2.6
Quality3.7
Difficulty26%
Would Retake280
Reviews26%
Would Retake
280
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
54
4
33
3
54
2
40
1
99
What Students Say
“Notes were AWFUL and unhelpful and he never encouraged questions”
STAT101 - 2.0 rating“The midterms are ok if you know your concepts well (tricky T and F) but the final is hard”
STAT201 - 3.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
61%
Textbook Required
23%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.81 avg changeRatings by Course
STATS
5.0
(1)STAT305
5.0
(1)STAT100
4.0
(2)ATAT101
3.5
(2)STAT201
3.1
(56)Difficulty by Course
STATS100
5.0
STAT280
5.0
STATS101
5.0
STATS270
5.0
STAT
5.0
Reviews (280)
Well, he is easy and nice to every student. BUT THE TAs ARE stupid, coz Scott said the answer close to 0.47 (0.40-55)are both right for the answer for the midterm, BUT the TA need you to get exactly answer. I really want to know how to TA can be TA ! The marking is not fair coz of the TA. Please Scott, tell the TA not to mark so hard on the exam
one of the most extreme teachers i ever got, extremely confusing and he doesn't know what he is talking about. This course are quite easy itself but Scott Pai is trying his best to make the course harder. Peace~
he thinks teaching is his only job.he doesnt realize that if students fail,he fails,too.he always say'my job is blah blah...' even though he gives additional review class in order 2 study midterm. lecture is not clear,confused most of the time.i survived only bcoz half of da material was from gr12. dont expect him 2 b organized. get used of his mes
Not a very interesting course, but it will be useful for business major students. His job is to tell you everything you need to know, not to make exams easy, because he is responsable for the money you paid for this course. His lecture is indeed not so clear, but only stupid students totally depend on lecture notes and ignore the text book.
This prof does not know how to teach eventhough he has tried very hard to teach. He just make things even more complicated. I think there the connection between prof and TAs are very poor. The assignment material are not related to the lecture notes. Most of the assignment question have to learn by yourself from the text book. Not a good course.
Totally don't know how to teach, he even give out assignment which he hasn't taught yet and expected you to know how to do it. He only explains simply materials and tests us extrem materials.His lectures are confusing and disorganzied, so expect to study on your own. He made me lost interested in stat....what a wonderful prof sfu has hired.
Goin to clas never helps in the asgments.. U hv to read the book by urself to do it. His notes are unorganized, very confusing, and more complicated than the materials in the textbook! However, u still HAVE to understand his notes in order to pass the exam even tho some of the notes are not related to the book! What a waste of $500! DonT recommend!
He doesn't kno how to teach.....he assigned homework without teaching the related materials....
This is the most lowest course of statistic but it seems like a second year course. Fairly and honestly not to be bias with Scott. His exam is really really hard even you study very hard,knowing the text book. You can not get any good grade, the exam question is harder than my friend second year statistic question and exam. The TA dun even know 2
That's right. He really doesn't know how to teach. this's just first yr course but he made it so comfusing. Read the text book; don't need to come to class at all, because u get more comfused if u do.
No Comments
nice prof... he tries his best to help students... but can't teach the material very well... his examples in the lecture notes are not that great... material from MT1 and MT2 is relatively easy... it's harder each time... MT1>MT2>Final... i wouldnt say he's a crappy prof cuz the other profs are not any better either...
I think he is a very nice prof, he spent his own time to help students, it is not the problem that he was not trying, but the problem was not much ppl asked for help... I am not a smart person, but I studied, so I did okay in the course, no university course is "easy"... all I can say is... the tests expect a little bit too much for 100lv course
Scott is a very nice human but not a good teacher. He gives you examples which are already in the book, exams don't cover all the lectures, take this course with Robin Insley!
he's nice. its true that he gives little examples with little use in lectures. he makes his exmaples confusing sometimes. but his review sessions are alot more helpful. i don't find the materials too hard. and of course midterms are easier than exams. doesn't just apply for this course and him. i truly feel that he wants to help us not fail us.
I do believe Scott did his best to help our class!
For a 100 level course this class was extremely difficult I found. There were numerous homework assignments and Scott was unclear in lectures. He is a very nice man, but quite unflexible and demanding. I did not enjoy this course or would recommend to anyone who can avoid taking it with him. It sucked, I hated it.
I belive that Scot is crazy he wants to fail as many as he can. He know his material well but somehow he does not provide you with a clear and detail form.Midterm and final is not cover in the homework and course notes. He tries his best I know but he is not a normal professor. If you can take an other prof instead of him. 100 level expect 2 much
I cant believe they hire a guy like him to teach at university. extremely poor English language, a very unclear and unorganized professor( its even funny to me to call him a professor). He gives u very easy notes but exams are extremely difficult, they are not even covered in the text book. If u wanna ruin your gpa,then take a stat course with him.
I got an easy A-!
He is a good professor, but his quiz and exam quiet difficult even though I got an A- in his class. You have to understand his lecture well. He likes to give you a pop-quiz. When he said will have a quiz next class, he won't give you. You have no idea with the quiz. He have change quizes every semester, the passpaper is not helpful.
fair marker, care about students, and willing to help you out. His pop-quiz=giving you bonus! His English? I can understand it anyway. If you really understand his notes, the exams wont be that hard for you.
the most stupid guy i've seen in the school(not even qulify as a professor)!always give ppl an angry face,a harsh man...really unclear in english speaking,unorganized handout~hey,u guy'd better dont take his class!!
very hard
If you attend all of his class, copy all notes, you will get a good grade. He cares about his students, if one don't understand what he say, it's just because he doesn't know stat~!! Read you book! .btw,he english is actually not too bad, u can surly understand all his word.
he was the worst prof i ever had!
Scott is overall a good prof. Although he has an accent, he does his best to clarify the material. Read the text book it will help you understand the material better--scott sometimes makes things too complicated. His assignments are long but useful. His exams are moderately hard but managable.
Attending this class 3 times/week very nearly drove me to insanity. Possibly the most incomprehensible professor ever had @ SFU. Notes were absolutely terrible, lectures had no direction...jumped from one topic to the next...I was literally swearing out loud in frustration. Having said that, he's one of the nicest/most dedicated profs on campus.
