2.6
Quality4.2
Difficulty24%
Would Retake324
Reviews24%
Would Retake
324
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
324 total ratings5
42
4
67
3
63
2
64
1
88
What Students Say
“After BIOL 200 I have two loves, c elegans and Rick ROY”
BIOL200 - 4.0 rating“He may be a brilliant researcher, but he is not a good teacher/lecturer - he just talks”
BIOL200 - 2.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
21%
Textbook Required
47%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.83 avg changeRatings by Course
BIOL2000
5.0
(1)JAFAR
4.5
(2)BIOL201
4.3
(6)BIO516
4.0
(1)BIOL00
3.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
BIOL2000
5.0
BIO150
5.0
BIOL01
5.0
200
4.4
BIO200
4.3
Reviews (299)
Prof Roy makes me REALLY dislike the class. I was loving it until he started teaching. He is unclear and uses terms that we do not know in explaining NEW concepts. His explanations fly all over the place with ridiculous details. Thankfully this is his first year b/c maybe he'll improve. FYI:GPA 3.93
Really hard class, "Thanks to Roy". However, sir, Looking into your eyes takes the pain away and transports me to another place. He's kinda cute... in an exotic-overly-scientific-I-can't-date-you-because-you're-my-prof kind of way.... *sigh*
this guy thinks we are Ph.D's and are detectives with all the time in the world to solve the mystery of which transc.factor is what...the final is NOT LONG AND HIS QUESTIONS ARE ESSAYS. the more words he uses, the more complaints he is going to have over the holidays
give him a break, he's new. the material is hard but at least he's really enthusiastic.
Roy is enthusiastic,but is incoherrent and unclear,makes us memorize too many details about things we are learning for the 1st time.He actually read his Rate My Professor ratings to the class and now people are scared to rate him badly in case he gets angry and writes a super hard exam.GET A LIFE!!
Ok, to Roy.You should not make it a point of reading ratemyrofessor ratings in class, no one rated you hot because YOU ARE NOT.If you want to get feedback, post your pic on hotornot.com, not make it an issue in class. DINK.
Awful with the amount of details he wants us to know. Throws in all these transc. factors and proteins to illustrate new ideas we are learning. Listen buddy, we haven't spent years of our life steeped in biology terms and acronyms. He skims over some things with one or twoword explanations too.GRR
Too many details to memorize for nothing. Too many names we have to memorize, we're not familiar with the concept so it's very hard to follow him for the whole lectures. He seems to know very well what he's talking about, but he seems to forget that we're not familiar with his material. passionate
Besides not knowing the level of knowledge his students are at, Prof. Roy's slides are unclear and his speech even more convoluted. What could be a straightforward subject is made unnecessarily complex. Also, he is rude and impatient. Well, at least he's enthusiastic.
Roy is a bad prof. But there are 2 kinds of bad profs: profs who are bad, know they are bad, and don't care, and, on the other hand, bad profs who are bad, want to be good, try to be good, but who just don't have the "cute little genes" that give the ability to teach. Roy falls squarely into the #2.
Professor Roy has gained my respect for his enthusiasm and his eagerness to get his point across to students. He's good at making analogies to make complicated processes a little more understandable. I think the difficulty is in the material, not in him as a professor. He is doing a great job!
i disagree,the material is not Hard.any 'good student' can do well through pure, robotic memorization.but is this the education we're paying for?who's gonna remember rpd3,CBP in another month?Are these materials applicable?Roy misses the big picture, and he should focus on the main concepts instead.
Now that I know the prof will read this: Roy is super enthusiastic. But I think that his enthusiasm gets in the way of the explanations. He gets really excited about details that are (to most undergrad students) complex and vague. Simple, less wordy explanations would be easier to follow.
He just can't make the material in class understandable for MOST students (hence the thousands of questions on the discussion board), and he's really LAME with his jokes. PLEASE, if you're going to try to make the class laugh, don't make me vomit in the process. THANK YOU.
I respect Prof Roy for trying to teach this class, the material sucks and he knows it. But he does it anyway.I wish he was a little clearer,i wish he doesn't make us learn so many names. But i think he is the most involved teacher i've had in university up to now,and that's the most important thing!
I never thought i could hate biology untill Roy taught it..
every class links into the other for roy's section. if you're lost on the first lecture and don't try to undertand it then, you will be lost for all subsequent ones. after relistening to some lectures, i realized that he isn't so bad, it's just that you really need to be on top of the material.
Suffice it to say, I think it slips Roy's mind that we have 4 or 5 other classes. What's overwhelming is the veritable alphabet soup of ran, ras, raf, GAP, GEF, SMAD, MADS, etc., etc. (the list never ends) that we must not only know but be able to associate the precise where, when, & how!
What is this? I have nothing positive to say.
for roy's section of bio, its much much clearer if you skip his classes and listen to them online so you can pause the lecture after ever 5 words he says.
whatever.... could be worse
Really enthusiastic, he bursts with information, which is both tiring and exciting. Listen really really carefully and take profuse notes.
You could literally chop each of Dr. Roy's lectures into ten 5-minute blocks, reassemble it at random, and the lecture would make the exact same amount of sense (i.e. none).
The only way to understand what he says in class is to read the textbook first - how depressing
very enthusiastic about what he teaches, but it is hard to get excited about the material when he just keeps piling random words in there for you to know. it would be one thing if his notes were clear, but they dont really match what he says in class. you really should skip class and listen online
Teaches the class as if we were all doing phD's. Doesn't teach to the level of yrI students.Difficult to comprehend. Overall nice guy but need to learn how to teach to students who don't live and breathe biology
This is sick. What the hell is this? Rather than teach us how a specific procedure or concept actually works, he talks about all the "cute" little reactants and enzymes and doesn't give any indication of what the overall message is supposed to be. I hate that I have to memorize all this.
considering we have the exam in 2 days, his lectures are TOTALLY useless! He doesnt clarify himself! The course before he taught was not too bad. But come his section, and we're all desperately lost and talk about memorization! why does the final have to focus on his section? HELP!
Wow! This section could have been SO interesting if it was taught at a more reasonable level. This is a U1 course, and some students are FIRST YEAR STUDENTS! Stop lecturing as if we are all biology majors ... The only way to understand this is to learn it all yourself.
Those who cant do, teach.. apparently Roy cant do either!
totally incoherient, random lectures, super hard, impossible to follow in class. What a contradiction to the begining of the course. He shouldn't be a teacher.
he's alright. not too bad but not the best
He's definetely the hardest (I should have started studying earlier)...but he is also a good teacher who's enthusiastic and interesting. I think he was great!
To be concise: Roy is not very clear during his lectures. He's confusing. His lecture notes are ok, sometimes ambiguous. His exams questions, some are hard, some are fair. He's not the best teacher, but not the worse for a new teacher.
Enthusiastic lecturer. Some lectures presented in a more interesting manner than others (best = lecture on RNAi... really put forward from a research perspective, as something exciting for the scientific community). INSANELY hard exam questions, some seem to be not quite covered in lectures even...
It may be just me, but I think Prof. Roy is TOTALLY HOT! From far away, not so much, but up close, he's a very handsome man!
OMG i wish there was a status lower than one, cause this guy deserves it, he is super enthusiastic about the course but can't teach this stuff for his life. U have to go see a ta or get ntcs for this class, cause there is no way you can learn it on your own
Roy taught Jafar very well. Before the course, I knew nothing of Jafar. Thank you Roy. Thank you.
