AI Rate Professor

Mathematics & Science

Sam Balsley

CHEM010 · CHEM10 · CHEM · BIO001 · CHEM160 · 30 lifetime ratings

AI rating
88/100
RMP rating
4.1/5
Take again
80%
Difficulty
2.4

The decision

Strong choice for intro chem if you will attend, do weekly work, and use office hours—especially if you fear chemistry.

Best fit · Beginner FriendlyCaring chemistry teacherHilarious lecturesLenient curvesWeekly homework and labsBeginner-friendly chem
  • Students overwhelmingly praise Dr. Sam as caring, funny, and invested in success.
  • Chemistry is content-heavy, but curves, , and .
  • A minority find lectures long or confusing and .

Key questions

Four answers before you build your schedule.

Is this an easy A?

EasyA

78/100

Lenient grading, curves, , and consistent work.

All evidence is in person; no online reviews to compare.

Is the course easy?

Beginner

64/100

Intro chem content is real, but many say he makes it understandable and fun with .

Evidence comes only from in-person CHEM and BIO comments.

Is attendance flexible?

Recommended

45/100

, yet several sections list it as not mandatory.

Only in-person data; policies vary by term.

Is this professor recommended?

WorthIt

82/100

, and fair paths to pass, with a small cluster of .

Recommendation evidence is entirely in person.

Course guide

See how this professor fits your week.

Grading

Lenient

80/100

Curves, rounded cutoffs, , and .

Format shift

In-person only; multiple students cite heavy curving.

Workload

Moderate

55/100

Expect , and , but not constant crushing papers.

Format shift

All workload evidence is in person.

Teaching experience

Excellent

84/100

Caring, funny, dedicated teaching dominates, tempered by occasional confusion and disorganization complaints.

Format shift

In-person reviews only.

Assessment method

Balanced

55/100

, and multiple exams all count; .

Format shift

In-person chem lecture/lab pattern 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

30 reviews

High confidence · Best fit for Beginner Friendly

In-person chem lectures and , and a supportive, humorous instructor.

Main concern

Long or for some; easy to fall behind if .

What students said

“I hate chemistry, hadn't taken it in over 5 years before this and somehow still got an A because of how easy he is.”
CHEM010
“Professor Balsley made Chemistry fun.”
CHEM010
“ . He rounds 88.5 up to an A (78.5 to B, etc). He is a and offers .”
CHEM160

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.

but and sometimes open-notes, lowering grade risk.

Curved examsNotes allowed on testsStudy guides and reviewsWeekly quizzes

Assessment risk

StudentFriendly

72/100

Low score means less forgiving assessment conditions.

In person

/reviews, and are frequently curved; not described as Lockdown proctoring.

Open notes sometimesExam curvesTest reviewsLecture-based tests
“ but you can use notes.”
CHEM010
“ . He rounds 88.5 up to an A (78.5 to B, etc).”
CHEM160
“ because he lets you use notes (as many notes as you want!).”
CHEM160

Online

Student evidence

See what students actually said.

Top student voice

“I hate chemistry, hadn't taken it in over 5 years before this and somehow still got an A because of how easy he is.”

Voice snapshots generated from 30 in-person reviews (0 , and intro-chem accessibility. Credibility rating: High.

🎯 Teaching Quality

84/100

“Dr. Balsley is one of the ”

😄 Classroom Energy

88/100

“He had me cracking up every day in class and you can tell he really loves to teach.”

🅰️ Lenient Path to A

80/100

“He is a and offers .”

⚠️ Clarity Critiques

40/100

“I found that he has an ability to make even the ”

Theme 1

👨‍🏫 About Teaching Style

  • makes chemistry relatable and makes learning fun
  • He's an army veteran, makes everything "Army proof" by explaining the same thing in 6 different ways
  • His lectures are hilarious!

Theme 2

📈 About Difficulty & Grades

  • The , but I studied for them and did well.
  • Class average for exams were 65%
  • Passes anyone that shows they are trying

Theme 3

❤️ About Character

  • He truly cares about his students and wants everyone to pass!
  • Very sweet
  • extremely approachable

Data context

See exactly what the AI read.

Analysis sample

30

Recent reviews read by the AI

30

Lifetime ratings

88/100

Evidence confidence

Thirty consistent in-person reviews from 2010-2023 with , and intro-chem support support high confidence.

Inside 30 stored ratings

Quality ratings

5 out of 517
4 out of 58
3 out of 53
2 out of 51
1 out of 51

Course coverage

CHEM16016 reviews
CHEM0109 reviews
CHEM2 reviews
CHEM102 reviews
BIO0011 review

Reported outcomes

A range results lead the reported letter grades.

20 reported outcomes

A range

14

A+ 3 · A 11

B range

4

B+ 2 · B 2

C range

2

C+ 1 · C 1

D range

0

No reported values

F

0

No reported values

No letter grade reported

0

No reported values