Reviews for MATH461

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Allan Yashinski MATH461 Expecting an A Anonymous 03/11/2024	The Goat. The absolute Goat
Allan Yashinski MATH461 Expecting an A- Anonymous 02/28/2024	great
Allan Yashinski MATH461 Expecting a C Anonymous 12/21/2023	This professor is overrated. He wasn’t friendly or encouraging at all. Exams aren’t too bad, however, he does throw in some curve balls and he doesn’t give too much partial credit either. Also, He didn't curve the class even though a test average was in the low 70s. The final is worth 30%, so don’t expect a walk in the park…
Allan Yashinski MATH461 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 12/20/2023	Great class
Allan Yashinski MATH461 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/20/2023	Fall 2023: 5 MATLABS, 3 Midterms, 12 HWs. To begin with, HANDS DOWN he is the best professor I've ever had. He is incredibly engaging and clear in teaching linear algebra. I ended up not going to class in person for most of the semester, but the videos were clear, concise, and very easy to understand. Put it at 1.25x if you find him a little slow. The MATLABs are easy though the last two might take a little more time. The sample tests he provided were very accurate for the 2 midterms and final. Still, the third midterm diverged from the sample material a little (resulted in a median of 70 on that test, but it usually hovered around 80-85). Homeworks are very easy, but great for testing your understanding. Do the list of extra textbook problems and you are set. As other people said, he is the GOAT of the math department for sure. TAKE HIM!!!
Allan Yashinski MATH461 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 12/12/2023	Allan is a fantastic professor, he explains concepts super easily and makes linear algebra extremely enjoyable. Additionally, every lecture is posted online, so no problem if you miss a lecture! He grades very fairly and has practice exams posted for every exam, you should jump at the opportunity to take a course with him. The only thing better than the course itself is Allan's ponytail (if you are reading this Allan, never cut it).
Allan Yashinski MATH461 Expecting an A- Anonymous 11/29/2023	4 matlab, 3 midterm, hwk (these are very short and purely for a grade and not practice) every week but not during midterm week, and a final. He provides practice mids and finals. Also extra a list of extra textbook problems. Recorded lectures, but first class i genuinely tried to make it to every lecture possible. Undisputed goat.
Allan Yashinski MATH461 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 10/27/2023	Professor Yashinski is truly one of the most impressive math professors I’ve ever had. He has a way of making linear algebra very easy to understand, straightforward, and honestly enjoyable. I can’t think of any of my previous math professors who would be able to make math this easy to follow. He gives great examples and often starts a lecture with a short recap of the previous lecture, and any relevant previous material, to make sure the class truly understands the concepts in this class. He’s really good at linking old knowledge with new knowledge. If you get the opportunity to take a class with Yashinski, do it.
Allan Yashinski MATH461 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/28/2023	unbelievable professor all around. Lectures were great and every lecture is also posted online. Weekly assignments are easy yet useful. Matlabs are easy. Exams are fair, not time sensitive whatsoever, and are very similar to the practice exams he gives. Hes also a really nice guy that wants to help out his students. 10/10 could not recommend him enough. I went out of my way to take math401 with him the semester after taking math461.
Allan Yashinski MATH461 Expecting a B- HashedString 05/26/2023	I did somewhat mediocre in the class but that is entirely my fault. He teaches pretty clearly and has COVID lecture recordings all posted. It's easy to follow the content due to this. Additionally, he posts 3 sample exams for every midterm and final which makes reviewing nice. Every exam ran around a flat ~80% average which is decent. Be warned though that your grade on the exams can swing a little bit due to the fact that they have like only 4 questions and there's only some partial credit. Homeworks are fair and usually pretty easy to get max points. Matlab projects are easy but very tedious (like all math matlabs) His lectures are a decent mix of theoretical content and practice problems done step by step.
