Giridhar Akkaraju - Texas Christian University

Professor: Giridhar Akkaraju

Department: Biology

College: Texas Christian University

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: CELLBIO30603
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Akkaraju was a great professor. He sometimes was hard to follow because he made mistakes during lectures, often contradicting himself. He also talks very fast so I recommend relistening to the recordings he posts after each lecture. He was helpful in office hours and tries to get to know you as much as possible. You have to work for your grade.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: CELLBIO30603
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Akkaraju really knows his stuff and is pretty helpful in office hours. If you want an A in this class you gotta be next level.. exams are tough for all three profs and Luque's are word terribly so it makes it that much more difficult. Misamore has the easiest section to score well in. B is attainable but tough to get, C is very manageable.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: CELLBIO30603
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Relisten to lecture and talk to him outside of class. So kind, caring, SO SMART, funny and inspirational. Definitely makes you work for your grade, but you'll be proud of yourself after it all.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: BIOL40603
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Great lectures, he makes a point to know your name and keep the class involved. Test material is mostly from lecture, he pulls some from the readings and questions he asks you to look up outside of class. Not an easy class, but if you put in the effort he will reward you with the same effort in helping you.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: CELLBIO30603
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Akkaraju is amazing at taking a complicated concept and explaining it in one sentence. He requires a lot from his students, but if you study and re-listen to the lectures, an A is easily obtainable.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: 10504
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Best teacher for Intro Bio first semester. He simplifies difficult concepts really well. Definitely show up for class and take notes. After each class, relisten to his lecture before the next class and write down details you missed. Study his powerpoints and lecture notes. His tests consists of alot of 'all of the above' choices, so study details

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: INTROBIOI
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Akkaraju is an amazing professor. He explains things really well and always answers questions well. However, because he explains things so much in lecture, if you don't show up your test grade will feel it. He gives a lot of examples that aren't in the notes. I can't stress enough how well he explains things. Also, he's a pretty hilarious guy.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: BIO10504
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Intro Bio is a team taught class and I thought Akkaraju's section was the easiest. He is very good at making complex concepts simple. He tells his students what will be on the test. The material is difficult, but if you study and get help you should do fine. I highly recommend listening to old lectures and reading the textbook.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: BIO1050
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Akkaraju is the man! Although he was difficult, he presented the information in a clear way. I learned a lot from him.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: BIOL1050
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Akkaraju actually made people look forward to coming to class. He is super helpful and funny, but his section was the hardest for me. I would say he was my favorite professor this semester.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: BIOL649
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

He's really funny, great step up from Dr. Hale (who taught the first section) only thing is that the test was extremely hard.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: BIOL1050
• 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:

Definitely my favorite of the biology professors! He has a lot of hard material to cover but he presents it in a really clear way that you can understand. He is also funny and makes an extremely long class entertaining. But you do still have to study and show up

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: BIO1054
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

I LOVE THIS MAN! He's a great teacher and will stop to clarify anything during class. Everyone looked forward to class. He's hilarious and actually made biology interesting.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: BIOL1050
• 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:

One of my favorite teachers at TCU. This Honors Biology class (for pre-med people) is very difficult and is committee taught. Hale, Akkaraju, Hartman are first semester. Horner, Misamore, Chumchal are second semester. No matter who teaches this class, it's extremely difficult. Weed out class. Interesting, lots of studying, but fun.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: BIO3060
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

His two sections of Cell Bio were absolutely ridiculous. He did not test on what he talked about in class and his questions were NOT straight forward. The last exams average was a 65 and the highest was an 84. If that doesn't speak for itself I don't know what will.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: BIO0504
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Great class. I took AP bio senior year. Heavy specific details. I got a C, but could have gotten a B if I didn't miss 2 quizzes for the lab. The labs are easy grades except the exams, but if you review the quizzes your fine. I only crammed for 2 nights (total of 14 hours) before each exam and did alright. So study more than that and you'll do fine

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: BIO645
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

He is the easiest of all the five that you will have teaching you. I took several AP sciences before this class but this is not just an honors science. Don't think that if you have had an AP class or bio that you will walk in and easily make an A or B. You need to know now that you will study an average of 10 hours a week if you want an A or B!!!

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: BIO0514
• 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:

The class is tough. If you took an AP Biology in high school you could pull off a B, or an A if you are a really good test taker. For those who haven't had any previous college level prep in bio, Good Luck. Your GPA might suffer from it. But after all, it is one of the hardest freshman classes at TCU. Hartman's test questions are Satin.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: BIO1050
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

I think compared to hartman and misamore, akkaraju is THE BEST! his test questions are much easier and straight forward compared to the other two and explains things really well during class. The class is hard but akkaraju is a great professor and tries not to make it harder then it already is by writing tricky test questions

Rating # 20

Overview:

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

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

Comment:

He is really fun to listen to but makes extremely difficult tests. Make sure you have lots of time to study if you are going to take his honors bio class. Its his class but there are 5 teachers so tests made up by that many people are really strange and difficult to switch from teacher to teacher personalities. Hard to know what to study.