Reviews for ENCE215

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Natasha Andrade ENCE215 Expecting a C+ Anonymous 03/12/2024	Natasha Andrade is a terrible professor. We "learn" a new topic every week such as nuclear energy, solar energy, you name it. The homework and exam problems are literally impossible compared to what she teaches us in class. She doesn't provide us with any information at all to be able to learn anything because she doesn't care about the success of her students. She mentions on the first day of class that a lot of people fail ENCE215. Why do you think that is, Natasha? BECAUSE YOU DON'T TEACH THE MATERIAL. As an engineering professor, you should be doing whatever you can to provide students with enough knowledge to succeed, but she does the bare minimum. Literally every other one of my professors is 10x more helpful than her. She would be way better if she actually taught in depth, exam type problems in class, but she just expects you to learn it all on your own.
Natasha Andrade ENCE215 Expecting an A Anonymous 01/20/2022	I think a lot of people go into ENCE215 thinking it's gonna be easy to bullshit their way through because it has "sustainability" in the name. Actually it's 80% applied physics and applied chemistry, and 20% writing/critical thinking skills. All the exam and homework problems are in the format of a paragraph which lays out some hypothetical real-world application for you. You have to identify how it relates to the equations for different types of energy generation (or population growth or stormwater management) and then solve. If you're good at extracting the relevant info from text, ID'ing what you have to find, and putting all that into equations, you'll do well. Also you HAVE to be good at dimensional analysis because there is TONS of converting units. in the homework and exam problems. Professor Andrade is very nice, a good lecturer, and very available with office hours, but she's not what you'd call a generous grader. I still really liked this class.
Natasha Andrade ENCE215 Expecting an A- Anonymous 12/28/2021	ENCE215 was very similar to ENCE100 in the sense that you discuss a new civil engineering topic each week. We covered various types of renewable energy, wastewater system design, and the world population. Each of these sections involved new formulas that were pretty easy to grasp. The homework is based on completion and helps you prepare for the questions you might see on the exams. The quizzes (each week or so) are easier versions of homework questions. The most difficult part of this class is thinking like Natasha. On her critical thinking questions on exams, she wants you to think about sustainability and environmental protection. This mindset is hard to learn when you don't already follow it in your day-to-day life. And answering her thinking questions like she would means the difference between a 50% and a 95%.
Natasha Andrade ENCE215 Expecting a B Anonymous 01/17/2021	I took Natasha Andrade's class in the fall of 2020. Because, she is the only professor who teaches ENCE215 at UMD, if it is a required course, you have to take her, there's no choice. Thereby, I hope this review can allow you to prepare for the twists and turns. First of all, Professor Andrade is a very nice person, but that isn't what most of us prioritize, it's good grades. The class focuses on a new subject each week: nuclear physics, chemistry, fluids (you name it). However, she does provide you with nearly all of the required equations so it isn't as impossible as it sounds. The weekly homework gives the final numerical answer in the problem, so that you can verify with yourself whether or not you completed the question correctly. She will not give you the solution to the problem, but she will answer your questions on how to get on the right track. Now for the bad aspects of her course. She holds only two exams, which are a large chunk of your final grade. Both exams are cumulative. While you receive the necessary equations, you barely receive enough time. The questions are split between calculations, multiple choice, and thought questions. The thought questions have the same grade weight as the calculations, so don't make the same mistake I did in prioritizing one over the other. She does NOT offer extra credit and claims that she never will. Also, the teaching assistant she employed was terrible. If you don't label each calculation step with each sub-solution, you will get a bad grade and have to fight to get it fixed. Finally, the group debate. Is it as bad as it sounds? Yes. Our class was split into two teams, due to our section having only around nine students at the time of the debate. There were dozens of options for the debate, but my team made the mistake of allowing the other team to choose the topic and the side. As others have mentioned in reviews, there is usually one side of the debate which is "environmental". From a completely scientific standpoint, it might be hard to figure this out, but with a keen eye you should be able to determine which has more mainstream environmentalism embedded in it than the other. If you are on the side with the anti-environmental side, you already lost the debate. The best thing you can do to salvage your grade is gather as much scientific evidence as possible. The pro-environment side will have a large selection of glamorous online articles to use as sources, usually with no data. Your side, the opposition, usually doesn't have any bias articles in its favor, but you are usually given a lot of data. Drown the opposition in data and question all of their parameters, and your team will survive. Also, don't act confrontational either in words or body language. The other team has a free pass to use emotions or ethics, you don't.
Maria Rodriguez ENCE215 Expecting a B Anonymous 12/26/2020	Made multiple mistakes, doesn't seem to understand the material that she's assigned to grade.
