AI Rate Professor

Astronomy

Sumangala Sudhakar

PHYS271 · ASTR109 · ASTR100 · 13 lifetime ratings

AI rating
18/100
RMP rating
1.9/5
Take again
25%
Difficulty
4.6

The decision

unless you want a grind; if you can prioritize the class fully.

Best fit · Hardcore LearnerTough graderTest heavy introNo curve cultureMemorization overloadStrict attendance
  • Intro astronomy is widely called unreasonably hard with massive memorization and long exams.
  • Many report , and harsh grading without curves.
  • A minority say she is fair if you work hard and communicate, especially outside pure GE ASTR100.

Key questions

Four answers before you build your schedule.

Is this an easy A?

MissionImpossible

14/100

Even strong students report B, D, F, or withdrawal after heavy study with little curve or .

All evidence is in person; no online reviews.

Is the course easy?

BrainBurner

12/100

Intro content is treated like advanced memorization of formulas, diagrams, and verbatim definitions.

All evidence is in person.

Is attendance flexible?

Mandatory

18/100

and ; skipping is repeatedly linked to failing.

All evidence is in person.

Is this professor recommended?

Avoid

22/100

Only about one in four would take again; .

All evidence is in person.

Course guide

See how this professor fits your week.

Grading

Harsh

16/100

; little , no makeups, and refused curves after low class averages.

Format shift

In-person only.

Workload

Overwhelming

15/100

Heavy lectures, projects, and packing huge study sets into each exam make the load feel extreme for intro.

Format shift

In-person only.

Teaching experience

Poor

24/100

and , though a few respect her standards and help when asked.

Format shift

In-person only.

Assessment method

FocusOnExams

86/100

Few graded items but , and .

Format shift

In-person only.

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

13 reviews

High confidence · Best fit for Hardcore Learner

In-person ASTR100 is repeatedly described as brutal for an intro course, with and unforgiving exams.

Main concern

and extreme memorization load for GE credit.

What students said

“Her exams were horribly difficult and when most of the class !”
ASTR100
“There is so much , and you are expected to memorize countless formulas and definitions as if this was grad school for NASA.”
ASTR100
“This isn't a class that will give you an easy A.”
ASTR100

Remote format

Online

0 reviews

Low confidence

No stored summary is available for this format.

Main concern

No main concern is stored for this format.

Exam style

Know what to expect from exams and major assignments.

Exams are long, detailed, and unforgiving, with heavy memorization and little recovery options.

Long 50-question examsVerbatim definitionsDiagrams and formulasNo makeupNo curve

Assessment risk

Strict

18/100

Low score means less forgiving assessment conditions.

In person

, and definitions with high fail rates and no makeups.

50-question examsVerbatim definitionsDiagrams and formulasNo makeup assignmentsTough grader
“the as 50 questions.”
ASTR100
“You'll need to /literally/ memorize countless definitions verbatim for her exams and how to draw a bunch of diagrams”
ASTR100
“when most of the class !”
ASTR100

Online

Student evidence

See what students actually said.

Top student voice

“I should've listened to all the negative reviews about Prof. Rao... this class' difficulty is beyond unreasonable.”

Voice snapshots generated from 13 in-person reviews with High credibility from and .

🚫 GE Difficulty Trap

12/100

“Way too taxing for an intro course. Skip this professor.”

📉

16/100

“when most of the class !”

🧠 Memorization Overload

15/100

“Horrific amount of study materials for tests. Horrible tests. .”

⚖️ Minority Fairness View

55/100

“Lazy people who don't show up and don't want to work will not pass. Just show up, work hard... and you will pass.”

Theme 1

📈 About Difficulty & Grades

  • I am a straight-A student but I BARELY managed a B after hours of studying.
  • -
  • This isn't a class that will give you an easy A.

Theme 2

📝

  • detailed manner, it was way too much work for an intro to astronomy.
  • you won't
  • Horrific amount of study materials for tests.

Theme 3

⚠️ About Classroom Climate

  • She asked for feedback but refused to accept any of it.
  • She was ableist and was rude to a disabled student.
  • Half the time we don't even lecture and she complains to the class about our porous work habits.

Data context

See exactly what the AI read.

Analysis sample

13

Recent reviews read by the AI

13

Lifetime ratings

80/100

Evidence confidence

13 in-person reviews with highly consistent difficulty and limited positive outliers.

Inside 13 stored ratings

Quality ratings

5 out of 50
4 out of 53
3 out of 50
2 out of 53
1 out of 57

Course coverage

ASTR10011 reviews
ASTR1091 review
PHYS2711 review

Reported outcomes

B range results lead the reported letter grades.

9 reported outcomes

A range

1

A 1

B range

4

B 3 · B- 1

C range

0

No reported values

D range

1

D 1

F

2

F 2

No letter grade reported

1

Drop/Withdrawal 1