Steve Socol - McHenry County College, Crystal Lake, IL

Professor: Steve Socol

Department: Chemistry

College: McHenry County College, Crystal Lake, IL

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: CHEM165
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Go to lecture just for the entertainment if anything. Do all of the homework and keep the book open as you go. If you do it right, you will spend hours basically be quizzing yourself over the material until you master it. This class is hard but doable if you make the effort.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: CHEM164
• 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:

worst teacher of all teachers you will ever have i guarantee you that, would not recommend

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: CHEM164
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Doesnt teach

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: CHEM164
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

He knows what he is talking about but is horrible at explaining it. The online homework is treacherous and leaves you confused trying to figure out what the heck you're doing because he doesn't explain it in class. He writes a problem on the board and expects you to know it just by doing that. Chemistry is not as hard as he made it.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: CHEM166
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Socol is a seriously hard professor. He assigns a lot of homework. That being said, he has a funny personality and I learned a lot in his classroom. #stevesocolfanclub

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: CHM165
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Very well educated teacher who can't teach a class for his life. Yes, he knows what he is talking about but he can't teach. He will write a problem on the board and solve it without any explanation on how he got that answer. Overall definitely the worst professor I have ever have and I would not recommend him to anyone. GO SOMEWHERE ELSE TO TAKE!

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: CHEM166
• Grade Received: WD
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Gee whiz Do all of your online homework. Just do it. I don't care if you want to hangout with your friends or do drugs. There are over 100 problems at times for each assignment, and procrastination will get you zero credit in Chem 2. You can get A's, but at the same time, about 40%-60% of the class will drop out before they can make the effort.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: CHEM165
• Grade Received: B-
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Literally a straight A student in every other subject, science being my best subject, I still couldnt do well in this class. The worst teacher I have ever had. Straight up told me when I asked a question in class you wont get anything out of these lectures... Id go read the book instead

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: CHEM165
• Grade Received: C
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

My biggest issue with Dr. Socol is how disorganized he is. Homework assignments ranged from 60-128 problems due every week and that's not including the 1-7 sub-parts per problem. He quizzes on the homework material days before it's due. To be successful, you need to be a week ahead of the schedule. Study a chapter ahead or you will never catch up.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: CHEM164
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

I learned to not even bother to go to class because I didn't get anything out of his lectures. You're better off just teaching yourself by reading the book and doing the online homework.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: CHEM165
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

If you have time to teach yourself the material, then spend hours on the Mastering Chemistry online homework, then more time to do more practice problems and then study for tests and quizzes, take this class!!!!

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: CHEM165
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Tends to digress on discussions. Without student participation (e.g. questions), he will just go on. Doesn't really care whether you show up or not. Gives a ton of homework for practice but it's only 7% of the grade. A ton of quizzes but all are scheduled. Tests are hard but SAGE is a great help. Knows his stuff but doesn't communicate it very well

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: CHEM165
• Grade Received: WD
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

I think Socol is a great and funny guy and he really is smart, but he really does not know how to teach. He just writes problems on the board and completes them without explaining anything. Its like he expects you to teach yourself. He also goes off topic a lot which makes it even more difficult to concentrate during lecture.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: CHEM164
• Grade Received: WD
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

All he does is writes problems on there board and says "alright let's do this together" but then proceeds to do the entire thing by himself with no explanation.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: CHEM165
• Grade Received: WD
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Most terrible prof I have ever seen, terrible attituade, and he is a racial discrimination guy. Never explaining how to do.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: CHEM165
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Doctor Socol simply writes equations on the board and expects you to understand every ounce of the material without any trouble. If you plan on taking him, good luck.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: CHEM164LAB
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Lab is straight forward and fun and there is a lot of group work. Socol wants his students to experiment and learn. Review labs ahead of time and participate during lab and you will enjoy your time in the classroom. Read before class, study often, have good discipline and be assertive in class and you will pass.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: CHEM165
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

I have no doubt that Socol is a good chemist and administrator, but he's a horrible teacher. His lectures are all over the place and digresses so often that it's near impossible to follow what he's teaching. He assigns a huge mass of problems for the online homework, and in order to get a decent grade you have to do it, so read the book.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: CHEM165
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

I have to say Socol is very intelligent man, but he lacks the skills that many individuals would consider to be a good instructor . Socol is monopoly at MCC because he's the only 165 instructor. So you have no choice but to take him. In the end I personally would never deal with anyone like him again.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: CHEM165
• 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:

He is a living meme. He is basically Sheldon from Big Bang Theory but in Mermaid Man's skin. One day he'll be talking about quantum mechanics and the next explosive diarrhea.