2.4

Sherill Soman

Chemistry - Grand Valley State University

2.4
Quality
3.7
Difficulty
N/A
Would Retake
127
Reviews
2.4
Quality
3.7
Difficulty
2.6
Helpful
2.3
Clarity

N/A

Would Retake

127

Reviews

Rating Distribution
Official

5

15

4

20

3

23

2

35

1

34

What Students Say

Soman is a great professor if you wish to learn on your own and/or don't like to pay attention in class

CHEM115 - 4.0 rating

She doesn't make concepts very clear

CHM115 - 3.0 rating
Class Info

Textbook Required

100%

Grade Predictor

Your expected effort level

LowHigh

Predicted Grade

B+

77% confidence
Based on 9 grades
Most common grades:
A- (3)
A+ (3)
Not_Sure_Yet (2)
Grade Distribution
A(4)B(1)C(0)D(0)F(1)A-/B+(3)
Based on 11 reported grades
A-: 3
A+: 3
Not_Sure_Yet: 2
F: 1
Rating Trend

Stable

-0.09 avg change
Aug
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Apr
Last 6 months
Ratings by Course

2

5.0

(1)

115AND11

5.0

(1)

116

4.5

(2)

CHM115116

4.0

(1)

CHM201

3.7

(6)
+8 more courses
Difficulty by Course

CHEM201

5.0

115

4.3

CHEM115

4.2

115116

4.0

CHM201

3.7

Reviews (127)
3.0
4.0
CHM115
Dec 19, 2000

She doesn't make concepts very clear. connections b/t topics are not made clear

2.0
5.0
CHM115
Jan 8, 2001

Tests are very hard. She doesn't explain example problems clearly.

3.0
5.0
CHEM115
Jan 10, 2001

you spend lots of time on basic things and breeze through the difficult stuff, s

3.0
3.0
CHM115
Jan 12, 2001

If U actually do your work and go to class it's simple, but don't take her!

5.0
3.0
2
Mar 26, 2001

No Comments

4.0
4.0
116
Mar 29, 2001

If you go to class and do the work you can get a good grade. She's very fair.

2.0
3.0
CHM115
Apr 12, 2001

too easy, doesn't make things very clear, don't take if you also need chem 116!!

1.0
5.0
CHEM115
Apr 19, 2001

hey mon'. don't take her class mon'.

3.0
3.0
CEM116
Apr 29, 2001

test are fair, lazy about posting grades.

5.0
3.0
116
Grade: F
May 2, 2001

tests are fair. you'll do ok if you don't miss class too much

4.0
3.0
CHEM116
Grade: A-
May 3, 2001

She's ok . She's very helpful, but chemistry at 8 o clock is brutal.

5.0
4.0
CHM116
Grade: B
May 7, 2001

Late in posting grades but very fair in grading.

5.0
3.0
CHEM116
Grade: A+
May 11, 2001

she's really helpful one on one

1.0
5.0
115116
Grade: A
May 18, 2001

No Comments

4.0
4.0
CHEM116
May 23, 2001

smart explains well

5.0
4.0
CHEM115
Grade: Not_Sure_Yet
Jun 4, 2001

good at explaining hard stuff like quantum mechanics

1.0
5.0
115
Jun 26, 2001

very rude

2.0
4.0
CHM115
Aug 1, 2001

No Comments

3.0
3.0
CHM115
Oct 4, 2001

I have a difficult time following her...Tough if you've haven't had alot of Chem

5.0
2.0
CHM115
Nov 6, 2001

really good professor

5.0
2.0
CHM115
Grade: A-
Nov 23, 2001

great teaher, but i've had some chm. Understood everything perfectly.

2.0
5.0
CHM115
Dec 3, 2001

She is hard to understand and follow, late posting grades, too fast-hard stuff

2.0
4.0
115
Dec 3, 2001

hard to understand,late with posting grades,don't take her

2.0
5.0
CHM115
Dec 4, 2001

Hey If your not smart like me this is hell's waiting room.

3.0
3.0
CHM115
Dec 9, 2001

No Comments

1.0
4.0
115
Dec 11, 2001

Test are completely off base from the covered material.

4.0
3.0
CHM115
Dec 30, 2001

great teacher, but i've had some chem. wouldn't reccomend to a beginner.

