AI Rate Professor

Biology

Travis Vail

BIOG182 · BIO186 · BIO100 · BIO185 · BIOL185 · BIO110 · BIO182 · ZOOLOGY · ZOO185 · BIOL182 · 100 lifetime ratings

AI rating
65/100
RMP rating
4.2/5
Take again
64.71%
Difficulty
3.6

The decision

if you want an engaging biology professor and can , and inconsistent organization.

Best fit · Hardcore LearnerEngaging LecturerExam HeavyTough Lab ExamsDisorganized StructureCaring but Demanding
  • Students often praise his passion, humor, and ability to make biology engaging.
  • The course is content-heavy, exam-heavy, and especially difficult in labs.
  • Many complaints focus on disorganization, inconsistent pacing, and .

Key questions

Four answers before you build your schedule.

Is this an easy A?

HardWork

42/100

An A is possible with strong notes, memorization, and , but students repeatedly say you must work hard for it.

Online and in-person reviews both show high effort, with online students sounding more overloaded and .

Is the course easy?

Challenging

34/100

The material is not always conceptually deep, but the volume of memorization and .

Online reviews stress dense lessons, while , and pacing.

Is attendance flexible?

Recommended

35/100

Reviews do not prove a , but students repeatedly say skipping or missing lecture makes passing much harder.

Evidence mainly comes from in-person reviews, with one online review also saying students will not pass without keeping up.

Is this professor recommended?

WorthIt

68/100

, but the and organization problems create real risk.

, while online reviews are more mixed and stress-heavy.

Course guide

See how this professor fits your week.

Grading

Strict

32/100

as strict, especially for lab exams, spelling, late work, and high-weight tests.

Format shift

, while online reviews focus more on exam difficulty.

Workload

Heavy

28/100

Students repeatedly mention lots of memorization, papers, labs, exams, and time-consuming preparation.

Format shift

Both formats are heavy, but online reviews describe dense lessons while .

Teaching experience

Good

78/100

His lectures are often praised as funny, passionate, and engaging, but organization and pacing lower the overall experience.

Format shift

feedback, where messy lecture structure is a recurring concern.

Assessment method

FocusOnExams

85/100

Grades and lab exams, with assignments and playing smaller roles.

Format shift

Both formats mention tests heavily, and and three lab exams.

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

46 reviews

High confidence · Best fit for Hardcore Learner

In-person reviews are more positive about his energy and teaching, but , and organization issues.

Main concern

The and memorization can overpower the otherwise engaging lectures.

What students said

“The class covers LOTS of content, so be prepared to pay attention, memorize & put in the effort.”
BIO182
“ unreasonably weighted.”
BIO182

Remote format

Online

4 reviews

Medium confidence · Best fit for Self Taught Pro

Online reviews describe engaging moments but mostly warn that dense lectures and .

Main concern

Online students report heavy content and .

What students said

“The teacher assigns dense lessons, difficult content.”
BIOL185
“His lecture style is VERY MESSY.”
BIO182

Exam style

Know what to expect from exams and major assignments.

Exams are high-stakes and difficult, especially lab exams, and reviews .

Lecture ExamsDifficult Lab ExamsExam-Heavy GradeHeavy Memorization

Assessment risk

Strict

35/100

Low score means less forgiving assessment conditions.

In person

and lab exams as central to the grade, with lab exams seen as the hardest part.

Lecture ExamsDifficult Lab ExamsExam-Heavy Grade
“There are 4 lecture exams and 3 lab exams, these take up roughly 75% of the grade so .”
BIO182
“ and lab exams are very difficult.”
BIO186

Online

Online reviews mention difficult lecture exams and lab exams, but do not clearly .

Dense Lecture ExamsLab Exams
“ .”
BIO182
“ as dense as .”
BIOL182

Student evidence

See what students actually said.

Top student voice

“Don't expect to cruise through the course though. If you don't study, you won't pass.”

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

🎯 Teaching Quality

78/100

“Professor Vail is, hands down, the .”

⚖️

32/100

“He is hilarious and made the class fun, but and he graded it very hard.”

📚 Workload Pressure

28/100

“This class takes up a lot of time be prepared to study and memorize a lot of material!”

Theme 1

👨‍🏫 About Teaching Style

  • He makes learning fun and interactive.
  • Lectures are extremely engaging.
  • He is hilarious and made the class fun.

Theme 2

📈 About Difficulty & Grades

  • This is NOT an easy A class.
  • Never worked harder for a C in my life.
  • You will get an A easily if you're good at memorizing.

Theme 3

🧪

  • unreasonably weighted.
  • and lab exams are very difficult.
  • There are 4 lecture exams and 3 lab exams, these take up roughly 75% of the grade so .

Data context

See exactly what the AI read.

Analysis sample

50

Recent reviews read by the AI

100

Lifetime ratings

92/100

Evidence confidence

Credibility is high because 50 reviews span many years, include detailed course evidence, and show , and workload.

Inside 50 stored ratings

Quality ratings

5 out of 568
4 out of 510
3 out of 510
2 out of 57
1 out of 55

Course coverage

BIO18225 reviews
BIOL1857 reviews
BIOG1825 reviews
BIO1853 reviews
1822 reviews
Show 6 more courses
BIO1002 reviews
BIO1862 reviews
BIO1101 review
BIOL1821 review
ZOO1851 review
ZOOLOGY1 review

Reported outcomes

A range results lead the reported letter grades.

37 reported outcomes

A range

13

A+ 3 · A 10

B range

9

B+ 3 · B 6

C range

7

C+ 2 · C 5

D range

3

D+ 1 · D- 2

F

0

No reported values

No letter grade reported

5

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