James Byun

MATH40 · MATH170 · D · MATH80 · MATH51 · MATH155 · MATH60 · TRIG · MATH150 · MATH140 · MATH114 · 128 lifetime ratings

AI rating: 24/100
RMP rating: 2.3/5
Take again: 26.09%
Difficulty: 4.0

The decision

Avoid unless you are strong in math, can self-study, and can handle heavy workload with strict grading.

Best fit · Hardcore LearnerHeavy homeworkTough gradingFast lecturesSelf-teaching requiredStrict exams

Most students describe very heavy homework and exams that are harder than the practice work.
A small minority says he teaches effectively if students study hard and follow his methods exactly.
The main risk is strict grading tied to showing work his way, not just knowing the answer.

Key questions

Four answers before you build your schedule.

Is this an easy A?

MissionImpossible

14/100

Getting an A usually requires major effort, exact methods, and strong exam performance despite some rare extra credit or generous-scale comments.

Online and in-person evidence both point to high effort, with grading.

Is the course easy?

Challenging

24/100

The math content is often made harder by fast pacing, difficult exams, and limited support for weaker students.

Online comments emphasize self-study and workload, while in-person comments repeatedly mention fast lectures and harder-than-homework tests.

Is attendance flexible?

Mandatory

12/100

Attendance is treated as important and one review says he can drop students who do not show up.

The attendance evidence comes mainly from in-person reviews, while online comments do not clearly establish a flexible policy.

Is this professor recommended?

Avoid

24/100

Most students do not recommend him because the class is high effort, stressful, and harshly graded.

Online reviews are mixed but mostly negative, while .

Course guide

See how this professor fits your week.

Grading

Harsh

18/100

Students repeatedly say he takes off points for not using his method and makes exams difficult to ace.

Format shift

In-person reviews provide most grading evidence, while online reviews mainly mention workload and poor support.

Workload

Overwhelming

12/100

Many reviews describe excessive homework, including hundreds or over a thousand problems in a term.

Format shift

Both formats mention heavy work, but in-person reviews provide many more repeated examples.

Teaching experience

Poor

32/100

Some students respect his knowledge, but most describe fast, unclear lectures and needing to teach themselves.

Format shift

Online reviews criticize communication and outside-material dependence, while and limited help.

Assessment method

Balanced

62/100

Reviews mention homework, quizzes, tests, midterms, and .

Format shift

In-person reviews describe timed quizzes and difficult exams, while online reviews only clearly mention lots of homework and tests.

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

47 reviews

High confidence · Best fit for Hardcore Learner

In-person reviews consistently report fast lectures, lots of , and frequent need to teach yourself.

Main concern

The workload and exam grading style can damage grades even for students who usually do well in math.

What students said

“If you can avoid this class, do so.”
MATH114

“Don't take if you want an easy A.”
MATH80

“It's super hard to get an A, but he is not as bad as the other reviews make him seem.”
MATH155

Remote format

Online

3 reviews

Medium confidence · Best fit for Self Taught Pro

Online reviews are split, with one positive review but two strongly negative comments about workload, communication, and using other materials.

Main concern

Online students may need outside resources and strong independence.

What students said

“Avoid his online classes at all cost.”
MATH155

“I did decent in the class but only w the help of the lecture videos of another prof.”
MATH170

Exam style

Know what to expect from exams and major assignments.

Exams are described as long, difficult, timed, and graded strictly by .

Hard ExamsTimed QuizzesMethod-Based GradingNo Cheat Sheets Mentioned

Assessment risk

Strict

22/100

Low score means less forgiving assessment conditions.

In person

In-person reviews describe hard timed quizzes, long exams, no cheat sheets in one class, and strict method-based grading.

Timed QuizzesLong ExamsNo Cheat SheetsStrict Work Showing

“Expect quizzes that are TIMED an hour, not enough .”
MATH150

“ and difficult(20 problems in 2 hours).”
MATH155

“No study guides or cheat sheets given or allowed.”
MATH80

Online

Online reviews do not clearly prove webcam, proctoring, Lockdown Browser, open-book, quiz format, midterm format, or .

Student evidence

See what students actually said.

Top student voice
“Don't take if you want an easy A.”
Voice snapshots generated from 50 reviews, highlighting key themes in teaching, grading, workload, and . Credibility rating: High.

🎯 Teaching Quality

32/100

“Byun's teaching is the worst I've had for math, so I suggest to whoever is considering Byun to find an alternative.”

⚖️ Grading Fairness

18/100

“On exams if you do not do the question his way from start to finish, you will not get it correct, even if you have the correct answer.”

📚 Workload

12/100

“This professor gives close to 1500 problems for the semester.”

Theme 1

📚 About Workload

A LOT of hw he acts as if Math is life.
.
The amount of homework is ridiculous and it does not even account for much.

Theme 2

🧪 About Exams

Makes test harder than needed.
Tests will catch you off guard.
Exams are extremely hard, 1st exam average was 52%.

Theme 3

👨‍🏫 About Teaching Style

He goes too fast and and leaves most students confused.
You basically have to teach yourself.
The GOAT. People who say he is a bad professor do not take the time to study.

Data context

See exactly what the AI read.

Analysis sample

Recent reviews read by the AI

128

Lifetime ratings

92/100

Evidence confidence

The analysis is based on 50 reviews across many years with highly consistent themes about workload, grading, and teaching pace.

Inside 50 stored ratings

Quality ratings

5 out of 516

4 out of 519

3 out of 517

2 out of 529

1 out of 547

Course coverage

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1141 review

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D1 review

MATH1401 review

MATH1501 review

MATH511 review

TRIG1 review

Reported outcomes

B range results lead the reported letter grades.

30 reported outcomes

A range

A 2

B range

B+ 4 · B 7 · B- 1

C range

C+ 1 · C 3

D range

No reported values

F

F 1

No letter grade reported

Drop/Withdrawal 5 · Incomplete 1 · Not sure yet 3 · Rather not say 2