Michael Pencina - Boston University

Professor: Michael Pencina

Department: TBD

College: Boston University

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: BS852
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Excellent teacher who explains concepts very clear. No question is left unanswered. I have had him for several courses and received A- in those classes. Very smart and knowledgeable guy. Its a honor to have him as a professor.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: BS852
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Great teacher with a great sense of humor. Assignments were not painful except for the project.Unlike some others this guy actually tries, and for the most part succeeds in teaching. It is too bad he only teaches BS 852

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: MA213
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Gorgeous man, funny. If you're bored by the material, just stare at him and his sexy suits. SAS H/W is annoying but easy. Quizzes are ridiculously easy - just do the homework. Midterms aren't hard if you've studied a little. He gave me an A! Love this Pole.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: MA213
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Great professor. Very humorous, but also knowledgeable. Teaches material well and tests aren't too bad. HW can be annoying sometimes.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: MA116
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

He's a really funny guy and he makes stats enjoyable. He explains concepts pretty well, too. He gives you a grade after the second midterm and if you like it, you don't have to take the final. And he's as lenient with grades as he can be. There are quizzes every friday though, so you can never skip a friday class.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: MA116
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Pencina's a good guy and is very interesting/funny. He tries to engage the class despite knowing that stats is sometimes boring. You definitely need to go to class and section though. Not the easiest class, but it was reasonable. Make good formula sheets! He also gives you the option of taking the final if you think it'll improve your grade.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: MA213
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

He's an amazing teacher...he really knows his stuff and he connects stats to the real world..ie drug testing...I studied for his tests by doing all of the homework before the exam..I never did the homework until 5 days before the test..if you do that your guarenteed a great grade. I got an A-

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: MA213
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

Professor Pencina is a great teacher. He is very helpful. You get what you earn, so he never scales grades down (a common compliant of MA 213). Awesome teacher!

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: MA116
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

One of the better stats. teachers I've had. He cracks some corny jokes but he makes stats as interesting as possible. His tests are fairly easy if you go to lecture/discussion and do the homework. At the end of the semester he will offer you a final grade and you can opt to accept that grade and then you don't have to take the final!

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: MA116
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Prof Pencina was AWESOME. He is a great teacher, and manages to make stats fun. Go to lecture and you will be fine on tests.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: MA213
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Oh Mr. Pencina...how I miss him. I don't know how he managed to make statistics enjoyable, but her did. You will enjoy this class. Go to lecture, cuz he knows faces. and read the book because it helps clarify the things you will miss when you dozed off, cuz it is statistics. p.s DO YOUR HOMEEWORK!

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: MA213
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Professor is reasonably engaging with somewhat slow-moving material (did not complete textbook). Assignments are average in bulk for a mathematics course. Use of SAS computing program is poorly integrated with the class, but only a minor nuisance. Class was easy with a minimal amount of effort put in to study the material before test time.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: MA213
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Amazing sense of humor, firm grasp of the material, and fair grader. Lecture and homeworks help a lot, but discussion is useless. SAS can be a pain, but you only use it a couple of times. Exams were fine, especially with the double-sided note sheet allowed. Can drop the final if your quiz and midterm averages are high enough, which helps a lot.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: MA213
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

to be honest, stat is boring. but prof pencina is a pretty awesome teacher. hes well educated and knows what he is talking about. sas is annoying but he helps you with it. his exams are easy, especially with the doulbe sided study sheet you get..its easy to do poorly but its easy to do VERY well. take him!

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: MA213
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Stats is definitely not something to laugh at, but Pencina makes this possible. The course is generally straight forward. Go to lectures and discussions and doing the homeworks will be unnecessary. Know the concepts and the A in exams is yours. The course is fast paced, however, if you read the book it's impossible to do badly.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: MA116
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Pencina doesn't do much to make Stats II interesting, but he doesn't have much to work with, either. The class's reliance on SAS is disheartening for such a low-level course (I did all this stuff in my high school AP Stats WITHOUT a $10,000 computer program). His class is ill-structured, but the man knows what he's talking about. Cant stay awake

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: MA116
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

After taking ma115 with a really boring professor who didn't teach me anything, pencina was like a savior! He was so clear in lectures, even funny, that I was actually engaged for the first time in a math lecture. He makes math FUN!...as crazy as that is. TAKE HIM! He really pushes it so that everyone understands the material..fair class.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: MA116
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

He is quite a funny guy. Pls do his homework and attend lectures if you want to do well. The book is quite useless, but the problems you do on HW is similar to exams. His grading is not tough, just do well for the 3 mid-terms and get and A; without the finals. There are a lot of chicks in his class : )

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: MA116
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Lectures are necessary for this class. Homeworks can be long and tedious but they do help...

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: MA116
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Go to lecture to avoid reading textbook. Tests fair, few questions so each is worth a lot of points. Gives you the option of not taking final if you do well on 3 class exams. Weird sense of humor.