Boikess was my chem recitation teacher...can we say awful? Nobody understood what he was saying.

He made the exams extremely difficult. Even if you study your ass off, there is now way you will get an A. This is true for all chem classes since he is the director.

Horrible teacher. The only reason I'm barely passing the course is because I work my tail off on my own and have a good study group. He does nothing whatsoever to help you, lectures are a joke.

like a high school teacher, if U do the work yourself you'll do good in the class, but then why shld you take the class?

i have just one word: GRRRR!

WORLD'S WORST LECTURER...Biggest pain in the you-know-where since he's so pompous and can't teach to save his soul, let alone life...avoid him at all costs and if you can't don't listen to him and just take notes from the book...believe me, I got an A doing that in chem 162...WHAT'S HIS PROBLEM?????

horrible lecturer

the worst professor i have ever had

worst teacher .His lectures were pretty simple but when u see his tests u will be surprised . twisted the problems . i dropped him horrible teacher

awful. very unhelpful. barely writes anything down during lectures. completely unsympathetic to people who are struggling. i've never hated a subject more than chem

In one way, he's a typical Rutgers prof: He knows his stuff but can't/doesn't want to teach.

Not helpful at all. I went all the way to his office hours from Cook to Busch and all he did was tell me to look it up online. He should also take a hint, as head of the dept that when the average grade is a 48 out of 100, maybe something is wrong

I'm failing organic chemistry this semester because he can't teach.I never recieved lower than a c my entire life until this semester.I've tried teaching myself,but the material is way too hard for me to do that.MY BEST SUGGESTION:TAKE ORGO AT YOUR LOCAL COMMUNITY COLLEGE!ORGO SUCKS AT RUTGERS!

one word: horrible!!!!!!!!!

Worst Teacher I ever had. Learned a little in lab, reading on my own and from TA's. Extremely hard tests. You know it's bad when the test scores are scaled and you can pass with an 18 and the highest score is 50. Very Poor.

Ok honestly I dont think any professor has ever made me more disappointed that I go to Rutgers. He is a nice man, but he cannot teach. period end of story. He is slow, boring, unenthusiastic and just plain bad. I did well in the class because i slaved over the book and because of oconnors recitation, no help from boikess.

This guy is the worst teacher on the planet. And what is up with him hiring mentally challanged TAs? He sucks at teaching and so do his TAs.Honestly speaking they should all be fired for being STUPID. Thank God I am not a chem major or i just might commit suicide.

Dont do it. Take it somewhere else, anywhere else.

A bad bad move. Everything you hate about RU wrapped up into one class.

Boikess is teaching in rutgers for many years & now he has totally forgotton the method of teaching. He assumes that students know everything.He makes the exams like hell.You have to understands everything from book, lecture notes, practice exams, follow other org. chem books, do online exams. Review session are waste of time if u don't have quest.

I took General Chem thirty years ago and still to this day, the name Boikess gives me the chills-He just reads from his book-is no help-Don't do it!

Overall, this professor will automatically ruin your chances for health professional school, i.e. medical school. I suggest you take the course at a community college.

A rather mediocre teacher at best, with poor communication skills.

The class is hard and he makes it worse. Very bad lecturer, you can't understand what he wants you to know for the exam.

Boikess is not helpful and arrogant. I went to many office hours with questions and he made me feel small and stupid for the questions I was asking. I got an A in the class because I read the textbook back to front and taught myself everything. Boikess had nothing to do with my grade because his lectures put me to sleep.

Biokess is a mean professor. He tells his students that even a monkey can pass his exams, and yet the failing rate is over 50%. He gives online assignments that don't work, and then tells you "its only a small part of the grade". This man has abused his tenure. Exam averages are usually in the 50's, you call that a good professor?

He does not care about his students in any way shape or form

This dude definitely has a goal, which is ruining a student's chance for a prestigious gradmed school. Connects this school to high school too much. Should just retire or leave and teach high school if he keeps talking about it. College uses a different approach from high school just like how Orgo uses a different approach from Gen Chem.

Exams are really hard. They are designed to make you fail. Also, does not care about SASSEBS students (only Pharmacy students). He should just retire already. He is already 79 years old. Does not tell you the class average of the exams. Makes you do a problem to determine it, which is really mean. In addition, only talks, no notes or slides

Should be chained to his laboratory far away from students and their futures. I would give anything to teach him something the way he "taught" us and then test him on it the way he did to us. Is not fair nor realistic with his exams. I'm not paying 30K a year to be told "build a model" then tested outrageously. Do your job or retire already.

