I can definitely say that Stats 20 is currently in a transition period as Mike is looking to intensify the rigor of the class to best prepare Stats majors for the 102 series. What this means is that you can expect to spend a good amount of time doing homework and an end-of-the-quarter project. You can also expect to see written response questions in the midterms that can usually get brutal in difficulty as well as multiple choice questions that requires extensive playing around on R to learn specific outputs.

Personally, I recommend that you take a programming class such as Python beforehand. I took C beforehand, and still managed to struggle. Then again, knowledge of C does not translate well into R (Python is somewhat more similar to R). There were also some students with no programming experience that were in better shape than I was, but they probably have better study habits than me (I don’t recommend taking multiple shots of vodka while studying). But yeah, anyways, Mike is a real kind dude and he would try his best to help out his students on Campuswire and in office hours with hints. He won’t outright tell you the answers to homework problems, as he expects you to learn by struggling, but it does give you a better sense of accomplishment when you get a difficult function to successfully run.

I’m going to be frank, I did get quite stressed with the class and I usually manage to get my stress under control during the most trying times. I’m sure a lot of other people got heavily stressed too. The other reviews weren’t joking that there were multiple homework assignments around the time of the second midterm and the final project did get delayed until a week and a half before finals week, so that is something you will have to get prepared for. Combined that with the fact that I had a difficult Linear Algebra class to deal with and let’s just say I got pretty awful scores for my midterms and final. However, you can ask Mike if you can take your midterm at another time (I forgot to do this, oops) as he knows the period during the midterms is just downright tough.

In the end, I got a B+, and I don’t even think I deserved that grade at all. Mike was once a student like us, and graded very leniently since he knows how being a college student is a real ordeal. At the same time, he put us through quite a wild ride in this class in the hopes that we become ready for the upper division Stats classes. Because of that, I now feel ready to take on anything upper division Stats classes toss at me, and I’m optimistic that my newfound skills in R will take me far. So don’t be afraid to take this class, just don’t expect an easy ride.

This class might have been good in the past, but this is definitely no longer the case. I went for multiple office hours but it was one of those instances where he taught you 1+1=2 and then asked you to invent and think of a new color during the mid terms. Do not take this class at all cost - what everyone is saying here is actually true (apart from that one positive comment that is prolly written by Jake). Stay strong my fellow bruins, this class is GPA suicide and avoid it unless you have coded since a tender age of 3. PS: Jake is a spy from USC who's sole purpose is to destroy your GPA.

DR. MIKE IS F--ING AWESOME! TAKE THIS CLASS, YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT! The old Bruinwalk reviews scared me, so I really hesitated to join this class. However, Dr. Mike is quite literally one of the sweetest, most empathetic, fun Profs I have ever met. He made a lot of adjustments to his curriculum in light of his student feedback.

He knows his lectures like the back of his hand and creates these organized pdfs of the material. His class was also really engaging and he managed to make me laugh in each lecture. He also teaches in a way where you can just focus on your learning without being concerned about your grade. I never found myself stressed or incentivized to cheat to do well.

The homework, while challenging, is graded on completion. The exams are quite difficult, but he curves generously so it doesn't really matter in the end. Just focus on trying to learn from mistakes you make on past exams. A study hack for this class is to also play around with R commands and see how outputs change depending on different types of inputs. He literally gives you all the resources you need for the class condensed on his pdfs, so Stack overflow is entirely useless and exams never have surprises on them. You will leave this class with a foundational knowledge of R that will help you loads in the future.

Dr. Mike also makes himself super available to his students. He has extensive office hours and is eager to answer all questions that come his way. He also places a strong emphasis on the importance of mental health and he cares about his students deeply.

Seriously, this class is fantastic. Ignore the other reviews, you'll be in great hands :)

If there is a class which will stress you out and mess up your mental health it is this one.
Save your self and if you have any intention of having a social life to even a little little amount, don't take it(PLZZ )

I reinforce all reviews before me but would like to correct one thing. The grade distribution did not greatly change so expect a good curve even if the class is failing.

About 40+ people were sent to the Dean's office for suspected academic dishonesty.

If your code looks even slightly similar to something that is found online, you will be instantly sent to the dean's office. You'll have to wait for over 3 months to get your appointment. And finally, when you do have your meeting with the dean, you will have no choice but to plead guilty (even if you did not plagiarize) because if you don't, you will have to wait for another 3 months to remove the DR from your transcript

It was Mike's first time teaching 100C, yet he always made organized, informative slides for each lecture and reasonable but challenging homework assignments. He also was very accommodating at the end because of everything surrounding the protests and riots. 100C gets a rep for being one of the hardest stats classes, but I felt Mike's instruction and expectations made it a very fulfilling, enjoyable experience. Really pleased to have taken it with him!

He must have changed the class since 2019, because it's definitely an average class now. He has about 4 hours of lecture/week, and the hw takes about 4 hours. 80% of the hw answers is straight from his notes on ccle, and the rest you can just ask for hints on campuswire forum. The hw is also graded on completion. And honestly, Mike is a super understanding prof, if you're stressed about grades, you can work with him to figure something out. As for the midterms, so the averages were like 60's, but the grading scale is generous:
75+ percentile = A+
50+ percentile = A-/A
25+ percentile = B/A-
0+ percentile = <B

Not much left to say that hasn't already been said. The reviews for this class are accurate unfortunately (mike is nice but the class sucks a$$). I had Bart as a TA and he was really chill and pretty funny. I would recommend him because he made this class a little better and honestly helped me get through it (not so much content wise but mental stability wise).

Now onto my advice: STUDY !! This may seem obvious to some of you, but it was completely foreign to me to study for a coding class. This class turns through a ton of material, so you need to review everything covered in the notes as well as the HW problems before the midterms and finals (this will help a TON).

I know if you are reading this you probably have to take this class and you probably have to take it with Mike. I'm really sorry and it might be scary reading all these reviews, but I promise you will get through it... just stay confident and good luck (you got this) !!

The professor is a friendly person.
Take this class online (COVID-19)a lot thing may be different from before.
40% for both exam(25%better one 15% lower one) 18% Homework 30% Final exam 12% Final project
Due to the epidemic, the project was cancelled. total grade is over 88.

The time for the exam is tight. I have never completed all the questions.
Exam grade is mostly based on percentiles, top50% A to A-, 50%-75%B+/B range. End 25%B/B-/below range.
Homework can be late for 24h, no points are deducted. Although the homework is difficult, it is scored according to the degree of completion. 75% complete, you can get 100% points . No one will tell you the correct way before due day. It is for "stimulate the learning process". If you don’t have time to think, or if you don’t have any clues. Just answer your plan and ideas will get full marks.

1st exam : min~1st Qu
2nd exam: med~3rd Qu
Final exam: med

Final Grade: A-