Michael Pikaart - Hope College, Holland, MI

Professor: Michael Pikaart

Department: Chemistry

College: Hope College, Holland, MI

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: CHEM103
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Pikaart is very knowledgeable about the topics we learned in this chemistry class. However, he sometimes moves too fast, leaving me confused. The sapling homework was SO hard sometimes. He did not properly prepare us during the lecture for what would be presented on the homework assignments. I did very well on the tests in the class though!

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: CHEM103
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

This is a hard course because you are forced to teach yourself a lot of the information! More often than not, the Sapling homework makes no sense because you are not taught how to do in in class. In class, we often talk about random things that do not pertain to the lecture in any way.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: CHEM131
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

I loved this class! The tests were quite difficult, but they were all open-resource which was a HUGE help. Honestly I don't understand why so many on here say that he's a bad teacher---if something was confusing during lecture, he tries very hard to help you understand if you just go to his office. Super nice guy!

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: CHEM131
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

I learned most of the content myself and during lab. Not a good professor at all. His lectures are boring and complicates every topic. His presentations are terrible. He doesn't actually answer questions. He doesn't show you how to do problems. Don't expect to learn anything during lectures.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: CHEM101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Honestly one of the rudest and short tempered professors I've ever had. I already took half of the class for credit from my old school so I knew my stuff. I still had trouble in his class which was only harder when he would brush off my questions and make me feel incompetant. He's a nice guy but a horrible professor.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: CHEM131
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Pikaart is a great guy. If you go to his office or email him, he tries really hard to help. The lectures were confusing and often boring but he tries really hard to make them interesting. The tests were a weird format and were pretty hard. Overall, he's a great person but his class is tough.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: CHEM103
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Pikaart is a really nice and funny guy. He makes the class pretty enjoyable and he definitely knows his stuff. However, sometimes he seems to assume his students already know and understands everything. He often fails to explain the big picture and connect the dots. As the subject matter got harder, I usually left class very confused.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: GENCHEM
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

He comes across really arrogantly. He is not helpful, and when I went to talk to him about my grade in his class, he brushed me off and told me that I am obviously not trying hard enough. He goes through slides quickly and seems to believe that everyone automatically knows a lot of it already.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: CHEM311
• 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:

Pikaart was very knowledgeable of the material. However, he was very ineffective at helping students and completely unapproachable for help. In addition, he came off as incredibly arrogant and seemed to have a lack of respect towards students. Definitely would not recommend him.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: CHEM103
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

He is funny and is very knowledgeable about chemistry. I don't necessarily have a problem with him, but he can come off as arrogant sometimes. He goes on a bunch of random tangents and will talk the whole lecture about things we don't need (or care) to know. Other than that, he is nice and provides pretty helpful tips on how to get a good grade.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: CHEM103
• 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:

He comes across like a very nice guy, willing to help professor, but when you ask questions in class, he completely brushes you off and will not explain anything. terrible terrible terrible.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: CHEM111
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

He's a great guy--probably my favorite professor as a person. He's funny. He cares about his students and will know your name (even in a class of 70+). I didn't like his lectures. He does them all with powerpoint slides and sometimes they just seem sort of irrelevant and often are unclear. I wished he had followed the book more.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: CHEM111
• 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:

Very nice guy, easy to like, and in general, he's good at teaching the material. With some of the more difficult concepts it seems like he doesn't always know how to get the point across, but just do the reading and you'll be fine. I enjoyed his class. His tests can be tough if you don't prepare.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: CHEM113
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Great guy! I really enjoyed the exchanges in class. Sometimes he is a little difficult to follow when explaining concepts, but overall he does a good job.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: CHEM111
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

He is not interested in dealing with people who have other commitments such as sports, etc. Because clearly chemistry is everything...some people have lives and are successful in chemistry.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: CHEM103
• 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:

yay

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: CHEM109
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Good professor, knows his stuff, but lectures can get a little boring.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: CHEM111
• 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:

Prof. Pikaart is a fun professor. I got a kick out of his lectures. His tests weren't too hard, and he uses the clickers as a big part of the class. He expects (rightly so) that you are able to understand the concepts outside the classroom. A bit scatterbrained at times, but he's still great.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: CHEM111
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Kind of boring class. Smart guy though, sometimes too smart...doesn't know answers to some gen chem questions but at least he admits it. Does some pretty cool stuff to help students understand.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: CHEM315
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

good stuff