Absolutely worthless! Cant understand her, test are insane! Gregor Mendel himself couldn’t pass this class. Take this class and prepare for the worst experience of you life. Highest grade in our class on a test was 84. No curve, one test took 4.5 hrs and then we were kicked out, Studying 20+hrs for a test will land you a 51%. Goodtimes.

I took her for a current topics class and she tried to fail me in a one credit class the semester before graduation. She is horrible at explaining things. if you ask for help just hope that your one of her favorites or else your out of luck.... nost unfair useless professors i have ever had!

Terrible! Dont take her if you can help it! Can hardly understand her b/c she doesn't care to TRY & speak without a heavy spanish accent. Doesn't care what's going on in your personal life, she'll fail you if you miss one 2 many classes. Never smiles, just very impersonal. Had her for a 1 credit course with as much work as a 4 credit course. YUK!!!

Horrible teacher horrible teacher!!! DO NOT TAKE HER!!! Unless you eat, breathe and S**T genetics! I Took this class twice and I hate it so much!

Class is hard , structure awful and not clear

she is absolutely terrible! I took this class with another professor the semester before and I missed passing by 2 points. so I thought it would be easier the second time but I got stuck with this professor. I was even more confused and was forced to drop the class. DON'T TAKE HER CLASS! almost every person in my class had to drop it. TERRIBLE!

This professor, although a very nice person, is by far one of the worst teachers I have ever had. There is not much help given by her and her tests are almost impossible to get an A on. I went into her class thinking I could handle it and ignored her ratings on Rate My Professor and I highly regret it.

DO NOT TAKE HER! Her class is ridiculously hard, you cant understand her. I spent days studying for exams I barely passed. Her grad student assistants were much better teachers!! I honestly can't believe I passed with a C+, but it was only because I spent an entire week studying for a CUMULATIVE FINAL (20 chapters)!! AVOID AT ALL COSTS,

I have had to drop two different courses because of Cruz-Alvarez's thick thick accent and lack of clarity. Took bio with her and had to drop it, and then accidentally took genetics with her and again had to drop it. She means well, but her accent had me straining to listen, and her exams are not on anything she lectures on. WOULD DEFINITELY AVOID!!

Her tests are long, like more than 2 or 3 hours long, and physically impossible. If you are taking her, take this class alone otherwise you won't have nearly enough time to study and do well. GPA destroyer

I filled this out before I finished taking the class to warn others. Please do not take this class with her. The class average on most exams is around a 50. She does not curve exams, no extra credit, most of your grade is based on exams. 15 total homeworks graded on accuracy, 5 hours to complete each one. Exam questions that werent taught in class

The worst teacher I've ever had. Her homework and exams are impossible to pass (she gives NO extra credit) and she doesn't post any of your grades to canvas so you will have no idea what you have in the class. She has only emailed the entire class our midterm letter grades once, but would not even tell us the percentage when we asked.

(Took genetics) Ive always gotten As and Bs in this bio major and this is the only professor I actually cant stand. Youll spend hours on homework that she might not even collect and the exams are impossible. I basically killed myself for this class and got a C. sure I know what it takes to be in this major but this prof is unbelievable.

Worst professor at FGCU and im not exaggerating. When I emailed her or went to her office hours for help she was always in a bad mood and straight up made me feel so bad about myself. Her exams and homework (which is a chance she wont collect yours) takes forever to complete. Honestly im a good student and this is the only class I HATED. don't take

She's a nice lady (when she's not condescending), but definitely the worst class I've ever taken in my life. So much hw, lab reports due day after exam. Exam questions dissimilar to what we learned on the hw. You can't see your grade throughout the course, grades hw but doesn't show you what you got wrong. Waste of time and money. Save yourself

If you have the option to take another prof do it! If not, save it for later or take it at another school. She never puts grades up, makes you do assignments that aren't graded, and grades EXTREMELY HARD. My midterm lab grade wasn't graded until the last day of the semester so I couldn't adjust my 2nd lab for a better grade. YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!!!!

Terrible teacher that made learning so unnecessarily difficult. Have to write down every little thing she says so you won't have time to really listen and comprehend whats going on. I've taken two classes with her and had to drop them, then took classes again with a different teacher and passed easily. Not a bad person but 100% the worst teacher.

I know that sometimes you have to take a class and so you ignore the ratings but please please please do not take a class with this woman. I read the ratings and thought oh well I'll just suck it up. WORST MISTAKE EVER! She teaches like this is a master's degree in plant physiology. The lectures are insane and exams are AWFUL! TAKE SOMEONE ELSE!

This professor is a perfect example of what I would never do if I were in charge of teaching Earths youth about plants. The lectures are exhausting, monotone, and full of detailed information that never appears on the test. Reviews are 8 pages of open-ended questions, single-spaced. First test average was a 45% and she blamed the class. Nightmare.

