2.4
Quality3.6
Difficulty25%
Would Retake108
Reviews25%
Would Retake
108
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
18
4
10
3
12
2
26
1
42
What Students Say
“If you ask him a question he makes you feel very stupid”
CHM256 - 2.0 rating“Overall, he is a very good professor”
CHEM115 - 2.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
64%
Textbook Required
29%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Stable
-0.05 avg changeRatings by Course
OCHEM265
5.0
(1)CHM25501
5.0
(1)CHM256
3.8
(19)CHEM256
2.8
(4)CHM257
2.5
(34)Difficulty by Course
255256
5.0
CHEM261
5.0
CHM255256
5.0
CHE261
5.0
CHM261
4.7
Reviews (108)
Avoid like the plague. Once said A monkey could have done better on this test
How did this guy get tenure?
Held "help-sessions" that were not announced to students, extremely unclear, unfriendly.
Does this guy get pleasure from this?
sometimes i wonder if he even thinks about his class before he teaches it
I had him for both organic classes..not only is his class hard but my god is it boring and frankly i never learned anything in his class i had to ask someone else to clarify things..did i mention he has an accent i dont think anyone would enjoy his class
Wasn't very helpful. Told us that it's in the book and we should know it.
this professor def does not know how to teach..and his exams are impossible and he's made many people i kno feel very bad during his office hours!! also he grades unfairly!
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This guy is the worst prof ever hes such a jerk...avoid like the plague
Hard to understand, but does an alright job teaching. Exams are hard but have lots of bonus points. Not a bad professor.
He is SO unfriendly and unwilling to answer questions. He is very arrogant and feels like his students should "just know" things without his having to teach them. He makes the averages on his tests about a 40% ON PURPOSE...I think he likes to see people perform badly in his class.
Worst professor I've ever had. Got a decent grade both semesters, but it was torture.
Awful awful awful professor. I didn't have a clue as to what was going on because he clarify one freakin point. If you have this guy for organic chem ever, my advice is to drop it immediatly and take it from Harry Morrison next semester.
Worst professor ever. I don't know if he is still in rotation for the 255/256 classes... if he is I suggest you drop the class and take with Chmielewski (she is a great teacher) the following semester.
Don't risk a good course here
I failed chm256 with a curve when i took his class. the next semester, i retook the class with anothe professor and got an A without a curve... he's just a really bad teacher
Not the worst professor I've ever had, but close to it. I had a strong B going into the final, got average, and my grade was dropped to a C. I drove over break to talk to him about it, and he refused to change my grade. Sometimes hard to understand him. He expects students to know as much as he does. Obsessed with the Nobel Prize.
By far the worst professor I have ever had. Very hard to understand and not helpful. Expects that you know everything already. Tests were very difficult. Avoid this professor at all costs!
This man made me despise chemistry
somebody, please, take this guy away from Purdue!
Why? Why keep this guy around! Just let him do research, because he is a terrible teacher! His lectures are hard to follow, and when I asked him a question during office hours he told me that he already went over that in lecture ... Ugh! Just give him his Noble Prize so he'll leave innocent students alone ! If you get him -- DROP!
Mostly ordinary. Claimed to spend "5 hours" preparing for each lecture (sure...)
I don't know what class the other commenters were attending, but I thought his class was great!!!!! He was very helpful both in and out of class, and had great TAs. He helped us understand by filling in the blanks and actually teaching chemistry. Rather than giving 'memorize only' material, he helped us learn it the right way. Learned so much!!!!!
If you go to office hours, he is very helpful and helped me understand chemistry better. If you get the course packets and do the homework you will do well in the class.
Got an A with this guy. Make use of office hours/recitation and you'll get an A. He offers ample opportunities for extra credit as well, and the TA's are really hot.
Couldn't understand him at first and thought I was going to do really bad in his class; however if you read his notes and try to understand them yourself, it really isn't too bad(well Mass Spec was horrible, but other than that...) However, you should only take his class if you have great memorization skills (for learning mechanisms)
BY FAR THE WORST TEACHER ON PURDUE'S CAMPUS. if you ask a question in class he will make you feel stupid. make use of the TAs. This was his first semester back from a 5 year probationary period. He gave us 40 points of extra credit on the first exam so he would have an A average only to make the second exam impossible since grades were too high
This was one of the class where I learned a lot. He is a very good teacher and explains things really well.
