MATH115 | PlanetTerp

Information	Review
Sean Gruber MATH115 Expecting an A Anonymous 11/18/2024	Dr. Gruber is the GOAT. He cares about you learning the material and wants you to understand it. The way he teaches is also very well and easy to understand.
Raluca Rosca MATH115 Expecting an F Anonymous 10/22/2024	If I could leave no stars, I really would. One of the worst professors I have ever had in my entire life. DO NOT TAKE HER!!! Expect to teach yourself ALL the material. She explains things in the most complicated and confusing way.
Sean Gruber MATH115 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 09/30/2024	Dr. Gruber is fantastic. He is very thorough with his teaching and really cares for his students. He is also pretty lenient with grading and makes sure that we understand the concepts. Highly recommend.
Raluca Rosca MATH115 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 07/18/2024	It's really not that bad. You can do it
Raluca Rosca MATH115 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 06/20/2024	This class is not as hard as people make it seem. I put off taking this class for three semesters because of the reviews. Don't let them scare you. I am not a math person, I never did AP calc in high school, and I still got an A by studying hard for the exams, reviewing concepts weeks in advance, and asking lots of questions during GSS. This class is harder than it needs to be, but there are SO many precalc resources at UMD and online. Organic Chemistry tutor, undergrad tutoring through the math department, and GSS helped a ton. I don't even think Rosca is teaching anymore but this class is 100% doable. It is definitely possible to do well if you work hard. - I found lectures useful at the beginning of the semester and always attended, but towards the end I stopped going because Rosca would just explain one problem in a very tedious way or focus on the theoretical concepts rather than just explaining how to do a certain type of problem. - There's a lot of homework but none of it is weighted enough to matter. Exams are the only real thing. - Exams were difficult but not impossible. They were always very similar to the four or five practice exams in Canvas. The first exam covered fairly simple concepts that anyone can master with a little effort. The only really hard one was the third because it had a ton of trig concepts, which were definitely harder to grasp - The GSS sessions were the most helpful. TAs and the prof were not the best at explaining.
Raluca Rosca MATH115 Anonymous 06/02/2024	Dr. Rosca's teaching style just didn't work for me. I felt like lectures were pointless and confusing, and I would end up having to teach myself everything. Dr. Rosca would waste so much time on one problem and go into depth and then announce that you didn't even need all that information for this class causing us to waste the majority of the class on something we didn't even need to know. I just don't think this professor is cut out to teach this class because they overcomplicate things resulting in the people who struggle with math to get low grades (the exam averages were in like the 50s and there is no curve). The only good thing about this class is that you get an entire piece of paper (front and back) for each exam and you can put whatever you want on it.
Ben Bezejouh MATH115 Expecting a C Anonymous 05/20/2024	This professor is definitely understanding when it comes to late work, failing tests, and curving grades but he is unfortunately not a good professor. Instead of teaching he just writes notes on the board, you copy it, and then class is over. He barely explains anything that’s on the board and is very unclear in his explanations of concepts. I had to teach myself this whole course and go to tutors when I could. If you need to take a class with him, prepare to teach yourself.
Raluca Rosca MATH115 Expecting a B+ chadvader29 05/13/2024	Honestly, I rarely attended lecture, so I barely even saw this professor. The reason I stopped going, however, is a good enough one to still give her 1 star. Her lectures are blatantly over-complicated and poorly explained all while spending the entire thing on one or maybe two problems, making them infuriatingly slow. I found the lectures more confusing than helpful and realized that it was a waste of time to get up for a 9 AM class that was not helping me whatsoever. Furthermore, this class is entirely too much work for a 3 credit course. 3 lectures AND 3 discussions a week is simply ridiculous. The midterm exams have no curve. The first 2 midterms had average failing grades of around 50, a FAILING grade was the average and it was still not curved. The class is BS with this professor, do not even consider her unless it is the only section available and you badly need the course credit and try to test out of it first.
Ben Bezejouh MATH115 Expecting a D+ Anonymous 05/04/2024	Harsh grading and minimal effort teaching, do not recommend. Writes material on the board to be copies and that's literally the extent of what he does.
Raluca Rosca MATH115 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 04/30/2024	A lot of these reviews a really overdramatic... Professor Rosca was not a bad teacher at all. In lectures she did have pretty bad handwriting, but going to office hours and the TAs really helped. As long as you really try and practice the concepts you're fine.
Raluca Rosca MATH115 Expecting a D+ Anonymous 04/26/2024	If you can avoid it, do NOT take a class with her as your professor. I am in Math115 and I have never struggled with math as much as I have in this class. The class averages for a majority of the exams are under 60% because she truly does not know how to teach. Not only does she not know how to teach, you can tell she believes it isn’t her fault based on her attitude on exam days and when people are asking for help or potential curves. Her ways of explaining are over complicated and her problems on exams are way more difficult than anything discussed in class as if she wants you to fail. For a precalculus class, it should not be this difficult. If you see her name when choosing classes, run. Wait till another semester or beg on your knees for a teacher to replace her because she is the worst teacher I have ever had.
Raluca Rosca MATH115 Expecting a P Anonymous 04/10/2024	If you have an option, don't even look at this professor's direction. You can hardly understand any of the steps she does in lectures, and when you try teaching yourself, you find out its a lot easier than what she teaches in class. It's gotten to the point when going to lectures is just not necessary. Don't even get me started on the exams. They are more or less similar to the different versions she uploads on canvas, which trips almost everyone out. I guess she means well, but she overall sucks as a professor. Just look the other way! You'll thank me later.
Raluca Rosca MATH115 Expecting a P Anonymous 01/26/2024	𝗛𝗔𝗟𝗧! 𝗗𝗢 𝗡𝗢𝗧 𝗘𝗡𝗥𝗢𝗟𝗟, 𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗵 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁, 𝗗𝗢 𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗬𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗖𝗔𝗡 𝗧𝗢 𝗕𝗘 𝗣𝗟𝗔𝗖𝗘𝗗 𝗢𝗨𝗧 𝗢𝗙 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗖𝗟𝗔𝗦𝗦!! First, the positives: the prof is sweet, mostly. Patient, understanding 1-on-1. But that's where the good stops. Now, everything else. The moment I saw decimals in the quadratic formula and fractions in polynomials I knew I was fucked. She chooses long-winded, awful problems that are tedious and made unnecessarily hard. She adds extra steps that I have never seen before in my life. The class is so bullshit chaotic that I don't even think the TAs graded anymore, they just kinda accounted and made 70% of the classes grade more/less C-, or else it would have been a fail. You're made to download like 4 softwares, and do 15 hours a week on software like "exam prep" that does NOT count lecture or assignments. All of this was a distraction and this SOLE CLASS burned me out and made anything else impossible for years. I actually LOST the confidence I had in my math abilities and dropped my LEP because of this class. She doesn't think about questions and the practice doesn't nurture your understanding. You know how some classes use questions progressively difficult so you get stronger? No, this class hit you with trick questions and curveballs upfront, and then you spent a discussion working on ANOTHER single trick questions and nobody spoke. So I don't understand how the discussions, the class, OR THE EXAM PREP itself, was supposed to help you on the exam! This class was traumatic for me. I am lucky I didn't drop out.
Sean Gruber MATH115 Expecting a B Anonymous 12/23/2023	DR.G is the MAN! TAKE HIM!
Jermain McDermott MATH115 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/22/2023	Yes, yes. Mr. McDermott does have a few flaws in the way he teaches he'll talk about the following unit even though we're going to take an exam the next day, and he has messy handwriting and poorly made quizzes that sometimes have nothing to do with the subject or given topic, but he is very VERY merciful. I mean, he did drop 3 quizzes and a midterm because we did so poorly but you can expect to be given a chance to mess up and learn from those mistakes. Personally, I scored an A on the final exam thanks to him because I kept asking questions. Take him at your own leisure; he only wants to make sure you understand the topic.
Raluca Rosca MATH115 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/22/2023	Overall, Dr.Rosca isn't as bad as many people make her out to be. Her lectures can be hard to follow because she skips steps towards the solution but she does provide many resources on Canvas which are more useful. The information is very difficult but the WebAssigns and practice exams really help out with the exams. She does offer extra credit and allows a formula sheet in exams so take advantage of that. Teaching yourself the material outside of lecture is crucial because of all that the lecture lacks but with a good formula sheet and studying, you can do good in the class.
Raluca Rosca MATH115 Anonymous 12/19/2023	It is not impossible to excel in this class. Many of my friends who took her class with me has always complained about how her teaching methods are inefficient, and often overcomplicated. This is very true and she often goes overboard trying to solve one problem when it can be solved by just a few steps. However I found that technique quite useful. Other students complains about how certain teachers expects their students to have already known certain topics and thus find it unnecessary to explain “basic” stuff. Therefore they would skip some steps and leave students wondering how they got from one step to another. When Dr. Rosca teaches, she goes into detail on how to solve one problem while also trying to compensate for students who might not know certain topics. It can be overbearing sometimes but for people like me who did not have the same background knowledge as other people, it was helpful. I think one of the traps that people fall on was that they were just trying to get 10/10 on all the assignments but not really put in the efforts into learning, hence they would do bad on the exams where they don’t have the resources except for a cheat sheet, which doesn’t help when you don't know the concept, and . Dr. Rosca tests her students about their understanding of the concepts which is why she emphasizes the importance of showing your work.
Jermain McDermott MATH115 Expecting a B Anonymous 12/18/2023	Mr. J is very lenient when it comes to grading drops your lowest test score and quizzes. I would say he's better in office hours then in lectures. Homework can take a little while to complete but it does help on learning the topics. He does curve exams which does help and exams are very similar to practice exams he gives out prior. One piece of advice is DO NOT TAKE THIS COURSE LIGHTLY.
Sean Gruber MATH115 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/17/2023	He is such an amazing guy. He drops your lowest quiz grade, and the final is only worth 15% of your final grade. Also, he is super understanding and is willing to do anything to make his students' lives easier. One con is that he could sometimes spend an entire class on one or 2 problems. His tests are very similar to his practice tests. The only issue was the final- since it was standardized across all of the math115 classes it was much harder than anything he had ever taught us in class. But he took that into account and made sure the final didn't hurt everyone's grades. I would take this professor if you get the chance. He's such a great guy and really deeply cares about his students.
Ben Bezejouh MATH115 Expecting an F Anonymous 12/15/2023	This might be the worst professor I have ever seen. He writes the notes on the board, lets you write it down, and calls it a day. We would end class 30 minutes early every day... I would attempt to ask questions and be told he cannot help explain it because the material is on the take-home quiz. DO NOT TAKE THIS COURSE.
Raluca Rosca MATH115 Expecting a B- Anonymous 12/14/2023	If you can get out of her class, definitely do it. She is a nice woman, however her teaching is awful the TA's are essentially useless. Mine left before anyone in the class even did. She is hard to understand, you have to decipher her handwriting, and you will be up all hours of the night doing homework, exam preps, post lectures, etc. Just don't do it. And If you have to, you are MUCH better off teaching it all yourself .
