Frank Caridi

Not a great teacher and really not that helpful. That isn't the issue though. His exams make up 95% of your final grade and he DOES NOT CURVE EXAMS OR THE CLASS. Our previous exam had a 60% mean and the other midterm had a 73% mean. This means that something like half of our glass is near failing... I literally don't know how he's going to get away with failing this many students buttttt WHAT THE FUCK. He isn't that helpful but the class would be totally fine if he made it fair by curving the class.

Not bad. About a problem set a week (ungraded just marked for completion). But the problem sets are close to pointless when preparing for the exams and only account for 5% of your grade. 2 midterms and 1 final. HW - 5% Midterm 1 - 20% Midterm 2 - 25% Final - 50%

I have never left a review on CULPA, but I feel I need to warn people of "Professor" Caridi. HE IS THE WORST TEACHER I HAVE EVER HAD, INCLUDING HIGH SCHOOL. He cannot teach at all. Unfortunately, I am a student who goes to his lectures. He goes through pointless PowerPoints the entire class and often incorrectly solves examples. He finally fixes the problem when a grad student points out his error. For the midterms he loves to say "If you have been coming to class, then you should be fine, if not, then good luck." WRONG. The exams look nothing like the examples or HW we do. The averages on the midterms are horrible and HE DOES NOT CURVE. All other stat teachers curve, from what I have heard. Pretty ironic that the worst teacher at Columbia does not. It amazes me how a teacher like this can be hired at such a prestigious university. All in all, AVOID FRANK CARIDI AT ALL COSTS.

HW: Weekly PSet 2 Midterms (I've heard many other stats classes only had one...) 1 Final (that was just like whatttttt????)

I had Professor Caridi for Introduction to Statistics with Calculus this past semester. I will try to be as objective as I can writing his review, but just know that bottom line: don’t take his class ever. His classes are 1) very boring and uninspirational 2) useless. You are not required to come to class, but he does take attendance for the record…which is kinda pointless. He stutters a lot and takes a lot of time to talk about one very simple idea/method/technique or he just talks about one concept for the longest time. Caridi’s favorite quote: “If you’ve been showing up to class, then you should do absolutely fine on the test. WHAT? As a person who actually (sadly), went to most of his lectures, I can tell you that is not true because he doesn’t teach you anything. You just have to study off of the book and the practice problems, which also suck. The textbook that is used is really confusing because it doesn't explain much. It gives you a formula and basically you’re by yourself and NO CARIDI DOES NOT EXPLAIN HOW TO DO THE PROBLEMS. Also, for homework. The first 10 or so homeworks (out of 12) were agonizingly (and uselessly) with a required average of about 10-16 (?) problems per homework. AND THEN I think he realized he was being very inefficient and gave us about 3, 4 questions for the last two homeworks each…. I really don’t understand how this guy has been teaching at C…

Not bad. Weekly homework exercises, two midterms, and a final. If you do the practice problems he recommends, you should be fine.

I had Caridi for Stats w/ Calc. The class is horrible. The book is the worst textbook I have ever used (no exaggeration); their is zero conceptual underpinning. You memorize formulas from the book, write them down for the test, and plug in numbers without ever knowing what you're really doing. Caridi doesn't help at all; most people don't show up to class because he can't explain things and when the students don't understand he gets mad and yells at them. (He writes before every test, "If you've been showing up to class, you should do fine. If not, then good luck." His perceptions of his teaching effectiveness are wildly inflated.) This class is the culmination of my disappointment with Columbia. We supposedly come here for the great education this school offers, but anything I've learned in this class I've learned through Youtube tutorials. I would advise against taking this class, but (in typical Columbia fashion), you're probably taking it as a requirement. Getting an A isn't too hard; it's finding an ounce of inspiration is near-impossible. I'm sure I'll look back on this class when I graduate and realize I wasted my college years.

One fairly easy HW assignment per week. Ungraded, counted as 100 marks as long as you summit it. mid-term/final

This is the WORST professor I've ever had in Columbia. You learn NOTHING in this class. Don't even bother coming to lecture. It's stupid and a complete waste of time. He sent out this so-called classroom etiquette announcement as followed. He should think about how he can improve the lecture, as it is his own faults that students don't stay until the end of the class. Subject: Classroom Etiquette Students, For those of you who did not hear what I said at end of class here it goes again. I cut you folks a lot of slack regarding attendance. It's not required. I don't make a fuss about people leaving before end of class as long as it is done discretely. Therefore, I expect the same consideration from all of you. Passing in front of the class in the middle of my lecture is distracting and disruptive to me and the rest of the class. In future if you plan to leave early for a good reason please give me a heads up at the start of class and sit on the door side of the room. If you anticipate boredom, frustration, anxiety or simply are someone who can not be patient till the end of class, have the good sense to sit on the door side. If you are not on the door side, then just tough it out till the end of class. Remember that you are always free to express your feelings about the lecture to me in private and in a more constructive way. Please observe this simple courtesy so we do not hav…