Bill Fagan | PlanetTerp

Information	Review
Bill Fagan BSCI160 Expecting a C Anonymous 11/22/2024	DO NOT TAKE HIM. When BSCI160 is harder than my orgo2 class yk theres something wrong. Tests are insanely difficult and so is the homework. Its crazy when i got a A- in 170 but somehow a worse grade in 160. You dont get your tests back, no practice tests, you get slides which bring no purpose other than to be placed in your basically 4 page cheat sheet. Hes an okay lecturer. I would advise just to not take his class what so ever especially if you have an insanely busy workload.
Bill Fagan BSCI160 Expecting an A- Anonymous 11/19/2024	I have to be honest, I have done well in all biology classes so far and maybe I've been taught poorly, but I have never struggled as much as anyone with Fagan. I've done very well in all classes so far, but this is currently my most stressful class out of Organic Chemistry, Physics, and Calc 2... which says something. Fagan gives out ridiculous homework assignment that are weighted far too much and cause way too much stress and gives exams that are truly perplexing. If you want an easy time in Biology, this is not it. However, I do believe I have a good understanding of the content for what it's worth, but this class is completely irrelevant to my major so it's practically a net negative. If you want an easy A or B, this is not the professor, and yes there are many easy professors for this class. I wish I had seen a more negative review for BSCI160 so I could have warned myself for the stuff you'll have to deal with. There are cheat sheets, but that doesn't matter as he asks questions that "get to the depth of the subject" which basically means you need to write all the background information on the slides, which there are 100's of per lecture. I strongly recommend not taking Fagan, and I normally don't go against professors like this unless my buttons have been pushed. He has gone out of his way to chastize the students for poor performance at moments, but deep down he does show care and respect for the material at hand, so I'd give him about 2 1/2 stars to be fair.
Bill Fagan BSCI160 Anonymous 11/06/2024	I would do 2 and 1/2 stars if i could. He's a bit bratty to his TA's and I truly dislike the way he structures his exams. I'm an upperclassman so it's not like I'm a freshman who doesn't know how college works. His exams are like 50% of what he puts in his powerpoints, but the other 50% require in-depth context from what he says in class. Some of his short answer questions are so confusing and vague you don't know wtf he's asking for. His lectures are a bit on the boring side, but I'm not crazy about biology so that's a personal thing for me. He says he models his exams after the book, but I'm not too sure how much he does. He also says he doesn't do trick questions, but so far that feels like a fat lie lol. He allows two cheat sheets for the exam which is helpful, but honestly not by a whole lot. He also doesn't do practice exams, which sucks for people like me who need them. He gives extra points back which is nice, and his curves are around 8 points. Overall, I wish I took a different professor but if you have a passion for the material I understand taking him.
Bill Fagan BSCI160 Expecting an A Anonymous 02/06/2023	He is nice and understanding. He curves well, he wants us to learn is overall great. he really just wants you to try your best and we will reward that.
Bill Fagan BSCI160 Anonymous 12/12/2022	He is such an amazing teacher. Curves on the tests are great, and he encourages questions. Show up to class it makes a difference!
Bill Fagan BSCI160 Anonymous 12/12/2022	He is an excellent teacher. He genuinely wants you to understand the topics he is teaching, and is always accommodating to questions. His tests are usually 105 points but he grades them out of 100, so we get those 5 points back, and on top of that each exam is curved generously. He really wants you to excel in his class, and it shows in his teaching.

Bill Fagan
BSCI160

Expecting a C
Anonymous
11/22/2024

DO NOT TAKE HIM. When BSCI160 is harder than my orgo2 class yk theres something wrong. Tests are insanely difficult and so is the homework. Its crazy when i got a A- in 170 but somehow a worse grade in 160. You dont get your tests back, no practice tests, you get slides which bring no purpose other than to be placed in your basically 4 page cheat sheet. Hes an okay lecturer. I would advise just to not take his class what so ever especially if you have an insanely busy workload.

Bill Fagan
BSCI160

Expecting an A-
Anonymous
11/19/2024

I have to be honest, I have done well in all biology classes so far and maybe I've been taught poorly, but I have never struggled as much as anyone with Fagan. I've done very well in all classes so far, but this is currently my most stressful class out of Organic Chemistry, Physics, and Calc 2... which says something. Fagan gives out ridiculous homework assignment that are weighted far too much and cause way too much stress and gives exams that are truly perplexing. If you want an easy time in Biology, this is not it. However, I do believe I have a good understanding of the content for what it's worth, but this class is completely irrelevant to my major so it's practically a net negative. If you want an easy A or B, this is not the professor, and yes there are many easy professors for this class. I wish I had seen a more negative review for BSCI160 so I could have warned myself for the stuff you'll have to deal with. There are cheat sheets, but that doesn't matter as he asks questions that "get to the depth of the subject" which basically means you need to write all the background information on the slides, which there are 100's of per lecture. I strongly recommend not taking Fagan, and I normally don't go against professors like this unless my buttons have been pushed. He has gone out of his way to chastize the students for poor performance at moments, but deep down he does show care and respect for the material at hand, so I'd give him about 2 1/2 stars to be fair.

Bill Fagan
BSCI160

Anonymous
11/06/2024

I would do 2 and 1/2 stars if i could. He's a bit bratty to his TA's and I truly dislike the way he structures his exams. I'm an upperclassman so it's not like I'm a freshman who doesn't know how college works. His exams are like 50% of what he puts in his powerpoints, but the other 50% require in-depth context from what he says in class. Some of his short answer questions are so confusing and vague you don't know wtf he's asking for. His lectures are a bit on the boring side, but I'm not crazy about biology so that's a personal thing for me. He says he models his exams after the book, but I'm not too sure how much he does. He also says he doesn't do trick questions, but so far that feels like a fat lie lol. He allows two cheat sheets for the exam which is helpful, but honestly not by a whole lot. He also doesn't do practice exams, which sucks for people like me who need them. He gives extra points back which is nice, and his curves are around 8 points. Overall, I wish I took a different professor but if you have a passion for the material I understand taking him.

Bill Fagan
BSCI160

Expecting an A
Anonymous
02/06/2023

He is nice and understanding. He curves well, he wants us to learn is overall great. he really just wants you to try your best and we will reward that.

Bill Fagan
BSCI160

Anonymous
12/12/2022

He is such an amazing teacher. Curves on the tests are great, and he encourages questions. Show up to class it makes a difference!

Bill Fagan
BSCI160

Anonymous
12/12/2022

He is an excellent teacher. He genuinely wants you to understand the topics he is teaching, and is always accommodating to questions. His tests are usually 105 points but he grades them out of 100, so we get those 5 points back, and on top of that each exam is curved generously. He really wants you to excel in his class, and it shows in his teaching.