MATH 1320

Professor Sonkin was my favorite professor this semester! Calc 2 is a difficult class to begin with, but Professor Sonkin's lectures definitely made the class go seamlessly. Near the beginning of the semester, it was a little difficult to understand his voice under the mask plus his slight Russian accent, however, after a couple weeks I didn't seem to notice. He knows his stuff, and always makes an effort to answer questions to the best of his ability. The exams are pretty difficult but doing the practice exams that the professor provides helps a LOT. If you have a solid foundation in high school math and Calc 1, you will do well in this class. Networking with your classmates is also a very beneficial way to make sure you understand the material to the best of your ability. Also, make sure to keep up with the WebAssigns and the written homework, as they will help you tremendously on the weekly quizzes and exams.

Professor Sonkin is one of my favorite teachers ever and easily the best math teacher I have ever had. I came in on the first day and thought that I would be in for a rough semester, and though I was, Prof. Sonkin made it so much better. He is such a nice and funny guy and really tries to make sure that you understand everything. Not once did he make anyone feel inferior for asking clarification questions, he was always super supportive. Towards the end of the semester, around finals, I got sick and asked Prof. Sonkin what would happen if I was unable to take the final. He explained that there are other avenues we can work through if I am unable to take it during the allotted time. Luckily, I was able to take it in person, but what was so amazing is that Prof. Sonkin approached me in the final testing hall while passing out final exams and asked me if I was feeling better with a smile coming out from under the mask. Such a genuine guy, would absolutely recommend taking the course with him. As for the class itself, easily the hardest class I have ever taken (took it first semester of first year for reference), but when the teacher is fun and nice, it makes it way more tolerable. Prof. Sonkin is also a very reasonable grader. The tests were pretty difficult for me, though there are some people I know who did very well on all of them so it is definitely possible. If you have to take Calc 2, it's going to be difficult and time consuming, but this is definitely the guy to take it with. I can promise he'll make you smile every week.

This was a bearable class for calculus 2. Dmitry doesn't use printed class handouts each class, so it's important to take notes during classprep videos and during class. Classwork is always done in groups and sometimes it is submitted (just for completion or attempt at completion). Dmitry is a very nice and personable professor, and he clearly knows the subject very well; he is very helpful in office hours and in class answering questions. Overall the only downfall is not getting handouts to look over before exams (make sure to take good notes yourself!)

Professor Sonkin did a great job of explaining the concepts. It is a difficult class, but paying attention in class and doing the assignments really helps. The professor is also very approachable if you have questions during class/classwork. There are weekly quizzes, but you don't really need to prepare since he goes over the content right before the quizzes, so you're fine.

Sonkin had pros and cons. I went to Rolfs office hours once or twice and learned nothing - its clear Rolf is smart but he could not communicate anything to my level of understanding, and he made videos we had to watch for the course which I stopped watching bc they had nothing to do with the class. Sonkin says u dont need a textbook, but I LIVED by that thing. Would definitely recommend getting a paper textbook if u can afford it as the online one is hard to use. Before I decided to rent a textbook, I actually checked out a couple random calc books from the library bc they all teach similar ways and that was helpful I just had to search the books a little more since it wasnt what the prof used. So compared to Rolf, Sonkin is AMAZING. It took me a little bit to get used to his accent, but definitely don't let something as small as that discourage you. All calc ii classes move really quickly but I wish Sonkin involved us more in discussion instead of him quickly walking through it but hes always happy to answer questions and be available to help. U definitely have to be paying attention in lecture. He really cares about his students, but his quizzes are way harder than other professors, though he would drop hints during class like are you surreeeeee you dont have questions about this? He pushed harder, but I think I was more prepared for exams. Definitely do the practice exams before a real one...web assigns arent really related to the exam for some reason. I liked McCarthy's office hours (and I think his quizzes were more straightforward) and the Math Collaborative Learning Center (MCLC) - I went pretty much every day to work on my homework because that is where another student working at the MCLC would take more time to explain things (especially if Marco and Casia are there!). This class is just ridiculously hard for no reason. I would definitely say the lectures are supplementary in that if u don't figure out/understand basics before lecture (which I would do at the MCLC), you might get lost. Also, I hadn't taken calc ii before and it was clear some people had already taken ap calc bc in high school so ask the "dumb" questions because the person "easily" understanding it next to you is probably hearing it for the second time.