Peter Borella

GEOG7 · ENVIROGEOLOGY · GEOLOGYOFCALI · GEOL7 · ENVIRONGEOLOGY · GEO01 · GEO7 · GEOLOGY1 · OCEANMS20 · GEO101 · GEOL101 · ENVGEOLOGY · ENVPHYSGEO · GEOLO1 · GEO3 · GEOLOGY · GEO23 · GEOL1 · GEOL4 · GEO1 · PHYSGEOLOGY · ENVGEO · GEOL23 · FIELDSTUDY · GEO2100 · FIELDSTUDIES · GEOL3 · OCEANOGRAPHY · MS · GEO18 · ENV23 · GEOLGEO · MS20 · GEOL · 65 lifetime ratings

AI rating: 46/100
RMP rating: 3.0/5
Take again: 100%
Difficulty: 4.5

The decision

if you are serious about geology and ready to work hard for every grade.

Best fit · Hardcore LearnerHard Essay ExamsUC-Level RigorMajors OnlyKnowledgeable but DemandingStrict Grading

Extremely hard essay tests built like a university geology course
Great for earth-science majors who want real depth and field work
Often painful for GE students seeking a

Key questions

Four answers before you build your schedule.

Is this an easy A?

HardWork

28/100

Getting an A requires mastering dense material and writing to his exact essay standards, even when study questions are given ahead.

Almost all evidence is in person; the one online review still rated difficulty 5.

Is the course easy?

BrainBurner

18/100

Content is packed, pace is high, and community-college intro.

In-person reviews dominate and consistently describe UC-level rigor.

Is attendance flexible?

Depends

48/100

Majors who want real geology often call him life-changing, while .

Recommendation split .

Course guide

See how this professor fits your week.

Grading

Strict

24/100

Many students report , and Fs when answers are not exactly his way.

Format shift

Workload

Heavy

28/100

Long study guides, essay exams, labs, and .

Format shift

Both the online review and in-person comments mention heavy work.

Teaching experience

Average

55/100

Students split between calling him amazingly knowledgeable and .

Format shift

Polarization appears mainly in long in-person history; the online review is strongly positive.

Assessment method

FocusOnExams

78/100

Grades usually rest on a few hard essay midterms and finals, sometimes plus labs.

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

49 reviews

High confidence · Best fit for Hardcore Learner

majors rave about deep learning and field trips, while and .

Main concern

Brutal essay exams and .

What students said

“Don't expect an easy A but if you really want to learn the .”
GEOG7

“His Natural Hazards class consisted of , and both were extremely difficult.”
GEOL4

“Its built like a UC course. . Extremely hard.”
ENVGEO

Remote format

Online

1 reviews

Low confidence · Best fit for Hardcore Learner

Single recent online oceanography review praises caring lectures but notes lots of homework and .

Main concern

What students said

“Only teacher I had that cared about how well I actually did.”
OCEANOGRAPHY

Exam style

Know what to expect from exams and major assignments.

Exams are notoriously hard essays that require deep detail, though he often distributes questions beforehand.

Hard Essay ExamsQuestions Sometimes Given AheadIn-Person FinalsDetailed Study Guides

Assessment risk

Strict

28/100

Low score means less forgiving assessment conditions.

In person

In-person courses center on extremely hard essay midterms and finals, sometimes with advance questions.

Hard Essay ExamsAdvance Study QuestionsFew High-Stakes Tests

“ but he gives you the questions beforehand and is more than willing to go over them after class.”
GEOL3

“ and .The and he expects you to know every small detailed amount of information.”
GEOLGEO

Online

Single online review .

Student evidence

See what students actually said.

Top student voice
“Don't expect an easy A but if you really want to learn the .”
Voice snapshots generated from 50 reviews, highlighting rigor, grading, and majors-only fit. Credibility rating: High.

📚

28/100

“ . However, if you show him you're trying, he will pass you.”

🎯 Majors Love the Depth

55/100

“Great Professor and very knowledgeable, his classes are a must if you're majoring in the earth sciences.”

⚠️ GE Students Often Suffer

48/100

“ IF YOU'RE an earth sciences major, but if you just need the credit, I strongly advise against taking this professor.”

Theme 1

👨‍🏫 About Teaching Style

He knows his stuff and is a very engaging teacher.
He can be an ass sometimes, but you learn so much about geology in his class.
His teaching skills are non-existant.

Theme 2

📈 About Difficulty and Grades

You have to work hard in this class just to get a C.
I studied my butt off and got a 20% on the mid term.
He is strict with , but if you pay attention in class.

Theme 3

🧭 About Who Should Enroll

A and people devoted to knowing the course material only!
If you are just trying to get your lab out of the .
Non-hackers should refrain from enrolling, because you are in for a lot of work.

Data context

See exactly what the AI read.

Analysis sample

Recent reviews read by the AI

Lifetime ratings

86/100

Evidence confidence

Fifty detailed reviews spanning many years show a consistent majors-vs-GE split and stable difficulty narrative.

Inside 50 stored ratings

Quality ratings

5 out of 520

4 out of 513

3 out of 55

2 out of 510

1 out of 517

Course coverage

ENV234 reviews

GEO14 reviews

GEOLOGY14 reviews

MS203 reviews

GEO232 reviews

Show 29 more courses

GEOL12 reviews

GEOL72 reviews

GEOLOGY2 reviews

OCEANOGRAPHY2 reviews

ENVGEO1 review

ENVGEOLOGY1 review

ENVIROGEOLOGY1 review

ENVIRONGEOLOGY1 review

ENVPHYSGEO1 review

FIELDSTUDIES1 review

FIELDSTUDY1 review

GEO011 review

GEO1011 review

GEO181 review

GEO21001 review

GEO31 review

GEO71 review

GEOG71 review

GEOL1 review

GEOL1011 review

GEOL231 review

GEOL31 review

GEOL41 review

GEOLGEO1 review

GEOLO11 review

GEOLOGYOFCALI1 review

MS1 review

OCEANMS201 review

PHYSGEOLOGY1 review

Reported outcomes

A range results lead the reported letter grades.

2 reported outcomes

A range

A 1

B range

B 1

C range

No reported values

D range

No reported values

F

No reported values

No letter grade reported

No reported values

Peter Borella

x x x if you are serious about geology and ready to work hard for every grade.

Four answers before you build your schedule.

HardWork

BrainBurner

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.

📚 x x x

🎯 Majors Love the Depth

⚠️ GE Students Often Suffer

👨‍🏫 About Teaching Style

📈 About Difficulty and Grades

🧭 About Who Should Enroll

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 are serious about geology and ready to work hard for every grade.

📚