Mestiyage Gunatilleka

This professor has taught: DATA400, DATA604, MATH113, MATH120, MATH140, MATH141, MATH141H, MATH240, MATH246H, MATH310, STAT400, STAT401, STAT410, STAT420, SURV410

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Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT400 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/28/2025	In case you're wondering, Danul and Mestiyage are two of the names for the same guy. Nothing brilliant, nothing flawed about STAT400 with Gunatilleka. He has a system figured out, and it worked for me. Safest/least risky choice. - 30% final, 2x15% midterm, 3x4% R Project, 28% (~8) homework. - Homeworks discussed in Discussion, people actually go surprisingly - R projects mildly annoying, but like the homeworks, a grade booster - Exams had slightly lower than typical averages, but nothing crazy. There were four versions of each exam, so it was pretty formulaic without curveballs. - Lectures recorded, handwritten notes, ~20% attendance. Many places to learn the content. He's a fine teacher, speaks clearly, etc, so I went, and that was enough. Just don't think too deeply at times. That could cost you your sanity. We don't spend much time on derivations, so turn your brain off and apply the formulas.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT401 Expecting an A- Anonymous 05/24/2025	A goated professor who cares about students success and is very helpful. He is very lenient with grading and has fair exams but be sure to study as things could get tricky. PROS: 1) Good grading 2) Nice professor 3) Small class CONS: 1) Not recored lecture 2) Somewhat theoretical at some points I call him MDDKG and he is one mountain goat
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT400 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 05/23/2025	Assignments are almost free 100's, so it's down to the exams, which aren't too bad if you know your calculus (and can be bothered to study). He provides an extremely generous study guide with answers, and makes both his lecture recordings and writings accessible. No quizzes too, which is really nice. As generous as the assignments are I felt like Danul explained concepts in lecture in extremely roundabout and confusing ways, and I personally found it better to learn from the TA or the textbook as a primary source, but also useful to peek at the lecture notes and such secondarily.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT400 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 05/22/2025	Great professor, explains content well overall. Sometimes he rushes through examples but he's very receptive when you ask him to explain something again. Exams are super fair and homework is gone over in weekly discussions before due. Class can sometimes be a bit of a snoozefest but Danul is by far the best option for STAT400 and I would highly recommend him.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka DATA604 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 05/22/2025	Professor is great but seriously I never came to know what he expects in his subject. he would ask simple question but while checking he needs a lot of things and its very unintuitive.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka MATH120 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 05/21/2025	Overall a fine professor. Has a bit of an accent but easy enough to understand. He definitely over explains things and over complicates simple topics. You will take a ton of notes in his class and he re-writes every problem even the wordy ones this causes him to have to rush toward the end of lecture. All his lectures are recorded which is nice. Gave good practice for midterm exams but did not give any practice material for the final besides old finals. (The questions change every year so it’s not a great representation). Responds to emails quickly. He is a fine professor having a high-school background in calculus will definitely be helpful as this is a pretty fast paced course.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka MATH120 Expecting an A- Anonymous 05/21/2025	Overall, I would say that he is a pretty good professor. Only thing I didn’t like was that he would sometimes over explain things that would end up taking 5 mins. Then this would lead him to rushing towards the end of the class, making things more confusing. Other than that, he answers all the students questions. His study guides for midterms are also very similar to what is actually on the exam (besides 1 question sometimes). There are also weekly quizzes in discussion (besides exam weeks). One thing about the TA though is that he would sometimes jump a few steps in calculating things which would then confuse some students. Other than that, I liked both the professor and TA.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT401 Expecting a B Anonymous 05/20/2025	As a stats newbie, I loved STAT401 with Danul! His class is super organized, covering hypothesis tests, ANOVA, linear regression, and more at a perfect pace. Danul's notes are crystal clear, and he's a chill grader who gives homework extensions and cares about your success. Some tricky concepts could use clearer explanations, but stats is tough, so I get it. If you're at UMD, take his class! Pro tip: bring snacks to office hours. Danul's a snack king and he will be extremely grateful. Highly recommend!
Mestiyage Gunatilleka MATH120 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/20/2025	He is truly amazing and makes calc easy to learn. He is old fashion in the sense he uses pen and paper to do everything but it works for him. I never got less than an A on a midterm and he makes you very prepared for any midterm/final.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT400 Expecting a B Anonymous 05/18/2025	Very great and understand professors. Gives you an hour after due dates to still turn in for full credit. Study guides are very helpful for the exam, and homework's and.R projects are all fair.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka MATH120 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 05/16/2025	Good professor—sometimes gets a bit wordy when explaining things, but overall he's clear and thorough. The exams are pretty similar to the study guides, which is helpful. One tip: while the study guide problems often result in whole number answers, a decent number of exam questions ended in fractions. Make sure you're comfortable working with those—especially when dealing with derivatives and similar topics, as it can get a little confusing even if you're confident in calculus. Two of the lowest quiz grades are dropped, and the homework is fair. Lectures are recorded, so I rarely went to class, but I always attended discussion because of the quizzes. He does a great job preparing you for the exams and genuinely wants his students to succeed.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka MATH120 Expecting a B- Anonymous 05/16/2025	Professor Danul is a pretty good professor. Lectures were sometimes slow and a little iffy, but he was very helpful still. All lectures were recorded which was helpful. Discussion was not helpful to me and it would honestly just confuse me more. This class wasn't that bad, my only complaints were the study guides never covered everything that would be on the exam. Also, we didn't finish the last topic for the final until like a class or two before it (we also had a quiz in discussion the week before which I found annoying). Other than that, he's a great prof. I didn't come into this class with any calculus experience and being extremely horrible at math, and still somehow clutched a b so I recommend!
