APMA 3080

I didn't enjoy this class at all and it's not because of its difficulty. Lark turns the definitions in the textbook into slides, then reads those slides word for word. Imagine asking Siri to read off the Wikipedia page on orthogonality and you'll get a feel for the class. For the summer class, there are nine pre-recorded lectures. He posts one each week. We are giving a problem set, with most problems coming from the textbook. You pretty much have to read the textbook to understand what is going on, because lecture just isn't gonna cut it. Each problem is worth a significant number of points, and you lose most points for getting the problem wrong, despite how close your work was. My biggest qualm is the final exam. He has the audacity to say in an email that any average student will be able to finish it early when in fact most of the questions didn't reflect the difficulty of any problems we had seen on the psets. I just don't know what I am paying for. I could have bought and read the textbook for $30, which I did, or pay $1.2k for some of the laziest teaching I have seen at UVA. I think my frustration is compounded by the fact that we weren't allowed to collaborate, and without any sort of meetings, I didn't get to meet anyone in the class. You had to email him before going to office hours, and since no one would, he ended up just not holding them. Imagine that.

Professor Lark is a decent teacher, but really has trouble engaging students. He is very long-winded and has a tendency to ramble which makes it really hard to stay awake, let alone pay attention. However, the textbook is really good and Lark is helpful in office hours. The final was difficult, but the midterm was pretty simple and homework is half of the grade, so it's not hard to get a decent grade.

Professor Lark decided to span this class over two summer sessions instead of just one. We met for about an hour each day, and 85% of the class were always on their phones. The first half of the course and its midterm was very straightforward and simple, so you can get by with average effort and still get a decent grade. The second half, however... Pay attention. The final was long and hard for no reason.

Professor Lark is a long-winded teacher. (He even acknowledged it plenty of times in class.) He's very accommodating with office hours, even though he seems a bit condescending whenever you ask him questions. Overall, it was a decent class.