Chip Celenza - Boston University, Boston, MA

Professor: Chip Celenza

Department: Biology

College: Boston University, Boston, MA

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: BI513
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Professor Celenza was without a doubt one of my favorite teachers at BU. He explained the course material well, grading standards were fair, and he is genuinely passionate about teaching. I graduated from BU 4 years ago and he still accepted my request for a rec letter, which shows his dedication to continually helping his students at all times.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: BI216
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

I got A- and A on the first two tests. He's nice, but not good at lecturing. Halfheartedly listened in class and did ALL of the homework problems. Had no trouble getting a good grade. There are few concepts that are challenging. Make sure you understand them THOROUGHLY. This you have to do outside of class. Minimal help received in class.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: BI206
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Celenza is a good guy but his class is boring. Lectures are recorded so I would watch at 1.5x speed and take my own notes. If you do all the Part 1 and 2 homeworks and look over the slides, youll be fine although Celenza doesnt really explain concepts that well. Tests are only 35 questions so you dont have much room for error.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: BI206
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

you could go to the moon and back by the time this guy finishes a sentence. lectures are useless and are recorded

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: BI206
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Professor Celenza is extremely approachable, explains concepts starting from the most basic level he can reach. If you don't understand something, he'll try multiple different ways to try and make you understand (even HW questions). He teaches well, but only his exams are a let down. Each point really matters, no stupid mistakes allowed.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: BI513
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Awesome (packed) class, awesome professor. Groups of lab partners working on a few big projects. Three homeworks, one lab report, one final project. Curriculum a bit scattered but you come in, follow the instructions, and leave almost always early. Have to understand what you're doing though but it's not that hard to grasp. 10/10 would take again

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: BI206
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Only 34 multiple choice questions. You mess up on a few and you're done. Do not take if you can take another class (if you do not have a good background in genetics/atypical ratio memorization/wordy-word-problems. Posts lectures online so no one goes to class. I tried both, did better when I went to class. If you take it, don't skip.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: BI206
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Kind of boring and his grading scales suck, every one point is a letter grade so you could be so close of risk. However, hes a very nice professor.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: BI216
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Celenza is a fantastic professor. He is always available to help when you are struggling. Genetics is a hard subject, but I felt like the grading was fair.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: BI206
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

His tests ask about random small details and word them very confusing. Lectures are long and boring but he is very helpful during office hours

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: BI206
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Chip is bae. He is the awesomest bio teacher at bu. He does not want you to fail. He wants you to learn. His exams are fair and he is extremely helpful and the tfs are awesome. If think this stuff is cool then you wont fall asleep but some do. He is really sweet and has review sessions and explains concepts very well.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: BI206
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Celenza is such an amazing professor! Very approachable. Discussion helps with difficult topics. He is very quick to respond to emails even the night before exams. He also posts worked out of problems on echo as well as recorded lectures. It is easy to fail an exam - only 34 multiple choice questions, BUT does scale the C+ average to a B-. 92.5 = A

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: BI206
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Celenza knows how to teach. Most of the lectures are reiterations of the book but better explained. He posts the slides and audio recordings on blackboard before each class. Tests are multiple choice and straightforward, and class median was always scaled to at least a B-. I never went to office hours, but discussions were helpful.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: BI206
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Celenza is a super nice guy! He really cares about his students and is great at office hours. I enjoyed having him so much that I decided to take his lab class just to have him as a professor again!

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: BI206
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

I could never focus in this lecture/it was boring, maybe it was the way he presented the material? Material only made sense after doing extensive studying on my own. He is a nice guy though. Discussion sections helped in learning the concepts and applying them.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: BI216
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Not the greatest lecturer but not painful. Tests are fair and multiple choice-pretty easy. 216 gets Loechler after spring break who was much better, but Celenza really wasn't bad. Homework is annoying but graded for effort rather than correctness, and most of the answers are in the solutions manual that comes with the textbook.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: BI206
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

Most boring, pointless lecture ever, but he's easy and he'll give you a fair grade.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: BI216
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Celenza is a really nice professor, but sometimes he lacks in clarity. But that could also be due to the subject matter. Definitely worth having as a professor. He's great at office hours!

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: BI206
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

Ha, I can't believe his first name is "Chip!" Anyway, his class was very easy. I didn't try or study one bit and got a B. He seems like a really nice guy (was my adviser), but his class began to give me indicators that my major wasn't right for me. I may not be the best judge because I ultimately changed majors, but I found the class boring.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: BI206
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

Easy A. Celenza is the coolest mofo. Cakewalk after Cell Hell.