Tyler Simmons MATH115 Anonymous 12/13/2023	Is a really great professor. Will sit one on one and help to explain stuff. teaching style is really good. The course its self was really fast and challenging from 015 to 115 only having 115 for half a semester is quite challenging because you are already behind every other 115 class and have to catch up.
Sean Gruber MATH115 Expecting an A- Anonymous 12/12/2023	Amazing Overall!! Take him!!!!
Raluca Rosca MATH115 Expecting a B- Anonymous 12/07/2023	If there is anyone else take them. I had taken pre-calc in high school and got straight A's, however once I got to her class I was more confused than ever. The only reason I was able to understand anything was cause of my wonderful TA and past knowledge(from 2/3 years ago), but not everyone is going to get lucky like that. Avoid her if you can. But I will say she is very organized when it comes to tests and exams and will give you practice exams which are somewhat similar.
Tyler Simmons MATH115 Anonymous 12/06/2023	Professor Simmons is a fantastic math teacher! He's to the point, precise, and easy to understand. He doesn't waste the class's time but also gives out enough practice so that you know the material. If you reach out for help, you'll always get it. He's understanding and more than willing to go over problems that are confusing. All in all, you couldn't ask for a better math professor.
Raluca Rosca MATH115 Expecting a D+ Anonymous 12/06/2023	PLEASE READ: I will say, that Dr. Rosca is better with one-on-one learning with those who come to her office hours. However, she oversimplifies the material and dives too deep into theories and conditions for problems. She expects the students to know topics such as logarithmic or trigonometric functions but fails to realize that not all students come from the same advantaged high schools/colleges with better resources. For instance, my high school lacked any AP CALC classes and its highest math class offered was Algebra II. Had it not been for the friends I made through academic trauma bonding and sharing knowledge, I would have failed this course miserably. Similarly, there are Pre-lecture quizzes (on lessons you don’t know about beforehand), Post-lecture quizzes, Exam Prep assignments, and Discussion quizzes. She gives a small curve if you did well on the latest exam you have done (Sunset Provision Curve: Exam2%- Exam1%/3). In conclusion, this class is intimidating to take if you have no prior experience in Precalculus. I highly suggest you buddy up with your neighbors and get phone numbers as soon as possible if this is a class you must take.
Raluca Rosca MATH115 Expecting a B- Anonymous 12/04/2023	Dr. Rosca is not a good professor. If you're someone who needs to be taught to learn, you will have a very hard time with this. Her lectures are incomprehensible, and she overcomplicates things to a huge extent. Her only saving grace is her outside of class assignments. The pre and post lecture assignments are what taught me the material for this course. If you study and use the resources she's provided on her canvas, then you'll do okay. But it takes a lot of work. I never go to class, as her teaching just baffles me. She is a very sweet woman, I've spoken with her several times, however her teaching ability is subpar. Main takeaways: Her canvas page has a lot of good resources, but she is a bad teacher.
Raluca Rosca MATH115 Expecting a C+ Anonymous 12/03/2023	Shes not as bad as people say shes just mid. she came off to me as mean but after going to her hours she is really nice and sensible. Also shes really understanding and understands if you misses and exam and sorts. The thing is this class is just hard. pre calc is just a harder than calc at umd. Sure her lectures may not be the best but its not like there horrible. At worst just dont even go and do the hw. The exams are really hard though so you cant bull shit it you have to study. If you have to take this class calm down your not cooked just know you need to really study multiple hours a day going over the practice exams.
Ben Bezejouh MATH115 Expecting an A Anonymous 11/30/2023	Decent professor overall. He operates with an organized schedule and course materials, so navigating the work isn't difficult. The course I took with him started as MATH015 and transitioned into MATH115, but the coursework was reasonable during both sections; 1-2 assignments every week. Although the way the material was presented was somewhat lack-luster, you can tell that he knows what he's talking about, and that he wants students to know too. The classes are informative, albeit a little fast-paced (especially if you're a slow note-taker like me), so you should expect to spend some time outside of class contextualizing the material. Although, the homework provides good opportunities to practice skills. Not difficult to earn an A, but you still have to work for it.
Raluca Rosca MATH115 Expecting a C- Anonymous 11/28/2023	All of the reviews you see here are extremely accurate. She is a nice person, but the class is horrible and only gets worse throughout the semester. I would honestly take MATH140 instead, as it is the difference between Pre-Calc and Calc. MATH140 will be easier than MATH115 because of this professor.
Raluca Rosca MATH115 Expecting a C- Anonymous 11/06/2023	honestly, if you can work around this course I 100% would UMD obviously doesn't care for its lower-level math courses. The teacher means well and is nice but cannot teach.
Melanka Wedige MATH115 Expecting an A- Anonymous 07/19/2023	Melanka's class was 1000 times more doable than Dr. Rosca's. They keep Rosca around to weed people out so I took this course with Melanka over the summer and landed an A-. I'd highly recommend taking 115 over the summer or at a community college because Rosca's class is not it. Melanka broke things down in a way that was understandable for the most part, however, even some of his methods were totally out of left field. First choice, community college. Second, Melanka. Third, take 120 instead of 115. Anything but Rosca.
Raluca Rosca MATH115 Expecting a C- Anonymous 05/09/2023	She clearly understands the subject matter but does not teach it well. Her classroom management skills leave a lot to be desired, with her lectures and even timed quizzes running well beyond the 50 allotted minutes. She is also incredibly condescending, despite the chicken-scratch notes she puts in the Canvas files. Your TA is most likely going to be a better resource than her.
Raluca Rosca MATH115 Expecting a C- Anonymous 12/29/2022	Dr. Rosca's class was honestly a very humbling experience. Take it from someone who always earned a A- or B+ in their math classes in high school, failing the first exam was not something I took lightly. Saying you have to put in the work simply isn't enough to pass the class. You have to breathe, eat and sleep MATH115. Overall, what I recommend you do to pass the class is to average at least a 65% on all ur midterm exams and final. Also, ATTEND HER OFFICE HOURS!!! The sole reason I passed the class was due to Rosca's generous curve after she saw the amount of hard work I demonstrated every time I attended her office hours (which was about once a week). This class is definitely passable. Don't let the low star reviews intimidate you. Unfortunately you may find yourself dropping other classes for this one, but if this is a gateway math course to another one It's definitely worth it in the end.
Jocelyn Menecio MATH115 Expecting a B- Anonymous 12/28/2022	She is sweet and she tries her best but she moves through the material too quickly for anyone to actually understand the lectures. If you take this class I recommend going to the GSS and TAs' discussions. I learned more there than in the class room.
Raluca Rosca MATH115 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/24/2022	Does not teach the class accurate information at all and attending lectures is a waste of time. If you have Rosca, you will have to teach yourself every single concept. Exams are light however as they are always a synthesis of the practice exams she give yous on ELMS. TA's will be your best friend, and Rosca is still a nice person, but quite literally dog as a teacher. Put in the work and you'll be fine.
Raluca Rosca MATH115 Expecting a B- Anonymous 12/18/2022	Rosca is a very nice lady and very intelligent. But she does not know how to teach. She will often talk in circles and confuse you. She doesn't know how to simplify information so that people can understand. I HATED how much work was assigned in class that didn't help for exams and was only about 5% of your grade. For the exams, utilize the practice exams that she offers - those will help you TREMEDOUSLY on tests. IF and only IF you have to take this class, watch videos on YouTube to help explain the material. The TA's are somewhat helpful. Just be prepared to look elsewhere for proper teaching of the material. The actual Precalculus material is not difficult, its the professor.
Jocelyn Menecio MATH115 Expecting a B Anonymous 12/16/2022	Nice person, but not the best teacher. Learned more in the GSS with the TA than in the lectures. It's a lot of learning on your own and the class goes insanely fast but I feel like that has more to do with how much material has to be covered than how she teaches. The textbook is pretty much never used but we had to buy it in order to do the homework. I didn't take precalc in high school so I knew this class was going to be a little bit of a challenge and I don't think Professor Menecio helped or hurt my grade.
Raluca Rosca MATH115 Expecting a B- imighttransferlolz 12/14/2022	She is genuinely a nice person and tries to add little math jokes here and there, and I will say she definitely knows her stuff. She is very smart. The textbook we used was great, too. However, she is really not made to be a lecturer. I think, since she's taught higher level math before, she might expect you to know more than you actually do. This class is definitely possible, but you don’t really learn anything in lectures. You’ll have better luck using something like khan academy to learn basic concepts, and then review the lecture recordings or use discussion time to really find out how to solve problems in the specific way she teaches it. But, my biggest mistake was that, since I already took calculus in HS and assumed I knew the material, I didn't try harder. You are truly on your own. If you don't solidify your study/practice habits before the first exam, don't expect to do well. It's crucial to understand the unit in entirety before moving on (i.e. you can't just study something "later" or "before the exam"). I STRONGLY suggest doing the exams she gives you or provides to you on elms; 70% of the time it's the EXACT same format as the exams. If you understand the basic concepts and how to do problems, as long as you do the practice exams, you will be ok. It was a frustrating experience and I was consistently frustrated following lectures, which would then lead me to give up, stop attending lecture, etc. If you're like me, you definitely have to be disciplined. If you learned precalculus/calculus before, don't expect this to be the same. I strongly recommend taking the class with a different professor. It will save you hours of outside studying if you have a professor that can teach during lectures. If you can't get a different professor and if you can't decode the answer keys (i.e. if you can't look at a problem and know what's going on without someone there telling you what's happening mathematically)... I really don't think you can pass this course. Half the reason I was able to pass was because I had prior math experience and could look at the answer keys to understand why or how something was happening. I will say that if you plan to go past MATH115, taking the class with Rosca (with it being frustrating, busy work, etc.) might not be a terrible choice avoiding entirely. Her teaching style (minus the lectures... I can't recall a time where I actually learned anything) will give you the critical thinking skills, time management at a college level, and definitely train you to do hard math, study, etc. I really don't think Rosca deserves the ABSOLUTE lowest rating because I didn't know how to study. She is a bad lecturer, assigns a lot of busy work, etc., but this class will teach you how to be accountable for your own learning. But then again, this is tuition money down the drain if you have to retake it.
Raluca Rosca MATH115 Expecting a B- Anonymous 12/11/2022	Prof Rosca is not a bad person, but she is a TERRIBLE lecturer, her handwriting is horrible, she is hard to understand, and she often over complicates things that aren't even relevant to course material or what will be on exams. By the end of the semester, no one comes to her class because she posts lecture videos online. There are 2 part quizzes that you HAVE to attend lecture for and you only get about 5 minutes for 3 or so problems. You will spend hours doing homework on WebAssign that is a small portion of your grade, and is alien compared to actual exam and discussion quiz material. Her lectures do not line up to what is on Exams and Discussion Quizzes, the only saving grace is the study modules she releases before exams. They contain practice exams from previous semesters with solutions, and they are very similar to the actual exam, so your best bet is to study those. If you can avoid taking this class with Rosca, please do. My best advice would be to stay away from any lower level course that she teaches. (I've heard that she isn't as bad in higher level courses)
Jocelyn Menecio MATH115 Expecting a B krileyy 12/07/2022	Like others said she is a very nice women, but she does not know how to teach at all. Her class was so fast paced and she often had to be corrected from other students/TA while teaching so it did not help. The textbook as well as the notes were not at all helpful I wound up having to go to YouTube to learn the material. I will say the homeworks are easy and there was a curve on each exam; however, that is only because the majority of the class was doing so bad. I would not recommend unless you are comfortable with teaching yourself the material.