Mestiyage Gunatilleka MATH120 Expecting a B Anonymous 05/14/2025	I honestly really liked Danul and I found that despite overexplaining problems and confusing some students, he's a great professor. You definitely need to come in with some knowledge on basic algebra, but it's fine because the quizzes during discussions always makes sure you to stay up to date with your basic math skills. If you study and learn how to answer all the questions on the study guides(literally learn how to do them because similar problems show up on exams), you will do so well in this class. It isn't difficult and all resources are handed to you in order to excel.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka MATH120 Expecting an A- Anonymous 05/12/2025	It took a few lectures for me to get used to his teaching style, but once I did the class was super easy. The study guides prepare you for the exams really well and the exams are fairly easy if you do study. The homework isn't an overwhelming amount, but the questions are usually a lot harder than what you would see on the exams. He uses MingPress which isn't a great platform as if you get a problem wrong it doesn't tell you the correct answer. The quizzes are also reasonable and if you study you'll do good. Overall I really recommend Danul for this course.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka MATH120 Expecting a B Anonymous 05/12/2025	Danul is a great guy and is very understanding. He can be a bit wordy at times but I know he means well. I almost failed pre-calc last semester so I was a bit worried coming into calc in the spring. However, as long as you do the study guides and re-watch lectures you'll be fine. The only thing I would complain about is that the textbook and the homework assignments would have content we wouldn't spend that much time on, so they didn't really become a resource to me for exams.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka MATH120 Expecting an A- Anonymous 05/12/2025	Id say take him. He is a super nice professor. Yes he over explains a lot and makes things very wordy but his exams and homeworks are literally so easy if u do the study guide. Sometimes you have to teach yourself because he overcomplicates things a lot but usually the lectures are easy to follow. I was always so bad at math but this class never stressed me out. Take him you wont regret it.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka MATH120 Expecting a B Anonymous 05/09/2025	Nice guy, but one of the most boring teachers I've ever had. If you know the content you'll do well but if you have to learn it from him you'll probably be teaching it to yourself after a month in. I don't recommend him but he's not the worst.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka MATH240 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 04/30/2025	For all of the MATH120 professors, he's the best from what I've heard. The course is divided up pretty nicely and isn't too rushed. He does explain things in technical terms at some points and that can make it hard to follow along, but the material itself is not hard if you put in work outside of class. He responds quickly to emails, uploads notes and study guides that are pretty similar to the exams and he seems like a nice guy. The weekly quizzes are also not that hard and follow the material done in class. However, the TAs at least in my class were literally no help at all, I'm not sure they understood the questions students were asking half the time, I only showed up to discussion to do the quizzes because the "help" from the TAs was little to none.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka MATH120 Expecting an A- Anonymous 04/30/2025	Professor Danul is a great instructor. He explains concepts clearly and provides helpful examples during lectures. The exams are fair, and if you keep up with the homework and review the study guides, you should do well. I typically just re did the study guide the day before the exam and did fine (3 b+) One thing to keep in mind is that your experience can depend a lot on your Ta, some are more helpful than others, and unfortunately, mine struggled to explain the material clearly. That said, Professor Danul records all of his lectures, which is incredibly helpful. Since he speaks slowly and methodically, I often rewatch them at 2x speed, which works perfectly for reviewing the material.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka MATH120 Expecting an A- Anonymous 04/25/2025	Nice guy, very understanding, but genuinely one of the most boring professors I've had. Drew out points that could've been made in 2 minutes over entire lectures. I've never been someone who usually skips classes but he really tested my will to attend, I think these reviews definitely make him seem better than he is because he's nice but this class has not been a good experience, though the workload has been very easy.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT400 Expecting an A Anonymous 04/21/2025	I feel bad giving Mestiyage a low rating, as he really is a nice guy. Unfortunately the guy just cannot teach, and neither can his TAs. I learned most of the material from external resources as most websites are far better at explaining concepts intuitively than Mestiyage is. Additionally, the days of his exams being ripped straight from his practice materials appear to be over. That was not the case this semester.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT400 Expecting an A Anonymous 02/02/2025	Fall '24: His lectures are frankly very boring but I can't really fault him for anything else. At the end of the day, the material was very digestible and the work was quite easy, particularly the exams which were a breeze. He also just seems like a nice guy and the course is set up well in the sense that he responds quickly to emails, records lectures, and uploads notes. You could do a lot worse.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT400 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 01/28/2025	Pros: - Exams are very very close to the study guides/homeworks. No curveballs whatsoever. - Pauses a lot during lecture to answer questions. - Discussion is just TA’s going over homeworks and handing out homework answers. 8 homeworks per semester, 6 questions each (except the first one, which is 5 questions) - Responds to emails promptly. Cons: - He often makes explanations wordy. - Some parts of statistics require intuition (counting problems). - Stats is very different from the math you are used to (calculus etc.) and will take some getting used to. Overall, I found this class more difficult than AP Calc BC. - R projects are difficult and time consuming.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT400 Expecting an A Anonymous 01/27/2025	Would give 4.5 if I could Pros: I honestly liked his lectures, they were easy to follow I thought material was super interesting and explained stats and probability from ground up straightforward exams, pretty much carbon copy of practice exams Cons: TAs kinda suck R projects you pretty much had to learn and do by yourself but they weren't bad Homeworks were sometimes MAD difficult for no reason and there was no answer key (but exams were way easier) App there was more material than other stat teachers Overall super solid professor, I learned a lot and class was not difficult by any means
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT400 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 01/24/2025	Very kind and knowledgeable. Actually wants the students to succeed. The exams had no curve balls and if you studied the exam review and homework then you will do well. prior to this class i have never taken a stat class either.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka MATH120 Expecting an A Anonymous 01/20/2025	I thought he was a good professor, sometimes he got wordy but overall he ensured students understood what he was explaining and when we ask questions he will clarify or explain further. The material was easy to understand but make sure you go to the discussions. The TAs explain the material we learned that week and there’s a quiz at the end but they were always very helpful.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT400 Expecting an A- Anonymous 01/05/2025	Decent professor. Lectures are recorded so you dont have to go to them, his lectures are similar to an audiobook of a textbook to be honest. His exams are very similar to the homework and study guide, so just memorize the questions from those and you will be perfectly fine on the exams. I haven't gone to class for two months and still ended with an A-. Additionally, by memorizing those, you can do well on the final. Imo, the discussions werent that helpful but also I did not go to them because I did not find them useful. Overall decent professor and really nice and always willing to help, just pay attention and do the homework and you will pass with flying colors.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT400 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 12/29/2024	knowledgeable, fairly patient during office hours, exact with proofs and math so explanations can be technical and feel overcomplicated, exams similar to homework
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT400 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 12/27/2024	I enjoyed these lectures a lot tbh. The professor speaks slowly enough that you have time to write everything down, and explains well with examples. He also posts notes and recordings in case you miss class or need to go back. I also just found the material interesting! Homeworks can be kind of difficult, but are doable. Same for R projects. For both, go to office hours, discussion, and chat with friends in the class. (And my personal advice is to start the final HW and R project earlier - they are a LOT harder than previous ones!) The exams are not difficult if you are able to do the homework. Two of the three TAs were not good, but hopefully he will choose better in the future. Main criticism: assignments cannot be submitted past the due date unless you email the professor and ask. There’s no % off per day late policy like most teachers have. So, do your assignments on time!! People like me who start it the day it’s due will have some stress and trouble. But always email him if you need an extension because he will probably be nice about it.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka MATH120 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/21/2024	Having prior knowledge in calculus helps a lot in this class. i never attended lecture since it was recorded and posted online. The TA's are very helpful in discussion if you have any questions. The lectures are extremely boring and the study guides didn't help a ton so I would recommend just doing practice problems from the homeworks since they represented the exams a lot more. First exam I got a B+ and the other exams I got an A/A+ on both using this method. However the average was a B- for every exam so I assume he doesn't do the best job at preparing students for the exams.