Julio Soto - San Jose State University, San Jose, CA

Professor: Julio Soto

Department: Biology

College: San Jose State University, San Jose, CA

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: BIOL100W
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Soto was great. Do as he says, follow directions for assignments carefully and make sure your writing is revised and follows HIS guidelines and you will get an A. A lot of work, so you have to work for it. Not hard just a lot.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: 100W
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Soto is a wonderful teacher and person. He has straightforward grading system, and helps provide meaningful feedback on projects. His 100W assignments helped me learned a lot about scientific research and proposal writing. The in-class presentations seemed intimidating but helps build confidence through public speaking exercises. Recommended!

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: BIO100W
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

While this is a "do the work and you get an A" class, you still have to do it right. Once you get your ideas in order, writing itself just takes time. If you take a while to write, get ready to put a good amount of time into the class. Make sure you get the rough drafts done on time, he gives you an A if you correct everything for the final draft.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: 100W
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

He might be scary at first but he's not. If you want to be a better writer take his class.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: BIOL105
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

If you are a biol major, you should definitely take dev biol. It was one of the most profound classes that I have taken at sjsu. Although the topics are dense, Dr. Soto does an amazing job of explaining each concept clearly. Don't be afraid if asking him to repeat something you don't get. Once he explain a research to us 4 times :D always RECORD!

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: BIOL105
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

He changed his ways teaching this class 180. He says you need the text book, however all his exams are made from his lecture slides. If you come up and take really good notes, you could pass with an A. 3 exams no final + 1 presentation. Last exam is hard because theres so much material, but its an easy class if you come .

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: BIOL105
• 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:

Go to lecture, otherwise you will not understand the slides. His teaching format has changed from years past, he makes it an easy course if you show up. Exams were multiple choice and some wording was hard to understand but if you take good notes during lecture and memorize, you will do fine. Mostly memorization, not much critical thinking req

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: 100W
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

He cares about his student, wants them to do better. Sometimes it can come off as rude but in the end, you do come out of this class learning a lot. Highly recommended.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: 100W
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

It is not the easiest class or the friendliest teacher but he does give a really good feedback and is fair. You get what you work for. Overall learned a lot and would recommend.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: 100W
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Makes grading guidelines very clear. His feedback on your assignments, while they can be blunt, are made that way to help you improve your writing. He's not going to hold your hand throughout the writing process but will help you once you have your own ideas. Only real flaw is that he doesn't always reply to emails promptly (never on weekends).

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: BIO105
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Complete 180 in his teaching style for the first time ONLY MC exams, extra points & is curving the final grades. Heard negative things for YEARS about Dr. Soto even from my colleagues that took his class 5 years ago. Go to class, study hard. I am considering asking him for a letter of rec, & he is one of my fav professors at SJSU, he cares a lot.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: BIOL100W
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Must've turned himself around this semester because he was a really excellent teacher. Very patient, gave good feedback. If you don't like his feedback, suck it up, don't take it personally- he's trying to help you and wants you to succeed. Even asked students at the end of the semester if he held up his bad rep and he definitely didn't.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: BIOL100W
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Soto at first was a very intimating man. However as the semester went on, I realized he's just pushing you to do better. He gives a lot of advice and feedback on your work so you can improve. If you're not passing the class then it's honestly just you.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: 153B
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

So many papers, to READ. This is cell biology folks. Dr Soto doesn't hand out A's until the end of the semester. Tough grader on first 2 midterms to set a fire under your ass. If you don't crack under the pressure and just hang in there he will ease up on the grading.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: BIO100W
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

He is a very tough grader and was never available for office hours. Never replied to emails. I never got a an F on a paper until I took his class due to his lack of specific directions. Stay away if you can. Way too much work compared to the other 100W classe

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: 100W
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Doesn't care about his students. He's never really available for you outside of class or through emails, even during office hours. When you do finally talk to him he talks down on you. Makes you feel pretty low. He gave assignments one or two days in advances at times. His instructions were never clear, always told us contradicting things.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: 100W
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

He is the worst teacher I have ever taken. He doesn't care about his students, doesn't give any proper instructions, he tells you one thing in one class session and something ells the next class session. He is really rude, makes you fell stupid and really puts students down. He loves failing students since he is fine with signing the papers to drop

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: BIOL105
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Terrible instructor due to his lack of instructions, cancelling class frequently, and looking down on students who comment on his teaching style. Took him over a month to grade an exam (that he changed into a take home exam because he cancelled class the day of the exam) only to blame almost the entire class for failing.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: BIO100W
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Hard to learn from a wanna-be dictator. Stay away. Pros: gets you prepared for competitive career and outside world. Cons: Doesn't really care about the student. Hard to talk to for advice. Kind of only really cares about himself and what he's doing. Looks like it's starting to backfire on him.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: BIOL100W
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

His instructions are confusing and disorganized. He will provide written instructions, but he might tell you something different later in class. Ask him anything if you are unsure. He is a critical grader. Reference assignment -if you do not use single-space, he WILL take off 1 pt. for each double space. For any long papers, have someone proofread.