Xi Chen - University of Alberta

Professor: Xi Chen

Department: TBD

College: University of Alberta

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: MATH411
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

GREAT mathematician. GREAT and FAIR professor. Skip steps in proof because this is an HONOR class. Heavy homework and difficult exam because this is an HONOR class. Not easy class material but Prof. Chen willing to help anyone after class, very fair exam and not picky on marks.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: MATH411
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Xi is clearly an incredibly knowledgeable and talented mathematician. However, he sometimes skips non-trivial steps in proofs with only mumbled explanations making it difficult to follow along at times. In addition, the exams were brutally difficult considering the time constraints.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: MATH125
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

SWITCH OUT! Class average for Finals and Midterm were below 60% Lectures are useless because you cant understand him through his accent, and his notes are messy and are useless outside of lecture. He makes assignments way too hard, Half of the assignment time is thinking of how to approach the problem.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: MATH125
• Grade Received: B-
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

He is great mathematician however, he does not know how to dumb things down for first year students. He is extremely helpful during office hours and he is willing to answer all questions His written homework was way too difficult and the TAs couldn't solve them sometimes. His lecture notes are hard to follow as he rarely uses actual examples.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: MATH115
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

He is accessible outside of class and very willing to help. He is nice during office hours and I found that it was easier to understand lessons after going to office hours. He is difficult to understand and hard to keep up with during class but note down what he write because it usually helps with the course. Problem sets were hard but helpful.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: MATH125
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

His lecture notes are completely useless in trying to do the homework and since the textbook does not provide any examples of the insane questions he gives you, its near impossible to get the questions right on your own. I am used to having to try hard in math classes as they don't come to me easy, but he makes it extra difficult. I'd pass on him.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: MATH125
• 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:

He is not a tough grader and replies emails fairly quickly. If you read the textbook and do the practice problems, you will do good on the exam. Also, he is pretty helpful during office hour if you need any help. I sign up for his class initially because I heard he got his Ph.D. from Harvard LOL

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: MATH125
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Avoid at all costs if you can. Tries to teach but his notes are too hard to follow and you can barely make his explanations. The assignments are ridiculously hard and you'll spend too much time trying it or giving up. Exams are 'fair' as they mimic his review but if you can't teach yourself by then, it'll be a heck of a ride.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: MATH125
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

This man spends the whole semester boiling up the most difficult assignments on the planet so he can flaunt his academic prowess to a bunch of first/second year students, and at the end of the year, my favorite part was when we were taking second semester classes before we got our final exam mark back. Really fun experience overall.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: MATH125
• 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:

SWITCH out if you can, knows his math but its extremely difficult to understand what's even expected in the course. If you get this prof, good luck charlie.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: MATH125
• 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:

Although the course itself was math, Xi Chen never taught with actual numbers, it was just proofed using x and other variables. I found it extremely hard to learn from him. I'd like the thank Kahn Academy and the other math youtube tutors for teaching me this entire course.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: MATH125
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

r/woosh. Even being fairly good at math in high school lectures in this course made little to no sense as they were very abstract and concept-heavy. Rarely did I see any numbers used for examples. You will need to learn from the textbook and this rating might as well be for khan academy; however, work hard, and you are almost guaranteed a good mark

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: MATH125
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

trust me, if you want get high grade, dont miss his review problem. review problems is same as the exam.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: MATH125
• Grade Received: Audit/No Grade
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Barely does any examples with numbers. Expects students to understand him and his accent. Hes nice but isnt a good teacher even though he knows his math. Expect to get a tutor who you can understand to explain things to you. Or go to your old high school math teacher if you are close to them.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: MATH225
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

To get A, you need some effort on it but you will really learn something from him. He is respected professor. He always give feedback quickly and his office hour is helpful.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: MATH225
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Great notes and examples. Gives great hints for the exams. Very helpful if you go and see him in his office. Best math prof I have had at the U of A.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: MATH225
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

His homework assignments were a lot more harder than his exams. Plus, he doesn't explain extensively and comprehensively in lecture. Have to buy the textbook and study from it to complete the homework and to pass the course. Not taking this prof again.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: MATH225
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Great prof. really helpful in office hour. Assignments and exams are reasonable. Recommended.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: MATH348
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

A world class professor with respect. More than once, he gave us truly inspiration speeches. Hands down best professor in the department. Homework is long, but educational. Lectures are inspiring and interesting. Very open to questions. Tests are fair and cover the same material as homework.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: MATH225
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Great professor with respect! make concept clear.