2.9
Quality4.0
Difficulty20%
Would Retake86
Reviews20%
Would Retake
86
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
22
4
17
3
13
2
17
1
17
What Students Say
“McGrath drinking game: take a shot when she says "you'll need this in calc 2", "I love this stuff", or "they didn't teach this right in high school"”
CALC1 - 2.0 rating“McGrath made calculus extremely challenging”
MATH130 - 3.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
76%
Textbook Required
70%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B-
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.65 avg changeRatings by Course
MTH50
5.0
(1)MATH11
5.0
(1)COLALGEB
5.0
(1)MATHCONCEPTS
5.0
(1)ALG999
5.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
MTH50
5.0
MATH050
5.0
MATHELEM
5.0
MATH151
5.0
MATH
5.0
Reviews (86)
No Comments
Confuses herself!
Nice enough lady but she loves math too much and goes too in depth. Her east coast friendliness is deceiving, she kills people on the tests and quizes. I just wanted to pass the class, not get PhD in math
she really tries to be fair for her students. She is really slow at actually computing math, makes errors. Her office hours tend to be a group effort. 3 tests, quizzes every week, final. homework due every week. I spend a lot of time studying.
her class is very demanding but she makes everything fit and click. For those of you who have a difficult time with math (like me) she is an awesome teacher. She is very willing and able durign office hours. SHe helps math make sense.
for such an awful class, she makes it pretty decent. she helps you think through things and is willing to help during office hours. grades tough on tests and quizzes
No Comments
cool teacher, young and can be fun. Really nice and easy to talk to. easy Quizes every fridays and collects hw once a week. Take this class
she's a great lady but spends 90% of the class time going into the background of how formulas were created. i had to drop her class, there were only six students left at the end of the term.
She is very confusing to students and sometimes herself. Makes class, tests, homework, and quizzes very difficult.
She is a really nice woman, and if you don't do well on a quiz or a test and you meet with her during office hours, she'll give you back half the points you missed. But this class is all about definitions and stuff. If you take her for math 90, take her for college algebra too or else you'll be lost
really boring class
The class is hard. The prof. is very nice and helpful in office hours. She does not explain very clearly. A lot of hw and only 2 exams and a final. Community Service (Tutor) required.
One of the best teachers I have had. The concepts she adresses are difficult, but neccesary. The class is rigorous but she is understanding and wants what is best for you as a future teacher. She strives to make you feel comfortable in her classroom without undermining the lessons.
Lynn is so sweet and funny! This is the first time i can honestly say that I have enjoyed a math class... Her style is different and may be intimidating at first but it is totally worth it. She is very approachable and reasonable, office hours are helpful too!
This was the first team taught she did & it showed. You know it's bad when the music teacher has to correct the math teacher's math! I think the students knew more than she did. She is frustrating to work w/ in office hours and once you're on her bad side, you stay there.
honestly the worst class i have taken at USD. She picks favorites, her grading is ridiculous, shes very picky on what she wants (you have to explain in words your algebra!). I would avoid this class at all costs. She acts like shes nice but i think it is kind of sarcastic. DONT TAKE IT!
Easily the best math teacher I've ever had. She's extremely passionate about math, and more importantly, in the student's progress. She'll meet with you whenever necessary and really wants to see her students excel. The people giving her bad reviews are probably the guys sitting in the back of class wearing Fox Racing hats talking about Limp Bizkit
She is great. She really wants people to learn the material and takes the time to make it practical. I highly recommend her.
Lynn is a great women but she makes students do excessive work. She makes you explain and derive simple equations that were common knowledge in prior classes. DON'T TAKE THIS CLASS, unless you are in a class much harder than you should be. It is infuriating being in the class.
Professor McGrath loves teaching!! Like literally she LOVES to teach!! But she doesn't want it to be an easy class...she wants you to undersand EVERYTHING and use it in all sorts of applications so if you're planning on continuing to higher math, then you should take this class. But if you just need to meet a G.E., then take an easier teacher.
Lynn is one of the nicest teachers I have. She understands if you miss class a couple times and is always willing to help you catch up. She always confuses herself when teaching but if you see her during office hours she knows how to help you. You have to teach yourself but she is always open to help.
She is a very helpful and nice teacher but her class is way to hard for a survey class. If you want to have a easy math teacher do not take her, way to much work and her tests and quizes are hard.
Sometimes she will explain a concept and the realize she made a mistake but she is extremely willing to help you out during her office hours and as long as you pay attention and do the homework the quizzes and tests aren't too bad. overall its worth taking, super nice person
Lynn is probably the best teacher I've had at USD. I had never taken calculus before, and she always made me feel welcome during office hours. She has a true passion for her subject and is a VERY kind person.I highly recommend the class to all. You will be well-prepared to continue your math career with a strong foundation and a good friend! :)
Okay so McGrath loves to teach and loves Math. Attendance (although not mandatory) is remembered...as in she knows when you're not there! You NEED the book and keep up with homeworks. Quizzes every Friday and go to her office hours...for sure!!
