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Mikhail Hlushchanka
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Based on 21 Users
Honestly, the other review (the one that begins "every monday, wednesday, and friday I looked forward too...") says everything. Go upvote it :)
I looked forward to attending lecture every time. He would great us by saying "Welcome to the world of differential equations" and that always started the class off with a good note.
Lectures were very clear and homework was manageable. We had weekly timed quizzes via grade scope. For the midterms we were given 6 hours to complete it and it took the complete 6 hours-- there was just a lot of information that needed to be written down.
I would take a class with this prof again!
I had him for 115A in fall 18 and 170B in winter 19. One warning: he goes VERY fast. He barely gives you enough time to write notes, then expects you to have digested it quickly enough to ask thoughtful questions (which almost no one has). One time he got mad because he said the notes are online and we should be paying more attention in the moment instead of writing. He wants to be engaged but may get lowkey irritated if you ask a dumb question.
He definitely has an accent (Belarus) , but after a couple weeks you can get past it and understand him pretty well.
His homeworks are usually due on fridays, and the homeworks are generally difficult, so make sure to put some time in. He likes to include bonus extra credit hw problems. The midterms are toughish but not as tough as the weekly lecture and homework (he's a somewhat generous grader actually). Cheat sheet allowed.
One thing for sure though, is that i feel like i learn a LOT more in his classes than i do with the other adjunct professors ive had so far. He really makes sure that you understand the subject. And despite his intimidating eastern european energy, he really does want to help you and he is very nice (but blunt) in office hours. For that reason, I would take him again.
Mikhail is a mediocre professor. He talks and writes extremely fast and illegibly. The content of this class is very simple, but he seems to rush over topics that deserve much more time (i.e eigenvectors, SVD, etc.). He doesnt curve the class and the only grades u get are from quizzes and exams, no homework.
I definitely recommend taking Anderson or honestly any other professor over Hlushchanka. I guarantee I could've gotten a better grade with a different professor, considering this class was wayyyy easier than the 32 series and I got better grades in those classes.
If you are good at math this class will be fun, if not you will hate him. In lecture he does abstract proofs, but has awful handwriting and is hard to understand so many students get lost, however if you can follow him you learn a lot. Grading is weekly quizzes (easy, but you must go to discussion), 2 midterms, and a final. Nice dude will drop one of your midterms is you do poor one and just weight the final more. Although he does lots of proofs in class, the test are all computational. Get used to add/sub and mult/divide numbers in your head very fast. Best way to prepare for test is by doing lots of practice problems. Use the online bruin test bank. He doesn't pass back midterms or finals so you can't get a hold of old copies, but studying other professors midterms was very helpful. Test averages tend to be around 78% for midterms and final so little to no curve you need to do well on the test.
Hluschanka’s lectures can be incredibly hard to follow. You have to do some outside preparations before lecture in order to not get horribly lost at times. The Midterms have a few problems where you either get all the points or none of it (such as two yes or no problems being worth the same as a very long calculation part).
As for the final, coronavirus forced us to take a take home final, and this test was super difficult and took the entire day to complete
I don’t understand what the previous reviewer is complaining about though. The person with an A- as the final grade is complaining about a downcurve to a final with an average of 80 percent (which is around the same distribution as the two midterms).
I have mixed feelings about this class. On one hand, the exams were well-written and fair, and Hlushchanka genuinely cared about his students' success. The homework was difficult but great preparation for exams. However, his lecturing left a lot to be desired.
Hlushchanka tended to rush through the material, and he seemed frustrated when students couldn't answer conceptual questions after only a few minutes. His handwriting made it difficult to take notes unless sitting in the front rows. He has a thick Eastern European accent, which was easy to understand but made him sometimes come across as condescending.
After the first midterm, I realized that I couldn't rely on the lectures to do well in the class, so I spent significant time taking notes from the textbook and doing the homework multiple times. This paid off, as I was able to get 104% on the final (he has two bonus problems) despite getting B+s on the midterms.
Overall, I suggest you try to take Conley or another professor instead. 33A is a very challenging class already, so its best you take it with someone that can explain things clearly. If you end up with Hlushchanka, here are some tips for success:
-Read through the textbook ahead of lecture. I found it impossible to keep up otherwise.
-Really spend time doing the homework. It can be quite long, so a lot of people wrote it off. However, the conceptual questions will prepare you well for the bonus problems on the final, as well as help you explain your reasoning.
