2.9
Quality4.0
Difficulty100%
Would Retake86
Reviews100%
Would Retake
86
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
28
4
12
3
8
2
15
1
23
What Students Say
“He is a great teacher, however be prepared to do lots of work and take hard exams”
CHEM150 - 5.0 rating“He is not very sweet either”
CHEM160 - 1.0 ratingClass Info
Attendance Mandatory
100%
Textbook Required
100%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
A-
Grade Distribution
Rating Trend
Improving
+0.33 avg changeRatings by Course
CHEM100
5.0
(2)CHE163
5.0
(1)CHEM161
4.3
(3)CHEM150
4.2
(6)100
4.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
160
5.0
CHEMISTRY
5.0
CHEMCHEM
5.0
CHEM162
4.3
CHEM160
4.2
Reviews (86)
No Comments
He is a great teacher, however be prepared to do lots of work and take hard exams. He loves helping students and wants you to learn alot, so he does cram you full of information. Teaches like it is a 4 year school, not a Comm. College.
No Comments
No Comments
He is not a very helpful instructor when it comes to lab assignments. He is not very sweet either. Someone who needs to take this class in any circumstances should take him, but if you have a choice try to take the class with another instructor like Berg or Heydari because they are easier and nicer.
He is very knowledgable and tries to be helpful, but doesn't explain things well. He would be good if you're really strong in math since he teaches using math vocab not science/conceptual vocab. If you don't understand a topic he will explain it mathmatically which doesn't really clarify concepts.
He just graduated from university of Washington. His tests and quizzes are unfairly hard and very long (9-12 pages). He never look at you when you are talking to him.
No Comments
Michael is a tough teacher who expects a lot... but in return you learn a lot. His style benefits students who show up and who do the work. He makes himself very available to students for help. Be prepared to put in the time. Read ahead, do the work and study a lot.
Michael is a tough teacher, but you learn a lot in this class. His tests can be quite long and difficult, but he also lets you use a notecard on the test, so getting 100 on the tests is not an arduous task. There are also pop quizzes but they get you prepared for the tests.
He isnt clear in any of his explainations and doesn't take the time to answer any questions students have. He also expects the class to complete labs on topics that haven't been covered in class. Tests are way too long and difficult, but expects them completed withing an hour time limit.
He is a very mean instructor and I think he need to pay a visit to a psychiatrist very soon. Chem 160 requires a lot of Math and he confuses students by making them understand verbal math. Stay away under any circumstances
Really really difficult teacher!!!
omg!!!if you want a teacher that wears girly clips in his hair,and talks about how pathetic of a person he is,then he is the teacher for you. if you want to learn chemistry, maybe not the guy!!! he is kind of a quack job. i did ok in the class, but that is because we had study groups w/other student
he was kind of hard at first..and a little weird..but once you get to know him he is a really cool guy...tough teacher but i learned a lot from him...
Just an all around waste of time and money. If you need this class for credit, wait until another prof is available. Save your GPA and your time! By the way, has anyone else seem him wear the sparkly star earrings????
LOOONGGG TESTS but not a bad guy... good at lecturing and really wants students to understand what he's teaching. People only complain about him because you can't slack in his class. (Ok, ok, so he's a bit strange, but in a humorous way)
unclear voice...teach bad
He is a horrible teacher and makes you feel really dumb if you ask him a question. He has honestly walked away from me when I was in the middle of asking a question. You have to work very hard in his class!!!!
Melvin is a good professor. He is fairly clear, although, it seemed as if other students were hesitant to ask questions. One lady in the class always asked "dumb" questions as if she had never taken a previous chem. course. It was humerous how frusterated Melvin would get. Put in the effort and your grade will reflect it. You the man Melvin.
Second class I've had with Melvin, much better than Chem140! I had fun in this class, but have a feeling that it takes a little more than scratching the surface to have fun with him. Several others who had him chem140 also shared same feelings. There is a time limit on tests that he does enforce. Don't take if you're a slow test taker
a loser, full of himself, with no knowledge. a recent graduate from UW, who has been abused from his chemistry teachers and that made him to become a chemisty teacher himself, so he can do the same to others. so it's up to you, If you want to get abused: go a head and take chem with this faget. if you need more info you can also call me.
Holy mother of all species! this guy has some mental problems. he loves to see people suffer!he made me hate chem for rest of my life. thanks a lot Mr.Michael Melvin.
Omg, i loved this class. Normally chemistry and i dont get along but he made it really easy.