Let's be fair, if you want to succeed in life, you have to work hard and stay focused. This guy has what it takes to take a student to the next level. It's not a free ride. If you want to advance in science, you have to learn from the best; and he is one of the best (in the world). Pay attention!
Terrible...Learn how to teach, buddy.
This guy is so awful!! I always thought that teaching at McGill required actual knowledge...wc this guy clearly lacks!! Classes were boring..he's boring! Get a hair cut buddy! Exam questions really sucked and how long does it take for you to correct our exams....learn how to teach!
He is an ok teacher, but his english is sure terrible. There is a ran on sentence in the final exam! And his exam questions are killers.
Not a good teacher. Not clear. can not explain expremints. he thinks we've worked in a lab for several years and we now we just needs a review! intead of understing he put emphasis on memorizing: SMAT, RAT, GAP . . .
I agree he taught about Jafar very well. But nothing else.
Dr. Roy is an exceptional prof, his passing on of knowledge and experience to the students is super. If you prepare for this class properly, Roy provides you with the tools to succeed in competitive science. I learned a lot from Roy, I know I am ready for advancing myself to graduate level science.
Material was pretty difficult, and he was slightly unclear. Didnt seem to realize we don't have the same amount of experience as him. But was a really sweet guy. Charmingly awkward. But has a very soothing voice, which may not be the best for morning classes!
Some researchers just can't teach.
He's my favourite prof at McGill. I thought he was an excelelnt teacher who came to class everytime with tones of energy. He loves to teach the stuff. His enthusiasm for the subject rubbed off on me. Hes amazing. People who dont like him did bad in his class. Everything was striaght out of the notes
Don't listen to all the good comments about him. He probably wrote them himself. He is a HORRIBLE professor...one of the worst I've had. Why does McGill insist on bringing in professors who are ONLY interested in Research?
whoa..the comments here are way too harsh. He was a good prof. It was hard material, get over it!
hands down the worst teacher I've had at mcgill.. has not yet realized that the people taking this class are not postdoctoral students in biology.. exam questions sucked, he's totally incompetent- it was excruciating; mcgill is a lesser institution because he is here, someone do us all a favor and take this man's PHD away.
Makes you work for your grades, but A's are very possible. Very friendly and brings enthusiasm to the classroom. Some questions are tough, but these are only to make better scientists out of us.
Ok I admit his material is not easy to grasp and his sample questions will make you cry, but he's such a good speaker and I was definitely interested (though I wanted to rip my heart out when I had to apply the info). I think he's a good Prof but doesnt know when it's too much or too hard.
He doesn't understand what too much material means. Needs to revaluate the level of knowledge his students posses and teach the course accordingly
Roy is a really great lecturer! Enthusiastic, funny, kinda cute. Also, he's very helpful and extremely understanding towards students. Yes, he can get confusing, and his quizzes are murder. But then again, the material is inherently dense and difficult. My advice: watch every lecture twice, take a lot of notes, and read the book.
Suffice it to say that he is a very demanding professor. Very nice but must pay very very close attention he goes fast.
It's a lot of information and it isn't the most exciting material, but he tries his best to make it interactive and atleast easier to understand. He's the best prof for BIOL 200, understood so much more in his part. And he's oh so cute!
I liked him... and he was soo nice and cute
too much material for a 3 credit course, the material is rushed and poorly organized. chapter readings are all over the place.
ok so lets start off to say that he is very enthusiastic about his course and i think he really does want his students to do well, but well that DOESNT happen, the course is SOOO hard, and so much material and the quizes/exams are INSANE its just unfair and he doesnt really care because he knows they are hard but its like too bad, dont take HIM
Alright, so he's an amusing character and a nice guy. No one is arguing with that. BUT, the exam questions (and quizquestions) were unclear and poorly written, not to mention tricky...his lectures were so confusing...his expectations of the students' knowledge is unrealistic. I could go on, but SUFFICE IT TO SAY, this class is not anyone's idea of
uh...SUFFICE IT TO SAY (this is a useless course) this and that....because we don't know enough about biology to draw any real conlusions! And he makes his own little experiments -fish/bait-on the exam to freak people out. Wow, I love that. Guess what, there's a reason I don't have a phD yet. I don't see how this can be the hardest course in U1.
Yeah, prof Roy is a nice man, but seriously, is was a really hard course, and that's true, he doesn't know when it's to much!
Very hard class. Asks ambiguous questions and makes the course very difficult.
The previous year suposedly had an easy exam. so he felt the grades were too high and made the exam impossible. In order to do DECENT (IE B, or B+) you need to spend about 3 hours on each lecture just to decifer what he was saying. and thats excluding 1/2 hour memorization per class. there are 30 lectures so 3 1/2 hours. Enjoy BIO 200 folks
Do yourself a favour and don't take this class. Do something more productive, like take up smoking.
whew, am i glad that is over. his quiz questions are impossible to answer..even when the book is infront of you. and the final..o man..his part in the final was so ambiguous, i found myself guessing half of it. the teacher himself is ok, enthusiastic, .good luck to ppl taking BIO200...i knwo i needed it,..along with 600 other ppl
Crazy hard section, but the nicest man you'll ever meet. Very very helpful, funny and interested in his work. Take this prof if you can, but be prepared to pay attention and work.
BIO200 is a pain the in the ass
I think that Roy was soo much better than Bureau. He made the material easy to understand it was just a matter of memorizing it. His questions on the final were fair. Although his hotness was a distractor. He's soo cute!
Excellent professor. Always willing to help. If you work hard, study well, keep up and review, the material is fine.
Tough professor, but I am glad I had him!
OMG, first day of class, I was like "cutest prof ever", might be even better than Wiseman, see for urself ;) lol, Exams were ok, kinda easy to be honest, don't listen to the ppl who hate his teaching, he is one of the best bio profs at McGill, i luv u professor Roy!
Dr. Roy rocks! He knows what he is talking about and can get the message across. I want to make it in science, not just be an average Joe with a BSc, and Roy has shown me it takes more than just passing grasdes to get me there. Keep it up Dr. Roy, dedicated research students are listening.
Professor Roy is tough, really tough, but his BIOL 200 course was well worth every second I spent studying my butt off. After working so hard, I feel that I am really on top of new methods and ideas, something that not many profs can offer to an undergrad like me. I feel great, like I learned something real that will help me in my career.
Prof Roy offers what is really needed to move ahead for a life in science. He not only teaches the hard science facts but he gives the skinny on how it fits into the big picture. This class teaches more than BIOL, it helps guide me to where I need to go to succeed in this competitive world. I am happy to invest my time and effort in this course.
Roy initially seems like he has a good attitude and is approachable, but later you find out it's not true. Worse, his lectures are confusing, he talks nonstop about things that don't correspond with his slides, and he's unforgiving. Not the worst, but quite a poor prof overall.
I don't know what makes him a worse prof: the way he speaks or how he is NOT clear AT ALL! he never sticks to the notes, in fact don't go to class cause the slides are different. the stuff he talks about isn't in the book so if you don't understand it...good luck! Bureau was much better, he should teach the entire semester. Roy = worst nightmare
No Comments
DONT TAKE HIM! Get a bad schedule and go in the afternoon class!!!!!!!!!!! (higher class average, better teachers!) Ugh i get shivers thinking about this class because of this teacher.
