Dennis Minchella - Purdue University - West Lafayette, West Lafayette, IN

Professor: Dennis Minchella

Department: Biology

College: Purdue University - West Lafayette, West Lafayette, IN

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: BIO121
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Hes hands down my favorite professor. Hes so nice and funny and hes always willing to help. His exams are hard and if you wait until the last minute to study, you probably wont do well. But he teaches the class so well and hell give you some great answers and tips if you ask him for them

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: BIOL121
• Grade Received: C
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Worst Professor I have ever had. Nice man, knowledgable but sporadic at times. Lecture based, never used book. Material is easy but exams will kill you. Even if you know the material he makes the exam crazy hard and there isn't any way of studying so that you would succeed. Grade is based off of total points. GET A STUDY GROUP OR GO TO OFFICE HOURS

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: BIO121
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

This is hands down the hardest class I have ever taken up until this point of my education. With that being said, despite not doing as well as I wanted to, I have learned so much. He is a great professor and makes lectures really interesting and fun to listen to.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: BIOL121
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Funniest professor ever and you would definitely enjoy his lectures. However, his exams are brutal and this course is heavily exam based. Study for exams and try to find tons of practice to test your understanding. Even harder than the higher level bio classes I've taken....

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: BIO121
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

I want to literally adopt minchella as my grandpa. he is the sweetest, yet funniest professor out there. his exams are hard as heck but he teaches the material super well. you can tell he loves what he is teaching and his student's success!!!!!!!!

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: BIOL105
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Great dude

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: BIO121
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Minchella is an amazing lecturer. He makes difficult concepts easy to understand. That being said, there's no guarantee you'll do well in the class. His exams are brutal. Start studying a week in advance and make a study guide for each test and save them for the final. Take the practice exams very seriously. Talk to him if you have ANY questions.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: BIO121
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

His lectures are very interesting and if you take good notes and pretty much remember everything he talks about in lecture you'll do well on the tests.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: BIOL121
• Grade Received: C
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Lectures were very interesting. Dr. Minchella definitely knows what he's talking about and gives many examples in class to make the content more understandable. The course is test heavy and there was only 4 homework assignments. The exams were tricky due to poorly worded questions.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: BIO121
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Minchella is by far the best professor I've had at Purdue. He explains everything clearly and concisely. Don't worry about the textbook: literally everything is in the lectures and/or the outlines he gives out (I didn't look at those though). Listen to the lectures and make sure you do the hmwk and you'll get an A.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: BIO121
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Minchella is by far my favorite prof. He is a great example of an overqualified professor who can break things down into simple concepts. His stories are hilarious and he knows the subject cry well. Take good notes, they are so important to succeed in this class. He really wants to see his students do well. Take this class if you can, so rewarding.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: BIOL121
• Grade Received: C
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Minchella is an amazing man! He really knows what he is talking about and is passionate about what he does! Take advantage of his office hours and time after class to talk to him. The lectures are on BoilerCast, but if you miss the lecture you miss out on important pictures and diagrams that he puts up on the screen.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: BIOL121
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

The lectures are the important part of his class but he puts them up on BoilerCast. He's a great teacher and is willing to go the extra mile to help his students, but you WILL need to study. Also he genuinely cares about his students and is very approachable.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: BIOL121
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

He gives a ton of information in a 50 minute period. The best way to learn is to take notes in class, and then go back and rewatch the lectures on Boilercast and rewrite the notes. Study a lot, at least 2 weeks before an exam. Otherwise, he's a super cool dude that loves his subject. He makes loads of jokes & gives real life applications to topics.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: BIO121
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Great professor! Focus on his lectures and take very detailed notes. Minchella's notes are very organized and everything that he lectures about is on the exam. I would suggest paying close attention in lecture along with taking notes, but also review some topics in the book, and re-listen to lectures if anything is fuzzy.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: BIO121
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Forget the book. Listening to Dr. Minchella is the best way to learn. He's a fantastic teacher, and really easy on the eyes. Sometimes I have to rewatch the lectures, because I realized I was just spaced out the whole time staring at him.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: BIO121
• 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:

Great Professor

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: BIOL121
• 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:

Forget the book, never pick it up again. My key to success was to listen to the lectures, take notes, and repeat. This course is not a difficult one at all if you can commit to that.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: BIOL121
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Minchella is a pleasure to have as a professor. He's super engaging and actually passionate to teach his students. I didn't quite enjoy the class all that much. The material seemed scattered and the topics didn't feel cohesive. His exams are notorious for being strange and not what you studied for. He is a great prof but he has his quirks.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: BIO121
• Grade Received: C+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Biology 121 isn't your traditional biology class and for that I am grateful. Dr. Minchella is an amazing professor, but he makes you work hard for your grade. This is considered a introductory biology course, but don't consider it as one. The valuable lesson I took away was application based learning is far more valuable than memorization.