Brady, Lois  

Computer Science

1.65/4.00

65 evaluations


CSC 103


Junior
A
Required (Support)
May 2000
Brady was by far the most anoying professor I've ever had. The only other one coming close was Dr. Tsu. I agree that her course material is well prepared, but there is something about her that just bugs. Perhaps it's because she likes to end her sentences with a rising tone. She has definitely pumped one too many lemas.


Junior
B
Required (Support)
Nov 1999
This is one of the few Computer Sceince professors that I've had that made me able to retain all the information that she was teaching in my mind. Yes, she gives a ton of work, but if you want to learn the material, then Brady is your woman.


Sophomore
Withdrawn
Elective
Jul 1999
I learned an awful realism from this person. Discrimination is visible in a persons unwillingness to help. I have no reason to "RIP" on instructors, but students should be aware; these feelings could curb ones abilities.


Sophomore
C
Required (Major)
Aug 2001
If you already know how to code, don't take her class. If you want to create industrial strength code, don't take her class. She requires these stupid things called guards. Every if and while statement must have a guard, which is just a copy of the previous if statements. Every if statement must have an else. The else must also have a guard, which is the 'not' of the if statement. When you get hired in the computer industry, your manager will beat you with your keyboard if you ever try to use gaurds. They clutter your code, and a waste of time. She says they help everyone understand the code you write. One of my coworkers got into trouble with my manager due to his lack of understanding of coding, and the coworker got an A in her classes. The only good thing she requires is a comment for each function. Industry really loves comments about each function. She's great for computer theory, but horrible for programming.


Sophomore
B
Required (Major)
Aug 2001
This class was a lot of work, but it paid off in the end. I know the material much better than others who took different instructors. There is a lot of homework, which can almost seem like busy-work until you realize that by doing it all, you have half the programming assignments done. The programs were challenging but reasonable, but do not wait until the night before to start. Even though she seems kind of intimidating at first, she is very approachable in her office hours. I would not take 103 from any other instructor.


Sophomore
A
Required (Major)
Aug 2001
Brady, is pretty damn intimidating at first. She assigns a crap load of homework so try not to take too many units when taking her. I didn't always agree with here methods for teaching and I sure did bitch and cry a lot...but what she does in class works. I learned a lot and the class turned out to be one of the most interesting and rewarding classes I've taking here at calpoly.


Sophomore
A
Required (Major)
Aug 2001
i learned A LOT taking this course - but i worked a ton for it. the work can seem excessive (at the least) at times, but when i finished the course, i knew something. i'm actually kind of looking forward to taking another class from her.


Sophomore
D
Required (Major)
Aug 2001
Start you work ASAP in that class. It is easy to get behind. The only unfortunate thing about this class is eventhough I recieved a 'D' my knowledge on the subject is very complete. Passing this class is based more on your programs and assignments than on knowledge.


Sophomore
Withdrawn
Required (Major)
Aug 2001
Ask anyone....she sucks!!!


Freshman
B
Required (Major)
Aug 2001
Well, if you ask me she doesn't "suck". Taking a class with Brady is much like life. The work does seem intimidating at first, and there is much of it to do initially. Heck, even professor Brady seems like a tough cookie. But if you take time to visit her in office hours, and really question what you are doing, you'll learn much. She's there to teach us how to think critically and quickly.


Sophomore
A
Required (Major)
Aug 2001
This professor is very well-prepared. She has an incredible knowledge of the subject she is conveying. The work load is incredible, but well worth it. Find a great study partner and it'll be much more enjoyable.


Sophomore
A
Required (Support)
Jun 2001
Brady is a lot of work, but if you stick it out, you'll learn a lot. Put away the porno, don't go to church, and use all of that extra time to study. Do not get behind! She's a mean little pecker, but she does give you a little curve at the end, I had an 86% and I got an A-.


Freshman
A
Required (Major)
Feb 2004
I thought Dr. Brady was excellent. I'd had her for 101-102, also. Yes, she is extremely difficult, but it's University. I'm paying money (ok, relatively little) to go to class. I WANT to learn something; I WANT to work. The one thing I have heard, however, is that she is tougher on the men in the class than on the women. I don't know if this is true.