His exams were made to puropsely trick you. I really truly think he wanted all of us to fail. Can't teach for his life (you walk out of a lecture wondering what was the point of that class), gets really annoying with his stupid comments and sooooo unclear, contradicts himself... DO YOURSELF A FAVOR AND DONT TAKE HIM YOU WILL TRULY REGRET IT
While he babys the class and there is a ton in class, all of it can be followed and understood by listening to the recordings. However, his tests are not structured around the way the material was taught, and for that much material, minor nuances and variations are a huge chore. To do well, don't go to class, just listen to the the recordings.
No Comments
Has usually decent lectures that contain useful information, but he often contradicts what he has said in the past and makes mistakes. Also, the exams given out are almost completely unrelated to what is taught in lectures. He is not willing to admit any mistakes and has a stubborn, annoying (almost immature) attitude. AVOID IF POSSIBLE!!!!!!
No Comments
mean guy..he wants you to fail
Follow the NTCs. And ask him if he could correct his finals' questions BEFORE the exam or else, you won't understand a thing even if you learned every single detail by heart. Easy trick to pass: get in the afternoon class!
His short answer exam questions are absolutely brutal
His section of the exam was the most incomprehensible thing in the world! Prof Roy, if you're reading this, pleasee use commas, and no more of those 6 line long MC questions. I thought i was prepared for the exam, but still bummed it pretty badly.
Simplely the by far the worst professor I have had! does not explain concepts well and exam questions are very very hard
No Comments
Study every little detail for the final, even if he says continually in class that it's all about understanding concepts and not necessarily details :S Very incomprehensible questions written by him on the final. Maybe attending the other section would be a better idea.
his MC and and short answer questions are so long and badly worded that you have to read them thrice to know what hes asking. Ace Bureau's section or better yet switch to the other class.
I found him very interesting. I studied ALOT and aced the class. The entire class was bummed after the final, which was pretty hard but I was prepared. If you keep up, re-listen to lectures and can memorize details you can do well. I think he was very nice, spoke well and was so enthusiastic. I enjoyed the class alot.
SUPER!
This class has alot of detail--make sure you listen to lectures & write everything he says & memorize it! But...I must say that this class really prepares you for BIOL202, which is just as detailed but so much more work! If you learn this material & get some good study habits you will do just fine. It's definitely not impossible to ace it!
If you study rick roy's section in depth the exam doesn't seem so bad. his questions are specific so make sure you know everything but everything is very clearly depicted and explained in the lectures. he's enthusiastic and loves what he does, so therefore quite a good professor.
Arrogant guy, in his own world, he's interested in what he does which is a little inspiring but cannot explain examples for the life of him!
I understand this is university- It's supposed to be hard, not everyone can get an A etc but RR is just frustrating. Bureau was so much better and it's not like he dolled out A's (midterm was 70 av). Roy speaks SO fast and his questions are incredibly long and wordy so by the time you finish the paragraph you have no idea what he's asking. AFTERNO
Awesome prof. I did not go to class... but I listened to his lecs 2x and looked over the slides. the slides are detailed, helpful. He shows amazing levels of enthusiasm and the review he does at the beginning of every lecture really drives the concepts home.
I found him abominable, awful, and would avoid his section at all costs. Material is critical to anyone contemplating career in health sciences, but Roy is not the guy I want to learn it from. Widely regarded as writing his own reviews.
You have to know and understand the material if you want to do well in this class. Hes really enthusiastic about the material, but his slides are really bad, if you listen to what he is actually saying, its really understandable.
Awesome professor- really into what he's teaching, and very entertaining. He's a tough examiner but well worth it.
I LOVED ROY! But he was teaching BIOL201 and made sure that he did not give killer questions on the final. I find his lectures really really clear if you listen carefully and his logic is not hard to follow at all as he tries to slow down a lot. The tone of his voice is lively so I don't fall asleep easily. He's also on Quirks an quirks!!
I did not find this course the least bit enjoyable. Rick Roy would give examples which were supposed to emphasize his topic, but would often go into such great detail and complexity that the topic would be compeletely incomprehensible. Sometimes he would even explain the concept wrong, or explain a concept that didn't correspond to the slide.
He wasn't super clear in class, but after watching his lectures a number of times, going to tutorials and reading the text book, his exam questions were actually a lot better than I heard they would be. Overall I think I complained way too much when I took it. He's not that bad at all, and has great taste in music!
He's really the best prof in terms of clarity, at least for introductory biol. Biol is not easy to teach especially at the introductory level because it can easily get confusing at this level. However, Roy is amazingly clear at explaining things and his slides are super clear as well. He put in a lot of work into teaching and it sure shows.
BIOL201 is really cool this year with Roy and Hastings. I wish the two taught everything. The lady professor was way too fast and her section was hard. Dr. Brown is soo soo boring to listen to. Roy and Hastings should have taught everything!!!!!
Hated him in BIOL 200, loved him in 201, although still didn't do well because of the other teachers. I actually love the guy, he seems to provoke a lot of hatred in people, but he's alright. I LOVE HIS VOICE!!!!! If nothing else, his voice makes listening to him interesting!
I don't understand all the hatred for him because he seemed like a decent prof in BIOL 201. Maybe Roy's evil twin taught BIOL 200...
Great guy, keeps class entertained and makes subject interesting
Take the afternoon class if you can. Trust me.
Questions are not nearly as hard as I thought they would be, but there are very wordy and detailed. Know your material very well. Get the NTCs and listen to the lectures. He's very cool and sweet, probably the hottest bio prof out there.
I didn't realize so many people disliked him. I don't want to memorize slides, anecdotes and complicated examples are the best part. He's a little ray of sunshine and I miss his class. Looks like the worst kind of aging rockstar though.
Useless prof
Very hard course and a confusing teacher... Speak to fast for very important materials. Slides are useless even if there is stuff writhed on them.
His lectures are contradicting and confusing. Explains everything with words you don't know. Talks about things like you already know them. I'm not even saying this as a dumb student cuz I have a 4.0 in the class. You just have to textbook learn everything.
Horrible professor. Overly wordy on every subject which makes the concepts very confusing. Literally explains the same concept by using every synonym he can think of.
He gives you a lot of info really quickly so its alway helpful to watch the recording to pause/rewind. He's not the best at explaining concepts, like the techniques used, but he's a good guy. Plays interesting animations and relevant youtube clips and has decent music playing when you walk in. I find his birthday songs creepy tho....
Hes a good professor. yes wordy but its expected university vocab. biology in general is wordy. material is daunting but that's not really his fault, he tried his best to help students with lots of review sessions, etc... overall a good guy, however this course is challenging.
He's a good professor, its just his material is very dense and he tends to be very wordy with every single slide. His exam questions are pretty fair to be honest. Even though everyone says it's hard, it just takes a small amount of effort to think about the question and read over them. The concepts were straight off his slides.
Yes his material is dense and yes, it does require heavy memorization. However, if you go to class, and rewatch the lectures and take decent notes on what he says, you'll do fine. Everything he says IS crystal clear, it's just a matter of catching everything he says. Exam was fair and it's all a matter of applying the concepts and reading carefully
You will re-listen to all the lectures about 25 times. He talks A LOT, the material is super dense and pretty complicated. The final was absurd. Question were awful. Studied my butt off and still didn't do as well as hoped. Take the other section for sure!
Easy going prof. His material is a lot harder than Bureau, but the slides are well detailed, and you're not responsible for knowing anything other than what's on them (no textbook required).
Roy is a very chill prof, he plays music at the beginning of each class. He is generally clear although sometimes makes it difficult to tell what is important. Definitely interested in what he is teaching. Slides are often cluttered and not the same as what he is saying. Exam questions are tricky.
Easy class, never went to class or listen to lectures. Read the textbook for an easy A.
