2.6
Quality3.7
Difficulty31%
Would Retake86
Reviews31%
Would Retake
86
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
11
4
16
3
21
2
16
1
22
What Students Say
“He does not have good lecture technique, and does not follow any real pattern with lectures”
CHEM101 - 2.0 rating“All I can say is good luck”
CHEN101 - 2.0 ratingClass Info
Attendance Mandatory
46%
Textbook Required
38%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.34 avg changeRatings by Course
CHEM221
5.0
(1)CHEM101LAB
5.0
(2)CHEM335
4.0
(1)CHEM105LAB
3.8
(5)CHEM105
3.7
(7)Difficulty by Course
CHEN101
5.0
CHEM102
4.5
101
4.0
CHEM103
4.0
CHEM101
4.0
Reviews (86)
He is an ok professor. He is more helpful outside to class than during lecture. You will be lost during lecture if you do not read ahead. The answers in the lab manual are not always correct, so always check before an exam. He goes really fast, just s
nice guy.
He was soo much fun. Sometimes the material was unclear as to exactly what we were supposed to be doing, but overall, he was a lot of fun. He's very laid back.
He's is a very laid back lab teacher. Yesterday he said, "If you haven't turned anything in for lab yet, just turn something in and I'll only take off a couple points. I just need something to grade." If you need help doing some of the stoichiometric problems for the lab, you can ask him and he'll write it all down for you. Then just plug in #'s
There are days I don't think he even knows what he is talking about. I have a tendency to not go to class because I can teach myself better reading the book than he can teach me.
He's awesome! He's super funny and very laid back. I had him for lab twice and if you didn't get something, he'd just come over and do it for you. Plus, he knows what he's talking about...most of the time!
I had him for chem discussion and he was veryyyyyyy helpful and nice. He's really laid back and answered every question that I had. Take him for lab as well if you can... I just tried for fall 09 chem 106 and hes full GREAT professor!
He is all over the place, doesn't seem to know what he is talking about at times. You need to go and talk to him outside of class, and he sometimes can come off as flustered when you talk to him. He will not curve test not matter how bad the class did and not all the info is covered in the book.
He is the worst lect professor ever! He is all over, dosn't actually lect he just does problems on the board that most don't understand. Average grade for couple tests were 47% and 48% if that tells you anything. Not very helpful when you ask questions. Nice guy but not a good lecture professor. Stay away from him as lecture professor...
George is a great guy and a good teacher IF you have him for labs. Very down to earth and is not strict about turning in reports or checking things off. Try to avoid him for lec or discussions if you can. He is funnny and will help you more if he knows you care about getting a good greade.
Nice Professor, Tends to talk to the front row so any one past the first 5 rows can get lost! Nice guy going to tell you what you need to hear whether you like it or not!!
He was a very good professor. Willing to answer any questions asked in lecture. His goal is to have everyone understand. If you put any effort at all into the class and be an active learner, its easy to get a B. If you spend 3 hours a week on it, easy A!
Went in to talk to him about exams last semester and he always seem like he wanted me out fast. He is all over the place during lectures but tries his best to answer students who ask questions in class. His grading system is a mess.
Olsen knows what he's talking about but can be hard to follow if you don't pay attention. Go to EVERY class and actually pay attention (work through problems as he does) and you will most likely catch on. If not, the book is somewhat helpful.
Have him as a lab professor. He is awesome, down to earth, and funny. He is very approachable. He won't spoon feed you the answered because he expects you to learn on your own. Really a great guy (even gives food out after lab if you need any). If you have the opportunity to take him as instructure, do so.
Professor Olsen was a decent lecture professor. He was all over the place and didn't really give a good outline to take notes with. Was very approachable however, and seemed to want to help whenever somebody asked a question.
