James May

ECON2210 · GEOL1500 · ERSC1520 · GEOL1510 · GEOG1510 · GEOL2100 · CHEM1510 · PSCI1520 · ESCI152020 · ERSCI1520 · GEOL1501 · 50 lifetime ratings

AI rating: 76/100
RMP rating: 4.0/5
Take again: 76.6%
Difficulty: 3.3

The decision

if you will attend every class and put in steady work; skip if you want an easy, low-effort science elective.

Best fit · Effort For RewardPassionate about rocksLecture heavyMandatory attendanceLots of homeworkField trips

Passionate, funny lectures that make geology come alive for engaged students.
; missing class puts you far behind with .
Workload and if you show up and study, but Chemistry and some Earth Science sections run harder.

Key questions

Four answers before you build your schedule.

Is this an easy A?

FairEffort

58/100

Many students earn As and Bs by showing up and , but and heavy work block free As.

Online summer-style sections report easier As; in-person Chem and some Earth Science demand more grind.

Is the course easy?

Standard

48/100

, but , and memorization keep it from feeling introductory.

Online can feel easier with chapter quizzes; and field trips raise the challenge.

Is attendance flexible?

Mandatory

18/100

Most reviews state attendance is mandatory, with , and tags that skipping means you will not pass.

A ; almost all in-person evidence says show up every day.

Is this professor recommended?

WorthIt

77/100

Strong majority praise passion, humor, and fairness for dedicated students despite a loud minority of harsh experiences.

Recommendation is strongest for geology/earth science in person; Chemistry and a few online hard sections pull scores down.

Course guide

See how this professor fits your week.

Grading

Fair

52/100

and clear criteria help, but tough-grader tags and gifted.

Format shift

Online includes both forgiving curves/ and ; in-person leans fair-to-strict.

Workload

Heavy

32/100

Weekly homework, labs, quizzes every class, and .

Format shift

Some online formats are lighter weekly loops; in-person Chem and and labs.

Teaching experience

Good

78/100

Students repeatedly call lectures amazing, hilarious, and caring, though a minority find him unorganized, favoritism-prone, or .

Format shift

In-person geology fans dominate positives; online and Chem have more mixed clarity complaints.

Assessment method

Balanced

55/100

, and multi-chapter exams rather than pure tests or pure assignments.

Format shift

Online often weekly assignment-plus-quiz; , 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

44 reviews

High confidence · Best fit for Effort For Reward

In-person classes center , and participation; chemistry and some physical science sections feel tougher.

Main concern

, and uneven lab explanations frustrate some students.

What students said

“What I observed is Prof. May will mirror your effort. Show up to class, participate during lectures, complete your hw on time & you will 100% succeed.”
GEOL1501

“Don't worry about to the poor reviews if you are a good student... There is a lot of work to be done so it IS a heavy class but material is not too difficult.”
CHEM1510

“You will take surprise field trips in the middle of nowhere... so they are very hard.”
ESCI152020

Remote format

Online

6 reviews

Medium confidence · Best fit for Self Taught Pro

Online sections range from simple weekly read-assign-quiz loops with and heavy material.

Main concern

Some online offerings are easy A-style routines while others feel nearly impossible with .

What students said

“Summer semester was a breeze. Forgives one test and .”
GEOG1510

“Our first exam is closed book for 58 questions. unless it is your only class.”
GEOL1500

“Every week you read the chapter, do the . Super simple.”
GEOL1510

Exam style

Know what to expect from exams and major assignments.

Exams and and study; friendliness varies by section without a clearly open-book default.

Weekly quizzesPop quizzesMulti-chapter examsSome closed-book examsExtra credit

Assessment risk

Standard

48/100

Low score means less forgiving assessment conditions.

In person

In-person classes use lecture-linked quizzes nearly every meeting plus harder multi-chapter exams; study hard and show up.

Pop quizzes every classMulti-chapter examsStudy-heavy testsLabs counted heavily

“ because theres a short quiz every class, homework once a week and .”
CHEM1510

“The , but not impossible. It is important to study hard in order to earn an A.”
GEOG1510

“ ! ... !”
CHEM1510

Online

Online evidence includes simple chapter quizzes and at least one closed-book multi-dozen-question exam with .

Chapter quizzesClosed-book examNo curve reportedExtra credit on some sections

“Our first exam is closed book for 58 questions.”
GEOL1500

“The average test score was a 50% F! ... ”
GEOL1500

“Forgives one test and .”
GEOG1510

Student evidence

See what students actually said.

Top student voice
“James May was SUCH an amazing professor, he is very passionate about what he teaches & wants to see you succeed in his class. What I observed is Prof. May will mirror your effort.”
Voice snapshots generated from 50 reviews (6 online, 44 in , and effort-based grades. Credibility rating: High.

🔥 Passion & Lectures

78/100

“seriously loves rocks, which makes all the lectures very entertaining.”

📍

18/100

“ can not miss a day or you'll be very behind and he won't let you make up for it.”

⚖️ Effort Matches Reward

58/100

“It's not an easy class but it is definitely manageable if you put in the work.”

👍 Overall Recommendation

77/100

“ .”

Theme 1

👨‍🏫 About Teaching Style

Professor May has been a inspirational teacher.
He uses a lot of color coding or memorable examples to help memorize.
He breaks everything down and gives you life examples.

Theme 2

📈 About Difficulty & Grades

this class was one of the .
though!
He does make you work for though.

Theme 3

🎒

There is a lot of work to be done so it IS a heavy class.
Skip class? You won't pass.
Pretty easy--just go to class!

Data context

See exactly what the AI read.

Analysis sample

Recent reviews read by the AI

Lifetime ratings

88/100

Evidence confidence

Fifty detailed reviews spanning over a decade with , and workload support high confidence.

Inside 50 stored ratings

Quality ratings

5 out of 531

4 out of 55

3 out of 53

2 out of 54

1 out of 57

Course coverage

GEOL150015 reviews

CHEM151014 reviews

ERSC15203 reviews

ERSCI15203 reviews

ESCI1520203 reviews

Show 6 more courses

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PSCI15203 reviews

ECON22101 review

GEOL15101 review

GEOL21001 review

Reported outcomes

A range results lead the reported letter grades.

43 reported outcomes

A range

A+ 5 · A 12 · A- 4

B range

B+ 6 · B 7 · B- 2

C range

C+ 2 · C 3

D range

No reported values

F

No reported values

No letter grade reported

Drop/Withdrawal 1 · Rather not say 1

James May

x x if you will attend every class and put in steady work; skip if you want an easy, low-effort science elective.

Four answers before you build your schedule.

FairEffort

Standard

Mandatory

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.

🔥 Passion & Lectures

📍 x x

⚖️ Effort Matches Reward

👍 Overall Recommendation

👨‍🏫 About Teaching Style

📈 About Difficulty & Grades

🎒 x x x x

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 will attend every class and put in steady work; skip if you want an easy, low-effort science elective.

📍

🎒