Allan Yashinski MATH461 Expecting an A- Anonymous 05/20/2023	Fantastic lecturer. Weekly home works that should be easy if you're not behind on lectures, and 4 MATLAB projects that are also fairly easy. He provides 3 practice exams for each midterm + final, and the actual exam is similar to the practices. Note that there will probably be no curve because everyone tends to do well in this class.
Allan Yashinski MATH461 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 04/12/2023	class is easy and he is nice
Allan Yashinski MATH461 Expecting a B Anonymous 12/12/2022	Thoroughly pleasant, easy to understand, and fair lectures. I really don't like the course material and as such the material was a bit difficult, but he really simplified it as much as one could. Exams were fair and very similar to the sample exams he provides, and the only thing that ever really hurt my grade on the exams were the slightly more out-there conceptual questions, generally in the form of T/F.
Sanghoon Na MATH461 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 08/18/2022	Nice teacher of 461, detailed notes and well managed class. Exams tend to be harder than homework
James Hanson MATH461 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/20/2022	I would definitely recommend Hanson for 461. I'll admit it could be a little boring at times, but that's kind of the nature of linear algebra. He teaches you everything you need to know in a fairly stress-free environment. Exams were mostly straightforward so long as you understand the material on the practice exams. Homework sets and Matlab projects were also reasonable. If you put a bit of work into understanding the material, you should definitely do well in this course.
Allan Yashinski MATH461 Expecting a B Anonymous 05/17/2022	Yashinski is the best math professor I have ever had. He is very clear with what he is teaching, and his exams were at moderate level. I don't think this course was stressful. Matlabs and weekly assignments really helped me understand the material, so make sure you do them!
James Hanson MATH461 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/16/2022	If you just want to pass the course with a good grade and don't care much about learning the material, Hanson is perfect for you. His lectures are very theoretical and abstract, but he gives extremely good reviews for exams to the point where it is almost difficult to not get an A as long as you are studying and care enough. That being said, if the material in linear algebra is actually important to you you are probably better off taking a better professor if one is available. However, if only the really bad professors are available Hanson is definitely a big step above them, as you can tell he cares about the students and he is always quick and open to respond to any kind of questions asked during lectures/email. Also, take his lectures being bad with a grain of salt since I am fairly certain my class was his first time teaching Math461, and it is possible that the lectures will improve in the future.
Matei Machedon MATH461 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 12/23/2021	Dr. Machedon is one of the best math professors at UMD. He makes exams straightforward, assigns homework that helps learn the concepts and applications, and has an incredibly fair grading strategy. He made a fairly complex class straightforward, and focused on applications more than theoretical knowledge which was excellent for a course full of engineers, not mathematicians.
Ruiwen Shu MATH461 Expecting a B+ SGAAirways 05/23/2021	Every assignment in the class is fair and he is very responsive to students' concerns. Doesn't do any - grades so that's also great. He is an easy grader as well, but just watch out for the final, since it would involve higher level questions that you may not have practiced beforehand.
Ruiwen Shu MATH461 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/21/2021	His lectures were great - super easy to digest because he presents information well. He is responsive to questions. He is very lenient in his grading and grading policy. If anything I would've liked a little more practice work - beyond homework you only have discussions and the textbook for more practice. He also has an accent but it's not hard to understand him.
Allan Yashinski MATH461 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 05/20/2021	Amazing professor. Very concise and well-explained lectures. I had a terrible math professor last semester, and taking 461 with Allan was the perfect way to recover from such a bad experience. Exams were definitely tricky, especially the later ones, but I thought they were 99.99% fair. There's one question I'm still scratching my head over, but either way, I think he did a good job. The online environment felt very similar to the in-person one, which was nice. The MATLAB projects were pretty easy. Very efficient grading.