CSC 141


Freshman
Credit
Required (Support)
Mar 2001
The second week of class I immediately switched the course grading to CRNC because I thought it would be impossible to receive a decent grade after taking her impossible quizes in which you have to know exactly what she is looking for in order to get the answer correct. There was even one quiz in which she asked us our opinion and then grades us on it. Everyone I knew got marked off on that question. Brady is a joke of a teacher and an annoying one at that. Like the evaluation said earlier in the comments, most of her sentences end in a high pitch, making her speech annoying as hell. Brady assigns tons of homework(busywork) that usually covers sections that we haven't learned yet and we are forced to learn it by ourself then have her clarify our questions the next day in class, even though we are forced to turn in the homeowork that day and don't have a chance to make the corrections on them. She never really teaches anything, instead, she photocopies pages from the book and puts them on the overhead, which makes me wonder what the point of comming to class was if I could have just read the book at home. For some strange reason, at the end of the quarter Brady becomes less bitchy and drops our lowest quiz and starts giving easier homework assignments. Because of this, my grade miracuously rose to the B range and now I am pissed that I chose CRNC grading if I knew that this would happen. So to conclude this eval, DO NOT TAKE BRADY FOR ANY CLASS! IF ANOTHER TEACHER TEACHES THE SAME CLASS, TAKE THE OTHER TEACHER!


Junior
Withdrawn
Required (Support)
Feb 2001
Always showed up late to class. Always made students form groups to talk about the 2+ hour homework assignment due every day. Then decided to actually teach the class new stuff in that last 5 minutes of class. Quizes are almost entirly based on what she was to teach class (because book doesn't cover it) but she never has time to teach it, and student are still responsible in knowing it. She would not stop teaching class when class time was over to let students get to their next class. The worst teacher I have ever had in my life.


Sophomore
B
Required (Major)
Nov 2001
Professor Brady is a very intelligent professor. When you walk away from her conceptual classes, you will realize that you learn a tremedous amount. However, she assigns an incredible insane amount of homework EVERY night. Don't count on getting a break in this class. Her grading system is also a bit unfair. Homework, quizzes, midterms, and the final exam are all worth 100 points. It feels as if various amounts of work are worth the same amount of points. Those points are then scaled to percentage. If you brain is able to store MUCHO information and you are prepared to spend whatever it takes for this class, then take Brady.


Freshman
B
Required (Major)
Dec 2001
Oh boy - Prof Brady. I have been told that she is actually a quite good teacher, but I am not seeing it _at all_. I took her CSc 141 class at the same time as CSc 109, and I think she actually hindered my ability in 109. Although she is obviously very intelligent and understands what she is talking about, I think that she is the ONLY person who can understand what she is talking about. When I _could_ understand her, all she talked about was stuff that was clearly in the book (most of the time, she had overheads copied right out of the text and read directly from them) - I could have very easily read the required chapters and learned just as much. She also seems to see a need to rewrite all the important algorithms because the author of the text "obviously doesn't know what he is talking about" - expect her algorithms are most convoluted and much harder to follow. Watch out for good 'ol Prof. Brady.


Freshman
B
Required (Major)
Dec 2001
Discrete Math really is on the whole pretty useless. The stuff you really need to know in computer science you learn by programming - In the real world, theres no happy set-logic in graph applications - you use stacks and queues. Johnsonbaugh's book is really shoddy, but apparently its better than whatever they had before. Prof Brady takes Johnsonbaugh's algorithms, converts them to set logic, changes the variable names, bags on Johnsonbaugh, and calls his algorithms her own. You cover some nice graph algorithms and a bunch of pre-calc number theory topics that are somewhat useful. Because the class could be done by reading the book over the span of a week, my advice is to take Parham if you can. If you like doing lots of work (a new hour+ long assignment EVERY DAY) then take Brady. A word to the wise: don't skip class too often. The day you skip will be the day she hands out a new assignment and collects the 5 or 6 that have been piling up. I worked pretty hard, and my B+ indicated that she didnt curve the class at all, or by 1 or 2% at the most. I'd imagine the average grade in the class was a C. Work hard... (and guards...wtf?)


Freshman
D
Required (Support)
Jan 2002
ok........well she makes up her own stuff that is no where in the book, only on worksheets which are rarely helpful. I earned a D in the class only b/c her final is not totally accumlative; about one third of the final was new information that was explaind about 3 school days in advance. Since i didn't understand almost all the information until we got our tests back my final was a bomb. She seems to be quite unorganized in just about everything she does. I actually liked homework everyday, b/c i learned way more than i could from her. It would have been nice not having homework over the weekend. I am a freshman and taking my first Java class and she expects us to already have this class(101), which i did not therefore i was a little lost in some parts when she said "you should have learned this in 101 so i don't need to go over it". Her grading is quite unfair.....I believe the average grade before the final was around C, C-. She calls her them weekly quizes, but they were more like tests. The only two things i liked about her were that she dropped a quiz/test and that she gave us previous midterms and final exams which were somewhat helpful. I don't think she is worth ever taking again.......i am soo happy that i am CPE and not CSC.


