very very nice guy, young so knows what it's like to be a student. Tries to make things as clear as possible. Fair exams. Funny, tells jokes in class. A bit of a goofy dork, but in a cute way.

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there's definitely a lot of Chemistry between him and his students!

Terrific prof -- very good at teaching, but if you don't get it in lecture, he's very good about giving extra help. Funny, too . . .

This guy has a great sense of humour, Snail: "what was that about?", even laughs at these ratings. Knows his stuff and will help in anyway possible. Keep up the good work!

GREAT prof!! Actually cares about the students... he even remembers his students' names LOL! FUNNY... tries to keep it interesting... good guy

GREAT PROF!! He funny, interesting and generaly cares about students. He is the best bad joke teller in the school! Really nice guy too.

Steve's the man

Awesome prof. Organic Chem is a genuinely hard subject, and he makes it as easy as he can. Fair tester, and great availability.

Great Prof!!

crappy course, but he teaches well

Excellent Prof. easy going and super helpful. He is dedicated to his students and makes sure you do well. I have had a lot of fun in orgo synthesis (which believe me is not a fun class) but Dr. MacNeil has made understandable and fun!

The class is brutal only because of the very early time (and some of the material, but not all), but he definitely makes the class bareable, if not enjoyable most of the time :) He really cares about his students, whether you're doing well or not - and he does tell pretty funny (but bad) jokes.

MacNeil takes an awful class and makes it somewhat fun. CH202 and CH203 dont really give you the chance to see what an amazing teacher this guy is (classes too big). CH301 was easier to learn due to attention that he personally gave each student. Hope this guy sticks around (p.s. i hate organic, but enjoyed this one, that has to mean something!)

Great professor, throws in jokes to relieve the dullness of some of the material. Really helpful, wants his students to do well. Overall good professor. Quizes and tests are fair.

Amazing teacher. Notes are clear with lots of examples, he goes into great detail and answers questions well, is always available for extra help, and is very friendly. Makes a very hard course as fun as possible, and has fair quizzes and tests.

what can i say, i am inlove with this man! His jokes are crap, but his effort makes u laugh. Definately made it worth to get my butt out of bed to go to his 830 class.

Very helpful prof.

this course is really hard... but mcneil isnt out to get you... he'll help you if you really need it

Dr. MacNeil is an awesome prof. He's always around for questions and loves to chat about chemistry. He tought one of the very first courses I took at laurier and he made a great impression, and broke all the rumours I had heard about laurier. He is a definit asset to this school. Anyone who takes his course will find fair tests and good help. Enjoy

I have had him for three classes and he has really caused my interest in organic chemistry to increase. I was not very good at organic before his classes but now it's not bad at all. He is seriously one of the best profs I've ever had.

Amazing prof. Makes orgo a good class to take. It's a hard class but his tests are fair - ie no surprises on tests. Always around for extra help; wants his students to do well.

MacNeil was the best prof I had this term. Also the most interesting course. His jokes are awesome, looking forward to next term.

Helpful, cares about students, great prof. Who else makes Organic fun?

funny guy, really good with explaining. Brilliant and knows what hes talking about. Made organic chemistry easier than I was told it was. First semester (CH202) he had videos for pretty much every topic (unrealistically helpful). Very committed! Cool dude. Hates the Leafs (thumbs up). Likes the Habs (thumbs down).

Amazing. I am not the greatest at Organic Chemistry, however he always put in so much effort to help you understand. He made videos for every topic in CH202, unfortuantely he did not have time to make them for CH203 (which is so hard). He introduced scratch cards on M/C which was amazing, I would have probably failed if it was not for that.

soooooooooooo funny :)

Best Professor hands down. I hope he reads these and sees all the positive comments on here because he, of all professors at Laurier, absolutely deserves it. An innovator in teaching and organic chemistry.

I love having him as a prof! He really cares about his students.

Best chem prof I've had. He was very helpful and his lectures are interactive.

very helpful prof- shows a lot of concern for students!

Amazing prof, cares about the welfare and success of his students! He made the lectures as interesting as they could be and was very helpful.

One of the best profs I have had during my time at Laurier. He won a provincial teaching award this year, and if you've had his class you know why. Great guy, great class, great methods, great attitude, terrible NHL fan.

AWESOME prof. I'm pretty sure my liking for chemistry is due to him and Maly (Another prof at WLU). He has great explanations, and if you don't understand things in class he has videos explaining almost every topic! Never had a prof who put so much effort into seeing students do well.

