Mestiyage Gunatilleka

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

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Information	Review
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.