Richard Low - San Jose State University, San Jose, CA

Professor: Richard Low

Department: Mathematics

College: San Jose State University, San Jose, CA

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: MATH70
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Professor Low makes it manageable to understand calculus and writes everything on the board for students to follow. He does everything to help students succeed. Homework was unlimited tries, notecards for every exam, and curves as the end. Attendance is mandatory if you want to pass this class because the material is difficult. Dont miss a day.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: MATH128B
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

The class was abstract algebra 2 (undergrad). Dr. Low was hand-wavey for the topic, preferred to state theorems without proof and do numerous (sometimes redundant) examples. The class is intended for senior math majors who are comfortable with proving things. Anyway just be ready to study/do the proofs on your own time to know whats going on.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: MATH42
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Professor Low is by far my favorite teacher at SJSU. His lectures are really interesting and you can tell he cares about the subject. Tests and quiz problems are straight from the notes. Two midterms and a final with a one notecard each. I would definitely take his class again. I would recommend this class for anyone with a mind for math.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: MATH71
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Best professor for Math71. Lectures are clear and he does the work on the board (so you MUST show up or you will be lost). He does everything to help you pass but the subject itself is difficult, so don't expect an easy A. Big portion of the grade was online homework (unlimited attempts), two midterms and a final (notecard for all). Curves at end.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: MATH42
• Grade Received: D
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

He insists that test problems would be exactly from the book, but questions were a lot harder. I don't know how to explain it like in lectures, practice problems were exactly from the book yet questions on the test would be extremely conceptual. Also very unreliable outside of class, even office hours didn't help.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: MATH129A
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Throughout this class, professor Low INSISTS the class is not "proofs-heavy." Well, the only non-"proof-heavy" parts are his lectures and homework. The tests are absolutely proof heavy, with a third of the questions containing some abstract proof. The best way to practice is to do every proof problem in the textbook (which he sadly never assigns).

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: MATH031
• Grade Received: C-
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

The good thing about his class is the extra credit homework he gives and the fact card that can be used on exam (both sides). The second exam and the final was impossible to pass AT ALL! Half of the exam was given to me on finals week and i had to come another day to take the other half.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: MATH42
• Grade Received: F
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Low came late into class a lot. He's very disorganized excluding his lectures. He did not cover all of the material for Discrete Math, namely Logic. He rambles about philosophy and history of math. He procrastinated in the end with big O, Omega, and Theta induction. I heard his office hours were a waste of time. I learned nothing (took PHIL 57). :(

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: MATH42
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

There's a wide range of different math level kids in his class, from Pre-calc -Calc 3, etc., & classmates of all different math levels struggle in his class (When we pass the quizzes around I see lots of 3/10, 4/10's..), so I'd say just study a lot. VERY doable nonetheless! (: Class material can make you think outside the box (use office hours:)..

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: MATH42
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Professor Low was a very entertaining lecturer. He was always energetic and loud so paying close attention was not an issue. I would retake his class for sure. To do well on his tests I redid all of my HW and rewrote all lecture notes. In other words, attendance is mandatory. Some prob from lecture and hw were on tests so write down Everything.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: MATH129A
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Course Grade: 2 pop quizzes 10 %; 4 Homework 10%; 2 exams 50%; and final 30%. The exams and final were challenged. You have to work hard on your homework because he would grade your homework. I worked so hard and learned a lot, but the grading policy was bad. It was very challenge to get an A or B. Overall, the he was inspirational.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: MATH42
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

In lecture, this dude teaches good stuff that will be helpful to conceptualize in future CS classes. Take all the notes in his class because they help during HW and, sometimes, in exams. First exam was pretty chill, second exam and final were challenging. Understand his game of grading, notes, and do all the HW to pass his class with decent grade.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: MATH42
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Terrible professor does not explain concepts clearly and is not helpful during office hours. Questions on the last 2 exams were unrelated to the style of homework and lecture problems. He grades really hard on the exams, taking off 4 or 5 points from a 10 point problem for minor errors. Work really hard on homework problems or you will not pass.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: MATH031
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Low was a great math professor. Very organized and knowledgeable. Lectures are pretty interesting and never feels long. He gets you engaged.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: MATH42
• Grade Received: C+
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Low's a great lecturer and very passionate about his material. His exams can be a little bit tricky sometimes. Our final was easier than our midterms to be honest. The first midterm was okay, but the 2nd midterm was pretty difficult. If you're taking 42 for Low, go over and understand counting!!! The other material he taught was pretty easy.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: MATH32
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Super nice guy and makes sure you really understand the concepts. Explains things well and is very approachable for questions or concerns. Allows notecards on the test which help a lot and he gives a ton of partial credit even if you don't get the correct answer. Also gives you a boost if you do poorly on the midterms but well on the final.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: MATH129A
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

He has a good voice that keeps you active. If you have an incorrect answer you will only get 1-310 We didn't cover much in class compared to other classes. A word of advice, find some online notes because the textbook provided is very bad.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: MATH32
• Grade Received: C+
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Took Math32 spring of 2014. Great professor. Hard class if you don't try, but he makes everything very clear and it's passable if you do your homework. Really likes students to be engaged during class. Go to lab and do all the work you're given and you will get through fine.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: MATH129A
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

He's actually very interesting and prepared in lecture. He explains things fairly thoroughly. I would take him so long as you're good at conceptual math and like to take notes. Knowing how to proof things is necessary for his class. He's very responsive to student questions as well. Would take him again had I been good at conceptual math.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: MATH31
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Wonderful Professor! He honestly really cares about the students and goes out of his way to go the distance and make sure that the students truly understand the concept as oppose to just leaving them to figuring out the concept through homework. He elaborates the concept extremely well! Highly recommend this professor, you won't regret it!