A very good teacher, but: This class is very hard. Probably the hardest class I have ever taken. Tests are pretty hard, weekly quiz and homework due once or twice a week (time taking homework). Be prepared to do a lot of work. I used to be good at math, but this class proved that I'm not that talented after all.
She is the most dynamic professor I have ever had at USD. This is my last semester and I can't imagine not taking this class. She is such an effective teacher and she tries to increase student self efficacy by getting everyone involved and feeling as if their opinion counts. She is the best math teacher that I have ever had- I'm an English major!
Although she was a nice teacher, I felt really lost in her class. She got confusing at times, and sometimes the homework was on things we had to teach ourselves out of the book
this class is ridic. i kid you not, algebra has never been so complicated until she starts to blab about the concept when it isn't even that hard to understand to begin with. take it with another professor and save yourself the time.
This class is weird at first, totally not what you expect from an algebra class. However, she is the most helpful teacher I have ever had and she is definately my favorite teacher I have ever had. Don't get discouraged and make sure you go see her in office hours. I LOVE DR. MCGRATH!!!
Plays favorites and tends to be dismissive of her students. Even the favorites. Excessive workload.
I disagree with the previous review. The material is tough and she will not give up on you. You SHOULD ask questions! You SHOULD go to office hours. No one is forcing you - but your grade truly reflects your effort AND ability to understand the material.
Half of our class (6 people) dropped out after the midterm since the highest grade was 68%! She then blamed the class for the low marks, despite the fact that she mislead us about what to study. Don't recommend.
McGrath makes it impossible for you to do well when she takes off points for ridiculous things on exams and quizzes. She has her own way of doing algebra and if u cant solve the problems her way, its wrong. Homework is graded unfairly and you rarely ever benefit from her office hours. If you want to fulfill your GE take math at a community college!
She is completely unfair. She will give you the homework, grade it, and then teach it to you. when i failed the second midterm i spent everyday in her office hours and her recommendation for the next test was to NOT study and dive right into it. Our final is on information she hasn't taught us and the tests are horrible. i do NOT recommend.
She doesn't respond to e-mails and is very hard to get in contact with, especially during finals week. She takes off points for ridiculous things that don't even apply to your understanding of the material. She is without a doubt the worst math teacher I've had in my life. Do not take this class
ah can't stand "lynn". a really really horrible teacher. she doesnt help at all in class or office hours and doesn't seem like she wants you to succeed. she always cuts class short but then her tests are impossible with nothing we have learned. shes crazy and rude
All I can say is that she blames the students for doing poorly on the test and she doesn't help you at all. She tells you there are "no surprises" on the test when really the whole test consists of things she hasn't taught you. Run Run away from her.
Not a good teacher,she assigns homework on stuff she has only taught half of the material of,then she collects your homework every class for a grade, then once you have your bad homework grade back she teaches you what you would have needed to know to do well on it. Tests are impossible she puts on the hardest example of every concept.SAVE YOURSELF
DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS. Lynn blames her students for doing badly when she is the one who does not teach well or prepare us for tests. Plays favorites too.
Not the best teacher. But her class is doable. You have to basically devote ALOTTTT of time studying for her class. BC i guarantee you'll leave class frustrated and not understanding the lesson. OH and the tutoring center is often of no help bc her teaching methods are foreign to them. Tests are unfair. Despite what she says, THERE ARE SURPRISES
My second time taking college algebra since the school did not accept my prior tranfer units. I struggled in her class and I could not understand her grading. I got out of this class with a C. The following semester I got an A in Calculus. Go figure
Don't listen to what others say. In her 25 Years of teaching, she has only failed 2 students. She is one of the most influential teachers I have ever had and is not hard at all. I'm not the best in math, but I got a b+ in her Calc class, and I never opened the book. she clarifies every detail and she is ALWAYS excited to come to class.
I have Dr. McGrath right now for Math 115- BEST math professor I have ever had! She is always excited to answer questions, and her office hours are always open. Quizzes every week that are straight forward from the notes, exams a bit tough. Homework weekly, sometimes twice a week, has 3 exams and a final. She brought back my love for math!Take!
VERY nice woman but the class is not easy. She has a very specific way of teaching that you either like or you don't. Homework sets are frequent, long, hard, AND graded for correctness. Quizzes aren't too hard but tests are. She is very personable and will definitely help you when you need it. She loves her subject and makes class interesting.
