Harry McLaughlin - Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Professor: Harry McLaughlin

Department: Mathematics

College: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: CALC1010
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

He Speaks of his notes rather than showing the student how to complete the work. the TA help more than him.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: MATH2010
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Professor McLaughlin is super passionate about math and truly cares about his students. Homework optional (test questions pulled from HW), quizzes are extra credit (can only help you), notes given in class. Not hard to do well if you go through the problems and see him for help. Also, get to know him in office hours. He is a great guy all around.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: MATH2010
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Prof. McLaughlin loves math; his lectures, lecture notes, and textbook are all filled with intricate math theory. If you are more interested in the practitioner's perspective, it can be hard to decipher the often unnecessarily complex mathematical justifications. His tests are completely based on the worksheets, so it's easy A.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: MATH2010
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

One of the best professors at RPI. Lectures are fantastic and McLaughlin is charming. Even if you don't go to lectures, you can read his thorough and easily understood lecture notes that he sells for $25 at Market Block Bookstore (he claims that he usually doesn't profit off of them). He is very caring about his students. His class was a privilege.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: MATH2010
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

I like to call him "Grandpa Calculus." His lectures are thought-provoking, and they often lead to discussions which help his students to understand the material. I think this name suits him because he is a great calculus teacher, whom I feel truly cares about his students. He doesn't want you to just know things, but he encourages you to think!

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: MATH4010
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Mclaughlin seriously cares about his students. Make an effort to go to class, study, ask questions, and visit him in office hours. He wants you to pass, and it's easy to do so.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: MATH1020
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Very intelligent Mathematician, and good professor. His notation threw me off my first semester freshman year in Calc II, and I quickly found that I learned the material better on my own simply reading his excellent provided lecture notes. Go to class for the first while, then you can stop going if you read the notes and do the worksheets.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: MATH2010
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

If you like tests that do not resemble the backtests and that consist of topics that aren't covered in lecture, then you'll probably enjoy this course. Although he tries to be helpful, he covers almost none of the material that will be on the test, in lecture. I would recommend against taking MultiVar with MacLaughlin. Save yourself; take Schmidt.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: MATH1020
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Every practice exam question provided by McLaughlin in my semester had no answer. He would tell you "come to lectures to get it" but it was never there. If you miss the lectures, you will never find his class note online. Also his class is not very friendly to foreign students.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: MATH2010
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

His lectures are confusing sometimes. Mainly because he talks about theories a lot. The tests are based on homework and textbook questions. Go to office hours.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: MATH85127
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Takes test and final exam problems straight from his worksheets and example problems in his lecture notes. Doesn't use an actual textbook and you buy his lecture notes instead.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: MATH1020
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

McLaughlin is a very smart man, but not the best prof. I found that his course notes were excellent to learn from, so I didn't go to many lectures. Quizzes are very easy, and he gives a ton of partial credit on exams. This course shouldn't be a problem if you study. Do the worksheets, as the test questions are exact copies from the worksheets.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: MATH2010
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Some dislike the level of mathematical rigor that Harry employs. I consider my use of mathematics more practical than artful, so this aspect of his class was not initially enjoyable to me. However, he is a fantastic teacher and has taken my understanding of mathematics to another level. Highly recommend. (P.S. there is a steep learning curve)

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: MATH2010
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Complete theory, poor explanations, and absolutely no examples in class. His exams are very easy but I had already taking Multivar when I went into his class, so I could ignore most of his confusing notation. Be prepared to teach yourself Calculus.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: MATH2010
• Grade Received: B-
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Goes into WAY more detail than anyone who isnt a math major needs. Uses his own textbook instead of the one every other prof uses, and his is practically useless. He also randomly changed the test format halfway through the semester, making half of it no partial credit. uses formal notation, and never explains any of it, just expects you to know.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: MATH1020
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

I attended every lecture, took diligent notes and did all of the homework assignments. Got 100% average on the skills quizzes and a 60% on the exams. The exams are all problems you have seen before but I have only meet people who were successful in his class by memorizing all of the problems presented in homework and class work.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: MATH1020
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

I had Mclaughlin for Calc II (Math 1020). The course consists of 4 exams, skills quizzes, and a final. The exams are not difficult; only 4 or 5 of the 6 questions per test are graded (generously, I might add). I only went to recitation to collect quizzes andor exams. The recitations lagged behind lectures in terms of content. Do the worksheets A

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: MATH4210
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Harry is an inspiration. He is the embodiment of pure commitment to what he teaches. Of course, taking Analysis II with him has a much different flavor than Analysis with Kovacic. That being said, I thoroughly enjoyed both courses. Harry structured the course in a way such that he felt like more of a colleague than a lecturer, which was nice.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: MATH2010
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

He's a good professor for Math majors who want to know every detail and beyond what we're supposed to learn for Multivar Calc & Linear Algebra. However, for any other major who just wants to pass and move on, he says a lot of unnecessary stuff that makes it all confusing, especially for Linear Algebra. He's a super nice guy though.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: MATH1020
• 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:

This instructor writes his own lecture notes which he goes over and talks about during lectures. At first, they seemed unfamiliar but I come realize that I took away so much more from his notes and lectures than any other texts I've used for any class. I would recomend this course to those who seek a 'higher' understanding of mathematics.