SI was my savior here, if you are at all able to attend si, GO. His lectures make no sense, and nobody can follow. But, if you do have questions he will always answer them. I must admit although he was a terrible lecturer, he was AWESOME at answering questinons. The book is useless too by the way. Plus, curves overalll score lots at end of semester
All over the place as a teacher. Almost impossible to follow him in lecture. Go to SI! He always answers questions, but can confuse people more with his answers. Optional cumulative final that replaces lowest test grade and major curve at end.
Miserable professor. His way of teaching is extremely confusing. All he does is scribble on a note pad. There are zero power points and zero definitions given. Overall I was very disappointed with him.
Olsen is a rude and awful teacher. he does not teach but expects you to know everything already. he makes the exams very hard and purposefully puts up trick questions. AVOID AT ALL COSTS. the class average is barely passing
If you take the time to learn the material on your own (i.e. read textbook) without relying solely on his lectures, you'll be fine. He is insanely transparent and straight-forward, you just have to listen. Also, get a tutor and attend SI if you can- repeating the same material with 4 different people helped me immensely
He is awful. point blank. His way of teaching is examples on a notepad and he frequently makes mistakes and confuses the students. avoid at all costs.
He is not an easy professor but if you need Chem 101 he's the only one teaching it. If you take this class plan on going to SI. Ask questions if you are confused...he will answer them. He's blunt and straight forward.
Dr. Olsen can seem rude if taken in the wrong way but he is really a great guy. Lectures can be a bit scattered but he will gladly clarify the material if asked. He doesn't sugar coat anything, if he says you must know how to do something, you must know how to do it. Exams can be tough, but its college what do you expect. Study and you will do fine
Can be a bit brash, though I actually enjoyed that aspect. And he does write tricky exams. On the other hand, he is forthcoming about what is on the exams and is willing to help outside of class. Plus the curve is immense. The course I was in ended up requiring ~50% to pass, and ~86% for an A.
Dr. Olsen made a class that should have been easy into a class that was very difficult, disjointed, and confusing. He does not have good lecture technique, and does not follow any real pattern with lectures. You just have to attend class and hope that you can grasp what he is talking about while he is writing out problems on an overhead. Good luck.
Hopefully you've taken a chemistry class in high school, because that's the only way you'll be able to scrape a passing grade in this class. Vater Olsen's idea of teaching is writing examples on the overhead without any explanation and providing constant reassurance that if you can't do chemistry, you can't do life. All I can say is good luck.
George was terribly unorganized but he really knows what he is talking about and I learned really well from him. He tries to be really intimidating but he is really helpful when you approach him individually. He really does want you to do well and wants to make sure that you can succeed in nursing.
He does not e-mail you back. Also, personally I haven't taken a chemistry class since sophomore year of high school so I don't remember much of the material and he just assumes that we know it all. He does not explain things.
His lectures can be confusing. If you are in this class, get a tutor and go to SI. Some lectures are better than others, but I would not have passed if I didn't have a tutor.
Content is manageable but you must go to SI. His lecture style can be very unclear and all over the place. He is very intimidating, but if you ask him a question, he is very helpful. He is not as mean as you'll probably assume from the first day. Exams are hard and he will try to trick you to see if you know material, studying is super necessary.
Very unorganized and makes a lot of mistakes on quizzes and tests. Do not be afraid to ask him why you got something wrong on a test; he will drop questions that do not make sense! Very tough class. Learned more from SI than I did from him. A tutor is a must!
I took Chem 101 for nursing. Get a tutor, go to SI, and check for the online homework and quizzes every week. If you aren't sure of something, ask him. He will try to explain it in a different way.
Awful! Awful! I'm sorry, nursing students, you have no choice whether or not to take this professor. He is HORRIBLE! He expects you to understand the material and doesn't teach it. He just gives examples. He has a stuck up attitude like he's better than everyone else.
Olsen is a great professor but he is not the most organized person out there. He will tell his nursing students at least 25 times in the first week that they are not cut out to be a nurse. Don't listen to him! Just study you butt off and you'll do fine. If you have questions visit him 1 on 1 he is more willing to break the subject down further.
