Samuel, Tony  

Tony is the man, after the first few weeks he really figured out how to teach. He is super nice and a very good teacher. For any assessed work he will give you VERY similar problems either through the homework or through his sample quizzes/midterms. He has a very good understanding of calculus and really loves to teach. A very passionate man and extremely helpful in preparation for higher level classes.

He goes out of his way to help students. Even putting office hours on weekends. He is really smart. Fun when you get to know him.

Tony is such a great professor. He can sometimes be spazzy but he is the sweetest guy. He is very helpful in office hours so definitely go. He will make time to help you even if you can't make it to office hours. His tests and (weekly) quizzes are fair and directed to help you stay on top on the material and actually learn it. He assigned one homework assignment a week and only graded two of the problems (he specifies which ones will be graded). He also makes the quizzes group quizzes sometimes and he always posts sample problems for tests and quizzes on polylearn. He is very organized, super nice, and his accent is rad so definitely take his class if you have the opportunity!

Tony was my favorite professor my first quarter at Cal Poly. He is brilliant when it comes to mathematics, and great at presenting the material. That being said, sometimes the lectures confused me, but he was always more than willing to answer questions in class and was a huge help in office hours. Tony really cares about his students and that they truly understand the material, so he'll stay at office hours until everyone has all their questions answered - even if that means staying for hours on end. The homework is easy to get full credit for, especially if you utilize office hours. Quizzes are very doable as well with the sample questions and answers he provides as a study guide on polylearn. The two midterms and final are definitely challenging, although I believe they're rightfully so. I feel like I should have been able to solve the problems - especially since several closely mirrored the sample ones. Nonetheless, I struggled a lot with the midterms, practically failing both, but was still able to pass. The final was a challenge as well, but seemed like it might have been somewhat easier than the midterms. At his discretion he may drop your lowest midterm and transfer the weight to the final, which I believe is what saved my grade. In all, I highly recommend taking calc 2 with Tony if you have the chance and want a solid understanding of the subject material. He truly cares about his students - he even did an optional midterm teaching evaluation so he could improve his teaching style. As much as this class challenged me, I would definitely take a math class of his again.

Overall, I really enjoyed this class. Tony is a really cool guy and he tries super hard to help people do well. There are times where it's confusing as hell and he doesn't explain something fully, but if you're having trouble he will make the time, even outside office hours, to go over all your problems with you. The tests/quizzes are hard, but it's perfectly doable to get a decent grade in the class as long as you take notes and study. Tony gives you a lot of resources, but he also doesn't assign that much work. I would definitely recommend taking him!

I have never enjoyed a math class in my life until this one. Tony's passion really shows through as he teaches and you can tell he truly cares about the topic. His main goal is to make sure every student knows the material fully and he makes himself available whenever you need him. Office hours are great and he uses PolyLearn very well. Gives sample quizzes which help when studying. One thing is that the midterms and final is extremely difficult. He curves if needed but you have to study a lot for exams and finals.

Profesor Samuel is one of the best professors I've ever had. His passion really shines through in his lectures and presents the theory clearly then goes into important examples which often reappear on tests. Tests aren't easy, but if you keep up and study you'll be fine. I felt I had a really solid understanding of the material. He genuinely cares and is eager to help out however possible in office hours or whenever. Also a cool and interesting young guy.

Tony is the most caring, intelligent, and hardworking professor I have ever had. He really takes the time to help those who are struggling during office hours, and he goes above and beyond by also being available outside of class if you want to set up a time to meet. Although his class is difficult, I also learned more than I have in any other math class and feel thankful to have had him. He struggled a bit at the beginning and I wasn't his biggest fan because he often made little mistakes and had to go back and correct them while fumbling around. His quizzes are straightforward and the sample questions that he puts on polylearn are also very helpful so utilize those. The downside is I almost always felt rushed and/or ran out of time on his quizzes/exams. The midterms were very difficult and the final was also challenging. I did not do well on the exams as a whole but he must have a pretty big curve because he came in clutch at the end and ended up giving me an A. Overall, set aside time to dedicate to this class and do not get discouraged because if you continue to show him you are putting in effort, he will see that and you will be rewarded in the end.