All questions were what were on the slides. No need to watch lectures or listen to his words. They are for interest
He repeats the same thing over and over again with different words. That's why some people were really confused. He talks so fast with wordy explanations; however, I highly enjoyed his class. You can tell that he wants his students to do well, and he tries his best to help us! I LOVE HIM in general. Oh, and his exam was very fair.
No curve whatsoever. Marks come out after semester started. Talks non-stop so don't even bother going to class, and just stay home and play his lectures at 0.5x the speed. Worst class I've ever taken at McGill.
He seems like a nice guy but I couldn't retain anything of what he said... his powerpoints are useless, he uses incorrect terminology and his final was awful... not to mention receiving the grades 2 days after the next semester started
Clear & Extremely fast on account of vast portion to complete, lots of information but is well organised and actually made sense. He is super enthusiastic and although my grade isnt the best, I enjoyed listening to him. Made me like the subject due to his extremely love for the subject matter which shone through.Perk: Plays awesome music at 8:30am
He is very interested in what he studies and teaches. But, other than that, his exam was deceivingly and unexpectedly difficult... and ruined everyone's final grade.
Professor Roy is extremely knowledgeable and enthusiastic on the material he teaches. However, he is simply not a great lecturer by WAY over-complicating things. A concept that takes 5 minutes to understand from a secondary source will take you 3 hours to understand through his lecture and notes.
Complicates concepts, but very interesting and enthusiastic. His questions can be tricky.
Great professor, very interested in what he's teaching, makes it interesting even at 8.30 in the morning. Clear, funny and dynamic. Loved the course. His exam questions were fair, can do well in this class but an A sounds unlikely. His habit of singing happy birthday can seem creepy.. Can sound rude sometimes, but is actually very sweet.
Prof. Roy definitely deserves higher ratings. He manages to explain the material in a very comprehensible manner. Some of his exam questions are a little tricky but it shouldn't be a problem if you are prepared.
he is probably the only one, who can teach such a hard course with such an eagerness. materials and questions were so hard, but he taught everything so clearly. and the techniques he taught is useful for every branch of cell and molecular biology.
Very knowledge and explains difficult concepts well. Love his enthusiasm at 8:30 in the morning! Not an easy class but if you learn every sentence he says its not too bad. Great prof! Looking forward to BIOL 201
Rick Roy is not a bad prof. The only thing is that the material he teaches is dense and a bit tough. Yes, I had to rewatch the lectures a couple of times to understand some concepts but overall he was very helpful, and you clearly could tell that he really wanted us to learn and that he was passionate about his material. Great Prof!
really hard, you have to memorize all the minor details that seem too technical and obscure to be tested. with that being said the course is great and he's a decent prof... rate him and the course a 4/5
Probably a nice guy, but never learned how to make a powerpoint. WHICH SHOULD NOT BE IN PARAGRAPH BOOK FORM. Also makes things WAY more complicated in lecture than they really are. Most of what he says in 5 sentences can be summed up in 4 words. Makes things extra super terribly difficult. But probably a nice guy.
Roy was a good professor, we could see his enthusiasm through its lectures. But he talked too much, in fact he talked non stop making our taking notes very difficult. Moreover, we did not know what part of what he says is important so we ended up noting everything and it all became a huge mess... Had to listen to his lecture recordings many times
Super nice enthusiastic guy, don't get me wrong! But he TALK SO MUCH. It's a hard class but he makes it unnecessarily hard. Best tip I can give is GET THE NTCs, they will save you, because Rick's lectures are complicated beyond belief. You read the NTC's and then his lectures and you'll realize how complicated he makes the simplest things.
Excited and exciting, passionate and awesome. Questions are hard.
Honestly, one of the hardest classes you will ever take. Study hard. Buy NTCs, ignore Rick Roy and his lectures. They are worthless. Study NTCs from the beginning and you will do well. Also ACE THE MIDTERM! You will thank yourself later.
Hardest final you will ever take. I honestly think thought that his questions were out to trick you. Know and understand everything he says. Because you will need it. ACE THE MIDTERM (Bureau's section). Also buy NTCs, Roy's lecture slides are really confusing. He uses unnecessarily large words (he does teach a really hard course to be fair).
People should really give RIck some credit. He really knows what he's talking about. The exam wasn't hard at all! It was very fair. As long as you know your stuff, it's easy to tell what rick wants as the answer in the exam. No textbook was required. Everything he tested was on his slides. Very fair exam.
Rick is one of the best professors at McGill. Passionate and extremely clear. Very fair exam
Roy. is. the. worst. The final will probably make you cry. Good luck.
Over complicates EVERYTHING. Don't even bother going to class, watch the lectures online so that you can pause and take notes. He's really passionate and knows his stuff which is great but other than that this class blows. Make sure to do well on the midterm and online quizzes and pray the final doesn't bum f you.
Ignore the nonsense below. He is HORRIBLE at explaining things but he's a good prof. DON'T GO TO HIS CLASSES it will stress you out BUT YOU HAVE TO BUY NTC's and watch his lectures simultaneously (it will make sense after). His exam was VERY FAIR and I didn't even study that much and biology is not my thing. PUT IN THE EFFORT & you'll see results.
The final was ridiculously difficult. Don't take this class unless you need it for your major.
People who rant about him are really because they have no idea how to take notes in class. He tries to explain his slides as best as he can (doesn't read his slides) so students have a better idea. To be fair, it's not an easy course he has to teach. In my opinion, he does a good job.
He's so clear and the exam was not hard at all. Why is everyone complaining? He's a very nice guy and definitely a genius. He talks a lot, yes. But if you write down what he says in class and go home and compare them with the slides, he makes it much easier to understand. Exam is a piece of cake if you understand his notes. Overall Roy is awesome.
He honestly is pretty good. Lectures are very clear. Listen to everything he says, and have a good grasp of each lecture topic. The final exam was a breeze on his part, almost couldnt beleive how easy it was.
I don't know why he has such bad ratings, he's a phenomenal prof. Sure, his material isn't easy but you don't expect it to be. He's very clear in his lectures and doing well in his exams is completely doable if you just put some effort into it instead of complaining all day. Watch out for Bureau's section on final though, he's very very specific.
I went to his session twice and then I stopped going to class. I found out it was not easy for me to focus in the class so I just listened to the lecture recording. Buy the NTCs and read through them after you listened to the lecture. Make sure you understand everything instead just memorise what's on the slide. Final was doable but not easy.
Not a bad prof - passionate about his stuff, super willing to helpanswer questionsoffer tutorials, and clear material. You really do need supplements for this course thouhg - NTC's, reading the textbook. One thing I will say is that he goes way to fast in lectures and I stopped going in person after a few days and started watching them online.
Honestly, this professor is not as bad as what people seem to say. He is a true genius, knows biology inside out, and is actually really willing to make his students succeed. It is true that you need to make the effort, read the textbook, and learn the material throughout the semester. I do not recommend cramming. Very interesting material overall.
His final is a breeze if you put in A LOT of effort. He expects you to understand 100% of what he says. MCs were very specific but the SAs were easy. Textbook is not needed.
His lectures are extremely confusing, it is easier to listen to the recordings... he usually goes around in circles and says the same thing in 5 different ways which makes it confusing. If you understand everything he is saying the final is not THAT bad (still extremely hard, but doable). Bureau was very specific on the final, don't forget his stuf
So confusing... Exam was hard even after I did a crash course for the final. Don't memorize, you have to understand a 100%. Not much text on his power point so you have to write everything he says... Repeats the same thing in 10 different ways and it becomes confusing.