Totally Unnecessarily Hard! Absolutely no help when I had quesitons, and I had a lot of them, because he was extremely unclear and difficult to understand. DO NOT TAKE MICHAEL MELVIN FOR ANY CLASSES... EVER!
No Comments
He makes you feel DUMB when you ask question. thanks to him my GPA is ruined. I think he picks fav students since he only pay attention to certain and ignore the rest. and worst he is very unclear. i think he needs one of those loud speaker when he talks
He is a hero. If you need you'r chemistry for mcat or dat, he can realy help you.
He hasn't learned that the sign of a good professor isn't a large number of c's and f's, it's the students understanding of the material. He justifies pop quizes the day after the material is covered with his own learning style, "memorization." My suspicion is that he couldn't get a job in industry so he became a prof.,and he's out to prove himself
Yes, Michael is a hard teacher, but I consider that a good thing. If you plan to go on to a four year college/university where classes are more challenging, he is a great teacher to help prepare you. You can do well in this class if you actually do the work. You can't just breeze through. He was always helpful when I went to office hours, etc.
This guy is a joke. First day of class he rants about how he's not a big fan of chem & would rather be a history major. Michael,(never call him Mike, he gets cranky), doesn't go out his way to answer questions after class and spends most of his time complaining about life. Brings up futur topics but refuses to elaborate on them. Great GPA Dropper.
Michael is in the wrong line of work. Way too complacent and makes you feel stupid when you ask a question or, you'll love this, he'll answer your Q with another Q. Thinks he's teaching history instead of chemistry and will never elaborate on anything so that students may get a better understanding of principals. Avoid this guy to avoid frustration
HOLLY CRAP! I have never had to drop a class until I had Michael as an instructor. His back is usually facing the class b/c he's too busy copying his own notes onto the whiteboard. He's an ammature and it truly shows in his teaching capability. This guy is the epitome of incompetence. I agree w/ the last person, he's in the wrong line of work.
Make sure you bring a hefty dose of prozac and valium, this guy will drive you nuts.
Wow, what a great instructor! His expectations are quite high, but if you're willing to bring the effort, you'll do very well and you'll have learned a tremendous amount about chemistry. It was obvious to me that Michael really cares about the welfare of his students. He'll make sure you're well prepared for future chemistry and science classes.
Holy smokes, what a ball-buster of a final exam. I've never come away from a class w/ such a feeling of accomplishment before. Yay, it's over! This guy will tax you at times, but the payoff is worth it. He's tough but fair. He expects a lot out of you but he obviously expects a lot of himself too and it shows in his teaching. He's awesome.
One of the best science teachers I've had. Michael knows his stuff and goes through it in a complete and succint manner. He generally doesn't go over things twice, so keep up with your reading and pay attention.
Tough class. Michael makes it even more difficult. He only goes over things once and seems aggravated if you ask for clarification. He only does problems on time in class. It feels like he is always trying to prove he is smarter then everyone in class.
this guy is not approachable at all, any time you ask a question he will confuse you even more.. not very nice, his lectures are very technical, so if your foreign, its going to be tough, one good thing though. he give very generous partial credit.. and since you get qies very often, it keeps your grade up
doesn't really answer your questions. but you will definitely learn a lot and he's a decent teacher. this class is difficult but pay attention in lecture and it's managable.
He's an ok guy, knows his material. He teaches strictly out of the Zumdahl text though, and we're assigned to read the moore, st., jurs, book. The material of the class seemed really really REALLY boring and kind of hard, lots to remember - pretty dry stuff. Tests are difficult, but he left extra time for students to take them. Hard subject matter.
He is the living image of the SouthPark school director, pay attention when he writes on the whiteboard, he will only turn around to say OKEEEY. His lectures are boring. I ended up dropping the class, and short by 200 dlls that I spent on a book that we never used. He gives extra points on the exams, but you must be a genius to answer them.
He lacks clarity at times but overall does a really good job.
He can be a bit nutty at times but he's a really nice guy and he gives you what you need to get a good education.
Oh man, that was a *&^%-buster. . . and exactly what I needed. . . finally! Bring on the o-chem, I'm gonna rock that show.
Tests are long and hard. Don't fall behind you won't catch up! Michael is a good teacher.
I had a very good experience with this instructor -- he's excellent. I feel I got what I needed out of the class and now I'm well prepared for going forward in the gen-chem series.
This teacher is pretty good. Will help a lot outside of class if you ask. Sometimes a bit off in lecture but usually good there too.