Tony is an awesome guy with a heart for his students. He truly makes an effort to improve his teaching and understand the students' needs. That being said, his midterms/final are very very hard, so you really need to seek help if you need it. GO TO OFFICE HOURS. He explains everything no matter how long it takes and he offers study sessions before the major exams. His is willing to help you no matter what, so take advantage of it, otherwise his class will quickly outpace you. He also brings candy. Enough said.

Tony was definitely my favorite professor from fall quarter. He is honestly the smartest person I've ever met when it comes to math. Tony really adapted his teachings to fit the needs of the class and went out of his way to help people who asked for it. Honestly, it was a tough class. The tests and quizzes can be very difficult, but Tony does his best to give you as many resources as possible to prepare for them. This is not a class that one can easily do well in without putting in effort. Tony will make you put in the work, but he does it in the most encouraging and helpful way possible.

He puts in an incredible amount of effort into his teaching. He cares about the material, and he cares about his students. His lectures are very clear and flexible if needed. Being a very approachable professor, his office hours are very beneficial if needed. Homework is not too terrible and tests are very appropriate. Highly recommend Tony.

I will agree with the other reviews that Tony makes himself available to help students. But he also claims that he "hates to fail students" while giving out midterms and finals that are so ridiculously difficult that the class average is a 60%. The difficulty of his tests made the course extremely hard to enjoy and constantly discouraged me since I put in hours of study only to fail his tests. He does curve the grade at the end quite generously however the grade is not the reason I am posting this review. All I'm saying is that a test in which half the class fails should indicate to a professor that something is wrong, but apparently Tony Samuel does not care about this. Leaving me to wonder whether he really meant it when he said, "I hate failing students"

Tony is an interesting fellow. His tests are friggin impossible, on the final last quarter an "A" was 50/80. He is the most helpful professor of all time but every quiz/test will probably be the hardest thing ever. 25% of the class will probably be in the D to C- range. Take a different teacher if you can.

I loved this class. Professor Samuel is an amazing professor. Despite the fact that I rarely made over a 60% on his quizzes and failed the first midterm horribly, because I did well on the second midterm and final he gave me a B. Yes, his tests are very difficult, but he curves the end grade accordingly. Honestly, I grew to like his tests. They really tested your fundamental knowledge of the subject, and it was rewarding to get the difficult questions right. Go to office hours, especially on the week of midterms. The best part about this class is how many resources Tony gives you. Polylearn is packed full of homework problems, worksheets, and example quizes/tests. Half the work of studying is already done for you. If you get worried about your grade, just know that I had around a D before his curve.

Tony is by the far the best math professor I have had at Cal Poly or any professor for that matter. His dedication to teaching and providing the resources for you to succeed is amazing. Office hours are extremely helpful. His tests and quizzes are very difficult and my raw score was never great on them. However, he provides practice exams and quizzes that are very similar (although difficult) to the real quizzes and tests. I scored C's on both midterms and the final was extroardinarily difficult. However with the curve, i managed to pull away with an A in the class. TAKE HIM!! You will learn so much from this dude.

Let me start by saying that my Math 142 class was the first class that Samuel taught at Cal Poly. I had initial reservations about having a teacher that was new to the school, but Samuel turned out to be an excellent professor. Samuel was extremely clear during class lectures and when presenting material. He was also willing to go above and beyond when helping students in office hours or during scheduled appointments. He truly cared about each of his students. This being said, the class was challenging, and you certainly need to be prepared to put in a lot of effort and time if you want to do well in the class. Samuel also has a very entertaining accent and frequently brought chocolate to office hours:).

Tony is a great teacher who really puts a lot of effort into helping students. He sometimes over complicates some methods and stuff but is a great teacher for the most part. He is a very nit picky grader though. He has a very specific and proper way he wants you to write your solutions but as long as you don't forget any equal signs, integral bounds, dx's, or any other small thing your good. His quizzes and tests are actually pretty hard but he has a generous final grade curve. I liked him.

