MATH 1220

This is a hard class. I took it with Ala because he had the highest course forum rating amongst the other Math 1220 teachers and I really liked Ala. He is a very laid back guy which is nice, because the class can seem overwhelming at times. He explained concepts well. However, this course, regardless of the teacher, requires a lot of outside effort because a lot of the topics are pretty thorough and can't be covered at an in-depth level in class, but I definitely recommend taking it with Ala. He is there to help you.

I LOVE ALA! He is the best instructor you could have for the class. He is super understanding, helpful, and simply a great lecturer. He has quite a small voice so it could help if you sit in the front. Also, I had Christopher Leonard for MATH 1210: he was awful and I thought everyone in the math department sucked. However, Ala will change the way you think. Recommend 10/10. You will walk out of the class feeling like you actually learned something worth your tuition.

What a guy. Honestly, I can't even begin to talk about how amazing Ala is. He's a diamond in the rough when it comes to the math department. I took him over the summer and so he may teach differently with the crunched time but I found his Applied Calc II to be a relatively easy course. I got over 100% on all the midterms and assignments except the final (I got a 95 on that), and I had never touched Calc II concepts before. He's unbelieveably funny. He had his own catch phrases that he would say in his soft voice like "Yeah, we're not playing around anymore," when introducing a new topic and "Oh...man." His laugh always got me too. Honestly just do the webassign well, take good notes in class and really use the textbook to reinforce the lecture and you'll do well in Ala's class. I'm seriously considering taking MATH 1060 just because he teaches it. What an absolute legend. 10/10 please take him if you want to bring some life into your classes next semester.

If you have to take calc II, Ala is the best professor to do it with. He explains the concepts very well so that they make sense to people with non math brains. He is also entertaining and doesn't assign a lot of quizzes written homework outside of webassign. Would definitely recommend him!

Professor A is a great teacher if you have prior experience to the material. I got an A- in the class after taking Calculus BC in high school, which was more than enough to do well in this class. He structures it pretty well by giving a lot of weight to the online homework, which is nice since a lot of this class is the exams and he only gives like one or two written homework assignments during the semester. The only thing I would make sure to do if you don't have a strong calculus background is to go to his office hours, they're usually packed but he is really good about making sure that everyone gets their questions answered. Also he does show up late a lot which some other people have mentioned, but don't worry about that because he makes sure to fit all the topics into class time. If you are taking this class definitely take it with Professor A!

Professor A is one of the best math professor's I've had. His teaching style is great, mostly because he goes straight to the point and explains every topic in a thorough manner. During class, uses relevant examples which are very useful for the tests/quizzes. He's a really funny guy as well which makes the class more entertaining. Office hours are a great bonus since he's always really approachable with any type of question. Overall, this professor truly cares about his students and wants them to do well in the class!!!

Ala was really great!! He was very kind and respectful when answering all of our questions. He genuinely wanted to see everyone succeed, and he truly means well. He is hilarious, and tries to keep the class interesting by incorporating some math history and theory and also introducing new topics in a way that was engaging. Ala always has a really positive attitude and never made us feel dumb for not understanding something. His lectures were clear and engaging, and is obviously competent with the material. He was also always very helpful and kind during office hours. I would recommend him to anyone who wants to take a math course.

Applied Calc 2 is very difficult. I only took it to fulfill my Natural Math & Science requirement. If you don't have to take the class, don't!! But if you do, I'd recommend taking it with another professor. Like the others students mentioned. He is a great guy, can be funny at time, but he does go off on tangents and rants. He is constantly late to class. Be prepared for 20 minutes of jokes and to go through 2-3 sections per class. If you don't grasp everything in class, which 80% of the time, you won't, I'd suggest going to office hours. He is helpful 1 on 1, but office hours are always cramped. The grading is pretty fair and solid. There are curves here and there.

Like everyone is saying, Ala is a great guy but I found it very difficult to grasp an understanding of the material, especially because I've never taken calc before, not even in high school like most people here. He's the kind of person that would be great to chill and hangout with one on one, and he makes our class laugh hysterically but when I asked him questions he did not really answer them well, or he would go off on a tangent about something were not even talking about. If you end up with him due to scheduling conflicts, its not the end of the world. Just know you're going to have to do a lot of explaining and teaching to yourself. If you can, I recommend taking Brian Thomas, I had him for Applied Calc 1 and he is a little awkward one-on-one but his lectures are very organized, he gets to the point and answers any questions you may have.
Also, like all lower level math classes here, the tests are in the evenings with all the sections in a huge lecture hall taking the exams. 2 midterms, 1 final and weekly homeworks. sometimes the homework can be very tedious, other times its pretty straightforward.

At first I was skeptical of taking this class as I came in with a 5 on Calc. AB and was unsure if I was ready for Calc. II in college. I am extremely happy I took this class. Ala is a really funny and genuinely nice guy. A lot of people go into his class and sleep, but if you make any effort in the class you should perform well and earn his respect. The two tests aren't that easy, but the curve is kinda weird and works out pretty well for the most part. For whatever reason the averages on tests were never great, but most of my friends and I seemed to do well.

One note. It is a good and bad thing. There will be a class every now and then that he just doesn't give a crap and tells stories and messes around. This can be fun and entertaining if you understand the material, but frustrating if you don't. Thus, to get the most out of his class I would suggest coming in with a solid math background; nothing crazy, but enough so you are not always struggling. SOLID CLASS

Ala Abdelbaki is a very funny and helpful professor. He often goes off on random, unrelated tangents during class. The majority of the class is only taking calculus to fulfill a requirement, such as econ. Not an easy topic, but he does a good job of teaching material. Class is made up of two midterms and a final and weekly webassign homeworks. The homework is easy to get 100% on. If you have to take calc II, take it with Ala.