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka MATH120 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/19/2024	Amazing professor who has really fair midterms and he also provides good review materials and practice for the final exam. He also records lectures so although its helpful you do not have to attend. Discussions are also easy and although theres a quiz its very simple as TAs go over the concepts beforehand and you will get a good score as long as you stay up to date with the previous weeks topics. He also provided a decent curve at the end which helped a lot. Overall the class averages on the exams were really good and as long as you put in the work doing well in this class is very doable.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka MATH120 Expecting an A- Anonymous 12/19/2024	Danul is without a doubt one of the better math teachers I've had. Quizzes every week are annoying, but if you can get Noorain as your TA because he is excellent with quiz prep. Exams are often similar to the practice exams, but ~ one problem each exam is something you haven't really seen before and requires critical thinking. Overall I'd say Danul is one of the better options for Calc 1.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT400 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/18/2024	Excellent lecturer - explains concepts well, records every lecture, and posts notes. Exams are a mirror of what's on the homework and study guide. I only had to look over my previous homework and scan through the study guide solutions to do well on the exams. Additionally, Dr. Danul was very understanding, reasonable, and just a nice person in general. I was given extensions when appropriate. Honestly, unless there is a scheduling conflict, you should take STAT400 with Dr. Danul.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT400 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 12/17/2024	Danul is a great professor who wants to see each one of his students succeed. Lectures can be a bit disorganized and drawn out at times as he spends time setting up a problem and gives more theory than needed. He does give examples regarding the problem a couple more would be helpful. Positive note, he does record and post what he does in class ! Note this class is not much like AP STATS, so if you are new to probability and the statistical world spend some time on the problems. This course is not as easy as many make it out to be, but is not hard if you do his homework problems inside and out as well as other practice from the textbook, which 99% of people neglect. His exams are mostly like the homework problems and study guide he gives you which changed up numbers, so make sure to do that as well. One complaint I have is the percentage of the final being 30% standard across the math department. One teacher had the final worth 15%. Homeworks are fairly easy and you can work on them with friends so make sure to take advantage of that opportunity. One downside is that they are graded 1/2 for completion and 1/2 for accuracy with only 3-4 problems being graded in this manner. He doesn't post answer keys so if you got something wrong you could never know but still get a 100 on the homework. He does give decent partial credit with exams. If there were 3 exams each worth 15% and the final being worth the same I think it would make the class easier and put less stress on the students grade.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka MATH120 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 12/17/2024	I was really worried about taking calc because I barely passed pre-cal in high school, but he made it so much easier to understand. I ended up getting a 100 on all of the exams because his lectures and study guides are so useful. He explains all the concepts really well and writes them down while he lectures, so he goes at a pace that's easy to follow. He also records and posts all the lectures in case you miss any or don't want to go. The homework is sometimes confusing but you get 5 attempts to get the right answer and it lines up with the textbook. He seems intimidating at first because he says that you can't make up quizzes that you miss without a university excused absence, but he's really understanding as long as you speak to him beforehand. I highly recommend him!
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT420 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 12/17/2024	I had previously taken STAT410 with him and really enjoyed the class, and I wasn’t disappointed this time either. His lectures aren’t recorded, but the in person classes are very valuable to go to, and he takes his time to answer questions so everyone is on the same page. Homeworks are typically given weekly and contain problems that were hard, yet really fun to work through. Quizzes are every Thursday and usually consist of a basic example that he likely already touched upon in the prior lecture. Exams are fair, and some curve will likely be applied at the end fo the class. I would highly recommend any class taught by him.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT400 Expecting an A homework420 12/17/2024	Super nice teacher, theres no quizzes in this class which is really nice and removed a lot of stress that would've been there for me, exams were pretty simple and exactly like the practice midterm/final so if you knew how to do every problem on that you're gonna do well on the exam
Mestiyage Gunatilleka MATH120 Expecting a C- Anonymous 12/16/2024	Very good professor and goes into detail very thoroughly. Go to discussions and there are weekly quizzes where some are very challenging. 65% of midterm study guide will be similar to exam. I didn't have calc background so I struggled with this class
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT400 Expecting an A- Anonymous 12/16/2024	Decent lecturer, but talks basically from textbook examples, and sometimes gives confusing explanations of topics that I later got explained to me much better. Homeworks, R Projects, and Exams are extremely fair, and he never gives you any question even slightly different from something that he puts in the study guide. And he curved final grades!
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT420 Expecting an A- Anonymous 12/11/2024	Awesome, awesome professor. Weekly quizzes are fair and good practice. Homeworks are relevant for the most part, and on average difficult but not impossible. Exams are also incredibly fair, and there is a practice exam posted and a review session in the class before the exam. Dr. Danul is also a great lecturer. He talks slowly, explains topics well, and constantly pauses to make sure everyone is following along. He answers questions well, and my favorite thing he does is relate material to real-world applications. I would 100% recommend taking this course with Dr. Danul, and I wish I had taken more courses with him in the past.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka MATH120 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 12/05/2024	He's a decent lecturer but a lot of the time he gets way too wordy for a math class instead of going into examples that will help us better understand the topic. GO TO THE DISCUSSIONS the TAs are very good at teaching the topics and you get a quiz at the end of each discussion. Overall if you have a calc background you'll be able to nail this class with an A but even if you don't I feel as the content is easy to pick up.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka MATH120 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/04/2024	Very very boring lectures. He goes to quick, and also uses a lot of math slang when writing that is completely unnecessary, and makes it hard to understand. I ended up not going to class after the first midterm, because it is unnecessary. Just study the exam review a day before the test, and you should be good. Worst comes to worst, hire a tutor to go through the review with you if you need help.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT400 Expecting an A Anonymous 11/29/2024	Very nice person, lectures can get a bit boring as they are mostly him writing out textbook definitions. Explanations are convoluted and it took me some time to get to the root of most concepts, but the content itself isn't too difficult. Exams, hw, and projects are all fair.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT420 Expecting a C Anonymous 10/04/2024	Extremely mid lecturer, has a lot of patience with students who keep answering wrong though. He also pauses in between sentences kind of strangely which is off putting. His quizzes are weekly which forces you to study, and they always have some kind of trick to them. His examples in class don't really help, so this is a self study type of course.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka MATH120 Anonymous 09/10/2024	Awful. Do yourself a favor and do not take his class if you haven't taken a similar class in high school. I had never taken a calculus course and was so lost. Thankfully the TA helped a lot. Never cried over a class as much as this one.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT400 Expecting an A Anonymous 07/07/2024	Overall not bad, I'd give him a 4.5 if I could. He handwrites generally legible lecture notes while lecturing and posts those with his lecture recordings which makes reviewing for exams a breeze. His homework is manageable but occasionally he assigns overly complicated textbook problems that don't resemble anything he lectured on or will put on the exam, though the easier homework problems do tend to end up on the exams. Exam content and grading are fair, and I never talked to him but he seems like a nice guy.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka MATH120 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/19/2024	Lectures are not mandatory and class notes are uploaded online. Having a good TA helps alot, my TA was super helpful and went over material over lecture in discussion very thoroughly. Weekly quizzes and hw, workload is not too heavy
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT400 Expecting an A- Anonymous 05/17/2024	TLDR: Hit or miss, depends on your learning style Personally, I thought that his lectures weren't helpful because he always explains things in hella convoluted and wordy way. Instead of a slideshow, he writes everything out in sentences on sheets of paper. He also assigns 3 R projects throughout the semester which as far as I'm aware, no other STAT400 professor does. He never teaches R either; he gives us an R guide which isn't exactly helpful so you end up having to search online for R help. I never learned anything in class so I ended up skipping and learning from the textbook and STAT400 notes from past professors. He does record and post lecture videos which is nice if you miss/skip lecture or he went too fast in class. Discussion is just going over some of the upcoming homework questions so it's pretty skippable.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT400 Expecting an A- Anonymous 05/16/2024	Danul is a wonderful lecturer and probably the best professor I've had within the MATH/STAT departments. His notes are very sufficient. Even for lectures I missed, I looked at his notes without looking at any external material and did well on the exams. His exams are also very fair and he gives you a detailed guide with practice exam questions which he abides by when making the exam. His pace can be slow at times, but it's better than being too fast. If you go to lectures, you'll do great but many people skipped but still did okay, that's not on him though. 100% recommend!