Vater Olsen is a really funny, cool guy, but his lectures can get very confusing. He goes through material super fast, so it is very hard to follow. He is really good at helping you and answering questions if you ask. For this class definitely utilize the SI. Sarah is amazing, I passed because of her.
If you have to take chemistry 101 I would suggest taking it at a tech school or extension school to avoid having to deal with George. I had a tutor, went to the supplementary instruction meetings and went to his office hours and still had to drop it so it wouldn't kill me GPA. No help from his, terrible lectures, tests are impossible. AVOID!!
George is actually really funny/sarcastic. Cool person, horrible professor. He wonders why exam averages are usually 50-70%, yet is unorganized and often pulls examples out of thin air (which usually don't work out, and then it confused everyone). I attended every single lecture, but I honestly didn't even have to because SI was more helpful.
Olsen is a very charismatic professor, he will call himself a name to make the class laugh and cause he knows the class is tough. He really does want everyone to understand the material so he's really friendly and acts like your question is the most important thing he's ever heard and will do his best to help you come to an answer. GO TO SI!!!
Olsens lectures are very confusing, sometimes I had no idea what was going on, but he is a very funny, friendly professor. Best piece of advice I have is go to SI for this class!
Dr. Vater Olsen's lectures are long and unorganized. There will be times you have no idea what he's talking about, but still take notes. Attending SI and tutoring is essential to simply pass. Once topics are cleared up in SI and tutoring, you'll be able to make sense of the notes from class. Exams can be taken in the testing center which is great!
Vater Olsen is super hard and isn't willing to help. He rarely finishes a problem that he does on the projector.. wouldn't take ever again!
Definitely get ready to work! lecture can be confusing because he writes everything down on a blank piece of paper. Yes Olsen seems scary but he's actually really nice GO INTO OFFICE HOURS! he will help you if he sees you are working your butt off! and make sure to go into SI sessions they will be your savior!
This class is fairly easy if you had a good chemistry teacher in high school. The practice tests are very similar to the real tests. I opened the textbook maybe two times, you definitely can get by without it. He will explain things to you if you ask. Defiantly recommend going to SI and drop in tutoring.
He is a nice guy, but his lecture style is TERRIBLE. He's disorganized, he goes very fast, and he usually does not talk through the steps to explain how he got to certain steps. A 101 class is meant to be introductory. He just jumped right in like we already knew everything.
I had Mr. Olsen as my Chem105 Lab teacher. He does not explain much and expects you to know everything right away! Then when the whole class doesn't understand, he explains it one by one to each group. This takes forever and he doesn't have time to help everyone. He knows his stuff, just does not teach well.
George is super unorganized. He comes off mean at first but he's actually a good guy. His exams are hard, YOU HAVE TO GO TO SI IF YOU WANT TO PASS THIS COURSE. I wouldn't have been able to pass if I didn't work so hard outside of class. He goes over things in class that he doesn't put on exams. The course is hard material, but he's willing to help
He is very disorganized and moves very quickly during lecture. He doesn't explain things very well but is always open to answering questions during lecture. GO TO SI!!!! That was the only reason I passed the course.
I have never rated a professor lower than a 5 on this site until I had him for Chem 105. I got about a 96% in Chem 105 and nearly all the points I lost were from his lab section. He is very rude and condescending and I did not appreciate it. I can tell he is very smart but doesn't communicate it well at all, and is no help at all in lab.
He loses a lot of things. For example he lost my lab partner's lab report and quiz twice. But he is very nice and willing to help.
Vater Olsen is very smart and just has a personality that I think some people find abrasive. He is very smart though and ALWAYS helps whens asked. Speak up if you don't understand. I've had him for Chem 101 for lecture and as a lab professor in Chem 105 and Chem 106. If I have the choice, I will always choose him as my lab professor.
