2.2
Quality4.0
Difficulty31%
Would Retake96
Reviews31%
Would Retake
96
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
96 total ratings5
11
4
11
3
13
2
25
1
36
What Students Say
“If you see Drury's teaching your course”
MATH222 - 1.0 rating“Incomprehensible lectures”
MATH454 - 1.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
8%
Textbook Required
41%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
A-
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.50 avg changeRatings by Course
MATH255
4.6
(5)MATH354
4.0
(1)MATH223
4.0
(1)MATH255355366
4.0
(1)MATH315
4.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
140
5.0
MATH101
5.0
MATH255355366
5.0
MATH454
5.0
MATH242
4.8
Reviews (95)
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I wish Dr.Druy could actually teach us in lectures. It seems like he is just solving problems all by himself.
He sucks a lot but he's hot!!!!!!!11 ^__^
i understand NOTHING is his class....he tells us all how BAD he is at math as if it were a hilarious joke. The bottom line he's amusing ...but your marks definately won't be!
You could not even parody a class worse than this one. Creates a truly unfortunate class environment, full of sarcasm, and can be rather mean to top it all off.
Drury can be vague, but unlike many math profs he is fair, and understands that being a walking calculator is not a test of mathematical know how. Also gave the best advice ever for the final "Just remeber don't sh*t your pants, write what you know
Drury is a sweet old man, but he can't teach too well. As long you go to tutorials, or figure it out on your own, you should be ok.
He doesn't know how to teach, going to tutorial is MUCH MUCH helpful. Also, he's not really a fair marker too. Last term, my letter grade could have gone up if he gave me only 0.2% more. I asked for him several times politely, but he didn't.
As if!! I can't believe this rating! Did you actually go to any of his classes? This prof was AWESOME! He was funny, nice, friendly, clear, helpful, knowledgeable, fair. Just cuz you're not naturally mathematically inclined doesn't make him a bad prof
One of the best profs I've ever had. Extremely clear, rigorous, covers a tremendous amount of material in a short time. Highly recommend for honours math students, but maybe too difficult and intense teaching style for those with poor math skills.
He's a crappy math professor, but he can really pound out a tune on the piano.
Okay he's not that bad. He's just...ignorant. ONce I tried to say hi to him and he was like "Hi Axel" to the guy beside me.
Analysis 2 is just too hard. There's so much to study, and Drury's assignments and exams are unsolvable. Definitely one of the hardest classes in McGill. On the good side, Drury's an excellent teacher. Crystal clear
A little standoffish, but an excellent prof. Everything is perfectly clear and rigorous, and he does a great job answering questions. And his notes are great. You have to work hard, though.
be reasonable
Bad teacher , doesn't help, leaves the class right after class finishes, doesnt answer questions reasonably, his notes are extremely unclear, i understand the material just because of the tutorials. i hope that he retires as soon as possible before he ruins students' career
good prof, answers emails quickly.
Prof Drury flies through the material without telling what is really going on. Most of the time you don't know where you are in the material or where you are going. Helpfull if you go bug him in his office.
Brutal is the word. It's ridiculous how much time it takes to grasp Drury's material. It's also ridiculous how much he covers in one class..
bad teacher and harsh marker. dont do it, delay your graduation if necessary just dont take a class with him. he can not teach and he doesnt care if students understand or do well. and about his marking, he has no concept of partial credit (he corrected 150 final exams in 1.5 days (he doesn't correct papers he flips through them and arbitrarily gra
Nice man and very fair! He practically gave us the exams in the form of the "practice exams". That being said, he was a hopeless lecturer and seemed very out of touch with his students. The assignments were also very hard. You are best off taking the course with him and learning everything from the textbook and the exams will be a breeze!
dont take calc with this man. He says things like glorious technicolour, unfortuantly this class is not so glorious.
Where do I start? The worst math prof ever. Really hard assignments, but they help somewhat in the learning. He is aloof and out of touch with students, plain boring and uninspiring. DO THE PRACTICE MIDTERM - it will be almost the same. PRACTICE THE SAMPLE FINAL - do the questions there, and also prepare for the opposite. eg Fourier AND Inv. Fourr.
