I highly recommend stats 10 with professor tsiang! He was extremely helpful, I wanted to take stats 10 but it was hard to get it to work with my schedule, as the only open lecture conflicted with another class. He let me enroll in one stats lecture and attend another, and worked with me for the exams! Lectures are also all podcasted so I didn't really have to go to lecture.

He is also a very clear teacher, the curve can only help you, and it is really clear he only wants you to do well in his class. The tests are all multiple choice, and though you should definitely study, they are not very difficult. The labs are also very easy but you HAVE to go to section, because the TA pretty much tells you how to do every question and the answers. Ended the class with an A+!

The only negative thing I have to say is he is pretty intimidating up close/ in office hours.

To start off, Mike is an amazing professor and the most dedicated and hard working teacher I've ever had. He really really cares about his students. He'll respond to emails instantly at any time of day and has lots of office hours availability. This is a tough class though. The work load is quite heavy. Coding homework every week that usually takes like five hours (obviously depends on how good you are). The exams test for a deep knowledge of the material and how code functions. The averages on the midterms were 50-60% and very time pressured. Final seems to have been about the same, though not at all time pressured. Obviously the class is scaled at the end. It seems like the top 25-30% got As and the median grade was a B. Prior understanding of CS stuff probably helps a lot in this class but even without it you can do pretty well if you put the work in. I've never taken a CS and pulled out an A- after being barely above average on the midterms. The exam multiple choice is based heavily on the lecture notes so have those down really well. Exams are way harder than the practice ones he gives you.

Mike says he cares about our wellbeing, but I'd say that's complete bs. Here I sit at 3 am still doing his homework. He gives 8 questions each week and they're impossible to solve without wanting to die every single second. The TA Jake Kramer is an absolute asshole that delights in seeing his students fail. Avoid at all costs.

Mike is the professor you want for Stats 10. He lectures thoroughly and clearly, he gives out hella extra credit, and homework is completely optional (although helpful). You get one cheat sheet for each midterm and three cheat sheets total for the final. Labs are done using R and do require a bit of conceptual understanding, but are overall doable. Just make sure to go to lab to get what you need from your TA. Mike is also a great guy in general, lots of Parks and Rec references, super relatable.
Best experience I could've had for this class. Mike gives you every opportunity to get a good grade. Would take again and highly recommend this professor.

This class was such a nightmare! So much heavy, unnecessarily difficult workload that takes up what should be used as study time! The exams test on minute details that you can't really study for. The last two weeks were a complete disaster! A self study chapter, a homework assignment, and a final project all assigned in Week 9 with barely enough time to study for the final. And the worst part about the class is the professor saying crap like "Your mental health is more important than your grades" which baffles me because this class is the source of mental health problems. The only good thing about this class is the curve, but everything else was just bad.

Stats 20 with Mike was a grueling experience, but one which I would wholeheartedly have again, as I believed that I learned a solid amount with regards to programming as well as R itself. I came into this class with no programming experience whatsoever, but Mike easily guided me through the lectures while also pausing for questions if the class had any questions.

Mike also provides an extensive amount of office hours and is always willing to help guide the students with the homework and answer any clarifying questions as well. I went to virtually every single office hour and felt like I received a good understanding of the goals of this class.

Now, the tests--both the midterms as well as the final--are difficult, but in the end, Mike tends to curve the class, so the absolute number you see is not the actual end result of the grade. The midterms were primarily difficult due to the time constraints--only 45 minutes--while the final was more difficult on a conceptual level than time-restrictive.

Overall, this class was enjoyable for me, and I disagree with claims that one needs prior programming experience to do well in this class. I believe that as long as you focus on learning and understanding the material, instead of the grade, and give an effort for the class, you will do relatively well in Mike's Stats 20.

TL;DR: Waffles, not grades.

Great professor who focuses more about the students’ learning than their grades. He offers a lot of extra credit, the tests are multiple choice, and the labs and homework assignments are not too complicated, either. The professor does use the slides a lot, but he does explain them really well, so I definitely recommend Bruincast, too!

Though I took Stats 20 in fall quarter, bruinwalk does not have a page for that course and REALLY want to write a review here.

I am a freshman stats major and this is the first major course I took in UCLA, and I feel SO lucky that I took it with Mike! He genuinely cares about students and is very very approachable. Courses are clear and he posts pdf notes online for each lecture. Also, his classes are almost all videotaped so that we can easily review later( which also means do not have to go to lectures!!) No attendance taken, midterms and finals are all multiple choices, not too hard, workload is light, weekly homework that is 30% of final score and TAs almost give out answers during discussion sessions. DEFINITELY take Stats courses with Mike!!!!!

BTW I also went to some of Mike's Stats 10 class to review ap stats. I think if you took ap stats before, stats 10 can be an easy A!!

The professor really cares about the students and is always nice and patient.