Linear Algebra

Silas Johnson is a nice guy, but his grading is extremely tough. Exams are weighted very heavily, and the averages are usually in the mid-60s, yet there is no curve at all. Lectures are fine but don't always prepare you well for the exams. I recommend avoiding his section unless you're prepared for a tough grading scheme.

12/18/2025

Professor Johnson is very approachable and kind, but his standards for a “good proof” are extremely vague. Exams are graded very strictly, with many points deducted for minor mistakes. Lectures, homework, and exams feel poorly aligned, and his expectations on exams often differ from what is emphasized in class or homework.

12/18/2025

Lectures were engaging, but the reason why this class was horrible for me was the grading. Homework and exams were graded harshly, and tests were made almost impossible to finish with no partial credit. Hours of studying became futile, and class exam averages were in the 60s. I am really discouraged and changed my math major because of this class.

12/16/2025

Silas Johnson is a enthusiastic and kind lecturer who seems wholly unsuited to teach a higher level math class. The grades for HW were overly critical and for a class that is proof-based he spends little time on writing proofs in class especially towards the end of the semester. If you are considering him for a lower level class I would recommend.

12/4/2025

Lectures are really confusing. He failed explain most of the concepts although he definitely have the knowledge.

11/10/2025

I feel like Ouyang does really deserve all the hate he gets from his rating. It might be from more difficult classes, but at least for Calc 2 he's really not that bad. The only bad thing I see in him is that he tends to explain unnecessary "wrong ways" to do things and also gets stuck for a few minutes when he makes a mistake or is trying to think.

10/17/2025

Exam was not as hard as I expected. But he is a really bad lecturer. Do not take his class!

9/5/2025

(4111 - Analysis) Ouyang was somehow more difficult than his reputation. At first, I thought he genuinely did not care that our problem sets felt punitive rather than constructive, but I realized after the first exam that he just completely doesn't understand the level that his students are at.

8/25/2025

*this rating is for math 4111 intro to analysis but that wasnt selectable. He isn't a bad lecturer, but he sets an incredibly high standard. Yes, this is a famously hard course, but the questions on his exams are very difficult and in high quantities for the given time frames. I never had time to check my work, I couldve spent 4hrs on his 2hr final

5/14/2025

I'm actually taking the Math 4111 Introduction to Analysis with him. He clearly explained all the concepts and theorems with very interesting examples.The lectures are great. You can easily catch up without feeling bored. The homework are average difficulty with plenty of time to do. The exams are super easy with lot of extra credit. Easy A class.

5/5/2025

Professor Yang is super knowledgeable and takes time to make sure students understand WHY we are doing what we are doing

4/28/2025

Yes. I would say compared to other professors at WashU such as Karl Schaefer and Jesus Sanchez, his lectures are not always the most clear. However, he knows the content incredibly well and it just takes some courage to ask question in the class or in Office Hours. He will really take his time to break all concepts down to its basics:) He's great!

2/26/2025

This professor grades everything, including exam extremely strict and would deduce points for minor issues. He cannot explain contents clearly and attending lecture and understanding all assigned material is not sufficient for optimal grade.

2/7/2025

2 or less hrs/week

Not a lot of work, but class was really boring, the final was kinda hard

1/12/2025

I've had Yang for 309 Matrix Algebra and 132 Calc II. In Matrix, he was a fairly good lecturer and I felt the structure of his class was good for learning. There is a lot of content in the course so I can't really blame him for moving quickly. While he aimed for lowish exam averages of our grade, the grading scale was good so I thought it was fair.

12/23/2024

The professor himself is nice, especially if you go to office hours and/or ask questions. Personally I found the class difficult but I did get progressively better throughout the semester which was nice. The lectures also follow the textbook closely. My only complaint is I wish we got solutions for all practice tests, as that would've been helpful.

12/22/2024

Dr. Kalelkar has an intimidating demeanor, but I believe he's very caring under the surface. The class was very difficult, but he decided to apply a flat curve at the end. I'm not sure what the distribution was like after the curve was applied but I believe it was reasonable. His lectures are decent, you should go. He is helpful in office hours.

12/22/2024

Dr.Yang is not that great a lecturer but definitely a 10/10 person. Super accessible and nice during office hour. 2 Midterms each weights 15% and the final weights 40%. The first midterm is easy, but the second is kinda hard. The final exam is alright.

12/19/2024

Math 309: Imagine you've never had a brownie. Lectures are like a brownie recipe---lists of theorems and definitions. Tests ask you: How does the brownie taste? But you never even baked the brownie. Matrix is highly geometric and Ouyang's lectures failed to connect theorems/definitions to their geometric meanings, making it difficult to succeed.

12/14/2024

This professor is half the reason I'm transferring out. He's all over the place and doesn't have the written homework graded before exams, but still expects students to be able to know how to do the work correctly. The lack of feedback combined with his poor lecturing ability makes this class exponentially more difficult than it should be.

11/21/2024