Worst prof in the history of math. This guy is the enemy of all learning. Seriously...his assignments in MATH 139 were actually 10 times more difficult than Brown's assignments in MATH 140....during lectures he talks to himself and doesn't even look at his students it's like watching him role play a really lame movie...the students don't even exist
Professor Drury is very clearly a highly intelligent man and a skilled mathematician. He seems, in fact, to prefer calculus to people...he is not very approachable and has trouble speaking on a first-year student's level. He's a good professor if you can speak his language, but if not, read the book and attend tutorials: TA's are more helpful.
Nice man, occasionally funny -- but a catastrophic lecturer. His blackboard notes are stream-of-consciousness and lack any sort of organization, he never actually seems to explain anything he teaches, and his classroom pace borders on the ridiculous.
Professor Drury is obviously a highly intelligent man, and quite passionate about what he does. He has trouble, though, with teaching lower-level math like Calculus 1, as he is a mathematician and this is simple for him. Helpful if you go and ask him directly, and the TAs are fantastic. Not an impossible class if you pay attention and work hard.
Terrible
Really clear. You'll ace the class if you pay attention.
Not a bad prof but isn't extremely helpful. His exams are pretty predictable and he's a pretty fair grader.
Drury is a genuis..and i guess due to his he skips over steps that he assumes are simple or obvious to his students..however he tries his absolute best to answer a students questions if they dont understand. Feel free to raise your and and tell him if you're lost. The TAs are great. Go over his past exams and you'll do well on the final
It was his first time teaching ode, and he was great. moved super quick, but was very clear and thorough and worked many key examples
Drury's lecture is intensive and rigorous, and you will learn a lot from him. go through all past finals and you will aced this course.
Well, to be honest, Sam Drury is a good teacher, but just a bit standofish... You would get succeed in his course if you have completely-grasped his notes.
lots of examples not so much theory. not very clear with his examples.
He knows his material, yet he doesn't know how to teach it. His examples are either insultingly easy or so hard he doesn't even know how to solve them. Not very clear in his teaching
Even though he goes quickly, I think this professor is SO funny and interesting. Don't be shy to ask questions, sometimes he forgets if he taught things. Very helpful, but you have to ask!
Wow, one of the worst professors I have encountered. Quiz averages are almost always below 50%. Hard examples are rarely done in class or tutorials. Class is example after example that are challenging, but a cake walk compared to what appears on the quizzes. Expect to fail all the quizzes and redeem yourself on the final which is slightly easie
Wow, baaad prof. Quizzes are insane, failing averages. He just goes over examples all class and doesn't teach you how to tackle problems BUT final was fair/easy. All in all, nice guy, don't get discouraged by your quiz marks!
Most likely the least fair examination I've written to date. Quizzes are also extremely challenging. You're better off taking the course in the Fall when he isn't teaching the class.
Well you think you know everything then you go into the quiz and bomb it. Then you figure that he gives the option of a 100% final but then makes the final even harder then the quizzes with material not covered in class. Take it in the fall with Sid, much fairer and you'll do much better.
Very hard exam and hard prof
bad at making exams but one of the best professors at bell curving. Take his class if you want to know what its like to fail but still get an A.
Well the quizzes are tough but doable. His exam was very hard, but don't worry as he'll curve it up as necessary. He tries to explain things as best as he can but he clearly has done these questions many times and are well trivial for him.
Doesn't show steps in very complex examples. Assumes you already know all the material. Refuses to use a microphone (large auditorium). Refuses to record lectures because he says he's too shy. Insanely hard quizzes and final (<50% class avg). Antisocial: talks to himself 90% of the time. Writes too fast/messy. WORST PROF EVAR~~~
Doesn't care about his students and write very difficult exams
What a monster. By his own admission, he pushes the students as hard as he can in order to turn them into "thinking mathematicians". The quizzes and final are extremely tough, and require absolute mastery of the material. That wouldn't be a problem if he was a good teacher, but he's NOT. He expects you to have that mastery BEFORE his lectures.
not a fan. he gives the us brits a bad name
I had him in both MATH 140 and 141. Went to class once and never went again. I left the exam feeling like I failed it, but I came out with an A- due the the curve. PRO-TIP: READ THE TEXTBOOK AND DO ALL THE PROBLEMS. Also, find practice exams and do them. That way, there won't be any surprises on the exam.