What can I say, Rick Roy is a great prof. I know desperate U1s will scour this website looking for a review of him so I'll make it clear. THOROUGHLY MEMORIZE EVERY EXPERIMENT. Do your best to memorize the stuff he clearly deems important by going over 100 times. You can get an A in this class, just be ready memorize a lot. As for Bureau, hahahah..
Great prof, passionate about the topics and that made the lectures interesting. It helps to focus on following his explanations instead of blindly trying to write everything down. Re-listen to the lecture to write notes if needed, but it's far more helpful to have an idea of the general process, it'll be easier to memorize the details then too.
Absolutely amazing professor. The only reason I was able to pass the class and even love the class was because of him. He makes you want to wake up at 7 am just to go to his class.
It's a hard class. He's fine, but make sure you really put in the work. His short answer questions are easy enough if you understand the material conceptually, but the MCs are pretty specific so work on memorizing.
Be prepared to rewatch lectures to figure out what he means while he goes around in circles. He has no flow when it comes to teaching. BUT do not take the afternoon section, Roy's section is the "better" of the two.
Rick Roy is really not as bad as some have said. He's very enthusiastic about what he teaches, and if you take the time to actually understand the material, you'll do fine. You can do the lectures online which is a great bonus because you can get more from his lecture.
I think his main issue is that he isn't a very clear lecturer. I had to watch most lectures multiple times to understand the concepts. Other than that he requires a lot of memorization, but his tests are fair though very thorough.
Yeah he is passionate about C. elegans but not clear at all when lecturing material. He is a storyteller and his lectures are convoluted and all over the place. Study and you will pass but he doesn't make it any easier for you. 4
Roy is a genius when it comes to biology and his lectures reflect that prepare to relisten to the lectures and go over every lecture many times to understand it. That being said he is a great guy and once you understand the material and it makes sense, you realize that he is actually a great prof. Would not recommend if you dont have hours to spare
Awesome teacher, awesome person.
He's a decent prof. He's lectures are a bit scattered and the slides he posts online don't have much actually content or explanation, so you have to either go to class or listen to the lecture in order to understand them. But overall, an alright prof.
He may be a brilliant researcher, but he is not a good teacher/lecturer - he just talks. He uses 5 minutes to explain what he could in 1 concise sentence, and assumes students know all the jargon he mentions without giving context. He frequently makes inappropriate comments in class, and skips over material. The impression is that he doesn't care.
Lecture slides are organized but missing detail that's needed for exams. His talking is very unorganized and not easy to understand the concepts from. Uses a bunch of words that he assumes we know but never cares to provide a definition. Not a clear prof at all, his exams are horrible-pretty much will test you on stuff you would never expect.
Lecture slides dont flow. Very little coherence between his talk and the slides. Very little coherence in his talks too actually, jumps all over the place. Not concise at all, makes things even more complicated than they. Says textbook is not mandatory, yet makes exam questions on them. Overall, do not like. This course is just poorly managed.
Come on guys, Roy is a great prof. The exam wasn't tough at all just require u to think. Fair game.
Unorganized lectures and he SAYS the wrong things too, so you're just to left to wonder whats right and wrong. Honestly, switch over to Zetka's section. Its BIO 200 so its difficult, but at least Zetka makes sense and is clear. Her questions were the only questions in the final that I was confident about. Roy NEEDS to improve his teaching style.
There is so much material covered and the material definitively isn't easy. Roy repeats himself a lot and isn't always clear in his explanation, despite his repeating, I noticed some contradictions once in a while. He also doesn't teach everything and expects us to learn some things on our own upon reflexion which I find tough for a level 200 class
Not clear nor concise. Uses words/concepts we've never seen before without explaining them. Lectures are all over the place. He jumps from one subject to another without making it clear that he's talking about something else. Often uses huge sentences that make no sense. Going to class is useless, you'd get a better grade by only studying the NTCs
HE IS NOT AS TERRIBLE AS YOU HEAR. HONESTLY, this class is supposed to be a challenge and if you don't put time in to study, you will not do well. However, rewatching the lecture and getting help from the textbook helps a lot-- it is a lot of independent study. When he emphasizes something, it is more important!! This class is hard but not impossib
You will have to work MUCH harder than you would in almost any other class. That being said, however, getting an A is completely achievable/possible if you are willing to put in the work, it's as simple as that! Don't understand why all the people here are so salty - it's well known that this class is hard, what did you expect?? Roy is standard.
If you don't rewatch the recordings, you won't understand fully. He sometimes has bad attitude during his lectures (he is like you can only ask me questions if your questions are very difficult).
He is the reason I'm getting out of the life sciences stream. Honestly the worst prof I've had at McGill. Yes, his lectures are good and he knows how to teach. But his exams are like from another planet. I totally found no correlation between the lecture content and his exam. And I actually LOVED the material in Biol 200, his exams just ruined it.
After BIOL 200 I have two loves, c elegans and Rick ROY.
The course is hard, but if you take notes of everything he says, and if you learn everything perfectly, then you will find the exam not that hard.
I used to love biology. Then I took this class. There is an enormous discrepancy between the level and depth of the material that is taught in class and that which is actually tested. Beware: the lectures are deceptively easy to understand, but the exams are dauntingly challenging. This course is notorious for lowering GPAs. Start studying early.
Unfortunately, I went into my freshman year taking this course... I strongly disliked it. Prof Roy is very hard to follow and you have to rewatch every single lecture if you want to have even a hope of getting a decent mark. Study early and study EVERYTHING
Just listen to the lectures over and over again, write down what he says word for word, memorize all the enzymes, and UNDERSTAND THE MATERIAL. (you will not pass the short answer section of his exam unless you do.) His class is not the most enjoyable, but taking it as a prerequisite helps you learn how to study for higher bio classes like BIOL 202.
Ridiculous amount of memorization required, lectures were very fast and hard to follow, and often unclear. Exams will be much much harder than anything you would expect.
I just love Roy !
Rick Roy quote: "cells do what they do because they can, and that's how it is".
Terrible, moves fast through lectures, always goes over the allotted class time, exams are super challenging, doesn't care about students.
Roy clearly knows his material extremely well, however his lectures are hard to follow because he goes at a relatively fast speed. Be prepared ahead of time for each of his class. Also, very passionate and make biology seem slightly more exciting. Lastly, don't forget to bring your dictionary to class and get ready to expand your vocabulary.
Wow there is so much hate on this page... Richard Roy is not that terrible come on. His lectures are very long and he uses unnecessary sophisticated words. And it's also true that he talks rapidly and you will have to rewatch the lecture recordings. Other than that, his tests were based off what he said in class, also he loves helicases (wink wink)
Very hard course, you really need to know EVERYTHING. NTCs are an amazing resource as a starting up to learn the material, use them! Roy talks way too much, so be ready to decode what he's saying and grasp the essential bits. Textbook should only be used for sections that you don't fully understand, otherwise it is useless (gives too much info)
Im really surprised by how everyone says hes the worst, I thought that going in and turns out hes like every other teacher Ive ever had, mans not tough, his questions were easy af, legit stuff he kept talking about. There was no tricks or stuff on the final, straight up regular biology class. The dude talks forever tho, always ends late
"If I took this class I'd be happy to get a 55" - Richard Roy. He has no idea what he's doing and even less of an idea of what's going to be on the final... which he wrote. Big concepts and working knowledge don't matter and you won't be tested on them. It's all about specific knowledge. If he mentioned it once, it'll be on the final
Richard Roy is a passionate and engaging professor. The course material is extremely interesting for those who like molecular biol. That being said, the course is very dense and you'll need to understand every concept and memorize every example given. He will test you on it. It is a tough but easily manageable course as long as you keep up.