Professor Samuel was the best math teacher I've had at this school so far. His lectures were clear and pretty easy to understand. The only downside of his lecture was how fast he goes. I've never seen anyone teach any course material so quickly. It was hard to keep up and I found myself having to write as fast as I possibly could. He went so fast that he often would end class 5 to 10 minutes early, while many other teachers often run out of time in their lectures. If you are able to keep up with him then you should be fine and it is likely that you will understand. If you are lost about anything, you will have a review day before a test and even just extra class time each class where you can ask him questions and he'll do a great job of explaining the material. I never had to go to his office hours and I wouldn't say I'm particularly gifted when it comes to math and I still managed to get a B in his class. He cares a lot about his students and that is reflected in his generous grading policies, the packet about succeeding in his course and integrity that he gives you on the first day, and even something small like how he brought candy to the final. His homework didn't take too much time and was due weekly. At some points he extended homework deadlines and made quizzes open note quizzes if he felt at any point that he wasn't being fair. His tests could be difficult, but he had extra credit on some quizzes and tests along with true and false questions that seemed to ensure that the theory behind each problem was understood. Unfortunately sometimes these problems would subtract points from your score instead of just getting a 0 on that problem so sometimes it was better to not answer those problems and get 0 credit instead of losing points for the wrong answer. Overall, it should be possible to succeed in professor Samuel's class without having to put in an unreasonable amount of effort.

Although he’s helpful and caring when you ask for help, his class is hard af and his methods and grading are way too complicated. The average score on his midterm was a 45%... yet he didn’t curve it. I’d steer really far away from him if you want to pass Calc 2. Please take a different teacher. Fun fact- he wore the same shirt almost every single day. I don’t know why, maybe he thought he could be like Einstein?

S A M E S H I R T E V E R Y D A Y

Don’t take him. Thank me later.

RIP grade

RIP

Bruh

Rip

Is very particular about how he wants the problems to be solved and will take off more than half credit if not done how he wants.

Let's start this off by saying Tony is a quality dude. I like him as a person. However, I would definitely say his class was incredibly difficult to follow. He teaches at a god-like speed, which is fine if you're a god at math, but if you're a person like me who is average and needs explanation it will make your head spin and leave you very confused. There were many classes where he would stop and let us go, but everyone would keep copying notes for another couple minutes. Whenever he would stop to ask if anyone had any questions nobody would ever ask anything because everyone was still copying notes. Apart from this he is also super picky about how to answer questions. If you don't check your conditions on a problem expect to get zero points even if your answer is correct. He gave the hardest midterm I've ever seen. The class average was a 45% and instead of curving it he decided to make the final 80% of the class grade! I studied at least 45 hours for that test and then found out I failed. It was a pretty horrendous experience. If I were to leave him a suggestion I would definitely say he should give quizzes to give students an understanding of what he wants and how he grades before it's too late and they're screwed. Take this class if you are a math god and already know the material or if you hate your life. Otherwise I would recommend taking another professor.

Please don’t

Lul

He sucks

L

Yikes

Professor Samuel tries his hardest to help his students succeed, and it is clear that his main goal is for us to learn and do well. He is extremely helpful in office hours and is always willing to schedule time outside of office hours to meet with you as well. However, his tests are extremely difficult and he does not provide a curve. My section's midterm average was 56% and he has said that he will only drop that score if we show a large improvement on the next test. Unfortunately, there are no quizzes to help your grade, but the homework assignments (due once a week, worth 30 points each) can help your grade if you do well on them. Overall, Tony is a good professor, but needs to rethink his exam/course format, since the material for this class is far more complicated than the calc classes.

Tony is the man, he is incredibly insightful and teaches the material to a t. Ive come out of calc2-3 understanding the material better than most other students, so much so that i can help students from any other professors class. He goes pretty quickly, but that is unavoidable when it comes to the amount of material in Calc 2 and Calc 3. He also is very precise when it comes to notation and definitions; by this i mean he uses mathematical language to present theorems and such which just adds to how well you understand the material. Tony is also incredibly helpful in office hours and will make the effort to meet with you privately if you are not doing well or if you just feel like you don't understand something. Overall Tony is the best math professor ive had, i give him (11/10).

