2.4
Quality4.1
Difficulty14%
Would Retake99
Reviews14%
Would Retake
99
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
99 total ratings5
15
4
13
3
11
2
19
1
41
What Students Say
“She really does not help her students at all”
SOC100 - 1.0 rating“Worst professor at URI”
SOC230 - 1.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
95%
Textbook Required
33%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
C+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-1.41 avg changeRatings by Course
SEXGENDER
5.0
(1)SOC302
5.0
(1)SOC
5.0
(1)SOCBEST
5.0
(1)SOC666
5.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
CCJ200
5.0
SOC495
5.0
CCJ370
4.8
SOC370
4.7
SOC204
4.7
Reviews (98)
No Comments
A lot of people don't like this professor. But that is probably because they are kind of dumb and don't like getting grades they deserve. She is unbelievably awesome. Best professor I've ever had, and a really cool person to boot!
Ahh Costello, she somehow makes an interesting subject seem dull. She doesnt respect students point of view; if you write an essay that disagrees with one of the theories she supports she wil knock you're grade down.
Tough but fair.
I had her last semester and loved her. She's doesn't like BS on papers and if you do the reading (there are pop quizes that are easy if you read) and go to class you should be fine. She gives out the test questions ahead of time so you can work on it before handing it in.
If she doesnt like you or your point then you're done
She is very fair. You have to read because she gives you pop quizzes.
No Comments
She is a good teacher and very fair. I had her for SOC 230. As long as you do the readings and go to class you will be fine. She gives alot of quizzes and in calss assignments but are easy if u read the short assignment.
She is a really good teacher, makes sure everyone understands what she is talking about, and gives in class assignments that help you out with your paper. Very energetic and helpful. in this class you spend the semester writing a paper, and everything you do helps you with it. She gives pop quizes that are easy if youve read. not a lot of reading.
I really liked this class a lot, partially because she was really enthusiastic and not boring to listen to. she's pretty thourough so if you take notes you should be fine. only catch is the pop quizzes. they're pretty easy, open notebook based on the reading, but they're not announced so you can get a zero if you don't go
I like her class. She was very fair. Do the reading, her pop quizzes are based on it. She made the class fun and she is a looker! She would be fun to have a few beers with I am sure.
She is a wonderful teacher...and a nice person as well. And, very easy on the eyes!
Pop quizzes and in-class assignments are not that hard as long as you keep up with the homework. She tends to have biased views on a lot of things, so if you're someone who hates submitting papers to a judgmental professor, this class may not be for you; 60% of the work you do in this class is just that.
Pretty hard teacher.But she is really good as well. Quizzes are a little tough but you get to use notes. Barbara Costello is one of the most funnest teachers I've ever had. She makes class fun and you'll really love her personality. The kind of teacher you actually want to hang out with. And very hot! I also wouldn't mind having some beers with her
Prof. Costello's Soc 230 is very insightful. The books are interesting, one more than the other and she makes her lectures interesting and easy to understand. Group work occurs every class however it is not graded just collected and checked off. She is willing to help you if you need it. Overall, a good class, good professor.
She drinks Coke every morning, so she's always excited. She's sooo helpful, go to her office hours if you need her. Good teacher.
the "correct" answers on her exams make no sense, just like her eplainaions for why they are "correct"
Nice woman, but not a great professor. Not very direct or helpful.
Nice professor, she will help you out if you need it. As long as you pay attention in class, take good notes, and do ALL the reading then you wont get lost. overall, interesting class.
I would not suggest taking this class with her. I could not make it through the entire semester because her teaching is not clear so it's difficult to do well in the class. Also, you must do group work every class as part of your grade, making attendance mandatory to do well.
DO NOT TAKE HER CLASS. No matter what you say, she is right and you are wrong. A recent requirement was to write a one-page double spaced essay- a wrote a four page essay and had my mother, ALSO a sic professor, look over it. Costello gave me a 50 (45 on the previous paper) and refuses to negotiate the grade. Terrible teacher.
