2.1
Quality4.3
Difficulty2%
Would Retake86
Reviews2%
Would Retake
86
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
7
4
9
3
12
2
21
1
37
What Students Say
“James Abello is the absolute worst Professor in the Computer Science department”
CS512 - 1.0 rating“Gets extremely irritated if you ask him any questions”
CS672 - 2.0 ratingClass Info
Attendance Mandatory
52%
Textbook Required
38%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-1.44 avg changeRatings by Course
64015105
5.0
(1)CALC1
5.0
(1)0164015105
5.0
(1)CALC152
5.0
(1)CALC135
2.9
(7)Difficulty by Course
CALC103
5.0
CSALGO
5.0
CALC7
5.0
CACL151
5.0
CALC152
5.0
Reviews (86)
An enthusiastic person who explains Calculus in a fun way! Some didn't like that he went into explaining the mathematical rules and others said they couldn't understand his accent but those are minor details. If you want a dedicated teacher who actually CARES and explains EVERYTHING in Calc AND keeps class fun, take it. I don't regret it at all ^_^
Loves to teach every little detail about the math. Loves to make the exams infinitely times harder than the book examples. Not a professor you would want to have compared to other Calculus 1 professors at Rutgers. From comparison, our class gets B to C, my friend in different Calc 1 class gets easy A's. Not a fair professor
He cares about you and math, but is not very helpful. His tests are so much harder then the examples in the book, which are the examples he uses in class. He also explains part of the problem, and if he feels the rest is "easy " he says "etc you can do the rest" and most times we can't.
He has an accent but once you get used to it, you will understand what he is saying. He will go over examples but he will not tell you the final answer. His tests are extremely hard compared to other teachers'. Not recommended to students that haven't taken calculus before.
Had no prior interest in taking the class but had to for reqs. Great professor who explains everything in detail (almost annoyingly so). If you want to take class to fulfill pre-reqs, don't take this class. If you love math, DO take this class. Love the professor, ABSOLUTELY HATE the exams. Dunno what's up with that... should be getting the easy A
He has very strong accent. He doesn't know how to teach at all. I don't know why he's here teaching.
I would stay clear of this class unless you've taken AP Calc in high school and done well. I got a 4 on the AP exam and still struggled in this class. His exams r many times harder than the practice examples and he doesnt always finish explaining examples in class. Luckily the final is prtty easy and its worth almost half of your grade. Study hard.
Doesnt understand how to teach calculus. The only way youre going to pass this class is if youve previously taken and understood it.
He really puts the effort into teaching every concept. His class was the first time I ever took calc and it turned out to be a reasonably easy A with some effort put in.
incomprehensible accent. therefore u can't learn anything from lecture. he has the worst hardest most impossible tests out of all the calc teachers. 2/3 of my class dropped after the first exam. the way he writes out half the material on the exams you've never seen before so you're not gonna get it right. final isnt written by him though
has strong accent. he's a funny and good guy but exams are ridiculously hard. exams were harder than other professors. if you are really smart or fail this course take his class. otherwise i recommend take other professor's class!!!!
Very, very tough class. He does yell a lot. The accent isn't bad, i don't know what other people are talking about... But the CS Algorithms class that he taught was extremely hard. The exams are nothing like homework, plus his examples are from the book, which don't help because the book already explains those quite well...HW and Quiz's matter alot
incomprehensible accent, RIDICULOUSLY hard exams, NO CURVE. attendance not mandatory for any math 135 class. i took him once in fall 2009, FAILED, took him again in spring 2010, FAILED again. then switched to sara soffer fall 2010, and got a B- on both her exams so far. probably gonna get a B- in the class. get soffer, don't get abello.
Abello's tests are hard for the wrong reasons--the guy has no idea how to write a test that measures what students have actually learned. Instead you'll get vaguely worded questions that test yr ability to guess what he's thinking, or to do hairy arithmetic, or other random stuff that wasn't covered in class/lectures. Avoid at all costs.