4.0
2.0
CHM115
Jan 5, 2002

Very enjoyable - easy to follow

5.0
3.0
115AND11
Grade: A+
Jan 10, 2002

Not Easy Class! Great Professor!!

1.0
3.0
CHM116
Jan 10, 2002

Can't teach for ****

4.0
3.0
CHM116
Mar 20, 2002

i loved the typed lecture notes, nice person, but not very good test preparation

4.0
3.0
CHM116
Apr 2, 2002

Overall good teacher, great notes, learned a lot!

2.0
4.0
CHM116
Apr 2, 2002

No Comments

3.0
4.0
CHM116
Grade: Not_Sure_Yet
Apr 15, 2002

Attend Class and Do the homework and you will be fine. She is a great Prof.

2.0
4.0
CHM116
Apr 21, 2002

hard grader, attend class daily! good luck!

3.0
4.0
CHM116
May 8, 2002

HARD tests...didn't do well in the class but learned a lot in the end

2.0
4.0
CHM115
Sep 24, 2002

Thanks goodness I've had some equivelent chem classes otherwise I'd be lost.

2.0
4.0
CHM115
Sep 25, 2002

Makes bad anologies about Pregnant women and weight lifters, hard to understand

3.0
5.0
CHM115
Grade: A+
Sep 28, 2002

No Comments

1.0
5.0
CHM115
Sep 30, 2002

should go back to wherever she's from

1.0
5.0
CHM116
Oct 8, 2002

Wasn't helpful at all, doesn't care about students and unapproachable.

1.0
5.0
CHM115
Oct 23, 2002

Run far far away, she makes things harder then normal, bad prof

4.0
3.0
CHM115
Oct 28, 2002

Very hard class to take if your a first time chem student

1.0
5.0
CHM115
Oct 31, 2002

Maybe she should teach something besides chem

4.0
3.0
CHM115
Nov 1, 2002

good teacher, it's hard in a class of 150 people

1.0
5.0
CHM115
Grade: A-
Nov 8, 2002

She doesn't follow the book, she always concradicts herself, shes confusing

1.0
4.0
CHM115
Nov 12, 2002

Very confusing prof. Doesnt care that students dont understand. Stay Away

2.0
4.0
CHM115
Nov 14, 2002

Somanly is not very clear and doesnt care about her students

1.0
3.0
CHM115
Nov 15, 2002

Only knows how to explain things one way. Tests unrelated to lectures

2.0
3.0
115
Nov 18, 2002

good luck really smart and really bad at teaching you anything. boring.

2.0
5.0
CHM115
Nov 18, 2002

No Comments

2.0
5.0
CHM115
Nov 22, 2002

knows her info but can't teach it, tests over things she doesn't teach, ihateher

3.0
3.0
CHM115
Nov 22, 2002

Very difficult, stuff on exams have not been talked about, avoid her.

1.0
1.0
CHM115
Nov 24, 2002

No Comments

2.0
4.0
CHM115
Nov 24, 2002

Covers one thing, tests over something completely different.

1.0
5.0
CHM115
Nov 25, 2002

No Comments

1.0
5.0
115
Dec 8, 2002

No Comments

1.0
5.0
CHM115
Dec 11, 2002

No Comments

1.0
4.0
CHM115
Dec 18, 2002

A-V-O-I-D!!!!!!!!!!!!!

1.0
5.0
CHM115
Dec 18, 2002

Get out while you still can! She is horrible!

1.0
5.0
CHM115
Dec 29, 2002

No Comments

4.0
4.0
CHM115
Jan 5, 2003

You have to study in order to do well. offers extra credit.

3.0
4.0
CHM115
Jan 6, 2003

I understood Chemistry perfectly fine before taking this class.. but now.. oy.

1.0
5.0
CHM115
Jan 25, 2003

Very Difficult to follow, talks in circles, you will have to work very hard

3.0
4.0
CHM115
Jan 28, 2003

I did well, but went for help constantly b/c topics not covered were on tests.

1.0
5.0
CHM115
Feb 4, 2003

Get out now!! otherwise GOOD LUCK

3.0
3.0
115116
Feb 6, 2003

Do book work and will do fine. lectures can be confusing!