-Do the homework again the same day of discussion to ace your quizzes
Honestly, the other review (the one that begins "every monday, wednesday, and friday I looked forward too...") says everything. Go upvote it :)
I looked forward to attending lecture every time. He would great us by saying "Welcome to the world of differential equations" and that always started the class off with a good note.
Lectures were very clear and homework was manageable. We had weekly timed quizzes via grade scope. For the midterms we were given 6 hours to complete it and it took the complete 6 hours-- there was just a lot of information that needed to be written down.
I would take a class with this prof again!
I had him for 115A in fall 18 and 170B in winter 19. One warning: he goes VERY fast. He barely gives you enough time to write notes, then expects you to have digested it quickly enough to ask thoughtful questions (which almost no one has). One time he got mad because he said the notes are online and we should be paying more attention in the moment instead of writing. He wants to be engaged but may get lowkey irritated if you ask a dumb question.
He definitely has an accent (Belarus) , but after a couple weeks you can get past it and understand him pretty well.
His homeworks are usually due on fridays, and the homeworks are generally difficult, so make sure to put some time in. He likes to include bonus extra credit hw problems. The midterms are toughish but not as tough as the weekly lecture and homework (he's a somewhat generous grader actually). Cheat sheet allowed.
One thing for sure though, is that i feel like i learn a LOT more in his classes than i do with the other adjunct professors ive had so far. He really makes sure that you understand the subject. And despite his intimidating eastern european energy, he really does want to help you and he is very nice (but blunt) in office hours. For that reason, I would take him again.
Mikhail is a mediocre professor. He talks and writes extremely fast and illegibly. The content of this class is very simple, but he seems to rush over topics that deserve much more time (i.e eigenvectors, SVD, etc.). He doesnt curve the class and the only grades u get are from quizzes and exams, no homework.
I definitely recommend taking Anderson or honestly any other professor over Hlushchanka. I guarantee I could've gotten a better grade with a different professor, considering this class was wayyyy easier than the 32 series and I got better grades in those classes.
If you are good at math this class will be fun, if not you will hate him. In lecture he does abstract proofs, but has awful handwriting and is hard to understand so many students get lost, however if you can follow him you learn a lot. Grading is weekly quizzes (easy, but you must go to discussion), 2 midterms, and a final. Nice dude will drop one of your midterms is you do poor one and just weight the final more. Although he does lots of proofs in class, the test are all computational. Get used to add/sub and mult/divide numbers in your head very fast. Best way to prepare for test is by doing lots of practice problems. Use the online bruin test bank. He doesn't pass back midterms or finals so you can't get a hold of old copies, but studying other professors midterms was very helpful. Test averages tend to be around 78% for midterms and final so little to no curve you need to do well on the test.
Hluschanka’s lectures can be incredibly hard to follow. You have to do some outside preparations before lecture in order to not get horribly lost at times. The Midterms have a few problems where you either get all the points or none of it (such as two yes or no problems being worth the same as a very long calculation part).
As for the final, coronavirus forced us to take a take home final, and this test was super difficult and took the entire day to complete
I don’t understand what the previous reviewer is complaining about though. The person with an A- as the final grade is complaining about a downcurve to a final with an average of 80 percent (which is around the same distribution as the two midterms).
I have mixed feelings about this class. On one hand, the exams were well-written and fair, and Hlushchanka genuinely cared about his students' success. The homework was difficult but great preparation for exams. However, his lecturing left a lot to be desired.
Hlushchanka tended to rush through the material, and he seemed frustrated when students couldn't answer conceptual questions after only a few minutes. His handwriting made it difficult to take notes unless sitting in the front rows. He has a thick Eastern European accent, which was easy to understand but made him sometimes come across as condescending.
After the first midterm, I realized that I couldn't rely on the lectures to do well in the class, so I spent significant time taking notes from the textbook and doing the homework multiple times. This paid off, as I was able to get 104% on the final (he has two bonus problems) despite getting B+s on the midterms.
Overall, I suggest you try to take Conley or another professor instead. 33A is a very challenging class already, so its best you take it with someone that can explain things clearly. If you end up with Hlushchanka, here are some tips for success:
-Read through the textbook ahead of lecture. I found it impossible to keep up otherwise.
-Really spend time doing the homework. It can be quite long, so a lot of people wrote it off. However, the conceptual questions will prepare you well for the bonus problems on the final, as well as help you explain your reasoning.
-Do the homework again the same day of discussion to ace your quizzes