Sophomore
C
Required (Major)
Jan 2002
Professor Brady is unequivocally the worst teacher I have had at Cal Poly. Perhaps the worst part of the class was her inability to present the material clearly. That was compunded by the fact that she would contiually give out homework assignments on topics that she hadn't explained, then require the assignments to be turned in the next day. Her excuse was that "employers hiring students from Cal Poly expect students to be able to read and learn from the book." So why has the school hired her? Anyway, do yourself a favor and don't take Brady. It will save you from the worst experience of your life.


Sophomore
A
Required (Major)
Feb 2002
She is a stupid-ass muthafucka. It's just sad that Cal Poly actually hired professors with such low quality. She is unreasonably strict on how you do things. You cannot "assume" that 1+1=2 on her homework or exams. That is just ridiculous. Her student graders are pretty stupid too because they read the perfect answer as wrong.


Sophomore
B
Required (Major)
Feb 2002
She is a bitchass mutherfucker. Don't ever take her class. She sucks really really bad. I hope she got hit by the train. Fuck.


Sophomore
N/A
Required (Major)
Feb 2002
The thing I hate about Brady is the way she handles proofs. She shifts the majority of the focus of the class to doing proofs, only ever lightly touching on other subject matter which IMO is more beneficial. Ontop of this she does not follow the book handles proofs and instead makes up her own methods for writing them out. The problem with this is that the proofs are very long and the slightest inconsistency with your written proof and her designed method and you'll be docked greatly in point value. Also any class where 75% of the students get a D and below on every quiz, there has to be something wrong with her teaching method. She assigns hw everyday, which isn't a bad thing, but when it takes 2 hours every night to complete the assignments it detracts from the attention you can spend on other courses. Also, about halfway through the quarter she'll have the class learn a new programming language, isetl. this wouldn't be such a bad thing but she blindly throws it upon you without anysort of documentation on proper syntax. In class she'll always state that if you know math you know isetl, which isn't entirely true. You'll have a better idea of what might work there but the syntax will kill you, and the compiler used with this is a joke. I suggest to avoid brady if possible


Freshman
B
Required (Major)
Feb 2002
If you are lazy and dont ever do homework for other classes....dont take brady!!! She gives way too much homework. If you learn by doing....a lot...then go ahead and sign up with Brady. She is really helful during office hours ....so go as much as you can!


Sophomore
N/A
Required (Major)
Feb 2002
This course is completely uselss. Especially when logic is taught by someone who has no logic. She is so unreasonable picky about words and that is just so futile. I hope she gets squashed by a truck tomorrow.


Freshman
D
Required (Major)
Mar 2002
3 hours of useless busy work every night is not my idea of good teaching. If you have a choice, don't take Brady.


Freshman
N/A
Required (Major)
Mar 2002
This class was freaking hard. 2 hours of boring ass homework a night gets very old after a week. The 6 quizes are very hard, but not becuase of the material that it covers. The quizes are hard becuase of how picky of a grader Brady is. Leave out one word and there goes half the points on the quiz. The midterm rocked just about everyone in the class with the highest grade being in the low 80's. And of course she doesnt curve. I dont know where she got that great idea. If you are taking this class I recommend that you study your ass off and learn the formatting very well, becuase it is just as important as getting the right answer.


Freshman
F
Required (Major)
Mar 2002
BRADY IS HORRIBLE! Lets just say that up until I had her class, I've never gotten a grade lower than a B, yet I failed her class. What did I do wrong? I went to class every day, i did all of the homework assignments (which were inordinately loooong), i studied for the all the tests and quizzes. If you don't understand why tenure is a bad thing, you'll understand after Bradys class. She expects everyone in the class to be so excited about discrete math that they're pissing thier pants in anticipation. To give her credit, discrete math isn't a good class at all, no matter who's teaching it, but she really doesn't do much to help that fact out. The book for the class is also horrible (go read Amazon's reviews on it: ISBN 0130890081), not to mention that this poorly written and very thin book will set you back around $100. Buy it used if you can. Brady writes all of her assignments in third person, which just comes out sounding creepy. My advice: don't take discrete math unless you absolutely have to (sorry, CSC majors), and if you have a choice of -any- other professor, go with them.


