APMA 3100

Professor Ryals is a decent professor. I really like how she provides fill-in-the-blank notes; it makes it easier to stay engaged during class. This class was not a lot of work -- there were sometimes pre-class assignments due before a class, plus a WeBWork with 5-10 problems every week. However, both of those are optional (you only need to do them if you want a token on the final exam). The grading system for this course was strange, I don't think it made the class any easier to do well in, if anything I feel like it added a little more stress. I would have rather had 3-4 midterms graded out of 100 where you could get partial credit, instead of the all-or-nothing for each learning target. However, this class is not terribly difficult conceptually, and a lot of it builds off of previous stuff.

This class was overall not that hard and well taught. Professor Ryals provides a pdf copy of her fill in the blank notes so you can print them and follow along in class (a lot of kids would just download the pdf on their tablets and take the notes). Personally, I didn't do either of these and just hand wrote all the notes, which at times was difficult because she would go a bit fast given she only had to fill in some blanks, but it was still manageable. Towards the last parts of each class we would get in class assignments relating to the topics we just learned and were often just slightly different questions than the examples in the notes. Instead of tests we had quizzes for each module in which we had to get 100% but they were retakeable up to 3 times. The class also included 2 coding related projects both of which were not very difficult and did not take up a lot of time. Also we had no homework. My tips for the class would be to go to class and review the notes. Definitely recommend taking this class with Ryals!

No one takes this class for fun but Ryals is not the worst. Projects are very time consuming, start them early. WeBWorK is hell as always. Exams are rough. Compared to the other instructors, I really like the way Ryals teaches and her in class worksheets. It really reminds me of high school maths classes but like much harder. Stay on top of the textbook problems cos you really have 4 midterms.

Meghan Ryals is incredibly kind and very willing to help out. Over the summer, the content is pretty dense and really fast paced, but expectations are clear and easy to follow. In class you go over notes, have Q&A, and the practice problems in breakout rooms. If you do the homework and groupwork in class diligently, then you should manage to get at least a B. Overall content is really interesting and fundamental to a variety of fields, so I'd highly recommend.

the exams were kind of scary, but shes a good professor

Overall, I don't have many complaints about this class. Professor Ryals cares about her students, and she teaches pretty well. Unfortunately the classes are not super interesting either. At least in Ryals' section, there is a lot of group work, which doesn't seem to work very well with the material of the class. As someone who really enjoys math this was definitely not my favorite class ever, but I still found the material interesting.

Do not take this class unless you have to. I also would not recommend taking it with Ryals. During lecture she often takes tons of time to explain easy topics that were pretty straight forward, but then will breeze right over all of the more confusing things. Her notes are ok, but she often isn't great about providing many examples of problems. Probably the worst thing about her is that she is horrible at helping you if you are confused. I've been to her office hours and she gave me no helpful information for any of the problems that I was struggling with. Really have not enjoyed this class at all, I think all professors are difficult, but I think there are better options than Ryals.