Thomas Chen

BIO2 · BIOL21 · BIO22 · BIO3 · BIO31211 · BIOL3 · BIO1 · BIO21 · BIO1051 · 107 lifetime ratings

AI rating: 58/100
RMP rating: 3.2/5
Take again: 56.76%
Difficulty: 3.5

The decision

if you enjoy biology and will study hard; skip if you want an easy GE A.

Best fit · Effort For RewardExtra Credit HeavyDisorganized CanvasTest HeavyCaring but ChaoticLots of Homework

if you show effort
Workload and tests are heavy; many call lectures chaotic or
Online/self-taught feel on McGraw-Hill Connect frustrates GE seekers

Key questions

Four answers before you build your schedule.

Is this an easy A?

HardWork

42/100

Many As exist with heavy study and , but and inconsistent grading mean an A is rarely free.

Online often needs platform grinding and proctored exams; and participation pressure.

Is the course easy?

Challenging

32/100

Content and and test-heavy for intro bio, especially hybrid or summer sessions.

and hard quizzes; online adds tedious Connect work.

Is attendance flexible?

Mandatory

28/100

and participation points matter; skipping hurts.

In-person is clearly mandatory; some while others require engagement.

Is this professor recommended?

Depends

55/100

Loved by students who want biology depth and help; avoided by those seeking an easy requirement.

; online leans more mixed-to-negative for structure.

Course guide

See how this professor fits your week.

Grading

Fair

52/100

can push grades up, but many call him a tough or .

Format shift

Online reports lenient ; .

Workload

Heavy

28/100

Lots of homework, long labs, lengthy quizzes, and .

Format shift

; and test prep can feel overwhelming.

Teaching experience

Average

55/100

Warm and caring with passion for bio, but .

Format shift

Online criticized for little teaching; .

Assessment method

FocusOnExams

68/100

Tests, quizzes, and and homework.

Format shift

Online stresses Connect quizzes/exams; and pop quizzes.

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

33 reviews

High confidence · Best fit for Hardcore Learner

In-person BIO3/BIOL is polarizing: kind and inspirational with tons of EC for and long labs/tests for others; .

Main concern

, and if you do not love the subject.

What students said

“Professor is a nightmare! makes NO sense!”
BIO3

“ if you want an easy class to fulfill your life science req.”
BIO3

“Offers tons of if you demonstrate effort.”
BIO3

Remote format

Online

17 reviews

Medium confidence · Best fit for Self Taught Pro

Online BIO is often self-taught via McGraw-Hill Connect with , and messy Canvas; friendly and responsive but little real teaching for many.

Main concern

, and weak structure for students who need live instruction.

What students said

“There was virtually no teaching in this class. The , and exams are on the McGraw-Hill Connect website”
BIO2

“ unless you're fine with completely teaching yourself bio using McGraw Hill Connect.”
BIO2

“The and LONG and DIFFICULT but somehow I still got an A even when scoring low on them.”
BIO2

Exam style

Know what to expect from exams and major assignments.

Exams and quizzes are often long and hard; study guides help, and some online exams are proctored.

Multiple Choice Plus Free ResponseStudy GuidesProctored Online ExamsLong Difficult QuizzesPop Quizzes

Assessment risk

Standard

48/100

Low score means less forgiving assessment conditions.

In person

and free response; study guides help but random or detailed questions and pop quizzes surprise students.

Multiple Choice and Free ResponseStudy Guide ProvidedPop QuizzesLong Tests

“ free response questions, he provides a study guide.”
BIOL3

“This class has easy labs, but expected to have to know.”
BIO3

Online

Online quizzes and exams are frequently described as long, difficult, and sometimes proctored, with .

Proctored Quizzes/ExamsLong Difficult TestsMcGraw-Hill Connect

“The and LONG and DIFFICULT but somehow I still got an A even when scoring low on them.”
BIO2

“The in itself.”
BIO2

Student evidence

See what students actually said.

Top student voice
“ if you want an easy class to fulfill your life science req.”
Voice snapshots generated from 50 reviews (17 online, 33 in person), highlighting care, chaos, and workload. Credibility rating: High.

❤️

72/100

“If he sees you are putting in effort, and care about learning, he will go out of his way to help you, and gives lot of opportunities.”

📚 Heavy Workload

28/100

“Be ready for the .”

🌀 Organization Issues

40/100

“Tom is a but wow .”

👍 Conditional Recommendation

55/100

“ if you enjoy biology, or else you will probably struggle.”

Theme 1

👨‍🏫 About Teaching Style

and loves what he does, just note that he may ramble every now and then.
He does not produce linear thoughts! He's all over the place and never answers your questions clearly.
Brilliant! There is nothing this man can't understand.

Theme 2

📈 About Difficulty & Grades

as long as you put in some degree of effort you can get an A.
I am a good student and had to study about 42 hours a week .
Tom grades very leniently.

Theme 3

💻 About Online Format

There was virtually no teaching in this class.
and is just a bunch of repeated questions
I spent most of my time rereading his lecture notes trying to figure out what he was trying to convey.

Data context

See exactly what the AI read.

Analysis sample

Recent reviews read by the AI

107

Lifetime ratings

88/100

Evidence confidence

50 detailed reviews spanning many years with consistent themes on workload, EC, and organization.

Inside 50 stored ratings

Quality ratings

5 out of 529

4 out of 534

3 out of 58

2 out of 519

1 out of 518

Course coverage

BIO330 reviews

BIO26 reviews

BIOL35 reviews

BIO213 reviews

BIO12 reviews

Show 4 more courses

BIO10511 review

BIO221 review

BIO312111 review

BIOL211 review

Reported outcomes

A range results lead the reported letter grades.

36 reported outcomes

A range

A+ 7 · A 12

B range

B+ 4 · 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 2 · Not sure yet 3 · Rather not say 1

Thomas Chen

x x x if you enjoy biology and will study hard; skip if you want an easy GE A.

Four answers before you build your schedule.

HardWork

Challenging

Mandatory

Depends

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.

❤️ x x x x

📚 Heavy Workload

🌀 Organization Issues

👍 Conditional Recommendation

👨‍🏫 About Teaching Style

📈 About Difficulty & Grades

💻 About Online Format

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 enjoy biology and will study hard; skip if you want an easy GE A.

❤️