John Oakes

CHEM115 · PSC100 · CHEM142 · SCI1103479 · SCI110 · CH141 · CHEM116 · SCIENCE110 · CHEM141 · CHEM · BIO101 · 115 lifetime ratings

AI rating: 31/100
RMP rating: 3.2/5
Take again: 0%
Difficulty: 3.6

The decision

if you want a demanding science course and , and a blunt classroom style.

Best fit · Hardcore LearnerVery difficultCondescending toneKnowledgeable professorTest heavyHeavy early workload

Students consistently describe him as highly knowledgeable and sometimes engaging.
Many reviews warn that lectures, exams, labs, and workload are difficult.
A major recurring complaint is that he can be rude, intimidating, or condescending.

Key questions

Four answers before you build your schedule.

Is this an easy A?

HardWork

40/100

Some students earn high grades through and study guides, but most say the A , and persistence.

All grade-effort evidence comes from in-person reviews, with .

Is the course easy?

Challenging

25/100

Chemistry and science content is repeatedly described as hard, fast, test-heavy, and .

All .

Is attendance flexible?

Avoid

38/100

Recommendations are sharply split, but many students warn against him because of and condescending behavior.

All recommendation evidence is in person, with .

Course guide

See how this professor fits your week.

Grading

Fair

45/100

, partial credit, and relaxed scales help, but many and difficult tests.

Format shift

Workload

Heavy

25/100

Students repeatedly mention studying a lot, long , and projects.

Format shift

Workload and chemistry reviews.

Teaching experience

Poor

42/100

He is knowledgeable and , but frequent complaints about disorganization, speed, and disrespect pull teaching quality down.

Format shift

All teaching evidence is in person and highly polarized.

Assessment method

Balanced

65/100

Assessments include exams, quizzes, labs, projects, papers, and presentations, with .

Format shift

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

50 reviews

High confidence · Best fit for Hardcore Learner

but rigorous professor whose knowledge is respected while his difficulty and tone are major risks.

Main concern

, and condescending interactions make the course stressful.

What students said

“He is beyond aggressive and condescending, so save yourself the time of day and .”
PSC100

“He is a , but I learned a LOT and gives a ton of ex credit.”
CHEM141

“ if you put in a little effort”
CHEM142

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 often described as hard and test-heavy, though and .

Hard ExamsFrequent QuizzesPractice ExamsExtra CreditShort Answer Exams

Assessment risk

Strict

35/100

Low score means less forgiving assessment conditions.

In person

In-person reviews mention hard exams, frequent quizzes, short-answer formats, practice exams, and , but do not prove book or .

Hard ExamsFrequent QuizzesPractice ExamsExtra CreditShort Answer Exams

“ and long.”
SCI110

“ .”
SCI110

“ , however he gives practice exams prior which have similar questions on them.”
CHEM141

Online

Student evidence

See what students actually said.

Top student voice
“He knows what the F* he's talking about. Difficult class. Be prepared to be challenged.”
Voice snapshots generated from 50 reviews, highlighting key themes in , and classroom tone. Credibility rating: High.

🎯 Teaching Quality

42/100

“I don't doubt for a minute that he knows his stuff but when it comes to the art of teaching, it is definitely not his forte.”

📈 Difficulty & Grades

40/100

“This is quite possibly the toughest class I've taken (and I've taken statistics).”

⚠️ Classroom Tone

30/100

“He is beyond aggressive and condescending, so save yourself the time of day and .”

🧪 Workload

25/100

“Be prepared to study a lot on your own and spend hours and .”

Theme 1

👨‍🏫 About Teaching Style

Dr. Oakes is a great teacher and I really appreciated how well he explained concepts.
His lectures are all over the and they are not multiple choice!
Organic and Biochemistry is very difficult to understand. .. I ended up teaching the material myself.

Theme 2

📈 About Difficulty & Grades

This was that most difficult class I took this semester.
if you put in a little effort
I got a high A in the class but I did bust my butt for it.
No matter how hard many people .

Theme 3

❤️ About Character

He is beyond aggressive and condescending, so save yourself the time of day and .
He is a very helpful Professor. i would take him again for chemistry 142.
He can be very rude and VERY condesending

Theme 4

🧪

and long.
The first 6 weeks were brutal but it starts to slow down.
One project, one group presentation, one paper, and a couple of .

Data context

See exactly what the AI read.

Analysis sample

Recent reviews read by the AI

115

Lifetime ratings

90/100

Evidence confidence

Fifty in-person reviews across many years provide rich, consistent evidence about difficulty, teaching strengths, and classroom tone.

Inside 50 stored ratings

Quality ratings

5 out of 532

4 out of 526

3 out of 525

2 out of 522

1 out of 510

Course coverage

SCI11013 reviews

CHEM14210 reviews

CHEM1419 reviews

CHEM1166 reviews

PSC1004 reviews

Show 7 more courses

SCIENCE1102 reviews

1101 review

BIO1011 review

CH1411 review

CHEM1 review

CHEM1151 review

SCI11034791 review

Reported outcomes

C range results lead the reported letter grades.

11 reported outcomes

A range

A+ 1 · A 1 · A- 1

B range

B 1

C range

C+ 2 · C 2

D range

No reported values

F

No reported values

No letter grade reported

Audit/No Grade 1 · Not sure yet 2

John Oakes

x x x if you want a demanding science course and x x x x x x, and a blunt classroom style.

Four answers before you build your schedule.

HardWork

Challenging

Recommended

Avoid

See how this professor fits your week.

Compare the in-person and online experience.

Know what to expect from exams and major assignments.

In person

Online

See what students actually said.

🎯 Teaching Quality

📈 Difficulty & Grades

⚠️ Classroom Tone

🧪 Workload

👨‍🏫 About Teaching Style

📈 About Difficulty & Grades

❤️ About Character

🧪 x x x x

See exactly what the AI read.

Quality ratings

Course coverage

C range results lead the reported letter grades.

A range

B range

C range

D range

F

No letter grade reported

if you want a demanding science course and , and a blunt classroom style.

🧪