Basically everything you've heard about orgo is true. I do believe that the midterms are fair. After you experience what the first exam is like and study hard for the next two, it is possible to do well. However, the final is absolutely ridiculous. The way the whole entire course is set up and graded is bizarre also. Try to take it off season.

Orgo with this maniac and his pharmacy allies is a bad idea. Favors pharmacy students due to their intelligence. I may not be intelligent as them, but I am still pretty smart. Here's proof: A's in every other class. I should have withdrawn and take it in the summer. A in summer OrgoF in Boikess Orgo even if med schools are against it.

I agree with the post below. Boikess just yells at students when they pass by his office or even stare through his door. I should have taken Honors Orgo with Seidel and Williams or Summer Orgo with Taylor or Govindarajoo. Even though med schools dislike Summer Orgo, think about this: an A in Summer Orgo is much better than failing Boikess Orgo.

Boikess's exams were really tough. They are all open-ended. There is nothing on the exam from the lecture notes or the textbook. In addition, it is hard to understand what he is saying during lecture since he just mumbles. I would recommend taking Orgo in the summer.

One mistake on OWL results in a zero for the whole assignment. Lots of arrogant people in this class including him. He does not want to help you unless you are in pharmacy. Instead he gives you an attitude when you ask him a question. No curve since all the arrogant 4.0 premeds and pharmacy students destroy it.

If Boikess was grading his own exam, he would give himself a C, D, or F.

The problem sets on OWL and exams are too hard to even attempt.

This class makes your GPA extinct. My advice is to study everyday for this class. Even then you are almost guaranteed to fail his exams since many of the questions are long and abstract (drawing all possible isomers for C6H10OCl including stereochemistry).

Even though there is a minimal amount of calculations, this class is still more difficult than Gen Chem. This class is difficult as Calc 151.

This class and the grading policy will make your GPA extinct. The Chem Department weeds out people.

Boikess does not offer help unless you have upper-level stats like pharmacy and some engineering students. Definitely does not want science majors to go to Columbia like him. He probably whispers I went to Columbia. Those students won't go there during lecture. This inspires him to create difficult exams and OWL policies. Take Honors Orgo.

Perelman was his best friend during the earlier ages.

Boikess and Roth must have been best friends many years ago and are still best friends today.

Here is a list of reagents that you are expected to know for his class: NBS, Cl2hv, E2 (t-b, NaOR), Br2, HBr, Br2H2O, H2OH3O+, CH3CH2Br, NaNH2NH3, Diels-Alder, KHCO3, Na2Cr2O7, H2CrO4, PCC, X2, HNO2, SO3, Friedel-Craft, and NaOH. That's too much for a basic Orgo class and for people who are not planning to use Orgo in the future.

Here are the reactions that you need to know: Wittig, Acid-Acetal Formation and reverse, Base Formation and reverse, hydrolysis, nitriles, imines, enamines, THP ethers, Baeyer-Villiger, Wolff-Kishner, and haloforms plus its complex mechanisms and synthesis. Too much for a non-chem major. Should teach Orgo 411 instead of sophomore Orgo.

Alert: Do not take Orgo with him. Take Orgo in the summer. I read these reviews and thought they were an exaggeration, but they weren't. He is not clear on the concepts that may appear on the exam and graded with a vendetta. Grading is based on improvement instead of skills. Arrogant and mean for no reason.

Boikess is a lecturer with a nasty attitude for anybody with a question that is not up to his standard. His exams are given at an extremely upper-level college difficulty and rarely equilibrate to his lecture notes or practice problems. He leaves you utterly unprepared. The only way to pass is through the TA and TI reviews. Make good use of them.

Orgo (carbonyls) is as difficult as Calc 151 since there are thousands of reactions and long mechanisms. I do not understand why Orgo is required for life science majors. Even Biochem does not require Orgo especially carbonyls. One can ace that class without Orgo. Gen Chem is sufficient enough for a degree in the life sciences.

Boikess tells his TIs to grade the exams with a vendetta. Do not be alarmed when you score in the 20's or 30's. Simply withdraw. Above a 50 on the exam is like an A. I do not understand how the average is in the 50's when most people fail the exams. Probably the pharmacy students score in the 90's and inflates the average.