5.0
3.0
CHM116
Feb 6, 2003

hated her for 115...but she's great at 116. Very helpful and understanding

3.0
3.0
CHM116
Feb 25, 2003

Tough class, but she does a decent job at teaching it. She just needs to slow down on showing math examples in class.

5.0
3.0
CHM116
Feb 25, 2003

a complete 180 from 115!!

1.0
1.0
CHM115
Mar 16, 2003

if you are smart, her class is easy

4.0
2.0
CHM115116
Mar 18, 2003

Class is hard in general..she know's what shes doing and teaches it well. put in your time and you'll do good. she'll put her time into you!

2.0
4.0
CHM116
Mar 18, 2003

she talks very fast and is not very clear or organized i hated this class and wish g.v.s.u. had better chem teachers

3.0
3.0
CHM116
Mar 28, 2003

Can't explain anything...She was MUCH better for 115, because she was actually somewhat organized for that. She's a very smart woman, but doesnt know how to teach it.

3.0
3.0
CHM116
Mar 28, 2003

not very organized, jumps around topics a lot...smart woman, but bad teacher

2.0
4.0
CHM116
Apr 21, 2003

VERY disorganized. I never understood what was going on because she jumped from topic to topic. Nothing seemed to relate. She understands it, but doesn't know how to teach it in a comprehensible format.

4.0
1.0
CHM116
Jun 7, 2003

Great, friendly, understandable prof...but loses too many assignmets/quizzes.

2.0
3.0
CHM115
Sep 22, 2003

she isnt that helpful, and the online homework can be confusing

1.0
3.0
CHM115
Sep 22, 2003

She SUCKS. Her accent is kind of cool. But other than that she cannot explain ANYTHING. When you ask her questions she gets easily confused. I dont know how she still has a job.

2.0
2.0
CHM115
Sep 25, 2003

incredibly smart woman, horrible teacher...ask her a question in lecture, you will be entertained by her completely irrelevant answer:)very interesting grading scale which i could not figure out (calculated C-, got a B+...no complaining here)

1.0
4.0
CHM115
Nov 13, 2003

Smart woman, terrible teacher. Takes relatively easy concepts and makes them horribly confusing. Really unorganized, slow at grading assignments.

2.0
4.0
CHM115
Nov 17, 2003

Judgemental. Never know what she really thinks. Hard to get definite answer from her when you need it. Maybe belongs in research lab and not in classroom.

4.0
5.0
CHM115
Dec 5, 2003

Very smart women. The further into the semester we went, the more lost I became. Asks questions only over the math, which is what CHM is about I guess, but I wish we had done more examples during lecture, I know it would have helped me.

2.0
4.0
CHM115
Dec 13, 2003

Wow. Never had I walked out of a class feeling dumber. Very smart woman, not a good teacher. Too smart to teach, possibly. Can't explain anything, answers questions with questions. Would not recommend

2.0
3.0
CHM115
Dec 21, 2003

She doesn't know what she's talking about... well I'm sure she does, she just can't communicate it well. People with great chemistry minds often don't have great teaching minds- Dr. Soman is one of those people.

1.0
5.0
115
Dec 23, 2003

She was honestly the worst professor I have had in the three years I've been at college. I have actually switched my major because I couldn't pass her class. Very smart woman, but not a good professor. She was not willing to work with you.

2.0
4.0
CHM116
Apr 12, 2004

not good

1.0
4.0
CHM116
Apr 18, 2004

Dr. Soman is very smart, but she is a horrible teacher. Shie isn't mean but I would never ever suggest her to anyone as a teacher. Definitley skip taking her section if at all possible!

2.0
3.0
CHM116
Apr 26, 2004

Gets confused by her own lectures. She's organized enough to use powerpoint--but she stumbles over math regularly. Makes errors on grading regularly--One problem can be worth 2 points or 5 points depending who you are. Complicates simple concepts.

3.0
4.0
CHM115
Apr 27, 2004

Run while you still can!!

1.0
5.0
CHM116
May 19, 2004

Worst professor I have ever had. She never knew what she was trying to say in lecture, and notes often confused many people. Every test given was longer then the 50 minutes given to take it. If i had to do it all over again, def. wouldnt have taken her.

3.0
4.0
CHM116
Aug 30, 2004

all of above are true!

