STAT 3120

The content is extremely hard but Prof. Sam is the GOAT!! It is not hard to do well in this class even though the content is hard. Prof. Sam walks you through everything and there are so many easy opportunities for extra credit. You get to drop an exam and only have to get a 10/15 on the other 2 to get an A without any extra credit. There are biweekly homeworks that also take awhile, but Prof. Sam does most of the problems before they are due.

I'm reviewing for Fall 24. This class is an extension of Stat 3110, but the material is obviously harder. It uses the same textbook as my 3110, but it starts to build off previous concepts.

Sam sets up the course so that it's very hard not to get an A. There are tons of bonus point opportunities. Like a ton. 90 is an A, no A-'s are given.

There are 3 exams (including final), you drop your lowest. I did well on the midterms, I even got the high on the second one (yay!). But I was far from acing the material, as Sam is pretty generous with partial credit and giving practice exams.

Overall, I think Sam is really good. He's very passionate about the subject, and he cares about his students.

One final note: read the damn textbook. It's not that much, and if you don't, lecture is a waste of time.

Sam is an amazing professor! He does his best to follow through on the math theory and makes time to meet with students outside of class to take things a step further. His grading scale for the tough class makes the overall experience fair and you'll come out of it feeling like a real statistician lol.

I love Sam! He is one of the best professors at UVA. He is so down to earth and friendly with all students (much more than the average professor).
The class content is difficult, be warned. However, if you take this class with Sam, don't worry too much about your grade. He WILL give you more than enough opportunities to get an A in this class. You will have to put in some work, but he will help you understand the material and do well. Grab as many bonus points as you can!
You will need to read the textbook to actually understand the content well. Lectures are moderately useful but he posts the recordings and notes online, so lectures aren't required to attend.
There were 5 HWs, the first one was quite long, but the rest got shorter. The short quizzes are fine, the exams are tough but you can prepare for them. Take advantage of OH, bonus points, and ask Sam any and all questions and you will do well in this class.
If you're a stat major who hasn't taken this class yet, take it with Sam if you want to feel less anxious about your grade!

Honestly, as someone who typically doesn't do too well with the mathematical side of statistics (I prefer to stick with R and data science, thank you very much), I actually thought this class went pretty well. Sam is a great instructor, he's a good communicator and his office hours are always very useful (trust me, you'll want to attend those). The grading side of it isn't too high-stakes either, this semester we had five homework assignments, three exams (with cheat sheets), and five "quiz-lets", with the lowest grade out of each category getting dropped. Do note that the exams aren't curved though. Also lots of opportunities for bonus points. Definitely take this class with Sam (if he teaches it again!) #tCFS24