Raluca Rosca MATH115 Expecting a C- Anonymous 12/06/2022	Like mentioned before. Rosca herself is not a bad person but I will most definitely say I struggled a lot when it came to her lectures. She is not clear when it comes to explaining anything at all. Its very difficult to understand her thought process and even when asking other friends they were struggling as well. The workload is a lot for this class, you are given post lectures, prelectures, and exam preps. There was no curving at all. The grading system she uses is very harsh on you. She requires you to spend 9 hours outside of lectures to study for this course. Her accent isn't that strong and its not that difficult to understand her, but her handwriting is atrocious. Extremely DIFFICULT TO READ. I really despised this class to be honest and it was the only class I did poorly in during my 1st semester. Granted I will give her the benefit of the doubt, the practice exams are extremely useful when it comes to upcoming exams. If you are taking this class (unfortunate) using the practice exams to study are extremely beneficial. GOOD LUCK IF YOU'RE TAKING THIS CLASS.
Raluca Rosca MATH115 Expecting a C+ mmpc1919 12/05/2022	Rosca is not a bad person, but a bad teacher. The class is very fast-paced and she skips steps when demonstrating problems, which can lead to a lot of confusion. There is also always work to do. There are pre and post-lecture work needed to be done after each lecture and exam-preps which are so annoying and can take up to hours to do. She does not curve for exams but you can have a full page, front and back, formula sheet. The discussions aren't too bad but there are quizzes in them that are apart of your grade.
Jocelyn Menecio MATH115 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 11/04/2022	The class itself is very easy. But, the teacher does not add much to my prior knowledge if anything my TA teaches me better then the teacher herself. She does not spend too much time on each subject and ends up going on tangents when she is trying to teach something important.
Melanka Wedige MATH115 Expecting an A Anonymous 08/24/2022	This guy is a thousand times better than Dr.Rosca. Would recommend him to take her place if I could. His lectures are recorded but he does a great job of explaining the material. His homework does not always match up with the lectures but the book is free so you can't complain. Took his course in six weeks and never felt lost once. Great alternative if you want to take this class in summer and avoid the normal people teaching this course.
Raluca Rosca MATH115 Expecting a C+ Anonymous 06/07/2022	Rosca is a lovely lady but a terrible teacher. I retook this class because of how horrible the curriculum is with her teaching style. Lectures consist of 50 minutes of her just writing down problems followed by 3 or 4 questions from students. The lectures don't give you time to reflect on any of the work, and the homework assignments seem alien compared to what was taught in class and the discussion. This class is passable, but you have to do extremely well on all of the exams in the course since it's 20% of your grade. That's the only way to stay above water in this class, or you'll need an insane score on the final to even get up to a B. So if you can take anyone but Rosca for this class, please save yourself and do it.
Raluca Rosca MATH115 Expecting a C- WALIK 05/24/2022	Rosca is by far the worst professor I've ever had in my life. Her grading policies are absolutely ridiculous, Her exams will single-handedly pass you or fail you, nothing else in the class even matters. Her lectures are completely unintelligible, she will spend 10 minutes working on one problem to get the answer wrong and have to start over. I would estimate that 60% of the class was on the brink of not passing this semester. If you can take Math120 over Math115 I would HIGHLY recommend doing so. If you do have to take Math115, do NOT take it with Rosca. I would rather take this as a summer class than tank my GPA intentionally ever taking this class in person again.
Raluca Rosca MATH115 Expecting a D Anonymous 05/23/2022	I genuinely believe that Dr. Rosca is a nice lady, however, she is very difficult to understand at times and her handwriting is often hard to read. Sometimes she'll throw problems on tests that are not like anything on the practice exams, which sometimes makes studying feel useless. Tests are the majority of the grade, so you have to do well on them
Raluca Rosca MATH115 Expecting an A- Anonymous 05/23/2022	There are many problems with this course and the way it is structured. Rosca is difficult to follow in lecture often, and if you do not have a good TA leading your discussion session and have schedule conflicts preventing you from attending the guided study sessions - buckle up. You absolutely will need extra resources and outside help to understand the content. Outside of how difficult the material is and that you may end up teaching yourself, this course was very disorganized. Last minute changes were a regular occurrence, grading took so long I did not know how I did on one test before moving onto the next. Also the expectations of tests/assignments to receive full credit was never clearly defined and so again unless you received your test/assignment back you did not know why you had points deducted. Lastly, expect strange wording of problems on assignments and tests. Some were in the textbook, but never covered in lecture or on any homework, and some were just bizarre and confusing. I can say this with confidence as I had several math TAs and another mathematics Professor say so. I did well in the course because I am naturally math inclined and I put in 100% effort. A lot of people had to drop out, many were taking it for the second time with this Professor, and many had to just accept any passing grade.
Raluca Rosca MATH115 Expecting a C- Anonymous 05/11/2022	Rosca as a person is not bad, but her class is the most difficult. The exams are the majority of your grade so good luck passing if you even slightly pass those. She posts the lectures online so that's a plus, but everyone in this class is down bad. We're struggling as a whole. Make sure to peer study.
Ben Bezejouh MATH115 Anonymous 12/23/2021	Professor Ben is a good person but being a good person doesn’t correlate to being a good teacher. At times I did feel lost in class because he use to play videos of his zoom lectures from last year. But if you go up to him after class he will explain, so at least he is willing to help. I wish he did give us more material in class instead of just our class notes. I feel like he needs to improve his teaching style where he actually wants to teach the students instead of just showing us zoom lectures. Also important note for this class make sure you have friends that also take math 115 with you so y’all could study inna group. Overall I would rate my experience a 7/10.
Raluca Rosca MATH115 Expecting an A- Anonymous 12/16/2021	To be completely honest, she is not that bad of a lecturer, but people do find her lecture difficult to understand. She does tend to teach by the book and sometimes people get confused as to where she gets a certain variable and number from. But these things are clarified during the discussion lab. The two-part quizzes are not that bad as long as you study the related content. The exams are fair since most of the content is covered during exam reviews. So, I highly recommend you to participate in exam reviews sessions and don't just look at the video recordings.
Raluca Rosca MATH115 Expecting a B- Anonymous 12/15/2021	She’s not as bad as most people say- the hardest part of this class is trying to understand her handwriting(which you get the hang of) and her thick accent. She records her lectures and posts them so lecture isn’t mandatory except when there are the 2-part quizzes which are in the syllabus. If you have a question she is nice to explain it, not petty like some other teachers. Home work is a bit much but helpful, Rosca is definitely a good choice.
Jocelyn Menecio MATH115 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/06/2021	Very helpful, and takes her time to make sure she is fair. She also offers extra credit and will curve certain exams. The homework doesn't take too long, and most quizzes are a guaranteed 100.
Raluca Rosca MATH115 Expecting a B Anonymous 12/04/2021	She is probably one of the worst professors you could get. Like many others have said, her handwriting is messy, the problems on her exams do not match the problems on the practice exams, the solution keys for the practice exams have multiple incorrect answers, and so on. She also has a thick accent (which I really don't mind, but if English is already not your first language you may struggle to understand what she is saying). As well, when you try to voice your concerns to her, she is very dismissive. I tried to tell her once that the solutions on the answer key were wrong and this was very misleading to students who are relying on her answers to check their work and prepare for the exam. She just seemed very annoyed and claimed that you should be able to check your work by yourself and that you shouldn't rely on her keys for the right answers. So yeah, try to avoid her class at all costs.
Ben Bezejouh MATH115 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 12/01/2021	Hands down the worst professor I've ever had. Completely unresponsive to questions, unwilling to explain in further detail, and expects you to come in already understanding concepts. Do NOT take this class if you haven't taken math since quarantine started. Personally, I would recommend you steer completely clear if at all possible.
Raluca Rosca MATH115 Expecting a D Anonymous 11/23/2021	Worst teacher i have ever had. Lectures are confusing and all over the place. Exams are all trick questions and her study guides are terrible for preparing for exams. Her handwriting is illegible. If you can make sure to avoid this class.
Raluca Rosca MATH115 Anonymous 10/24/2021	The material in the class has been more like Algebra II than Precalculus from what I remember learning in high school, so take that as you will. Her accent is fine, it is hard to understand at times but mostly okay. The bigger issue is her handwriting. She does some practice problems during lecture but writes in all-caps and it's really really hard to decipher. Also since she writes with pen, if there is a mistake she'll scribble it out and it just makes everything even more difficult to understand. Lecture is better off not going to. There's some quizzes in lecture but the dates are listed in the syllabus so just go then, otherwise, you're probably better off learning from Khan Academy or something else. I think that having a TA who is nice and can explain the concepts well is helpful, so if you aren't feeling good about them during the first week, definitely try switching into a different section if possible. I'd recommend to avoid Dr. Rosca for math classes if possible, but it seems like she's the only one that teaches 115...
Raluca Rosca MATH115 Expecting an A- Anonymous 04/02/2021	Rosca is alriiiiight. Her accent is difficult to understand. The grade distribution was CRAZY. There were so many homework that counted toward like almost nothing % of your grade. She was disorganized all the time, but exams were fair, I'd say.
Raluca Rosca MATH115 Expecting an A- Anonymous 02/06/2021	Rosca has a bad rep, which is understandable. Her accent makes it really hard to understand her, and sometimes when she explains things it becomes even more confusing. But to anyone who has to take her class, I really recommend going to her office hours. She's really great one-on-one, and many of the confusing concepts that are presented in lectures are easily explained if you just ask.
Ben Bezejouh MATH115 Expecting an A Anonymous 01/24/2021	I do not recommend taking a class with this professor. He is very unresponsive to questions and does not clarify concepts that he is teaching at all. He often blames students for not being able to understand the work when he is at fault for poorly teaching concepts. He is also very passive-aggressive when you speak to him or ask for clarification on questions. The final exam was ridiculously difficult, did not have a curve, and caused many students to fail the class. Most of the time he teaches from the textbook and I sometimes think that he forgets he is teaching to a class. A positive I do have is that if you truly show that you are trying in the class and that you are a good student, he may give you a bump. Although it is possible to get an A, prepare to go through a tough semester to get it.
Jocelyn Menecio MATH115 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 12/18/2020	She's a good person, wants you to succeed, gives extra credit and all that but... she is not a great teacher. If you don't self study before class, your toast. You may need a good amount of tutoring so prepare for that. She goes over topics quite quickly and is hard to understand sometimes. Its unfortunate because she is genuinely a good person. You wont fail the class (ie. get a C) but you need to put in the work, a good amount of work to get that A
Sean Gruber MATH115 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 12/17/2020	Mr. G is great. He is very caring of his students. He takes his time with thorough explanations to the material and tries his best to make sure everyone understands the material. The amount of work is adequate and his exams match the lecture and homework. Take his class!