Terrible professor and hard to understand book. I took AP Calc AB is high school (got a easy B w/o trying). doesn't curve anything. doesnt put your grades up online so final grade is TOTAL mystery. very heavy/hard to understand accent. doesnt show steps to problems. Test are almost IMPOSSIBLE and OVERLY DIFFICULT. Should not be teaching. DROP CLASS
Very difficult class but I got the most out of this class and learned a great deal on algorithms. His teaching style is hard to describe but he gets the job done and encourages hard work. Take him and the class seriously and you will get much more than just a grade.
Most of what people say about him is true. He's just a frustrating prof to have. Exams are hard to understand. He claims he doesn't curve, but did do a couple things to boost our midterm grades (average of 42 on first one). But just stay away from him, everything he does is senseless and you'll have no idea if you are doing well in the class
Has an accent, sometimes hard to understand. It's confusing when he explains concepts. Does not really go through the examples. Tests are very hard. Although, towards the end of the semester, he offered us opportunities for 'a curve' on our grade, which reflected off of our quiz grades.
Terrible professor! Puts vague things he "mentioned" in class on exams/quizzes. Half of the exam would be "doable" the other half you need a PhD in CS. He does not curve at all, but adds points to exams from quizzes. He creates a frustrating and stressful environment from day one. Worst college experience ever! Avoid at all costs!
Accent is so hard to understand and he only explains examples that are right in the book. probably worst calc prof, average of each exam was around a 40 yet the class was still not curved. unless you took bc calc in high school, get the f away from this guy
Easy A. Prof should be rated higher but then again we're dealing with Rutgers students. The majority of people that took this class are business majors who only care about money and not about learning. It's pretty intuitive that grasping a new concept such as Calc I is difficult... but when juxtaposed with Calc 2, it's simple.
HORRIBLE CLASS. doesn't curve. thick accent. half my class failed and will have to retake the class. PLEASE do not take him.
People complain about Abello for the wrong reasons. Yes he has an accent but its completely understandable. he goes over the example problems in the book, but if you go through them with him you'll learn so much more then doing it by yourself. His exams are difficult but they just prepare you for the rest of college. Calc 1 is just the beginning.
This guy... He's very comical I loved going to his lectures, but he absolutely hated if kids pulled out any electronics. He's not an easy class either; he teaches lots of the "basics" and expects you to know how to run with it, which is probably why he's getting all these bad remarks on the site. If you know your Calc (like 5 on AP) you're good.
He is not that good. If you took ap calc 1 in high school and did fairly well on the ap test then you will survive. Other than that you should stay away. I failed his calc 151 class then when I took it again with a different professor I got an A. I also got an A in calc 2.
This class is something. The professor goes over the examples that are in the book where he shows how to use the concepts. His accent isn't bad at all. Me, personally, I enjoyed his lectures because he shows pride in his work. The exams are very difficult. I came in the class with no calc experience and ended up with an A by working for it.
I wouldn't say he is a bad teacher, but his quizzes and tests and harder than any other teacher. He expects you know every single concept inside out. His exams always have that "one" minor topic you forgot to study. If you want to be good at calc then take this proffessor, if you want an easy A then stay away.
Definitely the hardest class I've ever taken. He only explains the basic concepts and then gives extremely difficult quizzes/write up/test questions. My average grade for HW was below a 50 despite putting in a lot of time and effort. No curve. I'm struggling with a D now when I could have a B with another teacher. He's a good guy, but def avoid.
Worst teacher you could possibly get. Hold grudge against student . Wont admit mistakes. Thich af accent. AVOID AT ALL COST
He is very smart and can give you a very good understanding of the basics of math (which is what calc 151 is) You'll not only learn techniques, but also why they work. As for grading, he can be tough and quite unreasonable at times.
This is one of the hardest classes I have taken. If you want to learn the basic well take this class. If you want a good grade stay away. Gives NO curve
He is not very nice at the beginning of this class but he did help me to learn better during the rest semester. He explained well and designed quiz well.
