STAT 4220

This class has a lot of potential but somewhat falls short. You learn different aspects of business analytics in R and Excel throughout the semester, and you work on a semester-long project with a partner non-profit based in Charlottesville-- which is really cool! Except, it can be very hard to get the data you may need answer your particular business question which in turn takes a toll on the quality of the project you are able to submit at the end. The entire class is also specifications grading which can be really hard to keep track of throughout the semester in regards to where your grade is at. Only other gripe is that it's one of those reverse classes, where you watch a video lecture at home, and do classwork problems during class time without and class time lectures. This is a general pain point for the statistics department and I think I speak for a lot of students when I say this isn't the most ideal method of learning-- it's hard to stay engaged in both settings (the video lecture, and the self-paced classwork activities). Overall, the class could have been a lot better if it's format and logistics were improved. #tCFS24

The class is a strong litmus test for student readiness in entering the workforce. Prof Martinet teaches you how to use excel (e.g., pivot tables, excel functions, and more that you will use everyday at work) and how to logically think about the best ways to optimize modeling in R within classification and logistical regression contexts. My only complaint is that the requirements for meeting specifications on assignments can feel very arbitrary and annoying at times. At the end of the day, I felt that it mimicked what you might encounter after college in accomplishing the work that's directly asked of you rather than what you think makes sense. That, however, being part of a college experience makes sense but ultimately is a bit cumbersome.

Looking at the class with a birds eye view, it's more or less a capstone class with assignments slotted in. I think the assignments are good, but the capstone aspect (i.e., working with the nonprofit) can be some work. For me personally, I got a lot of good experience about the specific non profit we worked with, so it was solid. However, knowing that it changes semester by semester, mileage can vary. Overall, great class!