Mestiyage Gunatilleka MATH120 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 05/15/2024	If you have to take Math120, take Danul! He is a professor who actually cares about his students. He takes the time to thoroughly go through problems and answer any questions. His exams are very fair and very similar to the practice exams he gives you. Homework was straightforward and quizzes were super easy due to the amazing TAs! Take him!
Mestiyage Gunatilleka MATH120 Expecting an A- Anonymous 05/09/2024	Very disorganized. Practice exam answers are never simplified and the answers are very hard to understand. Did not post homework on elms so it was hard to stay organized. Does not explain things well and is not very approachable with questions.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka MATH120 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 05/07/2024	Amazing professor. He writes everything out as hes explaining things in lecture, and he is very clear. His handwriting is a bit messy, but its legible!! His homework assignments are very easy, as long as you paid attention in class. If you're having a hard time with them, he provides the textbook in the homework program so you can open it and complete the problem with the textbook. The homework assignments are excellent practice for his exams! There is a quiz in every discussion, but the TA goes over the lecture material before the quiz and its very easy. Exams may seem intimidating, but he sends out a practice exam and reviews the class before the exam. He is an amazing teacher and provides a lot of valuable resources, take him!! I've taken calculus before and I thought it was super hard, he made it easy!
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT400 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 05/05/2024	Great Prof. Exams are pretty easy if you can do the study guide (80% identical with different numbers). The other 20% is usually from lecture examples. Homeworks are pretty time consuming but doable and same with the projects (the last one). Who you have as your TA is also very important because for this semester one out the three TA's graded the hw's and project very harshly. If your TA's initials are SS. TRY TO SWITCH TO A DIFF SECTION. But other than that pretty chill and easy class.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka MATH120 Expecting a C+ Anonymous 04/09/2024	He explains the fundamental of a topic but then rushes through everything else when you need to know that stuff. He also speaks really slow so the class is boring to sit through. He's nice but if you need topics thoroughly explained to you I don't recommend.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT400 Expecting an A Anonymous 02/20/2024	Exams were very easy, no quizzes. Only thing that took time was the R Projects which were reproachable. However the grading for R Projects was very lax. STAT400 has the mot applicable stuff from math so far and the professor teaches it at the most surface level possible. The professor cared about the students but I don't think he cared about us actually learning the material which is understandable since this class is just treated like a roadblock on the way to getting a CS Degree by most people taking it. I recommend taking it for an easy credit but I would personally take STAT410 if I actually wanted to learn stat and prob. theory a little in depth.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT401 Expecting an A- Anonymous 02/14/2024	Nice! Easy class, didn't turn in an R project and still got an A-.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT401 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 01/03/2024	very good statistics professor that knows what he's talking about and is passionate about statistics. he makes the class very manageable as well. There are weekly quizzes which are very easy. the exams are pretty fair and the final as well. just review his previous exams and final and you'll be fine. he also allows you to bring note sheets. the only reason I ended up with a B+ is because I started skipping class a lot. if you go to class it should be an easy A.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT400 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/30/2023	Super great! He is a great lecturer and records his lectures. His exams are similar to his practice as well.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT401 Expecting an A- Anonymous 12/20/2023	DANUL IS THE MOST UNDERRATED PROFESSOR I HAVE EVER HAD!!!! If your put in effort, even if you are checked out for weeks, if you put in the effort you will get a good grade. He is intentional in helping students earn good grades and does everything possible to do that. He is also very well spoken, its not common to have a professor who communicates the instruction effectively while helping students get the grade they want. Must take him, you will never regret not taking him.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT400 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 12/19/2023	Lectures are recorded and the notes are posted. The exams are fairly simply and the partial credit is very good. The only annoying part of this class was the R projects, so don't do the entire thing the night it's due.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT401 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/19/2023	Literally my favorite professor at this school and I've taken two different classes with him. He's so smart and you can genuinely tell he cares and puts a lot of time into the course, but at the same time he's so accommodating of students. He literally could not be nicer. He also teaches super well and is happy to clarify any concepts!
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT400 Expecting an A- Anonymous 12/19/2023	Danul sometimes goes over things too deeply or spends too long on one problem, but overall he's a good teacher. Answers questions effectively and cares about his students. There are homeworks (which can sometimes be very long), R Projects (also kinda take a while), two midterms (very fair exams, decent practice material), and a final (which was quite difficult and riddled with typos, causing him to call them out during the exam and having students redo the problem). But overall, not a bad prof. Take him.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT400 Expecting an A- Anonymous 12/14/2023	He is a fair teacher and grader, the way the course is structured makes sense. He clearly cares about students and wants them to succeed. Only complaint is that the class is too much structured for CS majors and it makes it hard for people who must take it for other reasons to follow along, as he assumes you already understand concepts and notation that are used in CS. Over all though, he is a good professor.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT400 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 11/22/2023	He is a little boring at times but lectures are recorded. He acknowledges that most people taking this class are CS majors and tailors content to be relevant for them. My TA was fantastic and he was accommodating when ELMS kept deleting my homework. Exams are exactly like the study guide. The only annoying thing is the R projects because R was never brought up in lecture(there was a pdf on ELMS).