This guy is a total ****. He's thorough & believes that makes him exempt from answering questions in class. Not very approachable and has an abrasive personality. Avoid this guys if you want to get out alive. Sundernath, Goldston & Heydari all the way!
People think Melvin's classes are hard. Yes,as he talks really fast,it was a hard time taking notes during lecture.He is a perfectionist and his tests are long so, pls prepare to put your heart in it. But it is not an impossible A class. If you study the problems he did in lecutre and the similar problems from the book,your score will be great.
Get out while you still can! I don't want to be dramatic, but he supports favoritism and seems to dislike answering questions. It doesn't matter anyway though, because he can't explain the topics in a comprehensible manner! Watch out, he's also depressing at times!
Quite possibly the worst teacher on the entire planet; no joke. He could be a nice person, but after a day, you loathe him. I hate his class (not neccessarily Michael himself), and his strange mannerisms. Beware: he speaks at levels only dogs could hear!
Ask him about "la chevre" sometime. Funny stuff, man.
He told us the first day of class that he's the "chem Nazi" and well he didn't lie.
Worst. Teacher. Ever. Horrible teaching style. I would only recomend this class to people with severe insomnia, and even that is debatable. After seven weeks I learned nothing except to never take one of his classes again!
The only people rating this teacher negatively are fools and should not be taking chemistry classes. He presents everything in lecture that you need to succeed in the class. Everything is explained clearly, if you don't understand he will elaborate for you. This class does require time, but so do all science classes. expect 10 hours studying a week
I have taken 36 classes at BCC and have 33 A's and 2 B+'s. Got the B's in his class. Constantly 2-3 chapters behind then would say Oh well and test you on it anyway. Talks so quiet can't hear a thing he says, but even when I could, he made no sense. Would have a 4.0 GPA if took any other teacher. Now, I have to suffer with a 3.9 because of him
Chem 163 is the only class I have had with Michael, hopefully the last. He seems like a cool guy at first, until you get the feeling he hates teaching. He has two jobs and clearly this is the one he wishes to get rid of. He seems irritated by ?'s. Tests seem written with cruel intentions. I am an A 3.9 GPA student but this class was like none other
He's hard, but is a good teacher. His lectures are dense, boring, and mandatory. I didn't refer to the book a lot, because all of his exams comes from lecture. Very helpful posting up previous quizzes to study from. Always have to know your stuff because he loves giving pop quizzes. Very clear at explaining, try to sit in front, it helps.
Not an easy A, but this IS a majors class. With Michael, if you are an auditory learner, you will be just fine. He can forget that the concepts going into the chem series are not second nature to most students (and he is a very smart guy); he talks fast and thinks faster. If you put in the work, he will prepare you better than anyone else at BCC
Many people dropped from our section. Class was hard. Tests had questions on there that none of the class had seen. Practice quizzes were helpful, but stopped after the 2nd test. Teach yourself the material using the book.
Michael is one of the best chem teachers I've had. His tests and quizes are straight out from his lectures. You have to attend class and take good notes to do well. I took him all 3 quarters of General Chem and got A for all 3 quarters
Awesome teacher. Very fun once you get to know him. I got A in all 3 quarters with him
Touches self too much, very distracting.
Chem is not an easy subject. You need to work hard to do well. Michael is a great teacher, very knowledgeable. He's a bit shy but will warm up to you eventually. His grading system is very fair. As long as you attend all his lectures and take good notes, you will be fine. He gives tons of extra credits on his exams. Highly recomend this teacher
This class was the first time I actually understood chemistry. He is very fair - if you don't make it to certain material, you're not tested on it. If you attempt an answer/know the process he gives you partial credit. If you don't understand something ask him - he will help you! Great teacher!
As long as you study the lecture notes and previous quizzes, you will be able to get an A in this class. This class has a lot of math and Michael was very good at explaining complex math problems from equilibrium and buffer. At the end of the quarter, I was sad he doesn't teach organic chemistry.
This teacher is horrible. I ended up having to drop out of the class because his methods were so unbearable. He talks SO quietly that you might as well be standing against the white board to hear him. This class drained me, I was close to falling asleep everyday, because it was like a silent room. He also gets irritated when you ask a question.
HORRIBLE---Teacher will not answer any questions and will not help in any way. He teaches to stroke his ego. Tests are unreal. A lot of math in this class and he expects (doesn't teach) you to know how to do all math problems. WOULD NEVER TAKE AGAIN.
Michael is an ok instructor. Lectures are good and fairly easy to follow, however if you do have questions he is condescending in his response making it difficult to go to him with questions. His grading is fair, but he takes a long time to get graded material back and you may not know you don't understand a concept until immediately before a test.