Quizzes are brutal and you would think you'd learn things from going to his class, but no. Do the hardest textbook questions if you want an A. High mark is entirely possible due to the curve so don't be too discouraged from quiz marks. Never attended class, studied off the textbook and got A.
Well, where to start. The course was hard, like most McGill math courses. Drury is a good prof, hes too smart to teach a course like this and so that makes people feel dumb and hate him. I didnt like the course much but I managed through. Dont be scared if you bomb the quizzes, the final is what counts. Got an A and it was a hell of a journey!.
Avoid at all costs. His lectures are horrible and unclear. Although no doubt an intelligent man, he can not explain the material to someone who has never seen it before. Use the textbook instead and attend tutorials.
So analysis is brutal, yes. Also, he finds it trivial, which can insult some people. However, once you get used to his unique style, he is funny and super nice. If you ask him a question, he will answer it. He'd rather be doing his research, but he will take the time to help you. The assignements and tests are brutal, but he curves. Prepare to work
Any class with Drury is not going to be easy. He wants you to work and emphasizes that going to class is not enough. He's a brilliant man that has trouble realizing not everyone is that smart. If you can, I would strongly advise postponing analysis so that you can take it with a different prof.
Wonderfully bad.
Confusing lecturer. He posts his notes online so don't worry about missing class, but you might have trouble understanding them since he often does several steps at once in his head. The textbook is clear and online resources (Paul's Online Notes) are useful. Study the past exams, since it's essentially the same except with different numbers.
Nightmare totally. He always skips millions of steps in mind and gives you some wrong information or conclusion. Hardly give proper examples. Even worse, when he proves a property or formula, which accounts for most of the class time, he will randomly do something crazy(breaking math laws) and doesn't give any reason.
Absolutely the worst class I have ever taken. Nightmare. Worse than death. Make sure you're ready to learn everything on your own
biggest mistake
Do not ever take his class and that's all I have to say.
The worst decision that I have ever made.
Goes way too quickly
There's no reason to go to his lecture. Even his notes are horrible.
Incomprehensible lectures. Takes more than 400 hours of independent reading and googling just to pass. Causes PTSD.
Lives in stone age. No lectures recorded and hates technology. Avoid.
Worst. Professor. Ever. His proofs are incomplete, which is unacceptable when the assessments are asking you to do proofs. He relies on the terms "so it follows that" "obviously then" and the like even when it is not trivial, to skip over parts he doesn't want to (or maybe can't) explain. Don't take his class if you have ANY choice.
Ehh, the course wasn't as dreadful as some of these reviews made it out to be. An uncomfortably significant portion of his notes/lectures are about very difficult proofs/problems that won't be on the exams. The only way to understand the lecture material is to go home and re-read the notes until they make sense.
Lectures are mostly improvised, which is impressive per se, but makes them messy. Crazy amount of material but that's the class. Don't get behind and train as much as you can. Midterm was a disaster, final was reasonably difficult. Webworks are long and time-consuming.
Worst math McGill teacher I ever have. His lecture are poor quality, he does not explain the concepte well. His webwook are incredibly long and hard. His final is possible but get highly curve (by like 20point). I strongly suggest that you take calculus 3 in summer if you can. Overall, he is a terrible prof.
Avoid at ALL costs. His lectures have been the most useless ones of any class I've ever taken. His notes make no sense, he's extremely confusing and he sets ridiculous exams. Learning from the book is your only chance. What a nightmare... at least he curves final grades..
He is not the best teacher, but an A is definitely possible.
Drury might not seem like the best professor but he really does care about the students that actually want to learn. He's a very humble and kind aswell. If you actually want to learn in a higher level math class , then I dont think there is any prof better then this man. If you are in a lower level math class, he might be too much for you.