SLOW DOWN....yes, we've heard many times..."don't copy anything you don't understand because you will not read it when you get home." He should at least let us process the information first. He's speeding through the material.
He is a good prof, concern about his students. He always says ' don't copy for something you don't know', and it is so true. Don't skip his class, because you will lose track with the materials. In the beginning the materials were ok, but at the end, they got so advanced..^^v
I GOT AN A- AND I NEVER PAID ANY ATTENTION IN LEC!!! He says that he'll give pop quizzes but he never did...He's an okay prof...his assignments were pretty easy even though they were time consuming...I never understood his notes so I just read the text book instead
Worst nightmare! I am a good student, and I've got a pretty high gpa, but he is making me go crazy! He is always late for office hours, and sometimes just skips them without telling anyone. He teaches a almost different system than the testbook but expect us to know both. Never admits that he made a mistake and blames students for it.
1) read the textbook before coming to class 2) always attend the lectures 3) review your notes after lecture (takes about only 15minutes)4) understand the concepts. it is not about pressing right keys on calculator. um.... you will love this class. I really now appreciate the importance of statistics in our daily lives. You will too.
I liked Scott (and his analogies - NBA player?) His assignments are long but helpful (just start early) - exam questions from the assignments and lecture notes! (I can't believe that people are complaining about stat 203. speechless....)
Simply fantastic, if you are taking statistics make sure you take it with Scott, he makes the subject very interesting, and you will enjoy coming to his class. Make sure you do his homework assignments
SO hilarious! is generally super nice and helpful and wants his students to do well. goes through examples carefully so you know exactly how to do the hw. tests are just like hw questions. very entertaining in lectures, keeps you awake because you're laughing your ass off the entire time. highly recommended!!
This guy was a decent prof who has a strong knowledge in statistics and probability. I found his voice kinda annoying afterwhile but at least spoke loud enough. Notes are not easy to follow as his writing sucks. He had online notes which we had to print and fill out in class as well as other written examples, making our notes difficult to follow
No Comments
took his stat 270 and 285, he got A LOT lazier in 285. no more print out notes, and no more practice exams. promises to post notes online, but never follows through. reduced 7+ assignments to 4 just cuz TA only has 23 hrs to mark hw... he always claims he will give pop quizzes... but by how lazy ive observed him to be, that will never happen.
he is useless, all he does in class is proofs and he never actually explains how or when to use the formulas. i hated going to his class and would reccomend that people take anybody else but him
Very clear, but may have skipped some important topics to achieve that? His tests are fair, right out of what he teaches or assigns as homework. Notes can be more organized though.
awesome prof! great personality and sense of humor! maintains a positive atmosphere!!!! and he is crystal clear!!!!
I recommend him if you want to enjoy lectures, as he is entertaining to say the least. His exams are very hard though, especially his T/F sections!
very nice teacher.
I DO NOT LIKE HIS EXAMS. He's very nice and funny though...
very good hand writing and also his chinese accent made me comfortable (although not quite pleasant for me). lectures are highly recommended, and keep practising. His homeworks are quite much, but not pushy.Read books and notes care enough!
he lectures on one thing, and the homework is always on something completely unrelated
NOT BAD QUITE INTERESTING IN CLASS
1 time he said in class "I will not show u how to do the hard questions because I already know how to do them... u have to do the hard questions" HOW ARE WE SUPPOSE TO DO THEM WHEN YOU DON'T EVEN SHOW US HOW?! hwk completely different level from his lecture notes. MT1 avg was around 63 MT2 avg was 53. HAVE TO GO TO WORKSHOP IF U INSIST TO TAKE HIM!
This prof is completely useless, his lectures rarely keep up with the homework and he speaks in questions like whose line is it anyways, I wanted a stats prof not improv.
This prof makes you work hard, he is very passionate about statistics. His humour and joke kept me coming to class, but just as in any class.
there is one thing to say: .... "WHAT will you miss if yoo do na atten crass? WHAT? DA key concep!"
even if you go to class... he might not even cover the key concepts for hwk
doesn't go through a lot of examples in class and never covers enough concept for homework
Gives a lot of tough hwk questions (ie proof questions) and gives hard exams. The 2nd midterm avg was lower than the first one, a lot of T/F. His lectures are good but not enough to cover most of the hwk, he makes sures that important concepts are understood. Hwk and notes are good indicators for the exams. Cheat sheet was useless most of the time.
His teaching methods are definitely not for everybody. He always forces you to copy down notes 'after' he explains something, rather than 'while' which really annoys me. He's paid to teach, not dictate how we as students learn. His exams are tough. You really need to master the examples in class. The assigned homework is tough, but manageable.
Lectures are worth going to, as the basics are covered very well. The hw will be much more difficult than the examples covered in class though. All exams were fair, but some written Q's require some real thinking. Sometimes he's late for class and doesn't hesitate to keep us in after class for a few extra minutes. Not a bad prof altogether though.
Not one of the best profs, but not one of the worst profs either.
I don't know if I did well on stat 201 because I still have to wait for my final mark at this very moment. Midterms so fast to come out but Final and Final mark so late thus far. Don't know if I am back at SFU next semester because my CGPA dipped from 2.08 to 2.03 because of my poor psyc x99 grade with a D
How long do I have to put with this waiting? The Midterms came out so soon and the Final hardly comes out along with the grade. Disappointment day after day. I want to know if I am at SFU next semester.
Good professor, but you HAVE to go to lectures. If you do then you're pretty much guaranteed a good grade. Homework is pretty easy, and exams are usually very fair. He's also hilarious.
Lecture attendance is mandatory. The textbook only supplements lectures. Some material not included in the textbook is included in lectures and exams. Also, Scott doesn't follow the same order as the textbook. The online notes are not enough for full understanding. If you go to lecture and understand the material, it's an easy A.
I think the course was scaled, considering I went into the final with 85% and ended up with an A (which is 90-95%). It's an easy course if you go to class.
He is nice person except he gives you too many questions on assignment! A typical asian teacher =/ His notes are organized, but you have to attend the class. Final is hard, be well prepared!
