Madeline Hsu | PlanetTerp

Information	Review
Madeline Hsu AAST201 Expecting a B Anonymous 11/21/2024	Poor lecturing style. Second the review where she says "um" and "uh" a lot. There's few assignments and they are all graded harshly meaning that no lighter work assignments can bring it up. Ends up not finishing the lecture content and has to speed at the last 10 minutes. The class is honestly a pain, DO NOT TAKE if you want an easy gen ed. Do not take this unless you are passionate about history and basically want to be a suck up to her.
Madeline Hsu AAST201 Expecting a C+ Anonymous 10/29/2024	Too hard for a gen ed!! This professor doesn't teach well and is very disorganized. She doesn't post lecture slides on elms and takes attendance so you have to go to lectures. She doesn't even let you use your computer to take notes during class! She is also a very harsh grader (no one gets 100%) and there are very few assignments to help your grade go back up. To get extra credit, you have you attend different events (sometimes in DC) and write up a 2 page reflection on it. Also, exams are writing prompts instead of multiple choice. Just don't take this class ESPECIALLY if you aren't interested in history. I made the mistake of not dropping this class when I had the chance in the beginning of the semester and I regret it every day.
Madeline Hsu AAST201 Anonymous 05/17/2024	Highly knowledgeable professor, clearly demonstrates she is extremely familiar with what she teaches and does her best to answer any questions you might have. At first I thought her lecturing style was a bit dry, but as the semester went on, I actually grew to like it a lot! Attendance and participation are graded; I participated only a couple times throughout the semester and got a much higher score than I expected, so don't worry too much about it if speaking up is something you dislike doing. She provides extra credit opportunities through attending Asian American-related events, which I thought was a very interesting and engaging way of encouraging students to learn outside of the classroom. There were very few things to be graded on, though--besides the participation grade, there were only two essays and a midterm + final. That means that there's not much to do throughout the semester besides attending class and learning, but your grade heavily depends on a very small amount of things. The weirdest thing about the class was that she would remove her powerpoint slides from elms after a week or two, not sure why she did that. This was her first semester teaching at UMD so I expect things to improve in future semesters! TLDR: a highly knowledgeable professor, extra credit opportunities, few assignments
Madeline Hsu AAST201 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/13/2024	CANNOT stress how easy this class is. If you love history, this class is an easy lock for you. If you don't like history and still want an easy gen-ed, I'll still make my case. Professor Hsu is clearly knowledgeable about what she teaches and goes over every topic in enough depth and context from slides she makes herself. Although lectures can sometimes be a drag in the morning, all you need to do is pay attention and you're guaranteed an A. She's also very considerate to needs and will even take time out of lecture to go over things like proper citations and paper writing. There are only five oppurtunities for grades (attendance/participation, short narrative, final paper, midterm and final) but as long as you go to class and turn in the assignments you'll be just fine. Most of the class is common sense anyways. It's helpful to take notes to help you understand the topics a bit more, but as long as you rememeber the main events and a few concepts the essay exams are straightforward. Go to the review session the class before and you'll be set. Bottom line: just go to class and put in the work and you'll do fine.
Madeline Hsu AAST201 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 03/06/2024	Attendance and participation are graded. Very few opportunities for points. Say's "um" and "uh" very often during lectures. Stingy with lecture notes/materials. STAY AWAY

Madeline Hsu
AAST201

Expecting a B
Anonymous
11/21/2024

Poor lecturing style. Second the review where she says "um" and "uh" a lot. There's few assignments and they are all graded harshly meaning that no lighter work assignments can bring it up. Ends up not finishing the lecture content and has to speed at the last 10 minutes. The class is honestly a pain, DO NOT TAKE if you want an easy gen ed. Do not take this unless you are passionate about history and basically want to be a suck up to her.

Madeline Hsu
AAST201

Expecting a C+
Anonymous
10/29/2024

Too hard for a gen ed!! This professor doesn't teach well and is very disorganized. She doesn't post lecture slides on elms and takes attendance so you have to go to lectures. She doesn't even let you use your computer to take notes during class! She is also a very harsh grader (no one gets 100%) and there are very few assignments to help your grade go back up. To get extra credit, you have you attend different events (sometimes in DC) and write up a 2 page reflection on it. Also, exams are writing prompts instead of multiple choice. Just don't take this class ESPECIALLY if you aren't interested in history. I made the mistake of not dropping this class when I had the chance in the beginning of the semester and I regret it every day.

Madeline Hsu
AAST201

Anonymous
05/17/2024

Highly knowledgeable professor, clearly demonstrates she is extremely familiar with what she teaches and does her best to answer any questions you might have. At first I thought her lecturing style was a bit dry, but as the semester went on, I actually grew to like it a lot! Attendance and participation are graded; I participated only a couple times throughout the semester and got a much higher score than I expected, so don't worry too much about it if speaking up is something you dislike doing. She provides extra credit opportunities through attending Asian American-related events, which I thought was a very interesting and engaging way of encouraging students to learn outside of the classroom. There were very few things to be graded on, though--besides the participation grade, there were only two essays and a midterm + final. That means that there's not much to do throughout the semester besides attending class and learning, but your grade heavily depends on a very small amount of things. The weirdest thing about the class was that she would remove her powerpoint slides from elms after a week or two, not sure why she did that. This was her first semester teaching at UMD so I expect things to improve in future semesters! TLDR: a highly knowledgeable professor, extra credit opportunities, few assignments

Madeline Hsu
AAST201

Expecting an A
Anonymous
05/13/2024

CANNOT stress how easy this class is. If you love history, this class is an easy lock for you. If you don't like history and still want an easy gen-ed, I'll still make my case. Professor Hsu is clearly knowledgeable about what she teaches and goes over every topic in enough depth and context from slides she makes herself. Although lectures can sometimes be a drag in the morning, all you need to do is pay attention and you're guaranteed an A. She's also very considerate to needs and will even take time out of lecture to go over things like proper citations and paper writing. There are only five oppurtunities for grades (attendance/participation, short narrative, final paper, midterm and final) but as long as you go to class and turn in the assignments you'll be just fine. Most of the class is common sense anyways. It's helpful to take notes to help you understand the topics a bit more, but as long as you rememeber the main events and a few concepts the essay exams are straightforward. Go to the review session the class before and you'll be set. Bottom line: just go to class and put in the work and you'll do fine.

Madeline Hsu
AAST201

Expecting a B+
Anonymous
03/06/2024

Attendance and participation are graded. Very few opportunities for points. Say's "um" and "uh" very often during lectures. Stingy with lecture notes/materials. STAY AWAY