Robert Ellis

MRSC100 · MRSCA180 · MRSC180 · MARINEBIO · LVO21620 · MRSC120 · MRSCA100 · MRSCA120 · MRS100 · 96 lifetime ratings

AI rating: 61/100
RMP rating: 3.8/5
Take again: 59.7%
Difficulty: 3.9

The decision

if you want real marine science depth and will study hard; as a chill GE GPA booster.

Best fit · Hardcore LearnerTest-Heavy Marine SciencePassionate LecturesTough for GEExtra Credit LifelineLecture-Picture Style

Marine majors often love his passion and depth; many GE students call the class too hard for intro credit.
Grades are driven by tough multiple-choice and .
and office hours help, but skipping lecture or expecting an easy science GE is risky.

Key questions

Four answers before you build your schedule.

Is this an easy A?

HardWork

28/100

As require heavy studying for difficult exams; many hard-working students still land B or C without major-level effort.

Both online and in ; online adds compressed-term risk.

Is the course easy?

Challenging

26/100

Dense marine science content, fast lectures, and picture-heavy slides make the material intellectually demanding for intro level.

In person feels lecture-intensive; online is still dense and easy to fall behind in short terms.

Is attendance flexible?

Depends

56/100

field; frequently avoided by GE seekers protecting GPA.

Online is slightly more structured for some self-paced learners, but still not easy; in person is more polarized.

Course guide

See how this professor fits your week.

Grading

Strict

28/100

; curves and help but high As are not handed out.

Format shift

and in-person comments.

Workload

Moderate

48/100

Homework is often light or minimal, but heavy study load for .

Format shift

Online short terms feel denser; in person has weekly articles or light HW plus major tests.

Teaching experience

Good

72/100

Passionate, funny, and encyclopedic lectures win majors, though some find slides sparse and .

Format shift

In person praise is strongest for passion; online notes thorough lectures but still hard assessment.

Assessment method

FocusOnExams

88/100

, with homework and discussions as secondary weight.

Format shift

Online MCQ exams and discussions; in person 100-question tests plus optional final are common.

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

42 reviews

High confidence · Best fit for Hardcore Learner

passionate majors praise life-changing lectures, while many non-majors struggle with , and .

Main concern

and GE students.

What students said

“ . He's very knowledgeable, humorous, and kind.”
MRSC100

“ !!”
MRSC100

“The exams are 100MCQ tests 4 times and if you get an A .”
MRSC100

“This class was extremely hard for a lower division, introductory course.”
MRS100

Remote format

Online

8 reviews

Medium confidence · Best fit for Hardcore Learner

Online students find structure clearer on Canvas for some, but still , and that it is not an easy GE.

Main concern

Compressed online formats and if taken casually.

What students said

“Not an easy ge, just if you want to transfer”
MRSC100

“I took this class irl and failed but the online version is better. I'm not great at irl lectures so this class was more my style definitely.”
MRSCA100

“Rob's online lectures are thorough, the assignments prepare you for the 2 mcq exams that make up 2/3 of your grade.”
MRSC100

“ and study!”
MRSC180

Exam style

Know what to expect from exams and major assignments.

Exams are hard, high-stakes, and central to the grade, with limited evidence of open-book friendliness.

Multiple Choice HeavyEssay QuestionsTest HeavyOptional FinalExtra Credit

Assessment risk

Strict

28/100

Low score means less forgiving assessment conditions.

In person

In-person students describe four 100-point MCQ , and curves with as the main recovery path.

100 Question ExamsEssay QuestionsOptional FinalExtra CreditTest Heavy

“4 100pt tests with ”
MRSC100

“The exams are 100MCQ tests 4 times and if you get an A .”
MRSC100

“The and the book was not used .”
MRSC180

Online

Online reviews describe thorough lectures feeding hard MCQ exams that can dominate grade, plus dense short-term pacing.

MCQ ExamsTest HeavyDense Short Term

“the assignments prepare you for the 2 mcq exams that make up 2/3 of your grade.”
MRSC100

“ and study!”
MRSC180

“Not an easy ge, just if you want to transfer”
MRSC100

Student evidence

See what students actually said.

Top student voice
“ !! This professor is amazing and knows his stuff, but as someone who sucks at science, I was not meant to take this for a general ed credit.”
Voice snapshots generated from 50 reviews (8 online, 42 in person), highlighting major-love versus GE-risk and . Credibility rating: High.

🎯 Teaching Passion

72/100

“ . He's very knowledgeable, humorous, and kind.”

🧠

28/100

“ and study!”

⚖️

56/100

“Notice all the students giving him positive ratings are marine bio majors. If Marine Bio is not .”

📝 Assessment Style

88/100

“4 100pt tests with ”

Theme 1

👨‍🏫 About Teaching Style

He's very knowledgeable, humorous, and kind.
, slide with less definition and just picture
He speaks encyclopedically about the field with gripping passion

Theme 2

📈 About Difficulty & Grades

!!
This class was extremely hard for a lower division, introductory course.
Not an easy ge, just if you want to transfer

Theme 3

🧪

2 mcq exams that make up 2/3 of your grade
.
do all of the -- they seem small but

Data context

See exactly what the AI read.

Analysis sample

Recent reviews read by the AI

Lifetime ratings

88/100

Evidence confidence

50 reviews with long time span and consistent major-versus-GE split make the polarized pattern highly credible.

Inside 50 stored ratings

Quality ratings

5 out of 553

4 out of 514

3 out of 55

2 out of 59

1 out of 516

Course coverage

MRSC10028 reviews

MRSC1809 reviews

MRS1005 reviews

MARINEBIO3 reviews

LVO216201 review

Show 4 more courses

MRSC1201 review

MRSCA1001 review

MRSCA1201 review

MRSCA1801 review

Reported outcomes

A range results lead the reported letter grades.

43 reported outcomes

A range

A+ 3 · A 8 · A- 3

B range

B+ 5 · B 6 · B- 1

C range

C+ 1 · C 5

D range

D+ 1 · D 1

F

No reported values

No letter grade reported

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

Robert Ellis

x x if you want real marine science depth and will study hard; x x as a chill GE GPA booster.

Four answers before you build your schedule.

HardWork

Challenging

Recommended

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.

🎯 Teaching Passion

🧠 x x

⚖️ x x x x

📝 Assessment Style

👨‍🏫 About Teaching Style

📈 About Difficulty & Grades

🧪 x x x x

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 want real marine science depth and will study hard; as a chill GE GPA booster.

🧠

⚖️

🧪