Dr. Cruz is condescending and very rude as well as an unreasonable grader. She's made me feel very little many times and the only professor that has ever made me feel bad about asking questions or having the wrong answer. Her tests are abhorrently difficult and take hours to complete. She seems to pride herself on her rate of failing students.

I never wrote one of these so you can expect my honest review. She will help but in a rude way. Her Labs are ambiguous and has no clear outline. ON the first day of class she let us know we wont do well, Only 1 student got a A. Unless you can remember everything she says in class ,The book and think IN HER HEAD you def will pass. Please AVOID

Beyond one of the worst professors I have ever had and the ratings you see are accurate. She is not nice and cares more about you wearing a mask than actually learning. The tests were worded in ways you cant even remotely connect to what youve learned. She was rude and thought she was funny. Dont do a presentation cause she will pick u apart

She makes this class way harder than it should be. Lectures fast, everything in the course just seems jammed, nothing is clear. Be prepared to teach yourself a lot. She means well but she just expects all students to perform the same. Also, she said having covid is not an excuse to miss any assignments. If you can avoid taking her, AVOID IT!!!!

This is the hardest 3 credit course that I've ever taken. I am usually up for a challenge but this lady makes it hard. I do not feel she truly cares about her student's passing unless they are interested in botany. The amount of information she expects you tknow for the exams is just a no. The university could truly do without her teaching this.

She is very smart. She should be teaching at a much higher level.

This class was the hardest class i have ever taken in my 4 years. The test averages was a 50-60%, we ended the semester with 10 people in total, and there was quite a bit of homework. She puts nothing in canvas so you have no idea how you are doing until its to late and she grades everything like you should know genetics already. Avoid this class.

I have never had anything less than a B before in college. I completely agree with the other reviews that say she is extremely intelligent and should be teaching at a higher level. The exams are about 3-4 hours and never curved even though the average was always below 65%. Anyone that did get an A was taking it their second or third time.

Marilyn Cruz-Alvarez is, without a doubt, the worst professor I have ever had at Florida Gulf Coast University. Her classes consist of mainly lectures, and her monotone voice makes it difficult to follow along and absorb the material effectively. Her grading is incredibly difficult, as she is fi

Whatever you do, DO NOT TAKE THIS PROFESSOR! Professor Cruz-Alvarez is, without a doubt, the worst professor I've ever had at FGCU. Little discussion outside of lectures and impossible requirements for short response questions on exams. Doesn't upload grades on canvas, which makes it difficult to determine what your grade actually is.

Be ready to teach yourself everything. Stuff never discussed in lecture will be pulled from online homework and put on exams. Only a handful of people were passing the class and they had all already taken it once. You also do not know your grade the entire time because she doesn't put anything in canvas or respond to emails asking about it.

NEVER. TAKE. THIS. PROFESSOR. She literally never uploads grades so we don't know what we have in the class?? I've taken the matter to other staff members before and they hadn't done anything about it. Save yourself and take literally anything else

Professor Cruz seems to pride herself on her students failing and will be shocked when the class average is a 50% but does not do anything to change. Half of her exams are not materials she's covered and her Homeworks are tedious as they are long. Her lectures are very long and very rarely is there a break. Avoid her at all costs!!

Assigns an insane amount of homework, set in her ways, not supportive of struggling students

Avoid at all costs if possible. Choose any other professor teaching Genetics if you can. Lecture HEAVY with test questions never taught or mentioned. Genetics is hard and you need to study, but she makes it extremely difficult & never uploads grades or due dates. She can be condescending when you ask for help during class or in office hours.

If you take this professor, get ready to have a bad time.

Worst Professor ive taken at FGCU. Had an average of a 50 on the first test no one got an A and nothing was done to help students. Lab expectations are not clear. AVOID AT ALL COSTS. First class Ive ever struggled in and had to withdraw. She does not care if you pass.

By far the worst professor Ive ever taken. Does not care about you or your grade. Average on the first exam was a 50 and no one got an A and nothing was done. Super unclear lab instructions. Avoid her at all costs she is super unreasonable. Listen to the other reviews and take someone else.

I created an account just to leave this review. I have taken A LOT of college courses, many of them upper level sciences. This is by far the hardest class I have ever taken in my life. Her lectures are unbelievably monotone and boring, breadth and depth of information would be suitable for a PhD program. Tests extremely difficult. Do not take

Normally I don't leave reviews but something needs to be said. There's a reason why her classes are the only ones available with seats. She hand writes her exams and looks for specific answers however doesn't tell you what the answer is. She doesn't grade on time so prepare to have a zero until the end of the semester. Worst teacher ever

Do not take her. Listen to the reviews. She has an outdated teaching style that needs to be retired. Extremely condescending to students

If you can, take a different professor. I know of multiple people including myself who had to withdrawal from her class. The summer course for this class that I'm taking with a different professor has less of a weekly workload than Cruz-Alvarez's normal semester class. It was too much and the tests are incredibly difficult with no curve.