Allan Yashinski MATH461 Expecting a P Anonymous 05/18/2021	I do not think Allan is a bad professor at all, in fact he is one of the better professors at UMD. However, I do not think he did an "amazing" job with the online semester as most of the reviews are stating below. The lectures were great and he was great at explaining things, however, his exams were essentially a race against the clock. The grades on the exams averaged in the B range, which is actually great so it may have just been me not doing too hot, but for students who don't do well in time pressure, it is highly important that you have a deep understanding of the topics. Some of the questions on these exams were also iffy and people tended to lose a lot of points on True/False questions which is something to look out for. Sometimes questions on the exams were stuff that i had never seen before, and this is coming from a guy who did all the optional homework too. Overall, I definitely think he is a strong professor, just dont let your guard down and be lax about the class because it really is not an easy A
Allan Yashinski MATH461 Expecting a C- Anonymous 03/12/2021	This professor gives 50 minute exams on tedious long material and he doesn't care at all that we can barely finish it. It's a race, barely even a test of your comprehension, it's so stressful. People who are not so speedy fast at calculations fail, even when we study and understand the material. I don't know why I haven't seen a single review on here or on ratemyprofessor about this, because if I had seen a warning like this I wouldn't have taken him.
Terence Long MATH461 Expecting an A Anonymous 02/07/2021	Terence is one of my favorite math professors at UMD. He explains concepts very well in a straightforward but easy to understand way and is accommodating to questions during lecture. He's laid back and reasonable with his expectations, overall a nice guy. Only downfall was that he could be hard to get in touch with outside of class or office hours.
Antoine Mellet MATH461 Expecting a B Anonymous 01/12/2021	Has a French accent but I had no issues understanding him—it was even comical at times. His lectures were just fine, exams were mostly fair. Small 3% curve to final grade at the end.
Terence Long MATH461 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/25/2020	Dr. Long is a laid back, but captivating professor who teaches the material in a straightforward, clear way. The assignments and exams weren't tricky or confusing at all, and he made sure to be as accommodating as possible during the pandemic.
Amin Gholampour MATH461 Anonymous 08/11/2020	I highly recommend Dr. Gholampour, he did just about everything you could ask for in an online class. Prerecorded lectures to watch any time, and organized lecture notes. A list of practice problems to go over with the textbook. 24 hour exams that were fair. Very willing to help students. Very generous curve, for the summer he let the final grade replace the midterm grade if the final was higher. Also a great teacher - gave clear explanations for everything and provided a good balance between applications and proofs.
Antoine Mellet MATH461 Expecting an A Anonymous 06/25/2020	Good professor. Goes through lectures pretty quickly so you have to be paying attention to follow along. Homework and assignments are very reasonable, exams are very fair and similar to homework problems. Learned a lot in his class!
Jonathan Fernandes MATH461 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 05/23/2020	Professor Fernandes is one of the best professors in the Math department. I have not had a professor who was more concerned with his student's success. He made the linear algebra easy to understand, with his very clear and precise notes. Overall, Professor Fernandes is by far the best option for taking MATH461.
Jonathan Fernandes MATH461 Expecting a C+ Anonymous 05/22/2020	Genuinely wants you to learn, is extremely organized (has some killer notes), is easy to talk to, makes expectations clear, and was accommodating and compassionate during these corona times. If you really enjoy math and there are things outside the scope of this class that you want to explore then Fernandes is your guy. It is clear he loves math and he really cares that you learn. He is more than willing to talk math with you even if it is not something in the class. Overall great guy.
Samuel Braunfeld MATH461 Expecting an A+ kjmehta 05/17/2020	Easy enough to follow along with, understanding guy. Made 461 really easy after covid made everything online, but even before he was a good lecturer and everything.
