AI Rate Professor

Mathematics

William Cowieson

MATH · MATH141 · MATH150A · MATH40 · MATH150B · MATH142 · MATH152 · MATH20 · MATH120 · MATH15 · MATH171 · MATH141H · 150B · MATH150 · FGBGB · MATH140 · MATH129 · 51 lifetime ratings

AI rating
35/100
RMP rating
3.4/5
Take again
40.63%
Difficulty
3.8

The decision

if you are strong in math, willing to self-study, and comfortable with .

Best fit · Hardcore LearnerVery hard examsPolarizing lecturerLots of homeworkFunny and passionateSelf-study risk
  • Cowieson is highly polarizing, with and funny and others saying they had to teach themselves.
  • Many reviews , and high drop or failure risk.
  • He may work for strong math students who enjoy challenge, but beginners and .

Key questions

Four answers before you build your schedule.

Is this an easy A?

HardWork

38/100

Some students earn A grades with study guides and homework, but , and heavy test weighting that make an A costly.

In-person reviews include a few easy-A experiences, while online reviews , and .

Is the course easy?

Challenging

28/100

The math content is often advanced, fast, or abstract, and students frequently say exams or .

Online reviews emphasize long lectures and self-teaching, while but still show high difficulty.

Is attendance flexible?

Recommended

42/100

Attendance is not always described as formally mandatory, but reviews say showing up, asking questions, and .

In-person reviews more directly stress attending class and office hours, while online reviews stress watching lectures and self-review.

Is this professor recommended?

Depends

40/100

He is recommended for strong, challenge-seeking math students, but many others warn against him because of and difficult exams.

In-person recommendation is polarized by course and student skill, while online recommendation is generally weaker.

Course guide

See how this professor fits your week.

Grading

Strict

32/100

Some reviews mention generous curves or grade help, but , and low class averages.

Format shift

and harsh grading reports, while online reviews more consistently warn about difficult tests.

Workload

Heavy

28/100

Homework, long lectures, study guides, and difficult exams create a .

Format shift

Online workload is driven by long recorded lectures, while and .

Teaching experience

Average

50/100

Students split sharply between clear, passionate, funny teaching and that leave them self-teaching.

Format shift

Online teaching reviews are notably weaker, while and awful experiences.

Assessment method

FocusOnExams

82/100

Many reviews describe grades dominated by midterms, finals, quizzes, or a as support.

Format shift

Both formats are exam-heavy, with online reviews also mentioning quizzes and and finals.

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

41 reviews

High confidence · Best fit for Hardcore Learner

In-person reviews are split between strong praise for and severe criticism of , and tough grading.

Main concern

The main risk is that exams and practice.

What students said

“Tests are graded very generously and .”
MATH141H
“2 midterms and a final make up 85% of your grade.”
Math152
“You basically have to teach yourself.”
MATH171

Remote format

Online

9 reviews

Medium confidence · Best fit for Self Taught Pro

Online reviews are mostly negative, citing long lectures, hard exams, self-teaching, and .

Main concern

Online students often report very long lectures and .

What students said

“ , and the recorded lectures are VERY LONG”
MATH150B
“I find myself teaching myself how to do math a lot.”
MATH141
“If you understand math, this will be an easy class.”
MATH129

Exam style

Know what to expect from exams and major assignments.

Exam evidence is strict overall because students repeatedly report hard, heavily weighted exams despite .

Hard ExamsHeavily Weighted TestsStudy GuidesTake-Home Exam In One ReviewOpen Notes In One Honors Review

Assessment risk

Strict

28/100

Low score means less forgiving assessment conditions.

In person

In-person reviews mention heavily weighted midterms and some courses, and open notes in one honors class.

Heavily Weighted TestsHard ExamsStudy GuidesTake-Home ExamOpen Notes
“2 midterms and a final make up 85% of your grade.”
Math152
“even if we had open-notes during exams and .”
MATH141H
“He gives a are similar to the real one.”
MATH142

Online

Online reviews mention difficult exams, Friday quizzes, midterms, a , and no clear proof of webcam or Lockdown Browser policy.

Hard ExamsQuizzes Every FridayMidterms And FinalOne Paper Of Notes
“ .”
MATH150B
“ ”
MATH150B
“There's an and they are HARD.”
MATH141

Student evidence

See what students actually said.

Top student voice

“ if you really really love Math and are willing to enjoy some challenge.”

Voice snapshots generated from 50 reviews, highlighting polarized teaching, heavy workload, and ; credibility rating: High.

🧮 Course Difficulty

28/100

“One of the most brutal math classes I've taken.”

🎯 Teaching Quality

50/100

“His lectures were very comprehensible and the .”

⚠️

28/100

“2 midterms and a final make up 85% of your grade.”

Theme 1

👨‍🏫 About Teaching Style

  • .
  • You basically have to teach yourself.
  • Funny, interesting, passionate guy.

Theme 2

🧪 About Exams

  • Tests are graded very generously and .
  • .
  • The over before

Theme 3

📚 About Workload

  • The while but
  • There was a lot of homework.
  • Lectures are way TOO LONG considering we still have to do HW.

Data context

See exactly what the AI read.

Analysis sample

50

Recent reviews read by the AI

51

Lifetime ratings

92/100

Evidence confidence

The analysis is based on 50 reviews across many years, with detailed and consistent evidence of polarized teaching quality and .

Inside 50 stored ratings

Quality ratings

5 out of 521
4 out of 57
3 out of 56
2 out of 56
1 out of 511

Course coverage

MATH150A6 reviews
MATH1425 reviews
MATH150B5 reviews
MATH1715 reviews
MATH4 reviews
Show 12 more courses
MATH1414 reviews
MATH1203 reviews
MATH1293 reviews
Math1523 reviews
MATH1402 reviews
MATH141H2 reviews
MATH202 reviews
MATH402 reviews
150B1 review
FGBGB1 review
MATH151 review
MATH1501 review

Reported outcomes

A range results lead the reported letter grades.

31 reported outcomes

A range

13

A+ 4 · A 9

B range

6

B+ 2 · B 4

C range

3

C 2 · C- 1

D range

1

D 1

F

1

F 1

No letter grade reported

7

Drop/Withdrawal 4 · Incomplete 1 · Not sure yet 2