This class was one of the hardest classes at Rutgers, even harder than Physics 203 and 204 and any other chemistry course in this school including PChem. I'm glad that I am out of this class.

Quite possibly the hardest and worst teacher besides the Calc teacher.

Greenblatt, Hinch, and Croft must be his best friends from a long time ago and are still his friends today since they enjoy giving difficult exams.

AWFUL DO NOT TAKE HIM SAVE YOURSELF

Probably one of the worst professors in this school including Roth. Concepts taught during lectures are not on the exams. Believes that this is the only class students are taking since he enjoys giving exams on Sundays. Does not believe in partial credit. Also believes that he is high and mighty.

Never got a low grade in any science course. Well, I guess Boikess's class isn't really a science course. It should just be changed to Music 101. If you are premed, you will regret taking him since Orgo is supposed to be one of the most important class for med or dent school.

Spends most of the lecture time telling jokes and puts concepts on the exam that were never taught in lecture or in the textbook. And he does not have any visual aids during lecture like powerpoints and speaks for the entire period like a typical humanities class.

Boikess is not a good lecturer and his exams are difficult. Questions were taken from Orgo 411 exams. Also gives exams on Sundays which causes a delay in the bus schedule like football games. Probably Boikess and Chris Ash collaborate with each other.

Exams are difficult and covers concepts not mentioned in lecture and textbook. Spent an hour on a question and got no solution. This course is as difficult as Calc 151. Take this course in the summer.

Professor Boikess does not teach anything in lecture, just read off from his lecture notes, which I can do by myself :/ People will tell you attend as many office hours you can if you wanna get a good grade. If professors go over materials and explain them well in class, so many of the students don't need to depend on office hours to do well.

This is a difficult class. Exams are designed for graduate students and do not align with the curriculum. Exams require a good working knowledge of PChem 327 and 328, Orgo 411, and possibly Chem 475 or 480. Had to use partial derivatives on one problem. Take this class off season.

This is a tough course. Exams are designed for graduate students and do not align with the curriculum. Exams require a good working knowledge of PChem 327 and 328, Orgo 411, and possibly Chem 475 or 480. Had to use partial derivatives on one problem. Take this class off season.

Hourly exams and final have nothing to do with the textbook, resources, office hours, and review sessions. Would not take again.

Fine professor but exams were beyond the scope of this lower-level course. Will not take again.

Best out of the three orgo professors at rutgers, but still awful. Read the textbook and find a good TA for office hours if you want to pass

Dr. Boikess structures RU Ochem in a very unnecessary, unfair, and extremely difficult way for the type of course it is. Organic chem is already a tough subject to grasp and Boikess does not make it any easier. Tests sometimes included material never presented in lecture; multiple choice questions are just as bad. Go to TA office hours.

The organic chemistry department does not teach you well, if correctly, and encourges an antagoniatic culture among the student body. The grading is not standardized and they love testing information that was never taught using an inaccurate textbooks/lecture notes. A complete disservice to students, and a sorry excuse for a science class.

Terrible lecturer. He doesn't use many diagrams or pictures, and just talks in long monotonous sentences, expecting everyone to follow along and understand him. the exams are CRAZY HARD. The notes he posts are ridiculously long, because they are just as long at the textbook chapters (isn't the point of notes to summarize the textbook?).

Dr. Boikess and the whole Organic department are inept. No concept of how to teach. The material is hard in nature because you can't find patterns from problems and memorize them. There are so many ways of presenting a problem that you need to understand the principles and apply them. Because of the nature of the course, we need educators.

Its a 2-in-1 class. You get what you put into this class. Nothing more.

Not enough practice or preparation in lectures. Would not take again.

Spends half the lecture talking his achievements. Spends the other half rushing through material. Not sure what he is trying to achieve in this class.

I guess I'll say something good and bad. I'll start with the bad: he really doesn't put any effort into his lectures. I understand there is limited time, but at least Jimenez and Roth use powerpoint slides and explain everything in a methodical flow. Anyways the good is, he only teaches a 1/3 of the class, and he tries to give you the best grade

Orgo307 with Professor Boikess was a challenge for any student's sanity. His portion of the course was arguably the easiest but somehow was made more difficult by him and consisted of him trying to use a Microsoft Surface he had no idea how to use. As course coordinator his false use of statistics and unfair exams/grading makes for a bad time.