This guy sucks so much, by far worst prof, worst educator I've ever dealt with in my entire life.
this is a hard course, but not as terrible as its made out to be. the midterm is easy (hastings part). richard roy is an interesting man for sure and maybe a bit intimidating at times, but he is lively and really loves biology. i wouldn't take the course unless you have to - try to take another bio if possible. 65% of your grade is the final.
Roy teaches passionately, but uses vague language when speaking about precise processes. Use the textbook to understand the specifics. I did not like him as a teacher, as he is intimidating and the quiz questions are unclear & may talk about details we have not seen in class. For the final he said: Many choices can be true, select the most true -.-
Bring a thesaurus to class. Uses words that I don't think he even understands. Talks way too much and just ends up making things more confusing. In order to do well you have to transcribe everything he says in class. Also kinda mean.
Talks so much that he loses his train of thought and confuses students, can't articulate well, uses either unrefined language like "grand-daddy" or over the top language - makes it very hard to understand. Does NOT foster environment of mutual respect. Told students that he would lose faith in them as individuals if they asked a "what is" question.
Incredibly hard to keep up with the vocabulary he uses. Not very well at articulating concepts, and puts unfair questions on midterms and quizzes. Must keep up word for word, I recommend NTCs for this course.
Lecture style is hard to follow, little clarification. Do your NTCs and pre-readings in the book. Watch lecture recordings at a faster speed and be prepared to stop them frequently. He didn't provide representative practise and wondered why the class was upset about the difficulty of the midterm. Some language choices made me uncomfortable.
I don't even know where to begin. His teaching is circumlocutory, informal, and very unclear. "The amino acids almost kiss each other"? Seriously? He displayed his anger on his students once because he was getting hundreds of emails from confused students about the concepts he taught. Hasn't he ever wondered WHY? USE THE TEXTBOOK. USE NTCs.
Be ready to memorize tons of materials which don't get tested in the final.
If possible, avoid the 1st section of this course (Bureau and Roy) which is usually taught at 8:30 rather than 11 or so. The 1st section is much more challenging, having different tests with lower averages. The material is interesting but the tests are unclear and unfair. The lectures were poor, as was Roy's attitude through the whole course...
BIOL 200 was the hardest class I've taken at McGill thus far (it's my third semester). The amount of content tested on this exam was an insane amount. It took me 8 hours to read my review notes ONCE over. Studied HUNDREDS of hours for this exam and still probably didn't get an A. Rick Roy's teaching made it so hard to understand the content. AVOID.
Summing it up: 1. AVOID 2. AVOID 3. Did I say avoid him? 4. Fast-paced; either uses childish words or very complicated words. 5. I do not recommend attending his lectures, waste of time (use the recordings). 6. USE! THE! NTCs! 7. VERY, very very (emphasis on very) aggressive professor who belittles students for their questions. 8. lol
Not the worst lecturer ever but a very unlikeable character. Does NOT create an atmosphere of respect. Basically told us to stop emailing him with dumb questions. His quizzes make no sense and when we tell him so he doesn't care. Uses complicated words for no reason which makes an already hard class even worse.
Worst prof ever. If you ask him a question, he will ask you, "what do you think?" If you don't know, he will make you feel stupid by saying " you are supposed to know this", and if you guessed a right answer, he'll say "see, you answered your own question." Very impatient. No help at all. Very confusing/disorganized lectures. NTC "teaches" better.
Avoid at all costs. The guy uses complicate and elaborate vocabulary to explain something quite simple and it takes hours for us to grasp what he really wants. He is very disrespectful towards his students and not willing to take time to answer questions. I had him for the second half of the course and basically taught myself the course with NTCs!
He is the worst teacher I ever had. I WILL not take any class with him again.
Had him for bio200 morning section... absolutely awful. I couldn't differentiate the important testable material from the small details. The quizzes were extremely difficult even when i did study for them. Midterm and final very tricky and hard to get through, i had to question whether we even learnt some of the material. Unfair.
I know no one who got an A within my friends (who usually do). Through what I have heard, only people who have taken the course twice (failed the first time), have done actually well in the class. One thing I learned: THE EXAMPLES GIVEN IN CLASS ARE IMPORTANT.
Prof Roy is really a character at McGill. He is passionate about his materials and researches but he is unclear and his questions are indeed tough, and what makes the situation worse is that each point corresponds to one point of overall mark. So, people have to work extremely harder on this course if you are not that kind of "genius" Roy expects.
People are tripping. He's a good prof. and his exams are fair. I think it's just the nature of the course and the fact that BIOL 200 is the first 200 level bio course people are taking, so they aren't used to it. If you study thoroughly and make sure you understand the experiments presented, it's an A.
Worst teacher I have had so far. Very difficult test questions, expects you to know everything.
I DON'T understand. They teach the same stuff in BIOL 202, why other prof is able to explain everything so clearly within 10 minutes and this guy, is not able to make things clear using the whole semester. What can he do as a teacher? He is just able to use fancy vocabs to confuse his students and calling their questions dumb.
First time I took his class, I did not understand much of it. You really need to know the basics of BIOL200 in order to grasp what he is talking about so I suggest reading the textbook before class. Second time I took this class (after taking two semesters of biology) I found it to be alright.
definitely the worst professor of the section in BIO200. He talks too much and uses fancy vocabulary to make you feel dumb and his exams are super tricky. When we email him to ask him to reclarify the grading rubric for the exam since it made no sense he calls us indirectly dumb. If you have him goodluck cause you are gonna NEED IT
I understand some of the negative feedback, as Roy's test questions can be tough (especially experimental design questions). But, all of the questions are fair. They're really not so bad, but maybe that has to do with the course having been online. His lectures are very clear and well organized, everything you need to know will be on his slides.
I really wanted to like Professor Roy and give him a fair chance. But there is something about him that is just off. BIOL 200 is hard, and that is okay, but somehow the other professors made the material for this course understandable and interesting. Roy speaks wayyyy to much and his information seems untouchable. Good luck.
His tests are harder than the previous lecturers (in my case Thomas Bureau and Ken Hastings) however he is clearly passionate about what he teaches and it shows in his lectures. If you study and read the NTC (I HIGHLY recommend them since Prof Roy can get on long tangents sometimes) then his tests are very doable.
His lectures are quite dense and he tends to go on tangents. His test questions are difficult and really make you think about the material, especially when compared to the course's other lecturers. He can also be incredibly rude when responding to emails when you ask him to explain the material because you don't understand.
Honestly, Roy is quite passionate with what he teaches but OMG!!! His so called "Quizzes" are the hardest! Other profs is well respected in their questions but Roy's questions is a disasture
Honestly, this is one of the hardest classes that i have ever took! Its almost like a punch in the face with that Roy calls his "Quizzes" It is extremely difficult. I literally cannot exaggerate how stressed i was each week because of his quizzes. The quizzes are harder than most exams! GOOD LUCK....
He is condescending, he uses a lot of words to say simple things but barely spend time explaining core ideas assuming that you already know it. His lectures are long, boring and inefficient. I spent a lot of time looking for outside sources to complete his teaching. His quiz questions are not made to test you but to get you. Avoid him if possible.
The weekly quizzes are so hard. I'm not kidding. RR's quizzes are terrible.
