If you have any Biology class with Dr. Van Raay, expect to be pleasantly surprised. He's great with notes, crystal clear really. If you attend class, and read daily, you will do really well. My first half with Dr. Van Raay was great, and the second half with Colasanti was terrible. Van Raay is clear and concise while Colasanti was scattered.

Van Raay is a pretty cool funny guy. He has clear lecture slides that we can print and write on, always respectful & reasonable to students, and passionate about the subject. I wish he could teach all of BIOL1090, instead of just one portion of the class. He is clear in explanations and you can always go to him to ask for help.

His clicker questions are very confusing but it helps having him do them so that you get a feel of the way the questions will be worded on the midterm. He is fairly clear with his lectures and info

10/10 good professor. Everything he teaches is clear and his personality and self-deprecating humor makes class more entertaining.

I really enjoy Terry as a person (would have wine night with him), but sometimes he blasts through content and makes his lectures very difficult to follow along.

Although he went fast through the materials, he was often very clear about what exactly we needed to know as well as he always did iClicker questions which offered clarification on everything we learned in the day. He always made sure everyone understood. I really found his personality enjoyable and would take every bio class with him if I could.

His lecture slides are great, he does add too much during lecture but does a LOT of examples during his lectures through iclicker. Because he does so many examples he goes through the content really fast but it is all on his slides. He is a great prof to go up and talk to and likes being concise (not fluffing things).

He loves doing clicker questions during the lecture and even if you get the answers wrong you get 100% for participation marks that counts toward your final grade. Overall a great prof that has some great research projects going on that he loves to talk about.

A really great professor. I had him during in-person lectures, but I sometimes watch his online recordings for the online sections as well. Clearly cares for the students, a lot of tech difficulties (more from zoom, I'm sure), but he would re-record and would re-upload recordings of the lectures. Really helpful and insightful.

Super nice guy who shows that he cares about his students. He had to deal with a lot of tech issues and he was always kind enough to re-record lectures to make sure we had all the info. He's also funny af and super approachable

He tried his best, but as an online student there were many tech issues that he had to work around. Overall did a good job teaching the material but sometimes went very fast

I appreciated the enthusiasm and understanding shown in his lectures, and his sense of humour! My one qualm is that there were a couple questions on the final about details he implied not to be important, but those questions made up a very small fraction of total marks available.

His portion of BIOL 1090 (genetics) is simple but the midterm can be surprisingly difficult for some. Lectures were somewhat engaging but he's a funny guy. Genetics is definitely less content heavy than the second part (cell biology).

His teaching style is not the best. It can be hard to follow. However, his exams are fair. His exams are based on his slides and if you study well you shouldn't have an issue doing well in the course. The exams are tough but fair. No out-of-the-box questions that arent covered in the slides.

I would take this class again. Dr. Van Raay is a funny professor. He once started using profanity because he couldn't find his mouse on the screen. His teaching style is confusing, however, his exams are based off of his slides. And they are a tough but fair game. As long as you study, you will do well. The textbook explains really well too.

Professor Van Raay genuinely cares for student success. Assessments are challenging, but feedback is constructive.

The lectures were sometimes hard to follow and I had to review the material independently to fully understand it. However, I did find all assessments fair and putting the right amount of time into learning the course material would've led to a decent mark in the course. I do believe the prof cares for the success of his students.

**BIOL*1020** NOT 1090 - This semester was apparently the first time he taught it. Dr. Van Raay was a good professor, he made himself very available for help and was sure to mention his office hours regularly. The course was weighted based on 2 large midterms (42%), and a couple of assignments. He grades fairly, but with a no-BS approach. :)

He does care about teaching his students the material and responds to the feedback the students give. However, the way he teaches can be difficult to understand but overall is a good prof.

he cared about his students but was a tough grader and focused on small details. he tried to teach as best he can though so that people can succeed

tvr was far from the perfect prof but he genuinely cares about his students. lectures can be hard to follow,he moves quickly and his handwriting is subpar.he is attentive and detailed in office hours.exam was difficult, but due to complaints he changed formatting of some questions after the exam. he cares,and some reviews on here are far too harsh.

Great professor, testing was a bit confusing, but as long as you read the textbook and went to the lectures it's not that hard.

This course is very content heavy, especially the second half, that's no secret. However it isn't impossible to get a really good grade. Van Raay posts all his online recordings so his in-person lectures are pointless to attend tbh. It's a hard course, but if you put in the work then it won't be as bad as it's made out to be.