Samuel Braunfeld MATH461 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/16/2020	Seriously a wonderful guy. Easily the most accomodating of all of the professors I have had after COVID struck. Instead of doing what most other professors did and slightly altering the course schedule, Braunfeld completely changed the class structure, moving all assignments to a fully-online platform, dropping the final exam in place of quizzes, and various other accommodations. Braunfeld's in-person lecture style may be a turnoff for some, but I found it refreshing. Since linear algebra produces many reformulations of the same type of system, Braunfeld took the first couple of weeks slow, really ensuring that we understood Gaussian elimination and other techniques. From there he flew through the rest of the material, using the solid foundation we had (hopefully) built up to prove various properties of linear systems and working in the various formalisms. Braunfeld also provided a geometric intuition, which was nice to see, as spatial systems are usually easier to understand than numerical ones. Braunfeld often proves his claims, which for some students may be confusing at first glance. I know that some 200-level courses generally shirk proofs to get to the material, relegating the explanation to the textbook. Because linear algebra is fairly simple at this level, most of the proofs were immediately obvious and came from easy-to-remember properties of matrices and systems. It is an important skill regardless, so this may be one of the best times to learn how to follow a proof. The assignments themselves were easy, which I feel is a reflection of the professor. The lenience of the homework meant that I received a perfect score on each one, as they do not lock you out after a small number of attempts. The exam problems are usually of the same ilk as the homework, and the TAs stressed that you can always check your answers. I finished the first midterm in about half the time provided. Even though the class average was pretty high, Braunfeld will not curve negatively. I highly recommend him, as clearly he knows how to convey the material to his students. You will know linear algebra well by the end of the semester if you take Braunfeld. Overall,
Jonathan Fernandes MATH461 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/08/2020	Good professor. Easy exams with high averages and adjusted due dates on MATLABs and homeworks to accommodate the unusual situation the pandemic put us all in. He genuinely cares about his students and I highly recommend taking any class with him.
Samuel Braunfeld MATH461 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 05/06/2020	Had him for COVID461. He makes it easy to do well in the course. Multiple attempts on homework problems, explicit exam review sessions, and group work for MATLABS. He does talk fast and you should definitely read beforehand or you won't understand what he's saying. And he makes about 3 mistakes per lecture which we always catch luckily. His second time teaching this course though idk. From my interactions with him after class and asking questions he seems patient enough. I'd take him again.
Antoine Mellet MATH461 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/17/2019	The best math professor I have had in undergrad mostly because of his lecture style. He makes an effort to coherently explain concepts with CONCRETE EXAMPLES IN CLASS, leaving time for questions so students understand the material and how to apply it to specific problems (which in my experience is not always the standard). Definitely a native French speaker so he has a fun accent, but no problems at all with understanding what he is saying and nothing lost in translation. Easy Matlab, no quizzes, online homework once a week that is comprehensive and makes you practice until you understand (but no credit deduction for wrong attempts like Pearson Mastering software or ExpertTA which is very respectable). Linear Algebra is a very important course for most engineering students (but not required for some reason), and after debating between MATH 240 and MATH 461, I am glad I took 461 with Mellet. I would take another class with him but this was my last math class at UMD.
Manoussos Grillakis MATH461 Expecting an A- Anonymous 11/27/2019	Terrible lecturer. He knows what he's talking about but he keeps everything way too theoretical. By the end of the semester, only around 10% of the class was going to lecture. The only saving grace was that the exams weren't too hard
Manoussos Grillakis MATH461 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/21/2019	Lectures can be a bit hard to follow, but class is easy. No required attendance or quizzes. 3 exams during semester, lowest of which is dropped. Exams are very easy
Manoussos Grillakis MATH461 Expecting an A Anonymous 04/15/2019	This guy is a terrible prof. I took an intro level linear algebra in high school and enjoyed it greatly but i was unable to get credit for it because it wasn't ap. Then i took math461 expecting to further my knowledge on a topic i already enjoyed. I start the semester going to every lecture but it soon became apparent there was nothing to be learned from this man. I now skip every lecture relying completely on teaching myself. Admittedly the tests aren't hard and the hw is very easy, but don't expect to learn much.
Manoussos Grillakis MATH461 Expecting a C Anonymous 12/15/2018	guys bruh like I literally got a 29% on his exam bruh, the class average was literally 48%, I left like 3 questions blank basically. Good news is the class is curved like Messi curves his freekicks so it'll bring my absolute poop grade to passing. Man is a nice and responsive guy but does not teach in his lectures.