Very difficult class, but with hard work it can be done. Class can get discouraging at times after losing points even though you know the concepts very well. Overall fun, but very tough class, very nice lady and extremely helpful in office hours. She also loves to see students working hard and will reward them for it.
What an amazing professor. If you stick with it and do your work she will help you. You cannot get lazy in this class. She loves to see you work hard, and her passion for the material is obvious. Loved having her...she felt like my mom away from home sometimes. Always fair, always looking out for the wellbeing of her students.
Great professor. She's incredible. She has a ton of energy and teaches you exactly what will be on the test. No matter what she'll try as hard as she can to help you outside of class. She is hard, but that's because it's calculus, no matter who you have for a teacher the information and tests will all be the same. Take her!
This is a tough class in that it requires a lot of outside work be put into it, as does every math class at USD. But Dr McGrath makes every effort to be helpful and accommodating with office hours. That said, office hours are key! This class requires time and dedication but the reward is a whole new way of understanding of math
McGrath is too demanding and makes you feel incompetent. She grades very hard and isn't afraid to call out your faults in the middle of class. She went around the room and told each of us what we were doing poorly on. She is condescending. Very knowledgable but shouldn't be a professor.
Dr. McGrath is definitely a tough professor if you're just looking to get your general eds. Teaches the course more like a logic course than traditional algebra, to the point where I hardly used my calculator. Wouldn't recommend for summer session, but a full semester with her is probably easy enough. Office hours a must, very friendly & helpful!
Not the best teacher. She is knowledgeable but I did not like the way she taught. When I went to office hours and asked a question, she would confuse me even more. I spent a ton of time in the math learning center. Extremely tough grader, she takes off PERCENTAGE points when you get little things wrong. the highest test score was an 85 in my class
She is without a doubt the worst professor I have ever encountered. She does lay out her grading criteria well, however she states she cares about her students and wants them to succeed but this is far from the truth. Her office hours are packed with kids (maybe an indication she should teach better in class?) and is hard to get ahold of over email
extremely hard class. While I understand the concepts of calculus from the book, the tests throws a complete curveball at you, and problems are harder than most from homework. Just understanding the math, however, is NOT enough, as she focuses more on theory, definitions, and concepts. Questions on tests are hard to understand what is being asked
Dr. McGrath made calculus extremely challenging. I always left class confused and unclear about the concepts. I spent hours reading, trying to solve examples in the book, and hours on my hw. She's an extremely tough grader - I didn't receive 100% on any of my hw assignments. Her office hours were packed and I could barely receive help.
She is the worst professor ever. She teaches the class more like a logic class. Makes absolutely no sense and her office hours are always packed so you can't get any attention. Really frustrating.
Worst professor ever. I could not put up with her so I dropped class. She made algebra the hardest thing on the world. And she grades like she wants everyone to get a C. Non sense at all. She teaches college students like she is teaching kindergarden kids.
There is a lot of painstaking group work, and she states at the beginning that no prior knowledge of Calculus is expected, but you better be fresh and up to date on Algebra, trigonometry, and PRE-CALCULUS. What made the class difficult for me was her teaching style: very advanced, and her office hours are PACKED so no individual help.
one of the worst professors at USD. is not clear about the subject, not helpful in office hours, only let me have one day to make up a test when I had multiple notes from the health center saying I couldn't go to class. condescending, tough grader (homework took me 3 hours a night and I got 2 problems wrong and got a 50%). DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS!!!
Super great lady, really tough class. Hated every second of it. Took up all my time. I went in knowing a lot about calc as I took AP Calc in high school and got an easy A but Calc 1 with her was nothing like it. Struggled through the whole class, failing many quizzes and test along the way. Do not recommend.
Dr McGrath is an amazing teacher albeit very demanding. The exams for her class are extremely tough but then again calculus is an extremely difficult class. She is always available for office hours during her allotted times. If you try to meet up for office hours during non-office hours good luck.
She is a very conceptual person. She's not the best person if you want things to be brought to its simplest form. She makes too many mistakes to count, and I mean MANY. Her tests are difficult if you don't study ahead of time. And even if you do study ahead of time, you still will mostly fail. She's nice but not a great teacher.
Expect a Quiz every week And tonnes of homework Tests are tough However you are not likely to fail
McGrath's class is definitely hard and it's advisable if you've already taken a Calculus class before her's. She allows you to do test corrections to get back a lot of points you missed on the test. She also gives extra credit opportunities that will count towards your exam grades. She is not a clear lecturer.
The limit of times I've been screwed by McGrath does not exist. Office hours are always busy because she grades very hard. I had previously taken calc and still found this class challenging. She tries to be nice but expects too much. Teaches out of MIT online textbook so save $ but loose your mind.