The prof were much helpful. I thought he try very hard. Thank proffesor for making good class.
One of the best Professors in my two years at Purdue. If you go to the office hours, he is very helpful. I got an A in this course and learnt lot of stuff.
I liked the way Prof. Ramachandran teaches orgo. He takes teaching seriously and motivates you to think. Exam questions are from material covered in class. Gives lots of extra credits. If you go to class regularly, you can earn good grade.
I was afraid of this class at the beginning of the semester. I felt comfortable as the semester progressed and received an A in the course. The handouts were very helpful. The Prof. emphasizes on the logic of organic mechanisms. I enjoyed the class very much
This Professor made CHM 256 fun. Nice course packets and summary sheets. Emphasis on the reaction mechanisms that we should know helped. The TAs were also helpful.
Ramachandran's organic chemistry knowledge can be, sometimes, intimidating. However, he is very helpful if you go to his office. He always responded to my requests for additional meetings beyond regular office hours. Go to class for extra credit quizzes. Has a heavy accent, but I got used to it soon. Overall, excellent Professor.
In my own opinion I would describe the class material as "very hard". But that difficulty rating can be brought down significantly depending on how students use him. If you listen during lecture, read the assigned material, and use his tips and tricks throughout the year I am fairly confident that you will receive an A. Excellent and fair prof.
Focused more on ways to make the tests so that the average would be higher than normal for organic, not caring how individual students did. all you had to do was memorize the notes and you could get a high grade without understanding. Some found this easy and others didn't. Constantly lectured about the people who didn't come to class.
He really does love organic chemistry, and does his best to get his students to understand. A lot of the material is based on his handouts, so try not to miss class. He does not like people talking or texting in his class and will stop the class to address any interruptions.
I enjoyed the class very much. The handouts were very helpful; could do without the text. Graded homework package prepared me well for the exams, which were very fair.
His teaching method and teaching materials he distributed to us, were straightforward and very helpful in preparing midterms. Moreover, graded homeworks and non-graded homeworks were also helpful in preparing midterms.
I was scared of Organic chemistry. PVR made it enjoyable. His handouts highlight key concepts and make it easy to learn. Graded homework helped to prepare for the exams, whcih were very fair. He gets annoyed when the class is disturbed by talking and texting.
He is AWFUL. He is so hard to understand, which makes chem even more confusing since many words already sound alike. He only asks students who do well to rate him on here, so that is what I am doing. I did very well in this class but only because I taught myself literally everything. If you ask him a question he makes you feel very stupid.
After gen chem, everybody is scared of orgo but this guy will make your life easier becoz he has a real teaching technique that will help you in his class n in other classes as well.PVR is very passionate abt the subject and he will keep it fun for u...handouts, homeworks, recitation, all very helpful for exam prep.
I don't know some people give PVR high rating. Rather you manage to do well enough to have the curve make you pass the class or not, it doesn't change the fact that he's a horrible professor. Very all over the place when teaching with an accent that is difficult to understand.
Very hard to understand.
Organic chem with PVR was by far the most difficult class I've taken at Purdue. Hard to understand lecture material and his accent is pretty thick and he speaks quietly. Often loses the classes attention.
He's rude, demeaning, and does not seem to care whether or not you learn the material. He makes anyone who asks a question during the lecture feel stupid in front of everyone, and forget about asking him questions during his office hours because he is even more chastising. Don't take this course with this professor if at all possible.
The accent is hard to get past. However, he wants to see everyone in his class succeed
I am usually pretty good at communicating with people with heavy accents but this was not the case. Orgo is already difficult in my opinion and to not be able to understand your professor makes it even worse. Attending the SI sessions really helped and I would recommend going to them right off the bat. All the resources I utilized avoided the prof
Very condescending and sometimes flat out rude. Chastises students who ask questions in class, and tells them how the content is "so easy" when in reality it isn't. He also embarasses students in front of the whole class if they answer one of his mid-lecture questions wrong. But he is very passionate about Orgo, and this makes the class bearable.
While students who interrupt class are annoying... He will call them out and spend class time complaining about how you can't interrupt him because the material is a lot to go over, while he is interrupting his own lecture? And honestly printing off the lecture notes beforehand doesn't help because he is all over the place. Rent the book. It helps.