Had him for the online semester and there were 11 bio quizzes every week, worth 10% each and lowest grade dropped. He makes the grading rubric super strict so even if your answers are right, the TAs might put you as wrong. It's still very possible to get an A though, just watch the lectures and take notes on everything and you'll be just fine.
I took BIOL200 online Fall 2020 and during Professor Roy's lectures and quizzes, it seemed that the application of material was a bit more difficult than the other professors' in comparison as a lot of their quiz question were easy regurgitation. He did write tougher quizzes, but I learned that taking careful notes on the required lectures worked.
Rick Roy seems great in the beginning, he speaks slowly and clearly during online lectures but his test questions were very hard compared to the questions made by the other profs in bio200. Do as much of the extra work and textbook readings as you can to prepare for the tests and I wouldn't suggest going to his office hours.
I took BIOL200 online in fall 2020. The tougher reviews here are justified bc the two profs prior to Roy gave easy quizzes made to test our understanding. The transition to Roy's quizzes involved intense critical thinking and experimental design questions. Overall was fine if you read but if I had only him the whole semester would be worried.
Overall a very knowledgeable professor who relays information clearly. Appreciate that he knows what he's talking about and does care for the wellbeing of the students. His quizzes are more difficult because they test small important details but if you go to class and take good notes on the little things he says you will do fine.
Condescending delivering lectures, speaks in infantilizing tone, and is malicious and verbally abusive over email. Grading rubrics not designed to evaluate understanding, instead are punitive and jump to dock points even if the answer is essentially correct. Feedback not constructive, doesn't give OSD accommodations, learning environment is toxic
He is a very nice person. He knows a lot of things. But, I find his lectures sometime confusing. Maybe it's because he uses long sentences. The "quizzes" are very very very difficult. You have to know more than his lectures to do well in the quizzes. Quizzes asks for things way beyond what he has in his lectures.
I was really nervous about Prof Roy's lectures, but I ended up enjoying them quite a bit. I think he explains difficult concepts rly well. Also, I was nervous for his quizzes... but honestly, if you took good notes, went to tutorials, and took time to rly understand content and the examples he gives you will do fine.
Very good at explaining, he's passionate about what he's teaching. Takes time to separate a complex concept into simpler components. However, his exams are a nightmare. Extremely difficult questions that require a perfect understanding of the subject, will often include things that were very briefly mentionned, very specific about answers wanted.
The format of BIOL 200 is such that it must move at a very fast pace because it covers a lot of ground and serves as a foundation for pretty much every other biology course. Rick is a very sharp guy, and he generally explains things clearly. Quizzes are very specific, as others mentioned. Maybe don't hang around his office at night...
He always seems weirdly excited about everything, which is good if you're super interested in his research etc., but his slides have no text, and his explanations aren't great, so you have to be prepared to go look for the info. It's very difficult keeping up in his classes because he does not give you all the knowledge needed for his tests.
Horrible experience. Super rude. Will get annoyed if you ask him questions. Memorize all the proteins he mentions
Presents the material clearly. If you attend the lectures, you can do well in the course, but you'll need to understand the material instead of just memorizing it. Final exam is weighted 65% and is mostly on his material. Good at communicating the content but very rude. Students were scared to ask him questions because he openly insults them.
Richard Roy is the GOAT, when he told me that P granules were not granules at all, my head literally exploded. He is the most kind and caring prof at McGill and his tests are super easy!!!!! You don't really even need to study for this class because it's all common sense. He left a mark on my heart Thanks you Richard Roy XOXOXO
It's definitely a tough course but as long as you take an hour or 2 after each lecture to review you'll be fine. I recommend going to class and then rewatching each lecture again and using the textbook for the examples that you don't understand (explanations of his diagrams are there too). DO NOT cram before the exam!!!!
no. he was a fine lecturer but he did not string the content together at all so you didnt know how it fit together until it was the end and youre cramming for the final. he is also rude to students who ask questions in class and addresses them in a condescending tone.
Rick was a very good prof! Inspiring and super caring. Sometimes when I had to go ask a question, I felt very anxious because I felt he was annoyed, but as I kept going up to him he got nicer. His material was EXTREMELY fascinating. Only science prof i've had that praised female scientists for their discoveries! I crammed for the final - DONT.
Roy is all over the place with their teaching style and exams are way too hard. Concepts aren't connected and it's tough to understand what's going on. It's like he's speaking in a foreign language. If you're looking for clear explanations and manageable exams, this ain't it buddy. Use other sources of help and start preparing before the sem begins
His questions on the exam were very straightforward and fair on the exam. For the lectures, it's better to watch the recordings and it takes a while, but he explained concepts well and made complex ideas more simple. For short answer questions, know how to apply why certain results (ex: from a gel) would happen based on what you know
Rick Roy absolutely obliterated BIOL 200 and my GPA. Before his section, I was doing very well, understood all the content and got an A on the midterm. His content is extremely detailed and taught in literally no order. His quizzes are hard, his final is impossible. You would have to memorize the textbook to pass his exam.
For the love of god review Roy's lectures after each class they are too complex to cram for. Roy himself was okay. Honestly a good lecturer because he sounded so excited abt everything but lectures were very dense and he is scary to approach lol
He sounds so nice, then he grades like he's ready to take you down. He emphasizes the need for a textbook, but honestly I used it and barely failed the class. He actively punishes you for not being in class and has vocalized that when I was there. Terrible if you fell behind bc you were sick. ~25% midterm and ~65% final is absurd.
he is using his best effort to confuse us
Open-door Rick has the most absurd grading scheme: a 65% final seems okay but all of his heaviest content is crammed into the last 4 lectures of class making it a slog to review given less than 1.5 weeks between the last lecture and the class. It sounds alright but keep in mind you'll have other classes. This class is disgusting.
Rick Roy is the sole reason I want to drop out of McGill. This man is speaking a different language in his lectures, nothing makes sense, his questions are way too difficult. He expects you to have the same level of knowledge that he has. This class could not be more painful!
"Student participation in textbook associated Achieve activities is strictly optional enrichment, and will not be the basis of any assessment for the course." So that was a lie...
so condescending
This man is very excited tot alk about bio and really brings the energy to class. He is a confident speaker and fun to listen too even though I was confused. He asks very tough questions and can be rather volatile, but he made class entertaining. He is not easy, but he covers interesting content. The grading scheme sucks...65% final.
I genuinely hated my life cause of this course. He does his best to confuse his students, and does so successfully. Studied so much for the test only for the most irrelevant material to show up.
Really knowledgeable and passionate about what he teaches. Helped my understanding of molecular biology so much. Took lots of effort outside of class but office hours were super helpful. If you devote a lot of time to studying, you can do well, and any concepts you need clarity on you can find in the textbook!
Please remember that TFIIH is the granddaddy of all granddaddies.
Actually the most confusing and ill intentioned prof at McGill. Slides from the lecture are different from the slides he posts (screwing students who don't go to class by removing some slides before posting them). The 65% final is mostly his section and is taught in no particular order and impossible to follow. No partial credit on exams.
I genuinely am in awe as to how such a terrible professor is teaching the bulk of a foundational and mandatory biology course. Sped up to 1.5x speed in the recordings he sounds a lot like Ben Shapiro if that gives you any perspective into his demeanor. Very condescending and very confusing. He says you wont need to do the readings, this is a lie.
