STAT 2020

The lecture was somewhat boring but Professor Ferrera made it interesting sometimes. The exams are difficult but if you do a lot of practice problems to prepare they're not too bad. Doing well on the labs evens out exam scores by the end of the semester.

To be fair the material isn't enjoyable. Maria does what she can to engage the class but sometimes doesn't seem to know some of the material herself. Don't buy the book, it's useless. Take advantage of the webassign and get all of your points there. Go to office hours if you can't figure out the labs but most should be fairly straight forward if you use the examples from the lab period. Don't worry about the R dictionary. They will tell you 483758372 times that you won't do well on it if you don't do it as you go.... I did it in two hours by just looking back at the old labs and using the "?" function in R. They don't teach you calculator skills but 90% of the tests can be done in a calculator and they allow it. Be real with your TAs, they are undergrads. Youtube it and get As on all the tests. Easy A if you play the system.

I absolutely loved this class! Professor Ferrara is a really good instructor and she makes sure to explain things slowly and emphasize the important stuff. If you already have some knowledge of Statitics, the class may seem a little slow for you. The exams are super easy and often are similar to the practice exams that she gives out. There are multiple extra credit opportunities from doing little things like taking a 2 question "quiz" before each class (it just asks if you have any questions on the videos you were supposed to watch before class). I honestly loved this class, and I felt like the only outside work I had to put was before each exam. Labs are annoying but are also very easy

The class is 60% exams, 5% symposium, 25% lab, and 10 % homework. The homework is all online but she only gives you 2 attempts to get the right answer or the whole problem is wrong. The labs are easy if you go to office hours. As long as you do the practice exam bunch of times then you will do fine on the actual exam. This was the first class ive ever gotten an A+ in at UVA.

This course's lectures are mostly online, which makes attending the class unnecessary. However, the lab is required. The homework and labs are simple and easy but can be time-consuming. The instructor attempts to make this course interactive, but based on my experience it was not. The exams were difficult due to no credit on the multiple-choice section and can lower your grade quickly. This course is very quick-paced. If you need a statistics class however I would recommend it over the others, but would not take it if you want an easy A.

Not a difficult class at all. If you have any math proficiency it'll be a breeze. Don't take it too lightly though. Don't need the textbook, work together on lab assignments and how to maximize those points. Exams are weird in that they're not too difficult but it's easy to do bad because of the weighting. They're half MC/half open-ended but there's only about 13 MC questions each exam so if you miss one that's about 3-4%. I would study hard for the exams about 2-3 days in advance going through all the ppts, hw, and the practice exam. I wouldn't pay attention to the lecture either and got an A overall. Not a hard course, you'll be fine.

Easy class if you need a statistics requirement. Maria is a very fun person, and she speaks very slowly, so it's easy to understand what she's saying. Course starts off very slow, because you'll most likely have experience to the topics taught in the beginnning, but as the semester progresses the difficulty picks up but it's still not by any means hard. Maria gives practice tests before each test. These practice tests are almost the exact same as the actual tests, both in content covered and format. Do the practice tests, review over difficult concepts, and you'll be fine. I have a 100 in the class going into the last exam. The exams are not difficult if you just take time to practice and understand what is being taught. Also, labs are a good introduction to R. Not really applicable for the tests, and I appreciate that. I like learning stuff for the sake of learning it. Highly recommend this class!

This class was definetly worthwhile. I learned alot, and I would definetly recommend it, especially if you need a math requirement and a cs integration elective! Maria really teaches it like an introductory course; the beginning is quite slow as she introduces many concepts that alot of people already know, but still makes sure that everyone in the class understands everything. She posts topic videos on YouTube which are very detailed and beneficial for doing the homework assignments and understanding the concepts of that topic. I wouldn't say it's necessary to go to class if she posts a topic video, but it can be helpful to if you want to ask questions. Lab is mandatory attendance, but it's super helpful as what she does in lab during her code-alongs is very similar to the questions on her lab assignments. If you ever get stuck, just go to office hours; they will literally check over answers with you. Homework might take a bit, but it's not hard. So overall, per week, you have 1 lab and 1 hw assignment due. Certain topics have online videos you need to watch for them (which I usually put at 2x speed cause she goes a little slow), and then take a quiz on, which just asks you something you learned or something you still don't get (very easy), so you might have that additional assigment certain weeks. There are 3 exams. The multiple choice can be tricky at times, and are mostly concept based. There are usually 15-16 questions so you can only miss a few. The open ended questions are very similar to her practice problems, so do them! I will say, the exam averages were higher in my semester due to the covid situation as our exams 2 and 3 became open notes, however, our exam 1 was in person, and if you do the practice problems that she posts for each topic covered on the exam and take the practice exam (these 2 are key!!!!), you will be solid. Be aware though, to get an A in this class, you need to get a 94. She only rounds to 2 decimal places in all her grading, so even if you get a 93.99, it will still be an A-, and she makes no exceptions. I ended the class with an A, and I would say it is an easy 4 credit A/A- if you put in the work to study, which you should cause Maria provides you with more than enough study material to succeed.
For reference, the syllabus breakdown for this course was: Homework (10%), Symposium (5%), Lab (25%), 3 Exams (60%).

I highly, highly, HIGHLY recommend you take this course if you are are premed (or related) and/or you need to fulfill a statistics requirement. Maria is one of the better professors I have had here at UVA. She makes sure to go in depth in class and leaves room for questions. She is very willing to help you out if you are struggling, but you have to be willing to put in the work if you want to do well in this course. Once again, highly recommend!

For a stats class, I would say this one was pretty good. Maria is a good professor, although at some points I found lectures to be a drag because she would over-explain some concepts. I went to every lecture even if there was a pre-recorded topic video, but you could get away with not going if you understand the concepts in those videos (certain topics she will post a video of her going through the power-point and then in class she reviews the major concepts). The sapling homework can be time consuming, but you do have two chances to answer questions correctly. Labs are pretty easy and you can go to office hours and they will tell you exactly what they are looking for. Make sure to fully explain your answers though because, depending on the TA, they may nit-pick and take off points. I would recommend this class if you need to fulfill the stat requirement for pre-med or just need to take a math class; the work isn't too bad, but make sure you put in the effort.