Freshman
B
Required (Support)
Mar 2002
AVOID AT ALL COST. even if you have to wake up at 8am for another professor, take that other class! Every single day, you'll cry over the 4 hrs of hw you get, every single day. The worst part of it all, the hw is just busy work. Quizes are insane, midterms even worst. The final was easy, which is just about the only bright point. Everything else was, well, BS.


Freshman
B
Required (Major)
Mar 2002
AVOID AT ALL COSTS. Like it was said earlier, she gives INSANE AMOUNTS OF HOMEWORK that DOES NOT HELP with learning the material. If the homework had helped, I wouldn't be failing her. Typical class day: teacher arrives 5-10 minutes late. wastes another 2-5 minutes setting up the overhead and fumbling with transparencies. Then, with her "I've been on crack too long" voice, she tries to explain crazy shit that doesn't make any sense the way she does it. And, if you know another way to do a problem that works, no matter what, it's wrong. If you dont do it her way, its wrong. This teacher is not open to differing views and presents the material in an archaic way that only she herself can understand. I've heard office hours are helpful, but i never went. Basically, AVOID THIS TEACHER. If you can't, do all the homework, dont worry too much about the quizes, they are hard all the time. Study for the midterm and final and try to get a 100% homework average. Other than that, kissing ass doesn't help. AVOID AVOID AVOID!


Freshman
A
Required (Major)
Apr 2002
Brady wont make 141 easy for you. You will have multiple hours of homework every night. I believe you will leave her class with a better undrestanding of the material compared to students who took 141 with someone else. Her fault is that she doesnt use a curve, so getting an A can be difficult. I expected a B, but the final was surprisingly simplistic so I winded up with an A.


Freshman
A
Required (Major)
Jun 2002
Dr. Brady is a very tough teacher, but that doesn't mean she is a bad one. You get a lot of homework and you have to work really hard, and she's really picky about the way things are done, but you come out learning a lot. Just put some effort into it and you should come out with a B or an A. I was surprised I got an A.


Freshman
N/A
Required (Major)
Mar 2003
This lady is the worst person i've ever met. I'm sick and tired of quizzes that you get an F on where you have everything right but you forget 1 word out of a definition or forget 1 word out of an explanation and get 30% of the credit for the problem. I hope this bitch dies in a horrendous way that takes a very, very long and painful time. I was too scared to go to her office hours because her appearance up close is so repulsive i can't concentrate on anything else. Her skin is absolutely disgusting, it's not even human. If you have any sort of a brain, don't take this class.


Sophomore
F
Required (Major)
Dec 2003
Die brady, die.


Freshman
A
Required (Major)
Mar 2004
Don't fret, it's only ten weeks, but this class, is by far, the most hideous affair that mankind has ever created. Pure misery. You feel you have a common bond with the rest of the class after a few weeks, simply because you are all enduring the same torment. Dr. Brady is a miserable old woman, and her lectures could put rabid monkeys to sleep. Two hours of senseless busy work every night. The first thirty minutes of which you are learning the material which Brady attempted to lecture on earlier, or what she'll decide is important to lecture the following day. The last hour and a half of the work is all mindless and goes nowhere. The tests aren't too bad, luckily, but make sure you study for the quizzes. Don't get lazy there. The one upside is that it appears she had a rather large curve at the end of the quarter. Dr. Brady has single-handedly and completely destroyed all faith that I had in the goodness of mankind.


Freshman
C
Required (Major)
Mar 2004
Die. Please, god, just die.


Freshman
B
Required (Major)
Apr 2004
Brady speaks "Greek" sometimes. I have to read the book to understand the course materials. Average HW 3-4 hours everyday except where there is a quiz. She is pretty anal in quizes and midterms. For example, the term "each" and "every" have different meanings and you get 1 point off if mix the two. My advice for high achiever is just do and understand the homework. You slackers don't stand a chance in passing the course. 2 out of 5 of my friends have to take CSC141 again.


Sophomore
C
Required (Major)
Jun 2004
Usually I don't publicly thrash people; it just goes against common decency. But for this woman I will make an exception. The class was the most miserable ten weeks of my entire life. The rumors ARE true: you DO get 3-4 hours of homework PER DAY (4 days of class per week), and she IS anal about EVERYTHING, and you are pretty much on your own. The study sessions aren't even much help because they are run by students who had her as a teacher, so obviously they don't know any of it either. I'm surprised I got out with a C, I had to work my butt off, and you will too, no matter how smart you think you are.

