Wolfgang Sachse - Cornell University, Ithaca, NY

Professor: Wolfgang Sachse

Department: Engineering

College: Cornell University, Ithaca, NY

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: ENGRI1170
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

He's a really nice and funny guy. The grading is sometimes unclear, but he is always willing to help explain anything. Read the course packet notes he gives, you won't learn anything from the lectures. The lecture material was always way harder than anything tested on, the course packet is more accurate on what to expect. I believe he is retiring.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: ENGRI1170
• 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:

Really bad at teaching the material because half the time he doesn't get it right and the student shave to correct him. He also goes on random tangents that don't help and ultimately confuse us more. He also has random guest lecturers cool but I'd rather go over what we've learned because he doesn't review at all and skims over everything.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: ENGRI1170
• 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:

Easily one of the worst instructors I've had. Even though he posts notes online, it really doesn't help given how messy his handwriting is. Incredibly scatterbrained and disorganized. To top it all off, the lab TAs are incredibly incompetent. Be ready to be on your own. Wish I had come here before signing up for this class.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: MATH2930
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

At times, lectures were all over the place, but I ultimately learned a lot about differential equations from Sachse. The class was geared towards engineers and Sachse would always present examples of real applications of the topics learned in class which was nice. Finally, Sachse was very high energy and humorous during lecture.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: ENGRI1170
• 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:

Intro to MechE was a nightmare under Sachse. Neither Sachse nor the TAs effectively communicated what was expected at any step of the way. The lectures were disorganized and the material we were tested on was eons harder than what was in the online textbook. Studied much harder than for my other classes and it still ruined my GPA. Do not take!

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: ENGRI1170
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

What should have been an easy intro course was a nightmare. Sacshse had poor communication with TAs, unfair quizzes (meaning he would tell us that he'd give us eq's to use and then forget about it), gave little guidance, and had poorly organized lectures. Time was better spent in lecture doing other hw, at least you would be efficient. Do NOT TAKE

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: ENGRD2020
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Good lecturer for 2020. Maybe he's awful for his other classes, but this one was great. Pretty funny guy who explained the concepts well. Made several mistakes on the board, but that's par for the course. I found the exams very straightforward and contained exactly what you expected. I'd take 2020 with him again.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: MAE3272
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

He is very condescending and refuses to give students a clear objective as well as what is needed in the course. He is one of the most poorly viewed MAE professors at Cornell University.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: 2020
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Sachse is a really nice guy, he is especially helpful for answering questions.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: MAE3272
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

MAE 3272. What should be an easy and fun 2-credit lab class was a painful experience. No clarity and arbitrary expectations and grading.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: MAE3272
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

I don't know who normally teaches 3272, but this class with Sachse was a total disaster. We had three labs where we learned nothing and many people (ESPECIALLY in Lab 3) had absolutely horrendous results. Sachse's instructions were vague at best and oftentimes we were shown stuff in lecture that have nothing to do with labs.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: ENGRD2020
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

His lectures are a little fast-paced, but he keeps them pretty engaging. Reading the book before lecture is a must. The homeworks took an annoyingly long time. The exams and quizzes required a lot of practice in order to prepare, but are pretty fair. Overall, Sachse is good, but is probably a better teacher in higher-level courses.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: ENGRD2020
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Difficult teacher, but overall pretty decent. He's overall pretty clear, and a pretty interesting lecturer!

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: ENGRD2020
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

I had to drop this class with Ruina and retook it with Sachse, and he was so much better. Exams were fair, psets helped, and the textbook was clear. Definitely better than I expected.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: ENGRD2020
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Sachse really is fairly decent - he does make a ton of mistakes, but his explanations are fairly clear if you keep up / read the book ahead of time. He's definitely better than average, and more than acceptable as a teacher. However, he makes the course very annoying - 2 psets a week are very annoying!

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: ENGRD2020
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Wow, I'm so surprised by other reviews. Maybe I just learn well by example but I think he is great. Other than a few careless errors (ok, a lot) he explains his examples very well. If you go to lecture, the class is fairly easy.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: ENGRD2020
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Sachse really isn't as bad as many people think - he's decent at explaining, and fairly clear. However, he is very tough - 2 psets / week and he doesn't curve.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: ENGRD2030
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

The worst professor I've had at Cornell. Talks too loud sometimes, does example problems without even telling what it's an example for, rarely gives the important formulas (scan the book for them), lots of homework, scheduled a prelim the day before thanksgiving break. Made an easy subject hard! The TA taught better! Exams weren't too bad at least.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: TAM2020
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Sachse is okay for 2020 (he can do examples and can explain better than the other professors, but that's not saying much, it's just better than what you normally get). Any other course he teaches though is terrible in comparison though, which is saying alot. Truth is that the TAs will be your saviors for nearly all of his classes if your stuck.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: ENGRD2020
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

2 different professors actually taught this course and I was unfortunate enough to have the other guy. Sachse was a much better instructor and I frequently attended his lecture instead of my own. He goes very very fast in lecture but does great examples that are quite helpful. Overall a good guy but gets angry sometimes when questions are asked.