Raluca Rosca MATH115 Expecting an A- Anonymous 12/17/2020	Rosca wasn't a bad teacher. She knew what she was talking about, but didn't know how to explain some things so the students would understand. Most of the students taking this class already took pre-calculus or calculus before so she expects you to know or have a general understanding of the material before she teaches it. There are plenty of resources for you to pass this class. Definitely email your TA if you have any questions!
Raluca Rosca MATH115 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/08/2020	TBH this class was pretty rough in the beginning because it was so disorganized and the syllabus was so hard to understand. Rosca was not very undrrstanding at all. And I quite frankly got a C on the 1st exam. BUT, besides all that happened before the first exam, the class started getting better! Rosca actually compensated for our needs and asks for our opinion on the format of the exam (we even got a test that was supposed to be wednesday pushes back to friday). The TA's were all extremely helpful as well as the GSS sessions were extremely beneficial especially right before an exam. On the second exam I got a 97.5 (I woulda gotten a 100 but I made stupid mistakes) and the third exam I got a 88 (there were two questions I wasnt very confident in and those were the ones I lost points on) So overall, I give a solide 4 stars to her as a professor. If it wasn't for usthe students voicing our concerns out to her a few times during lecture I dont really think those changes would actually have happened. Just make sure you study like at least a week before the exam, complete all the practice test provided, and ask questions the TA office hours because there are litterally there to help you. Lastly, she gives many opportunties for bonus points like surveys, posting on piazza, little freebie assignments. So if you fail this class its on you.
Raluca Rosca MATH115 Expecting an A Anonymous 10/19/2020	This professor is SO confusing and far from helpful when you have an issue or are confused. The only reason I am getting an A is because it is precalc and I took calculus in high school, so if you took it before it is bearable but if not, good luck. The only good thing is that after we stress out about quizzes or tests and take them, she will just cross them off and they won't count in the final grade, but it is still frustrating seeing grades of 10/10 not be accounted for. The actual course content and assignments are easy and you have multiple attempts on the majority of them so that is a plus but as for her as a professor, she is awful.
Raluca Rosca MATH115 Expecting a C- Anonymous 12/10/2019	terrible, no words to describe this lady just god awful at her job. she just doesn't even try and relies on the TAs to save the students. Save urself while you can! I would give 0 stars if I could.
Raluca Rosca MATH115 Expecting an A- Anonymous 03/14/2019	She was a terrible professor. She has a thick accent (tee-tah!) and doesn't really teach concepts well. She is so bad at making online quizzes and has many mistakes in her pre-lecture quiz keys. Webassign was some shit too. She lets you have a cheat sheet (front and back) for exams though.
Raluca Rosca MATH115 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 01/19/2019	Attendance is required through daily quizzes. That wouldn't be a problem if they were worth going too. Attending lecture is no better than just reading the book and watching a Youtube video.
William Schildknecht MATH115 Expecting an A Anonymous 11/29/2018	Amazing teacher and is extremely caring for his students. He always wants each student to know what their doing and makes sure to answer any questions in clear understandable detail.
Raluca Rosca MATH115 Expecting a W Anonymous 11/24/2018	The worst teacher I have ever had. If you can avoid taking her class you probably should because she will teach you nothing and punish you for it. Had to drop the class mid-semester.
Elizabeth Tarantino MATH115 Expecting a B+ epap 10/17/2018	She is one of the TA's - we LOVE Liz. We stan. She is a powerful woman. Super chill and really nice. I would not show up to discussion if she wasn't my TA.
Arijit Sehanobish MATH115 Expecting a C- Anonymous 05/04/2018	Quite possibly the worst teacher I have ever had in my whole academic life. Horrible at explaining things, never responds to emails, and doesn't care about his students or their grades. The class average at the end of the semester was a D- and they had to curve an entire letter grade to make the average a C-
Raluca Rosca MATH115 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 12/21/2017	Dr. Rosca gets a bit of a bad rap. Halfway through the semester, she began allowing us to bring notes for the quizzes and exams. She's very responsive to concerns and set up an online forum to discuss previous exams from the testbank. Still, not much gets done during lecture. As with ANY math class, you have to study outside of class.
Frances Gulick MATH115 Expecting a C Anonymous 05/16/2016	Consider this your warning - do NOT take any classes with F. Gulick. She was outright mean and made what should have been a basic math class into the most difficult course I have ever had the displeasure to have taken. I took Precalculus in high school and got a B, so I figured this would be a review, but instead I had to fight my way to a C. Even if that doesn't deter you, this class is a LOT of work. Multiple difficult online assignments per week and in-class quizzes. Make sure you buy the book - the examples it has will be your lifesaver.
Frances Gulick MATH115 Expecting an F Niaboc 02/04/2016	I never write these things but I feel its my duty because she is THE WORST PROFESSOR YOU WILL EVER HAVE. I have taken many classes from community college and to umd now, and by a huge margin she is the worst professor on campus, maybe even all of Maryland. It's as if she wants you to dislike her class and math altogether. Everything is made 1000x harder than it has to be. Coupled with that fact is her atrocious teaching style. Like other have said, if you ask a question in class she will make you look like an idiot and condescned you. And she has this very whiny loud old lady voice. Sort of reminds of me of your classical christian school nun type, scratches the board if you aren't paying attention, smacks a ruler on your desk. She is very strict. Everything has to be according to HER RULES on exams. And she will take off excessive points if you don't follow her rules, labeling everything on graphs et cetera. Albeit. she is very friendly in her offices hours which was a surprise. It's probably the only redeeming quality about this class. But everything else about this class far outweighs it. Unfortunately, if you want to get to higher level math classes you have to go through her first, there generally isn't any other options, I wouldn't wish the experience of this class on anyone. Good luck!
Frances Gulick MATH115 Expecting a B Anonymous 12/20/2013	She is an awful professor. I have no clue how she even still has a job teaching. She not only does not teach you ANYTHING in lecture, she does not care about her students AT ALL. If someone is confused and has the nerve to ask her a question, she looks at you like you are stupid and is so rude about it. She has made my semester a living hell. DO NOT TAKE THIS SECTION WITH HER. you will not learn anything and most likely will have to take the class over again. the only reason I have a B in this class is because my TA had to teach me everything. If you want to have a professor that actually cares about their students succeeding, not about making a salary, I would recommend not taking this class. The only reason I gave her 1 star is because I had to, I'd give her 0 if that was possible. AWFUL professor.
Frances Gulick MATH115 Expecting a C HaliteAnn 12/10/2013	The only reason Frances Gulick is a "professor" at this school is because her husband wrote the textbook. The fact that she is still teaching here makes me wonder if the university takes student evaluations into account at all--if they did, she would probably have been fired long ago. You learn nothing from attending lecture, but must go because of "surprise" quizzes that do nothing but check attendance. She micromanages her classroom and threatens to confiscate electronics as if she's teaching middle school. You can't even use your laptop to follow along her lessons on the online textbook (god forbid you actually try to learn something). I wouldn't mind not being able to use any electronics in her class if we actually learned something. However, her droning lectures mostly consist of pointless rambling, threatening to confiscate someone's phone, and multiple mispronunciations of the word "root." I had already taken PreCalculus in high school and was only taking this class as a refresher, but I ended up getting a mediocre grade because of her nitpicky grading. Trying to relearn any material I had forgotten was incredibly challenging. I essentially had to teach myself. She would vaguely go over some basic concept in class, and then the homework would be incredible complicated and sometimes even unrelated, or even from a later section. If you have any other possible choice, DO NOT TAKE ANY CLASS WITH THIS PROFESSOR. She is a horrible teacher and cares nothing about her students or their grades.
Frances Gulick MATH115 Anonymous 12/10/2013	Professor Gulick is a very unique person. She knows exactly what she is doing in lecture. She does commit mistakes at times. She is not an easy grader. She expects students to work hard and try their best. Nonetheless, she is always open to questions and her office hours she is always available.
Frances Gulick MATH115 Anonymous 12/02/2012	Overall terrible experience. teacher does not care about students. Course is basically taught to oneself. Homeworks (on webassign) have material not taught or even gone over in class. I felt like putting in minimal effort on the work required gave the same outcome as putting in my all. You will not learn from the teacher or from the TAs during lab hours, they will tell you how to solve a problem but not explain to you how or why. Very disappointed with class because It did not help me learn the basic math necessary in order to move on confidently onto a harder math course next semester. You spend most of your time on a computer trying to learn the material by yourself. Every class (you meet once a week on mondays and then go wednesdays and fridays to lab) you are given a white paper assignment basically to ensure you attend class. these WPs are very easy but make up a very little percentage of the semester grade. The hardest part of the class are the webassign labs and homeworks which are almost impossible to complete without a TA. My TA was ben he was very disconnected with students, did not want to teach material instead, just gave a simple solution to problems in order to help students earn high points on web assign. If you HAVE to take this class, make sure you choose brad as your TA because although he may be sassy, he is clearly the most knowledgeable and is willing to put in extra time on his part in order to help you learn the material.
Frances Gulick MATH115 Anonymous 03/01/2012	Terrible. Her lectures are 90% uninformative and she talks as if we already know the material. If I know the material I wouldn't be in the class. She doesn't focus on why something is a done a certain way and just runs through problems. That isn't really that big of a problem EXCEPT she gives us problems that are almost nothing like what's shes lectured on so when I try to use the processes, it never works out. The teaching method for this class is very poorly designed. In my experience very few people actually learn this way. In the end this class sucked dick. Just a bunch of mindless work. I asked her what I could do to improve myself. She told me to read the book.
Frances Gulick MATH115 Anonymous 05/01/2010	She is a good teacher, I just find that her grading is too hard. I also feel like she may be a bit bias towards certain people when it comes to grades. Whoever called her the devil was absolutely correct. She will smile in your face and will still fail you. You will have to study every night in this class. You don't really have to go to the lectures. Unfortunately, she has "white papers" and pop quizzes that are part of your grade which forces you to go to class each day. I do not recommend you take her. You are going to struggle and get irritated with how she grades. Being in her class has made me hate the name Gulick. Take a different professor. Since her husband also teaches, I would stay away from him as well.
Timothy Pilachowski MATH115 Expecting a C Anonymous 01/13/2008	Awful professor. 5-10 minutes late to almost every class, and makes terrible excuses for his lateness. As a result of his lateness, he tries to rush through the lecture. He is also very rude. He makes students feel stupid when they ask a question. Most people ask questions because he teaches too fast, BECAUSE OF HIS CONSTANT LATENESS. He also puts tricky problems on the quizzes even though we only get about 5 minutes to do them. As a result, you feel pressured and get text anxiety easily because you feel rushed. Also, he will make a mistake while solving a problem in class, and then he will say, "I was just testing you to see if you would catch me." HAHA! I don't think so. He needs to own up to his own mistakes. I do not recommend him. Look for another professor teaching that class.
Justin Wyss-Gallifent MATH115 Expecting an A jjubar 10/29/2007	He teaches in a way that makes everyone understand everything, and is very receptive to questions. He also has a great sense of humor, so it makes it bearable to do math at 8am.