He is probably the best lecturer I have had in any subject. He explains everything in detail and really helps everyone understand the material. His class isn't easy but if you work hard you will pass. His curve isn't great but he doesn't want to fail anyone. Don't get caught using your phone!
During lectures he makes everything sound easy and doesn't give you any examples that he works through in class. And then he gives us quizzes that are very hard. he is a unfair and unreasonable grader. one question I wrote down my explanation into words and everything was right yet he only gave me 2 pts. barely gives any pts for partial work.
Brutal grader. But probably the best calc lecturer in the department. He will prove every single piece of math he expects you to use. You probably won't get a good grade but you will leave with a very good understanding of basic calculus.
Your grade in this class is made up of quizzes (every other day), two exams and project. The final exam was tough, but the real problem was the project. The rubrics are not released on time, so you don't know what is expected. This leads to a lot of lost points on minor things. He also is extremely impatient with students, and argues with the TAs.
Avoid taking this class with professor Abello. He will very briefly explain t in class and then assign a long, and very mathematical homework which you have to read an entire chapter to solve because he never explained it in class. Weekly homework, weekly quiz, final project, two midterms and one final.
Very good professor; you'll understand everything he teaches. Only problem is he doesn't teach everything! Quite a lot of lecture time is spent in weekly quizzes which could have been used to cover more topics. Expect weekly homework and quizzes, couple of midterms, a project, bonus quizzes for extra credits and a final for this course!
Lectured on two extra chapters compared to Szegedy's section. Taught the basic ideas then expected a mastery of the entire chapter within two days for a quiz + HW. Claimed there is no curve yet grades are much better than calculated (probably since the avg failing). TAs were really bad and made the class much harder. Take Szegedy instead!
Lectures is just him going over some selected points but then the weekly quiz and exams cover topics that he did not cover in lecture. No curve in the class at all, but he does add extra points to each exam and give two bonus quizzes to boost your grade. Office hours is no help from him or the TAs. Take another professor if possible.
His accent might be difficult for some people to understand. Teaches in a well planned manner. Study for the tests properly, you can get an A easily. His assignments are way tougher than the tests, so should be easier to get good grades in tests if you do the assignments properly.
a lot of rules, no cell, sign in, sign out and no daydream or get verbally punched. weekly homework, weekly tough quizzes, and TA will say "not so hard". I do get something but all by myself. I don't fancy the teaching style.
Very useful and funny. but tough grader
Classes are amazing, he'll keep everyone involved and interested in the course. But there could be a slight difficulty in understanding his accent. He'll bombard you with homework assignments and weekly quizzes. Be ready for hard work. But on the other hand, grading is not that tough. He gives extra credits to help you with your grades.
Exams are impossible to finish. Wild accent makes it hard to follow lecture while his dramatic lecture style makes it worse. Explain concepts in a repeated manner. Course paced super slow first half of the semester then super fast the second half. Expect to be tested on things he just passed through in class but oh yeah it's all in the book.
It took me a lot of time to pass the course. The only reason that I did not drop the course is the knowledge itself, not the professor. Sometimes I feel like the test is meaningless.
Great at explaining concepts in simple terms so anyone can understand them, but INCREDIBLY condescending, especially when you try to ask him for clarification on assignments. The TAs and he never agree on what is due when and always give conflicting answers. Exams are impossible to finish. Expect to leave some questions completely blank.
A quiz and a homework every week. Too much pressure. I couldn't focus on other subjects because of all the work of CS512. He teaches 'A-B-C-D...' in class and asks 'Sonnet' in exams. Finals were extremely hard. Even after bonus credit, no one in our class reached the 540/600 required for an A. They have to lower the scale. Avoid if possible.
Gets extremely irritated if you ask him any questions. Impatient and thinks he knows what you want to ask before you even get the first word out. Gets irrationally angry at you calling out his mistakes like a wrong due date. Is it such a crime to ask him to do his job?
God help you if this man is your graduate advisor and your professor at the same time. No matter how angry he makes you with his vague answers and smart-ass responses, you still have to be polite because he determines the fate of your graduate program and take whatever insults he throws at you.