This teacher has absolutely no lesson plan walking into the classroom. She types the notes in class while shes trying to teach and jumps around all of the time. Reading the books, going to her office hours, and studying in a group could not save my grade. DO'NT TAKE THIS CLASS.
AVOID IF POSSIBLE!! She teaches opinion based, soft science classes like they are hard facts. She will never admit she is wrong, or even allow you to explain your point of view. What you get, you get...end of story. Uses ALOT of the same terminology to describe 3 or 4 different theories so distinguishing between can be impossible at times.
She is one of those who will not dish out a final grade of an A because she is bitter. The information is basic straight forward but she tries to make it complicated and will not explain with clarity what she is looking for. She is very useless; she refuses to answer student questions to help them in the right direction; she is not a teacher avoid
Professor is EXTREMELY picky with answers on quizzes and in-class assignments which is 85% of your final grade. Exams are quite frequent and are multiple choice but are very hard. She focuses on in-depth thinking about these criminal theories not factual information. AVOID this class if possible or take with another professor!
Yes she is a tough grader and her classes are hard but if the you put some effort and attend all the classes then you have a better chance on passing here course. By far one of the toughest courses I have taken, yes she might not be the best professor and easiest but then again it's college not high school.
Read, study, try to do all the work and watch the attendance since there are suprise quizes. Tough professor but all you can do is do all the work and hope for the best. Yeah she might not be the best professor or easy, and is no easy task [assing her class but with dedication and effort anyone can pass.
She is incredibly picky with her answers. If she asks an opinionated question it is wrong if she disagrees. Avoid this professor!
I absolutely loved this professor! So much that I took her for soc100 and soc230. She made me want to become a soc minor. She really knows how to engage students in large classes, something not many professors know how to do... GO TO CLASS & DO THE READING. It's interesting!! Learned how to critically think about theories from this professor.
OMG IT WAS SUCH A GREAT CLASS!
A great professor
She was the WORST professor I have had in my three years of college.Barbara will ruin your GPA one pop quiz at a time. I learned nothing in this class. It you can avoid her at all costs. I learned the hard way. She doesn't take students lives or other classes into consideration at all, and her criticism is harsh and unneeded.
Wonderful
O so great
Oh my, what a excellent prof.
Not the worst class Ive taken and not the best. Prof. Costello has a lot of pop quizzes, but you get to use your notes so its not that bad. Shes a tough grader on tests but also provides you with extra credit options as well as curves. This class is hard to get an A in, but not that bad if youre aiming for a C or B. Overall I'd say shes a good prof
oooooookkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk........ Best Professor ever
cant believe i looked for guidence from you
Professor Costello is a tough grader. She is passionate about what she is teaching and is willing to help students out if they come to talk to her at a reasonable time in the semester. She can have her funny moments and facilitates great class discussions!
Simply not a helpful teacher, students are on there own for the most part when it comes to any sort of preperation. The quetion and answers to her exams are jumbled, unclear, and extremely debatable.
DO NOT take an online class with her; she doesn't care about your schedule (which an online class is built for; people with busy schedules) she gave 2-3 deadlines a day (one at noon) and would not open the assignments earlier than a day...I work two jobs in order to go to school and she told me i shouldn't be taking a class if i was that busy
People think Costello is so tough because 1) you will not pass the class if you'd don't do your assigned reading and 2) you NEED basic college writing/reading comprehension skills to do well in the class. In reality she spells out exactly how she wants you to answer questions and makes a point to be explicit with her instructions to students.
The is the absolute worst professor I have ever experienced at URI. I had her for Sociology 100 and she expected all of us to be soc majors. She gives pop quizzes, her exam questions are a total trap, and assigns a ridiculous amount of reading for a gen ed class. She's also very rude and puts people down when they don't give a correct answer.
The worst teacher at this school, does not explain anything. Her tests are impossible and I can guarantee she doesn't care. She does not help you and if you do not answer a question exactly to her liking then you will get it wrong even if its right. Her exams have 2or 3 possible answers per question and you never know what to study for the exam.