CSC 349


5th Year Senior
C
Required (Support)
Jan 2001
Brady knows her material extremely well. She is extremely demanding and if you do the work you will know the subject, your grade may still suck though. The main problem is that she has no known industry experiance and is passive aggressive without knowing it. If you disagree with her she treats you like a child who just doesn't know better. She continually refers to "programmers" with a tone that implies that she thinks little of them which is insulting to many students. So understand that she does have many valuable things to teach, but still has some things to learn herself.


Sophomore
B
Required (Support)
Dec 2000
Just an addendum to the previous note: She no longer has the class divide into groups and present results. All work is individual so ignore what you read above.


Sophomore
B
Required (Support)
Dec 2000
$100 worth of books for less than 100 minutes over the quarter. *Drop all other classes, or at least as many as possible. *She has very poor handwriting so comments on homework and tests take some advanced cryptology to decypher. *The Entire Class failed the first quiz because she hadn't lectured on the topic, hadn't assigned any reading on it and expected us to do the work anyway. Not a single person got above 50%. *She really knows her stuff. *She expects you to have gotten an A in CSC 141 and have taken it recently *From Her* because she expects things from that class that Parham didn't put in. For those of you who thought Parham was picky, you don't know the true meaning of the word yet. If you liked Parham (I did), you aren't ready for Brady. *The homework assignments take about 3-4 hours each and there are about 40 of them (ignore the sylabus when it says 30, she will add more at the end). Any break is just a chance for her to give more assignments on topics that she hasn't lectured on yet. *If you can't get another teacher or take a different class. I wish you luck.


Junior
A
Required (Support)
Jun 2000
Dr. Brady is by far the best CSC professor I have had yet. However, beware. All the rumors you have heard are true. Be prepaired to spend at least 2, and up to 7-8 hours each night on her homework. It seems like busywork at first, but at the end of the quarter, come finals, you'll see that you don't really have to study too much. All the homework really helps shove the information in your head. She has very clear, structured lectures. Class participation is expected, and you'll find that after spending this much time on homework, you'll want to give the class your opinion on it. There is a hell of a lot of material she coveres, and I found that somethings I didn't understand the first time around. I thus found myself going to her office hours many times. She is an excellent one-on-one tutor too. I will not take 445 from anyone else.


Sophomore
A
Elective
Jan 2000
Lois Brady could be considered an enigma at Cal Poly. She is a computer scientist. In a school more concerned with the tech school trivia of "software engineering", Brady pushes on with real Computer Science. It seems that there are only a handful of CSC instructors like this at Cal Poly. The work load is immense. At least in the beginning. Things do get easier as it goes on. Her ability in the subject (algorithm design) is absolutely amazing. Although she seems to require extra knick-knacks (commenting, etc), she does so as a benefit to everybody. People who say that what she teaches "is not what they do in industry" are merely perpetuating a corrupted industry of hackers with big pay checks. Her only downside is that her strength is in logic and math. This may directly conflict with software engineers who just want to "code things" and not necessarily learn computer science.


Junior
B
Required (Support)
Aug 1999
Dr. Brady is a good professor, but be prepared to spend a significant amount of time for this class. A lot of time will be spent meeting with you group to complete homework assignments which are due at the beginning of each class. Some assignments can take as little as an hour, while others can take up to six or seven hours. The tests are straight forward, but are longer that the time period permits so you will have to rush. Overall, she is a good professor, but needs to lighten up on the work load and the length of the tests. If you are up for the challenge take Dr. Brady.


Sophomore
B
Required (Major)
Aug 2001
Yes, all the comments so far about work load in CSC 103 from Brady are just as true in CSC 349. Again, the payoff is actually *learning* something. I am so glad I took this class, I use the material I learned every day. Brady has you work in groups of 3-4 students, and the groups present results they found for various algorithms to the class. It was social and at the same time educational. I had fun.


Junior
A
Required (Major)
Dec 2001
After reading the previous rantings, I feel that they are a little misleading. Like most classes at Poly, if you go to class, do the homework, and study a bit before the tests, you'll do fine. It just so happens that Brady covers a hell of a lot of material (compared to other classes). Put in the necessary time (I averaged 2 hours of HW per night) and you'll learn alot (how cliche). I hope you remember method of proofs (esp. induction and contradiction) from 141, because you'll be expected to use these methods often. She gives you past quizzes/midterms as study guides, and the actual ones cover the same exact material, so you should be well prepared for exams. Don't screw off doing the homework, that's where Brady expects you to do most of your learning. Lectures are centered around reinforcing the homework. Overall, I liked her style and I feel like the course was well worth the effort (but I think I can only handle one class like this per quarter...don't take another hard major course with 349)


Junior
A
Required (Major)
Jan 2002
Before going into this class I was worried because of what I have heard people say about Professor Brady. But there was no need for me to be worried. Professor Brady cares about her students and is eager to help. I found this class very interesting and I learned a lot. However, she does assign a lot of homework which kept me very busy all quarter. The only good thing about the homework is that it forces you to learn the material. When it came time for quizes and midterms, I didn't have to study as much because the homework had already prepared me. My best advice is for you to be prepared to make an effort and work hard. It is definitly possible to get an 'A' in this class.


