Gustavo Ponce - University of California Santa Barbara

Professor: Gustavo Ponce

Department: TBD

College: University of California Santa Barbara

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: MATH4A
• Grade Received: C
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

DO NOT TAKE HIS CLASSES. He is difficult to understand, writes lecture slides as he goes, always sounds annoyed. One time I asked a question in class, he talked down on me for asking a dumb question. Had to buy a $100 homework system I only used for that quarter. Material was hard but he looks like he doesn't care about his students.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: MATH4A
• Grade Received: B-
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

i will never take his class! I even don't know what he is saying at class that one day I heard "cilo" which I don't know what it is . after half of the class I noticed that he said is "zero".... bad professor

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: 108A
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Ponce i s absolutely brilliant, and was one of the best professors I have ever had here at UCSB. He is very helpful and cares that his students learn. The exams were not easy, but very doable, and nothing unexpected or unfair showed up. There was a large amount of difficult homework, but it's weighted high and is fair. I will miss Ponce.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: MATH8
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Awesome prof, he really made sure people understood the material and encouraged questions. Easy to get an A or B if you go lecture and read the textbook. The tests were easy, often straight from the textbook and never unexpected material. Would recommend for upper div math/conceptual classes.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: MATH4A
• Grade Received: D+
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

He had his lectures pre-written (sloppily too) which made it difficult to read. Worse, he went through them SUPER fast. When answering questions, he just wanted to quickly get through them. Sections were mandatory and helped a little with the grade. Each test (there were 2) was easy in concept but one miscalculation fudges up the whole grade.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: MATH5A
• 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:

Just never ever take his class.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: MATH4A
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Bad lecturer, had to buy the textbook for online homework even though I didn't need the book. Just used CLAS and got a good grade.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: MATH4A
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

The accent is a problem, but if you take lectures and read notes carefully, you can get a good grade. He always says the tests are hard, but actually they are fair, and the topics are covered in examples. More practice and participation are important.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: 4A
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

tbh, His tests are not that hard. Just study the textbook and make sure you understand the homework problems. Go to CLAS if you can. I could of getting an A if I can get one more question right though.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: MATH4A
• Grade Received: D
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

The grading for this class was pretty ridiculous as there was no partial credit for the only midterm we had, not sure about the final. The midterm was 4 questions so making two stupid mistakes resulted in a high F. Luckily hw and section attendance was waited as heavily as the midterm. Definitely not clear about what would and wouldnt be tested on

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: MATH4A
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Overall I'd say Ponce is a very poor teacher. His accent makes it hard to understand and his handwriting is so illegible even he cant read it most of the time. The class itself is super straight forward, but there is one midterm and one final and they have combined 10 questions and NO partial credit at all. If you can get another professor.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: 4A
• Grade Received: C+
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Since lectures weren't mandatory and at 8AM, I didn't go to all of them but I read the textbook, went to section, and did the homework. Ended up with a C+. The final was way harder than the midterm, which I didnt really expect from what the professor and my ta were telling me beforehand.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: MATH4A
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Ponce will be one of the worst math profs you take at sb. The midterm was straightforward but final was difficult. My friends and I studied for almost a week and got a C+ on it. Theres no partial credit so one little mistake can cost you about 7 points. Also, he mentioned the final was going to be conceptual two lectures before taking it. Avoid!

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: MATH4A
• 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:

His midterm was relatively easy and straightforward but his final was so much more difficult than I could've imagined. His no partial credit policy for his tests make getting a good grade extremely difficult. Not really much of a curve at the end of the quarter either. Hardest class I've taken at UCSB.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: MATH4A
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

One of the worst prof ever, spent the last 3 weeks on learning a very hard chapter but never tested it on Final. Midterm is okay but Final worth 50% of your grade and it is hard so be prepared for it. Once again, try your best to avoid him unless you have abosolutely no choices

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: MATH4A
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

BAD!

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: 4A
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

HE IS TERRIBLE

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: MATH4A
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Spending a good amount of time on the homework is the only way I learned anything. My TA is honestly the only way I got through his class, GO TO SECTION- attendance is graded and helps. Lecture is very difficult to follow and he often doesn't take questions even though he'll ask for them. A lot of self-learning to be expected.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: MATH4A
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Worst professor ever. I understand 4A is supposed to be hard but he just made it HARDER. His accent is so bad that there is no way you can follow without teaching yourself before lectures. I also think it's funny how he always asks "Is this clear" or "are you with me" but never clarifies anything even if the whole class was like "No!" AVOID HIM.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: MATH4A
• Grade Received: B-
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

his lectures arent as clear so i decided to teach myself the content. hard to follow lectures and rarely stops for questions. homework varies by week but it took a considerable amount of time to do.