Manoussos Grillakis MATH461 Anonymous 12/13/2018	the guy's smart, but his lectures are way too theoretical and boring. i mean yeah linear algebra is pretty conceptually based, but his lectures were so boring and counter intuitive. like the first thing we should learn is how to RREF, but one the first day he basically just did RREF examples without even explaining what the hell was going on. honestly one of the worst lecturers for a MATH240 equivalent, seems much better at teaching real math400s his grading is the nicest part, and there was extra credit as well. but as of now, the averages for the tests were high 60s, and then one below a 50%. he literally put a problem that was from the next chapter on one of his tests, and even with the generous grading the class should still be technically curved, considering that if you got the average on every test you'd have a 60% in the class, which is barely passing by most standards(C-). take this class if you're willing to really learn on your own and get a really good grasp of linear algebra. otherwise,go take 240 and have better professors actually teach you how to do most of the crap.
Manoussos Grillakis MATH461 Expecting a C Anonymous 12/13/2018	Very poor instructor, does not explain what he is doing when teaching a new subject. Tests are very difficult with many true false questions in which you have to prove why it is true or false. He will teach out of order from the text book and will be teaching many sections ahead of what is relevant for an upcoming exam. I highly recommend choosing another instructor.
Manoussos Grillakis MATH461 Expecting an A Anonymous 11/21/2018	Grillakis gets a lot of average reviews because he gives easy tests and a nice curve. However, if you want to actually learn something, and you're not in the top 1-2% of students who pick up material instantly, then expect to do a lot of work yourself. For MATH461, he teaches in the largest lecture hall in the Armory, without a microphone, and speaks at barely above a whisper. For comparison, there's some guy who sits in the fifth row or so who always eats takeout during class and his chewing and burping is louder than Grillakis's lecturing. Furthermore, Grillakis is unclear about what material he teaches simply because it's cool to know and the material he expects us to know for exams. His lectures seem like he's just rambling and he does not indicate clearly when switching between topics. He also does very few practice problems. Although some of the TAs are actually very good, Grillakis does not communicate well with the TAs about what material is being covered in lecture and what might be on the test. We also were not provided with sample or practice exams. It's impossible to know the difficulty, length, and even what concepts will be tested on the exams. Like another review said, the grades are only based on three midterms (lowest gets dropped) and the final. Later in the semester, he informed us there would be MATLAB assignments for extra credit. If you want to learn the material on your own and get a pretty easy A, take Grillakis. Otherwise, avoid Grillakis for MATH461.
Manoussos Grillakis MATH461 Anonymous 11/21/2018	Grillakis uses the textbook heavily, so if you read that you should be fine. He is very generous in his grading, offers extra credit assignments, and drops your lowest exam grade. Not a fantastic lecturer, as lectures can be dry and uninteresting. Overall though, he is a decent professor and I would take him again.
Manoussos Grillakis MATH461 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 09/11/2018	The worst professor I’ve had at this school, and that’s saying a lot because most professors here have been really bad. He comes to class without a mic in a large lecture hallway in the armory, practically whispers, writes illegibly on the board, and seems to directly take definitions from the book and write them down without a single example. Really bad.
Konstantina Trivisa MATH461 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 04/17/2018	Really good teacher made class really easy. No curve at the end though. needed .5 to get an A in the class but she didn't give
Allan Yashinski MATH461 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 12/31/2017	Teaching: He's a great teacher, explains concepts well, pretty much on par with the required textbook. Chill guy. Format: There are two midterms. The second one is harder than the first. The difficulty with getting an A in this class is the true false questions. A lot of them are similar to his optional homework problems, but there are so many of them to study that most people end up losing points on the true and false. I got a 93 on the first exam and a B- on the second one due to mainly true and false errors. I ended up with a B+ in the course, since the final was hard. The weekly quizzes are easy and based off of examples quickly taught in lectures, even though they're supposed to be based off of the optional homework. The matlab projects are very straightforward. The hard part is the exams. Since there is so much material to cover, its very easy to forget important varieties of problems, some of which you may have hardly seen which surprisingly appear on exams. MATLAB Projects 15% Quizzes 15% Midterm Exams 40% Final Exam 30%
Niranjan Ramachandran MATH461 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 06/25/2013	Ramachandran is the only teacher that I have felt the need to sign up and review. He is incredibly knowledgeable and extremely approachable. For those of you who wish to learn and want a teacher you can talk to, take his class. If you are the type who just wants a minimum work A look elsewhere. This teacher will make you a better student, this is a teacher where your tuition is worth it.
