STAT 3120

I was terrified for this class initially, but it turned out to be a low time commitment and not too difficult at all. There is basically no work outside of class (homeworks are optionals and weeklyish quizzes are open note and super easy) until the midterm rolls around. Go through the example problems on the slides and the homework problems and you’ll be more than okay, especially because you get multiple cheat sheets and the exams are graded generously. The professor is very kind and receptive to feedback, would highly recommend taking this class with him!

This course is, while very exam-heavy, still super low-stress. If you don't have a strong mathematical background, you would probably need a bit more effort to succeed, however, it is super attainable due to the exams being similar to the homework. I highly recommend everyone to take this class with Prof. Tang, as it provides you with a very pain-free experience for a class that is typically harder with other professors. He also reviews basic statistical concepts at the beginning to ease you into the course so if you happen to forget what a probability distribution is, it's totally fine! 10/10 highly recommend!

#tCFF23

STAT 3120, taught by Professor Tang, is a relatively low-stress and low-difficulty introduction to key concepts in mathematical statistics. The content that is covered is quite useful, with the class split generally into three parts: a unit to review probability concepts, a unit to discuss estimators and how to characterize estimators, and a unit to discuss confidence intervals and hypothesis testing. Thus, content-wise, I highly recommend this course for any students remotely interested in statistics, probabilistic mathematics, or economics (this course could even prove helpful to those intending to pursue careers in finance and consulting, or even more generally business).

This course's popularity undoubtedly stems from its minimal difficulty. In terms of the structure of the course, grades were calculated as follows: 25% for weekly quizzes (which were virtual, open-note, and quite easy) and 25% for each midterm (there were three midterms with no cumulative final). Professor Tang provided many opportunities for extra-credit as well and he was generally quite generous with grading. It is not hard to succeed in this course; it seems one can dedicate only a few hours of studying for each midterm and easily achieve a good grade.

This course is a fascinating study of what happens when you pair nontrivial content with an extremely generous course format. It is hard to imagine a class having a nicer format while still being considered a class. The only formal homework was short multiple choice quizzes (of which several were dropped); we were allowed to make multiple formula sheets for each exam (all of which were grading forgivingly); and multiple class days were designated as "discussion sections," where the TA would just work through practice problems. These factors, among others, such as Xiwei's slow lecture style, resulted in a class to which it was hard to dedicate oneself seriously. Success on the exams largely came down to applying mathematical skills (largely calculus) in context, so depending on your comfort level and experience, varying levels of practice (beyond the ungraded homeworks) may be necessary. I've heard that 3120 is much more challenging with other professors (like Ross), but if you either have to take this class or are looking for an easier math elective, Dr Tang is not a bad choice for lightening the blow.

#tCFF23