Look, McGrath is just about the WORST teacher for calc 1. She needs to be placed in an area where she actually knows what she's talking about. She's nice but nice doesn't help when her tests are literally satan's spawn. She tries to be relatable but relatable doesn't get you good grades. Number one rule: don't expect much.
She doesn't make sense during lectures. Class is easy yet tests are brutal. You're only chance of getting a decent grade is by attending all of her office hours. She also convinces the students with lower grades to drop her class so they wont negatively impact her pass rate.
McGrath drinking game: take a shot when she says "you'll need this in calc 2", "I love this stuff", or "they didn't teach this right in high school". Little did I know that I would really need this game to drown out my misery. This class is an unescapable abyss of darkness and makes you want to cry. Run. Run far away into the hills never to return.
Lynn Mcgrath really loves to teach to such an extent that she covers material very quickly and if you miss anything you HAVE to come to office hours to have any chance of doing well. I went to close to 95% of her available office hours over the whole semester (about 3 hours a week) and got a C+. Very difficult teacher for an essential course.
It seems usd should find new math teachers since math is a very important class
Homework on material not covered - graded as if it was. Quizzes every wk. Lots of group work. She knows her stuff but is TERRIBLE at teaching it. Spends more time in the abstraction instead of just teaching the material. Tests and quizzed on the hardest variation of the material. Course is designed to force students into office hours. Super whack.
She is a very nice teacher, but she is very hard to understand. Her teaching style is very conceptual and quite confusing. She really likes to do group work for extra credit and quizzes. If I were you, I would withdraw or switch teachers as soon as you can.
This was my first experience with calculus and it was very tough for me. Math has always been hard for me but Dr. McGrath jumped right in and almost made it harder. It was sometimes difficult to understand what she was teaching, every homework problem counts bc she grades randomly, test and quizzes are hard but gives opp. for extra credit so do it!
Dr. McGrath is very nice and she definitely knows her stuff but she doesn't exactly know how to teach it. She often messes up & students have had to correct her work. Her lectures are different than problems on the homework so thats frustrating. She never posts grades so you never know where you are in the class. Would NOT recommend.
Professor McGrath is a caring person with a passion for mathematics. She goes out of her way to help you outside of class and does everything she can to make the material as enjoyable as possible. The biggest problem stems from her teaching abilities. Rather than explaining the material clearer, she gets frustrated at students who don't understand.
Tough grader
One of the best math teachers I've come across. She really cares about her students and gave a lot of extra credit opportunities. Expect to work very hard as this isn't an easy class.
Dr. McGrath is a very kind and patient professor. She always attempts to teach content in the most simple form for students to understand. The class progressively gets more challenging, and homework can be heavy at times, but overall it's manageable.
Dr. McGrath is personal, engaging, easy to approach and makes math easy. She explains calculus and pre-calculus topics in an extraordinarily easy to understand manner. I cannot recommend her enough.
This was such a tough class for Math 130. Her lectures weren't very helpful and I often left feeling confused. The homework was a waste of time - it was nothing like her quizzes or tests. We had short quizzes once a week. Her tests were extremely difficult, especially the final exam. I think most kids in my class ended with Cs and Ds.
Dr. Mcgrath was not only confusing and not open to other approaches to a problem, but she was also unprofessional to her students in a childish and petty manner, lacking any sort of respect. Homework took around 2/3 hours (keeping in mind it was graded on correction, not completion), don't take her unless you want to be treated like a child.
Class was extremely difficult. Homework is very long and assigned weekly. Grades homework on correctness, not completion. There is a quiz once a week and 3 tests. Problems on exams and quizzes were nothing like homework. She talks to you in a very childish way and office hours were not helpful. Do not take this professor.
Dropped because every time I would go to office hours with questions, she'd start with "how does this problem make you feel?" or "how do you think we should approach this?" which both made no sense. Very childish and not helpful even though I put in extra work.
It is an unecessarily fast-paced class with nonstop work packed into the program. Homework and quizzes have very short time limits every week. The teacher does not explain or teach math but spends each class period speeding through problems, assuming everyone understands everything. DO NOT TAKE THIS PROFESSOR
Dr. McGrath is so sweet and caring, but her class was kind of a nightmare for me this semester. She gave a ton of homework every week, and she spent the entire class working on simple concepts, expecting us to go home and teach the complex stuff to ourselves. As much as I like her, she's not that great of a teacher, and I wouldn't take her again.
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
76%
Textbook Required
70%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B-
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.65 avg changeRatings by Course
MTH50
5.0
(1)MATH11
5.0
(1)COLALGEB
5.0
(1)MATHCONCEPTS
5.0
(1)ALG999
5.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
MTH50
5.0
MATH050
5.0
MATHELEM
5.0
MATH151
5.0
MATH
5.0