Professor Tony is not an easy professor. That being said, I learned more from his class than I have ever learned from another math class I have taken in my life. His lectures are very concise, with specific definitions that are tricky to understand at first. After a while, because of how specific those definitions are, you get a very good understanding of how the material works. Tony is the man, if he notices you struggling in the class he will encourage you to see him during office hours, in which he is EXTREMELY helpful. He will even willingly take out time during his day to meet with you individually to discuss any problems that you have with a certain topic. Do the homework, make sure you UNDERSTAND the concepts/topics and are not just redoing homework problems. I have never met another math professor who cares as much as he does about his students, with such a clear passion for the subject he teaches. Recommend 10/10.

Alright, this evaluation is kind of a difficult one for me. I had an incredibly difficult time with this class. More than any class I've taken so far at Cal Poly, but somehow I managed to get a B when I was afraid all quarter that I'd fail. It may be because the topics we covered are just so different than most math we've taken so far, or due to the fact that Tony is still trying to figure out how to teach effectively. Don't get me wrong, he is a great person, but as a professor I don't think he's hit his stride yet. His lectures are incredibly fast paced, his handwriting hard to read even from close to the front of the room, and his knowledge seems too advanced for his own good. He's a pure mathematician, so he really likes to prove things, when really all I want to know is HOW THE HELL DO I DO THIS? I'm sure he'll figure out a pattern of teaching, but the fact that he had to curve the class so incredibly hard just to get people to pass seems a little counter-intuitive. Maybe make the class or exams a bit more straightforward (and ditch the hypocycloids!!!) so people can actually pass exams. Otherwise, he's a great guy, but the class will literally kill you inside unless you're already great at math. Only take him if you really want to challenge your study habits and cram a ton of information. Good luck!

This guy is seriously amazing. I was blocked into his class my fall quarter for Calc. 2 and took him again for Calc. 3. I got A's both classes, and I attribute that to the way Tony taught. His lectures may seem fast, but that's just the nature of the curriculum for both the classes; there's a lot to learn in such a small amount of time. He's incredibly clear and understands the difficulties his students are going through. If he knows that students are struggling before a midterm, he'll make additional office hours which he treats as a secondary lecture for any topics that were unclear to everyone. Forsure take this guy if you have the opportunity to. I always looked forward going to his class and wish I was able to have him again as a professor. Whatever course you take won't be easy, but he's the best chance you have at getting a good grade. Not only that but you'll learn SO MUCH by going to his lectures. Overall, Tony is super passionate, knowledgeable, great at teaching, and fucking dope. Also he climbs so like 100% coolest professor at poly.

I was blocked into Tony Samuel's Calculus II class my first quarter at Cal Poly and he was so amazing that I decided to take him again for Calc III. Tony goes above and beyond for his students and truly cares about each and every one of his students. If you don't understand something, he will sit there with you and explain whatever you are confused on until you get it. On top of that, he grades very fairly. His whole ideology and goal is to ensure that everyone is learning and understanding the material. Thus, if you have an opportunity to take Tony Samuel, do it. His tests and homework can be difficult, but when you finally understand how to do the homework problems or example problems, the material/formulas/techniques are much easier to remember how to use. (I didn't have to do as much studying for the mid-terms and finals and was able to focus mainly on the few concepts I struggled with). I also highly suggest going to his office hours or asking questions after class if you take Tony because he is super helpful and also fun to talk to! Best math professor I have ever had and I would love to take one of his courses again.

TOny is a very good teacher. He teaches one of the more rigorous calc 3 classes at slo but it is very doable if you attend class and go to office hours and shit. the tests are hard, but he lets you make a notecard and you can take the midterms with a partner which is pretty dank. He grades pretty harshly but one you get the hang of it after a bit. overall,take this class if you are willing to focus and attend class. you will actually learn shit.

What a prick, he grades way harder than he needs to. Annoying accent too

What a great professor. When everyone failed the first midterm he changed the entire class structure to better adjust to our abilities. I really appreciated how badly he wanted everyone to succeed. This was the hardest math class I've taken at Poly but I am happy Tony taught the class. He is just such a nice guy, and his accent will have you smiling the whole hour.