He was one of the better teachers I've had. His lectures were to the point, and it was clear what he wanted us to get out of it. Tests are difficult, but do-able with a little hard work. Would definately take this professor again.

Excellent teacher, take him for second semester o chem if you have a chance. Hard, but a great class.

Dr. McGrath is a wonderful teach that knows alot about organic chemistry and then some. He goes slower then the normal lectures but gives difficult exams. Most challenging exam questions though are on previous exams or gone over during discussion sections. I recommend taking his class if you must take O Chem

Great teacher. Very good at explaining organic chem and gives access to all the old tests which are very similar to the new tests. He is also very nice and helpful.

Outstanding teacher. Very fair. He enjoys teaching and it shows. Its a hard class, but his teaching is incredibly well-structured and clear. If you pay attention in class and do the homework, you'll pass.

Great professor! He makes Ochem2 less painful. The lectures outline exactly what you need to know but definitely read and do the problems in the textbook! Make sure you attend the discussion sections and master the HW exercises/learn the format from his old exams. Finally, when he tells you to know a reaction forwards and backwards he means it!

Seems to know his stuff pretty well and is interested in finding ways to help his students succeed. Tests are hard, but not impossible if you study. Offers lots and lots of practice for his exams which is nice. Similar exam style to Spurgeon, but maybe not as entertaining of a lecturer. Had Spurgeon last semester, Mcgrath this semester. Toss up.

For as hard and horrible as the material is, he was a fairly good o chem professor. Okay tests. Very understandable and helpful, but sometimes wastes class time with random stuff that's not on tests. lets us out late and doesn't finish material on time

The curve for the class was somewhat disappointing (87+ was an A), since he bases it off of the standard curve. We didn't cover as much material as the other OCHEM classes so it was pretty cool. His exams sometimes do contain questions that come from nowhere, and I swore there were things on the test that he did not teach.

Its a must to sit down, learn, and PRACTICE alot of problems. Dr. Mcgrath is a fair professor, difficult exams(averages usually high 50s to high 60s) but don't be overwhelmed, just practice. Make sure you know mechanisms from the start (Forwards and Reverse!), he seems to favor those. Helpful guy overall, every o chem class is hard, so get over it

Great Professor, clear lectures, get to know in office hours and very helpful, hard exams but not impossible if you study, final is cummulative review rxns throughout sem., fun prof with interesting side stories, must attend class every lecture for a good grade, curves very nicely, 65-87% is B, 87%+ is A

I love McGrath... He writes down everything you need to know on the whiteboard, so just go to class and copy his notes. He posts his old exams online and they are always very similar!

McGrath is a really good professor. You really must go to every lecture, but if you do, he writes very clear notes, and presents the material well. His tests can be HARD if you don't study well enough but not impossible. Plus, he always puts old tests on D2L to work on. Overall, a wonderful ochem teacher

Good lecturer with a very simple class structure. Four midterms(worst one is dropped), and a final. That's it. Do lots of synthesis problems and understand rather than just memorize the material. Organic chem. is a hard class regardless of the instructor.

MCG is a very cool guy. He's funny and loves teaching ochem. Unfortunately, the tests do not test about 15-20% of the things taught in class. Getting an A is very difficult,while the B range is easy to accomplish. I thought tests were moderate/difficult, however,he had mechanism ?'s worth a lot on each test(at least 30% per test) which killed me.

He has a very traditional style of lecturing which I like however his lectures don't really give any sort of clue about how the test will look. The class is a lot of memorizing but that's ochem with any professor. McGrath is a nice guy who likes chemistry, just make sure you're ready to work hard.

Professor McGrath is very smart. He knows what he's teaching and I enjoys it as well. Ochem is a hard subject so any class is going to be difficult no matter what professor you take. McGrath lectures on the board rather than from power points, which is extremely helpful. Exams are difficult but attend lectures and STUDY A LOT outside of class!

Great teacher, very difficult class, but passable if you study. I did not see arrogance as much as others did, but he is incredibly smart and it's very easy to learn new and interesting things from him. He was pretty funny too. "If my ass had a lone pair, I'd be a base" lol

His tests are ridiculous. No 'easy' point questions. Know the material like it is the back of your hand or you are screwed!!! Only 2 people scored over a B on the final. Preceptor was incompetent, and didn't know what he was talking about. Take Ghosh if you can!!

it boggle my mind why he is a teacher...he clearly hates all of his 'average' students. we don't all have 8 hours a day to study for your class. be prepared to teach yourself a lot of ochem.

Dr. McGrath is my hero. He starts off super harsh to scare off the lazy and screw ups but mellows out after a couple of weeks if you work hard or are super smart. He doesn't put up with smart asses or stupid questions. He is extremely good at explaining confusing or interesting topics.

Currently taking Summer 2 and it's honestly much easier being a condensed schedule. If he lectures the same way in Fall or Spring as he does for Summer, the class shouldn't be a problem. People are right about the exams though. You jump right into predicting products, mechanisms, and synthesis. No easy points.