3.0
4.0
CHM201
Dec 10, 2004

Seriously, she isn't horrible, but she is hard. Things start off super easy in the beginning but get hard the last 4 weeks. I spent a ton of time in the tutorial because I didn't understand how she explained things. pop up e-mails and corrections of her powerpoints during class were distracting.

5.0
3.0
CHM201
Dec 15, 2004

Smart teacher. Helpful if you go to her office. I just hated having to take any science but she did her best to help us understand and take the edge off.

5.0
3.0
CHM201
Dec 26, 2004

She made a hard subject bearable. Very smart woman and always willing to help.

3.0
4.0
CHM201
Jan 5, 2005

yuck, this woman is too smart for her students. Could be very condescending and rude but the grading scale is ok. Hated this class.

3.0
4.0
CHM201
Apr 28, 2005

FIX YOUR FRICKEN POWER POINTS LATER!!! Her lack of organization and her need to correct mistakes on power point was rude and unprofessional during class. She is a very intelligent woman... great with Chem... not with her students.

3.0
4.0
CHM201
Jun 24, 2005

Didn't like the class, she was confusing at times, ran boring lectures that I dreaded, and was always behind with grading our work and complained about how much SHE had to do as an excuse for not responding to students e-mails, etc. would not recommend her.

1.0
4.0
CHM116
May 5, 2006

HORRIBLE PROFESSOR!Run while you can!Very unorganized,unclear,never available. She always says "email me" and will NOT respond to emails. Has many excuses for not getting things done. All tests are too long.Smart woman but has no idea how to even use any graphing calculators. You'd think,teaching a college level course,that she'd learn that!

2.0
3.0
CHM116
Jun 12, 2006

Not as bad as everyone thought...boring, but tests were not difficult.

2.0
4.0
CHM116
Jul 13, 2006

Her exams were very long and sometimes very confusing. Could never take time out of her busy schedule to help me.

1.0
5.0
CHM116
May 11, 2007

In five years of college, I have never had such a terrible professor. I switched majors and have to retake this class for my gpa. With any other professor and some hard work, this class is passable.

2.0
4.0
CHM115
Feb 12, 2008

She needs to teach more. She doesnt teach us at all. I learn more in SLA than i do her actual class.

2.0
4.0
CHM115
Feb 26, 2008

She isn't very clear, the material on the exams doesn't follow the lectures. Doesn't make much sense, isn't a very good professor.

2.0
4.0
CHM115
Apr 15, 2008

RUN AWAY! She has no control over the classroom. Often class would start talking and she could not quiet them down. She rearranges her powerpoint during class, wasting time. Exams dont follow the notes. Sequence of topics is illogical. Exams often cover material that was not discussed thoroughly, while thoroughly covered material was barely covered

1.0
4.0
CHEM115
Apr 26, 2008

She was horrible!!!!! She doesn't ever start on time and then goes over at the end. She doesn't know how to teach and confuses people on the simplest things. She seems like a nice person, but she needs to find another profession!!

2.0
4.0
CHM115
May 3, 2008

I was so glad I took CHM 109 before her class. If I hadn't, I would have been completely lost. It was hard to understand a lot of her explanations and most of the time I ended up more confused. She is very nice and is quite knowledgeable about chemistry, but she is not a good teacher.

4.0
3.0
CHM115
Jul 21, 2008

Dr. Soman is an excellent professor she is always willing to help her students. Her class was not difficult if you put just a small amount of effort after class... it is chemistry after all.

3.0
3.0
CHM116
Oct 6, 2008

Good teacher. She trys hard to get students to understand concepts. Tough class tho. If you miss class tough to catch up.

2.0
4.0
CHM116
Nov 11, 2008

All the negative things you have read are true. She is very good at making things much more confusing than necessary. I'm sure she knows the material very well, but she is terrible at getting her point across clearly. She seems to confuse herself at times. I would avoid her.

1.0
4.0
CHEM116
Dec 17, 2008

she is the worst teacher I have ever taken. Its a chem class and she doesn't even bring her calc to class and her math on the practice problems she wrote was wrong.

4.0
2.0
CHEM116
Mar 25, 2009

Her tests are easy and fair...she is very nice, but seems very busy. She tries to make her self available but hard to find time when she is. If you don't understand something she reteaches it another way...I understand and enjoy her

4.0
3.0
CHM115
Mar 27, 2009

She is really interested in involving students in discussing their issues in what we're learning. She explains things until you've got them hammered down (essential for this class!). Provides countless examples. A LOT of online homework, but necessary for a good grade.

