AI Rate Professor

Mathematics

John Fay

MATH510 · MATH605 · CALC2 · LINEARALGEBRA · STAT10 · MATH81MATH85 · CAL1 · MATH410 · 65B · STAT1089581 · MATH450 · MATH65A · MATH4 · MATH65B · MATH85 · MATH65ACAL1 · MATH425 · MATH25 · MATH81 · MATH401 · MATH75 · 118 lifetime ratings

AI rating
19/100
RMP rating
2.3/5
Take again
18.52%
Difficulty
4.3

The decision

Avoid unless you are already strong in , and comfortable risking your grade.

Best fit · Hardcore LearnerExtremely Tough GraderHeavy WorkloadConfusing LecturesProof HeavySelf-Study Required
  • Students and .
  • Many and textbooks.
  • A small minority say he prepares serious math students well for harder courses.

Key questions

Four answers before you build your schedule.

Is this an easy A?

MissionImpossible

8/100

Getting an A appears very difficult because many students report heavy work, harsh grading, and .

Both formats are harsh, but online reviews emphasize no way to get an A while .

Is the course easy?

BrainBurner

15/100

The math content is described as fast, proof-heavy, and often taught above the level students expect.

Online students struggle with unreadable notes and exams, while , and abstract lectures.

Is attendance flexible?

Mandatory

25/100

, but several reviews say skipping or missing class makes passing very unlikely.

The clearest attendance pressure comes from in-person reviews, while online and exams.

Is this professor recommended?

Avoid

18/100

Most students do not recommend him because the , and .

Both online and small in-person minority praising his rigor.

Course guide

See how this professor fits your week.

Grading

Harsh

6/100

Students repeatedly call him a tough or .

Format shift

Online and comments giving more examples of tiny test deductions.

Workload

Overwhelming

10/100

Reviews frequently mention lots of , and extreme weekly time demands.

Format shift

Online reviews call the workload intense, while in-person reviews repeatedly describe 20 or more hours of work per week.

Teaching experience

Poor

28/100

Students say he knows math, but many , and .

Format shift

Online complaints focus on notes and handwriting, while , and .

Assessment method

FocusOnExams

82/100

Grades appear heavily driven by tests, midterms, finals, quizzes, and .

Format shift

Online reviews mention midterms and finals, while , and .

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

45 reviews

High confidence · Best fit for Hardcore Learner

In-person reviews are also mostly negative, with repeated concerns , and .

Main concern

Students often say effort does not translate into grades because .

What students said

“ .”
CAL1
“The , but he grades hard.”
MATH65B

Remote format

Online

5 reviews

Medium confidence · Best fit for Self Taught Pro

Online reviews are strongly negative, , and exams that are hard to score well on.

Main concern

Students say the online format makes his already difficult teaching and .

What students said

“ .”
MATH81
“Absolutely insane workload, lectures are difficult to follow through due to his own handwriting.”
MATH81

Exam style

Know what to expect from exams and major assignments.

harsh grading and little forgiveness for small mistakes.

Proof-Based ExamsStrict GradingMidterms and FinalsLimited Cheat Sheet Use

Assessment risk

Strict

12/100

Low score means less forgiving assessment conditions.

In person

In-person reviews describe strict proof and definition testing, and one review says a booklet cheat sheet cannot be used for definitions and proofs.

Proof-Based ExamsLimited Cheat Sheet UseStrict Grading
“Gives a booklet cheat sheet but can't use them for the definition and proofs part of the test.”
CAL1
“KNOW THE PROOFS!!”
MATH81

Online

Online , and finals, but do not clearly prove webcam, proctoring, Lockdown Browser, or open-book rules.

Hard ExamsMidterms and FinalsStrict Grading
“the only things that and finals”
MATH81MATH85
“ .”
MATH81

Student evidence

See what students actually said.

Top student voice

“The amount of work put into just passing this class would earn you an A in 2 other classes.”

Voice snapshots generated from 50 reviews, highlighting repeated themes in , and workload. Credibility rating: High.

🎯 Teaching Quality

28/100

“There is no doubt Dr. Fay knows math, he simply does not know how to teach it.”

⚖️

6/100

“If you get the right answer he will give you a D for missing a parenthesis.”

📚 Workload

10/100

“If you do not have 20+ hours to spend outside of the .”

Theme 1

👨‍🏫 About Teaching Style

  • and theorems off the textbook and then showing an example.
  • He speaks at a graduate level that most people can't understand.
  • His lectures were thorough, and .

Theme 2

📈 About Difficulty and Grades

  • No way to get an A.
  • The best and brightest students should be proud to receive a C in his Linear Algebra class.
  • The , but he grades hard.

Theme 3

📚 About Workload

  • .
  • Absolutely insane workload, lectures are difficult to follow through due to his own handwriting.
  • 20 hours + a week. Book HW: 20+ hrs.

Data context

See exactly what the AI read.

Analysis sample

50

Recent reviews read by the AI

118

Lifetime ratings

92/100

Evidence confidence

Credibility is high because 50 reviews across many years show consistent patterns in , and lecture difficulty.

Inside 50 stored ratings

Quality ratings

5 out of 519
4 out of 511
3 out of 515
2 out of 529
1 out of 544

Course coverage

MATH257 reviews
MATH65A7 reviews
MATH816 reviews
MATH4103 reviews
MATH4253 reviews
Show 16 more courses
MATH65B3 reviews
MATH81MATH853 reviews
MATH4502 reviews
MATH752 reviews
MATH852 reviews
STAT102 reviews
65B1 review
CAL11 review
CALC21 review
LINEARALGEBRA1 review
MATH41 review
MATH4011 review
MATH5101 review
MATH6051 review
MATH65ACAL11 review
STAT10895811 review

Reported outcomes

No letter grade reported results lead the reported letter grades.

29 reported outcomes

A range

1

A 1

B range

5

B+ 2 · B 2 · B- 1

C range

6

C 6

D range

2

D 2

F

5

F 5

No letter grade reported

10

Drop/Withdrawal 4 · Not sure yet 2 · Not_Sure_Yet 1 · Rather not say 3