AI Rate Professor

Physics

Patrick McDougall

ENGR8 · PHYS22 · PHYS041 · PHYS41 · 20 lifetime ratings

AI rating
93/100
RMP rating
4.6/5
Take again
85%
Difficulty
3.3

The decision

Take him if you want a and can handle a .

Best fit · Effort For RewardPassionate physics teacherCaring and accessibleTest heavyHelpful explanationsChallenging but fair
  • Students overwhelmingly praise Patrick McDougall as caring, passionate, and .
  • The course is intellectually challenging, with difficult or .
  • Grades are usually fair and often achievable with effort, helped , and instructor support.

Key questions

Four answers before you build your schedule.

Is this an easy A?

FairEffort

68/100

An A is very realistic with effort, but hard physics content and A.

Online evidence is more grade-friendly, while but .

Is the course easy?

Challenging

35/100

Students repeatedly say physics is tough, content-heavy, and requires extra studying even with .

Both formats describe hard material, but challenge.

Is attendance flexible?

Varies

55/100

Reviews do not clearly prove a , though some tags suggest participation and class attendance matter.

Online and only scattered attendance-related tags.

Is this professor recommended?

MustTake

88/100

Students recommend him because he , and extra help.

In-person students are highly enthusiastic, while online reviews are positive on fairness but more mixed on learning.

Course guide

See how this professor fits your week.

Grading

Fair

62/100

Grading is mostly fair with partial credit and possible adjustments, but and .

Format shift

Online reviews mention fair grading, while and harsh exam-structure concerns.

Workload

Moderate

52/100

lots of homework, with the main burden coming from learning hard physics.

Format shift

Online reviews include one light-homework comment, while practice needs.

Teaching experience

Excellent

91/100

Most students describe him as , and unusually effective at explaining physics.

Format shift

In-person reviews drive the excellent rating, while but less consistently strong.

Assessment method

FocusOnExams

75/100

Reviews repeatedly describe the class as 60% of the grade.

Format shift

The , while online reviews do not clearly define assessment weight.

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 Effort For Reward

In-person reviews strongly praise his teaching, availability, and passion, while consistently noting that physics and .

Main concern

Exams can be difficult and heavily weighted, so .

What students said

“Physics is tough, but Patrick helps!”
PHYS041
“Tests make up 60% of your grade.”
PHYS041
“ , but mostly outweighed by how easy the rest of the material is.”
PHYS41

Remote format

Online

3 reviews

Low confidence · Best fit for Easy A Hunter

Online reviews describe him as fair and accommodating, but learning quality is mixed and based on limited evidence.

Main concern

One online student said the class was better for getting an A than for learning deeply.

What students said

“Grades fairly and .”
ENGR8
“great if you want and A, not so great if you want to learn.”
PHYS22

Exam style

Know what to expect from exams and major assignments.

Exam risk is real because tests are difficult and heavily weighted, but reviews .

Test HeavyDifficult ExamsPractice Exams SimilarPartial Credit

Assessment risk

Standard

48/100

Low score means less forgiving assessment conditions.

In person

In-person reviews describe difficult, heavily weighted exams with some support from practice exams and partial credit.

Test HeavyDifficult ExamsPractice Exams SimilarPartial Credit
“Tests make up 60% of your grade.”
PHYS041
“ so there are no surprises.”
PHYS41
“LOTS of .”
PHYS41

Online

Online reviews do not clearly .

Student evidence

See what students actually said.

Top student voice

“Physics is tough, but Patrick helps!”

Voice snapshots generated from 20 reviews, highlighting key themes in , and exams; credibility rating: High.

🎯 Teaching Quality

91/100

“The could teach me for .”

👍 Recommendation Strength

88/100

“If .”

⚖️

62/100

“I definitely struggled comprehending some of the content, but he was an .”

🧪

48/100

“Tests make up 60% of your grade.”

Theme 1

👨‍🏫 About Teaching Style

  • He describes each concept in multiple ways and relates it to common experiences.
  • Patrick is an amazing and .
  • Patrick loves his subject and loves teaching.

Theme 2

📈 About Difficulty and Grades

  • This class is hard, and takes a minute to conceptualize, but once it clicks it is fun.
  • , but mostly outweighed by how easy the rest of the material is.
  • The class is challenging because physics is a very hard subject in general so be prepared to put your brain to work.

Theme 3

❤️ About Support and Character

  • He truly cares about your success in .
  • .
  • He is very willing to help and will even go out of his way to help you.

Data context

See exactly what the AI read.

Analysis sample

20

Recent reviews read by the AI

20

Lifetime ratings

90/100

Evidence confidence

The analysis is based on 20 reviews across several years, with strong consistency about teaching quality and course difficulty.

Inside 20 stored ratings

Quality ratings

5 out of 516
4 out of 51
3 out of 52
2 out of 51
1 out of 50

Course coverage

PHYS04110 reviews
PHYS418 reviews
ENGR81 review
PHYS221 review

Reported outcomes

A range results lead the reported letter grades.

16 reported outcomes

A range

13

A+ 2 · A 11

B range

2

B 2

C range

0

No reported values

D range

0

No reported values

F

0

No reported values

No letter grade reported

1

Not sure yet 1