AI Rate Professor

Physics

Todd Brei

PHYS4B · 4A · PHYS4A · PHS4A · 4A4B · PHSY20 · 124 lifetime ratings

AI rating
42/100
RMP rating
3.5/5
Take again
47.06%
Difficulty
3.7

The decision

Only take Brei if ; casual students should look elsewhere.

Best fit · Hardcore LearnerBrutal AP-style examsHeavy homework loadSelf-teach physicsLong lecturesPolarizing personality
  • Physics 4A/4B is widely called among the hardest courses with brutal FRQs and heavy weekly work
  • Personality is lively and some students love him, but many say lectures do not prepare for exams
  • , and heavy self-study

Key questions

Four answers before you build your schedule.

Is this an easy A?

HardWork

32/100

An A is possible but , and ; many strong students land B or struggle.

Both formats require heavy effort; online adds communication friction that makes As harder.

Is the course easy?

BrainBurner

18/100

Calc-based physics with , and AP-style free response that often outpace lecture examples.

Difficulty is extreme in person and online; online pandemic terms felt especially unmanageable.

Is attendance flexible?

Mandatory

18/100

Most recent reviews say attendance is required, with penalties for lateness and absences and daily quizzes.

In-person is clearly mandatory; some online sections also required participation.

Is this professor recommended?

Depends

42/100

and energy; many others say run away due to stress and self-teaching.

In-person is mixed love-hate; online pandemic reviews skew strongly negative.

Course guide

See how this professor fits your week.

Grading

Strict

28/100

and labs; partial credit exists but exams and .

Format shift

calling him fair if you use practice quizzes.

Workload

Overwhelming

18/100

Roughly 16-20+ problems weekly, labs, AP problems, practice quizzes, and long lecture hours.

Format shift

Workload complaints are constant online and in person.

Teaching experience

Average

48/100

Engaging personality and strong for some learners, but , and unhelpful for exams.

Format shift

; online teaching support was frequently criticized.

Assessment method

FocusOnExams

78/100

Test-heavy with ; homework and labs still matter but .

Format shift

.

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

39 reviews

High confidence · Best fit for Hardcore Learner

energetic demos and humor for , and .

Main concern

Exams and ; attendance and late policies can be strict.

What students said

“ ”
PHYS4B
“Todd Brei is the ”
4A
“I am haunted by the stress that ”
PHYS4B

Remote format

Online

11 reviews

Medium confidence · Best fit for Self Taught Pro

Online physics reviews are mostly pandemic-era and negative: , and self-teaching expectations.

Main concern

, and mismatched lecture-to-exam prep online.

What students said

“This is without a doubt, the worse experience I've had in any college course”
PHYS4A
“if ”
PHYS4A
“Pretty tough class, but you can get an A with some effort”
PHYS4B

Exam style

Know what to expect from exams and major assignments.

Exams are AP-style and often harder than lectures; MC tracks practice quizzes while FRQs stump many students.

AP-style FRQPractice quiz MC mirrors testsHard free responseIn-person examsHeavy partial credit still low averages

Assessment risk

Strict

28/100

Low score means less forgiving assessment conditions.

In person

every few weeks; MC from practice quizzes and FRQs from AP problems.

AP-style examsFRQ heavyPractice quizzes for MCStrict lab formatting
“Very difficult, AP-style exams every 3-4 weeks, and does ”
PHS4A
“ ”
PHYS4B
“I am haunted by the stress that ”
PHYS4B

Online

Online reviews describe unpredictable, tricky exams with and heavy self-prep; limited explicit proctoring detail.

Unpredictable examsLittle exam feedbackSelf-prep heavy
“ very tricky)”
PHYS4A
“ ”
PHYS4A
“you'll have to supplement with practice quizzes and the textbook”
PHS4A

Student evidence

See what students actually said.

Top student voice

“Do anything in .”

Voice snapshots generated from 50 reviews, highlighting key themes in teaching and grading. Credibility rating: High.

🎯 Teaching Quality

48/100

“great dude, but his teaching style didn't work for me”

👍 Recommendation Rate

42/100

“ ”

🔥

28/100

“I am haunted by the stress that ”

🧠 Self-Teaching Reality

30/100

“Be ready to teach yourself Physics if ”

Theme 1

👨‍🏫 About Teaching Style

  • Lectures are very long (usually 3 full hrs)
  • his lectures were extremely
  • he made physics enjoyable

Theme 2

📈 About Difficulty & Grades

  • Hardest class I have taken at saddleback so far
  • Study hard and an A is doable
  • Class average on our final was a 53%

Theme 3

⚠️ About Workload & Policy

  • HW is ~20
  • if you're late for his class 3 times your grade is dropped

Data context

See exactly what the AI read.

Analysis sample

50

Recent reviews read by the AI

124

Lifetime ratings

88/100

Evidence confidence

50 reviews with rich detail and ; online sample is smaller but consistently critical of pandemic delivery.

Inside 50 stored ratings

Quality ratings

5 out of 559
4 out of 520
3 out of 59
2 out of 55
1 out of 532

Course coverage

PHYS4A15 reviews
PHYS4B12 reviews
PHS4A11 reviews
4A8 reviews
4A4B3 reviews
Show 1 more courses
PHSY201 review

Reported outcomes

A range results lead the reported letter grades.

49 reported outcomes

A range

21

A+ 1 · A 16 · A- 4

B range

16

B+ 4 · B 12

C range

2

C 2

D range

0

No reported values

F

0

No reported values

No letter grade reported

10

Drop/Withdrawal 5 · Not sure yet 4 · Rather not say 1