Barbara seems to be a good teacher at first. However she is extremely uncomfortable to be around. She always looks at you with suspicious eyes, as if she is expecting you to fail. Very nice woman but can be confusing when it comes to test time. Long reading assignments every night.
It's as simple as this: do your reading and go to class. Her grading system allows wiggle room for poor exam grades if you GO TO CLASS. There are pop quizzes, but if you did the reading (most are only a few pages) you'll be fine. It's a difficult subject, and if you want to learn you need to apply yourself.
Barbara is a great teacher but extremely difficult. She is a very tough grader! She gives pop quizzes often so make sure you do the reading before every class or you guaranteed won't pass. If you do your work you will be fine. This class is a struggle to get through but very do-able.
She makes everything very confusing for the students and assigns very long readings. She is the worst at keeping her political beliefs to herself which can be distracting to some.
I attended every class of the semester and still didn't pass with the grade I deserved. Her exams are a trap because every question has at least 2 or 3 answer possibilities. She's very "my way or the highway" and she can not keep her political views to herself and she is honestly so rude to everyone. She really does not help her students at all.
GET OUT WHILE YOU CAN. This is a 200 level class but I feel like it should in the 400's. I regret not dropping this class while I could
Worst professor at URI . awful. class was so interesting to and she, well was just the worst professor. AVOID HER !!!
Can't really have an opinion in her class, which is annoying to those who aren't liberal.
She is an amazing professor and always keeps her students interested . The only way you will struggle in her class is if you don't do the readings. She goes above and beyond by typing her notes on the projector as we go in class.
Nothing you do will be good enough for her. She takes points off for the most ridiculous things like "being too descriptive." Her exams are impossible to do well on, especially the essay part. There's a paper that she expects to be perfect and she will rip you apart and fail you for it if it's not. Good luck!
She's a pretty mean person. Going to her class made me sad. Never wanted to participate because of how she responded to students who would raise their hand and had the wrong answer. Teaching style is too opinionated and grading isn't very fair. If you're willing to put up with that, just make sure you read what's assigned and take notes.
I have had Costello for many Soc classes and she is a very intelligent woman. Do not take her if you aren't willing to work for your grade. She is very tough but I have learned the most in my whole college career from her. Make sure you do the readings and participate - it's most of your grade so it's ok to do terrible on the tests.
on the tests most of the time two answers will make sense. You have to guess which one she likes the most. Go to class, because that will definitely help. People I sit with and myself always get the in class assignments right and understand the material, then when an exam comes up, no one gets above an 80. Not worth it for a gen ed.
Professor Costello really knows her stuff, however, she is a very tough grader. Attendance is mandatory and you have to keep up with the readings because sometimes there is a pop quiz. Overall, her class made me think and it definitely was one of the hardest classes I've ever taken!
She is very knowledgable in her studies and well respected in the sociology community. She is a very tough grader. I have found that if you are having trouble in her class TALK TO HER!! she has far more respect for people who ask for help then who sit quietly and fail. If you try and participate it is very hard to fail her class.
I attended every class of the semester and got an A (much to my surprise). Her exams are confusing because every question has at least 2 answer possibilities. She's very specific with the answer she expects. There is always a "almost," "close, but no" or "yes but." You need to do the readings and go to class as there are pop quizzes all the time.
Her grading criteria seems to shift from student to student. If she doesn't agree with what you wrote, regardless of context, you will receive an extremely poor grade. She has no concept of a student's perspective, her method of teaching is telling everyone they're wrong until they guess the right answer. Clear teaching bias, fails unreasonably.
Professor Costello is a tough grader but her teaching style is one of the most effective I've encountered thus far. She's very passionate about teaching. If you read, take diligent notes, and pay attention in each class, you should have no problem succeeding. Pay close attention to the class notes and in-class assignments when studying for exams.