Mestiyage Gunatilleka MATH120 Expecting an A- naonic 09/18/2023	If you show up to class (or at least watch the lecture videos b/c he doesn't take attendance) then you'll be fine. Discussions are also important bc there was quizzes, but the TA explains everything right before them
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT401 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 08/22/2023	Exams are identical to practice exam. You get a formula sheet. Homeworks are easy. This is literally STAT400 that he teaches but a little more deeper in knowledge. The first half of the course is just STAT400 review if you took it with him. Easy peasy.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT401 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 08/22/2023	Exams are identical to the practice exam, like I literally mean it, they are just number swapped because he probably does not care about this class. Homework can be found exactly on chegg and the quizzes are literally super easy so long as you pay attention in class. R Projects are the only hard part about this class but then again if you do well on the exams, you will be safe for an A
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT401 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 08/16/2023	Great professor, tests are so easy
Mestiyage Gunatilleka DATA400 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 07/26/2023	Great professor
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT410 Expecting an A- Anonymous 07/22/2023	Danul is a great professor. He lectures well, and if you don't understand the concept, I would either ask him right away in class as he gives detailed explanations and will restate things without hesitation, or I would go to his office hours where he is also very helpful. I went into this class only after taking AP Stats in high school, and if you're like me I forgot pretty much everything after walking out of the exam room. I would say that if you're very new to stats, the course will prove to be a little difficult and first and you might not understand what's happening, but keep on solving problems, asking questions, and eventually you'll get an intuitive grasp. The homeworks are pretty difficult, and if worst comes to worst there are answers online that you can use as reference. For answers that are already written in the back of the textbook, I'm pretty sure Danul is okay with you looking at them, because one day I walked into office hours to ask a question and he said "did you refer to the answer key before coming?" which was kind of funny. He's also a really chill guy and makes occasional jokes that keep the lectures interesting. I remember one time during the finals review lecture, he said "and I'll be grading harshly for the final," and the class fell dead silent. He broke the silence soon saying that exams must have had us pretty stressed out, because obviously that was a joke. So it goes without saying that him and his grader grades homeworks, quizzes, and exams very leniently, and as long as you somewhat get the concept and the calculation, he'll give many many partial credits. There was also a decent curve at the end of the semester. His practice exam "study guides" are very similar to the actual exam, and the final also contains problems of the same caliber. If you can do the homework confidently, undoubtedly you will ace the exams. Even if you find them a little difficult, a bit of studying goes a really long way. The last thing I'm gonna say, is make sure to attend lectures. I don't know about STAT400, but he doesn't record any, and does most of his stuff on the chalkboard. He's a good lecturer, so it's worthwhile going to.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT400 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 07/05/2023	Exams in the class are super fair, as they are near identical to the practice exams, and some of the assigned homework questions. Danul speaks fairly slowly in the lecture, which does give you plenty of time to record/process what he says, but also can get painfully annoying sometimes. He also tends to make a fair number of mistakes in his lectures/notes, which can be slightly frustrating to deal with at times. He could also do a better job of explaining concepts and providing necessary formulas, as he spends a lot of time giving derivations, and also spends a lot of time explaining concepts through examples/scenarios that aren't that helpful. Danul also is a caring professor who is responsive to emails and gives many chances to ask questions. Overall, he is a decent professor, and is a decent option for STAT400.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka MATH120 Expecting an A- Anonymous 06/21/2023	Fine professor. You could honestly skip every class and learn from the textbook and it would make no difference. I never went and just copied his notes and was fine. MingPress is annoying especially if you don't know the format of the answer so good luck with that.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka MATH120 Expecting an A- Anonymous 06/17/2023	Straightforward and easy to understand. I stopped going to the in person lectures after the first two classes because he uploads all the lectures online and commute times. As long as you watch the lectures and pay attention, you'll do fine. Would definitely recommend.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT400 Expecting an A akl2025 05/25/2023	Danul is a straightforward and caring professor. STAT400 is fairly easy as long as you review notes and do the practice exams (and read the textbook if you want to understand topics better). Pros: - Good notes: great handwriting. He posted his notes on the weekend. - Exams: as long as you did the practice exams and understood it well enough, you passed his midterms and final. - Fair grading: show you work. Even if your answer or calculation is wrong, as long as you show your thought process, he gave a lot of partial credits. - Homework: The TAs went over the solutions in the discussion on Friday, so Danul is giving you free grades because the homework is usually due on Monday. Cons: - A bit confusing. There were quite a lot of contents to cover in 75 minutes. Read the textbook or google for clarification.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka MATH120 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 05/21/2023	He made everything super straightforward. No surprises on exams. He also recorded every lecture. Very nice and explained things well.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT400 Expecting a B+ kathleenMiles 05/21/2023	Easy class with this professor where his exams are basically the same as the practice exams. He explains things very badly in a very dry, theoretical, unnecessary complicated manner. He records his lectures and uploads the sheet he writes on during lecture so that you do not have to attend in person. However, I must confess that I never went to lecture, never watched the recordings, nor read the sheets he would upload. He had amazing TAs who taught much better than him and held great review sessions right before the exam. Responds fast to email. Homework was free points, and the TAs would just give you the answers during discussion. Practice exams were often riddled with typos. With the mathematical notation, you would often be scratching your head thinking whether the question is asking for something you've never heard before, before realizing that it's just a mistake. R projects were annoying and painful but just going to the R tutor to sort them out was good enough. He cared about his students, and was willing to grant extensions without too much of an issue. Overall, this professor did not make things unnecessarily hard. The fact that I did not get an A is solely my fault. I feel with a bit more effort I could have gotten an A.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT400 Expecting an A- Anonymous 05/18/2023	I love "Mesty Besty" as his teachings made sense, exams were very lenient as you were allowed your own formula sheet, and the TAs were generous with partial credit as long as you showed substantial work for your answer. STATs used to be one of my weakest subjects, but taking it with Mestiyage proved that under proper guidance you can succeed in anything. Thank you Mestiyage!
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT410 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/18/2023	Great professor overall. Lecture's are very informative and very helpful in office hours. Practice exams are similar to the real exams, grading is pretty lenient too. Highly recommend!