Melissa Macasieb MATH461 Expecting an A Anonymous 01/02/2013	She's pretty clear during lectures, although she writes at a rapid-fire pace. Took me most of the semester to realize that it's better to just pay attention and write down useful examples since she (mostly) teaches straight from the book's chapters. Exams are pretty straightforward and similar to practice exams, although they may emphasize different topics. Homework collected only for completion. Overall, this is probably one of the easiest math courses available for scientists/engineers to take.
Melissa Macasieb MATH461 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/26/2012	I'm not going to give a very long review for Dr. Macasieb because I stopped going to lecture after the first month but here goes: As far as her skill as a lecturer, I thought that Dr. Macasieb was pretty good; a 3.9/5. She has a normal accent which counts for a lot and she's pretty dry (follows the book and the concepts in a pretty straightforward) so she's not really bad, per se. That being said, I didn't find her lectures to be very interesting and she did tend to make mistakes often enough where it made some things confusing. It got to the point where I figured (correctly) that I could just learn the material out of the book and not really miss out on anything I would have learned in lecture so that's what I did and I ended up with an A no problem. As far as homeworks go, her assignments took quite a while...I'm talking a minimum of 2.5 hours if you didn't put much effort into them and around 4 if you did. They all came straight out of the textbook so they definitely helped to strengthen the concepts of the class. Basically, it ended up being the same thing as getting points for studying. The Matlabs were also really easy and most of them took me around an hour (where a decent part of that was making it look nice and revising it). Her exams were straightforward and, as far as math exams go, pretty easy. Overall I definitely recommend her for a linear (or any) class. Her lectures were a bit boring in my opinion but other than that she was an awesome professor. If you're good at math then you'll probably get a B with almost no effort and probably an A if you put in the time that any class deserves.
Antoine Mellet MATH461 Expecting a B kvizzle321 01/02/2012	No quizzes, easy homeworks and matlab assignments, and straightforward exams. MATH461 is a fairly easy class and Mellet is a laid back professor. Lectures are helpful but you can easily read the book and learn the material and still succeed in the class. I suggest taking MATH461 as a upper level engineering elective.
Antoine Mellet MATH461 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/27/2011	I would absolutely take more classes with Dr. Mellet given the chance. He was extremely organized with our class, and followed the book pretty closely. However, if you attended lecture, you could learn pretty much everything there and did not have to rely on the book much at all. You will need it for the homework, though. He is not the type of teacher to throw a curveball on the test. He gives out practice exams, which are a pretty good indicator of what you will need to know. If you navigate his website, you can find his old course pages and find exams from previous years. If you do 2-3 sample exams for each test, you should have no problem. The homework assignments are time consuming, but are not usually very difficult. Matlab assignments are pretty easy as well, and if you just put the time into doing them, it should be a free 10% of your grade. He weights your lowest test as half of your other test grades. Overall, this course was easy, and he taught it very well. It's not a bad idea to take this and differential equations at the same time, since the end of the course is pretty similar in both.
Antoine Mellet MATH461 Expecting an A Anonymous 08/25/2011	He is an ok teacher. Homework is graded mostly on completion and the matlab assignments are easy. Mellet pretty much rewrites the book on the board, so you can find nearly all the notes and examples that he posts in the book. This was frustrating at times for me because if i had a hard time understanding the book, Mellet didnt help too much. The material was hard for me to understand, because it was very abstract. I didn't fully grasp many of the fundamental concepts until midway through the semester. But if you study hard and do all the example problems in the book, and you go to discussion and ask questions, you can succeed in this class. If you need an upper level math credit to take, this class with mellet is a good option.