The final was 100% trying to decode what on earth Rick Roy was trying to ask in his horribly constructed questions. Why not stop confusing us and be direct with your questions, Rick? If you want to impress us with the extravagant questions that you have the capabilities to create, at least make it a take home exam so that we have the time to decode
Made everything overly long and complicated. Slides were all over the place, with little-to-no information. Talked about stuff that had nothing to do with the powerpoints. Condescending and rude. Final exam was terrible.
Did pretty fine on the midterm and quizzes, was able to get A for this class. BUT HE pulled my average down to B+. It's not like I didn't study for the final, I studied pretty hard for this class. I got A for EVERY single classes this semester (proves that I'm not stupid :) but this class, B+ BEST LUCK
His lectures do not follow chronologically and you only connect all the dots during the finals week. Some of his slides have a lot of text whereas others are just a picture so you have to listen well. His questions are very applied based and you cannot just answer them by memorization, so, make sure to understand everything. His final was deadly.
Tbf he's a good lecturer, he's clearly passionate about the subject, but his slides/curriculum are disorganized. His questions are often misleading, nitpicky, or vaguely worded. I don't think he's as bad as other people say, but his section is definitely the hardest and harshest graded. Best piece of advice: rewatch his lecture recordings and pray.
Can't teach, overcomplicates everything, gives off weird vibes (wouldn't go to his 6:30 pm friday night OH if I were you). Final average was 61 solely because of his awful questions. I would recommend reading the textbook as the only people I know that didn't fail the final did this. Good music taste though I'll give him that. Good luck.
Professor is very passionate about the topic. Good lecturer. Lectures are very information dense, of which all of it is said, slides are very bad. You must focus on every word he says. Don't expect to do well if you expect to be spoonfed. Understand the topics and memorize every protein mentioned. Expect a written segment on final exam worth 25/65
Probably one of the most passionate lecturers I had at McGill so far. Yes, his exam questions were hard, though they were very fair. He warned us at the beginning of his section that we shouldn't memorize word for word his slides; we should focus more on understanding the material. I would recommend him to anyone eager to learn.
Final Exam was too hard, and it was 65% of final grade. First time I've ever failed after allocating 80% of my study time.
The teacher was passionate in his lecture, but the slides had little information in it, so make sure to watch the lecture recording. My only advice is go to TA conference, Sci learn (Their exercises have a little bit of similarities to his questions in a way), and textbook/achieve. Try to understand since his questions are context/situation.
Everyone who took this class before me made me nervous for Dr. Roy's section but I was surprised at how much I enjoyed his lectures. I won't deny that this course was difficult and I had to make it my priority, but the exam was fair and he was a really passionate lecturer.
I honestly don't know how to feel about this professor. He was very passionate about his field, and I could feel that with my whole soul. The subjects he teaches are also pretty interesting. However, either his way of teaching sucked and so, I didn't understand or I understood and his exams were extremely hard, I failed.
He is an excellent lecturer and is very passionate about what he teaches. Be prepared to watch the lecture recordings and note every single detail. Although his lectures are clear and interesting, his exam questions are extremely hard. I had to make this class my priority and I spent A LOT of time studying for the final exam since it was worth 65%.
After taking this class I learned to hate myself because he made me feel inferior and small.
Tough course made worse by bad teacher for the second half
Is Rick Roy a good person - no. But he was clearly passionate about the material (unlike Hastings) so I actually enjoyed his lectures. He talks quickly and has nothing on the slides so I rewatched each lecture and essentially wrote down every word he said because he will expect you to know literally everything. But at least he wasn't boring
Prof Roy is passionate but his teaching style can be challenging. Attend lectures, use Sci Learn and unstuckstudy ai to supplement, and focus on understanding over memorization - that's the key to acing this course.
This class made my soul dissolve. I tried so hard to connect all the loose threads of his disorganized lectures, but even after all that effort I felt like a loser. Maybe it is because of his smug attitude.
He rambles and has an annoying tone in lectures, he's pretty confusing and doesn't properly explain his graphs/figures from the slides. Exams are very difficult and you have to actually understand the material so lecture recordings are helpful.
Has an inferiority complex and likes to hear himself speak. At times feels as though he is trying to sound more intelligent than he really is. Most slides have about 1 image. Only pro is that he follows the textbook, meaning I don't have to listen to his grating voice.
He has no idea how to deliver a sentence that doesn't ramble to 15 different topics or repeat several times. It's impossible to follow his line of thinking as he's speaking in the lectures, and his slides are so lacking in information that if you don't note down every word he says you'll be missing a lot of the content. But! He is very passionate
He turns simple ideas/concepts into indigestible amalgamations of overly complex words for absolutely no reason at all, making it genuinely impossible to follow what he's trying to say. It's almost as if he's trying to confuse you and sound smart in front of everyone. The slideshows are no better, often being only images and terribly uninformative.
100% avoid.
The professor was not as bad as people claim—neither arrogant nor condescending. The course itself is challenging, which explains the difficulty rating, but that isn't the professor's fault. He's passionate about the material, answers questions well in class, and if you study properly, there's no reason you can't succeed.
there is an evil in this man's spirit and soul.
His sentences are riddled with unnecessary words. Like you could convey the same thing in 3 lines but he has to do it in 15 mins. At least he's passionate about the subject. Just rewatch the recordings
I HATE THIS MAN AND EVERYTHING HE STANDS FOR. theres a reason this freak can't have in person office hours
Test questions are extremely hard/application based. You will be tested on material that was mentioned at the bottom of one slide. He's a passionate lecturer but does not explain things in an order that makes sense - makes it hard to connect the dots. Expect to leave every lecture knowing less biology than you did before. Bio of doom and despair
I went into the final feeling confident and prepared, but it was 60 MCQs with long, dense paragraphs. Less than halfway through, I lost focus and got a headache trying to understand what was being asked. He's passionate about the material, but TERRIBLE at testing and explaining. Worst final of my life. it tested my English more than my knowledge.
The final literally ruined my life. The options were misleading with long, dense paragraphs. The course itself is already hard enough, and the way the exam was written made it much harder. That said, he's passionate about the material and his explanations were quite clear.
This teacher made the class unbearable. This class humbled me so bad it made me feel like i was the worst failure ever. The teacher is very vague and uses overly complicated words to describe simple things (like "cells in this case are promiscuous", wym) and the final exam was literally the hardest exam i've ever done. Run.
Rick Roy is a passionate lecturer and I found the material interesting but he tends to hugely overcomplicate it in his lectures. He seems pretty nice in his lectures (I never went to his office hours or anything) but can also be condescending. Memorise everything he says and use the SciLearn/book practice questions.
BIOL 200 was definitely a tough course, with a very difficult final exam, but I don't believe that Professor Roy deserves the hate he gets. It's not impossible to do well if you keep up with the content and study throughout the course. His lectures can be confusing at first and seem all over the place, but once you connect the dots it fits together
This class genuinely made me question if I am supposed to be at this university. I have never felt more inept in my life, in fact, when I am older and cannot remember much, I will most definitely remember the feeling of defeat I endured from this class. Live laugh love EIF4.
Worst course I've ever taken, and definitely the worst professor I have ever seen in my life. Everything up until the midterm was completely fine, for which I received an 85, but I ended up with a 53 in the class. The final was extremely difficult, and I felt like he tries to make it so hard to showcase how hard his content is and to feed his ego
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
21%
Textbook Required
47%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.83 avg changeRatings by Course
BIOL2000
5.0
(1)JAFAR
4.5
(2)BIOL201
4.3
(6)BIO516
4.0
(1)BIOL00
3.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
BIOL2000
5.0
BIO150
5.0
BIOL01
5.0
200
4.4
BIO200
4.3