APMA 3100

The content of the course is really interesting. The professor is fairly clear in lectures and covers all of the material on which you will be tested. Those are the good things I can think of about this class. Basically everything else was bad. The second exam was basically a speed test, I felt like I knew all the material but there wasn't a way to get it done in time. When students asked questions in class, Snider was really rude to them. I would avoid this if you can.

tldr; Snider sucks, don't take this class if at all possible.
I was reflecting on why I was so happy and relaxed this semester, and I soon realized it was because I no longer had to deal with Snider and her antics.
The good: The content of the course was interesting, and the grading fair, for the most part.
The bad: Snider is one of the few people on this earth who make my blood curdle by merely thinking of them or saying their name. Rare was the class period when she didn't make a condescending remark to a student which killed off his or her desire to learn. For example, the second week of class, a student asked a question about an instance where the textbook contradicted your teaching. She replied, without looking at the textbook to verify if his question was well founded, "The textbook is right, I'm right, you're wrong," and glared at him.
She also brought starbucks into class every morning, while heavily enforcing a no food or drinks policy among students. Yeah.

Initially, I was impressed with Snider. She covers the material that needs to be covered, is a fair grader, and doesn't weigh you down with tons and tons of homework.

However, once the material starts to get tough, you can definitely start to see why no one likes this class. She talks down to students and is inflexible and unnecessarily nit-picky. You are expected to be fresh on your multivariate calculus "because it's listed as a prerequisite". Exams definitely got much, much tougher towards the end of the semester.

I'm usually pretty impressed with the quality of the APMA professors, but this has probably been my worst experience in the 5 classes I've taken.

worst
professor
ever

I went into this class thinking Professor Snider was going to be awful after reading all of her reviews. To be honest, though, her exams and grading were all fair, she was nice to students in class, and when I needed to move an exam due to a conflict, she was very accommodating. Probability is not an easy course, but Snider does teach and test the material effectively, and she tended to maintain a positive attitude throughout the course.

I went into this class with very low expectations, based on what I had read here, but Prof Snider really cares about her students. The course is not easy but definitely manageable. She went over all of my exams with me in office hours and she emphasized her willingness to give extra help during tough chapters. She very clearly likes teaching and wants her students to do well. I think she restructured her course after the older reviews were written.

Keys to success:
1) Go to every class - the material is cumulative and builds on everything in Chapter 2
2) Take note of which problems on the homework are graded. These are typically what topics the tests/quizzes will cover
3) Do not ask questions in lecture. I think Prof. Snider sees asking a question about a topic that has previously been covered as you being inattentive.
4) If you DO have a question, go to office hours immediately. Prof Snider values your effort early on, and will remember the effort you put in during office hours to understand the material
5) Study, a lot

Older reviews paint Professor Snider as a bad person. This is not true. I did terribly in this class, but I'm not blaming Professor Snider - Probability is just a bitch.

This class, like most math classes, builds up cummulatively so don't be fooled by the first few weeks. The material only gets harder as you go through the semester so be sure to understand the early stuff well.
In regards to Professor Snider, she can come off as a harsh but I believe she has good intentions and wants students to do well.
I would suggest NOT asking questions in class.

tl;dr: Horrible course, average professor.

The problem with this course is not Snider. Overall I thought she made the material relatively clear and responded to questions well. The tests were fair but the homeworks were long and boring.

The issue is that this class is made so horribly boring. The book just plain sucks. The material is dry as a bone and is very repetitious. There are actually a lot of interesting applications of Probability theory, and none of them are covered.

Feels like an SOL-based middle school class. The book, and thus the entire course, are unbelievably dry and poorly organized. Snider also tends to repeat herself a lot and make stupidly unnecessary remarks (for example, "this is just algebra."). It comes across as rather condescending.
Most of the time I spent on homework was spent doing tedious arithmetic/calculus rather than studying any sort of practical applications of the material. I'm fairly certain I'll be out to lunch if I ever need probability in the future.