Mid-sem initial thoughts (no overall rates):
ACCT1501 - Accounting and Financial Management 1A
Ease 8.5/10 - Although we're not too far in and things are starting to look more specialised, so far this course literally started from 1/10 all the way to being my easiest subject. Things actually regroup themselves very quickly if you let them. It's just the first week can be very baffling without prior knowledge as to what financial statements really are and etc.
Content7/10 - You only need it significantly if you get into a commerce related field, but it equips you quite quickly with useful life skills - helps you decide who to invest in and if your parents' companies or etc. are simply performing well. From what I hear FINS1613 may be better because with the saturation in the finance sector, it's more relevant to them.
Lecturer Youngdeok Lim - 8.5/10 I personally really liked him. Although in first week when the content was getting overloaded it felt a bit intimidating, the fact he really knows his stuff and can get the content through to you meticulously is great. Perhaps the one put-off to most students was that he was a bit monotonous, and I hear from others about how they fall asleep after a while
Tutor I have Dickson, and he gets a 9.5/10 from me simply because a) he is a nice guy and b) yes he's actually really good at explaining stuff and focusing on specifics.
Teaching resources 7.5/10 - Most of the content is derived out of the textbooks, and the lecture slides are essentially notes. But the textbook, if you actually have the time to read through it does cover everything you need. Problem is that it covers a bit too much (~5-10% over) and you need to go back to the lecture slides to see what to discard. Also the slides only make sense if you actually attend the lecture. But that's not really surprising.
ECON1101 - Microeconomics 1
Ease 7.5/10 - This course feels like a walk in the park once you get told how the stuff works. But if you try to self learn it you get absolutely nowhere.
Content 8.5/10 - Wrongly biased, because I didn't do any economics during high school. So to me the stuff is actually quite interesting. Although it feels like just logic, I personally enjoy the intricacy of how it's explained.
Lecturer 9.5/10 - Probably plays the game too much but I absolutely loved Alberto Motta. Am actually sad that he's going. Could not be any more funny and engaging and getting to the point.
ECON1101
Lecturers: 9/10 for Alberto Motta - A good lecturer and a visionary educator, but to be very honest, I think he is slightly over-rated in terms of his lecturing. Yes, he did know the content back to front, and was very engaging and kept the audience laughing. But sometimes, I felt like we wasted a bit too much time on unrelated stuff. And that sometimes meant a) it was easy to zone/tune out and lose your concentration b) it got hard to control audience noise level c) we rushed some content, because we had lost too much time due to "stuffing around". However, definitely a good lecturer, just prefer if he reduced time wasted on the "LOLs"
That's funny, he mentioned how he got feedback for being sidetracked and said he tried his hardest to
not be sidetracked this year! I reckon he succeeded.
Tutor I have Seb, and he's getting 7.5/10 but probably scrapes an 8/10 easily. Knows his content well and helps things make sense to me when I get stuck quite easily. Also really friendly to everyone. Not sure what puts me off.
Teaching resources NaN - Economics got shifted to having a game (Playconomics) counting towards the final mark. So far, this has been a useful resource, but this plot twist means I still need to think before giving a proper review.
MATH1151 - Mathematics for Actuarial Studies and Finance 1A
Ease 4/10 - Whilst I've been able to pull through this course, especially with easy questions, the difficulty has spiked a lot here from what I'm used to and I would say I'm barely on track. 4 hours worth of lectures a week instead of 2 due to the split in algebra and calculus, and sometimes the methods are just overloading (e.g. I really hate matrix multiplication). If it weren't for certain people on this forum helping me out I'd be doomed.
Content 9/10 - Really interesting and does contain quite a majority of the stuff that I did look forward to after high school. Doesn't mean it's easy but it's interesting.
Lecturer Josef Dick (Algebra) 6.5/10 (maybe 7 because he tries hard) - His teaching in general is pretty good; he writes out some worked examples to guide you as to how to go about answering ordinary level questions. And when I asked him for help he explained it in a way I eventually understood what he was getting at. But again, feels monotonous and with certain bits in algebra a bit dry it's off-putting. Also the noise control is also a bit hard, as I've found some previous post to mention.
Ian Doust (Calculus) 8.5/10 - More enthusiastic about what he teaches, but some may say he goes too fast keeping in mind the rigour of calculus at uni compared to HS. Slices in a maths trivia problem halfway through to temporarily liven the mood and give a brain break as well. Explains his concepts thoroughly and also writes out some worked examples (interestingly though, he uses an old-fashioned overhead projector whilst Josef uses the camera) Maths has got to be maths though - he can teach it well, but it makes no sense as to where you would apply what you know, and for a ton of students it can be hard.
Teaching resources Algebra notes get a 9/10 for their compactness, whilst calculus notes aren't really for rating if you ask me because they're just what Ian uses to teach. Course pack is an easy 10/10.
SCIF1121 TBD