Reviews for ASTR121

Information Review
Stuart Vogel
ASTR121

Expecting an A
Anonymous
05/16/2023
Very nice and understanding-- most definitely wants you to understand the information. There is a LOT of information to cover, and knowing the learning goals on the slides is crucial. However, on some of the exams the questions weren't entirely focused on the learning goals, so it's important to know a little bit of everything. Each lecture is around 30-60 slides, which really builds up by the time the first exam comes along. Definitely take advantage of tutoring hours. Homework isn't as bad as 120, and you should always 100% do the retest. Overall, Dr. Vogel is very nice and caring, but I think the class would benefit more from learning more about the learning goals, rather than going over extra information that is in the slides.
Stuart Vogel
ASTR121

Expecting an A
Anonymous
05/16/2023
Dr. Vogel is great as a person. He's very nice and helpful during office hours. There are several opportunities to get extra credit, whether that be the bonus question on the homework or the bonus question on exams. He also does open-note retests for the midterms, which are helpful and a great grade boost. However, the course material is VERY heavy. He does a set of slides every class and either rushes through very important topics or skims the surface of topics that should probably have been discussed more. So it becomes extremely difficult to get through the material when people turn it into a Q & A session because to make up time, he'll often rush through the rest of the slides. He encourages people to ask questions during the lecture and highly rewards these people, but those who want to get through all the material end up missing content as a consequence. The lab part of this class is probably the worst. Again, there is so much material to get through with an unreasonable amount of time. It's a necessity to work on the lab for several hours outside of class, and the TAs grade the lab harshly.
Stuart Vogel
ASTR121

Expecting an A
Anonymous
05/15/2023
Overall a very caring professor. Lots of information to study from the slides, but if you focus on the learning goals you should be okay. Tutoring was really helpful. Lab was a lot of work, so make sure to do most of it during the lab period.
Stuart Vogel
ASTR121

Expecting a B+
Anonymous
05/02/2023
Overall, he is a very understanding and caring professor. I will admit that his lectures are not very engaging, in my opinion, and that there is A LOT of material covered in this class (around 800-1000 slides to study per exam). However, he does give opportunities to raise your grade and passing the class/doing decent isn't hard if you put in the work. The lab that goes with this class is a pain, and has been the worst part of the class. It's a lot of work and TAs are really nit picky on grading.
Christopher Reynolds
ASTR121

Expecting an A
Anonymous
04/27/2009
Probably the best professor I have had at this university. He makes the class really interesting and its really not hard to sit through the hour fifteen minute lecture. Hands out his powerpoint notes so you can just take notes on them and then he posts them online if you miss class. Should be a straightforward class if you are good at math.
Christopher Reynolds
ASTR121

Expecting a B
mbusch
04/22/2009
This class can be hard. Getting a B isn't too hard but getting an A requires some dedication. However, the professor is incredible and the information is fascinating. He obviously loves teaching as well as astronomy. If you're a physics or engineering major and you're comfortable with deriving equations this is a great class to take. It's the only class I have that I'm always excited to go to. I had him for 120 as well and it was just as good (don't take 121 without 120, it's doable but difficult).