Undoubtedly the worst professor I've ever had. His lectures consist solely of him giving unhelpful textbook definitions ("assume some equation F that maps on to P such that...") followed by one, and only one example question with no explanation. He repeatedly mentioned how much he dislikes teaching this class. Hands down, the worst prof here.
move the paper up
Honestly, I never felt like going to his classes; they are boring and confusing. His exams are not bad, they test your skills, but he gives you the warning. But, I must say he cares about his students at least those who bring up questions to him. Skip his class if you have the option to, Best of luck if you take him. BTW I took math 262 with him
I only went to class to take notes on his quotes. His class was hilarious- all he would do is talk about how the material should be easy and how he wants to go home. He can barely complete a test that he made up himself. Avoid at all costs
Took him for MATH 222 and the material was easy enough. His finals are the same as his practice finals so study well and it's an easy A. His lectures on the other hand are full of proofs that you won't be tested on anyways, and his notes are terrible. I would have given him a 1/5 but his self-deprecating remarks make me feel bad for him, hence 2/5.
I think Drury's rating should be more like a 3.0 because he is not that bad as many people say. He does seem extremely bored when teaching but he introduces concepts beyond the book which is good for math-loving students. He might not be the best at teaching but at least he is humble. I gave 5/5 rating to boost it slightly to be closer to 3.0 .
Should have explained better how to solve the system of equations for Lagrange multipliers or how to set up the Jacobian matrix better because he just went through them without real explanations other than solving it the only way to teach, especially those topics. Do past exams to prepare and get clarifications from the textbooks.
Hates lecturing and can be a bit scatterbrained. He's hilarious. However, easy to do well on all the assignments (matlab) and midterms both fairly easy (one was a matlab assignment open for 24h). Final was almost exact same as practice final. Posts all his notes on his website. Lots of examples. Ended class a month early and just did review.
I personally think Drury is not as bad as people make him out to be. Yes I do agree that his lectures can be boring but he always comes to class fully prepared with detailed notes and examples. I found both his midterms and final to be quite fair, along with easy assignments (webwork).
This is the hardest course I've ever taken so far. The prof does not explain concepts. His notes are mostly made up of examples and some extra stuff that he just randomly adds. The thing is that he goes over the materials too fast, and most people have trouble catching up. The tutorial session held by a grad student becomes our only hope...
If you see Drury's teaching your course. Drop it.
The midterm is hard but fair. He will curve the final grade.
Goes too quick, doesn't really want to take questions, very unclear way of teaching. No point of going to lectures.
Unless youre extremely familiar with series and calculus, you will spend a tough time. He goes through the material way too fast without explaining anything. PS. Go to the tutorials (and pray that you have a good tutorial teacher), watch related material online and read the manual, thats the only way to survive this.
I often says how he is a bad teacher, but he is still miles better than Pengfei Guan.
He's an awful professor... He rushes lectures and doesn't care if students fall behind.
He is alright. Just an average, old professor. You have to read through the textbook prior to class, or the chance is you can't follow his lecture quick enough. Exam was a little bit unfair, but not too bad. Know the basics, know what you're doing, or else the chance is you can't do first question, and so that carries to second, and get zero.
At first I saw a comment "if you see Drury is teaching that course, drop it" I disbelieved it and thought the guy who wrote the comment was a bit biased. But now I realized he was right as I had been stressed out. He never interacted with us and made me feel like advanced calculus was the hardest one I have ever had at McGill.
If you hate teaching so much then stop teaching already!! Either stop complaining about teaching this course or stop teaching math222
He made everything quite complicated. Also introduced things with concepts and knowledge we had't learned before. Also covered a lot of stuff way beyond the course. Using a projector to give the lectures by projecting him writing on papers onto the screen, but always forget to move the papers upward. You know what I mean.
He really knows the material above and beyond, and presents interesting and non-standard topics to the great pleasure of math-inclined students. He gives good advice during lectures on how to solve problems, but it is a good thing to read the textbook before class, or you will get behind in lectures. Exams are a bit difficult, but doable.
I am reading his lectures notes on his personal website. He is generous, because his online lecture notes are very clear. But, to me, it is a little bit difficult to follow.
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
8%
Textbook Required
41%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
A-
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.50 avg changeRatings by Course
MATH255
4.6
(5)MATH354
4.0
(1)MATH223
4.0
(1)MATH255355366
4.0
(1)MATH315
4.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
140
5.0
MATH101
5.0
MATH255355366
5.0
MATH454
5.0
MATH242
4.8