Graduate Student
A
Required (Major)
Feb 2002
This class was NOT a difficult class. The only difficult part of the class was the amount of work assigned. If you keep up with the homework and go to office hours regularly, it is NOT at all hard to get an A! Of all the classes I've taken at Cal Poly, this has been my favorite! I have learned more from this class than from any other class I've taken here. And Dr. Brady is the best professor I have ever had. All in all, the work load is more than worth it because algorithms really are the heart of computer science! So don't listen to those lazy asses who just whine and complain without really trying!!!


Senior
B
Required (Major)
Feb 2002
This was a very difficult class, there is lots and lots of homework. so much, that it ends up being 25% of your grade. And the tests arent easy either, you proofs have to be word for word correct. She hands out about a shrub worth of notes, which many times are full of blank spaces for you to fill in. Her Lectures many times is composed of answering questions from the previous nights homework, and then 15 minutes of lecture on new material. Unfortuneately, she teaches the best when she's in her office, so prepare to go to office hours lots. All the work you do(if youve done it) really prepares you for the tests. Even though taking a class with her is living hell, for a difficult topic like algorithms, I'd rather take her office hours and get a good explanation of the topic, than take someone else who doesnt explain it as well.


5th Year Senior
B
Required (Major)
Jul 2002
Brady's material is invaluable. It is in the interest of every computer scientist to know all the material in csc141 and 349. Of which, i'd like to point out why and how some of you fail to get it by makeing a rebuttle against this arguement: ------------------------------------------ "If you already know how to code, don't take her class. If you want to create industrial strength code, don't take her class. She requires these stupid things called guards. Every if and while statement must have a guard, which is just a copy of the previous if statements. Every if statement must have an else. The else must also have a guard, which is the 'not' of the if statement. When you get hired in the computer industry, your manager will beat you with your keyboard if you ever try to use gaurds. They clutter your code, and a waste of time." Obviously you have failed to understand the material. Gaurds are NOT simply a copy of the previous if statement. They explain what the logic in the IF statement means. Had you been paying more attention you may have caught that. I have worked in industry for 3 years. All code is required to be properly documented, WITH gaurds and method docs as PART of proper documentation. And if you still dont get it, here's a lovely example: if (offDim.width != getSize().width || offDim.height != getSize().height) { //...do something } Can you figure out what this means right off the bat? Perhaps a gaurd saying if (offDim.width != getSize().width || // the window has been resized offDim.height != getSize().height) { //...do something } is in order. Notice i didnt simply copy what's inside the if statement. That dosent contain meaning. I abstracted what the logic in the if statment MEANS and put it in the gaurd, as required by industry codeing standards. Perhaps you need to go back and review the material before harping on her methods. -J


Senior
B
Required (Major)
Aug 2002
Everyone complains about the amount of work Brady assigns, and yes there is a lot. But if you do it all you're pretty much guaranteed a good grade on the tests and the homework grade brings up your average. She is very strict about the way things are done, and that's because that's the way it should be done. If your a "spaghetti" coder than you will not do well, as you do not deserve to do well. This course is meant to build some logic skills into peoples aproach to designing algorithms. At that it is taught well by brady and I would recommend it to anyone serious about the subject. However, if you are very buisy with other things do not even think about it. It is a lot of work.


Junior
B
Required (Major)
Oct 2002
Warning: this course has a tremendous amount of work, especially towards the end of the quarter when the last homeworks start stacking up. You will have to spend averagely 2 hours/day to do homework, and you have to be very detail. This course is about algorithm, NOT about coding. If you think your coding skill is super (or 'spaghetti' code), you won't see why every little details she makes you put down (like guards, or always have an else after an if, or never have return statement in the middle of the loop body, etc...) make sense at all. However, if you are smart enough, you will realize that this is an ALGORITHM DESIGN class, and putting down those little details helps you clarify the algorithm. Anyway, again this course has lots of work, but as long as you do your homework, and do your homework, you are guaranteed a good grade because the quizzes and midterms and final are based on homework. Brady is a very nice and friendly professor. Don't bias before you come to her office. If you have problem with your homework, come to her and ask for help in a good manner. I remember some friend told me not to take her class because it would be too hard. I told him he was wrong afterall.