2.0
4.0
CHM115
Apr 13, 2009

Unless you are really good at learning on your own, avoid this prof. She never writes/works out an entire problem, and refuses to allow you to ask questions until she is finished speaking, which was usually 10 minutes later...when you forget what you wanted to even ask. Not helpful at all and very scatterbrained.

4.0
4.0
CHM115
Apr 16, 2009

She is interested in keeping the students grades in mind. She is there to help you. Her exams are fair, but you need to study for them and pay attention in class. You cannot really miss a class period. She likes to pile on the homework and make her take home quizzes extremely hard.

5.0
1.0
CHM115
Jan 13, 2011

she had us practice the problems in class and went over the answer. very helpful. clear notes. nice lady. it is a very mathematically inclined subject. though.

1.0
3.0
CHM115
Apr 13, 2011

TERRIBLE!!! Avoid this professor unless you are great at learning on your own. She doesn't fully problems on the bored. Her notes are very hard to follow, and she doesn't give you time to write your own. Lectures are very fast and she doesn't like to take the time to go over something more then once. Never answers her emails even ones about exam

1.0
5.0
CHEM201
Apr 16, 2011

Terrible. She does not teach much at all, the class always ends up explaining it to eachother. She needs to be GONE!

4.0
3.0
CHM115
Aug 24, 2011

She's A Great Professor.. Willing to help you if you go to office hours.. Not very good at responding to emails.. so if you have questions ask her after class or before if you can't make it to the office hours. Test are difficult but if you study and do the homework you'll do fine. Grading scale is awesome!!!

1.0
2.0
CHM115
Oct 31, 2011

She grades incorrectly and frequently gets the toal number of points wrong. Don't try and go to her office to show her that she graded wrong, she won't listen and will yell at you. Absolutely horrible. Rearrange your schedule to get out of the class if you get her!

5.0
3.0
CHEM115
Nov 8, 2011

Lots of worksheets and problems in class but in the end its easier to learn becsue you do the work rather then her just telling you everything. Tough class. Fair grading. Just use the study guide.

4.0
4.0
CHEM115
Nov 28, 2011

Soman is a great professor if you wish to learn on your own and/or don't like to pay attention in class. The lecture notes she gives us helped me utilize my study time to pick out what was really important when outlining and reading the text book. You do need to use the book and do work outside of class in order to get a decent grade though.

5.0
2.0
CHM115
Dec 2, 2011

She's a smart teacher that in my opinion is pretty easy as long as you pay attention in class

2.0
3.0
CHM115
Jan 1, 2012

Always ask questions when unclear, she will usually try to explain again. WebAssign homework barely applies to what is covered in lectures. Take notes to study for exams and quizzes.

4.0
3.0
CHM115
Jan 5, 2012

Dr. Soman was a great teacher but she does not use homework to boost percentage. She's pretty easy to deal with, just come to class.

2.0
4.0
CHM115
Jan 26, 2012

She has no idea what she's doing. I come to class everyday, take what little notes she gives us, and pay attention. When she does problems on the overhead though she always gets them wrong and has to ask students for help. If you're required to take this class and actually want to pass, do yourself a favor and switch out of her class.

2.0
3.0
CHM115
Apr 10, 2012

does not teach well at all. I learned everything from online homework and personal studying. not necessary to show up to class at all.

Class Info

Textbook Required

100%

Grade Predictor

Your expected effort level

LowHigh

Predicted Grade

B+

77% confidence
Based on 9 grades
Most common grades:
A- (3)
A+ (3)
Not_Sure_Yet (2)
Grade Distribution
A(4)B(1)C(0)D(0)F(1)A-/B+(3)
Based on 11 reported grades
A-: 3
A+: 3
Not_Sure_Yet: 2
F: 1
Rating Trend

Stable

-0.09 avg change
Aug
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Apr
Last 6 months
Ratings by Course

2

5.0

(1)

115AND11

5.0

(1)

116

4.5

(2)

CHM115116

4.0

(1)

CHM201

3.7

(6)
+8 more courses
Difficulty by Course

CHEM201

5.0

115

4.3

CHEM115

4.2

115116

4.0

CHM201

3.7

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