Xu Yan Chen - Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA

Professor: Xu Yan Chen

Department: Mathematics

College: Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: MATH2552
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

His notes are basically his test. He posts his notes on his website so you can go back and look at them. There is nothing but lectures in his class and they can be a bit boring but you get to learn a lot from them. If you go ask for a regrade, you generally get the points back. The posted notes and the crib sheets made this an easy class.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: MATH2552
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Xu Yan Chen knows Differential Equations very well, but he comes off as very rude during office hours. His tests and quizzes are really fair, and as long as you know the required material (on his website), you will get an A. Lecture is pretty much a waste because he will just read off of the power-points which are on his website.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: MATH2552
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Entire grade is based on tests, quizzes, and the final, so homework is unnecessary. His accent is difficult to understand at first, and honestly there's no point in trying because he's scattered and confusing anyway. Just go to recitation and you'll be fine. You get a 2 sided crib sheet on all tests and quizzes, so still a pretty easy A.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: MATH2552
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Definitely the easiest Diff eq prof. He recycles a lot of questions from the past for his tests and quizzes. Didnt go to lecture and did well. TA's are crucial though. My Ta was how I learned the material. Final was a bit of a challenge but not too bad.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: MATH2552
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Once you get used to the accent, you will learn a lot from this guy. Still, Prof Chen is a solid choice for those who are looking to pass without going to lecture. Listen to your TA, and you can get an A. However, I would recommend going to class as well.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: MATH2552
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Chen's lectures are quite boring, but diff eq is pretty boring too. He does a great job of preparing you to learn the material by doing tons of practice in class. His quizzes and tests are very very straightforward. I just took the final and it was harder than I expected for Chen, but honestly it wasn't difficult compared to other classes.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: MATH2552
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

he explains pretty clearly what he is expecting you to know. he explains topics clearly, and there are no surprises on tests and quizzes. understand the topics and the class will be easy

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: MATH2552
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Make sure you go to class and write down/take pictures of every one of his handwritten pages of notes so you don't get surprised like I did on one of his quizzes. Grading can be harsh, -30% on one quiz for small things like forgetting to simplify an answer with addition of like terms. Uploaded slides are extremely helpful. Textbook is useless.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: MATH2552
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

2552 is an extremely easy class. If you can easily do the worksheets given in recitation, you can get a 100% on every test and quiz. Lecture isn't necessary, as most slides are uploaded. Recitation isn't necessary either.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: MATH2552
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

Tests are really easy, you don't even need to go to class to learn since the lecture slides are pretty clear. Lectures are basically just problem solving and no theory.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: MATH2552
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

By far one of the easiest classes I've ever taken...I never attended lecture, but I attended all recitations for the worksheets. If you complete all the recitation worksheets and work out the practice exams (which is by far more complicated/requires more work than the actual exam), you will get an easy A. His exams and finals are a joke.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: MATH2552
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Class was really easy. Only went to recitation. Cannot understand his accent and his teaching is poor.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: MATH2552
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Chen explains things clearly in his lectures with plenty of examples. He is engaged with the material each lecture and generally explains concepts very thoroughly. The only thing that he could really improve is how he responds to questions, which he often has difficulty answering.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: MATH2403
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

I loved this professor. This was the easiest class I had in a semester and I learned a ton about differential equations. He's very very good at explaining things and extremely fair in grading. Favorite math professor at tech, would recommend to anyone taking DiffEq

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: MATH1501
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

Tests are very easy, homework can sometimes be a little difficult and time consuming. Chen is a pretty good lecturer but it didn't seem like he really liked it when students asked questions.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: MATH2552
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

Not a easy-going prof. Tests are very easy. Recommend to take the class, skip the lecture and study by yourself.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: MATH2552
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

The class itself isn't terribly hard BUT Chen is EXTREMELY inaccessible and inflexible. A friend who had an excuse through the Dean was still not permitted to make up a test, for example and thus failed the class. There's only grades for Midterms (2), quizzes (4), and the final. He gives a 2% recitation bonus.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: MATH2552
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

The class structure itself is very easy to pass and get a good grade in, but Chen himself is an absolutely awful, rude, and pretentious guy who is impossible to have a conversation with. If you're happy learning everything on your own, go ahead and take the class, but expect ZERO help from Chen. I really, really, disliked him.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: MATH1552
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Pretty clear in lectures but his first language wasn't English, so if you ask a question he might not understand what you mean right away. In any case, his lectures had a lot of practice problems and his tests were way easier than the homework, if you pay attention you'll do really well!

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: MATH1501
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Chen's tests are easy, yet they check your abilities. It is really very easy to get an A in his class for 1552. I strongly recommend (especially if you already know a little about integrals because his accent can be a little difficult to understand). He assigns less homework compared to other profs (though the sums are hard).