CH 202/203 are tough courses, and its highly recommended you take a lot of time to study. MacNeil is very engaging, knowledgeable and fair with his courses.

Fantastic prof and guy in general. Not at all condescending, is knowledgeable, makes fair exams, makes useful lecture videos, and when he answers your questions, you'll wonder why you didn't get it in the first place. Awesome course and prof. Other teachers should learn from him. Highly recommended!

Such a nice and helpful prof. He is very approachable, if you need any help he's happy to help you. Overall a great person and prof, he was my favourite!

You could not find a better prof for organic chemistry. He honestly cares about helping his students succeed and will tell you what will be on the midterms and final. Stay on top of the videos and content, and use his exam aides and you'll pass the course. Also, become a habs fan.

Best prof I've had at Laurier, really wants students to succeed.

Dr. MacNeil was the best professor I've had to date at WLU. He genuinely cares about the success of his students and has an obvious passion for teaching organic chem. He is very fair with exams and gives very clear expectations. I wish every professor had the dedication he has. Dr. MacNeil, if you're reading this, you did a great job. Thank you

Awesome prof that really wants the class to understand what is going on. He is super easy to talk to and to ask questions about any material you don't quiet understand.

Best prof I've ever had, and it's a good thing too because Organic Chemistry is probably the hardest university course. Legitimately cannot say anything bad about him. He won the best male teacher for Laurier in 2014.

Great guy. He made his expectations very clear, his exams were fair, and his lectures were relevant. His online video lectures made previewing material before class & reviewing for testshomework easy. You would have to seriously put in zero effort to do poorly in his class. He makes one of the tougher subjects easier to understand. Bless him!

Really good prof teaching a really tough course. He made it easier.

Absolutely amazing, always there to help you and genuinely cares for his students and his job. Some might say that he treats it like your only class, but he really doesn't. He wants to push you to put in the effort, and makes what should be one of your hardest classes in university completely manageable. Does everything he can to make you succeed.

Amazing professor for courses that might otherwise be super overwhelming

Best prof at Laurier without question. Really shows you how work output and GPA is directly correlated.

Is the best professor that I had so far !!!

Dr. MacNeil is amazing. He has video lectures online, so that you can go to class prepared to participate and build on your on your own independent work. He also really cares that you understand how you personally learn. Organic chemistry is a lot of work, but he provides the tools for us to succeed.

One of the best prof's I've ever had. He makes the hardest course a little bit easier! He records all his lectures and posts them online. He also post pre & post lecture videos online which are very helpful & useful for studying. He is very approachable as well! If you use all the tools he provides, you should definitely be able to pass!

Dr. MacNeil has made me love organic chemistry. It is now my favourite class and the only class I want to study for. He has really improved his teaching from CH202 by being slower and more clear in his explanations in class.

He really knows what he's doing when it comes to teaching. His teaching style should be a model for every professor. Although he teaches one of the hardest university courses, he gives clear explanations making it less overwhelming.

He knows how to teach. Just go to class and pay attention and you will be good. Also after midterms, go to his office hours to view your midterm as he gives great feedback and if he thinks the markers did something wrong he will give you the mark which was really helpful.

Amazing professor. Flipped classroom and independent learning with his videos are fantastic. People who complain about him probably don't do the pre and post-class work. He is an innovator in teaching and the IF-AT multiple choice gives immediate feedback for your exams and helps you learn WHILE you are tested. Put in the work, and you'll do well!

One of the best professors at Laurier. People are often apposed to this type of learning because it requires discipline (reading the textbook before class, and being tested through clickers on that specific content), but in fact, it works much better than classic lecture style teaching. This style allows for information to be easily solidified.

Although the course was challenging and took up a lot of my time, Dr. MacNeil made it bearable! He is extremely nice and approachable. Definitely wants the best for students. Lots of grade boosters during the semester like clickers and small assignments.

I love Prof. MacNeil; he genuinely wants his students to succeed and provides so many resources. Honestly, aside from the clicker, I don't think you even need to go to class to do well - all lectures are recorded. Personally, I like listening to lectures for specific parts that I might've missed because this course goes fast.

Best Prof! Provides lots of resources for you to learn. Orgo is A LOT of work so you need to put in the time. He post videos which go more into depth so you can just watch those rather then use the textbook. Really wants his students to succeed and stays late to answer questions. Provides practice test which are very similar to the actual test.