Antoine Mellet MATH461 Expecting an A terp315 06/25/2011	Honestly, I didn't go to lecture that often since the material came straight out of the book. However, when I did go, lectures were informative and easy to follow along to. The exams he gave were very fair and straight forward. Overall, I would definitely recommend 461 with Mellet.
Antoine Mellet MATH461 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/18/2010	Overall he is a good mathematics professor. The class is easy and his grading criteria is pretty straight forward. 3 tests, homework each week (time consuming and definitely not eco-frindly ... wasting a lot of paper) two homeworks are dropped. He has a cool French accent. I would certainly recommend him for ENEE461.
Antoine Mellet MATH461 Expecting an A mreese 12/05/2010	If you find algebra intuitive, you can miss every lecture and do well in this class. However, Mellet made it quite enjoyable to be in lecture with his attractive accent and clear, organized lectures (he follows the book most of the time). Professor Mellet is really friendly and was excited to answer my questions unrelated to course material when I showed up at his office in the morning unannounced. There are no quizzes in Mellet's 461, but the weekly homework questions were selected well to emphasize important skills. Tests (three total) were all straightforward, but graders may take off more points than you're used to for simple things like arithmetic errors in order to lower grades (not a big deal, but test averages are high in this class). Overall, a highly enjoyable and easy class with a great teacher.
Michael Jakobson MATH461 Expecting an A- Anonymous 05/19/2010	WORST PROFESSOR. 20 people went to class regularly (armory room is full on test days) because his lectures are that bad. Can't understand him. Can't read his awful handwriting. Tests have many curve-balls and are completely different each time. Very hard to study for. Tests did not represent knowledge of subject. I retook this class because I didn't get transfer credit. Got A+ last time - barely, barely squeezed an A- this time even though the material was the exact same. Stay far away from this professor.
Michael Jakobson MATH461 frakking_geek 05/07/2010	The overall material itself was mildly interesting. I wish I could say the same however for Professor Jakobson's lectures. After the first 15 minutes on the first day, I realized that I was never going to learn a single thing from his class and that the semester was going to essentially be an independent study in Linear Algebra. His lectures are dry and boring, assuming one can read his handwriting on the chalkboard or understand his accent. And if you can get past both of them, that's also assuming that you can stay awake after listening to a couple of minutes of his monotone speech. Overall, going to lecture was a waste if you try to pay attention and learn from him. However, they were very productive as a good study environment if you took the textbook in class and just taught yourself the material from the book as he was lecturing on it. I can guarantee that most of the other people in that lecture would agree with me in how only a handful of us would show up to lecture each time. Even then, the number of students in lecture would exponentially decay as time went on, starting from the first couple of minutes of class, with students leaving as though they came to lecture with the hope that it would be somewhat effective in learning the material, forgetting just how bad Jakobson’s lectures are and then being hit with the same revelation each time that it really was pointless to show up to class. Again, I was probably one of the few that regularly came to class and that was due solely to the fact that I realized that if I was able to tune out the lecture, I was able to teach myself the material from the book and understand it on a much deeper level than I could ever hope to gain from listening to Jakobson’s lectures. I can confidently say that this class has by far been the one with the least effective professor I’ve ever had in my entire time I have been in school, going as far back as pre-k.
Matei Machedon MATH461 Anonymous 05/05/2010	Personally, I love Matei. He is very approachable and helpful, but the reason I gave him a 4/5 and not 5/5 is because to be truthful he is not particularly user-friendly at times. This is because he has handwriting that American students aren't used to, i.e. cursive, and he doesn't write all that largely. He does indeed have a Russian accent, but it's not difficult to understand after the first class or so...but then again, I know many non-native speakers and may just be used to it.
