Basel Zaitoun

CHEM80 · CHEM40 · CHEM50 · CHEM51 · CHEM1B · 68 lifetime ratings

AI rating: 28/100
RMP rating: 2.9/5
Take again: 43.48%
Difficulty: 3.8

The decision

Avoid unless you already excel in chemistry and can handle blunt treatment—many students report teaching yourself and toxic class climate.

Best fit · Self Taught ProPolarizing PersonalityTough GraderLong Brutal ExamsCondescending LabsSelf-Teach Required

and rude, belittling bully.
Exams are long and hard; homework and .
Online pandemic sections were especially poorly received for feedback and tone.

Key questions

Four answers before you build your schedule.

Is this an easy A?

HardWork

28/100

A grades are rare; and tough grading mean high effort still often yields B/C range.

Both formats report hard grading; .

Is the course easy?

Challenging

28/100

Chemistry content plus and self-teaching make the course intellectually and practically hard.

In-person and and weak clarity; online is worse for structure.

Is attendance flexible?

Mandatory

22/100

as mandatory and strongly enforced, especially for lab and lectures.

; online still required presence and participation.

Is this professor recommended?

Depends

40/100

Roughly four in ; praise exists but many recent reviews urge total avoidance.

Online ; in-person reviews are split between strong fans and strong critics.

Course guide

See how this professor fits your week.

Grading

Strict

32/100

; some mention and lower scales, but averages and tone stay harsh.

Format shift

; online reports almost no useful feedback.

Workload

Heavy

30/100

Long Pearson HW, multi-hour lab reports, and .

Format shift

Both formats cite heavy work; online OCHEM lab reports and missing grades amplify stress.

Teaching experience

Poor

38/100

Knowledge is acknowledged, but many students say lectures confuse and questions get met with ridicule.

Format shift

Online teaching quality is consistently rated worse than the mixed in-person picture.

Assessment method

FocusOnExams

78/100

Grades hinge on long difficult exams; labs and HW often feel secondary or poorly returned.

Format shift

Online students especially say only exams were graded with any visibility.

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

40 reviews

High confidence · Best fit for Hardcore Learner

In-person CHEM40/51 is polarized: , and humor; many report ridicule, late lab grades, and crushing exams.

Main concern

, and .

What students said

“I felt uncomfortable asking questions because responses were unhelpful or he would just bully you in front of the class.”
CHEM51

“He helps with extra credits and .”
CHEM51

“Basel will not only ridicule you for not knowing something, but will make fun of you for it.”
CHEM40

Remote format

Online

10 reviews

Medium confidence · Best fit for Self Taught Pro

Online CHEM40/80 reviews are overwhelmingly negative: , and self-teaching.

Main concern

, and unhelpful online instruction during remote terms.

What students said

“Get ready to teach yourself since the professor cannot.”
CHEM80

“ because he will make your OCHEM experience a nightmare.”
CHEM80

“ !”
CHEM40

Exam style

Know what to expect from exams and major assignments.

Exams are long, hard, and high-stakes with , so .

Very Long ExamsLow Class AveragesTest HeavyLittle FeedbackIn-Person And Online Stress

Assessment risk

Strict

32/100

Low score means less forgiving assessment conditions.

In person

; some get practice exams and EC, but difficulty stays high.

Long Finals35-40 Question MidtermsPractice Exams SometimesTough Grading

“Exams are incredibly long, final was ~130 questions long (lecture + lab in one day)”
CHEM51

“ and above average difficulties but are very much doable.”
CHEM51

Online

Online reviews say exams are graded without comments or returned work, making improvement nearly impossible.

No Exam FeedbackSelf-Taught PrepHigh Stakes Tests

“he did not offer any help on labs instead suggested to consult with other .”
CHEM80

“He hasn't graded a and doesn't even show you what problems you missed”
CHEM80

Student evidence

See what students actually said.

Top student voice
“ ! Dropped the class two weeks in and I am so and seeing how he was with students. This man will ruin your gpa.”
Voice snapshots generated from 50 reviews (10 online, 40 in-person), highlighting polarization in teaching and climate. Credibility rating: High.

🎯 Teaching Quality

38/100

“I've had to self-teach almost every lecture after passing chem 50 with an 89.”

👎 Recommendation Split

40/100

“ .”

😤 Classroom Climate

20/100

“Straight up bully, will call you out for not understanding.”

📝

32/100

“Exams are incredibly long, final was ~130 questions long (lecture + lab in one day)”

Theme 1

👨‍🏫 About Teaching Style

and .
his teaching is messy and difficult to understand.
Lectures were easy to follow, and it should not be too difficult to succeed.

Theme 2

❤️ About Character

will make fun of you for it
He is funny/ likes to joke and treat us like buddies.
Made multiple students uncomfortable.

Theme 3

📈 About Difficulty & Grades

.
for
Does not even

Data context

See exactly what the AI read.

Analysis sample

Recent reviews read by the AI

Lifetime ratings

86/100

Evidence confidence

Fifty reviews with a clear bimodal split, multi-year span, and consistent themes about personality and .

Inside 50 stored ratings

Quality ratings

5 out of 528

4 out of 52

3 out of 50

2 out of 58

1 out of 531

Course coverage

CHEM4021 reviews

CHEM5120 reviews

CHEM807 reviews

CHEM1B1 review

CHEM501 review

Reported outcomes

No letter grade reported results lead the reported letter grades.

38 reported outcomes

A range

A+ 1 · A 3

B range

B+ 1 · B 8 · B- 1

C range

C+ 2 · C 5

D range

D 3

F

F 1

No letter grade reported

Drop/Withdrawal 2 · Incomplete 1 · Not sure yet 8 · Rather not say 2

Basel Zaitoun

Avoid unless you already excel in chemistry and can handle blunt treatment—many students report teaching yourself and toxic class climate.

Four answers before you build your schedule.

HardWork

Challenging

Mandatory

Depends

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

👎 Recommendation Split

😤 Classroom Climate

📝 x x

👨‍🏫 About Teaching Style

❤️ About Character

📈 About Difficulty & Grades

See exactly what the AI read.

Quality ratings

Course coverage

No letter grade reported results lead the reported letter grades.

A range

B range

C range

D range

F

No letter grade reported

📝