All i can say is this is the worst professor ever. Had an essay told everyone they could chose whatever they wanted, but if you didn't pick what she liked you got a horrible grade. DO NOT TAKE HER
If your opinion doesn't match hers it does not count, she'll ask you to interpret things and put it in your own words but really wants it in her words. If you take notes and study you will do well but you really have to work for it, good luck
This is the worst teacher I've ever had. I read for every class and still do horribly on the quizzes. She is very specific about the free response answers on quizzes and if your opinion doesn't match hers it doesn't count. There is a quiz every single class and the class is taught in a trivia way. I would not recommend this professor.
The worst. There are two graded quizzes EVERY class. Only chooses topics she supports. You have to know her personal opinions to answer exam questions correctly. Don't study for exams on quizlet because her material is completely different. Stated on the syllabus - "it is not acceptable to take bathroom breaks". Just awful. Do not take her class!
SOC100 60% of your grade is based on quizzes. The quizzes are given at the start of each class and theyre based on the readings. The quiz is made of two short answer questions, so if you get one answer wrong, you get a 50 on the quiz. Professor Costello is nit picky about answers so its easy to fail these quizzes even if you do the reading.
Absolutely horrible teacher. Words can't even explain the joke of a class SOC 100 was. She made her almost impossible quizzes 50% of the grade. You will not get credit on these quiz questions if they are not 100% answered how she wants them. Very opinionated which in a SOC class is NOT fair.
Hardest class ever, quiz every class. Nearly impossible to get a question right on a quiz or test. Good luck taking this class, she is the most difficult grader ON earth, I didn't enjoy this class one bit, and was looking forward to taking it:(
I am taking this class online, covid-19 edition. this is the second week and I am going crazy with these group assignments she has us doing.
Extremely tough grader. She gives a pop quiz every class on last nights reading. The quizzes are usually two short answer questions and if you word them incorrectly or in a way she doesnt like she penalizes you heavily and fails you for the quiz. She is not helpful and makes her students feel unwelcome when asking a question in class. Do not take
Taking this class online because COVID. She has us take a quiz at the beginning of the class on Monday, and discusses assignments for a half hour on Zoom before ending the class. She is not really teaching. The class is almost entirely one reading that the quiz is for and she looks for very specific answers for group work but gives little direction
I simply had to come back and reflect on the absolute worst professor I had during undergrad. On average i'm an A student, and let me tell you i STRUGGLED to pass this class. I would actually do the reading, take notes, and still fail the short answer quizzes because it wasn't the exact response she was looking for. Avoid at all costs, I promise.
Prof. Costello was the worst professor I've ever had. I'm a straight A student and regularly did poorly in her class for arbitrary reasons. She took points off for 1 paragraph responses that weren't broken into unnecessary paragraphs. The course material was not hard to understand but it was impossible to do well in the course due to unfair grading
I would highly advice against taking a course taught by this prof. She encouraged 0 creative or original thought, her grading was vague and unpredictable, she has a ridiculous standard for "format" and will give you half credit for assignments if she doesn't like how it looks. She said "if it seems like something I would say, write it". Beware.
First I want to start by saying I would never take a class with her again. For being a class online, there are so many things mandatory, also there is group work. She is a tough grader, if she doesn't like what you or your group writes, she will deduct points. Beware.
By far the WORST Professor Ive ever had and will not be taking another course taught by her. Shes rude and doesnt really teach, instead makes you figure it out yourself and gives you a bad grade if you get it wrong. Even if you are right but you dont write exactly what she wants she deducts points. I would highly encourage not taking her class
I have always enjoyed taking criminal justice courses until I had Prof. Costello. She makes her expectations confusing and her grading criteria is never specified. You can put 110% effort into homework and studying, yet she will still fail you. I have never been happier dropping her class.
Costello is actually an incredible professor. She gets way too much hate. Anyone who hates her just has no idea how college works and is lazy. She cares about her students but especially those who see her after class hours to get extra help. She is amazing at what she does but if you can't put in the work then don't take her class.