Sean Gruber
MATH115

Expecting an A
Anonymous
11/18/2024

Dr. Gruber is the GOAT. He cares about you learning the material and wants you to understand it. The way he teaches is also very well and easy to understand.

Raluca Rosca
MATH115

Expecting an F
Anonymous
10/22/2024

If I could leave no stars, I really would. One of the worst professors I have ever had in my entire life. DO NOT TAKE HER!!! Expect to teach yourself ALL the material. She explains things in the most complicated and confusing way.

Sean Gruber
MATH115

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
09/30/2024

Dr. Gruber is fantastic. He is very thorough with his teaching and really cares for his students. He is also pretty lenient with grading and makes sure that we understand the concepts. Highly recommend.

Raluca Rosca
MATH115

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
07/18/2024

It's really not that bad. You can do it

Raluca Rosca
MATH115

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
06/20/2024

This class is not as hard as people make it seem. I put off taking this class for three semesters because of the reviews. Don't let them scare you. I am not a math person, I never did AP calc in high school, and I still got an A by studying hard for the exams, reviewing concepts weeks in advance, and asking lots of questions during GSS. This class is harder than it needs to be, but there are SO many precalc resources at UMD and online. Organic Chemistry tutor, undergrad tutoring through the math department, and GSS helped a ton. I don't even think Rosca is teaching anymore but this class is 100% doable. It is definitely possible to do well if you work hard. - I found lectures useful at the beginning of the semester and always attended, but towards the end I stopped going because Rosca would just explain one problem in a very tedious way or focus on the theoretical concepts rather than just explaining how to do a certain type of problem. - There's a lot of homework but none of it is weighted enough to matter. Exams are the only real thing. - Exams were difficult but not impossible. They were always very similar to the four or five practice exams in Canvas. The first exam covered fairly simple concepts that anyone can master with a little effort. The only really hard one was the third because it had a ton of trig concepts, which were definitely harder to grasp - The GSS sessions were the most helpful. TAs and the prof were not the best at explaining.

Raluca Rosca
MATH115

Anonymous
06/02/2024

Dr. Rosca's teaching style just didn't work for me. I felt like lectures were pointless and confusing, and I would end up having to teach myself everything. Dr. Rosca would waste so much time on one problem and go into depth and then announce that you didn't even need all that information for this class causing us to waste the majority of the class on something we didn't even need to know. I just don't think this professor is cut out to teach this class because they overcomplicate things resulting in the people who struggle with math to get low grades (the exam averages were in like the 50s and there is no curve). The only good thing about this class is that you get an entire piece of paper (front and back) for each exam and you can put whatever you want on it.

Ben Bezejouh
MATH115

Expecting a C
Anonymous
05/20/2024

This professor is definitely understanding when it comes to late work, failing tests, and curving grades but he is unfortunately not a good professor. Instead of teaching he just writes notes on the board, you copy it, and then class is over. He barely explains anything that’s on the board and is very unclear in his explanations of concepts. I had to teach myself this whole course and go to tutors when I could. If you need to take a class with him, prepare to teach yourself.

Raluca Rosca
MATH115

Expecting a B+
chadvader29
05/13/2024

Honestly, I rarely attended lecture, so I barely even saw this professor. The reason I stopped going, however, is a good enough one to still give her 1 star. Her lectures are blatantly over-complicated and poorly explained all while spending the entire thing on one or maybe two problems, making them infuriatingly slow. I found the lectures more confusing than helpful and realized that it was a waste of time to get up for a 9 AM class that was not helping me whatsoever. Furthermore, this class is entirely too much work for a 3 credit course. 3 lectures AND 3 discussions a week is simply ridiculous. The midterm exams have no curve. The first 2 midterms had average failing grades of around 50, a FAILING grade was the average and it was still not curved. The class is BS with this professor, do not even consider her unless it is the only section available and you badly need the course credit and try to test out of it first.

Ben Bezejouh
MATH115

Expecting a D+
Anonymous
05/04/2024

Harsh grading and minimal effort teaching, do not recommend. Writes material on the board to be copies and that's literally the extent of what he does.

Raluca Rosca
MATH115

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
04/30/2024

A lot of these reviews a really overdramatic... Professor Rosca was not a bad teacher at all. In lectures she did have pretty bad handwriting, but going to office hours and the TAs really helped. As long as you really try and practice the concepts you're fine.

Raluca Rosca
MATH115

Expecting a D+
Anonymous
04/26/2024

If you can avoid it, do NOT take a class with her as your professor. I am in Math115 and I have never struggled with math as much as I have in this class. The class averages for a majority of the exams are under 60% because she truly does not know how to teach. Not only does she not know how to teach, you can tell she believes it isn’t her fault based on her attitude on exam days and when people are asking for help or potential curves. Her ways of explaining are over complicated and her problems on exams are way more difficult than anything discussed in class as if she wants you to fail. For a precalculus class, it should not be this difficult. If you see her name when choosing classes, run. Wait till another semester or beg on your knees for a teacher to replace her because she is the worst teacher I have ever had.

Raluca Rosca
MATH115

Expecting a P
Anonymous
04/10/2024

If you have an option, don't even look at this professor's direction. You can hardly understand any of the steps she does in lectures, and when you try teaching yourself, you find out its a lot easier than what she teaches in class. It's gotten to the point when going to lectures is just not necessary. Don't even get me started on the exams. They are more or less similar to the different versions she uploads on canvas, which trips almost everyone out. I guess she means well, but she overall sucks as a professor. Just look the other way! You'll thank me later.

Raluca Rosca
MATH115

Expecting a P
Anonymous
01/26/2024

𝗛𝗔𝗟𝗧! 𝗗𝗢 𝗡𝗢𝗧 𝗘𝗡𝗥𝗢𝗟𝗟, 𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗵 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁, 𝗗𝗢 𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗬𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗖𝗔𝗡 𝗧𝗢 𝗕𝗘 𝗣𝗟𝗔𝗖𝗘𝗗 𝗢𝗨𝗧 𝗢𝗙 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗖𝗟𝗔𝗦𝗦!! First, the positives: the prof is sweet, mostly. Patient, understanding 1-on-1. But that's where the good stops. Now, everything else. The moment I saw decimals in the quadratic formula and fractions in polynomials I knew I was fucked. She chooses long-winded, awful problems that are tedious and made unnecessarily hard. She adds extra steps that I have never seen before in my life. The class is so bullshit chaotic that I don't even think the TAs graded anymore, they just kinda accounted and made 70% of the classes grade more/less C-, or else it would have been a fail. You're made to download like 4 softwares, and do 15 hours a week on software like "exam prep" that does NOT count lecture or assignments. All of this was a distraction and this SOLE CLASS burned me out and made anything else impossible for years. I actually LOST the confidence I had in my math abilities and dropped my LEP because of this class. She doesn't think about questions and the practice doesn't nurture your understanding. You know how some classes use questions progressively difficult so you get stronger? No, this class hit you with trick questions and curveballs upfront, and then you spent a discussion working on ANOTHER single trick questions and nobody spoke. So I don't understand how the discussions, the class, OR THE EXAM PREP itself, was supposed to help you on the exam! This class was traumatic for me. I am lucky I didn't drop out.

Sean Gruber
MATH115

Expecting a B
Anonymous
12/23/2023

DR.G is the MAN! TAKE HIM!

Jermain McDermott
MATH115

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/22/2023

Yes, yes. Mr. McDermott does have a few flaws in the way he teaches he'll talk about the following unit even though we're going to take an exam the next day, and he has messy handwriting and poorly made quizzes that sometimes have nothing to do with the subject or given topic, but he is very VERY merciful. I mean, he did drop 3 quizzes and a midterm because we did so poorly but you can expect to be given a chance to mess up and learn from those mistakes. Personally, I scored an A on the final exam thanks to him because I kept asking questions. Take him at your own leisure; he only wants to make sure you understand the topic.

Raluca Rosca
MATH115

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/22/2023

Overall, Dr.Rosca isn't as bad as many people make her out to be. Her lectures can be hard to follow because she skips steps towards the solution but she does provide many resources on Canvas which are more useful. The information is very difficult but the WebAssigns and practice exams really help out with the exams. She does offer extra credit and allows a formula sheet in exams so take advantage of that. Teaching yourself the material outside of lecture is crucial because of all that the lecture lacks but with a good formula sheet and studying, you can do good in the class.

Raluca Rosca
MATH115

Anonymous
12/19/2023

It is not impossible to excel in this class. Many of my friends who took her class with me has always complained about how her teaching methods are inefficient, and often overcomplicated. This is very true and she often goes overboard trying to solve one problem when it can be solved by just a few steps. However I found that technique quite useful. Other students complains about how certain teachers expects their students to have already known certain topics and thus find it unnecessary to explain “basic” stuff. Therefore they would skip some steps and leave students wondering how they got from one step to another. When Dr. Rosca teaches, she goes into detail on how to solve one problem while also trying to compensate for students who might not know certain topics. It can be overbearing sometimes but for people like me who did not have the same background knowledge as other people, it was helpful. I think one of the traps that people fall on was that they were just trying to get 10/10 on all the assignments but not really put in the efforts into learning, hence they would do bad on the exams where they don’t have the resources except for a cheat sheet, which doesn’t help when you don't know the concept, and . Dr. Rosca tests her students about their understanding of the concepts which is why she emphasizes the importance of showing your work.

Jermain McDermott
MATH115

Expecting a B
Anonymous
12/18/2023

Mr. J is very lenient when it comes to grading drops your lowest test score and quizzes. I would say he's better in office hours then in lectures. Homework can take a little while to complete but it does help on learning the topics. He does curve exams which does help and exams are very similar to practice exams he gives out prior. One piece of advice is DO NOT TAKE THIS COURSE LIGHTLY.

Sean Gruber
MATH115

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/17/2023

He is such an amazing guy. He drops your lowest quiz grade, and the final is only worth 15% of your final grade. Also, he is super understanding and is willing to do anything to make his students' lives easier. One con is that he could sometimes spend an entire class on one or 2 problems. His tests are very similar to his practice tests. The only issue was the final- since it was standardized across all of the math115 classes it was much harder than anything he had ever taught us in class. But he took that into account and made sure the final didn't hurt everyone's grades. I would take this professor if you get the chance. He's such a great guy and really deeply cares about his students.

Ben Bezejouh
MATH115

Expecting an F
Anonymous
12/15/2023

This might be the worst professor I have ever seen. He writes the notes on the board, lets you write it down, and calls it a day. We would end class 30 minutes early every day... I would attempt to ask questions and be told he cannot help explain it because the material is on the take-home quiz. DO NOT TAKE THIS COURSE.

Raluca Rosca
MATH115

Expecting a B-
Anonymous
12/14/2023

If you can get out of her class, definitely do it. She is a nice woman, however her teaching is awful the TA's are essentially useless. Mine left before anyone in the class even did. She is hard to understand, you have to decipher her handwriting, and you will be up all hours of the night doing homework, exam preps, post lectures, etc. Just don't do it. And If you have to, you are MUCH better off teaching it all yourself .

Tyler Simmons
MATH115

Anonymous
12/13/2023

Is a really great professor. Will sit one on one and help to explain stuff. teaching style is really good. The course its self was really fast and challenging from 015 to 115 only having 115 for half a semester is quite challenging because you are already behind every other 115 class and have to catch up.

