Lowell Stott - University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA

Professor: Lowell Stott

Department: Geology

College: University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: GEOL150
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

There is A LOT of reading. A lot of memorizing and terminology. Basically the midterms and the final are the most important and they all have a lot of studying. The labs are OK- easy.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: GEOL150
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

I took this class expecting it to be an easy GE. The midterms and final were pretty tough. He is super smart and can really clear up anything pretty well. It is A LOT of reading but you do not have to go to class. Labs are very easy. The average on the first midterm was a 62%. He curves at the end though which helps A LOT.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: GEOL150
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

I really enjoyed his class as well as his teaching. He knows what he is talking about and can answer pretty much any question you throw at him. Don't take class if you aren't interested in the subject though. I read the textbook and took decent notes on his lectures which helped a TON for exams. Lectures are very informative. Labs were easy.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: GEOL150
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Stott is a very good professor, He knows the materials well and can explain well, but you must pay attention to him. Any questions, just go to his office hours, he's almost always available for his students. Read the book, ask questions and you'll be fine. The labs are easy too, nothing too difficult to understand. Labs will save you.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: GEOL150
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

He's a good professor and cares a lot about the subject at hand. He wants his students to succeed and wants to make sure all questions are thoroughly answered. The midterms can be specific and tricky, so be prepared to do a lot of reading from the textbook.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: GEOL150
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Really hard for a GE, but if you go to class, read the textbook, and just show up to labs it should be ok. He cares about his students and I think tries his best but tends to be unclear about what information will be on the tests. Labs will save you. Wouldn't be my first choice if I had to choose classes again but at least the info was interesting.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: GEO150
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Lectures are confusing and if you aren't reading the textbook, you will be extremely lost. TA's are the saving grace of this class.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: GEOL150
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Midterms are very difficult because he puts in specific questions from the textbook that are not covered in lectures. Failed first midterm but managed to get an A- in the end through hardcore memorization. Overall a lot of memorization is required for this GE. Not recommended if you are not particularly interested in the subject.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: GEOL150
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Ridiculously hard for a 100 level GE. Concepts in lecture make sense, but tests are specific & difficult to do well on unless u memorize lots of little details. He is available for help outside of class, does an ok job of explaining concepts. Lab can be hard, TAs are semi helpful. Def review tests even if u did well bc the final is cumulative.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: GEOG150
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Well, I got a A, but after 40 hours of memorization before the final exams. There are way too much content in the course, the test syllabus is too broad, but he tests you the specific details. This is kind of crazy for students who aren't willing to spend a lot of revision hours. Anyway, he is very knowledgable in climatology, good at teaching.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: GEOL150
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

He knows what he is talking about, which is usually a good thing. However, it is at a point where he possess so much knowledge about the subject and try to give you everything - there's just too much information to memorize. He will test you on details rather than overall concepts as well hard tests. Unless a GEOL major, take a different GE

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: GEOL150
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Great teacher, even though I'm not a fan of the class.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: GEOL150
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

This was terrible GE. He was not in class half the time and we had substitute professors. When the drop date for classes rolled around about 50 students were in his office asking if they should drop. Test are extremely hard and nothing like his study guides! Labs are the only thing they keep you above water.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: GEOL150
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

DONT PICK THIS TEACHER! YOU WILL NEVER WANT TO COME TO CLASS. AND IF YOU DONT, YOU WILL FAIL THE CLASS. EVEN IF YOU DO ATTEND, YOU WILL LIKELY TO GET A C, IF YOU WORK HARD, YOU WILL GET A B, IF YOU STUDY EVERY THING AT HOME( SPENDING HOURS EVERY TWO DAYS) AND COME TO CLASS PREPARED FOR EVERYTHING. YOU MAY GET an A

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: GEOL150
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Tests are hard, everything else is fine. He doesn't take attendance so I rarely went to class, but when I did I really hated him. My TA was cool for the lab. It's an easy B but a hard A

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: GEOL150
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

The class overall was not too bad, lectures were boring but short and he did not take attendance. The lab was pretty easy, the TAs are chill and actually know the material. Stott is a bit arrogant and not ever helpful. He posts his slides online but his tests do not always correlate and are very hard. The main problem is the very difficult tests.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: GEOL150
• 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:

He's not too bad. The course was pretty doable the first half of the semester. The second half is a little hard. If you read and attend class its not too hard. After the first midterm, people stopped attending which is why the second midterm had lower grades. Don't do this. Pretty easy course. Got a B, didn't really try and learned a few things.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: GEOL150
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

I'm pretty this prof knows a lot about climate change, but he knows too much. We have to learn literally everything about the atmosphere in this class. I'm really interested in climate change but not geology nor climatology. Plus, the exams are SUPER DUPER HARD.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: GEOL150
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Lowell's slides doesn't match his fxxxing hard test. Also, TOO MANY ALL OF THE ABOVE AND NONE OF THE ABOVE. In addition, he makes this class so hard for no reason, It's a GE CLASS!!

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: GEOL150
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

I'll agree that he is not easy, but if you visit him during his office hours, he is more than willing to help you. You have to review his slides and the text very thoroughly. You also have to make sure you know exactly what you're doing in the lab. Overall, difficult, but by no means impossible.