I had him for Chem 101 a class specifically for nursing. I ended up teaching myself most of the material from the book or Youtube because he was horrible at covering the material himself. He goes to fast when teaching and doesn't explain it well at all. He even gets his own questions wrong on quizzes and will make you retake it due to his mistakes
Vater Olsen was tough. The only reason I got above a C was because of the SI. Make sure you go to SI because it helps a lot. George often gets questions on quizzes wrong, not putting in the right answer. He goes very fast in lectures and has two exams during finals week.
super nice prof, class is rather difficult. study a lot and put a lot of time in to make sure you really understand the material.
There is online homework and 6 exams (two of which are during finals week). I recommend going to SI Sessions. He teaches very quickly during lecture and unorganized. He's considerate and if asked, he'll extend time dates for HW. He tends to have questions wrong by mistake on the exams. He goes through the exams after to clarify any Qs.
He is a great guy who really cares about your overall success. I reccomend going to SI because that helps a lot. Vater Olsen is very accessible outside of class and is really willing to help you understand the material.
Everyone going for nursing has to take chem 101 with him. He makes his class hard to weed people out. Extremely unorganized and makes lots of mistakes, but owns up to them when he does and gives credit back, so always question it if you think something is wrong. Go to SI so you actually know what is going on and do the practice tests.
Vater Olsen was my favorite Professor at UW Oshkosh. I HATE math, which was a large portion of chemistry, but he made it fun and super interesting. Ive never done well in math classes but I thrived in his chem 101 class. The tests are hard but the curve at the end of the year will have you at ease with the grades you might get. Hes awesome!!!!
Dr. Olsen has definitely been one of my favorite professors at Oshkosh. He is open to answering any questions you have and definitely knows what he is talking about. He gives you many practice tests from previous semesters that are extremely similar to the tests he gives. He is hilarious and really cares that you understand the material.
This class was my hardest class. By the end of the year I like this professor more than I did in the beginning. His lectures are very unorganized, and he makes a lot of mistakes on tests. Go to the SI sessions, they will save you. Do all the practice exams that he gives out!! Study often and you'll do okay. His curve saves lives.
Vater Olson was a very disorganized guy, his lectures were very confusing and he was very fast paced. I found that doing the practice exams, having a tutor and going to SI were the only ways I passed the class. Plus the curve at the end. He gets many of his own questions wrong, even on the test and expects you to just know things.
very disorganized, very fast-paced, lectures are confusing, exams are hard, he expects you to know just random questions/concepts.
Lectures are terrible; he's all over the place, moves on very fast, only teaches with examples, and expects you to know lots of things. Study study study! Lots of things you'll need to memorize and know for more than just one exam. He makes a lot of mistakes, even on exams. GO TO SI - ITS A LIFESAVER.
The most difficult professor I've ever had. The sad thing is if you are taking chem 101 he is the only teacher. But GO TO SI it will save your grade because Vater Olson does not give presentations he teaches classes by talking and writing things on a piece of paper that is projected. Go to SI, get a group tutor, and do the practice tests!
To pass this class you will need to go to SI. George is a very nice person but he assumes that you already know most of the information. This is the class I had to put the most effort into. His lectures sometimes make absolutely no sense & he is all over the place. If you have him for lab, go over the lecture information, hes very helpful 1 on 1!
Flat out the worst lecture professor I have had yet. He is great during office hours. Chem Lab sucks because the quizzes average 4 out of 10 and he says you're doing really good there, study hard for the final! He flat out tries to trick you on questions and questions are worded horribly.
Terrible professor, doesnt explain anything in detail enough. His test questions are worded so weird and he doesn't write his own tests so they wont relate to what he "taught" in class
He is super unorganized. He purposely gives hard tests that are hard to pass but then has a super large curve. His lectures don't help and there is no point in going to them because you would be better at teaching yourself the material. He is not helpful and is hard to contact when you have questions. Avoid taking his classes.