Sean Gruber
MATH115

Expecting an A-
Anonymous
12/12/2023

Amazing Overall!! Take him!!!!

Raluca Rosca
MATH115

Expecting a B-
Anonymous
12/07/2023

If there is anyone else take them. I had taken pre-calc in high school and got straight A's, however once I got to her class I was more confused than ever. The only reason I was able to understand anything was cause of my wonderful TA and past knowledge(from 2/3 years ago), but not everyone is going to get lucky like that. Avoid her if you can. But I will say she is very organized when it comes to tests and exams and will give you practice exams which are somewhat similar.

Tyler Simmons
MATH115

Anonymous
12/06/2023

Professor Simmons is a fantastic math teacher! He's to the point, precise, and easy to understand. He doesn't waste the class's time but also gives out enough practice so that you know the material. If you reach out for help, you'll always get it. He's understanding and more than willing to go over problems that are confusing. All in all, you couldn't ask for a better math professor.

Raluca Rosca
MATH115

Expecting a D+
Anonymous
12/06/2023

PLEASE READ: I will say, that Dr. Rosca is better with one-on-one learning with those who come to her office hours. However, she oversimplifies the material and dives too deep into theories and conditions for problems. She expects the students to know topics such as logarithmic or trigonometric functions but fails to realize that not all students come from the same advantaged high schools/colleges with better resources. For instance, my high school lacked any AP CALC classes and its highest math class offered was Algebra II. Had it not been for the friends I made through academic trauma bonding and sharing knowledge, I would have failed this course miserably. Similarly, there are Pre-lecture quizzes (on lessons you don’t know about beforehand), Post-lecture quizzes, Exam Prep assignments, and Discussion quizzes. She gives a small curve if you did well on the latest exam you have done (Sunset Provision Curve: Exam2%- Exam1%/3). In conclusion, this class is intimidating to take if you have no prior experience in Precalculus. I highly suggest you buddy up with your neighbors and get phone numbers as soon as possible if this is a class you must take.

Raluca Rosca
MATH115

Expecting a B-
Anonymous
12/04/2023

Dr. Rosca is not a good professor. If you're someone who needs to be taught to learn, you will have a very hard time with this. Her lectures are incomprehensible, and she overcomplicates things to a huge extent. Her only saving grace is her outside of class assignments. The pre and post lecture assignments are what taught me the material for this course. If you study and use the resources she's provided on her canvas, then you'll do okay. But it takes a lot of work. I never go to class, as her teaching just baffles me. She is a very sweet woman, I've spoken with her several times, however her teaching ability is subpar. Main takeaways: Her canvas page has a lot of good resources, but she is a bad teacher.

Raluca Rosca
MATH115

Expecting a C+
Anonymous
12/03/2023

Shes not as bad as people say shes just mid. she came off to me as mean but after going to her hours she is really nice and sensible. Also shes really understanding and understands if you misses and exam and sorts. The thing is this class is just hard. pre calc is just a harder than calc at umd. Sure her lectures may not be the best but its not like there horrible. At worst just dont even go and do the hw. The exams are really hard though so you cant bull shit it you have to study. If you have to take this class calm down your not cooked just know you need to really study multiple hours a day going over the practice exams.

Ben Bezejouh
MATH115

Expecting an A
Anonymous
11/30/2023

Decent professor overall. He operates with an organized schedule and course materials, so navigating the work isn't difficult. The course I took with him started as MATH015 and transitioned into MATH115, but the coursework was reasonable during both sections; 1-2 assignments every week. Although the way the material was presented was somewhat lack-luster, you can tell that he knows what he's talking about, and that he wants students to know too. The classes are informative, albeit a little fast-paced (especially if you're a slow note-taker like me), so you should expect to spend some time outside of class contextualizing the material. Although, the homework provides good opportunities to practice skills. Not difficult to earn an A, but you still have to work for it.

Raluca Rosca
MATH115

Expecting a C-
Anonymous
11/28/2023

All of the reviews you see here are extremely accurate. She is a nice person, but the class is horrible and only gets worse throughout the semester. I would honestly take MATH140 instead, as it is the difference between Pre-Calc and Calc. MATH140 will be easier than MATH115 because of this professor.

Raluca Rosca
MATH115

Expecting a C-
Anonymous
11/06/2023

honestly, if you can work around this course I 100% would UMD obviously doesn't care for its lower-level math courses. The teacher means well and is nice but cannot teach.

Melanka Wedige
MATH115

Expecting an A-
Anonymous
07/19/2023

Melanka's class was 1000 times more doable than Dr. Rosca's. They keep Rosca around to weed people out so I took this course with Melanka over the summer and landed an A-. I'd highly recommend taking 115 over the summer or at a community college because Rosca's class is not it. Melanka broke things down in a way that was understandable for the most part, however, even some of his methods were totally out of left field. First choice, community college. Second, Melanka. Third, take 120 instead of 115. Anything but Rosca.

Raluca Rosca
MATH115

Expecting a C-
Anonymous
05/09/2023

She clearly understands the subject matter but does not teach it well. Her classroom management skills leave a lot to be desired, with her lectures and even timed quizzes running well beyond the 50 allotted minutes. She is also incredibly condescending, despite the chicken-scratch notes she puts in the Canvas files. Your TA is most likely going to be a better resource than her.

Raluca Rosca
MATH115

Expecting a C-
Anonymous
12/29/2022

Dr. Rosca's class was honestly a very humbling experience. Take it from someone who always earned a A- or B+ in their math classes in high school, failing the first exam was not something I took lightly. Saying you have to put in the work simply isn't enough to pass the class. You have to breathe, eat and sleep MATH115. Overall, what I recommend you do to pass the class is to average at least a 65% on all ur midterm exams and final. Also, ATTEND HER OFFICE HOURS!!! The sole reason I passed the class was due to Rosca's generous curve after she saw the amount of hard work I demonstrated every time I attended her office hours (which was about once a week). This class is definitely passable. Don't let the low star reviews intimidate you. Unfortunately you may find yourself dropping other classes for this one, but if this is a gateway math course to another one It's definitely worth it in the end.

Jocelyn Menecio
MATH115

Expecting a B-
Anonymous
12/28/2022

She is sweet and she tries her best but she moves through the material too quickly for anyone to actually understand the lectures. If you take this class I recommend going to the GSS and TAs' discussions. I learned more there than in the class room.

Raluca Rosca
MATH115

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/24/2022

Does not teach the class accurate information at all and attending lectures is a waste of time. If you have Rosca, you will have to teach yourself every single concept. Exams are light however as they are always a synthesis of the practice exams she give yous on ELMS. TA's will be your best friend, and Rosca is still a nice person, but quite literally dog as a teacher. Put in the work and you'll be fine.

Raluca Rosca
MATH115

Expecting a B-
Anonymous
12/18/2022

Rosca is a very nice lady and very intelligent. But she does not know how to teach. She will often talk in circles and confuse you. She doesn't know how to simplify information so that people can understand. I HATED how much work was assigned in class that didn't help for exams and was only about 5% of your grade. For the exams, utilize the practice exams that she offers - those will help you TREMEDOUSLY on tests. IF and only IF you have to take this class, watch videos on YouTube to help explain the material. The TA's are somewhat helpful. Just be prepared to look elsewhere for proper teaching of the material. The actual Precalculus material is not difficult, its the professor.

Jocelyn Menecio
MATH115

Expecting a B
Anonymous
12/16/2022

Nice person, but not the best teacher. Learned more in the GSS with the TA than in the lectures. It's a lot of learning on your own and the class goes insanely fast but I feel like that has more to do with how much material has to be covered than how she teaches. The textbook is pretty much never used but we had to buy it in order to do the homework. I didn't take precalc in high school so I knew this class was going to be a little bit of a challenge and I don't think Professor Menecio helped or hurt my grade.

Raluca Rosca
MATH115

Expecting a B-
imighttransferlolz
12/14/2022

She is genuinely a nice person and tries to add little math jokes here and there, and I will say she definitely knows her stuff. She is very smart. The textbook we used was great, too. However, she is really not made to be a lecturer. I think, since she's taught higher level math before, she might expect you to know more than you actually do. This class is definitely possible, but you don’t really learn anything in lectures. You’ll have better luck using something like khan academy to learn basic concepts, and then review the lecture recordings or use discussion time to really find out how to solve problems in the specific way she teaches it. But, my biggest mistake was that, since I already took calculus in HS and assumed I knew the material, I didn't try harder. You are truly on your own. If you don't solidify your study/practice habits before the first exam, don't expect to do well. It's crucial to understand the unit in entirety before moving on (i.e. you can't just study something "later" or "before the exam"). I STRONGLY suggest doing the exams she gives you or provides to you on elms; 70% of the time it's the EXACT same format as the exams. If you understand the basic concepts and how to do problems, as long as you do the practice exams, you will be ok. It was a frustrating experience and I was consistently frustrated following lectures, which would then lead me to give up, stop attending lecture, etc. If you're like me, you definitely have to be disciplined. If you learned precalculus/calculus before, don't expect this to be the same. I strongly recommend taking the class with a different professor. It will save you hours of outside studying if you have a professor that can teach during lectures. If you can't get a different professor and if you can't decode the answer keys (i.e. if you can't look at a problem and know what's going on without someone there telling you what's happening mathematically)... I really don't think you can pass this course. Half the reason I was able to pass was because I had prior math experience and could look at the answer keys to understand why or how something was happening. I will say that if you plan to go past MATH115, taking the class with Rosca (with it being frustrating, busy work, etc.) might not be a terrible choice avoiding entirely. Her teaching style (minus the lectures... I can't recall a time where I actually learned anything) will give you the critical thinking skills, time management at a college level, and definitely train you to do hard math, study, etc. I really don't think Rosca deserves the ABSOLUTE lowest rating because I didn't know how to study. She is a bad lecturer, assigns a lot of busy work, etc., but this class will teach you how to be accountable for your own learning. But then again, this is tuition money down the drain if you have to retake it.

Raluca Rosca
MATH115

Expecting a B-
Anonymous
12/11/2022

Prof Rosca is not a bad person, but she is a TERRIBLE lecturer, her handwriting is horrible, she is hard to understand, and she often over complicates things that aren't even relevant to course material or what will be on exams. By the end of the semester, no one comes to her class because she posts lecture videos online. There are 2 part quizzes that you HAVE to attend lecture for and you only get about 5 minutes for 3 or so problems. You will spend hours doing homework on WebAssign that is a small portion of your grade, and is alien compared to actual exam and discussion quiz material. Her lectures do not line up to what is on Exams and Discussion Quizzes, the only saving grace is the study modules she releases before exams. They contain practice exams from previous semesters with solutions, and they are very similar to the actual exam, so your best bet is to study those. If you can avoid taking this class with Rosca, please do. My best advice would be to stay away from any lower level course that she teaches. (I've heard that she isn't as bad in higher level courses)

Jocelyn Menecio
MATH115

Expecting a B
krileyy
12/07/2022

Like others said she is a very nice women, but she does not know how to teach at all. Her class was so fast paced and she often had to be corrected from other students/TA while teaching so it did not help. The textbook as well as the notes were not at all helpful I wound up having to go to YouTube to learn the material. I will say the homeworks are easy and there was a curve on each exam; however, that is only because the majority of the class was doing so bad. I would not recommend unless you are comfortable with teaching yourself the material.