A bit hard to follow in class (doesn't always go sequentially). Does have powerpoint which are information heavy, and they are posted on BB.
Seems passionate about the topic, but extremely hard to understand because of his accent. Focuses on the front-row students, and only makes eye contact with the first few rows. Rarely explains answers to his pop-quiz questions, and complains a lot about students getting the answers wrong. Doesn't assign much homework besides reading the textbook.
Very difficult to understand. He definitely knows what he is talking about and is super passionate. He thinks pretty highly of himself, too. If you don't sit in the front row, he will automatically think the worst of you. I sat in the fourth row and he scolded me for not paying attention (but I most certainly was) via email.
Dr. Ramachandran is a very smart man, but has little knowledge on teaching. His accent is very thick, so I suggest sitting near the front so you can understand him better. The topics he covers are difficult and require a lot of attention outside of class. Overall, he is a very good professor. Go to class for the iClicker points and pay attention.
I really liked PVR. Ive always struggled with chem but I actually did alright in orgo and understood/enjoyed the course. Sit up front in class to better hear him. Dont expect to be on your phone, hell call you out on it. He tried to help us succeed as much as possible. Just pay attention and go to class, be respectful; hes a good guy.
PVR was quite difficult to understand with his accent (also the mic was never loud enough). The only reason I went to lecture was for the iclicker questions. He definitely cares about his students, though, and he wants us to learn the material. His exams were not overly difficult because they closely followed the practice exams that he gave us.
I liked PVR- he explained concepts well and knows a lot and does really cool research. Tests were not bad at all- he gave practice exams that were very similar and it's not hard to do well if you make an effort to listen in class and do the homework.
P.V.R. is a really great dude. The exams are incredibly easy, literally copy and pasted from previous years. He gives you access to these exams so as long as you know how to do the old exams you will be fine. On the final he gave us 30 POINTS worth of extra credit, he usually makes it know in lecture what it will be/gives hints. Easy A with a curve
He doesnt really teach anything and is hard to understand. He doesnt work out any examples in class which would actually be helpful. I got an A because I did the extra credit and I took AP chem in high school.
I had heard a lot of bad things about PVR and was scared about how the class was going to go, but it ended up not being that bad once we got passed nuclear chemistry. If you study and pay attention during lecture the exams are easy. This class should be an easy A if you put in the work and ask questions.
He cares about his students, but His accent is super heavy, even sitting right next to him can be difficult, it makes homework hellish to do, however, the exams aren't that bad if you just do the practice ones.
Literally the worst professor I've had at Purdue. If at all possible do not take him for gen chem. Very confusing lectures and skips through several slides. Have to come to class for attendance points. Exams were nothing like the study guides, and were extremely difficult. Felt like he was trying to get most students to fail
Ramachandran goes by PVR, just to throw that out there. His lecture content isn't bad, but he can be hard to understand because of a thick accent in combination with not talking into the microphone. Go to lecture, read his slides, answer the iClicker, and watch the lecture video if you need something repeated. You'll probably be fine.
Ramachandran really isn't that bad of a professor. He's very passionate about his work and really wants to get students engaged in chemistry. But, combined with the fact that his accent is thicker than the textbook, he's nearly impossible to understand if you're not in the first three rows. If you get him, you'll be in for a ride.
I'll start by saying that I was terrified for this class. PVR was an incredible instructor, and aided by his TAs made orgo one of my favorite classes this semester. It was challenging but super rewarding. There's ample extra credit on exams (earned over 100% on 3/4), comprehensive study, & office hours + SI are readily available for help.
This class felt like a complete waste of my time. The entire class was incredibly unorganized and it felt as if the professor had no idea what he was actually supposed to be doing. On top of this, our online lab assignments felt completely pointless and did not contribute to my understanding of the topics whatsoever. Luckily, the TAs were great.
The class was all over the place. PVR seemed confused, the TA's were confused, the students were confused, I'm still confused and the class is over. The labs were pointless and the TA never provided us with feedback. The quizzes were fine and were similar to the homework. I did well because of Youtube videos and khan academy.
He truly finds joy in teaching and wants to help his students learn to love organic chem. I didn't mind having him as a professor, but there were times that I did struggle and he make me feel stupid for not understanding, but he was not doing that out of malice. He knows organic chem like the back of his hand, and hopes that his students will too.