Stephen MacNeil is definitely one of the most caring professors at Laurier. He genuinely wants his students to succeed - especially in the midst of this pandemic. He made every assessment without lockdown browser, hosts multiple office hours, and provides so many resources. His course is definitely tough, but he makes it bearable. 10/10

Dr. MacNeil was a great prof and provided lots of practice and learning opportunities both in class and outside. Many chances to do practice questions which was incredible. I wish he was teaching CH203 sometime soon!

Easily best professor at Laurier. Cares a lot about students, teaches very well and is my favourite prof. Deserves to win an award for all profs over Canada.

10/10 prof. Love his classes especially when he introduces his kids, Maddy, Nolan and Anna. The youngest, Anna, is hilarious. He teaches reasonably well and he is just a great prof in general. But don't skip classes, he tends to teach a lot in one class!

would take this prof again. he's a good prof and also very funny and nice

Took him for CH202 in fall 2022. He gives A LOT of chances to get EASY marks. The material is not easy but that's orgo. During class there were iClickers but those were helpful to learn the material. We had 3 noncumulative midterms & a final. IFAT was also great. Great prof, great class, and fair assessments. Wish he was teaching more classes.

Probably the best prof you can have for orgo/chem in general. Is super specific about what you need to know and the tests have no surprises. He uses IFAT cards, participation marks for iClickers, and lots of Wiley assignments to boost your grade. Midterms aren't worth too much (there's 3 of them). Super helpful and cares a lot!

Took this prof and everyone hated his lectures but, honeslty if you review material before going, it makes everything SO much easier. Plus you can just watch the recording after if something didn't make sense. I wish he spent less time telling jokes and more time teaching but overall would take him again and am taking him again for 203!

Cares a lot about learning and will drop assessments if you improve on future ones. Also gives part marks for multiple choice. Most of your learning is done independently via textbook, lecture is more just a brief overview which is a bit frustrating. Class is not easy but thats organic chemistry unfortunately.

Orgo Chem is a hard class, in general. But Dr. McNeil cares SO MUCH about his students. I only have good things to say about him. It is a content heavy class, but he wants u to succeed and gives u opportunities to do so. Go to lecture and study hard, he does the rest for you. Nothing is a surprise in his testing if u actually engage in content.

Just to let everyone know ahead of time, he tells jokes to keep everyone lively AND he wants to give students the opportunity to catch up with what he is covering and write their notes. It's strategic, and makes sense so no one is behind (this is for the person who wishes he told less jokes...he does it for a reason).

Tough course but he makes it easier if you put the work in. He's very fair with test questions and honestly if you actually read the textbook and do all of the work there is no reason to not have an A or above. The labs are a different story but I think I just got unlucky with my TA :(

Orgo is a hard subject for a lot of people, but he does his best to make sure we actually understand the material. Struggling is a good thing, because it means you've yet to fully get it. That's his teaching philosophy, and yes it's a lot of work, but it pays off with genuine understanding rather than memorization.

Organic chemistry is one hell of a difficult course but if you do alot of practice questions you will surely get it.I do not get why people complain about final(mcq) it was not easy but if you revised using the previous tests we did from then you would see that the questions were a bit similar and even from his lectures and some iclickers too.

He's a wonderful prof. Orgo is objectively hard, and I think people base their opinion of him on the difficulty of the content itself. He gives you everything you could need to do well in the course (literally tells you what ur tested on). Just use the resources he gives, go to lecture and do and UNDERSTAND every practice question he gives.

He suggests 8+ hours of studying, but literally just use the resources he gives and you don't need to study much. His practice questions (exams and iclickers) if you understand them (not just know the answer), you'll be fine. His tests are not surprising if you attend lecture and engage in content. Do the practice from textbook!!!

Yes Orgo is hard. Yes there is a lot of content to cover. However, If you put in the time and follow exactly what Dr. MacNeil says to do you will be fine. Dr. MacNeil also gives tons of easy marks (about 20%) . Beware though, if you fall behind you will not catch up.

Dr. MacNeil made it clear that the course followed a flipped-classroom model, meaning much of the learning happened outside of lecture time. However, if you follow the learning objectives, keep up with the textbook, and complete all of the practice problems, you will do well!

As hard as the course was and how the lectures were a little disorganized, he's still an amazing prof. He gives everyone SO many opportunities for easy marks that make up a good chunk of the grade. I seriously think even tho the exam was hard he cares for his students to succeed. Amazing prof just slightly hard to understand

The course covers challenging material, and the reverse classroom may take some getting used to, but it keeps you engaged through lectures and in-class problems. Don't rely on typical study methods, active recall is key. Attend office hours. You can tell he's passionate about teaching and wants his students to succeed.