Scott, you made me lose $5 from betting on when we were going to do the quiz...just give the quiz already!!!Anyways, he is a good teacher, and easy if you go to class
his lectures are really useful. his way of teaching makes you clearly understand every detail. he explains the concepts step by step and it is really helpful.
he does have chinese accent, but, it is not affect you to understand what he teachs. at least he speaks english. his way of teaching does not fit everybody.but,I really like his way of teaching.
he does have chinese accent, but, it is not affect you to understand what he teachs. at least he speaks english. his way of teaching does not fit everybody.but,I really like his way of teaching
He has better vocabulary than other asians! He has clear concepts. Great Handwriting, unlike most other profs. He takes the pain to write every detail on the board. I suck in this class, but i really want to learn cus of the effort he puts in his teachings! He respects you if you respect him. A "FAIR" COIN HAS 2 SIDEs
he is interesting. you will get almost the questions right if you go to his lectures.
Best professor ever!
Terribre (sic!) Chinese accent, impossible to understand him sometimes even though I know English quite well. His spelling is also awful, he makes a lot of spelling mistakes. Notes are awful and confusing, you should just read textbook and not attend his lectures if possible. Possibly the worst professor ever.
great prof. enjoyed te class of 20. puts great effort to teaching..but sometimes he explains in too much detail that got me confused...made the 2nd mt much easier than the 1st kus of thr low class avg on the 1st..still need to take the final though..
actually, i think the professor is strict with us,however, it is really useful for us to develop a good study habit. And his notes are very helpful for review. PS: i think he want us to understand the course not just memorize, it is a really correct way to study:)))
Hard to understand, his notes are too in-depth and pretty useless overall. Much better to read textbook. Tests are hard and cover sometimes cover topics barely mentioned or explained well enough. Class average was 61% on first midterm, around the same on second. Last semester's stats class had class average overall of 80%...
sometimes it's hard to understand his lecture. his note is not very clear. don't like his teaching style.
midterms and final mostly multiple choice and true and false. Tests concept with low amount of calculations. Lecture attendance is needed to do well.
Rarely went to lecture because I couldn't stand the guy. He was rude, and would yell at the class and call us stupid if we didn't understand something. Make sure you buy the textbook, because his lecture notes suck. Midterms and final focussed on theory more than actual calculations. Really wish that I took this course with a diff/better professor.
clear and nice. answer all the questions
Scott Pai is such a great prof! He wants us to learn the concepts instead of just memorizing the calculations and that really is the best way to learn! This was my first statistics course and I'm glad I took it with him. It's definitely not an easy A but as long as you study his notes and the text book and attend lecture then you will do well!
really good prof, explain everything clearly,exams are not hard,just read his notes you will be OK.
I took STAT 101 with him semesters ago. He is very mean and useless. you will have no idea what he talking about due to his pronunciation. yeah he explain clearly, midterm you will do ok BUT final you will have no idea where he bring these information. just don't take it with him
just one of the worst prof he is very lazy just google his name u will find his websites for other subjects.Just compare the note, midterm all the same I have no idea how he can ask the same note and question of stats 203 for 201 or 101 he explain very well his final very hard even if u study for it wish I dropped the course or take with other prof
He is really helpful
worst teacher i've ever come across . don't really answering the questions after class.......that really sucks....
The worst! if u are bad at math please dont take him, you are going to suffer. He sometimes give out too much information.His Final is super hard
Pro. Pai is super great! He is so humorous, funny, and approachable. Also, I learned a lot from his lecture. I like his teaching style so much. That's the reason why I always sit close to the front in lecture hall.
Nice guy overall. Goes too fast when explaining concepts & then tests mainly concepts on exams. Exam style is not so good due to this. In calculus, concepts are only tested on the final exam after the material has already been taught. Dr. Pai asks you to understand concepts in a first-time stats course, on a M/T exam. Not enough TAs in the workshop
Scott is a really nice prof. Talking speed is slow, hand writing is clear. You do need to attend the lecture, if you pay attention during the lecture, you can understand all of them and do not need to read the textbook. cheating sheet is available. I really enjoy his class, and I miss this cute guy :)
Scott is good. Not as bad as the bad comments.
do not miss his class, his lecture is clear and he will give hint of which kind of question he will give in midterm,but not final. he is lazy but doent effect anything u dont miss class.a little bit critical on his marking but it is ok
One of the worst profs; teaches a math course as a stat course due to his background in stat. Teaches only what he thinks he knows, doesn't explain well the topics that he isn't comfortable with. If you can avoid him. Very poor teaching ability.
He was kind of rude, and disorganized. He would constantly yell the lecture to us which is just generally unpleasant to listen too. He needs to understand that some people copy the notes even when he says not too because they learn better that way. He is regularly available for extra help so overall he's not bad but I wish I took stats another time
Wear his red cute vest for every class, "My wife told me I'm not a handsome guy, so don't look at me when u in exams or i will deduct ur what...? I will deduct ur class PARTICIPATION! Rrr U with me?"
"You understand what I'm say?" Funny prof. A bit hard to understand at times but lecture notes are clear and he lets you know what's on the midterm. "Am I correct? Is that k? Are you with me?" Uses concepts to relate to stats including looking at Rate My Prof. "Don't rate me, I'm overrated."
Tough course, uses cheap&thin textbook with less,unclear explanation. Always finish late; usually 5 min so if you have a class after, expect yourself to be late. boring lectures,(all i hear is what next)and every single day B4 he starts the class he blows the mike really loudly to get everyone's attention which is super distracting and annoying.
Doesn't explain very clearly at all. Expects a lot of self-studying and always ends classes late with an expectation you will look at his online videos at home, which are equally confusing. Midterm 3 had an average mark of 3/12, which he considers "easy" compared to his final which is worth 52% of overall mark. Avoid this prof at all costs.
Makes simple concepts very complicated. Very unclear teaching style, be prepared to do mostly self learning. He gives you 4 midterms, each with roughly 4 questions, that are worth %12...so bomb one question and say goodbye to %3 of your final grade... Would not recommend this prof.
Good prof. Clear in class and very approachable. His exams are difficult but if you put in time to understand the concepts you will do fine.
Yes, this is a voluntary response. This course is not easy, but it is very helpful especially when you are going to take other STAT courses in the future. You have to be patient and watch his videos many times. At the end of the semester, when you receive your grades, you will be surprised.
Funny guy but not my favourite teacher. His assignments are too long and useless (we had to do roughly 20 end of chapter problems every week). His exams questions are nothing like book problems. We had 2 midterms which were mostly mc's and TF with only one calculation problem. The final exam was extremely difficult but scaled.