Natasha Andrade ENCE215 Expecting a B- Anonymous 11/05/2020	I am only half way through the semester. we are doing it online because of COVID but i wanted to originally take her because i had her as a guest lecturer in ENCE100 and shes adorable. Absolutely the cutest nicest person every shes so sweet. BUT MY GOD... when she grades... Its horrible. its just horrible. i would suggest not taking her because im used to getting As in my classes and I really try on my work but her homeworks are so unreasonable and the tests are the exact same. Its just a nightmare. theres way to much work for 200 level course and while she does give alot of partial credit (which is why my grade is still barely a B) her class is a nightmare. Honestly one of the most stressful classes im taking rn and i have two other 300 level classes. Its actually ridiculous.
Natasha Andrade ENCE215 Expecting a B Anonymous 11/03/2020	Dr. Andrade was a great professor. I had her last year and in retrospect, I wish I could've had her for longer! Her lectures weren't boring, different speakers were sometimes brought in every other week, and she will actually help you during office hours (unlike some professors). I never really felt stupid for asking a question and felt respected and like an equal person in her classroom.
Natasha Andrade ENCE215 Expecting a B Anonymous 12/10/2019	Dont llisten to that guy. Dr Andrade is a great professor that takes care of the environment and the knowledge of her students.
Natasha Andrade ENCE215 Expecting a B Anonymous 08/25/2018	At first you may think Dr. Andrade is a nice professor, but don't be fooled. She will tell you she is for good things like the environment and helping people, but she does not show this alleged compassion in the classroom. For the final group project, she makes all students submit peer evaluations. If you get below the class average, regardless of how high the average is (i.e the class average is 9.5/10) and you get a 9.4 she will dock your grade by a whole letter. During this project you have to do things like defend emitting CO2 into the atmosphere in a debate. She consistently picks the side with the generally accepted argument of global warming is bad to win the debate. If you get the less popular view, count on your grade dropping a letter grade. If you go to office hours, she will act like you are wasting her time and will not help you at all. Dr. Andrade also blatantly picks a small group of students to be her favorites. Keep in mind the class has 35 students not a lecture hall of over 100. Favorites are helped during office hours at the expense of other students. If you are a favorite, she will explain exactly what to do during quizzes. If you are not a favorite, she will stand over you and stare at your quiz then tell you you are wrong with 30 seconds left in the quiz with no further explanation. I would not recommend Dr. Andrade, nor would I voluntarily take her courses.
Alba Torrents ENCE215 Expecting a B Anonymous 01/02/2010	Like the other people are saying, her tests and quizzes can be very difficult, but if you go to her office hours and ask specific questions, instead of complaining about hard the material is, she can be very helpful. I for one did not do well on her first midterm, but she helped me with everything that was troubling me. When the final came around, I studied everything really hard, and I ended up doing really well. If only I had figured it all out sooner. It isn't impossible to well in her class. You just have to work hard for a good grade.
Alba Torrents ENCE215 Expecting an A freeman1 12/18/2009	Keep your grade in the top five in your class, get an A and don't have to take the final. Quizes are somewhat hard. Has random information sometimes. Exam is very long. If you finish you are doing good. Most of class wont finish. She is very nice but overburdens the work load. Don't be surprised to have a 40 page reading assignment given two days before its due.
Alba Torrents ENCE215 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/08/2009	Torrents is okay. Shes nice and smiles a lot but that's all your going get from her. Quizzes were very specific and the exam was long... It was hard to truly study for the exam because the material made no sense (i.e. ridiculous stoichiometry - converting lets say trees to diapers or something absurd). Advice: Good luck :)
Alba Torrents ENCE215 Anonymous 12/04/2009	Pros: -Nice -Tries to engage the class, but fails Cons: -Quizzes are hard -Midterm is REALLY REALLY hard & long. -Boring -Horrible accent -Can't teach Pray she doesn't teach this class when you have to take it.
Alba Torrents ENCE215 Expecting a d Anonymous 12/04/2009	Absolutely horrible class. Material was random and unconnected. Everything boiled down to memorizing equations and it was boring. Torrents was a decent teacher. The problem was that the quizzes and exams were the hardest things ever. Everyone mostly had quizzes from previous classes. As far as i could tell, thats the only way to pass. Take Hao the whole year if you have to take this class. Otherwise avoid the whole thing completely.
Alba Torrents ENCE215 Expecting an A Anonymous 11/28/2009	I really enjoyed this class. If you pay attention in class, just follow along and ask her to stop and explain if she's unclear. She can be pretty confusing. Take quizzes really seriously. They are worth a lot of your grade. Make sure you do all the homework she assigns!! Its not that bad if you keep up with the lectures and homework. I really learned a lot from her.
Alba Torrents ENCE215 jmartin1 12/11/2008	avoid her if u can.
Allen Davis ENCE215 babygnau 12/09/2008	Alan Davis is a rather tough professor. He is incredibly knowledgeable but sometimes holds students to higher standards because of this. The example problems he does are helpful but he only does one example for each type of question. Often on the exams questions would be modified from the practice version, but no one would know how to solve it the new way. Davis breezes through complicated stuff too quickly, however, that might be attributed to the fact that ENCE 215 has way too much material to cover. You should learn a decent amount but your GPA might suffer.