While the subject Data Structures and Algorithms is very important fo future plans in a career as a computer scientist. The professor believes merely having heavy assignments, difficult quizzes and tough midterms along with a final is the best way to learn a subject. While efforts aren't made to keep the subject interesting.
The professor is always right. You can't argue.
Professor is self righteous. Ambiguity is the answer to all questions atleast that's what the professor believes in. If you have a doubt approach the TA's and not the professor.
Do NOT argue. Always respect the teacher and keep it in mind that he is the best.
Prof Abello is very funny, however, he might not be the best-suited prof for such an introductory course. He is very adamant about certain things, and most topics are not up for moot in class. He is definitely knowledgeable, but he doesn't manage to make the subject matter as lucid as it can be. He also rushes through certain deep topics.
Professor Abello is cute. He gets used to saying some strict rules to students at the first class and during all the classes. But don't be afraid for that. He just tries to teach you in the fastest way. Don't care too much about the grade. Try to listen to him and do you best. He watches students during the class, so behave yourself.
Very condescending person, had no real material to teach in the class and kept asking for updates on project every week . Don't have anything positive to say about him or the course.
James Abello is the absolute worst Professor in the Computer Science department. As someone else had written, God bless you if he is your advisor. I'd like to extend that and say that God Bless the entire Master's program because this guy is the Director. He will suck the life out of it and make sure Rutgers CS goes to the drain.
Professor does not respect the student's hard work. It is helpful to be critical, but even his feedback is around just a few topics. He is condescending. He has no material to teach, and he fills those lectures with mandatory presentations that have to be given by us. HIGHLY NOT RECOMMENDED PROFESSOR.
Don't take the course at any cost. It always boils down to one paper he published in 2001 on graphs. God bless my batchmates.
Attendance is mandatory and too many quizzes which don't matter much. The main final grades are almost randomly given on basis of projects instead of the course marks. People whose project are top 5 irrelevant of the scores would get an A and other students with good scores get B+. Don't take the course if not mandatory.
If you do not want to gain any knowledge, and just do homeworks for the whole semester which accounts to 10% of you grade total in the end, this is the perfect course for you.
Its focused not on educational growth but on draining hours with repetitive assignments that add little real value. The dual homeworks both individual and group, merely double the workload. The project, demanding a significant effort, shockingly counts for just 10% of the final grade. Cherry on the top the cake, he is very condescending.
Entered the data interaction and visualization course with great expectation, with high hopes for learning advanced techniques. The most significant takeaway from this course was a lesson in caution: steer clear of any class taught by this instructor. Awesome TA though, if you end up taking his classes (god forbid) it is better to approach the TA's
Probably the worst professor I have had till date. Has an obvious bias in class that reflects in project and homework grading. Overall, just a utter disappointment for someone with so much experience. Do not take his course under any circumstances.
Please do not take this professor. Mandatory weekly quizzes, which are nothing like the homework. This guy is quite possibly the worst lecturer I've ever listened to. If you are between taking this class or graduating a year late, graduate later.
Whatever you do don't take this professor. First his lectures are genuinely awful, it is so hard to try and not fall asleep when he is talking. Next is the homework. He uses a stupid online system with a ridiculous amount of homework although it is pretty easy it is extremely time consuming and a waste of time. The worst prof I've had at Rutgers
The class is frustrating. Midterms are done in groups, and even if you understand the material, you end up wasting time convincing others of the right answers. I got a 20/60 on the first midterm because of this. It's discouraging when your grade depends on others' confusion. Avoid if you can.
Where do I begin? The conflicting info from the professor and TAs, along with constantly changing grading guidelines, makes this class a disaster. The randomized group midterm is confusing, poorly planned, and unfair. Lectures are dull and you can't even check your current grade. AVOID! Hamidi is a saint compared to this guy.
Worst class ever taken. Avoid him at all costs. Midterms are taken in groups and in a loud environment. TAs aren't aware of the format. Communication with professor is confusing and lecs aren't helpful. Mardekian is better compared to him.