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT400 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 05/17/2023	Danul is a straightforward professor and STAT400 class is fairly easy to do well in if you prepare properly. The textbook is really good for practice problems and he is all around very fair when it comes to assignment grading. He should be the go-to pick for this class.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT400 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/17/2023	I attended 4 classes the whole year and ended with an A. The first class I went to was the introduction class (first day). The second time I showed up was for the first midterm. The third time I showed up was for the second midterm. The fourth I showed up was for the final. Homeworks are R projects are a free 50% of your grade. The midterms are the exact same as the practice exam he gives the week before. 1 sheet of notes is allowed for the exams and 2 sheets for the final. I copied down the answers and formulas from the practice exams and went in and took the real exams and got an A on both. Too easy and the professor himself is VERY NICE and understanding. He is very passionate about stats and genuinely cares for his students.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT400 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/15/2023	TAKE HIM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This dude literally gives out free A's. All I needed were a 50% or higher on all the exams. The exams were exactly like the practice exams so make sure you copy down the practice exams onto your cheat sheet as detailed as possible. His homeworks and projects were free 100s. They go over the homeworks in discussion but the answers are online. The project can seem difficult so use ChatGPT or go to the math tutoring at Kirwan. Danul is a really nice guy. He talks slow so that everyone can understand and sometimes even cracks jokes.. You can pass this class with bare minimum understanding. If you really want to understand the content then just pay attention in class, participate and read the textbook. It's up to you how deeply you want to understand the content. The TAs were helpful. He responds to emails in a timely manner and is willing to answer questions.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT400 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 05/06/2023	Really really straightforward and easy to get an A he explains stuff ok
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT400 Expecting a P Anonymous 05/03/2023	I truly felt that some students just overpraised the professor. He is not a good lecturer. If you would like to learn the material find another professor, he taught the material in a confused manner. His practice exam is not enough to do well in the exam. For example, his final exam contain only few questions to prepare for the exam.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka MATH120 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/02/2023	awesome prof and super fair class, TAKE HIM
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT400 Anonymous 05/02/2023	exams are pretty much the practice exams he hands out. But otherwise not the greatest at explaining things.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT400 Expecting an A Anonymous 04/30/2023	free a, just do practice exam and u straight
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT400 Anonymous 04/27/2023	He is not a good lecturer. Moreover, he explained easy concepts in a difficult way.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT400 Expecting an A Anonymous 04/25/2023	Class is very easy and understandable. People be putting bad rep on danul but hes honestly a goat professor. Lectures can be quite boring because this class is EASY but his exams are exactly the same as practice.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT400 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 04/25/2023	Love him
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT400 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 04/22/2023	Great professor, homework can be found online and the proefssor has easy exams
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT400 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 04/22/2023	Easy professor, like everyone said, tests are identical to practice
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT400 Expecting an A Anonymous 04/22/2023	Extremely good professor. Had him for MATH140 and now w/ STAT400. Exams are identical to practice exams (literally), HW is very fair. Very responsive with emails, and answers students' questions extremely detailed. 20/10 professor. Don't even know what the person's review 3 reviews down is on about, probably didn't even attended class and expected to be handed a free A!
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT400 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 04/05/2023	Easy exams hw and projects
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT400 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 04/05/2023	Great professor. Lectures are easy to understand, the tests are exactly the same as the practice exam, last review guy must be dumb. Professor is great take him!
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT400 Expecting a P Anonymous 03/10/2023	This class turned to be a self teaching class. He is not good at lecturing. His exams are completely opposite of his teaching materials. Moreover, his exam is nothing similar to practice exam.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka MATH120 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 02/24/2023	Nice guy, but I learned more from the textbook than him.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka MATH120 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 01/31/2023	Pretty decent professor. TA's mostly helped me, but exams were very fair and I can tell this isnt his best subject to teach, but he tries his best
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT401 Expecting an A Anonymous 01/31/2023	This man is a GOAT. G - GREATEST AT LECTURING O - OVERALL EXAM GRADES WERE 90+ EACH ONE A - ALL HOMEWORK IS SEARCHABLE ONLINE AND EXAMS ARE THE SAME AS PRACTICE T - TEACHES LIKE HE ACTUALLY CARES
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT400 Expecting an A Anonymous 01/31/2023	Great professor, communicative via emails, and exams are so easy.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT400 Expecting an A Anonymous 01/31/2023	Danul is a beast
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT401 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 01/31/2023	Very passionate professor and easy
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT400 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 01/31/2023	Not sure why his reviews are this low. This guy is a very nice professor and clearly cares about his students. His homework is literally just like 5-6 problems each week and they can be found online. Furthermore, his tests are very similar to the practice exam, meaning he changes a few numbers and calls it a day. Would recommend.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT401 Expecting an A Anonymous 01/24/2023	Great professor, easy ass exams that are identical to review
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT410 Expecting an A Anonymous 01/24/2023	Like all the other reviews said, professor is very fair, exams are easy, homework is not too bad, R projects are the only pain tho
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT400 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 01/24/2023	Great stat professor
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT410 Anonymous 01/10/2023	Danul is a very nice guy. He really cares about the success of his students. The lectures are fine. He is a generous grader on homeworks, quizzes, and exams. His exams are very similar to the practice problems. He will let you make up missed quizzes and gives homework extension if you ask him. He will also release solutions to practice exam problems (which are very similar to the actual exams)- just ask him! The exam average is very high. If you put the required effort, you can really get an A+ in his class. I had a really busy semester, so I could not put more time in this class and still ended up with a B. Take his section for Stat410 if you really want a good grade. Unlike other sections, there are no R projects in his class :)
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT410 Expecting a B Anonymous 01/03/2023	Pretty good professor, the grade I got in the end was my fault, but if you do the work you will get the grade you want
Mestiyage Gunatilleka MATH120 Expecting an A Anonymous 01/03/2023	Great professor, TA's were nice
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT401 Expecting an A Anonymous 01/03/2023	Easiest stat class of my life with this profesor
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT400 Expecting an A Anonymous 01/03/2023	Easy professor exams are very similar to practice
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT410 Expecting an A- Anonymous 01/03/2023	Pretty fair professor for stat
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT400 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 01/03/2023	Great professor
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT410 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/23/2022	I was honestly really scared to take STAT410 because of how hard I heard it was compared to STAT400, but Danul (his first name) truly made this an enjoyable experience. First of all, the man actually cares and tries his best while lecturing and you can clearly see that. He really does try to put an emphasis on teaching people to understand the broad underlying themes and concepts of statistics rather than being pedantic on the small technical details which I really appreciate. This is the first time I've taken a statistics course and not felt like it was just another chug and plug math course- I felt myself able to apply the concepts I learnt. The HWs are a little tough, but this is no problem because you can go to his OH and he will help you through it all (I was able to get 100% for most of the HWs this way). Some HW questions are graded only for completion which really helps. Quizzes are pretty simple just review each weeks notes and you'll be fine. The exams are extremely fair and are VERY similar to the practice exams he gives. To top it off, he is very accommodating in general. Whenever the class had a major doubt about one of the HW questions he addressed the problem directly and just gave us an extension. He dropped the number of HWs near finals weeks cuz he knew we were already very busy. Overall, this class does take effort, but it is certainly doable when you take it with this GOAT
