Royce Wolf - Grinnell College

Professor: Royce Wolf

Department: TBD

College: Grinnell College

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: MAT222
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Quality professor. Lectures well with a very dry sense of humor. Tough grader--frequently comes into class and says something like "first, homework issues. About 2/3 of you forgot a case on problem number three. Consequently, 2/3 of you did no better than 7/15 on this homework." Tests are long, but not too hard. Really genuinely nice person as well

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: MAT321
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Wolf is alright. Two problem sets per week will take forever). He weighted homework heavily so definitely worked on that. He gets annoyed if you ask too many questions, although he tries his best to help you (with a patience limit, of course). I think he is a fine professor for abstract algebra.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: MAT124
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Amazing prof. Fave course.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: MAT124
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Absolute legend. He's caring, humorous, and he clearly knows his stuff given how good he is at answering questions. The class is as interesting as calculus can be but his voice is very narrative and soothing, so try not to fall asleep if the class is late afternoon.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: MAT133
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Wolf is an experienced professor who gives clear lectures. If you enjoy math, you will find his lectures interesting. Your entire grade is based on 3 tests and final each 25%, but the tests are reasonable (understand concepts! 1 explanation question on each test). Plenty of time to take exams and final reused many questions from previous exams.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: MAT133
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

His lectures were always really helpful and does what he can to help you understand concepts outside of class. Tests are each worth 25% of the grade, which sucks, but honestly my favorite math professor.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: MAT133
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Overall, professor Wolf is nice. He gives clear (and mildly amusing) lectures, and a lot of homework. Your grade is solely based on 4 tests, 25% each, but these test problems are very similar to homework ones, and that the final has quite a few questions that popped up on previous ones. Is accessible, but prefers to answer questions on email.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: MAT133
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Wolf is very clear his grading methods - 4 tests each 25% of your grade, homework mandatory but 0% of your final grade. I liked that about him, but many did not. He's good at explaining not only how to do the problems, but the concepts behind them. Know these concepts for the tests (don't just memorize formulas) and you'll be fine.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: MAT133
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Your entire grade will be based on four tests, each 25% You can only get A B C or F. The amount of material is unevenly distributed across them. You'll have an essay question on each test where you explain 'intuition' or give proofs. The homework only counts if you got all 10/10 and your grade is on the edge between two letters.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: MAT133
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Wolf explains complex concepts extremely well, and is always predictable. He gives a problem set due every Mon,Wed,Fri- nothing more, nothing less. Beware the tests! You get about four tests with about six questions each, and they compose pretty much your entire grade.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: MAT132
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

This professor teaches math as a humanity course and expects students to remember all the concepts and formulas. His tests are weirdly worded and covers content not discussed in the textbook but only orally covered in class. And he skips all the interesting/hard content mentioned in the textbook. This is very difficult for non-native English speake

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: MAT133
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Wolf gives good, understandable lectures that cover everything you're going to need to know on tests. Very good at explaining concepts and always gives comprehensive study guides before exams.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: MAT131
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Prof. Wolf is a great professor to take for 131. His criteria are very clear: there are 4 exams, 25% each. Do well in each, and you'll do well. I used the book and other resources, but Wolf's classes weren't too bad either. It's a little tough to follow, but if you're good at taking tests you would be fine.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: MAT133
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Professor Wolf was a great calc prof. At times, his lectures seem to go on forever but you can easily figure out which of his lectures are important and which are not (Proofs not important). My grade in his class consisted of only 4 exams each worth 25%, so if you're good at testing, this is a good prof for you.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: MAT131
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Professor Wolf is a really nice prof. Started class 15 minutes later (great for an 8:30 class) and was pretty clear with what he wanted. Only thing that isn't the best is that you only have three grades besides the final and all are tests. No quizzes, no homework etc etc. So if your a great test taker then this class is awesome, and if not don't.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: MAT131
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

I personally really like Royce & his teaching style. Although he occasionally says things are "mathematically intuitive," this meshes well with my understanding. Also he always addresses those questions you might think are weird to ask, like "Where'd that negative sign come from?" His tests are extremely fair, and he's quietly hilarious to boot.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: MAT321
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Very helpful and fair.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: MAT215
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Great class!

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: MAT124
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

None

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: MAT215
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

He is hilarious! It really depends on whether you like him from the start or not- half of the class falls asleep, the other half cracks up all the time. He is very clear in his explanations and has a nice strategy for assigning homework that actually helps you study. The exams are based on homeworks!