Ridiculous.
I really enjoyed Scotts lectures. He makes sure to go through each important topic slowly and tries to ensure everyone understands during the lecture. He lets you know exactly what will be emphasized on the midterms, and always encourages students to make use of his office hours. Really funny and helpful prof.
He's really a completely useless professor. Don't waste your time with him. You will learn 100 times better off YouTube as his teaching style is completely a pain to sit 50 minutes through. Take distance education for this class and avoid him at all costs.
He is a funny teacher. His lecture is interesting. His lecture is not easy and the final exam is tough! It is important to attend the classes. If you put effort in it, you will be fine :D One thing I want to point out is that his notes are quite messy, it will be much better if he can give us tidy notes.
You really need to listen in lectures in his class, all of the material tested is gone over in lecture. If you pay attention in class and do the small amount of homework, you shouldn't need the textbook for anything other than light reference. Never miss a class even if you already know the material, Scott basically tells you what he'll test.
One of the funniest profs, definitely explains concepts really well, but the homework is tedious and not helpful at all. The exams have questions are nothing like the homework questionslecture questions. Have to work extremely hard to do well. The final was way too difficult
He is clear, and he makes me enjoy a class that has the potential to be brutally boring. It's a good idea to do all the homework and exercises and show up to every single lecture. He is a great help, he keeps you engaged. May be the best prof I have ever had.
Nice man with some funny jokes in class.
Took 3 courses with him. He is definitely one of the very few profs who actually cares about students and teaching. Courses not easy, assignments take time. But he's always there to help out. I'd probably fail the courses otherwise. I got "A" in the end. One of the most helpful prof I ever had!
he's honestly one of the funniest profs i've ever had! SO hilarious! and his voice will randomly get realllyyy loud in the midst of his sentence so you're kept awake the whole time. BUT to be honest, his homework assignments are useless. test is mostly conceptual. there's like onetwo actual math problems so it's nothing like the assignments.
Scott is tricky on his test questions... Look for little details in the truefalse questions that make the statement false...
Just try to avoid his courses. Seriously bad accent and grammar. Repeat the word "what" 5 times in a simple sentence.
He is so confusing. His examples do more damage than good to explain concepts. He constantly tells the class not to copy while he's speaking yet only gives us a very short time to copy after. This is annoying for people like myself who would rather copy and listen simultaneously. Also he yells parts of his lecture which is incredibly irritating.
He teaches the wrong lectures
Good prof. Explains clearly and tells you what's going to be tested.
Good Professor! You can concentrate on what the teacher said, do not worry about notes. He will give you enough time to write down the notes. The lecture is clear and easy to follow.
Do not take this class with this prof unless you absolutely have to. You will regret it.
he said the midterm will be on chapter 5 but it was on chapter 6...... midterm 1 class average 12% (this tells you something) midterm 2 class average 8% uses other prof (Timothy Swart)'s Notes which he doesn't even know he understands, and does not go through the lecture in a order; its everywhere if u go or not u will not do well
i love him so much, he is so professional he loves us, he was sick and still he tries to do his best to help us, got my nerves
Really confusing and circular lecture style - repeating lots of extraneous information, really cluttered notes, etc. Honestly, skip the lectures and just read the textbook. First midterm I got a C-, the second I stopped bothering to take notespay attention in class and just went through the text questions on my own time - got a B+.
Not bad. Clear and professional. But The grade mostly depends on your effort , please do not blame your teacher.
Be care of your class participation. Keep reading online video more than two times. Reviewing class notes every week.
HE IS A GOOD TEACHER
Scott is an ok teacher "is that ok" but can make concepts more confusing then they are, get ready to just read the textbook on your own and learn. The midterms are ok if you know your concepts well (tricky T and F) but the final is hard. He also gives your very little time to take notes and will yell at you to not write while he lectures.
If you can, never take it, no way to pass without extremely hard studying.
Boring, hate it, too many jokes, yells too much, bad accent, only doing this to graduate. :(
Scott Pie is an inspiration to all. Professor Pie's exams can be quite savage; after doing his true/false questions, you begin to question the truths and falsities of life. However, Dr. Pie has a very charismatic and professional teaching style, and he engages the class with his ancient Chinese philosophy. Taking Mr. Pie's class was an honour.
he is a nice professor, though he looks like so serious.
Okay professor, goes fast when teaching so I found it hard to learn. Had to read over the textbook and teach myself a lot of the concepts. Midterms and exam were unnecessarily hard/not enough time to write midterms. Everyone was still there at the end of the class of the midterms still frantically writing.
Scott was very intent on student's understanding of the big picture in statistics, and explained deep concepts well, allowing everyone to understand material. The difficulty for midterms and final is fair, but midterms are mainly conceptual and final is very calculation based. Overall, a very good prof and he is pretty funny actually.
I like the way he taught, very clearly. Also he is a very nice person. It is useful to take this course.
He teaches very clear to understand
Don't take his course again
Never skip class! Lectures r organized. Don't copy notes when he is talking cuz you will get lost easily and hard to catch up again. He gives you time to copy notes after he talked. Final is challenging and you can't finish it if you don't write and think swiftly. Will pleased to take his class again for sure! No need to buy textbook.
my guy!
He is great at explaining concepts. You will have to attend every class. He teaches too man things that are not in the textbook, I don't think he understands that this class is intended for students that are not specializing in statistics.
Scott seems like a great guy and is pretty funny, however, his ability to teach a simple stat course isn't quite as funny. Notes were AWFUL and unhelpful and he never encouraged questions. If a question was asked about the concept, he would reply by saying "you have not been paying attention, and are falling behind!"
Hes a real gem. Hard to understand at times, but thats what makes it fun. He will seldom suddenly raise his voice and catch students falling asleep off guard hehe xd ill leave you with a quote: "there are lies, damned lies, and statistics" 8) PS exams are hard
Scott had the traditional Chinese teaching style that demands absolute authority, he doesn't ask you to participate but shoving a lot of information to you instead. When you have questions he's not very willing to answer them and usually blame students because they are being "stupid". So far the worst instructor I've been experienced in Canada.