Senior
A
Required (Major)
Dec 2002
A lot of people badmouth Brady because of the homework load. Yes, it is jaw-droppingly high, so high that I don't think I've ever seen a class with more work. However, if you do the homework you will have no surprises on the exams, and you'll really learn the material. Isn't that the whole point of a class? The highlight of Brady's Algorithms class is 2-3 hours of homework a day (that's me, others say 5-9) that covers everything you'll ever learn in the course. Most of lecture is spent going over homework questions, with some discussion of new topics whenever relevant. If you need further guidance, Dr. Brady is always ready to answer questions by e-mail or during office hours. You'll also get feedback on homework, quizzes, and exams- all of which are looked over by one of her army of graders. There is usually a short quiz each week, and there are two midterms and the final. Expect to be fully occupied for the duration of each examination. The questions are exactly what you'll have seen on the homework and quizzes, with very little (sometimes no) changes. If you've done the work you'll be able to do the exams, just like that. On tests, be doubly careful to follow all the class forms when writing proofs or algorithms, because each little mistake will cost you not-so-little points. It pays to study if you just can't remember all these details. While I didn't find the material very difficult, some others did. If you're one of those people, find others like me and bully them into a study group (I yielded eventually) and go through homework and exams. There's a practice exam for each real one, and the questions tend to be of the same nature. Go over this, time yourself, and if you finish in the allotted time you will be fine. Overall, I think Dr. Brady does a great job teaching the course, though she relies on homework more than other professors. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but don't take this class if you have a lot of other ones.


Sophomore
A
Required (Major)
Mar 2003
As you may have heard, this class requires between 6 and 8 hours for homework every night. You will definitely be missing sleep working on this and might have a craving something a little stronger than coffee to help keep you awake. I know I wouldn't have been able to get through it without a couple of go pills. Fortunately, I know a guy that can hook you up, if you know what I mean. Give me a call at (805) 546-0822, but keep it on the down-low.


Senior
A
Required (Major)
Apr 2003
Dr. Brady is one of those notorious professors in the department. If you're not one of those people who are just at Poly to get a stupid degree and actually have an interest in learning, Brady is an absolutely fabulous teacher to take. Yes, the 2-4 hours of homework a night is true, and if you keep up with that, you'll do just fine. I suggest getting a study buddy or two to work on the homework, but don't just copy, it may be repetitive and long, but you get a lot out of doing the homework yourself (with study buddies to check answers and help when you get stuck) and it really helps for tests. And outside of class, she is the sweetest lady. Pick yourself up, show some initiative and some real effort, and this class is a breeze, a heavy workload, but a breeze.


5th Year Senior
C
Required (Major)
Apr 2003
When you get down to it, Lois Brady must be quite full of herself. It must be arrogance that makes her think everyone should spend such an excessive amount of time and effort on her class when they have plenty of other responsibilities. Yes, excessive -- that's the word. If you thought Cal Poly's CSC department was above making an upper division class intentionally much harder than it has to be for the purpose of "weeding out" students, Brady's 349 will make you think again. Speaking of it leaves a bad taste in my mouth.


5th Year Senior
B
Required (Major)
Apr 2003
Be warned: 1. Average day: 40 minutes reviewing homework; 5 minutes passing out papers and collecting papers; less than 5 minutes "teaching" new material for the next homework; multiple hours spent at home attempting to teach oneself. 3. Maybe it wouldn't be necessary to spend so much time reviewing homework if she actually managed to teach her students how to do it. 4. She'll assign double homework if the class is "falling behind" in terms of not getting to 40 for the quarter. Problem: Double homework = double review time = even less lecture = even more time spent on homework (simultaneously attempting to make up for her lack of teaching by learning as you write answers). 5. Answers are only correct if memorized and written exactly as she writes them. 6. Proof: (1) Grades in her class are on average horrible. // from grades (2) Failure breeds failure. // from experience | Brady is a professorial failure. // by logic from (1),(2) | QED.


