Scott Lewis - James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA

Professor: Scott Lewis

Department: Chemistry

College: James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: CHEM241
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Dr. Lewis is my boy! JMU should fire every professor they have and let Lewis teach everything. 10/10 would take again.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: CHEM241
• Grade Received: C+
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Dr. Lewis is an organic chem genius, he explains the material in such a way that I rarely left class confused. Although he is a great teacher, you really have to know your stuff. I spent hours reviewing notes and going over practice problems. Even with hours of review, exams are near impossible. Lewis makes them harder than they have to be.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: CHEM242
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Difficult course, great lecturer, ask questions and go to office hours, be ready to work.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: CHEM241
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Lewis is probably the best professor I've had at JMU. Course is difficult but his lectures are great. Consistently available outside of class. Ask questions, go to his office, study a lot. He makes Ochem enjoyable, funny guy.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: CHEM241242
• Grade Received: C
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Dr. Lewis is awesome, love him, hes a great lecturer but he should not teach the Non-Chemistry majors. Organic chemistry is hard no matter what, but you would be better off taking it with a professor who curved the tests and who gave easier exams because he expects mastery of every concept and reaction and some tests are unnecessarily hard

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: CHEM241
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

My favorite professor at JMU, he gives you all the tools to be successful. Also a great guy in general, but be prepared to work this will most likely be the hardest class you have taken at this point in your college career.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: CHEM241
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

This class is hard and requires a lot of work, but if you put in the effort you can do very well! Required over 10 hours of work a week! He is a great teacher, his tests are just harder than they need to be. 4 tests and 1 final, drop lowest test grade.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: CHEM241
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Great guy, fun to listen to in lectures, good lecture style. The drawback is that the tests are notoriously tough. You really have to study/do practice problems everyday or most days to get the material inside your head.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: CHEM241
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Great Professor and will learn a lot, but exams are hard, not impossible is properly prepared for and utilized office hours. Given worksheets with extra practice problems on it that he made himself. Only grades are 4 exams, but one is dropped. Must read the book and study everyday to supplement lecture. Gives tons of tips/tricks in class.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: CHEM241
• Grade Received: C
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Great teacher, but makes tests way harder than they need to be. You can understand organic chemistry and still get a bad grade. He curves to benefit the average which is ridiculous. If you get a D, he'll curve to C but if you get a C you get a C. nearly impossible to get a B, many many people fail. Do yourself a favor and take Caran.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: CHEM241
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

The tests are relatively hard but not impossible to do well on. Attendance is necessary to understand organic chem no matter who the teacher is and practice needs to be done every day to be able to perform well.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: CHEM241
• Grade Received: WD
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Organic chemistry isn't THAT hard. Lewis was the first teacher for it I had. I withdrew and went to a different university to take the class. Tests were hard there, but I knew the material. Lewis' tests aren't hard. I went back to the old test I took before I withdrew and found it easy, just poorly worded. He's just a terrible test writer.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: CHEM242
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Dr. Lewis' lectures can be decieving, the notes he gives in class are easy but his test are very diffcult and tricky. Honestly, I studied and KNEW the material but the way he words his questions will trip you up. Hes a nice guy and does care but his tests are crazy. Would recommened b/c O chem is hard regardless, but be ready for major test anxiety

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: CHEM241
• Grade Received: D-
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Dr Lewis is a good guy, but his exams are near impossible. As said before, Lewis is known to be "the best Orgo prof at JMU" and well.. just flat out no. I had to struggle through and try to teach myself this course which CLEARLY did not work in my favor. Avoid class if possible, if not, avoid Lewis

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: CHEM241
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

He is a tough grader and his exams are tough. He is probably the best chem professor but be prepared to work very hard, live in his office/math and science learning center. His curve is tiny and will not save you. His lectures are thorough and clear. He is extremely helpful in office hours.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: CHEM242
• Grade Received: C-
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Dr. Lewis is accredited with being "the best Ochem teacher" at JMU. I did not find him to live up to that. I was frustrated with two parts of his teaching style and one part of his character: He does not use Canvas other than to post the blank notes, and he grades way too harsh. He is also condescending. Almost no one actually finishes the tests.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: CHEM241
• Grade Received: C
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Organic Chem. It's tough, but Dr. Lewis makes it easier to understand. I highly recommend to take him out of everyone else, and go to his office hours when you can. Definitely saved my semester grade. Tests are fair, and will be completely awful if you don't study. Approachable and friendly, he will 100% help you. He gets the struggle. Love him.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: CHEM242
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

He's really good at teaching and you will be amazing at organic if you take him, but he tries to trick you on tests, so your final grade will be awful despite how much you've learned. He doesn't curve, either, so If you want an A, take someone else. The textbook and practice problems are like not really helpful in this sequence.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: CHEM242
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Lewis really wants everyone to succeed but his tests are not easy by any means and he is not that easy on grading. If you go to him, he will give you help and make sure you understand. Really funny and cares a lot about his students.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: CHEM241
• Grade Received: C
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Obviously ochem is hard. Lewis is the best teacher at JMU for chem 241. Caran has higher test averages than Lewis but if you are taking any more chem classes past 241, you will know the info better from lewis. He's also hilarious and lectures go by really fast. Study every day.