PVR was personally very hard to understand for me. I had him for the second half of CHM115 and he clearly knows his stuff, but he went a little too quickly through lectures and I usually was confused by his examples. If possible, I'd recommend going to someone else's lecture.
PVR is extremely hard to understand and will belittle his students in front of an entire lecture hall for asking questions. His exams aren't hard but the regrading process is extremely trying and when the average isn't what he wants he'll spend class time basically calling the class stupid.
Not the worst professor I've had but definitely not the best. I think the difficult nature of the class I took with him made it seem like he was a worse professor than he actually is. It's evident that he knows the subject, but he has trouble communicating it to the class.
He is simply impossible to understand. I can pick out a couple words in every sentence and that's it. Chem 115 should not be a hard class but because he is impossible to understand, the lectures are useless. I might as well be self-studying.
While CHM115 isn't a hard course, Ramachandran is very hard to understand. You can tell how much he loves the topic, but he talks so fast and will rush to try to get through the lecture in time because he always added extra material. Class isn't hard, but he is difficult to understand.
Ramachandran's accent is very thick. He talks too fast and he criticizes students for writing notes in the lecture room and asking questions. His office hours are helpful. The only reason I was able to understand chemistry concepts was by meeting with him outside of class. Although, Ramachandran is very passionate in regards to teaching chemistry.
I have never taken a worse class. The content of organic chemistry is hard enough, but PVR made no effort to explain it in a way that made sense to anyone other than himself. He would assign reading before class and then cover material that wasn't in it. Students who asked questions were publicly shamed. Passing this class was a miracle.
Ramachandran seemed very passionate when teaching the content, but the way he presented the lectures were so unclear to the point where only himself understands what he's teaching. It got very confusing a lot of the times and he speaks unclearly at times which doesn't exactly help. He's also too fast and will just read the powerpoint
Sometimes very rude in class to students and is often extremely condescending. When he stops using the slides, the information he shares is incomprehensible. The grad TAs are helpful. Generally, the exams are not very hard. He tells students to ask questions and for suggestions. When students do, he shuts them down immediately/gets defensive.
PVR gives so many extra credit opportunities and goes over the important topics multiple times. The lectures have random iClicker quizzes so make sure you go to them all. ALSO, he exempted about the top 10% of the class (or anyone who had a 98+ after exam 3) from the final so keep that in mind, it is very possible because of all of extra credit!
PVR is genuinely mean. He is rude if you ask questions and once embarrassed a kid in front of the whole class because he checked his email. Not as much about the professor, but the TA did not add my entire recitation section to the recitation bright-space page so we missed out on many helpful powerpoints.
Not great at all. Worst professor I have ever had, and not helpful to any student in any way.
Incomprehensible lectures, and skips over explanations way too quickly.
This prof was not only difficult to understand, but also rude. He couldn't answer questions and would basically call you dumb if you asked them. Kinda like a little man complex... Not a fun time.
You can tell PVR very much loves what he does. He is very knowledgeable in his field. However, his lectures are less than stellar. Many people have said this before, his accent is very difficult to understand. I recommend going over the lecture slides at least once after lecture. If not, you will only understand like 50% of what's going on.
Look at it like every exam is cumulative from the last.
PVR makes the class very doable by providing lots of opportunity for extra credit on exams and in class. The exams are almost identical to the practice exams so if you study those, the exams aren't too challenging. Go to class and study the practice exams and you'll be fine.
PVR is very knowledgeable and passionate about organic chemistry. He provides extra credit opportunities for asking questions in class, even though it may seem intimidating. However, he provides all the information and resources you need to be successful in the class. The subject definitely requires time to study and learn, but I loved PVR!
I took organic chemistry with PVR and I do recommend PVR as he is a nice but also serious professor that wants his students to get the best knowledge out of this class. exams are not easy but also not impossible. Some lectures have pop quizzes that can get you attendance points. this is a class where you can succeed if you put in the effort.
PVR obviously knows what he is talking about, and his tenure at this university speaks well of him. He struggles with communicating exactly what he expects out of us, and uses special cases a lot in exams. He is not nice to his TAs or students. Sometimes professors only teach because they have to contractually, not because they're good professors.