His lecture notes are mor organised and clear than the textbook. If you payed attetion during the class, you would get a good mark.
is that okie
I don't want to take his courses anymore, he makes conceptions more confusing. I try to learn it the whole semester, unfortunately, I still can't really understand.
Poor. Sometimes hes late. And he teaches too slowly so that you need watch videos on YouTube, which wastes our time and isnt effective.
he will make you watch his boring youtube videos.
He's poor. Some time he's humorous, but not nice. He always late and focuses on YouTube. Why should we take class if everything we can learn online? The worst teacher that I have seen.
Actually I don't know what the hell he is talking in class. Many youtube for us to watch at home, I don't know why we need to go to school. I believe that he can be a good primary teacher instead of being a professor. I strongly recommend you to choose another professor.
He is really a nice guy.
He is interesting.
Greatest prof that I met
Easy course
good guy
Scott is a good professor. He is hilarious and funny. Work load in the class is not heavy and he gives you time to memorise stuff during class so that you dont need to revise those taught and focus on exercises and other stuff. He gives a list of recommended exercises for you.
hilarious and funny
Clear lectures
Clear and good English
Follow his advice and you will get good results. Clear explanation. Btw, he is nice and he will help you during office hours.
Good accent
Go to all his office hours and you will have a good grade
Go to his office hours and he will give you extra participation marks
He likes people to send him emails to ask questions.
He cares about your participation in class but you just need to focus, then youll get good participation marks!!!
Hes smart and he allows you to bring a paper with notes to exams. Therere only 1 mid term and 1 final exams.
Try to take this course with other professors.
You know there is something horribly wrong with the way he is teaching when you start to find advanced programming and math courses easier than the intro to stat course. Don't get me wrong, Scott is a really cool & funny guy. But, his lecture notes & YT videos are impossible to understand. If Scott is your only option then find good stat book&read
The majority of the positive feedback seem to all be written by the same person with a rather poor command of english, imho it might be scott pai trying to boost his ratings. The class is crap, very difficult to follow along, and he'll be 3-4 lectures behind by the time the first midterm comes by. He DOES NOT respond to emails.
First, he has an accent which you will get used to. 2nd, lectures are clear in early weeks but then become vague. Jumps from one topic to another without explaining the relevance. Does not explain why sth is the way it is. Comes to class late, teaches very slowly, breaks longer than what he says, AND you have to spend hours on his utube lectures.
The worst professor you can come after at FIC. Horrible lectures and definitely get ready to watch his terrible youtube videos. He's a nice person but a horrible teacher.
Hands down the worst prof Ive had in my life. Do what you can to not take classes with him. Hes not good at explaining concepts, makes you watch long YouTube videos of his recorded lecture and definitely isnt open to answering your questions and is usually late.
He is a really bad prof, I have never encountered such a bad prof in my life, he will barely go over different types of questions from the given notes, and he will just say "do this yourself" and gives us an answer key that does not help at all as well. To top it off when you ask questions he gets mad (from my experience), not a very helpful prof.
One of the worst prof's Ive had, just yells at the class because he has to teach things. His tests dont follow his notes and his notes dont even follow the notes he asks you to print off. Avoid at all costs.
This class has crushed my, and seemingly many others, hopes and dreams. The 3rd midterm just happened, and nobody was prepared. Material is poorly "taught" in class, and is heavily extrapolated on the 4 midterms. There is no review material provided, and the TA's don't help. Abandon all hope if you MUST take this course.
I do not understand that department of statistics has such instructor. In the test, you only can solve problems that appears in the lectures or sample. Avoid him at ALL COST!!!
Excellent professor! MUST TAKE STAT course with him! Garunteed A+, free midterm marks. A lot of help from TA AND HIM. I am just kidding.
I've never had such an unorganized terrible course. It feels like the objective isnt to learn but to frustrate the students. BTW AVG grade in the test is only 31.7%.
His notes and tests are actually two different level.
Do whatever can to avoid this one!!! The course opens every term! Dont take it with him!!! He isnt helping helping us either. He is literally cramming material up our brain. If you really want to ruin your life, you can try
It was difficult to understand his accent. Easy class, bad lecturer. So he may have a bad rating, and he deserves it.
Even if you have to take a semester off to avoid the course with him! Lectures are close to unhelpful, you need to learn a lot.
He can teach the concepts decently, but doesn't finish the content in class, skips almost half the material in lectures. The class has 4 midterms, with no review lectures. Terrible professor, you'd be better off taking this online and self-studying. Our last midterm had a 31.7% average.
Actually, online stat 270 or bus 232 are very good choice in the semester. This man makes a 200 course become extremely hard and unclear. He doesnt know what the key points are in the course. AVOID this man! Dont ruin your life!
Scott makes this class extremely frustrating. More often than not, he will rush through important topics, leaving us on our own. He almost never comes to class on time, leaving us in lecture for longer than we should be. Despite his hints, exams are very lengthy and difficult, resulting in abysmal averages where up to 80% of the class will fail.
this guy sucks! misses stuff that the course is suppose to offer, and he attitude stinks!
Awful and very rude. The more effort you make, the more frustrating you will be. Midterm is extremely long and hard and not possible to finish.
This class is a waking nightmare, and if you really REALLY think you should take it, you might just be more braindead than a coma patient.
WORST prof I have EVER met in my LIFE!!! Exam is so hard and time consuming that you won't be able to finish it. The exam is WAAAAAAAY harder than other profs. If you are not a genius in STAT, then avoid him at ALL COST! Save your money and spend it on more meaningful things.
friendly reminder: for CS major, STAT 270 or Bus 232 is only prerequisite of CMPT 353, for data science major, u may take STAT 203, for statistics major, u may take STAT 270 in the summer 2020 because the offering of STAT 285 will not be in the summer. for ur GPA trust me, any lecturer is better than him. Online STAT 270 is also nice, if you follow
He thinks he is very nice. um.... avoid him
All the negative reviews are really accurate, just please do not take a class with him AT ALL COSTS, just try waiting for a semester where a decent prof is teaching this course. SCOTT PAI IS THE WORST PROF EVER, he deserves a 0/5 rather than a 2.9 on here.
Do not at any cost take this course. No matter how hard working you are it will and i repeat IT WILL CRUSH you. He first off, never make it to class on time, extend the class cause of his lateness, does not offer decent office hours that correlate with the difficulty of his class, does not explain. His exam are was to long and impossible to finish!
