Elliott Stein

DO NOT TAKE LINEAR ALGEBRA WITH THIS MAN. I originally took this section because I read on CULPA that he was the best professor to actually learn linear algebra from, but that is absolutely, completely untrue. This guy is literally so old now, but he writes so fast it's like his hands are on fire, which makes it incredibly difficult to get everything down before he moves on to the next topic. He also talks into the board while writing and doesn't project his voice, so it's next to impossible to hear what he is saying. He also teaches STRAIGHT out of the textbook, so there isn't really a point in attending lectures unless you want to be put to sleep by his monotone voice. Everyone I spoke to across different sections seemed to be learning the same material and was having a much better time. TL;DR: LITERALLY ANYBODY ELSE

As someone who never took calculus before college, this class was incredibly difficult. Since so many people take some form of AP calc BC before taking this course, it felt like Stein expected all of us to be familiar with the content already. The basic concepts were skipped over, and he went straight to the most difficult examples. The problem sets were very hard, and the exams were 10x harder. I didn't find Prof. Stein very approachable. He could be cold and condescending during office hours. If you come to him with a problem, he'll ask you questions as a way of trying to get you to come to the answer yourself, but without offering much guidance. He also raised his voice multiple times during lecture, which created an unnecessarily stressful class environment. I managed to get an A-, but this class consumed my semester.

Great guy, chill workload for homework. HORRIBLE exams.

I disagree with all the "great for non-math minds" reviews. On a personal level, Prof Stein was great. He had a great (though infrequent) sense of humor and he was very approachable. He was also fairly no-nonsense in the classroom, which I appreciate. If you understand the material, his class I'm sure is very enjoyable. That said, I thought his class was harder than it had to be. I never had a problem with math and tested into calculus 1 with a nearly perfect placement score. But I was always, always lost in his lectures. Class consisted of him flying through problems on the board. Sometimes he'd skip steps without explaining, sometimes he'd just erase portions of the work and fill in the new numbers (which sucked when you're struggling to copy the problem and don't have time to rewrite what he is doing.) He is also one of those math teachers that thinks the harder problems are the "fun ones," which was really unfortunate on tests and homeworks. Like I said, personally, I like him very much. If you're entirely confident in your calculus skills, take his class. If not, find another way. Or make a worthwhile investment in calculus for dummies. It saved my grade.

The worst professor I’ve had a Columbia. Mean and laughs at you during office hours if you ask a question. Exams are fair but much more difficult than any other linear algebra class at Columbia. Refused to post answer key solutions for final exam practice because it was “too much work.” Avoid at all costs!!

I am a freshman and I have gotten up to Multivariable calculus in high school with no issue, I passed out of this class with AP credit, so I expected it to just be a refresher, easy A. The content itself is not super challenging, but the tests are absolutely ABSURD. Please for your sake do not take stein, he does not teach well, and be ready to study.

Great professor, very Woody Allen-esque, minus the constant barrage of self-deprecating wit. Stein does launch an occasional joke every couple of weeks that usually cracks the class up. He's reasonable, and approachable, and very smart. You really get the sensation you're understanding the mechanics of calculus with his strategy of highlighting theory before getting to the gross mechanistics.

As a math major, I’ve heard that he is the best professor to actually learn linear algebra from, but I found myself self teaching the course from the textbook. Lectures essentially repeat textbook content (so it’s unnecessary to attend) but no lecture notes are uploaded to courseworks. Psets are fairly simple but do not reflect the difficulty of midterms or the final. Also, he gave out more c’s than a’s because scores were on the lower side on average, meaning the curve did not help us (in fact, it seems like the curve hurt us).

He is a decent teacher, nothing mind-blowing or engaging. But after the first exam, I just skipped class and learned from the textbook and YouTube vids because they seem more comprehensive and i did about the same. BUT THE TESTS.... They are SUPER difficult. It's like 6 complex long questions for the test. Like you might know how to do part of it, but if you can't do one part of the problem (ex., a crazy integral), then you are COOKED! I've heard the other teacher's tests are much more relaxed, like having a note card and multiple-choice questions. I REGRET choosing him. Exam 1 average ~ 68, Exam 2 average ~ 48. Math was always my favorite, but this class was humbling, especially when i've taken it before in HS.

Stein is one of the best calc teachers you will get at Columbia. He is very down to earth and can explain difficult concepts to non-math people very well. He is a lawyer by profession. You will certainly come out of the class understanding the concepts. He's also very reasonable. One more thing that differentiates him from the other teachers is he speaks english! clearly! well! Don't downplay that - my friends have horror stories.