<p>I recently received my math placement results and Wellesley recommends that I take Multi-variable Calculus. I looked up the different classes for that course and found that there are 3 professors: Robert Winters, Helen Wang, and Stanley Chang. </p>
<p>I know everyone has different experiences in classes and that all three are probably great at what they teach, but could anyone tell me about these professors? (I saw some info on ratemyprofessors.com but there was no Robert Winers in the Mathematics Dept.)</p>
<p>Thank you in advance!</p>
<p>This is my probably biased opinion:</p>
<p>Robert Winters is partially the reason I came to Wellesley (and then he was on sabbatical until last year and yeah… let’s just say I still have yet to take a class with him 
). He’s a great professor – really gets the class involved. I have a lot of friends who loved their classes with him.</p>
<p>Stanley Chang is probably the god of the math department. He definitely has a following (including some Facebook groups…). He works you hard but you will learn soooo much from him. Definitely take a class with him if you can.</p>
<p>Helen Wang seems not to be favored as much… not really sure why since I haven’t taken a class with her, but I’ve heard she’s rather unclear in lectures.</p>
<p>Ratemyprofessors is very very outdated for Wellesley. I really would not look there. Once you get to campus you will have access to FirstClass and the Opinions conference where students post their opinions about classes/professors. Do take those messages with a grain of salt though, as pretty much only the people who love/hate a professor will post. You also can ask your First Year Mentor, RA, or Academic Peer Tutor for their opinions.</p>
<p>thank you so much welles10!</p>
<p>I actually have another question for you (you seem to know everything!)</p>
<p>A while back I found a first year course called Anthropology on Food. I read the course description and found the time for it in order to register for it during orientation.</p>
<p>However, when I went back to the course catalog online to read the description again today, I couldn’t find it at all! It’s still listed in the Fall 2009 schedule that I downloaded.</p>
<p>Is the class still available?</p>
<p>I had Prof. Wang for Linear Algebra (Math 206) my first semester at Wellesley and I liked her fine. She is very nice and pretty low key–hers is not an “exciting” class, but personally that didn’t bother me. I performed the same in her class as I have in all my math classes at Wellesley, so I don’t think that there is really anything wrong with her teaching style. </p>
<p>I searched Banner and I found Anthropology of Food as a class still being offered. However, there is currently only one student signed up, and the minimum is 6, so if 5 more people don’t sign up, it might be cancelled (my next semester math class is in danger of this, sadly :().</p>
<p>thank you advantagious!</p>
<p>When you get to Wellesley, your FYM will show you how to access opinions-classes before you register, which is a forum that discusses all of these things. It’s not perfect for many departments, and too many people answer questions by saying someone already discussed it, keep reading, but math is well-covered. It’s also not public, and professors cannot read what you say, as they could here (or they might find this on google).</p>
<p>I have had two of the three professors listed, and I know I wrote about one of them in O-C math.</p>
<p>lol letthemdoit, i don’t know everything =P i just have happened to spend a lot of time dabbling in various departments, orgs, etc (i really have no main focus in my classes or activities…) i also spend too much time on firstclass.</p>
<p>Wow, this thread brought back memories! I had Helen Wang 1st semester freshman year, way back in 1976. She & Alan Shuchat were the professors whose classes were so enjoyable that I switched from an intended French major to a Math major at the end of freshman year. </p>
<p>I recently went back to Wellesley for the 1st time in ages because my daughter is a senior & is looking at colleges for next year. It was lovely to see the Science Center (which was quite new when I attended), as well as to marvel at all the new facilities!</p>
<p>btw, anthropology of food will be offered. sadly, sometimes the course catalog misses a few things. the cap on that course is 10 people, which leads me to believe that it is possible only for first years/transfers/new davis scholars. i believe transfers and davis scholars have already registered for courses, which is probably why that course already has 1 person signed up for it. </p>
<p>if you are interested in the course, go to advising day during orientation and talk to the anthropology department. the course is not listed in the course catalog nor on the department website… it might be an entirely brand new course.</p>
<p>Just my very biased opinion:</p>
<p>I’ve only had Winters as a prof for Multi and my experience with him wasn’t positive. While he is genuinely helpful during office hours, I found that during classes I could hardly keep up with him because 1. he moves very quickly when he gets excited about the topic (which I’ll admit is kind of adorable) and 2. he writes in a font that you need a microscope to see… this combination is deadly and may lead to wandering minds and math-fatigue. </p>
<p>Multivariable as a course is still absolutely fascinating. You basically learn how to do everything you did in 2D calc with 3D. If you’re a visual learner, it’s easier to visualize these 3D objects. It’s kind of beautiful really. You learn how to describe the world in mathematical language.</p>