I am majoring in Comp Science so STAT 270 was one of the mandatory courses that I had to take. The course itself is the worst course I have ever had. And Scott himself is no better than the course. The average for 3rd midterm was 47% and he literally said "If u guys fail, I won't have sympathy for u". Don't waste ur time and money.
Scott teaching habits: -Lates for class -Tells us to bring another prof's notes, but barely uses them -Uses 1 example or anecdote and repeats again & again -Occasionally says "HELLO!" to make sure you are listening -Makes us read his "reading assignment" which are poorly filmed YouTube videos -Goes overtime to teach new and important content
Class average is only C... If you work with another prof, class average is B-
The course was hard. You need to put in hours, understanding the theory and doing the problems. Solving the entire textbook. Due to its difficulty for a 200 level course one would have a tendency to put the blame on the professor. He was decent in my opinion, lectures are clear and to the point, he tells you what to expect (posts sample tests).
It was a really really hard course and his pronunciation is terrible and he can not speak English that well but if you sit on the first row of the class he will give students better grade for their participation.
Never choose this course especially with him. His teaching is really bad. He would skip the topics and ask you to watch you tube video to increasing His views. His overall performance is FUDU.
i learned nothing
Worst prof ever. His midterm and final is extreme hard and he had not even mention these stuffs in class. He is a very sensitive and emotional people, very easy to get anything into personal. He will suddenly be in a great rage about anything he does not like even give you a 0 for your midterm just because you glance up at him.
Scott has absolutely not reacted to the current virus situation at all. He posts zero online lectures and let us watch his youtube vids 3 years ago which he is basically reading slides and makes no sense. Worst prof in my life.
This day, the day after the last day of class, a stat holiday, Good Friday, Scott decides to have a Zoom meeting. A 2 hr Zoom meeting. Why? Extra help? More examples? No. To discuss the final exam. For 2 hours. Exam information is only provided though this meeting. No emails or canvas notifications. Just take BUS 232 if this is for a requirment.
"U don't come to my class, u gon' fail" "U don't use my lecture notes, u can't keep up" "Guessing is cheating b/c you pretendin u know something u don't" "U fall behind, u don't catch up" "WHY IT DON'T WORK? it don't work b/c it don't" "Watch my youtube video" "Make sure u come early" *Scott pullin up 5 mins late -your one and only, Scott Pai
So badJust be careful if you want to choose him to be your prof. Actually, its hard to learn something from him.
Scott is a pretty funny guy and makes lectures somewhat entertaining. His explanations are not bad and with extra work, at home, you can work through the information and figure it out. We had 4 midterms and a final and it was a great distribution for grading and learning. He isn't the best professor I've had but not horrible.
Final exam wasn't anything like he said it was going to be like or any of the previous exams were like. Instead of a dozen word problems, we were given 24 multiple choice questions with between 5 and 12 possible answers. There were at least 3 typos in the exam and questions went unanswered. Instead of the usual 3 hours for the exam, we only had 2.
Scott hardly gave any chance for students to get a good mark in his class since there was no homework that could be turned in for marks; the class was graded entirely on midterms and the final. He would often make us watch YouTube videos he recorded 5 years ago, some of which contained errors he has not bothered to fix. This was all before COVID
Worst prof ever. Didn't show any respect to students. He could make as many as mistakes as he wanted while students were not allowed to make any mistakes. Postponed second midterm for 2 more weeks and didn't give any new lectures during these two weeks. Also, being late very frequently.
In last minute, informed us final only worth 15%. WORST PROF EVER! Try to avoid him.
someone don't like him,because don't watch YouTube video and do bad in quizz. But trust me,because of his quizzes are all multiple choice s,if u really do all he told u to youu will get a good grade,in fact he is a humorous pro. this pro is fair to hardworking students
He goes at a good pace and actually stops every so often so you have time to copy the notes and let the material sink in before moving on. Gives good examples that make the material easier to comprehend. If you dont understand smt just stop him and ask! he actually does a good job to clarify and make sure you understand. Overall wholesome guy!
Honestly, Dr. Pai isn't too bad of a prof. He is actually open to students asking questions during lecture and goes at a reasonable pace. Make sure you do every practice problem you can get your hands on!! Textbook, khan academy, etc.
Hands-down the worst prof, I have had in my 4 years at SFU. I took the class online, due to COVID-19. His lectures were pretty chaotic & hard to follow along, even though this was my 3rd stat course. Use the book for a better time. Expect the worst from exams - incomplete questions, wrong answers, etc. To top it off, Prof. Pai ignores most emails.
Dr Pai is an overall great guy and a good prof in a sense where he really wants his students to actually understand stats. he doesn't reply to emails but during lectures, he'd pause to give you time to copy notes and ask questions. he won't move on until you understand. you can definitely pass the class by reading the textbook and doing practice q
Taking STAT 201 with Dr. Pai was a really bad experience. Teaching online does not suit him. He was always VERY disorganized and seemed flustered most of the time. He was often rude to students who asked questions during lectures. If you take this class with Dr. Pai be prepared to teach yourself from the textbook and old youtube videos.
Dr. Pai isn't too bad of a prof, but let me warn you that you're better off teaching yourself by doing every practice problem in the textbook and from online resources. Seriously, I gave up on the notes and just taught myself. Did decent enough. Content isn't too challenging so it's doable regardless.
Required to teach yourself a bunch of stuff outside of class and during summer 2020 was not very accessible out of class. Often ignored emails.
honestly he's not bad. i took it remote and had chegg to help with hw. his long test questions are usually the ones he covers in class. assigns alot of hw. it's hard to understand the concepts at first so i suggest watching other videos to help understand
Had Professor Pai for STAT201 summer 2020. I was never a math person or ever good in math. He is very organized and explains concepts very well with examples right away. You will really need to take notes and read the textbook on your own. The textbook really helps a lot. I am still using his notes in my upper-division stat course, very helpful!
Online material is poorly organized (mainly videos as they are from 2013, blurry, choppy, and rambly.) I was doing well despite teaching myself the content, but when I handed in one of the four assignments slightly late my grade dropped by 30% because late assignments are marked zero. He comes across as unaccommodating and never responds to emails.
basically teaching yourself the entire course and his canvas page is super unorganized. Does teach during lecture and has separate youtube videos you need to watch and calls those 'lectures'.
