James Smolin

PSYCH260 · PYSCH220 · PSYC100 · PHYCH160 · PSYC220 · A100 · PSYCH255 · PSYCA255 · PSY100 · PSY130 · PSYC280 · PSYC255 · PSYCH220 · PYSCH100 · PSYCH100 · 133 lifetime ratings

AI rating: 76/100
RMP rating: 4.3/5
Take again: 77.42%
Difficulty: 3.3

The decision

if you want a solid psych teacher and will put in real study time for exams.

Best fit · Effort For RewardPassionate but Lecture HeavyTest HeavyCaringGet Ready to ReadTightly Timed Exams

Passionate, caring psych professor whose lectures engage many students but can feel long or rambling.
and hard, often tightly timed exams; lowest exam usually dropped.
A is realistic if you read the , and study details; not a free A.

Key questions

Four answers before you build your schedule.

Is this an easy A?

HardWork

42/100

Many students earn As and Bs, but and hard, so an A , and serious study.

Online students stress tightly timed exams more; and .

Is the course easy?

Standard

48/100

Content is standard psych difficulty with lots of material across chapters, not an introductory free ride.

Both formats call the material doable but dense; online hybrid adds long video lectures.

Is attendance flexible?

Mandatory

32/100

because lectures, pop work, and exam content reward showing up.

and skip-class penalties; online varies by section.

Is this professor recommended?

WorthIt

74/100

and care, with a minority finding him boring, picky, or too hard.

; online is more mixed on pacing and timed tests.

Course guide

See how this professor fits your week.

Grading

Fair

55/100

Tagged tough grader at times, but , and may adjust scales or borderline grades.

Format shift

Online discussions are described as pickier; .

Workload

Moderate

48/100

Weekly quizzes, discussions, heavy reading, and but not overwhelming load if you keep up.

Format shift

Online adds long video lectures and timed quizzes; and occasional pop work.

Teaching experience

Good

78/100

Students repeatedly call him passionate, caring, and entertaining, though some find lectures long, boring, or sarcastic.

Format shift

In-person energy is praised more; online hybrid students sometimes dislike redundant long videos.

Assessment method

FocusOnExams

72/100

and timed quizzes, with discussions and occasional assignments secondary.

Format shift

; online also weights discussions more clearly.

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 Effort For Reward

In-person sections highlight entertaining, passionate lectures with ; notes from class plus textbook reading are the path to a good grade.

Main concern

Skipping class hurts because and random .

What students said

“Amazing professor! The lectures for this course were very interesting and had me looking forward to class.”
PSYC255

“this class takes a lot of work to get an A.”
PSYC255

“Dr. Smolin is a real gem to OCC.”
A100

Remote format

Online

17 reviews

High confidence · Best fit for Effort For Reward

Online and hybrid sections rely on , and tightly timed exams; reading the book is essential.

Main concern

Exams and and .

What students said

“ and , and are what define your grade.”
PSYCH255

“ AND TIGHTLY TIMED”
PSYC255

“READ THE BOOK.”
PSYC255

Exam style

Know what to expect from exams and major assignments.

Exams are challenging, detail-heavy, and often timed online; studying lectures plus the book is required.

Multiple ExamsLowest Exam DroppedTightly Timed Online ExamsLecture and Textbook BasedWeekly Quizzes

Assessment risk

Standard

44/100

Low score means less forgiving assessment conditions.

In person

and textbook details; one low exam is often dropped.

Lecture-Based ExamsTextbook DetailsLowest Exam DroppedMultiple Choice

“ because they will show up on the exams.”
PSYC255

“ but if you don't know small details you could easily get a bad grade.”
PSYC255

Online

Online exams and quizzes are frequently described as tightly timed and harder than weekly quizzes.

Tightly Timed ExamsTimed QuizzesLowest DroppedBook Required

“The . They are VERY tightly timed.”
PSYC255

“60seconds or less per question, know the ins and outs of the answers.”
PSYCH255

Student evidence

See what students actually said.

Top student voice
“Dr. Smolin is a real gem to OCC. He has a strong passion for Psychology and that passion is present throughout all of his lectures.”
Voice snapshots generated from 50 reviews spanning online and in-person psych , and reading load. Credibility rating: High.

🎯 Teaching Quality

78/100

“He is so funny! However, this class takes a lot of work to get an A.”

👍 Recommendation Rate

74/100

“ ! If you read, attend lecture, and understand the material, you'll do great.”

📝

44/100

“ AND TIGHTLY TIMED”

❤️ Care for Students

80/100

“Genuinely cares about ur grade, asks for .”

Theme 1

👨‍🏫 About Teaching Style

His lectures are very interesting and had me looking forward to class.
he lectures a lot but he's not boring
Seems like a , but honestly he has one of the most rambling patterns of speaking.

Theme 2

📈 About Difficulty & Grades

this class takes a lot of work to get an A.
READ THE BOOK.
and challenging.

Theme 3

❤️ About Character

Definitely a gem at OCC.
Caring & Respectful.

Data context

See exactly what the AI read.

Analysis sample

Recent reviews read by the AI

133

Lifetime ratings

88/100

Evidence confidence

Fifty detailed reviews across many years and both formats show , and test difficulty.

Inside 50 stored ratings

Quality ratings

5 out of 577

4 out of 533

3 out of 517

2 out of 54

1 out of 52

Course coverage

PSYC25519 reviews

A1006 reviews

PSYC2206 reviews

PSYCA2553 reviews

PSYCH1003 reviews

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Reported outcomes

A range results lead the reported letter grades.

41 reported outcomes

A range

A+ 3 · A 17 · A- 1

B range

B+ 5 · B 6 · B- 1

C range

C+ 1 · C 3

D range

No reported values

F

No reported values

No letter grade reported

Not sure yet 4

James Smolin

x x if you want a solid psych teacher and will put in real study time for exams.

Four answers before you build your schedule.

HardWork

Standard

Mandatory

WorthIt

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

❤️ Care for Students

👨‍🏫 About Teaching Style

📈 About Difficulty & Grades

❤️ About Character

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 a solid psych teacher and will put in real study time for exams.

📝