STAT 3120

Not a bad class, but I do not recommend the class unless you really love calculus/math or obviously need it for your major. Krista did a great job adapting to the COVID circumstances, but unfortunately the material got much more difficult around the same time and motivation tanked. If you did a great job in Probability, you'll be fine, otherwise the class will be pretty frustrating for the first couple of weeks. The class is basically the connecting piece between Probability and basic statistics courses. The grading was very fair, but the homeworks are much much more difficult than the problems from class or even on the exams so be ready to look up random properties or equations in order to solve the proofs.

I would definitely recommend Krista for this course! The material can be difficult, but she acknowledges this and does a really good job of making things as clear as possible. She is also always willing to help out when you're confused. I was really worried about this course after struggling in Probability, but I found this course much more interesting and the concepts more intuitive. The grading is very fair too. 7 HW problem sets and in-class participation assignments were worth 50%. HW could be long and challenging, but just go to office hours or find people to work with and it'll be relatively easy to get As on them. Tests are also pretty straightforward because she gives practice tests that are pretty similar in structure. Overall, I really enjoyed this course and after talking to friends who have taken it with other professors, I definitely think Krista is the best person to take it with.

Honestly Krista is the best professor if you want/have to take 3120. As someone who is not a math wiz, I really like how she simplified the material by writing her version of the slides/textbook material--this really saved my grade.
Exams: the practice exams really help because it is 90% similar to the real exams. You're basically guaranteed a B or above just by memorizing what was on the practice exams.
HW's: as long as you work on it with a couple of classmates or attend office hours, you can basically obtain an A on homeworks (worth 35% this semester)
TA: Tristan was the first TA ever for this course and he was VERY responsive on Piazza. He was a big help especially for the first 1/3 of the course when I didn't know all the calculus/math shortcuts

I've seen how the other professor taught his 3120 course and I am so so thankful that I choose Krista as my instructor. 10/10 recommend her

Varanyak is a nice-ish person with a wry sense of humor, but she is a rather poor lecturer. Also, she also rushes through explaining topics in order to slowly walk through a practice problem, making mistakes and fussing around with notation. I did not learn anything from the lectures that I did attend -- I suggest reading the book because that's the only way you'll learn anything in this class. The homework is very tedious, but good thing the tests are just like the practice exams.

I was very worried about this course because I have heard nothing but terrible things about it. However, I am very glad that I took this course with Krista. She sometimes doesn't teach the material in the best way, but she is also aware of this and will review core concepts to ensure that the class took away what they were supposed to. Homework is literally 45% of your grade -- you can work with others on it -- so even if you bomb the exams, you have a guaranteed 45% of your grade as like a 90% or 95%. The three exams are straightforward as hell because they're so similar to the practice exam, so you know exactly what to expect. Overall, hard course but is made more manageable. If you have to take this course, take it with Krista.

Don't take this course with Varanyak if you can avoid it. She is nice and tries, but just doesn't understand a lot of the more mathematical concepts. Also she doesn't teach, she just reads off of lecture slides, and I ended up teaching myself nearly all of the material. It's also kind of hard to take her seriously.