Takyiu Liu

CIST004 · CIST005A · CIST4A1 · CIST004B1 · CIST004B · CIST037 · CIST004A1 · CIST0041A · CIST5A · CIST004A · ENGR010 · 99 lifetime ratings

AI rating: 93/100
RMP rating: 4.8/5
Take again: 93.94%
Difficulty: 3.4

The decision

if you want to actually learn CS and can invest real study time for a fair grade.

Best fit · Effort For RewardHilarious caring lecturesExtra credit generousTough technical examsLots of homeworkCurves and support

Outstanding teaching with humor, clarity, and real industry insight.
Homework and , but curves and reward effort.
if they put in the work.

Key questions

Four answers before you build your schedule.

Is this an easy A?

FairEffort

62/100

As are common with , and curves, but and require real study.

Online and ; pure free A is rare.

Is the course easy?

Challenging

34/100

Python and Java courses move fast with , and hard code-tracing tests.

Difficulty is high in both formats; summer and accelerated sections feel toughest.

Is attendance flexible?

MustTake

94/100

About 94% would take again; students call him one of the .

Recommendation stays very high online and in person with only isolated accent or pace complaints.

Course guide

See how this professor fits your week.

Grading

Lenient

76/100

and , and extensions are available.

Format shift

Leniency appears in both formats when students complete the work.

Workload

Heavy

32/100

Frequent homework, reading, quizzes, and .

Format shift

Online and ; accelerated terms intensify it.

Teaching experience

Excellent

93/100

and strong real-world CS framing.

Format shift

Teaching praise dominates both formats; a few students struggle with accent comprehension.

Assessment method

FocusOnExams

68/100

Midterms and , quizzes, and EC.

Format shift

; online still emphasizes midterms and finals.

Luni fit check

Weigh these signals against your actual schedule.

Get help balancing workload, grading, and timing when no option is an obvious fit.

Course format

Compare the in-person and online experience.

Classroom format

In person

42 reviews

High confidence · Best fit for Effort For Reward

In-person classes are engaging and , and lots of EC; beginners can thrive with office hours.

Main concern

A minority struggle with accent clarity or feel overwhelmed without prior coding experience.

What students said

“Mr. Liu was the . He is caring, and class.”
CIST005A

“His tests are difficult, but . , but you will gain a lot of knowledge.”
CIST004A1

“I cannot understand anything he is saying. Because he has a very strong accent.”
CIST004

Remote format

Online

8 reviews

High confidence · Best fit for Effort For Reward

Online students still praise jokes, detailed lessons, , and fair grading with manageable A's when work is finished.

Main concern

Pace and terms.

What students said

“Mr. Liu is an amazing teacher... he provided many opportunities and in-depth explanations to all questions asked by students.”
CIST005A

“While the course moves very fast and requires a lot of work. He is rather lenient with grading and gives multiple opportunities to improve your .”
CIST004A1

“Professor Liu's funny, VERY accommodating and I think a . Getting an A in this class is doable.”
CIST037

Exam style

Know what to expect from exams and major assignments.

Exams are tough and technical, but , and EC keep outcomes fair for prepared students.

Technical multiple choiceCode tracingCurves commonExtra creditIn-person exam option

Assessment risk

Standard

48/100

Low score means less forgiving assessment conditions.

In person

In-person exams include hard code-tracing MC and coding sections, often curved, with if struggling.

Code tracing MCCurvesIn-person preferredTest heavy

“The midterms and final were worth 60% of the and the multiple choice sections are fairly tough.”
CIST005A

“Difficult code tracing multiple choice problems for tests. Grades leniently for .”
CIST004A1

Online

Online reviews still describe difficult midterms and and EC.

Hard midterms/finalsExtra creditOpen-note quizzes

“The only (seriously) difficult part of the class are the midterms and final: I averaged 75% on them by the end.”
CIST037

“He also has EC opportunities and .”
CIST004B1

Student evidence

See what students actually said.

Top student voice
“Mr. Liu was the . He is caring, and class.”
Voice snapshots generated from 50 CS reviews across online and , and support. Credibility rating: High.

🎯 Teaching Quality

93/100

“His lectures are informative and easy to follow, and .”

😂 Humor That Helps Learning

90/100

“He combined information given by the textbook with funny anecdotes in order to help us better understand the concepts.”

⚖️ Fair but Demanding

62/100

“His tests are difficult, but . , but you will gain a lot of knowledge and understanding from them.”

Theme 1

👨‍🏫 About Teaching Style

Likes to crack jokes, which makes class fun!
and always makes sure you understood everything.
I learned more from this one class than I did in my previous coding classes at De Anza.

Theme 2

📈 About Difficulty & Grades

if you are struggling!
Getting an A in this class is doable. Complete all the , and do well on the .
for those of you who are new to python... It requires so much of your time for everything and the .

Theme 3

❤️ About Character

and not intimidating whatsoever.
He cares a lot about his students and will help you get where you want to get.
, and caring professor.

Data context

See exactly what the AI read.

Analysis sample

Recent reviews read by the AI

Lifetime ratings

92/100

Evidence confidence

Fifty detailed reviews with strong agreement , and .

Inside 50 stored ratings

Quality ratings

5 out of 587

4 out of 57

3 out of 52

2 out of 52

1 out of 51

Course coverage

CIST005A14 reviews

CIST004A112 reviews

CIST0041A6 reviews

CIST004B15 reviews

CIST004A4 reviews

Show 6 more courses

CIST0042 reviews

CIST0372 reviews

CIST5A2 reviews

CIST004B1 review

CIST4A11 review

ENGR0101 review

Reported outcomes

A range results lead the reported letter grades.

50 reported outcomes

A range

A+ 4 · A 29 · A- 4

B range

B 3 · B- 2

C range

C 1 · C- 1

D range

No reported values

F

No reported values

No letter grade reported

Drop/Withdrawal 1 · Incomplete 1 · Not sure yet 2 · Rather not say 2

Takyiu Liu

x x if you want to actually learn CS and can invest real study time for a fair grade.

Four answers before you build your schedule.

FairEffort

Challenging

Recommended

MustTake

See how this professor fits your week.

Compare the in-person and online experience.

Know what to expect from exams and major assignments.

In person

Online

See what students actually said.

🎯 Teaching Quality

😂 Humor That Helps Learning

⚖️ Fair but Demanding

👨‍🏫 About Teaching Style

📈 About Difficulty & Grades

❤️ About Character

See exactly what the AI read.

Quality ratings

Course coverage

A range results lead the reported letter grades.

A range

B range

C range

D range

F

No letter grade reported

if you want to actually learn CS and can invest real study time for a fair grade.