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT410 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 12/22/2022	The tests were crazy the averages were 90+ and this class was very bearable with him, would recommend.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka MATH120 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/22/2022	Lectures were boring but TA's helped with it, made sure his students understood the material
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT401 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 12/22/2022	Weekly quizzes to boost your grade, homeworks are easy, practice exams are identical to the exams, don't know what more you need to get a free a+
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT400 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 12/22/2022	Best professor for statistics, makes things so easy to understand
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT401 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 12/19/2022	Finished all of his classes with A+, stat400, stat401, stat410, you may think I am a genius, but that is not the case, his class is designed for students to get an A. The homeworks are straight from the textbook which are easy, exams are LITERALLY the same as the practice, LITERALLY. He does not throw any curveballs in the class and genuinely loves teaching statistics. Sure he may not be a good calculus professor as previous reviews say, but all his statistics ratings are HIGH, he is truly the most fair and generous professor in the statistics department.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT401 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/16/2022	Great professor, would recommend for anyone taking statistics, this is my third time taking a class with him and still getting an A
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT401 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/16/2022	Exams were literally the same as the practice exams, I think he was just lazy and did not care. Lectures were okay, you can tell he has a passion for statistics but still were a bit boring. Homework is very easy. Would recommend.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka MATH120 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/16/2022	Lectures are a bit iffy but he will always be there to help in office hours. TA's were great
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT400 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 12/16/2022	Great professor, exams are identical to practice
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT401 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 12/16/2022	Truly a 4 star professor but his reviews are a bit crazy, so I want to raise his rating a bit higher. Like others have said, do the homework, review the practice exams, and you should be fine with this class. Coding projects are a bit annoying but they are not hard. Would recommend.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT410 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/16/2022	He has an amazing grasp of the content and his lectures were great in my opinion. He is usually very good at answering questions as his understanding and teaching ability are up there with the best I have had here at UMD. Homework is meant to challenge you, but the grading is very generous if you give a good attempt. Exams are much easier and are more closely alike to the more simple examples gone over in class. Looking at the other reviews, definitely expect to spend some time on homework as you usually need a deep understanding to get to the solution, but he often helps. He gives extensions if you ask or enough people ask. Another review said he does not tell you where you are in the book, that may have been true in the past, but this semester he always told us where we were, and if you just ask what example it is he tells you. I assume he doesn't write it on the board every time because chances are most people wouldn't need to know it. Also, I want to give credit to him for being mature about distractions in our class as it was often interrupted.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT401 Anonymous 12/15/2022	Very clear at explaining statistics concepts, quizzes and exams are pretty easy. Only downsides are that his lectures can be quite dry and coding projects are somewhat annoying to do.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka MATH120 Anonymous 12/12/2022	He's great at answering questions you may have, but in terms of lecture material, he's not so good. I had to learn almost everything from the textbook. On top of that, he writes a lot of things down, and does not go through a lot of examples of the problems that are related to the material covered in lecture. Also, with homework on MingPress, it can take a long time and sometimes there are glitches that mark your answer as wrong even though you got it correct.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT401 Anonymous 12/12/2022	quizzes are easy, midterms are same as the review he puts out, homework is fine, but most boring lectures ever.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT401 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/05/2022	Very accommodating professor. I got some points off on my quizzes and explained my logic further and he gave the points back. Very lenient and understanding professor who truly wants you to succeed. Quizzes are free points, homework is bearable, and practice tests are literally identical to the real exams, hence why most of our exam scores were average around 91+
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT400 Expecting an A- Anonymous 12/05/2022	Great professor, his lectures were great and quizzes/exams were straightforward. If you put in the work, you will get the grade you want.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT401 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/04/2022	Great professor. Content is easy to understand from each lecture, homework are 5-6 questions each week, and midterms are easy. Would recommend this professor for stat courses.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT400 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/01/2022	Dont seem to get why this professor is getting so much hate, probably because he is a stat professor and teaching calculus. He is a great stat professor, so I can 100% recommend him for taking your stats classes, not so much calculus I guess. His exams are fairly identical to the practice exams, homework is easy, and fairly understandable lecturer. Great!
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT401 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/01/2022	Pretty good STAT professor in UMD. His homework is not too challenging, he is very lenient in grading, and he tries to make lectures enjoyable.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT401 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 11/27/2022	Haven't yet completed this course, but I can tell you this is the best stat professor in UMD. I took him for stat400 and now stat401 and the format for the class is set up for everyone to get an easy A or A+ in the class. He makes concepts easy to understand and all the averages for his midterms have been 90+. Everyone who is trashing this professor is in the lower level maths and complain. Take this professor for all your stat courses and you will get a free A.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka MATH120 Expecting an A- Anonymous 11/03/2022	Math120 was only manageable because i took ap calc in high school. he talks a ton and make you write a lot. I had to learn most of the new materials myself because his lectures are not relevant. if you didn’t take ap calc or have prior knowledge you’d probably fail his class as he cannot teach
Mestiyage Gunatilleka MATH140 Expecting an A- pfilardi 10/10/2022	Professor Gunatilleka was a fairly good lecturer and communicator. His teaching is nothing groundbreaking, and you'll definitely need to focus during discussion sections in order to keep up, but you can definitely do worse in terms of low-level math profs. Plus, he was willing to push back deadlines if he didn't finish covering material in lecture.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT400 Expecting an A Anonymous 06/18/2022	One of the best professors in STAT. He's exams are very good (nothing difficult), but you need to study hard.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT410 Expecting an A+ wmy78b 05/25/2022	Genuinely, I would give Prof. Gunatilleka 4 stars but I want to raise his reviews a little bit. He is generous and nice, the sample exams are always helpful. Besides, the exams have average around 80~90, which is decent. The HW is tough but you can always get full scores. I would recommend you guys to take his class. Disadvantages: Not well-organized, you neither know where his examples are from nor which page he is talking about.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT400 Anonymous 05/19/2022	Danul is a decent professor for STAT400. His lectures can be a bit confusing but as long as you attend his office hours and discussions, you'll be fine. He explains the concepts well if you ask him for help outside class. His homework assignments can be a bit lengthy but it's important because it helps you understand the materials. Danul gives fair exams that are similar to the study guides. Overall, if you understand the homework problems and study guides, the exams shouldn't be hard. Danul is a good choice for STAT400.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT400 Expecting an A- Anonymous 05/17/2022	I personally thought that Danul was a decent professor. The homework assignments were a decent amount of work, and they weren't too challenging. The TAs go over the homework questions during discussion, so I recommend going to them if you're struggling with it. His exam questions were a bit different from the examples done in class but his study guides are exactly the same as the actual exam (just with different values). So if you know how to solve the problems that are on the study guide, you will get a good grade on the exams (final as well). He might change that up next time but at least that's how it was for me in Spring 2022.