phones or earbuds but oddly fine with laptops used for games or videos. The class itself isn't hard—you could learn everything from the textbook—but he makes it more frustrating than it needs to be.
Would never have even considered taking him if this class wasn't required for my major due to all the negative feedback I've heard. He is rude and lashes out. very petty with headphones. Yaps about nonsense while saying important stuff once. 2 exams worth 50% of grade in coding class is a literal joke. Very surprised he is still a professor here.
This guy has a bachelor's from the same school he teaches at and acts like he's hot stuff. Will demand for you to show your UGA card to whoever is teaching the lab or class and will write you up for academic dishonesty if you don't. SOMEONE TRANSFERED MAJORS AND COLLEGES BECAUSE OF THIS GUY. DON'T TAKE HIM. Btw higher ratings on here r just him
He's a decent professor, his lectures are useful and the workload was on the heavy side of manageable but feels worse because he's so strict. I got 30 points taken off from a project for a "typo" in the filename (which was a grammatical error on HIS part). Just show up and triple check your work like a maniac and you'll be fine. Edibles help.
If you can, take someone else. This guy has written fake rmp reviews to keep a good rating and deceive people into taking his class. He also took THIRTY points off of my lab grade for comments and indentation, even though the code worked. Don't make the same mistake I did, take someone else.
Electronics are not allowed. He goes over slides and content very quickly... takes points from exam every minute you're late... will most likely have a quiz every week
if i had a nickel for every time this man rambles on about how much he hates students using electronics, I would be rich cause he does this every day
this guy is like my teammates in league of legends: a bunch of inters
Horrible teacher, does not really care about his students an the difficulties that they might be facing, non negotiable.
Everyone hates on him because he's strict, but given the sheer size of the class, I don't know if I can blame him *THAT* much. Clear grading criteria (same as CS1301/2: check everything like a maniac), good at explaining, hard labs. Solid lectures, shame 70% of the class plays video games rather than listen (and yes I was part of the problem).
sal's lectures are boring and could use more examples. his textbook readings are too long for you to digest any new information. he grades coding assignments very strictly. exams 50% of the course grade despite there being 4 projects and ~12 labs. he's an ok professor overall.
Good lectures, but wish he did more live coding. His grading criteria is very strict, so if you forget one comment on a function, you lose about 30% on an entire lab. While he doesn't take attendance, 99% of the time there will be an in-class activity or a quiz. Read the assignment descriptions very carefully, as some have specific requirements.
He is pretty strict on even pulling out your phone in class or having any type of headphones on. Also, make sure you don't sleep in his class because he WILL wake you up in front of the whole class. The projects and labs are helpful, but are tedious and his quizzes are okay. The class is very lecture heavy and he likes to do ALE which are graded.
No one likes him. I thought he was alright, maybe underrated even. He's got wabi sabi
Dr. LaMarca lacks in sympathy. Never met a professor that went so out of his own way to be as difficult as possible on the students. Very questionable grading criteria and tests. Asked random memorization questions such as "which page a command could be found in the C manual."
Lamarca is fine. Pay attention during lectures no matter how difficult it is. Course content is easy to understand. Weighted heavily towards exams and labs so don't stress about ALEs and quizzes. Exams are straightforward and aren't designed to trick you.
he's actually a good prof, like I don't understand these reviews I mean he does give lots of in class activities but its an easy class like if you study the concepts you'll be fine
Sal is a chill guy once you get to know him. Don't let the reviews scare you. That being said, lectures are very boring and are hard to follow. To succeed, make sure to know the textbook front and back!
Not as bad as people say by any means, honestly read the textbook because his teaching covers everything but is just okay especially if you don't already code a lot. Can be strict about the phone thing or anything he perceives as disrespect, but honestly a pretty easy class.
This guy is not nearly as bad as the reviews make him seem. He is strict about phones and headphones and DO NOT fall asleep in class. Quizzes about every other week and ALE's at least once a week. Lectures are sort of boring but helpful and use the textbook to help study for quizzes/exams. 1 midterm and 1 final exam that make up 50% of your grade.
yea, he gets a lot of bad reviews, but he's really just mid. He hates ppl using headphones but only has ever called out 1 or 2 so far talks A LOT during lectures. He does clarify a lot of stuff, so that's good I guess. Hey, at least he didn't have a complete meltdown in class like a certain other CS prof who I will not name!
Honestly felt like these reviews are really harsh. Super easy class just boring all things considered. Socially awkward, but super passionate about what he teaches, and is clearly knowledgeable on the topic. No reason to not get an A, all labs and projects are free 100's, participation grade is also free 100 too (end of class worksheet/quiz)
Lamarca teaches a hard class and he is kind of dry, but he is not as bad as a lot of the reviews say he is. Definitely start projects early. The only really crazy thing was the amount of readings we were assigned, they are ungraded though. If you go to class, office hours, and are thorough with assignment submissions it's fine.
DO NOT TAKE. Guy does not care about his students and thinks you're only taking his class with the amount of work he assigns.
This class is a tough one, but Sal is a competent teacher. Huge stickler about phones. Knows course content very well, the workload for this class is VERY heavy. Attendance not required but random quizzes and group exercises that hurt to miss. Overall not as bad as his rating says. Better one on one than he comes off during lecture.
Talks in circles during lectures, makes everything take much longer than it needed to. Attendance is only graded for the lab times, but there are graded assignments in each lecture (answers are given before you turn it in) so its practically mandatory attendance. Exams are closer to trivia and fun facts than actual assessments. Avoid at all costs.
Don't know what all the hate is about. Lectures can be boring but they're super informative and well rehearsed. Grading criteria is very clear and the labs and projects are pretty easy. Weekly "pop" quizzes but they're not bad. Exams were pretty fair, minus 3 or 4 super specific questions but just attending lectures is enough to make a good grade.
Lectures were extremely dry, and are best described as robotic. Lamarca sounds like Mickey Mouse, except he doesn't care about his students whatsoever. He takes every opportunity to punish and threaten students. Homework assignments and projects are lengthy and boring, but relatively easy. Exams were fairly easy, but memorization heavy and unfair.
The worst professor in the CS Department, extremely boring lectures and was always rude to students, the class has 13 active learning exercises, 10 quizzes, 13 labs, 4 projects and 2 exams worth 50% (25% each), he does not even drop the lowest grade in any of these sections stated above and is a very strict grader, Do not take him.
He is not the best CS professor. The final grade depends entirely on two exams and no review questions are provided before the tests. Attendance is mandatory, and he will yell at students for using their phones during class. To do well, you need to learn about 90% of the material from the textbook and only 10% from the lectures.
This is just a boring class, but attendance is mandatory. It is hard to want to pay attention in this class. It isn't a hard class to pass if you just put in the time. There are pop quizzes but it is on eLc and in class activities that count towards your grade, so it is important to show up. He isn't the kindest person and is very strict on phones.
Memorization heavy. Understand all powerpoints he posts, and you should be good for pop quizzes and midterm/final exams. Come to class every day for ALEs because you'll get a 0 otherwise. The 13 Labs and 4 projects are not too hard if you understand the concepts, but start early. Overall, just know you need to put in the work and stay consistent.
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
82%
Textbook Required
0%
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