Carlos Varela - Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Professor: Carlos Varela

Department: TBD

College: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: CSCI6962
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Professor Varela clearly cares about teaching and his students. He is very accessible to help before, during, & after class. I found his lectures very clear and interesting.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: CSCI6430
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

All I want to say is Prof Varela works really hard to improve the course. The class is in much better shape when I took it the second time(dropped it the first time). He might not be a fantastic lecturer, but he is a very respectable professor.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: CSCI4430
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

I have to say, he does want to be a good teacher. That being said, he's not. I got an A, but looking back, I didn't learn anything from his class. I don't think professors have to take any classes on how to teach, but he should.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: CSCI4430
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Awful. Awful. Other students warned me not to take his class. I should have listened. Grading is comically inconsistent. He could barely explain the material, which was poorly chosen to begin with. He was NEVER prepared and can barely use a computer. Seriously, he has had a significant negative impact on my education and my respect for RPI.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: PROGL0000
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

He's extremely enthusiastic, he finds a way to challenge you so you will reach your full potential. Do not take his class if you're not willing to learn and work hard. This guy will make hell look like a walk in the park but will reward good efforts.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: CSCI4430
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Absolutely horrible. Insisted on using poorly documented languages (including one he wrote). Promised at the beginning of semester that no one who tried would fail, then kept to a conventional grading scheme. Avoid Varela at all costs.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: CSCI4430
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

For proglang. Common phrase, but take this with sincerity: Varela is the worst teacher that I've ever had. Approx 70% class eventually dropped. HWs take _all_ of your time. Varela acknowledges this. Only way to pin him down is in class or department mandatory office hours (phone is no help). Hung bell curve at low C on remaining 30% of class. GL

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: CSCI4800
• 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:

The fact is ProgLang is a very difficult course. However, people only really have trouble with it because no other course demands so much of the people in it at times. Granted he doesn't teach it extraordinarily well; how would anyone else teach it better? If you ask for help he'll give it and if you do well he'll recommend you for any grad school.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: PROGL0000
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

The class was ridiculous! I would understand all the inclass material, but the projects and tests had little to NO relation to the lectures. He makes students learn a language he wrote! Salsa was written by him, NOT documented by him, and used by..... JUST HIM!!! Out of the 135 people that started the class, 17 kids were at the final! no real curve

Rating # 10

Overview:

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

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

Comment:

lectures with running examples to follow material, hard exams and homeworks but reasonable curves, knows the material very well, tough at times but you will learn alot in this class

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: PROGLANG4430
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

he means well, but is a strong believer in the philosophy of teaching that "no student should ever be bored" - which means that quite a few students get completely lost - timing structure of the class stinks, projects which tend to make you learn the formalities instead of theoeretical things - only good aspect was curve (79,60,45,29 this semester)

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: CSCI4430
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Absolutely terrible professor. Lectures are not useful, tests and projects are not about the same material. Refuses to give out enough practice material for exams and what little he does refuses to give out the solutions to. It took me over a month to even determine what the class was about.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: CSCI4430
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

quite possibly the worst professor i have ever had. taught things in a most illogical order and, rarely supplemented the text, and his own lectures slides, with examples.

Rating # 14

Overview:

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

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

Comment:

proglanging langing prog proglanging... ha ha ha . you betcha taking varelas class will make you a lot crazier than me!

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: CSCI4430
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Undoubtedly the worst professor I've ever had.

Rating # 16

Overview:

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

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

Comment:

Single handedly ruined my GPA!! teaches you the concepts the day the projects are due and assigns projects in alpha-release software languages (no documentation for those languages either!!! have to figure everything out yourself)

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: CSCI4300
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

varela isnt really that bad. he wants to help you but i think he just doesnt know how to .

Rating # 18

Overview:

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

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

Comment:

varela sucks period. He almost managed to destroy my gpa. but i was lucky.

Rating # 19

Overview:

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

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

Comment:

he is a horrid professor that will make you use alpha-release software for your projects. you have been warned.

Rating # 20

Overview:

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

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

Comment:

varela is single handedly the worst professor at RPI. he doesnt know how to teach and gives ridiculously hard and time consuming homeworks. If you are thinking of taking prog langs with him...think again.