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT400 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 05/16/2022	I dont quite get why people trash on this professor. Danul is pretty good at teaching STAT400 and his tests are VERY VERY similar if not identical to his practice exams he gives you two weeks before the test. Textbook questions that are assigned are much harder than what he actually gives on the tests and are a free 40% of your grade. Would recommend this guy for any stat classes you take. He is the posterboy of achieving an A in a class.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT400 Expecting an A- Anonymous 05/09/2022	STAT400 with Danul is easy enough (hence my expectation of an A- and my two stars), however his teaching style is truly the opposite of helpful. His lectures are delivered at a glacial pace and end up going in circles on some occasions. The textbook questions assigned are barely representative of the questions that are on the exams. My only saving grace in this class was my TA absolutely carrying me and the fact that the exams have a reasonable difficulty level. TLDR: If you can help it, do not take STAT400 with Danul. However, if you must, be prepared for self-studying.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT410 Expecting a B Anonymous 05/05/2022	I thought Danul was a fine professor. The lectures can tend to drag on a bit, but he does a good job with making sure people understand the material well. He is good about responding to emails, and he takes pauses in class to ask for questions. One thing I will say is that the homeworks are pretty tough, but the exams do not reflect the difficulty of the homeworks. Not a bad choice for STAt410. Just be prepared to spend about 3 hrs/week on this class.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka MATH140 Expecting a B- Anonymous 05/03/2022	Will just read the textbook to you, but he is good with questions. The TAs, GSS, khan academy, and tutors are going to be far more helpful.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka MATH140 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 12/06/2021	He's not a great lecturer -- pretty ramble-y and doesn't do a great job explaining stuff. Probably wouldn't be doing that well if I hadn't already taken calculus in high school -- definitely would look for someone else if you're a first time calculus student. However, I have no complaints about him as a person. He offers extensions on homework if enough people ask and seems to be a pretty understanding guy. If you get him as a professor it's not the end of the world -- some of these reviews are way too negative in my opinion.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka MATH140 Expecting an A- Anonymous 11/22/2021	He is not a very good teacher, his teaching style is confusing, takes too long to get to the point, and has difficulty answering questions. He's a nice guy and is flexible with due dates, deadlines, and so on. But the only reason I'm doing well in this class is because I've taken Calc 1 in high school. I find the best strategy for keeping up with the pace is to watch his recorded lectures on mute on double speed, much better than attending lecture in person. Look elsewhere if you're taking 140 and you haven't taken Calc 1 in high school.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT400 Anonymous 07/12/2021	I had Danul for both MATH240 and STAT400. He does a much better job teaching STAT400 than MATH240. Overall I would say his lectures are average they can sometimes be confusing and he can skip over material. The books however for MATH240 and STAT400 are phenomenal also Danul does make an effort to clear up any misconceptions and help students if needed. The saving grace for this class is that the practice exams are usually extremely similar to the actual exam. My recommendation for both classes is read the book, do the homework/practice exams and you can easily pull at least a B.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT400 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/18/2021	One of the best instructors I've had in MATH/STAT at UMD. He was very nice and gave fair homeworks and exams. A lot of the homework he and the TA go over to help you on them, and they prepare you well for exam questions. He could be more clear in his study guides for exams but I think this is fine because the exams aren't that tough if you do the homeworks. Some of the harder concepts he explains in what seems at first a rather obtuse way, but once you get through it and do examples it gets easier to understand. HE also takes a lot of questions in the middle of lecture (sometimes too many dare I say).
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT400 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 05/17/2021	First off, he's an average lecturer in my opinion, though he makes an effort to clear up misconceptions and overall seems very approachable. With that said, I ended up missing the final and he was nice enough to let me take a make-up exam the next day, which he really had no obligation to do. As such, I'd say he's overall a decent professor but he does care to help you through course-related troubles you experience.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka MATH140 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/06/2021	After the first week I stopped going to lecture. If not for my TA and Khan Academy I would not have made it through a class that isn't that hard. Find another teacher. He has terrible hand writing, hard to understand and not a fun person. Most people I know have said the same thing. Avoid Danul at all costs.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka STAT400 Expecting a P Anonymous 05/06/2021	Don't take any class with this man. Bad lecturer with poor explanations. Exams do not reflect textbook explanations as he says what so ever and his study guides are completely garbage.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka MATH310 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 01/12/2021	He's not as bad as people make it seem. Maybe not the greatest choice for a lower level math class with a rigid curriculum, but if you take him for 310, he's fine. Also, his exams are more than fair and he curves the class.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka MATH141H Expecting an A+ Anonymous 12/22/2020	I took this course in Fall 2019 Pros: + Okay at explaining concepts. + He teaches based on the textbook, so it's a good resource to learn from. + Quizzes are open note and you can ask him for help, so they're not too bad. + Tests are fair. Cons: - Could be better at lecturing - Homeworks can often feel very and unnecessarily hard compared to assessments, which can be frustrating. They can take a long time to finish.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka MATH140 Expecting an A- Anonymous 12/10/2020	use the textbook and you will do well. he is not as bad as everyone says he is.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka MATH140 Expecting an A- Anonymous 12/10/2020	has pre lecture videos which are very helpful as his lectures will be review of major concepts/ more in depth with examples, always open to questions, good/helpful TAs. textbook is extremely helpful when studying for exams and doing homework. people say he is not that great of a teacher, but i found no problem with him
Mestiyage Gunatilleka MATH310 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 11/09/2020	This guy kinda just reads from the textbook, but if you come to him about specific questions he is quite helpful.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka MATH140 Anonymous 05/16/2020	Not that bad, not that great. Helps to go to class/watch corona-era videos because he covers what'll be on exams. Get help from TA and you'll be fine
Mestiyage Gunatilleka MATH240 Expecting an A Anonymous 04/15/2020	I took MATH240 with Danul in Fall 2019. His lectures are incredibly dry; he basically just reads off the textbook while writing the definition word-for-word extremely slowly. Having a good TA can really help you actually learn and master the material. I stopped going to lectures halfway through the semester and it didn't affect my grade at all. The textbook is very helpful, practice problems from the book regularly and you'll be set. The exams are almost exactly like the practice exams.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka MATH140 Expecting an A- Anonymous 04/09/2020	Absolutely terrible professor that should be avoided at all costs. Gives poor explanations and basically just reads the textbook in class and provides no examples. Exams are graded harshly and some exams contain trick questions that the Ta's cant even answer. Bad move hombre.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka MATH240 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 02/07/2020	Bad lecturer with poor explanation skills. He only copies definitions from the textbook
Mestiyage Gunatilleka MATH140 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/27/2019	Not the worst professors at UMD. He gets a lot of flak because so many students have an ego thinking know everything about calc since they did it in high school. His lectures are heavy from the textbook, so read the section before class and the lecture becomes a review session to solidify the material. Come to class wanting to learn and visit office hours with questions, and you will get an A.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka MATH140 Expecting a D Anonymous 12/18/2019	This dude has absolutely no personality, he may even be a robot. He knows what he's talking about and isn't the worst lecturer. His exams are extremely difficult and the homeworks are even harder. But if I didn't make it clear enough in the beginning, the man is a robot.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka MATH140 Expecting an A- Anonymous 12/04/2019	His lectures are pretty hard to follow but some are okay. You honestly can just use Kahn Academy to teach yourself better
Mestiyage Gunatilleka MATH240 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 12/04/2019	Danul is a great person, but as a lecturer isn't very engaging. Most of the semester I have spent learning the course material on my own because I don't get too much out of his lectures. If you have questions for him he is always good with answering them.
Mestiyage Gunatilleka MATH240 Expecting a B- Anonymous 12/02/2019	Stopped going to lectures because he literally just writes off the textbook and explains it in a way that leaves you more confused most of the time. Seems like a great guy but he does not prepare you well at all. Basically you can take him and self study the class and go to discussions, you probably will still do well. Just don't expect to learn from lectures.