AI Rate Professor

Physics

William Spinella

PHSY4C · PHYS4B · PHYSC4C · PHYSICS4A · PHYS4C61805 · PHYS4C · 59 lifetime ratings

AI rating
64/100
RMP rating
3.8/5
Take again
64.41%
Difficulty
3.9

The decision

if you want a strong physics teacher and will ; avoid if you need a low-effort A.

Best fit · Effort For RewardAmazing LecturerTough ExamsHeavy HomeworkAccessible Outside ClassConcept-Heavy Physics
  • Excellent in-person lecturer who makes abstract physics understandable and .
  • Exams and , so mastering HW and concepts is required for a strong grade.
  • Online COVID-era sections drew heavy criticism for extreme workload and .

Key questions

Four answers before you build your schedule.

Is this an easy A?

HardWork

38/100

Many As exist, but students say and concepts; an A is rarely free and often requires heavy weekly effort.

Online reviews stress 20-30 hour weeks for a decent grade; A more reachable.

Is the course easy?

Challenging

32/100

Physics 4B/4C content is abstract and concept-heavy; students repeatedly call it one of the hardest STEM courses at the college.

Both formats describe hard material; online complaints .

Is attendance flexible?

Varies

52/100

as mandatory and others as optional, with mixed student reports on whether skipping hurts.

Online COVID sections more often flagged skip-class risk; .

Is this professor recommended?

WorthIt

66/100

, while online-era reviews and workload push overall recommendation into mixed-but-positive territory.

; online pandemic reviews are much more split.

Course guide

See how this professor fits your week.

Grading

Fair

48/100

Curves and partial credit appear when students show work, but and averages low.

Format shift

Online reviews more often report no partial credit on quizzes; in-person notes more partial credit and curves.

Workload

Heavy

28/100

Weekly homework, quizzes, labs, and Wiley-style problem sets.

Format shift

Online reviews cite 10-30 hours weekly .

Teaching experience

Good

76/100

and office-hour help, with a minority calling lectures vague or overcomplicated.

Format shift

In-person praise is stronger and more .

Assessment method

FocusOnExams

68/100

Grade , and and labs as essential prep rather than the whole grade.

Format shift

Both formats are test-heavy; .

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

35 reviews

High confidence · Best fit for Effort For Reward

In-person students often call him a and clear, with tough but fair exams if and concepts.

Main concern

Exam and ; course is inherently hard and time-heavy.

What students said

“Spinella is easily one of the . He makes his lectures super engaging and enjoyable.”
PHYS4C
“The biggest issue is that the level of the homework.”
PHYS4B
“If you do the homeworks and the suggested problems your pretty much guaranteed a B. Def should be your first choice for a phys prof.”
PHSY4C

Remote format

Online

15 reviews

High confidence · Best fit for Hardcore Learner

Online sections, mostly pandemic-era, were polarizing: solid lectures for some but , and 20-30 hour weeks for many.

Main concern

Extreme weekly workload and or lecture prep.

What students said

“ if you want to maintain your GPA or have even a part time job. Not kidding, you need to invest 30+ hours to even get a decent grade in this class.”
PHYS4C
“In order as hard. You can only see 1 question at a time and CAN'T GO BACK.”
PHYS4C
“All you have to do is watch his lectures and do the . Office hours really help as well.”
PHYS4C

Exam style

Know what to expect from exams and major assignments.

Exams are typically challenging and concept-driven; .

Hard MidtermsWeekly QuizzesConcept-Heavy ProblemsPartial Credit SometimesNon-Cumulative Finals Often

Assessment risk

Standard

46/100

Low score means less forgiving assessment conditions.

In person

and , but often fair if you understand concepts and get partial credit.

Tough In-Person ExamsWeekly QuizzesPartial CreditHomework-Aligned Prep
“The but if you know what ur doing.”
PHYS4B
“the and the exams as most people have said are way different than the hw problems.”
PHYS4B

Online

Online exams were often described as very hard, sometimes one-question-at-a-time with no going back, and .

Hard Online ExamsNo BacktrackingLimited Partial CreditAnti-Cheating Design
“You can only see 1 question at a time and CAN'T GO BACK.”
PHYS4C
“ and not similar to anything you have answered before which is YIKES!”
PHYS4C

Student evidence

See what students actually said.

Top student voice

“Spinella is easily one of the . He makes his lectures super engaging and enjoyable.”

Voice snapshots generated from 50 reviews spanning online and in-person physics , and workload. Credibility rating: High.

🎯 Teaching Quality

76/100

“The professors I'm taking rn are pretty basic at teaching and doesn't compare to how Spinella teaches. I miss him.”

📚 Workload Intensity

28/100

“you need to invest 30+ hours to even get a decent grade in this class.”

📝

38/100

“the level of the homework.”

👍 Recommendation Split

66/100

“Def should be your first choice for a phys prof.”

Theme 1

👨‍🏫 About Teaching Style

  • He teaches SUPER WELL
  • makes his lectures super engaging and enjoyable
  • He tries his best to hold the student's hand, chop the concept into smaller pieces

Theme 2

📈 About Difficulty & Grades

  • but nothing impossible as long as you studied hard
  • don't expect this course to be an easy A
  • If you do the homeworks and the suggested problems your pretty much guaranteed a B

Theme 3

⏱️ About Workload

  • Homework takes 20 h/week because Wiley is incredibly broken
  • Be ready to spend 30 hours a week or no A
  • The HW questions can be hard, but they prepare you well for exams

Data context

See exactly what the AI read.

Analysis sample

50

Recent reviews read by the AI

59

Lifetime ratings

88/100

Evidence confidence

Fifty detailed reviews span several years across online and and exam hardness.

Inside 50 stored ratings

Quality ratings

5 out of 534
4 out of 54
3 out of 54
2 out of 56
1 out of 511

Course coverage

PHYS4C22 reviews
PHYS4B13 reviews
PHSY4C11 reviews
PHYSC4C2 reviews
PHYS4C618051 review
Show 1 more courses
PHYSICS4A1 review

Reported outcomes

A range results lead the reported letter grades.

50 reported outcomes

A range

22

A+ 3 · A 16 · A- 3

B range

15

B+ 2 · B 11 · B- 2

C range

1

C 1

D range

0

No reported values

F

0

No reported values

No letter grade reported

12

Drop/Withdrawal 2 · Incomplete 2 · Not sure yet 7 · Rather not say 1