Organic chemistry is a very hard subject. But professor Boikess just makes it even harder at Rutgers. He doesn't use any slideshow or explain material clearly. The exams are ridiculously hard and the grading system is total nonsense. For me, he will always be remembered as one of the worst nightmare to pre med/dental students.

Super unfair guy and unfortunately the course coordinator. He abuses his power by using false statistics to showcase higher averages. His grades are based upon upward trend so someone with a lower grade than you can end with an A and you with a B+. Which is sheer stupidity considering someone can purposely try less on the first.

The overall average for the past semester was a 51, after getting rid of scores that fell below a certain value. He claims that the class average is a C+, but even doing 20 points above this average only got me a B+. Anywhere else, this average would have put you at an A. But not with boikess. Perhaps one of the most unfair professors at Rutgers

the system of three professors after each exam is terrible.

I took him for Chem of Life and he was horrible. Even before we switched to Online classes, his lectures were impossible to follow. His handwriting was awful and the way he explained was so dry. It was a lot easier to learn through the textbook. He was also just plain mean. The way he replied to emails/answered questions were degrading at best.

He's a nice guy but it's impossible to learn, you are teaching yourself. Whatever you do dont do it, this class gave me so much anxiety and the lectures dont help they are very confusing.

I just took his class spring of 2021 and was doing exceptionally well until he decided that I cheated, even though I didn't and there was no proof of me cheating. On top of that, he does not communicate at all with his students and on top of that takes off a grade point if you "bug him too much" over email. His TA was extremely creepy.

There are not a lot of good thing to say about his teaching. Mostly because there's little teaching on his end. If you're a visual leaner, you're going to have a rough time. Podcast-like lectures and his essay-style lecture notes. One upside is his over reliance on the textbook, so you'll be fine going off that and steering clear of his material.

Too many things to be said. This is supposed to be ELEMENTARY organic chemistry, but he teaches it like regular orgo chem, probably worse. The lecture notes are essay-like, with a lot of words and little visual explanation - much like his review sessions. You are only graded on exams and a few quizzes, and the exams are impossible to pass.

this class makes me want to cry. as others have said, his lecture notes are essay-like and he never provides step-by-step solutions for anything. final grades are based on exam avgs, but he won't count scores below a certain % when calculating them. he also purposely made our exams happen after the holidays. prob the hardest class i've taken.

hes so rude, uncaring, and hardly teaches. his review sessions are unhelpful and doesnt show the work hes doing. the way he talks is so unengaging too. take regular orgo if you can do not take this class...

Get ready to hate your life for a semester. Professor Boikess is lazy and can't even bother to write down his work. His prerecorded lectures are long with little to no visual examples. Exams are beyond difficult and hard to prepare for. No opportunity for extra credit so hopefully you are a good test taker.

Horrible. This class is the absolute worst. Professor does not care about his class and exams are extremely hard to pass. STAY AWAY FROM THIS PROFESSOR!

This professor made me hate my life. He is one of the worst if not the worst professors I have ever had. HE DOES NOT KNOW HOW TO TEACH and the only reason I understand anything is because of the organic chemistry tutor. It is more of an asynchronous class but he forces you to show up in person otherwise you lose points bc no one would show up!

This professor has no purpose at all, you teach yourself everything. You ask him a question and he's confused himself and doesn't answer it. I asked him if we round to whole number or by tenth etc, and he said "go up if its above 5".... like what? Honestly he seems to old to be teaching the course, chem isn't easy and he makes it harder

attendance isn't mandatory but he takes it. and factors in how often you came to class when it's time for final grades i recommend teaching urself in this class, read the textbook and do the practice exams on canvas you'll b alright. final exam is what determines if u pass or fail go to review sessions w/ the TA plz. he sucks at explaining things!!

I wish I could give zero stars because he truly doesn't even deserve 1. Believe every terrible review on here. There are no lectures in person, only online prerecorded lectures from the pandemic w little to no visual & just him horribly verbalizing the topic. Dont even waste your time listening to them, just get a tutor and do practice problems.

JUST TAKE REGULAR ORGO with normal lectures not this "active learning". This is the worst class setup where you have to teach yourself everything; his online "lectures" are just him talking with no notes. I can't even understand how this is allowed. Teaching myself Organic Chemistry of all things. The worst class I have ever taken at Rutgers.

He passed away on September 7, 2025. Sadly, this is the legacy he left behind.