This guy is genuinely the worst professor at Rutgers. Please do not take.
Terrible professor. Grades coding on midterms based on whether or not it matches the code on their rubric (even if output is correct). Communication between students and the professor is abysmal. It feels like the class is rigged against you.
In my four years of undergrad, worst professor and class I've taken. The organization of midterms and projects is just abysmal. I'm an engineering student doing cs minor and I never thought there could be a more difficult class than this not because of the content but how the information is passed on to students
Horrible professor. The grading system is horrible, you won't know your true grade until you see it on your report card. He gives so much extra credit because if he didn't have the one grade bump up his whole class would fail. I knew python before this class but he transforms python into a guessing game. His quizzes/ exams make no sense.
Grading system for this professor is insane and hard to follow. The course itself is supposed to be one of the easiest in the CS department but was made incredibly vexing and incomprehensible by this prof. Don't take.
Professor was very unclear about bonus points. Blames students for not being able to learn when he speedruns every important concept like pandas, takes unnecessary amount of time to explain simple concepts. Awful midterms and quizzes, only way to manage them is if you can memorize every single thing in syllabus. Never takes feedback from students.
The class was such a mess, nothing was clear and asking him in person did not help clarify anything. The groups were assigned to you and if your group sucked there was nothing you could do. You are dependent on a randomly selected group leader to turn in your projects correctly. Lectures were sped through and did not contain any useful information.
I firmly believe this professor is here to test your mettle and weed out the weak. His classes are insanely confusing and scattered. There is a gargantuan amount of assignments and exams, almost all of which is far beyond the scope of what is lectured in class. Be patient and work with the TAs and you will survive.
He comes off as really annoying. Also, this class has the worst ratio of time spent to stuff learned. I spent so much time on work for this class but didn't learn much. The exams also feel designed to make you fail. All this being said, if you participate even a little, he really appreciates it. And some of the material is pretty interesting.
This professor is so hard to understand at first place. his language is different and students can't understand. The things he explains in class never applied in exams and the paper patterns for midterms are horrible.
This course is brutal. This semester, he assigned 16 time-consuming graduate-level homework problems due in a few days, 10 unreasonably timed quizzes, 2 midterms with a take-home component, and 1 project. Beware that the lectures do not correspond to content that appears on either the homework or assessments, so you have to self-study to do well.
The course structure is really good BUT this professor has made this course hell, he takes quiz every week and gives assignment every 3 days, sometimes you'll have to submit assignments even on the day when you have a quiz or have a midterm for this subject. He even grades very bad and sets paper very lengthy.
Buckle up if you are taking this course. It will stress you out for sure if you don't study regularly. Study hard and you will get an A. Do all the extra credit HWs. It will raise your grade.
O cursed mind! Discombobulated, bamboozled, flabbergasted, I stumble through thought's ruin. Neurons riot, reason collapses, comprehension deserts me. My intellect lies in ruins, logic drowned, and I, utterly confounded, flounder in the unending, merciless abyss of my own befuddlement. He should be tied up and punished (not in a fun way). Plz Help!
CS439. CHECK the announcements, the WEEKLY QUIZZES, are never on the posted date. AND while you're there, shuffle through the ANNOUNCEMENTS for the PROJECT DESCRIPTION scattered through the posts because for some reason that's where it is. You're done with work for the week? WRONG Wednesday night boom coding assignment due Friday. Good luck.
Professor has no idea how to teach; he just quotes things from the textbook (textbook explains things better than he does ironically). Gives little to no instructions on assignments and messes up grading quite often. He has no idea how deadlines work - he expects you to finish an assignment within 3 days. Sets unrealistic time limits on exams
Class Info
Attendance Mandatory
52%
Textbook Required
38%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-1.44 avg changeRatings by Course
64015105
5.0
(1)CALC1
5.0
(1)0164015105
5.0
(1)CALC152
5.0
(1)CALC135
2.9
(7)Difficulty by Course
CALC103
5.0
CSALGO
5.0
CALC7
5.0
CACL151
5.0
CALC152
5.0