AI Rate Professor

Philosophy

Brian Kobayashi

PHIL101 · PHILOSOPHY170 · ELLWRITING · PHIL172 · PHIL160C · PHIL170 · PHIL100 · 22 lifetime ratings

AI rating
68/100
RMP rating
4.0/5
Take again
54.55%
Difficulty
2.8

The decision

Brian Kobayashi is worth taking in person for engaged students, but and clarity risk.

Best fit · Effort For RewardEngaging lecturesFair but toughReading heavyCurved examsParticipation matters
  • and often describe engaging lectures with .
  • Online reviews are more mixed and include recent complaints about vague instructions and .
  • The class can be an easy A in some sections, but , and precise writing can raise the effort cost.

Key questions

Four answers before you build your schedule.

Is this an easy A?

EasyA

78/100

In many in-person sections, curves, dropped scores, late work, and and basic effort.

, while online evidence is stricter and more reading-heavy.

Is the course easy?

Beginner

66/100

The material is often made understandable through engaging lectures, but , and writing can still be challenging.

In-person comments call the class easier and more engaging, while and heavier reading.

Is attendance flexible?

Recommended

48/100

Attendance is sometimes called mandatory or grade-affecting, but some students still passed with .

, while online reviews mostly emphasize participation and discussion work.

Is this professor recommended?

WorthIt

70/100

Most students recommend him for engaging teaching and fair opportunities, though .

, while recent online reviews lower the overall recommendation.

Course guide

See how this professor fits your week.

Grading

Lenient

72/100

Many in-person reviews mention curves, dropped tests or quizzes, late work, redo options, and , though .

Format shift

Leniency is much clearer in in-person reviews, while .

Workload

Moderate

60/100

Some sections have very little homework, but others require .

Format shift

Online reviews more often mention lots of reading and papers, while .

Teaching experience

Good

78/100

Students often describe him as engaging, funny, insightful, and clear, though some report poor organization or vague instructions.

Format shift

In-person teaching reviews are mostly positive, while .

Assessment method

Balanced

58/100

Assessment includes , and sometimes a final or term paper.

Format shift

Online reviews emphasize discussions, papers, and tests, while , and papers.

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

17 reviews

High confidence · Best fit for Effort For Reward

In-person reviews are generally , and limited homework in some classes.

Main concern

Some students still find homework grading, exams, or .

What students said

“ but always fair.”
PHIL172
“ .”
PHIL170

Remote format

Online

6 reviews

Medium confidence · Best fit for Hardcore Learner

Online reviews are mixed, with praise for feedback and debate but recent complaints , and .

Main concern

The main online concern is unclear grading expectations combined with .

What students said

“ how you could improve after docking points”
PHIL100
“Challenging material, but Prof. Kobayashi gives great lectures that makes everything more easily digestible.”
PHIL160C

Exam style

Know what to expect from exams and major assignments.

Overall exam style is fairly student-friendly because and dropped test or quiz scores, despite some hard exams.

Curved ExamsDropped Lowest TestDropped Lowest QuizFinalChallenging Exams

Assessment risk

StudentFriendly

72/100

Low score means less forgiving assessment conditions.

In person

final, and generally lecture-based test preparation, but not proctoring or open-book rules.

Curved ExamsDropped Lowest TestDropped Lowest QuizFinal
“ .”
PHIL170
“ and .”
PHIL170

Online

and studying for exams, but do not clearly prove webcam, proctoring, Lockdown Browser, open-book, or take-home policies.

Hard TestsExams Mentioned
“ ”
PHIL100
“Study for but also not the hardest.”
PHIL100

Student evidence

See what students actually said.

Top student voice

“ but always fair. Gives students opportunities to improve their grades.”

Voice snapshots generated from 23 reviews, highlighting key themes in , and format differences. Credibility rating: High.

🎯 Teaching Quality

78/100

“makes the material easy to understand, jokes around often, and v interactive!”

⚖️

72/100

“ .”

👍 Recommendation Rate

70/100

“ .”

Theme 1

👨‍🏫 About Teaching Style

  • Very enjoyable to listen to regardless of if he's discussing his own life or the lecture material.
  • Prof. Kobayashi gives great lectures that makes everything more easily digestible.
  • He is very , understand at times, and and his final paper.

Theme 2

📈 About Difficulty And Grades

  • This class DOES NOT require studying to get an A.
  • It's really hard to get a good grade from him, but .
  • .

Theme 3

📝 About Workload And Exams

  • exams.
  • This class requires a LOT of reading and understanding. A lot of papers.
  • .

Data context

See exactly what the AI read.

Analysis sample

23

Recent reviews read by the AI

22

Lifetime ratings

84/100

Evidence confidence

Twenty-three reviews across many years and both formats give broad evidence, though sections.

Inside 23 stored ratings

Quality ratings

5 out of 510
4 out of 57
3 out of 53
2 out of 52
1 out of 51

Course coverage

PHIL1008 reviews
PHIL1705 reviews
PHIL160C3 reviews
PHIL1012 reviews
1701 review
Show 4 more courses
209801 review
ELLWRITING1 review
PHIL1721 review
PHILOSOPHY1701 review

Reported outcomes

A range results lead the reported letter grades.

17 reported outcomes

A range

6

A 5 · A- 1

B range

5

B+ 1 · B 3 · B- 1

C range

1

C 1

D range

0

No reported values

F

0

No reported values

No letter grade reported

5

Not sure yet 3 · Pass 1 · Rather not say 1