Raluca Rosca
MATH115

Expecting a C-
Anonymous
12/06/2022

Like mentioned before. Rosca herself is not a bad person but I will most definitely say I struggled a lot when it came to her lectures. She is not clear when it comes to explaining anything at all. Its very difficult to understand her thought process and even when asking other friends they were struggling as well. The workload is a lot for this class, you are given post lectures, prelectures, and exam preps. There was no curving at all. The grading system she uses is very harsh on you. She requires you to spend 9 hours outside of lectures to study for this course. Her accent isn't that strong and its not that difficult to understand her, but her handwriting is atrocious. Extremely DIFFICULT TO READ. I really despised this class to be honest and it was the only class I did poorly in during my 1st semester. Granted I will give her the benefit of the doubt, the practice exams are extremely useful when it comes to upcoming exams. If you are taking this class (unfortunate) using the practice exams to study are extremely beneficial. GOOD LUCK IF YOU'RE TAKING THIS CLASS.

Raluca Rosca
MATH115

Expecting a C+
mmpc1919
12/05/2022

Rosca is not a bad person, but a bad teacher. The class is very fast-paced and she skips steps when demonstrating problems, which can lead to a lot of confusion. There is also always work to do. There are pre and post-lecture work needed to be done after each lecture and exam-preps which are so annoying and can take up to hours to do. She does not curve for exams but you can have a full page, front and back, formula sheet. The discussions aren't too bad but there are quizzes in them that are apart of your grade.

Jocelyn Menecio
MATH115

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
11/04/2022

The class itself is very easy. But, the teacher does not add much to my prior knowledge if anything my TA teaches me better then the teacher herself. She does not spend too much time on each subject and ends up going on tangents when she is trying to teach something important.

Melanka Wedige
MATH115

Expecting an A
Anonymous
08/24/2022

This guy is a thousand times better than Dr.Rosca. Would recommend him to take her place if I could. His lectures are recorded but he does a great job of explaining the material. His homework does not always match up with the lectures but the book is free so you can't complain. Took his course in six weeks and never felt lost once. Great alternative if you want to take this class in summer and avoid the normal people teaching this course.

Raluca Rosca
MATH115

Expecting a C+
Anonymous
06/07/2022

Rosca is a lovely lady but a terrible teacher. I retook this class because of how horrible the curriculum is with her teaching style. Lectures consist of 50 minutes of her just writing down problems followed by 3 or 4 questions from students. The lectures don't give you time to reflect on any of the work, and the homework assignments seem alien compared to what was taught in class and the discussion. This class is passable, but you have to do extremely well on all of the exams in the course since it's 20% of your grade. That's the only way to stay above water in this class, or you'll need an insane score on the final to even get up to a B. So if you can take anyone but Rosca for this class, please save yourself and do it.

Raluca Rosca
MATH115

Expecting a C-
WALIK
05/24/2022

Rosca is by far the worst professor I've ever had in my life. Her grading policies are absolutely ridiculous, Her exams will single-handedly pass you or fail you, nothing else in the class even matters. Her lectures are completely unintelligible, she will spend 10 minutes working on one problem to get the answer wrong and have to start over. I would estimate that 60% of the class was on the brink of not passing this semester. If you can take Math120 over Math115 I would HIGHLY recommend doing so. If you do have to take Math115, do NOT take it with Rosca. I would rather take this as a summer class than tank my GPA intentionally ever taking this class in person again.

Raluca Rosca
MATH115

Expecting a D
Anonymous
05/23/2022

I genuinely believe that Dr. Rosca is a nice lady, however, she is very difficult to understand at times and her handwriting is often hard to read. Sometimes she'll throw problems on tests that are not like anything on the practice exams, which sometimes makes studying feel useless. Tests are the majority of the grade, so you have to do well on them

Raluca Rosca
MATH115

Expecting an A-
Anonymous
05/23/2022

There are many problems with this course and the way it is structured. Rosca is difficult to follow in lecture often, and if you do not have a good TA leading your discussion session and have schedule conflicts preventing you from attending the guided study sessions - buckle up. You absolutely will need extra resources and outside help to understand the content. Outside of how difficult the material is and that you may end up teaching yourself, this course was very disorganized. Last minute changes were a regular occurrence, grading took so long I did not know how I did on one test before moving onto the next. Also the expectations of tests/assignments to receive full credit was never clearly defined and so again unless you received your test/assignment back you did not know why you had points deducted. Lastly, expect strange wording of problems on assignments and tests. Some were in the textbook, but never covered in lecture or on any homework, and some were just bizarre and confusing. I can say this with confidence as I had several math TAs and another mathematics Professor say so. I did well in the course because I am naturally math inclined and I put in 100% effort. A lot of people had to drop out, many were taking it for the second time with this Professor, and many had to just accept any passing grade.

Raluca Rosca
MATH115

Expecting a C-
Anonymous
05/11/2022

Rosca as a person is not bad, but her class is the most difficult. The exams are the majority of your grade so good luck passing if you even slightly pass those. She posts the lectures online so that's a plus, but everyone in this class is down bad. We're struggling as a whole. Make sure to peer study.

Ben Bezejouh
MATH115

Anonymous
12/23/2021

Professor Ben is a good person but being a good person doesn’t correlate to being a good teacher. At times I did feel lost in class because he use to play videos of his zoom lectures from last year. But if you go up to him after class he will explain, so at least he is willing to help. I wish he did give us more material in class instead of just our class notes. I feel like he needs to improve his teaching style where he actually wants to teach the students instead of just showing us zoom lectures. Also important note for this class make sure you have friends that also take math 115 with you so y’all could study inna group. Overall I would rate my experience a 7/10.

Raluca Rosca
MATH115

Expecting an A-
Anonymous
12/16/2021

To be completely honest, she is not that bad of a lecturer, but people do find her lecture difficult to understand. She does tend to teach by the book and sometimes people get confused as to where she gets a certain variable and number from. But these things are clarified during the discussion lab. The two-part quizzes are not that bad as long as you study the related content. The exams are fair since most of the content is covered during exam reviews. So, I highly recommend you to participate in exam reviews sessions and don't just look at the video recordings.

Raluca Rosca
MATH115

Expecting a B-
Anonymous
12/15/2021

She’s not as bad as most people say- the hardest part of this class is trying to understand her handwriting(which you get the hang of) and her thick accent. She records her lectures and posts them so lecture isn’t mandatory except when there are the 2-part quizzes which are in the syllabus. If you have a question she is nice to explain it, not petty like some other teachers. Home work is a bit much but helpful, Rosca is definitely a good choice.

Jocelyn Menecio
MATH115

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/06/2021

Very helpful, and takes her time to make sure she is fair. She also offers extra credit and will curve certain exams. The homework doesn't take too long, and most quizzes are a guaranteed 100.

Raluca Rosca
MATH115

Expecting a B
Anonymous
12/04/2021

She is probably one of the worst professors you could get. Like many others have said, her handwriting is messy, the problems on her exams do not match the problems on the practice exams, the solution keys for the practice exams have multiple incorrect answers, and so on. She also has a thick accent (which I really don't mind, but if English is already not your first language you may struggle to understand what she is saying). As well, when you try to voice your concerns to her, she is very dismissive. I tried to tell her once that the solutions on the answer key were wrong and this was very misleading to students who are relying on her answers to check their work and prepare for the exam. She just seemed very annoyed and claimed that you should be able to check your work by yourself and that you shouldn't rely on her keys for the right answers. So yeah, try to avoid her class at all costs.

Ben Bezejouh
MATH115

Expecting a B+
Anonymous
12/01/2021

Hands down the worst professor I've ever had. Completely unresponsive to questions, unwilling to explain in further detail, and expects you to come in already understanding concepts. Do NOT take this class if you haven't taken math since quarantine started. Personally, I would recommend you steer completely clear if at all possible.

Raluca Rosca
MATH115

Expecting a D
Anonymous
11/23/2021

Worst teacher i have ever had. Lectures are confusing and all over the place. Exams are all trick questions and her study guides are terrible for preparing for exams. Her handwriting is illegible. If you can make sure to avoid this class.

Raluca Rosca
MATH115

Anonymous
10/24/2021

The material in the class has been more like Algebra II than Precalculus from what I remember learning in high school, so take that as you will. Her accent is fine, it is hard to understand at times but mostly okay. The bigger issue is her handwriting. She does some practice problems during lecture but writes in all-caps and it's really really hard to decipher. Also since she writes with pen, if there is a mistake she'll scribble it out and it just makes everything even more difficult to understand. Lecture is better off not going to. There's some quizzes in lecture but the dates are listed in the syllabus so just go then, otherwise, you're probably better off learning from Khan Academy or something else. I think that having a TA who is nice and can explain the concepts well is helpful, so if you aren't feeling good about them during the first week, definitely try switching into a different section if possible. I'd recommend to avoid Dr. Rosca for math classes if possible, but it seems like she's the only one that teaches 115...

Raluca Rosca
MATH115

Expecting an A-
Anonymous
04/02/2021

Rosca is alriiiiight. Her accent is difficult to understand. The grade distribution was CRAZY. There were so many homework that counted toward like almost nothing % of your grade. She was disorganized all the time, but exams were fair, I'd say.

Raluca Rosca
MATH115

Expecting an A-
Anonymous
02/06/2021

Rosca has a bad rep, which is understandable. Her accent makes it really hard to understand her, and sometimes when she explains things it becomes even more confusing. But to anyone who has to take her class, I really recommend going to her office hours. She's really great one-on-one, and many of the confusing concepts that are presented in lectures are easily explained if you just ask.

Ben Bezejouh
MATH115

Expecting an A
Anonymous
01/24/2021

I do not recommend taking a class with this professor. He is very unresponsive to questions and does not clarify concepts that he is teaching at all. He often blames students for not being able to understand the work when he is at fault for poorly teaching concepts. He is also very passive-aggressive when you speak to him or ask for clarification on questions. The final exam was ridiculously difficult, did not have a curve, and caused many students to fail the class. Most of the time he teaches from the textbook and I sometimes think that he forgets he is teaching to a class. A positive I do have is that if you truly show that you are trying in the class and that you are a good student, he may give you a bump. Although it is possible to get an A, prepare to go through a tough semester to get it.

Jocelyn Menecio
MATH115

Expecting a B+
Anonymous
12/18/2020

She's a good person, wants you to succeed, gives extra credit and all that but... she is not a great teacher. If you don't self study before class, your toast. You may need a good amount of tutoring so prepare for that. She goes over topics quite quickly and is hard to understand sometimes. Its unfortunate because she is genuinely a good person. You wont fail the class (ie. get a C) but you need to put in the work, a good amount of work to get that A

Sean Gruber
MATH115

Expecting a B+
Anonymous
12/17/2020

Mr. G is great. He is very caring of his students. He takes his time with thorough explanations to the material and tries his best to make sure everyone understands the material. The amount of work is adequate and his exams match the lecture and homework. Take his class!