Senior
F
Required (Major)
Jun 2003
Stupid class killed my whole quarter with fucking 5 hours of homework a night taking time away from all my other classes. I hope one day somebody forces her to eat, chew, and swallow 5 gallons of crap every night because that's what you get with her class. You are force fed homework where YOU teach yourself the material. Class is only to relay answers to the material that YOU spent the time and effort to learn and to give handouts that you have to use to do the homworks. I thought I was paying someone to teach me and minimally to give me direction, not to throw a myriad of exercises at me. She happen to test you on ultimately pointless minutia as well. Shit like where did the word algorithm come from came up on a quiz. On retrospect class was largely a waste of time where I could've simply bought a book with questions and answers in the back to teach myself algorithms. It would have been more entertaining, efficient, and a more fulfilling educational experience.


Senior
B
Required (Major)
Nov 2003
this class was definately the worst class i have taken at Poly, this lady wasted more time in class than she actually tought the material. I would like to send her poop in the mail. Your going to have to spend a lot of time studying, this is definately a hard class.


Graduate Student
B
Required (Major)
Jan 2004
I got a B. This class was pure misery. Material is very interesting but the instructor herself makes the ordeal unbearable. Most students wait for years to take it from Kearns or Phillips as Brady is cruel. If you have a job and are paying your way through school, quit. If you are taking other classes, drop them. This should be your ONE course in a given quarter if you expect to score higher than a C. Expect to spend 5 hours PER DAY, EVERY DAY (that's 10 hours per weekend) on homework which will be graded very inexactly so you will not know what you missed. She cannot and will not show you the same effort she demands from you. You will then be tested on the hardest, most obscure and irrelevant parts of what you did on your homeworks. The books cost a fortune and are NOT worth buying, though admittedly the beast structures her course closely from these books. Photocopy a few key parts - ask someone who already suffered through this hell. Specifically, the algorithms she introduces will be taken directly from the book and there is a little read-it-in-and-puke-it-out nonsense from the smaller book. You will have to memorize some nonsense that could have simply come from the class notes. If you are smart, you will not buy the useless books. But then again, if you are smart, you will not take Brady. Avoid her like the plague.


Senior
A
Required (Major)
Jun 2004
Hey everyone, you are not in high school anymore. Dr. Brady is not going to spoon feed you! If all of you got of your lazy asses and actually tried in her classes you would actually learn and probably get a good grade. Instead you are lazy, so you get and F, so shut the hell up about it. It's your own fault. Dr. Brady is one of the best professors I've had a Poly, and she taught me a lot of valuable things that I've used in my other classes since I've taken 349. Yeah, this class was a ton of work, but if you put the effort into and work hard you will do well. Dr. Brady is not dumb, why should she help you when you don


Senior
F
Required (Major)
Jun 2004
Looks like there is one good rating about Brady. I wonder who could that be, other than Brady herself!?


Graduate Student
B
Required (Major)
Jan 2016
I have attended several universities for undergraduate, graduate, and foreign study classes. Brady was the single worst and most corrupt professor I had between UCSD, Cal Poly, and universities abroad. If we submitted the same quality of work that she did for us we would fail right out of school. If you write code the way she insists you do, you will be fired for writing garbage. She has no idea how industry works. You will have to un-learn her material if you wish to keep your job. You will be forced to buy $120+ worth of books. These will be used once (to explain why algorithms are the "heart of computing") and never again. I suspect that she gets some kind of kickback - wouldn't put it past her. Also, she hates men. This is crystal clear. The ONLY reason I passed her class is that a female classmate of mine argued in my favor AFTER Brady told her that I was "no good" and that she should not study with me. One week after my friend informed me of this conversation, my grades went from Ds to Bs and As. I assure you, I was not doing any better or worse on my homework, tests, or quizzes. Apparently, she is unable to use email, as well. I cannot believe it. A Computer Science professor who cannot perform this basic function. Amazing. I had to print multiple copies of my friend's thesis and then take them to her for review as she was unwilling to simply open them in MS Word. He had moved back to Europe after defending his thesis and she just sat on the document, unwilling to budge.

CSC 445


Sophomore
D
Required (Major)
Aug 2001
Lots of work in the lower division classes but for the 400 level all homework is optional. You should still do it because you will learn a lot. Brady is great at explaining things during her office hours, and if you can figure out her teaching style fast enough, you will learn more from her than from any other prof I have ever had. Don't take too many units with her classes. You can expect 10-12 hours outside of class each week for her work alone. Intimidating at first but overall one of my favorites.

CD 944


Sophomore
C
Elective
Nov 2016
Fine teacher, but a little dry in the presentation. I wouldnt suggest having her at 8:00 in the morning, might be difficult staying awake.