Professor Ramachandran seems like a genuinely nice guy and is very experienced in the field. He was very approachable and always tried to answer my questions after the lecture. However, I found it extremely hard to understand him. If possible, I recommend sitting at the front of his class and trying to read his lips.
It sounds like he is speaking gibberish all the time. There are random quizzes during lectures that most people get wrong rather than right, yet he sees nothing wrong with his teaching style. He seems to know what he's doing, but if you can understand him or if he answers your questions is another thing.
PVR is a serious but very knowledgeable professor. He cares about his students and has a lot of extra credit on exams. There are in-lecture quizzes, but they are easier than the HW. He makes time to answer any questions and tries his best to speak loudly and clearly, which can be difficult with his accent.
WORST PROFESSOR EVER. DO NOT TAKE. He continuously made fun of students if they asked questions in the class, harassed anyone who brought up a mistake he may have made, and can't teach at all. Exams were near impossible to get good marks on and unless you're a chemistry whiz he won't care about whether you understand the content or not.
Professor made the class as easy as possible considering this class is a review of a two semester but doing well in this class is difficult but extra credit and help is available
God forbid you understand a single word that come out of this guys mouth. Unintelligible rumbling. Save yourself the trouble and do not go to lecture.
PVR knows his stuff, but connecting with students isn't his strong suit. Exams can be tricky, so use all the resources - practice tests, unstuck ai, and the free textbook. Put in the effort and you can succeed.
Lectures are a lot easier to understand if you read or skim the textbook ahead of time. He was very kind and engaged with the students at the front of the classroom as much as he could. Good at speaking, but it's easy to zone out and get lost.
I'm sorry but for the life of me I could not understand this guy in his lectures. He speaks way too fast and talks in a heavy accent. I know that accents aren't always something that can be controlled, but if you are aware of your heavy accent I imagine you can do things such as speak slower and clearer? Class itself was ok and in my opinion easy.
This was my first class at Purdue in which I felt that my attendance in lecture was pointless because I could not understand a word the professor said. I ended up using subtitles to watch lectures online. Even when I had subtitles however, PVR was not a good lecturer. His slides were confusing and convoluted. I hope you remember highschool chem.
Ramachandran only taught the first half of my chem lectures but he made super simple information so much more complicated. I dont think he is ideal for a intro course. Hes a nice dude but pretty hard to understand. Attendance isnt required so if you hate him you can just go to another section.
Professor Ramachandran is very hard to understand due to how quietly he speaks. If he is too hard to understand watch the videos of another lecture. This was my first chemistry course since sophomore year of high school so if you can do some chemistry every day (read textbook, homework, old exams, AI problem sets) you should do fine in this class.
He says at the beggining of the course that he encourages engagement, but then continues to embarrass and make fun of most questions that are asked. He does not articulate his sentences. His lectures are a waste of time- if there weren't pop quizzes every lecture I would just use the time to study on my own.
PVR will not answer questions even though he encourages you to ask them. He cares more about people giving him attention than actually teaching the course, he will constantly halt class to confront students who are disengaged resulting in lectures being incomplete or sped through. Extra credit opportunities will help your grade.
It wasn't that bad, dont text or talk in class. His accent isn't that difficult to understand and he makes a point to stop if people have questions. He is clearly very knowledgeable, but also don't ask questions. Dont get the textbook, you dont need it. Good luck, pray you have a good TA.
He has a thick accent, but you get used to it after a couple of weeks. His teaching style is more talking at you and expecting you to know everything else. He doesn't actually fully explain what you asked about. If you have him go to the SI sessions, all the reviews, and watch videos online. He gives a lot of free points in the lectures.
Can not understand his accent, bad teaching experience with the best TAs I've every met
Don't be scared by the ratings. It isn't that bad. Yes, he has an accent but it is nowhere near of being incomprehensible. Both of the TAs in the class was fantastic and recitations helped prepare for the exams. Exam has both multiple choice and free response and similar to sample exam provided. Very lenient with partial credit as well.
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
64%
Textbook Required
29%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Stable
-0.05 avg changeRatings by Course
OCHEM265
5.0
(1)CHM25501
5.0
(1)CHM256
3.8
(19)CHEM256
2.8
(4)CHM257
2.5
(34)Difficulty by Course
255256
5.0
CHEM261
5.0
CHM255256
5.0
CHE261
5.0
CHM261
4.7