She offers no extra credit and is a tough grader. Everyday is constant new material, so it's extremely easy to fall behind. She is a nice person, but her class is difficult.
This professor doesn't like the use of quotes, but she wants you to use evidence from readings, described with your own words. Also, follow the SYLLABUS like the bible. She stresses the syllabus. SOC 308 (not listed) is good for learning about farming practices, food production, gender gap and hunger.
Professor Costello is a HARD teacher. If you want a good grade in her class, you better make sure there is not a single error in your papers and especially that everything (and I mean EVERYTHING) is cited. Seriously. If you make one statement of fact, cite it. I honestly do really like her as a person, but either work your ass off or don't bother.
Terrible professor for a core class, feel like she had sort of trauma and is taking her anger on the kids. Will not be taking any of her classes.
I have never gotten below a B so I was expecting this class to be easy. This professor gave tons of homework, and it all had to be handwritten and if there were readings, we had to print them out to bring them to class. She wanted 1 singular answer to open ended questions and if you asked for her to explain, she would just say "read the syllabus"
Yeah, noo. Like all of the positive reviews were created by herself. She has issues and does not know how to teach. i had a challenging experience in the class with this professor and have decided not to take any more courses with her. The assignments in the class were unclear and we would receive a low grade for doing what she asked us to do.
She would quiz us before teaching the material, based off a reading done for homework, except the answer she would want on the quizzes would change. She's not clear when teaching or giving directions, and when we would do group work we would sit there confused. No computers allowed and you have to handwrite and print out EVERYTHING. Never again.
Get ready to read because that is all you will be doing for the semester if you want to get the single question pop quizzes worth 50% of your final grade right at the very beginning of a random class. Grading criteria is essentially whatever she feels like deciding. I will leave you with this, you will learn, a lot, it's just not going to be fun...
My experience in Professor Costello's class has been disappointing due to several factors. Firstly, her instructions are often unclear, creating confusion among students regarding assignments. The quizzes have been misleading, deviating from the lecture material. Unfortunately, the lectures lack the engagement I had hoped, and she is RUDE.
Professor Costello teaches in a way that is really organized and easy for me to understand. She assigns quizzes at the beginning of every class that should be easy to answer if you read the assigned readings. Then she goes over the readings and breaks it down and goes over anything you didn't understand. Just follow the syllabus and you'll do well.
Her opinion matters most, play to it.
The WORST if you take her just write what you think she would say bc she doesn't like anything else She doesn't care about her students Loves seeing her students fail she is excited to start a new semester to see ppl fail & give them a bad grade for her own wrongdoings She wants you to waste money printing the textbooks, etc for every class.
Absolutely the worst teacher and professor I've ever had. I had her as a freshman and it was a terrible start to my college academics. She makes absolutely no sense, I went to all classes and did all work and she still failed me however when I retook the course without even studying I got a B+ so im not sure what she's on. Would not recommend!
I am a junior so I had my fair share of terrible teachers but she is by far the worst I have tried to ask for help multiple times with the only response being to read the syllabus and take better notes. She is quite rude and self-absorbed. Her readings only have left me confused and the lectures after would only worsen that confusion save yourself
Reading Carl Marx for class?! Far left democrat who doesn't like students in the Military. I recommend a different teacher.
rage bait.
She can be extremely contradictory about the content. She uses her own textbook, so she wants extremely specific answers. Everything is open response and if you don't use the exact she's looking for you'll get half credit or none. I've never been so frustrated by a class or prof.
Professor Costello is the most difficult professor I have ever taken. She is unforgiving and unprofessional. A lot of her comments and feedback come off as rude and passive aggressive. Do not take her unless you absolutely have to.
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
95%
Textbook Required
33%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
C+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-1.41 avg changeRatings by Course
SEXGENDER
5.0
(1)SOC302
5.0
(1)SOC
5.0
(1)SOCBEST
5.0
(1)SOC666
5.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
CCJ200
5.0
SOC495
5.0
CCJ370
4.8
SOC370
4.7
SOC204
4.7