Olsen has by far been the worst professor I've ever had. Lectures can feel like you understand the material, but then the tests he gives are nothing like he teaches. GO TO SI AND GET A TUTOR FOR SURE! I failed his class first semester with a C- so I had to retake his class, which put me a semester behind. Get through the class the best you can.
I had Professor Olson for my Chem 101 lab. He is a very funny guy, and very nice as well. He is very eager and willing to help students in his lab. He always made lab interesting and fun! Not a harsh grader at all! Was an amazing lab instructor.
Easily the worst professor i've had. He explains hardly anything and it seems like he expects you to have already learned the material before. The tests are not easy and some questions are on certain topics that we did not cover or hardly covered at all. Unless you are pretty good at chem, good luck getting an A.
He seems like a nice guy and he is funny at times but he is just not a good professor. His lectures make no sense and he is not very good at explaining things. If you are in this class definitely read the textbook and go to SI. Otherwise honestly good luck
Dr. Olsen has a reputation of being a crappy professor for Chem 101. Yes, there are times where you walk out of lecture and have no idea what you listened to for the past hour. But if you are willing to work hard, read the textbook, and do homework, you will pass. If you do not understand a topic, ask him for help, he is great one-on-one. GO TO SI!
He is awful in lecture, he jumps all over the place, but in lab he is a lot better at explaining what is going on.
Bad at lecture, had no structure at all. When I would ask a question in lab he would just do it for me .
Going to SI is the only reason I succeeded in this class because his lectures will not do anything except confuse you more. You will need to put in a lot of work to do well in this class, and don't think he will ever sympathize with you. Any lab questions and he will just do the problems for you without explaining.
I had him for my Chem 105 lab and discussion. He was a fun teacher in both classes and likes to joke around a lot. Always willing to help in lab if you did not understand a step or how to do something properly. Did his best to help me understand chem topics. He seems scary but he is very sarcastic so don't take him too seriously.
I had Chem 101 with Dr. Olsen and enjoyed the class a lot. Although he has a reputation of being a little disorganized and sarcastic, he truly means well for his students. He seems scary but once you get to know him you'll realize he will give you every chance to make up homework, quizzes, extra credit, etc. in order for you to pass the class!
Professor Vater Olsen is a wonderful professor. He truly wants students to succeed and will do anything in his power to make that happen. He's accessible outside of class during his office hours, and you can also email him to set up an appointment. Definitely attend the lectures, as the exams are based solely on lecture material.
Professor Vater Olsen is a fun lab professor; he isn't the type that will make you stay for a 3 hour lab. All of the labs I had were an hour or hour and a half at the most. Definitely recommend taking Vater Olsen for lab, you won't regret it!
If I would give this man 0 stars I would. If you can avoid him do it. He gets mad when you do not understand things and just tells you to read the book rather than helping you.
I could learn more from watching paint dry than i would from george's lectures. he makes zero sense. no one understands what he's talking about or why he's talking about it, and then expects above average exam scores. no wonder why the class avg is a 50%. for the love of god, run away and take someone else.
having george as a chem professor is a waste of my time and money
amazing practice exams that helped in all exams
He is a nice guy that is willing to help his students. Sometimes his explanation of things can be hard to understand, but reading the textbook before lecture helps with understanding of the material better. In lab he'll also help and guide you through it, and sometimes give you the answers.
Avoid this professor at all costs. Often got mad at the entire class if they didn't do well on an exam or quiz. Told us to switch our majors if we can't figure it out. He would barely explain anything.
Class Info
Attendance Mandatory
46%
Textbook Required
38%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.34 avg changeRatings by Course
CHEM221
5.0
(1)CHEM101LAB
5.0
(2)CHEM335
4.0
(1)CHEM105LAB
3.8
(5)CHEM105
3.7
(7)Difficulty by Course
CHEN101
5.0
CHEM102
4.5
101
4.0
CHEM103
4.0
CHEM101
4.0