Goat prof

Awesome prof, recorded all the lectures so we didn't have to wake up for an 8:30 am class. They were also great, i loved that he drew out the processes and on the pictures of complicated diagrams in the slides, it made it so much easier to understand. The exam was exactly what he taught too thank god.

i was super nervous to have TVR for mbg based on the fall sem's stories but I can honestly say I shouldn't have been. He made a super fair final exam if you studied hard enough and kept up with material throughout the semester (go to SLG!!!) Also he makes funny comments during lecture but tough crowd at 8:30am in war mem lol. would take again!

Great Prof! It's his course, he's still deciding how he wants the course to be run, so he tried new things this semester. If the class does bad, he changes the grading so the grades aren't bad. The assignments are fair, interesting, and easy marks if you take the time to do them right. The exams are fair, and based on lectures. Got 93%!

Great prof. There is a lot of lecture material, but the exam was fair.

Great professor. He records lectures and uploads them. He also tries to make things fun and interesting for his students. He gave a great practice midterm and practice questions before the midterm which really helped with studying. I knew what was expected of me and what I needed to know. Would definitely take again.

Nice guy who cares about his students. Although the tests were really difficult, he will do curves and answer questions as much as he can. Assignments were fairly marked.

Van Raay is a divisive type of prof, but as a first-year taking his intro to bio course (bio1020), I found him super chill and the work surprisingly simple. I only took gr.11 bio yet the course load, content and work was easily approachable. All my exams are multiple choice and the labs are super easy. Solid 1st year course for a sci credit.

He explains concepts well and isnt afraid to speak his mind. dont talk in his class...

Even though he goes fast, lectures are explained well and material is clear. He's good at clarifying when people have questions. He's also not afraid to tell people off so beware if your loud in class.

Great lectures, tough but fair exams. Recorded videos helped a lot for study prep. Used Unstuck ai alongside the class materials - it saved me time and made the concepts click.

Had him for the first half of Bio*1090 and I feel like I was well prepared for the midterm. Nothing was a huge surprise and the stuff that was focused on in class lectures were covered on the midterm. Textbook was a huge waste of time though.. wished I saved out on the money for that if it weren't for the online assignments.

Used a "reverse lecture format" where we did the learning online and reviewed in class. Although that does mean a lot of work outside the class, if you pay attention to the posted zoom lectures they are very detailed and helpful. Very nice guy and the midterm was fair. Enjoyed his lectures (mandatory attendance).

Love this teacher! So funny.

The man has anger issues but the midterm was extremely fair and he is a good professor

Fair testing, clearly passionate about the content, overall good prof. He has awful handwriting and anger issues if you talk during his class.

Terry you're a good teacher but holy stay away from technology. Couldn't do his own iclickers then blamed it on the wine he had when he made them. His recorded lectures would cut to random screens on his iPad. And even in class couldn't get the iclickers started half the time. I would take again if he goes to the apple Genius Bar for tech help.

Terry is great, but technology has made this man its arch nemesis. Iclicker never works on time in the lectures, and he gets very annoyed when students email him asking about their iclicker grades. His handwriting could be scratched onto a cave wall and archaeologists will think it's a newly discovered dead language. But video lectures were great!

He is very funny. Tests are pretty intense.

Very nice professor, clearly cares about his students' success. Lectures were very clear on what will be on the midterm. Wish we had him for the second half cause Narman Mortagy was the complete opposite. Go check her ratemyprof and you'll see why. Loved Terry though, I asked him to clarify something on the midterm and he was extremely helpful.

Girl compared to Narman Mortagy, DR Terry Van Raay was an absolute legend. Although sometimes he was confused in his lecs he still had the spirit! His exam was so fair and the content was straightforward. Missed him in the 2nd half fr

Perhaps one of, if not the MOST overhated professor at the University. Don't get me wrong, his portion of BIOL1090 was very content and lecture heavy, but he was a very knowledgable professor who knew his material like the back of his hand. The midterm was fair, and as long as you put in the effort, there is no reason you shouldn't do fine.

What is the hate all about this guy is fire, caligraphy is kindergarten level though

I truthfully don't understand all the animosity towards him. I understand he's probably more difficult in different courses, but in 1020 he goes at the pace of the students and answers any questions people may have with only occasional issues. He also posts all his lectures as videos, so missing class is not a big deal either.

Love this guy he's great and passionate about his material. Obvious he cares about his students and wants them to do well. Had him for an easy bio elective but he was super funny and engaging, explained everything in a way that was easy for understanding and recorded his lectures which was great bc I sleep in.

Exam was very reasonable. Would be content heavy if you haven't taken biology previously in highschool.