Matei Machedon MATH461 Expecting an A Fargalas 03/27/2010	I've taken Math461 and currently 246 with Machedon. No joke, as others have said, he is pretty much the nicest guy in the whole CMPS college. He really goes out of his way to explain things outside of class if you want extra help. His exams are fair, homework is generally minimal(in collection, at least), but covers what you really need to know. You will definitely want to do something extra, or review that homework, if you expect to understand the material, though. He does have an accent, but it's not hard to understand, and he really does lecture excellently. I'm really hoping to have more classes with him in the future.
Matei Machedon MATH461 Expecting an A talonstriker 12/19/2009	Aliesh pretty much nailed it. The guy is a brilliant professor and an overall nice guy. The 1 homework per week is a bit annoying, only because I hate going to discussions. The exams will be easy if you understand the practice exams and attend the review sessions. In every exam, 70% of the points will be for basic problems that are absolutely pre-requisite. The next 20% is a bit more challenging but not too hard. 10% will be hard as ajkhdajlkshd. He uses this to weed out people who actually understand the material and those two regurgitate formulas well (such as myself). The final was incredibly hard for those who didn't do the practice exams. Those who did the practice exams, found it a cakewalk.
Matei Machedon MATH461 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/17/2009	His class was a bit too easy in hindsight, but seeing as this was my last semester here and I was juggling a job, interviews, research and coursework, it's probably a good thing. Machedon knows his audience; if you take him for a general level math or engineering course (200 level and 461 etc) he is NOT really going to challenge you very much. If you take him for a pure math course, however, he will expect a lot more out of you. He assigns homework every week which I essentially copy pasted from the solutions manual (many times without looking twice at it) and there was one laughably easy MATLAB assignment. Aside from being incredibly intelligent, Matei is a really nice guy and it will come across clear as day the moment you are in class with him. He is devoted to the subject and if you put in an effort, it will be rewarded. Not a bad class, but I would have liked a bit more of a challenge.
Matei Machedon MATH461 guru 10/01/2009	Sometimes lectures are difficult to follow but the fact that he is probably the nicest professor you will ever meet makes up for it. If you ever need extra time on homework or something just talk to him he'll probably allow you to do so. Sometimes he requires you to solve matrix equations using tricks that he teaches in class, so go. FYI his final was also somewhat difficult.
Matei Machedon MATH461 Anonymous 12/22/2008	The lectures are at times tough to understand, but overall a decent lecturer. There was very little MATLAB for this course and his exams were usually pretty fair.
Matei Machedon MATH461 aleish 12/19/2008	Professor Machedon definitely knows what he is talking about and while he does have an eastern European accent, his diction and grammar is better than almost any native English speaker that I know. I can understand every word, it is just not as easy on the ears as Sean Connery. In this class, the homework assignments are graded by the TA's and we have two mid-term exams and a final. The material comes across as abstract and without applications, but I realized that he is giving us is the theory and we will apply it in later engineering classes. The material is also very different from previous math courses because a lot of it cannot be visualized, which made it difficult for me at first. But with study and practice it is not impossible to do well on the exams. I am glad that I took this class. Also, the author of the book has video lectures on iTunes U and on the MIT website, where there is also other practice material. This is extremely useful and I would definitely recommend using this resource!! I decided not to take MATH240 because it met almost everyday, whereas 461 only has lecture twice a week.
Matei Machedon MATH461 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/17/2008	I wasn't a fan of his teaching style but his exams were generally easy. No quizzes and his grade breakdown was fairly simple. The book he uses is horrible. If you could take the other professor Lay, I would. His exams were really straight up but his final was difficult...so conceptual.
Casey Cremins MATH461 Expecting a B Anonymous 03/03/2008	good prof. gives out practice tests which are very close to his real tests. very good teacher as well. explains everything really well.
McBlaine Boyle MATH461 Anonymous 11/06/2007	Took Linear Algebra with Boyle a few semesters ago, and he was a really great teacher. Broke the material down, and gave a bunch of examples. I would definitely suggest taking a class with him, he's pretty good.