Raluca Rosca
MATH115

Expecting an A-
Anonymous
12/17/2020

Rosca wasn't a bad teacher. She knew what she was talking about, but didn't know how to explain some things so the students would understand. Most of the students taking this class already took pre-calculus or calculus before so she expects you to know or have a general understanding of the material before she teaches it. There are plenty of resources for you to pass this class. Definitely email your TA if you have any questions!

Raluca Rosca
MATH115

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/08/2020

TBH this class was pretty rough in the beginning because it was so disorganized and the syllabus was so hard to understand. Rosca was not very undrrstanding at all. And I quite frankly got a C on the 1st exam. BUT, besides all that happened before the first exam, the class started getting better! Rosca actually compensated for our needs and asks for our opinion on the format of the exam (we even got a test that was supposed to be wednesday pushes back to friday). The TA's were all extremely helpful as well as the GSS sessions were extremely beneficial especially right before an exam. On the second exam I got a 97.5 (I woulda gotten a 100 but I made stupid mistakes) and the third exam I got a 88 (there were two questions I wasnt very confident in and those were the ones I lost points on) So overall, I give a solide 4 stars to her as a professor. If it wasn't for usthe students voicing our concerns out to her a few times during lecture I dont really think those changes would actually have happened. Just make sure you study like at least a week before the exam, complete all the practice test provided, and ask questions the TA office hours because there are litterally there to help you. Lastly, she gives many opportunties for bonus points like surveys, posting on piazza, little freebie assignments. So if you fail this class its on you.

Raluca Rosca
MATH115

Expecting an A
Anonymous
10/19/2020

This professor is SO confusing and far from helpful when you have an issue or are confused. The only reason I am getting an A is because it is precalc and I took calculus in high school, so if you took it before it is bearable but if not, good luck. The only good thing is that after we stress out about quizzes or tests and take them, she will just cross them off and they won't count in the final grade, but it is still frustrating seeing grades of 10/10 not be accounted for. The actual course content and assignments are easy and you have multiple attempts on the majority of them so that is a plus but as for her as a professor, she is awful.

Raluca Rosca
MATH115

Expecting a C-
Anonymous
12/10/2019

terrible, no words to describe this lady just god awful at her job. she just doesn't even try and relies on the TAs to save the students. Save urself while you can! I would give 0 stars if I could.

Raluca Rosca
MATH115

Expecting an A-
Anonymous
03/14/2019

She was a terrible professor. She has a thick accent (tee-tah!) and doesn't really teach concepts well. She is so bad at making online quizzes and has many mistakes in her pre-lecture quiz keys. Webassign was some shit too. She lets you have a cheat sheet (front and back) for exams though.

Raluca Rosca
MATH115

Expecting a B+
Anonymous
01/19/2019

Attendance is required through daily quizzes. That wouldn't be a problem if they were worth going too. Attending lecture is no better than just reading the book and watching a Youtube video.

William Schildknecht
MATH115

Expecting an A
Anonymous
11/29/2018

Amazing teacher and is extremely caring for his students. He always wants each student to know what their doing and makes sure to answer any questions in clear understandable detail.

Raluca Rosca
MATH115

Expecting a W
Anonymous
11/24/2018

The worst teacher I have ever had. If you can avoid taking her class you probably should because she will teach you nothing and punish you for it. Had to drop the class mid-semester.

Elizabeth Tarantino
MATH115

Expecting a B+
epap
10/17/2018

She is one of the TA's - we LOVE Liz. We stan. She is a powerful woman. Super chill and really nice. I would not show up to discussion if she wasn't my TA.

Arijit Sehanobish
MATH115

Expecting a C-
Anonymous
05/04/2018

Quite possibly the worst teacher I have ever had in my whole academic life. Horrible at explaining things, never responds to emails, and doesn't care about his students or their grades. The class average at the end of the semester was a D- and they had to curve an entire letter grade to make the average a C-

Raluca Rosca
MATH115

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
12/21/2017

Dr. Rosca gets a bit of a bad rap. Halfway through the semester, she began allowing us to bring notes for the quizzes and exams. She's very responsive to concerns and set up an online forum to discuss previous exams from the testbank. Still, not much gets done during lecture. As with ANY math class, you have to study outside of class.

Frances Gulick
MATH115

Expecting a C
Anonymous
05/16/2016

Consider this your warning - do NOT take any classes with F. Gulick. She was outright mean and made what should have been a basic math class into the most difficult course I have ever had the displeasure to have taken. I took Precalculus in high school and got a B, so I figured this would be a review, but instead I had to fight my way to a C. Even if that doesn't deter you, this class is a LOT of work. Multiple difficult online assignments per week and in-class quizzes. Make sure you buy the book - the examples it has will be your lifesaver.

Frances Gulick
MATH115

Expecting an F
Niaboc
02/04/2016

I never write these things but I feel its my duty because she is THE WORST PROFESSOR YOU WILL EVER HAVE. I have taken many classes from community college and to umd now, and by a huge margin she is the worst professor on campus, maybe even all of Maryland. It's as if she wants you to dislike her class and math altogether. Everything is made 1000x harder than it has to be. Coupled with that fact is her atrocious teaching style. Like other have said, if you ask a question in class she will make you look like an idiot and condescned you. And she has this very whiny loud old lady voice. Sort of reminds of me of your classical christian school nun type, scratches the board if you aren't paying attention, smacks a ruler on your desk. She is very strict. Everything has to be according to HER RULES on exams. And she will take off excessive points if you don't follow her rules, labeling everything on graphs et cetera. Albeit. she is very friendly in her offices hours which was a surprise. It's probably the only redeeming quality about this class. But everything else about this class far outweighs it. Unfortunately, if you want to get to higher level math classes you have to go through her first, there generally isn't any other options, I wouldn't wish the experience of this class on anyone. Good luck!

Frances Gulick
MATH115

Expecting a B
Anonymous
12/20/2013

She is an awful professor. I have no clue how she even still has a job teaching. She not only does not teach you ANYTHING in lecture, she does not care about her students AT ALL. If someone is confused and has the nerve to ask her a question, she looks at you like you are stupid and is so rude about it. She has made my semester a living hell. DO NOT TAKE THIS SECTION WITH HER. you will not learn anything and most likely will have to take the class over again. the only reason I have a B in this class is because my TA had to teach me everything. If you want to have a professor that actually cares about their students succeeding, not about making a salary, I would recommend not taking this class. The only reason I gave her 1 star is because I had to, I'd give her 0 if that was possible. AWFUL professor.

Frances Gulick
MATH115

Expecting a C
HaliteAnn
12/10/2013

The only reason Frances Gulick is a "professor" at this school is because her husband wrote the textbook. The fact that she is still teaching here makes me wonder if the university takes student evaluations into account at all--if they did, she would probably have been fired long ago. You learn nothing from attending lecture, but must go because of "surprise" quizzes that do nothing but check attendance. She micromanages her classroom and threatens to confiscate electronics as if she's teaching middle school. You can't even use your laptop to follow along her lessons on the online textbook (god forbid you actually try to learn something). I wouldn't mind not being able to use any electronics in her class if we actually learned something. However, her droning lectures mostly consist of pointless rambling, threatening to confiscate someone's phone, and multiple mispronunciations of the word "root." I had already taken PreCalculus in high school and was only taking this class as a refresher, but I ended up getting a mediocre grade because of her nitpicky grading. Trying to relearn any material I had forgotten was incredibly challenging. I essentially had to teach myself. She would vaguely go over some basic concept in class, and then the homework would be incredible complicated and sometimes even unrelated, or even from a later section. If you have any other possible choice, DO NOT TAKE ANY CLASS WITH THIS PROFESSOR. She is a horrible teacher and cares nothing about her students or their grades.

Frances Gulick
MATH115

Anonymous
12/10/2013

Professor Gulick is a very unique person. She knows exactly what she is doing in lecture. She does commit mistakes at times. She is not an easy grader. She expects students to work hard and try their best. Nonetheless, she is always open to questions and her office hours she is always available.

Frances Gulick
MATH115

Anonymous
12/02/2012

Overall terrible experience. teacher does not care about students. Course is basically taught to oneself. Homeworks (on webassign) have material not taught or even gone over in class. I felt like putting in minimal effort on the work required gave the same outcome as putting in my all. You will not learn from the teacher or from the TAs during lab hours, they will tell you how to solve a problem but not explain to you how or why. Very disappointed with class because It did not help me learn the basic math necessary in order to move on confidently onto a harder math course next semester. You spend most of your time on a computer trying to learn the material by yourself. Every class (you meet once a week on mondays and then go wednesdays and fridays to lab) you are given a white paper assignment basically to ensure you attend class. these WPs are very easy but make up a very little percentage of the semester grade. The hardest part of the class are the webassign labs and homeworks which are almost impossible to complete without a TA. My TA was ben he was very disconnected with students, did not want to teach material instead, just gave a simple solution to problems in order to help students earn high points on web assign. If you HAVE to take this class, make sure you choose brad as your TA because although he may be sassy, he is clearly the most knowledgeable and is willing to put in extra time on his part in order to help you learn the material.

Frances Gulick
MATH115

Anonymous
03/01/2012

Terrible. Her lectures are 90% uninformative and she talks as if we already know the material. If I know the material I wouldn't be in the class. She doesn't focus on why something is a done a certain way and just runs through problems. That isn't really that big of a problem EXCEPT she gives us problems that are almost nothing like what's shes lectured on so when I try to use the processes, it never works out. The teaching method for this class is very poorly designed. In my experience very few people actually learn this way. In the end this class sucked dick. Just a bunch of mindless work. I asked her what I could do to improve myself. She told me to read the book.

Frances Gulick
MATH115

Anonymous
05/01/2010

She is a good teacher, I just find that her grading is too hard. I also feel like she may be a bit bias towards certain people when it comes to grades. Whoever called her the devil was absolutely correct. She will smile in your face and will still fail you. You will have to study every night in this class. You don't really have to go to the lectures. Unfortunately, she has "white papers" and pop quizzes that are part of your grade which forces you to go to class each day. I do not recommend you take her. You are going to struggle and get irritated with how she grades. Being in her class has made me hate the name Gulick. Take a different professor. Since her husband also teaches, I would stay away from him as well.

Timothy Pilachowski
MATH115

Expecting a C
Anonymous
01/13/2008

Awful professor. 5-10 minutes late to almost every class, and makes terrible excuses for his lateness. As a result of his lateness, he tries to rush through the lecture. He is also very rude. He makes students feel stupid when they ask a question. Most people ask questions because he teaches too fast, BECAUSE OF HIS CONSTANT LATENESS. He also puts tricky problems on the quizzes even though we only get about 5 minutes to do them. As a result, you feel pressured and get text anxiety easily because you feel rushed. Also, he will make a mistake while solving a problem in class, and then he will say, "I was just testing you to see if you would catch me." HAHA! I don't think so. He needs to own up to his own mistakes. I do not recommend him. Look for another professor teaching that class.

Justin Wyss-Gallifent
MATH115

Expecting an A
jjubar
10/29/2007

He teaches in a way that makes everyone understand everything, and is very receptive to questions. He also has a great sense of humor, so it makes it bearable to do math at 8am.

Reviews for MATH115