Best piece of advice you'll ever receive if your course is asynchronous: Buy a Chegg subscription. They have the answers to all his questions online. Scott answered all the questions, but watching his videos was tedious and exhausting. But, he was very generous with the grades.
His class is not the way to go for an online class if you aren't into asynchronous lectures. You basically have to teach yourself and watch way too many old YouTube videos that he's posted to keep up and the videos are not the best quality and a number of errors in some videos. His live lectures are basically him going over some concepts. Not fun.
Avoid his classes at all costs. One of the worst professors at SFU. Does not do anything and expects you to teach yourself.
His lectures and videos are intolerable. I relied on the textbook, other students and Chegg for explaining how to do questions. HOWEVER, marks are very generous with high class averages. The tests cover a lot of the same word questions from previous quizzes/HW, so high grades are easy to achieve if you review.
He was very unorganized. He said he would post recorded lectures during our synchronous classes but never did. His quizzes and tests were easy as long as you read the textbook and do the questions. He was very generous with marks and the content was fairly easy. Get ready to teach yourself using the book and asking questions.
Pai's good at his expertise and is a chill man, he's just bad at teaching. Disorganized course and his lectures drag on, so prepare to teach yourself from your textbook. On the bright side, he reuses 50% of past midterm/quiz/homework questions for his exams. The content is not that hard though.
Scott is not a good prof. The 201 content is not hard, but he makes it unnecessarily difficult with bad lecture notes and disorganized lectures. Be prepared to spend most outside of class time watching lectures. On the flip side, exams are fairly straightforward and examples are from lectures/hw. If you can fully teach yourself, its not bad.
Overall, not bad if you don't mind teaching yourself some of the course content. Make sure to attend lectures because he gives hints as to what is expected on exams. Takes the time to answer all questions during and after lecture. Exams are fair for the most part and they were all open book/notes (I took this course remotely during the pandemic).
The class is very heavy on weekly workload, crucial to stay on top of things. The textbook is a life saver as Scott's teaching is very hard to follow and disorganized at times. The concepts themselves are not extremely difficult but defs have to teach yourself - stats workshops help too! Did not feel like an intro class.
This prof is one of the worst profs I have ever had. He gives so much homework and you often have to watch 2-3 hours of lecture outside of the 3 hours of lecture you have a week. He gives you answer keys for the quizzes which helps for studying but a bunch of the answers are wrong or mixed up. He never answers his emails!!
Scott was one of the most disorganized teachers I've ever had, didn't know how to use zoom, wants you to "sweat" by spending 20+ hours watching YT videos from 2013 while still having to attend his 2 lectures and still keep up with all other courses. Sometimes insensitive towards students. NEVER AGAIN!!!!
Worst professor ever at SFU. This course was a requirement and this is the only prof that teaches it. Old youtube videos that are 7 hours long are used for lectures plus live lectures 2 times a week. Never responds to emails. Exam/quiz questions always had errors and wasted our time during the exams. Avoid at all costs.
Honestly, I don't see the point of Scott being an uni teacher. If all he does is read out from note and posting youtube video, why I am paying for this course? what kinds of uni prof says " let me see you ugly face" to 200+student? and most of his test are about the video. The most disorganized teachers I've ever had in my uni life.
Three hours a week of disorganized lecture with an additional one to two hours of lecture videos to watch on YouTube. Most of his YouTube videos are 3-7 years old, difficult to follow, and frequently had errors. I felt like tests did not accurately assess ability and grading was sometimes unclear. This class took years off my life :(
As a non-math person, I found Dr. Pai's lectures to be clear and helpful. Dr. Pai focuses on going through practice problems during live lectures and posted videos, many of which are blueprints for assignment and exam questions. He takes time to answer student questions during lectures and office hours. Thank you Dr. Pai! Highly recommend!
I did not last a week in this class. Scott is VERY disorganized. His lectures are a waste of time since all he does is repeat exactly what he said in his youtube lectures, but make it more confusing and harder to understand. His poor teaching habits caused me to drop the class mid lecture. Do not take this class.
i wish i listened to these reviews and did not take this class however i needed the credit. Scott is nice and smart but he makes this course extremely difficult, disorganized, and confusing. if possible definitely take it with someone else... its a lot of material to keep up with and i feel like a different approach to teaching it would be better
While not useless, I found his lectures to somewhat unclear and not very helpful overall. Additionally, his audio and video quality were poor over Zoom making it harder to follow along and pay attention. I ended up relying a lot more on the textbook than usual. Luckily the class followed it very closely so I could review the content easily that way
Literally DO NOT TAKE HIS CLASS. Impossible to follow lectures. Mic is terrible to say the least. Explanations during class are atrocious. Notes are literally of no use they look like someone's rough work (not to mention his shabby and illegible handwriting). His exams are hard, his grading harder yet. Absolutely avoid this class come what may.
Triggered panic attacks by yelling at students over zoom; highly unprofessional + bad learning environment. Highly disorganized and often says things that are untrue. Ex: said the lectures and youtube videos cover the same material, this is false, you need to attend lectures AND watch YT videos in order to get all material, NEVER TAKE.
I wish someone would have asked me: This is already a hard course, why would you make it even harder by taking it with Professor Pai? Don't make the same mistake I diddo not under any circumstance take a class with this professor. Even if his exams are fair, the only thing I'm left with after his lectures is agonizing confusion. Avoid him.
Avoid at all costs. The man as a teacher is as useful as a used toilet paper and as reachable as the core of a nuclear power plant.
Don't get me wrong. He did try to help students but he fails to organize the material. Like there are even many mistakes in his YT videos and you need to fix them for him while you are watching them. Especially when the semester goes forward and materials became more intense, you really have to teach yourself because he just spread everything out
Pai is very knowledgeable, but couldn't express it in a way anyone would be able to understand. He has a rather intolerable personality, often being extremely disrespectful to students and even to his own TA. If you don't attend his lectures which I didn't, you are basically better off learning the course by yourself. Try to avoid him if you can.