Honestly O Chem sucks and it's not a class anyone wants to take BUT McGrath made it a little better. Being able to drop 1 of your 4 exams definitely helps and the way he lectures (talks as he writes on the large white boards) is a great method. He is helpful most of the time and is a funny guy (if you have a sarcastic sense of humor). Take him.

His lectures are very organized and he explains things very well. A very smart guy who is willing to help you if you put in the work. Probably the best O-Chem professor at this university.

Tests are hard but he prepares you well for them with practice exams/problem sets. He is really entertaining in lectures so I wouldn't say he is rude or boring at all. Ochem is a hard class in general and, with that in mind, I think he teaches it really well. You'll learn a lot and an A or B is definitely attainable in his class if you put work in.

The material is simply not for everyone. work hard, get an A. The usual will get you a B Skip class, C if you're lucky. ITS OCHEM 2. TWICE the material as OCHEM 1 or even more. Waaay more difficult. Pay attention, know how to do the practice problems and for GODS SAKE GO TO CLASS AND DISCUSSION! Oh and he goes by the book. Good luck

Synthetic organic chemistry is tough, he goes over details pretty well, but when it comes to applying the details in mechanisms it can become confusing. The textbook, Grossman, saved my life and allowed me to get a 100% of the final. Definitely buy that book.

McGrath is a great professor. He is there to help and really wants us to succeed. However, material always seems easy but DO THE PRACTICE PROBLEMS. He gives you all the resources to succeed. Go to Ochem cafe, go to his office hours. This applies for all ochem; you're not going to find an easy chem class.

Do the suggested problems in the back of the book and you'll be fine. Otherwise, good luck, because you'll need it.

Dr. McGrath is probably my favorite University of Arizona teacher so far. As long as you pay attention in class and keep up with the information, you'll do fine. He's funny too.

Really great teacher, also super funny. The hardest class I've taken here anyways. If you don't pay attention in class I wish you luck. Never used the text book ($300 is just too much), although some say they wouldn't get by without it. I recommend using previous exams to study. Got a B by some miracle.

Dr Mcgrath is a well respected professor. 241A is not an easy class, it is a tough. keep practicing before the exam, at least one week before it, you will have a lot of preceptors who will help you understand the material, so dont worry. the book is not necessary, but without working out the suggested problems will give you an A grade, which i got.

If you attend every class and do a lot of practice questions in the textbook, you should be able to get an A. His teaching style is very organized and he is one of the best professors. He will provide 4-5 problem sets (very helpful). The textbook requires in this course is the art of writing reasonable organic reaction mechanisms by Grossman.

241A is called a 'weed out' class for a reason. Tests are NOT multiple choice where you regurgitate information. You will have problems that you must work out - the more you understand the fundamentals of the material the better your grade. Attend lecture and PRACTICE PROBLEMS, otherwise you will not pass.

Dr mcgrath is a wonderful kind man! highly recommend.

Most amazing professor. Class is hard, but if you do the textbook problems, you should be ok. Shows up late to office hours, so tell him ahead of time. Lots of resources for you to succeed. Easy A

Reasonable for honors online ochem. Weekly quiz (drop 3) & hw, 4 exams (drop 1), & 4 assignments. Hnrs & reg were 90% same so it's worth it. Be ready to read if you wanna do well (textbook is good though), and online hw problems were perfect in solidifying knowledge - basically unlimited attempts too. McGrath was a bit disorganized but that's it.

This is my first in-person college class, and Professor McGrath did well enough, lecturing for 3 hours pretty much every day. Kept my attention for that time.

mcgrath is a solid professor. he explains things well and is organized in lecture. he mostly does practice problems so the textbook is necessary for understanding concepts. don't ask questions, he will be mean to you. exams are just like the problems done in class. provides lots of study guides and practice material, do those and you'll be fine

OChem is a very hard class and will take a lot of work no matter what professor you have. I think that he is great and was exactly what I needed to pass the class. He writes the notes at the same time we write them which makes it easy to follow. He also adds humor to the lectures which helps break up the tough material. Study and ask for help.

I love his teaching technique and will be taking him for second semester of organic chemistry!

Awesome and will take for future chemistry classes!

Mcgrath was a good lecturer and helped break down the material. I was scared of taking ochem at the start be he made it a lot easier to understand the material.

Ochem is very challenging and I struggled a lot, but he explains things very well and has a good sense of humor which helps to make the class interesting. Offers extra credit for attending class, unlimited HW attempts, practice exams were very helpful, and he is very fair with grading. Highly recommend Ochem with him!

One of the best professors I've ever had, made me truly enjoy learning ochem. going to class for the lectures is very important, especially with how he has the course designed. makes the lectures funny and is able to explain new concepts on a level understandable to those just learning.

I personally really enjoyed McGrath's lectures, he went over helpful practice problems and kept the class engaged. I liked the flipped classroom and there were a lot of resources (practice problems, practice tests, office hours) that made me feel very prepared for the exams. It's a hard class and requires work, but I really enjoyed it.

Dr. McGrath uses a flipped classroom for O-Chem. This means that you watch the lectures outside of class and do practice problems in class. There is still regular homework, but the homework is online and graded by completion. The in-class practice problems are helpful, and there are plenty of TAs to help if you get stuck. He likes trick questions.