John Phillips

PLSC101 · PLYSC102 · PLSC101H · PLSC102 · PSC101 · PLSC101AND102 · POLYSCI101 · PLSC · 310 lifetime ratings

AI rating: 86/100
RMP rating: 4.5/5
Take again: 78.62%
Difficulty: 3.6

The decision

if you want real learning and will watch every lecture and finish study guides; skip if you need an easy A.

Best fit · Effort For RewardAmazing lecturesTest heavyStudy guide essentialCaring mentorLecture heavy workload

Students call him one of the ; humor and passion make dense poli sci stick.
Course is test- and lecture-heavy; if you stay consistent.
Not an easy A, but fair expectations and strong support for students who put in daily work.

Key questions

Four answers before you build your schedule.

Is this an easy A?

HardWork

38/100

Many earn A/B only after daily lecture notes, full study guides, and tough essay exams; comments repeatedly say not an easy A.

Online and in-person both require heavy prep; .

Is the course easy?

Challenging

32/100

, and tricky multiple-choice plus essays make content intellectually demanding.

Online students emphasize multi-hour weekly videos; in-person students emphasize note-taking and attendance.

Is attendance flexible?

Varies

45/100

and warn that skipping hurts; many online sections do not require live attendance.

In-person more often mandatory; pure online is flexible on live presence but inflexible on weekly lecture watching.

Is this professor recommended?

WorthIt

79/100

minority warning about workload and organization.

In-person reviews trend more uniformly glowing; online has more organization and .

Course guide

See how this professor fits your week.

Grading

Fair

48/100

Clear criteria and study-guide alignment help, but and some call him a .

Format shift

Workload

Heavy

28/100

Weekly multi-hour lectures, study guides, discussions, quizzes, and .

Format shift

Online 8-week formats intensify daily lecture quotas; in-person adds class-time intensity.

Teaching experience

Excellent

90/100

and strong student support dominate the large review set.

Format shift

Both formats praise lectures; .

Assessment method

FocusOnExams

82/100

and multi-part exams with essay components more than small assignments.

Format shift

Online and ; study guides are the .

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 Hardcore Learner

- and test-heavy with engaging storytelling; and study guides still dominate success.

Main concern

Skipping class sets you back; and strict pacing stress some students.

What students said

“Easily the so far. Very lecture heavy so skipping a class can set you back a bit.”
101

“You do have to memorize an , but the study guide precisely covers 90% of the test so u just need to prepare well.”
PLSC102

“The and under strict time constraints, expected essay responses be memorized in order to finish in the time allotted.”
PLSC101

Remote format

Online

33 reviews

High confidence · Best fit for Self Taught Pro

Online is video-lecture heavy with timed tests, weekly study-guide homework, and , yet many still call the lectures the .

Main concern

Heavy weekly , and occasional poor grade visibility or organization.

What students said

“Better lectures than any online prof Ive ever had.”
PLSC102

“The and have about 68 questions plus a .”
PLSC

“Not an easy A, but great class and prof.”
102

Exam style

Know what to expect from exams and major assignments.

Exams mix timed multiple choice and essays; study guides cover most content but time pressure and .

Test heavyTimed examsEssay componentStudy guide alignedTricky multiple choice

Assessment risk

Standard

42/100

Low score means less forgiving assessment conditions.

In person

essays; study guides cover most items but timing can force memorized essays.

In-person examsEssay on the spotStudy guide coverageStrict time limits

“ .”
101

“You do have to memorize an , but the study guide precisely covers 90% of the test”
PLSC102

“The exams were difficult and under ”
PLSC101

Online

a long essay; grade checks sometimes via spreadsheets rather than live Canvas.

Timed examsLong essay~68 questionsStudy guidesSpreadsheet grade checks

“The and have about 68 questions plus a .”
PLSC

“Taking the because you're given .”
PLSC102

“He posts a and it showed half the class failing each exams.”
PLSC102

Student evidence

See what students actually said.

Top student voice
“To me, professor phillips is the . This is not a lazy professor that just throws you in the water and hopes you can swim.”
Voice snapshots generated from 50 reviews (33 online, 17 in-person), balancing lecture praise with . Credibility rating: High.

🎯 Teaching Quality

90/100

“Easily the so far.”

📚 Workload Reality

28/100

“beware the work load. lectures and study guide.”

📝

42/100

“his class is test-heavy so it was a bit tough for me, but and very informative!”

❤️ Student Support

88/100

“When I reached out he worked with me every week & checked my study guide homework to make sure I got it.”

Theme 1

👨‍🏫 About Teaching Style

Amazing lectures
makes poli sci fun and humorous
infectious passion for the subject

Theme 2

📈 About Difficulty & Grades

Not an easy A
You will work hard for that A
study guide precisely covers 90% of the test

Theme 3

❤️ About Character

genuinely cares about his students
most profs don't care but he does

Data context

See exactly what the AI read.

Analysis sample

Recent reviews read by the AI

310

Lifetime ratings

92/100

Evidence confidence

Fifty reviews spanning years, both formats, rich detail, and a coherent majority view on lectures versus workload yield high credibility.

Inside 50 stored ratings

Quality ratings

5 out of 5239

4 out of 536

3 out of 514

2 out of 510

1 out of 512

Course coverage

10216 reviews

PLSC10215 reviews

PLSC1016 reviews

1015 reviews

PLSC2 reviews

Show 5 more courses

PLSC101H2 reviews

PLSC101AND1021 review

PLYSC1021 review

POLYSCI1011 review

PSC1011 review

Reported outcomes

A range results lead the reported letter grades.

47 reported outcomes

A range

A+ 2 · A 15 · A- 4

B range

B+ 2 · B 15 · B- 3

C range

C+ 1 · C 3

D range

No reported values

F

No reported values

No letter grade reported

Audit/No Grade 1 · Not sure yet 1

John Phillips

x x if you want real learning and will watch every lecture and finish study guides; skip if you need an easy A.

Four answers before you build your schedule.

HardWork

Challenging

Varies

WorthIt

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

📚 Workload Reality

📝 x x

❤️ Student Support

👨‍🏫 About Teaching Style

📈 About Difficulty & Grades

❤️ About Character

See exactly what the AI read.

Quality ratings

Course coverage

A range results lead the reported letter grades.

A range

B range

C range

D range

F

No letter grade reported

if you want real learning and will watch every lecture and finish study guides; skip if you need an easy A.

📝