The prof's mic was pretty terrible but class was kinda entertaining in how disorganized it was. I would still pick this prof again because while I had to take a lot of time outside of class to learn, the exams were not insanely difficult, unlike what I've heard about other profs for this class.
just youtube videos lmao
Took this class 2 years ago. One of the worst experiences I've had in SFU. Teaches super easy concepts during class and gives high level easy examples and expects us to figure things out (book has no solution key). Suspiciously started receiving emails from OneClass this semester even though I never used such services. Sussy prof.
Ok first things first, you can hardly understand anything in class. But, to be fair, the final exam is 60% of the course so if you study only for the final, you can still pass the course. All in all, i'd give him a 2/5.
I don't know if Scott thinks he's good at teaching. His lectures are disorganized and he explains concepts poorly. He always acts like he taught certain concepts before even though he clearly didn't. I only go to lectures because he often puts his examples on his tests. I feel like ANY YouTube stat video I saw explained things better than Scott.
avoid at all costs, wait for better. terrible lecturer, and assigned a large assignment right finals. didn't follow the textbook, added a bunch of irrelevant unreasonable questions on the final. made the class 10x harder than it needed to be. very rude, actively shit talking his students and yelling. i don't respect him as a person nor as a prof.
scott is so funny, I actually liked going to lectures. he's not the best teacher, but his exams are easy if you do the assigned questions, + he lets you do a crib sheet for each exam. idk why everybody says he's mean??? he's just a silly guy fr. barely any hw, so majority is exams. my class also got a huge scale at the end (bc ppl were failing lol)
He is not good at delivering information. He doesn't record his lectures nor posts complete notes, so if you miss a class, good luck.
I was scared of the bad reviews but he's not that bad. Quite adorable ngl and weirdly funny
I found lectures hard to follow and learned more on my own then in class. Also questions on tests are worded weirdly.
His lectures are garbage, cannot understand anything he says, and he talks very slowly and starts talking about irrelevant things. Tests are mostly multiple-choice, but questions are worded strangely, almost like he wants you to do badly. Have to basically teach yourself everything. Hardly replies to emails.
Stay awayy. Triple caution
He is a nice person but he should consider that STAT 201 should the more application-based rather than just solving numericals. If you want to score well in his exams, practice the sample exams by him thoroughly as he puts kinda same questions in the exams.
scott just assumes you should know everything and stops teaching randomly. LOL
Simon fraser university please send someone to his classes so you can improve ur stats department pls...
i cried actual tears
This voluntary response sample indicates that you run away from scott. The probability of you having a good mental health in this class is 0. DONT WALK RUN!
I'm just in awe of how bad this prof is... 99% of his notes are INCOMPLETE, written in his crappy handwriting. He skips over important concepts in class, instead expecting you to watch his horrible youtube videos which teach absolutely NOTHING. Stats is an amazing subject, but taking it with Scott will take years of your life. avoid at all costs!
he is helpful during office hours and his examples in class are funny and silly, but he goes back and forth between concepts in class which makes it difficult when you are trying to revise. overall, he's a good prof, just the notes are funky and you gotta learn on your own sometimes..
He is definitely hard to understand and his notes are messy. He did made us go to campus during the strike which was for sure awkward. He seem like a nice prof. But don't take the class if you aren't willing to put up the extra hours of studying after his lecture.
He is very rude and disrespectful if you're not understanding course material. At first he seemed really nice. Either way, he never completes his notes and his tests are unreasonably. Horrible lectures, and horrible class I recommend taking it with a different professor.
Horrible. Either pick your sanity and mental health or take this class. Tests are extremely difficult, he never explains how to use the formulas he shares in class, and just assume you should know everything. Get ready to spend all your time doing notes in hopes to maybe pass.
Even though he's a bit messy, he's not a bad teacher. I went into the class with no stats/math skills and now nearing the end of the year I've learned so much. Just listen to him and read his notes/textbook, watch the videos and go to the lecture, you will be okay. His tests and HW are not as bad as everyone is saying, and his classes are funny af
its like. a love hate relationship
Despite the other poor reviews, Scott is a decent prof, has a good sense of humor, and was helpful when I had questions during or outside of class. However his teaching method is a bit slow-paced and notes can be disorganized at times, attending class is also a must as he goes over examples similar to those that you will find in HW and exams.
Scott might not explain stuff in the best way, but it's important to attend lectures cuz you will get a general sense; coupled with the homework assigned and practice exam and some extra learning, you will be ok. It would be awesome if you read the textbook, but it didn't help me much. Textbook is required for assignments and stat tables though.
Horrible professor avoid this class with this professor if you want to succeed
Horrible professor, avoid taking class with him if you want to succeed.
Went into this class thinking I was gonna fail and came out with the A- Just listen to what he says
Easily one of the worst profs at sfu. I shed literal tears during exams. No matter how much you study, get ready for this course to drag your gpa down to the trenches. The lectures, practice problems, and exams are all completely different. nothing aligns. He was terrible at explaining and misogynistic and is never available outside of class.
Honestly, it was actually a pretty easy course, I got an A but I didn't listen to the class at all because I watched all the videos carefully. There was nothing on the final exam that the professor didn't cover, except that the professor was harsh and his questions were very challenging and very much tested your basics and your IQ.
DONT TAKE THIS PROF!! Handwrites notes & (sometimes) uploads them, doesnt post or teach from any slides. Exams and hw are not based on what is taught in class, which is hard to follow. Makes sexist comments and criticizes us for not "doing work." Be prepared to self-learn the entire course- content is not actually difficult. Good human, bad teacher
Tough course, but using unstuckstudy ai and the textbook helped me get through it. The professor can be unclear, but engaging in class and going to office hours makes a difference. Overall, a challenging but manageable class.
I actually think Scott's course is not that bad, considering most students found it very hard. He's passionate and funny. However, it is statistics, and almost every stats courses I took are boring and test heavy, but I found his stats 203 is actually one of least boring stats course. (Considering I studied at both SFU and UBC)
Not organize. Instruction is unclear. Quizzes are too difficulties. Tutorial videos are too old and not helpful.
Include attendance in additional courses beyond the syllabus as part of the overall grade usless and old youtube veido
Arbitrary standards and shows little care about student's success. Grading scheme and course structures are changed all the time. He often refers to students by their student number or race + gender which is very weird and degrading. Very ineffective teaching - never ever does formative assessments and just yaps for 4 hours non-stop.
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61%
Textbook Required
23%
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