UBC Course Reviews

So...after not having updated my blog since December, I've finally logged in. I know not many people read this, so hopefully if you find this post, it's helpful to you.
Something that I noticed when in my statistics and my Traffic sources was the keywords 'what is taught in astu 150'.
Therefore, I've decided to do a little course review for the following courses at UBC Vancouver. The courses are: MATH 184, ASTU 150, ITAL 101, ITAL 102, ECON 101, ECON 102, COMM 100, PSYC 208.

MATH 184: Differential Calculus for Social Science and Commerce
This is a required course for students in first year Commerce, or transfer students into Commerce. I have to admit, this is one difficult course. Depending on your teacher, it can vary. I had Albert Chau, who made lots of mistakes, but was overall a funny teacher and I enjoyed his classes. Please attend every class if you want to do well and math isn't easy to you, as it wasn't to me. The midterms will be relatively medium to hard, make sure you do lots of practice midterms as they are identical with just different numbers. However, I can't even begin to really describe the final to you. The final for Math 184 is written by the head of the department, and is the same for both Math 104 and 184. This is one touch motherf***er. Study hard is my best advice, or get a tutor. A quick note of Math 104 vs 184. Math 104 is for students who have already completed a calculus course in high school. If you haven't, then take 184. It's the same material, but 184 has a tutorial attached to it, which is hard but definitely worth it. Good luck!

ASTU 150: ART STUDIES IN WRITING
This course varies on the teacher. I had Sean Saunders. Our class focused on Transgender Studies. We did lots of readings, and we learned to write summaries, write research proposals, and finally write a research paper in the topic of Transgender Studies. Really interesting course and Sean Saunders is hilarious, highly recommended.

ITAL 101: FIRST-YEAR ITALIAN I
This is the first introductory course to the Italian language. I, personally, have a background that makes Italian easy for me, so I can't really comment on the difficulty of the course. It will also depend on the teacher, but mostly it's fairly standard. You learn introductory basics; counting, days of the week, asking questions, colours, clothing, etc. I had Chiara Falangola, a PhD student, teach this class. She was fun and kept class always interesting, although she was quite challenging in her assignments. She was an awesome teacher though, made the class super interesting.

ITAL 102: FIRST-YEAR ITALIAN II
Similar to Ital 101, this is the 2nd semester first year Italian course. You learn lots of verbs and lots of tenses, so it can get a bit more challenging, but just stick on it. The teacher, Giorgio Jacova, teaches many of the classes. His classes are a bit more different than Chiara's. You'd complete the required exercises and readings at home, and then go over it together in class. Can get super repetitive, but if you work hard and participate, you'll do well!

ECON 101: MICROECONOMICS
Another requirement for commerce year 1 or transfer students for commerce. I had Clive Chapple, so I cannot comment on any other teacher. He's an amazing teacher, highly recommended if you can get a seat in his class. The textbook is awesome, the weekly Aplia assignments are definitely a grade booster, but his midterms are difficult, so study. Study, study, study, and you'll succeed! Microeconomics is a bit nit picky in my opinion, so it got really confusing at times for me. Just keep things separate and if you don't understand, try to before you move onto a new chapter. Go in for office hours, he's friendly and funny.

ECON 102: MACROECONOMICS
Similar to my review for econ 101. Macro economics is easier, but it varies per person, so don't quote me on that.

COMM 100: INTRO TO COMMERCE
This is a commerce course for students not in the commerce faculty. You learn a bit of everything, such as finance, human resources, marketing, accounting, etc. I absolutely hated this course. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone, but I know people who liked the course. The assignments are pretty cool but the class is so boring and is super repetitive of the textbook you're suppose to read. It can be interesting if you get into it, but I lost interest in it at the beginning. Midterm is all written so memorize, memorize, memorize. Final is all MC, super easy.

PSYCH 208: CONTEMPORARY TOPICS IN SOCIAL, DEVELOPMENTAL, PERSONALITY, AND CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY
Probably my favourite course of the year. It varies per teacher though. I had Paul Wehr. I absolutely recommend him, He's so funny, and cares so much about his students. Talk to him a few times and he'll know your name, he really likes to get to know his students, even in a class of 200. His midterms are pretty average, make sure you read the textbook, especially the afterthoughts if there are any for the chapter. Awesome and interesting class, analyzing disorders from an evolutionary psychology point of view. Love it!

Hope this helps anyone reading. Leave comments or send me a message for any more questions!