Michael is great!! I know that he doesn't answer a lot of questions outside of class but his lectures are great. Go to his lectures (my mistakes) and answers all your lab work questions. Study your lecture notes, and take a clear, clean notes. The lecture notes will save your life in his class. His final was almost 14 pages long.
I really wanted to like Michael, but I just couldn't. Very impatient, unprofessional (he cursed at me in lab), and somewhat OCD. He tried to teach us nuclear chemistry in 10 minutes and then put it on the final! He desperately needs to relearn pedagogy and understand that the point of teaching is not to trick students. NOT RECOMMENDED!
Great guy. Helpful in labs. He goes really fast in his lectures, know your math! This class is all calculations. Study hard as there are pop quizzes and four midterm type exams. 76% of your grade is from tests. No HW. Grades hard on tests. Very little partial credit given. Takes a lot off for math mistakes. The most I have studied for any class.
Melvin is very hard to approach with questions. If you ask a question, he looks at you like you're stupid and proceeds to reply, 'I went over this in lecture'. However, he does seem to answer girls much better. He hardly used the book, and practice problems were virtually non-existent(except for old quizzes) and had nothing to do with test material
Melvin teaches 163 exceptionally well! Class attendance is mandatory but if you go to class, pay attention and are diligent about studying you can't help but get a good grade. I am very surprised he isn't rated better, lectures are well structured and incredibly clear. If you have questions he makes sure you get answers after class. TAKE MELVIN!
His leactures are clear, you gotta attend his class because he does not post any notes of the lectures online. He does a lot of practice in a class which is helpful but he does not reply to your emails and looks very annoyed when you ask him questions. He does not explain labs and does not help with them. He curves his test because they are hard!
Horrible horrible teacher. He makes you look like a fool if you don't understand something. He writes everything on the board such as practice problems which becomes confusing cause he skips around and too much info in your class notes. Expect a quiz almost everytime you go to class. Also, expect harsh grading. I highly recommend not taking him.
I recommend not taking his class. His writing is terrible small and ugly. Talking too much everytime. Never let you finish ur question, he tries to talk over you. The test is always really long as hell and extra credit for genius people. His speaking is real fast and wishper like a little cat.Hard grader on lab. Quizzes every day...
He makes you look stupid when you ask him questions, instead of teaching and explaining he would ask you questions instead. His favorite phrase "we went over this in class" translation "leave me alone". He must hate teaching and hate people in general, not approachable. He gives very hard confusing tests that make you fail, Do not take his class.
As an international student, I think he is an excellent professor and challenging. I am an idiot, but I am doing okay at his chem 163(summer quarter) so far and with two A grades from other classes. This is the last quarter at BC for me. I think knowledge is more important than GPA.BTY, I am going to get an A at this class. I will see my final.
I've had him for 2 classes (161 & 163), while is very difficult, he is a fair grader. Wants his students to drive on and keep trying, not lose hope because of a few bad grades. Lab: ask him questions when you're stuck, he always answers and wont dock you. Post labs are entirely individual work, no sharing. He will help w/ post-labs during OH.
He loves his cats more than his students, but he is a lot better than people give him credit for. He speaks very well and is very articulate. He's really helpful during office hours and his tests are just like his previous quizzes. He's a fair and generous grader. I wish I took him for 162 and 163!
Please give credit for this talented guy.I took Chem 161 and Chem 163 with him and he is really cool.I am a non native English speaker and he understand me perfectly and I recommend him for students that may have communication barrier.
How is this guy not rated higher??? Michael is a rock star chemistry teacher. If you go to class and pay attention you will learn the material. Take his classes if you get the chance!
One of the toughest teachers I've ever taken. His exams are hard and really test you on if you know the material. Michael is a good teacher, though kind of boring to pay attention to. He never makes eye contact when you talk to him and is always doing something weird with his lips, but he gets nicer if you stick around til the end of the quarter!
Excellent professor. Extremely knowledgeable. Extremely lucid. Friendly and genuinely wants to educate his students.
Class Info
Attendance Mandatory
100%
Textbook Required
100%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
A-
Grade Distribution
Rating Trend
Improving
+0.33 avg changeRatings by Course
CHEM100
5.0
(2)CHE163
5.0
(1)CHEM161
4.3
(3)CHEM150
4.2
(6)100
4.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
160
5.0
CHEMISTRY
5.0
CHEMCHEM
5.0
CHEM162
4.3
CHEM160
4.2