John Sepikas

MATH5A · MATH · MATH220 · 5C · MATH05A · MATH003 · MATH008 · MATH55 · MATH5B · MATH10 · MATH005A · 290 lifetime ratings

AI rating: 36/100
RMP rating: 2.9/5
Take again: 29.41%
Difficulty: 3.8

The decision

if you want university-level STEM rigor and ; otherwise pick another professor.

Best fit · Hardcore LearnerProof-heavy examsHistory and physics overloadSTEM rigor or bustSelf-teach onlinePolarizing lecturer

Exams mix proofs, math history, and physics far beyond standard course content.
Online sections offer almost no live instruction and and readings.
Hardcore STEM students who love depth praise him; most others report GPA damage and drops.

Key questions

Four answers before you build your schedule.

Is this an easy A?

HardWork

28/100

An A needs full lecture attention, history memorization, and hard proofs; and .

Online and in ; online adds zero prep instruction.

Is the course easy?

Challenging

22/100

Content is framed as university-level with proofs, physics, and math history far past standard calc or DE expectations.

Both formats report the same off-syllabus difficulty; online feels worse due to missing lectures.

Is attendance flexible?

Varies

52/100

Online attendance is usually optional, while as mandatory or heavily tracked.

Online ; in-person reviews frequently say yes.

Is this professor recommended?

Avoid

32/100

and most recent voices warn non-STEM or grade-focused students to stay away.

; online reviews are overwhelmingly avoid.

Course guide

See how this professor fits your week.

Grading

Strict

28/100

and exams often lack partial credit or .

Format shift

Both formats report tough grading; .

Workload

Heavy

32/100

Heavy homework, long readings, papers on mathematicians, and extra videos stack on top of .

Format shift

In person mentions more papers and lecture load; online still piles readings and coding-style tasks.

Teaching experience

Poor

38/100

Some find him brilliant and , but many say he does not prepare students for his own exams.

Format shift

In-person teaching praise is stronger; online teaching is widely called nonexistent.

Assessment method

FocusOnExams

78/100

Grades hinge on a few hard tests and a .

Format shift

Both formats are test-heavy; and keeps a .

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

29 reviews

High confidence · Best fit for Hardcore Learner

passionate STEM-focused lectures and for and brutal tests for many others.

Main concern

Tests reward history facts and .

What students said

“He's the and seems to know what he's talking about.”
MATH008

“This is not calculus, it is a course about physics, historical figures, and chemistry.”
MATH005A

“If you want to actually learn math and are willing to put in effort and .”
MATH008

Remote format

Online

21 reviews

High confidence · Best fit for Self Taught Pro

Online is widely described as zero real instruction, , and a slightly easier final that still feels mismatched.

Main concern

that prepare you for and physics.

What students said

“Online class with 0 real instruction. The only guidance given was to read the textbook and watch a slew of random videos”
MATH10

“There are 3 tests that are all EXTREMELY difficult. They are proof-heavy mixed with physics”
MATH005A

“Almost every question on the test is not about the actual math but is about a mathematician/person, a theory, a proof”
MATH5A

Exam style

Know what to expect from exams and major assignments.

Exams are proof-heavy and mix history and physics; finals can be easier but still high stakes.

Proof-based testsHistory of math questionsPhysics crossover itemsLowest test droppedIn-person final common

Assessment risk

Strict

32/100

Low score means less forgiving assessment conditions.

In person

and physics trivia, with accumulative tests and little partial credit reported.

Accumulative examsHistory and physics pointsTrick questionsLecture-aligned for attentive students

“ if you pay 100% attention to his lectures... you have to memorize the history of five to ten mathematicians”
MATH005A

“His exams are worth 100 points, and about 30 points are for the history of math and physics.”
MATH008

Online

Online tests are extremely hard and proof-heavy; finals are often easier computation or reused items, sometimes still with an .

Online testsProof-heavyFinal easier than testsIn-person final reported

“ and nearly impossible to study for. Luckily, the and matrix arithmetic.”
MATH10

“ and was mostly computing integrals with a few reused test questions.”
MATH005A

Student evidence

See what students actually said.

Top student voice
“If you . This professor singlehandedly made me question if I should switch majors.”
Voice snapshots generated from 50 reviews spanning online and and STEM polarization. Credibility rating: High.

🎯 Teaching Quality

38/100

“He doesn't teach at all, and through this whole semester, I have been so confused.”

👍 Recommendation Rate

32/100

“ ”

⚖️

28/100

“ of trick questions that you could never study for.”

📚 Content Mismatch

20/100

“I signed up for a calc class and after being here for a semester, am I taking physics or comp sci.”

Theme 1

👨‍🏫 About Teaching Style

Online class with 0 real instruction
He's the
, just provides old Youtube vids

Theme 2

📈 About Difficulty & Grades

and nearly impossible to study for
It's not an easy A, but you'll learn a lot

Theme 3

⚠️ About Content Scope

70% math history
You need to do research papers on mathematical figures

Data context

See exactly what the AI read.

Analysis sample

Recent reviews read by the AI

290

Lifetime ratings

88/100

Evidence confidence

Fifty recent detailed reviews across online and in person show a and STEM rigor.

Inside 50 stored ratings

Quality ratings

5 out of 579

4 out of 547

3 out of 538

2 out of 553

1 out of 574

Course coverage

MATH00815 reviews

MATH005A13 reviews

MATH0034 reviews

MATH104 reviews

MATH554 reviews

Show 6 more courses

5C3 reviews

MATH05A2 reviews

MATH5A2 reviews

MATH1 review

MATH2201 review

Math5B1 review

Reported outcomes

No letter grade reported results lead the reported letter grades.

45 reported outcomes

A range

A+ 1 · A 9 · A- 1

B range

B+ 3 · B 3 · B- 2

C range

C+ 2 · C 1

D range

No reported values

F

F 1

No letter grade reported

Drop/Withdrawal 9 · Incomplete 2 · Not sure yet 8 · Rather not say 3

John Sepikas

x x x if you want university-level STEM rigor and x x x x; otherwise pick another professor.

Four answers before you build your schedule.

HardWork

Challenging

Varies

Avoid

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

👍 Recommendation Rate

⚖️ x x

📚 Content Mismatch

👨‍🏫 About Teaching Style

📈 About Difficulty & Grades

⚠️ About Content Scope

See exactly what the AI read.

Quality ratings

Course coverage

No letter grade reported results lead the reported letter grades.

A range

B range

C range

D range

F

No letter grade reported

if you want university-level STEM rigor and ; otherwise pick another professor.

⚖️