Alan Friedman - Purdue University - West Lafayette, West Lafayette, IN

Professor: Alan Friedman

Department: Biology

College: Purdue University - West Lafayette, West Lafayette, IN

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: BIOL231
• Grade Received: C
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Your grades are determined by your tests. We are graded only out of 500 points, homework is 100 points of that the other 400 are tests. No participation, no extra credit, hard to catch for help. His help sessions are during the middle of the day. He tells too much irrelevant information not on the exam. Wastes time talking about historic nonsense.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: BIOL231
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Lectures are difficult to listen to. Goes on tangents. Hw was tough, he grades each question meticulously. He is also obsessed with the sizes of different cellular components based on mass, and you will be tested on different components multiple times. He has help sessions that occur immediately after the lecture while he eats his lunch.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: BIOL231
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

He drones on in his lectures, describing the history behind each of the scientific discoveries without explaining the material. Forgets to post powerpoints. The homework was rough, math heavy with equations that we glance at in lecture. We are allowed to drop either 2 quizes or 1 test, but none of the hw. His help sessions are his during his lunch.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: BIO110
• Grade Received: B-
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Bio 110 with Friedman is hardly biology at all. He spent a majority of the time talking about announcements, how his Ph.D. is from Yale, chemistry, and physics. The lectures are Boilercast but the keywords and phrases are blanked out. If you miss something important in the notes, he will not wait for anyone. I got an A+ in 111 but struggled in 110.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: BIO110
• Grade Received: B-
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Bio 110 is supposed to be a very basic course, but this professor made it unnecessarily difficult. My friends with the other professor got an easy A while I had to work so hard for a B, that was the only grade keeping me from getting a 4.0.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: BIOL231
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

His lectures are extremely boring. He focuses more on the history of something than what is actually going to be on the exam. His tests aren't that hard if you review the material from the lectures and the corresponding chapters in the textbook/homework. He is one of the least helpful professors I have had a Purdue, because he doesn't want to help.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: BIO110
• Grade Received: C+
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Worst professor I have ever taken at Purdue. The class is more about chemistry and not what I signed up for. Friedman is extremely rude if you have questions after class. Very boring, difficult, and irrelevant class. Do not take this class from this professor.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: BIOL110
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

I know I'll catch flak for saying this, but I actually really enjoyed Friedman for 110. The stuff on physics is really interesting - don't just brush it off because it's not BIO. Exams are tough but definitely fair. He's decently funny and obviously cares about teaching. He's extremely knowledgeable and interesting to talk to outside of class.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: BIO110
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Professor Friedman almost seemed too smart for the material he was teaching. He seemed to really care & provided tons of opportunity to improve your grade (capped points, drop lowest exam, etc.) but he seemed to waste a lot of lecture time with unnecessary things & flew through the relevant material. Chemistry heavy, but lots of review/help session

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: BIO110
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Super intelligent dude who genuinely wants us to do well, but the whole course is structured in a ridiculous manner. Labs, recitations, and lecture are rarely related. He crams so much information on each slide that, by the end of lecture, you're lucky to get more than a few scribbles down per slide. Good guy, not so great professor.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: BIO110
• Grade Received: D-
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

He is the reason why I am changing my major. He is literally the worst professor ever and always talks about Yale. the post/pre-quizzes messed my grade up.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: BIO110
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

WHATEVER YOU DO, DO NOT TAKE FRIEDMAN. He is by far the WORST professor I have ever taken. He spends most of the time on announcements. The class barely has anything to do with biology and the exams are stupid hard. The labs and recitation do not line up with lecture. If you want to be confused, then take Friedman.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: BIOL110
• Grade Received: D+
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

This entire class was a mess. The labs didn't match up with the lecture and gave everyone a very basic understanding of the topics at most. I think I learned more quantum mechanics and physics in his Intro to BIO class than biology. He thinks he's funny, so you got to give him credit for that. He's just too smart to teach intro classes.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: BIO110
• Grade Received: C-
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

He barely taught biology. We mostly talked about the chem concepts of bio, and did not get into actual bio until the next half of the semester, but even then it was still mixed heavy with physics and chem. He is also heavy on homework (we have pre quizzes AND post quizzes AND videos we have to watch before lectures).

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: BIOL110
• Grade Received: C+
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

He is literally the worst professor/teacher Ive ever had. He doesnt teach what actually matters. Instead he teaches stuff way over our heads and structures the class in the most confusing way possible (minimizes learning). And when you approach him personally with questions, he is very rude.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: BIO110
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Be prepared to work your butt off every week all semester. Dr. Friedman is a great instructor, and the class is hard but fair. Work hard and you should be able to pull through with a B. The material is really interesting too.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: BIO110
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Friedman presents his lectures over a topic very briefly and expects you to do all textbook reading and video modules before class. He requires this because there simply isn't enough time to cover all the material in lecture. If you put in the work and attend class/recitation, you will do just fine.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: BIOL110
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Friedman uses 75% percent of lecture time for announcements, hotseat questions, and material that he isn't supposed to cover because it was already "covered" in the pre-lecture videos. He has no idea how to structure a class.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: BIO110
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Professor Friedman spends ALOT of time on announcements and useless information. He also reads directly off the slides which is super annoying. However, the class isn't really hard if you do the work. Yes there is a lot of busy work, and most of it is useless, but it's not hard, and you get alot of points for doing it.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: BIOL231
• Grade Received: C
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Professor Friedman is a smart man, certainly quite knowledgeable on his subject of expertise (cell biology). However he is unable to put himself into the shoes of less capable students and understand from their point of view. When he explains concepts, his thinking is too far ahead that it will be like running a marathon just to catch up to him.