Eoin Mackall

This professor has taught: MATH120, MATH140, MATH141, MATH240, MATH406, MATH410, MATH808K

Sort By:

Information	Review
Eoin Mackall MATH141 Expecting a C Anonymous 11/16/2023	This class is a lot of work. It is hard. You will most likely struggle. I understand the criticism of Mackall, but he is a fair professor. His exams are incredibly hard but he curves generously. His homeworks are due at the end of the week instead of the middle which is a plus. His lecture style can be chaotic but he genuinely does want you to succeed and his lectures are interesting and he has a lot of enthusiasm about teaching and is not phoning it in. If you need help or don't understand something, his office hours are helpful, he is very nice. You will need to put a lot of time into this course, you will need to grind out practice problems and read the textbook. The reason this is a weed out class is because its really about managing your workload and not procrastinating and being responsible, if you can do that you will be fine in this class and your future ones.
Eoin Mackall MATH141 Anonymous 05/26/2023	Don't take him, go for Chadwick instead. Practice exams will be Chadwick's anyway, and I had a much better experience with Chadwick last semester with 140. Mackall is a nice guy per se, but he fools around class a bit and it's hard to understand or catch up with the material (but this pretty much is relevant to the entirety of the professors in the UMD Math department oops). If you want hard hard work and a decent curve at the end of the semester, maybe take Mackall? But the question again is why you would want to do that to yourself?
Eoin Mackall MATH141 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 05/20/2023	Tricky exams but nothing incredibly difficult. Really generous curve. If you are willing to work and like math, take him.
Eoin Mackall MATH141 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 05/19/2023	Dr. Mackall is very personable, nice, and knowledgeable. His exams are very difficult compared to other professors, but he curves generously (his last three exams all had a 65% average, but he curved the 2nd and 3rd to an 80%). For the final, he did not give us a lower grade than we already had in the class. The fourth midterm on series and stuff was the most difficult, in my opinion. About halfway through the semester, I stopped going to class because the textbook was enough to study from (and I was very busy), although going to class was helpful, and he teaches well. I would recommend him if you are already confident in your math abilities, and want a professor that doesn't bore you to death. Worst thing about this class were the discussions, but those will be awful (and mandatory) no matter what professor you choose. I'm lucky I had a good TA - shout out to Turner (Hugh Mclaurin). Also one of the midterms was on my birthday so that was a bummer...
Eoin Mackall MATH141 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/12/2023	I have taken this professor for both Math140 and Math141 and he has been one of my best professors I have had since coming to the university. Yes, his midterms are hard, but this is CALC2, it's not supposed to be an easy course. Self study is required as it is just too much material to be covered in lecture time. His curves were much more generous in Math141 than Math140, and all around he has a very humorous and sarcastic guy, which makes it enjoyable to go lectures. Also keep in mind that everyone in calculus 2 is doing the same hw and discussion worksheets, the midterms are the only thing that differs from professor to professor.
Eoin Mackall MATH141 Anonymous 05/12/2023	The slander in these reviews is insane. Amazing professor, 10/10. Some of my favorite lectures out of any course were with Eoin: First he starts off with the theorems or general ideas we need to know for that day's topic. Then he does between 1 and 4 examples, each focusing on a certain nuance or a certain type of question relating to the general topic. He would sometimes be so efficient that we would end early. Two homeworks are both due on Saturday night every week, which was very fair since other professors would have them due in the middle of the week but Eoin knew from feedback in last Fall's calc 1 course that people would prefer them to be due later so that the topics were fully covered before homework was due. He incorporated this feedback into this calc 2 course, which was wonderful. He had generous curves for all his exams. The exams were harder than other professors, but the needless complaining within his reviews is frankly a sign that people don't actually want to learn the material. The way he taught facilitated actual learning and understanding of the material, and did not follow the formulaic exams other professors seemed to have. Eoin had fun writing the exams, and he put passion into the class and helping us succeed. He's very personable, EXTREMELY patient with questions, and a hilarious guy.
Eoin Mackall MATH141 Expecting an A- Anonymous 05/12/2023	Everyone says they dislike him for his extremely difficult exams, but in my opinion, the content we are tested on is fair and accurate. He only wants us to push ourselves to really understand the topics. Yes, the exams are harder compared to other professors, but they are still manageable. Most people complain about having to self-study a lot with him, but calculus 2 requires that anyways, no matter the professor. He is a really personable professor who will accommodate to his students. You can really tell he enjoys teaching during his lectures. They can be a little confusing at times as he does derive unnecessary formulas at times, but in my opinion, they are only meant to be an introduction to a topic that can be further clarified by looking through the textbook and going to discussion. He also posted lectures notes at the end of each week in case you wanted to review something talked about in class. He applied very generous curves to most of our exams despite his syllabus stating he would only curve at the end of the semester because he truly just wants his students to succeed. My TA for this class also extremely helped (cleared up so many different topics). At the end of the day, Eoin is a very good professor to take for MATH141, but just because of this you cannot expect to go into this class without some self-studying and dedication to the class.
Eoin Mackall MATH141 Anonymous 05/11/2023	Do not take this professor. Goes over theory 90% of lecture time. instead of practice problems. Insanely hard midterms, had some of the lowest averages this semester (Spring 23) for his midterms. Most things I learned were through self-study. Only gets 2 stars because of promised curve.
Eoin Mackall MATH141 Anonymous 05/08/2023	Do not take this dude. He spends most of the class going over theory, with little practice problems. I literally had to teach myself the content most of the semester, didn't even bother going to class most of the time.
Eoin Mackall MATH141 Expecting a B Anonymous 04/26/2023	He only gets 3 stars because of his curve. His exams are much harder than any other professor, so if you rather rely on yourself instead of some curve he decides based on how he is feeling in the moment, then take a different professor. A lotttttt of self study is needed. Personally, I'd only go to the lecture on the Wednesday before exams. Study homework problems, study textbook problems. Use professor leonard on youtube to learn all the topics instead. Much more in depth.
Eoin Mackall Expecting a B- Anonymous 04/07/2023	Do not take Mackall if you want to suffer. His midterms are ridiculously hard and instead of teaching us how to solve the problems, he spends every class period going over the theory behind why the problems work the way they do (which you're not even tested on). I had to take him for Math 140 and Math 141 and both experiences were equally awful.
Eoin Mackall MATH140 Expecting an A Anonymous 01/20/2023	Probably your best bet for MATH140. Mackall's exams weren't too hard (just the third one..) and he's personable and answers questions well for the most part. The homework kept me on track and lectures were semi-useful, he spends a lot of time talking about theory and derivations instead of focusing on examples that would show up on exams. I was mostly self-taught out of the textbook and discussion was completely useless but GSS was really helpful. We went over questions that were representative of the exams. Good curve at the end of the semester and the final was easy.
Eoin Mackall MATH140 Expecting a B- Anonymous 01/13/2023	I'll keep this simple: Confusing Lectures Hard homework assignments Hard Tests But a really good curve.
Eoin Mackall MATH140 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 01/13/2023	Overall the class was taught pretty well. I think he did spend a bit too much time talking about theory in lecture, but when he actually did examples in lecture they were similar to those on homework which helped me understand the topics. I though the homework wasn't that bad and time-consuming but friends of mine struggled so I recommend having a study group to help you. Midterms were pretty hard but I recommend just doing practice problems from the textbook and past homeworks as most of the exam is made up of those kind of questions. Curve at the end of the semester was very helpful to my grade and I felt like the difficulty of the tests and homeworks helped me on the final as I felt it was very easy compared to the rest of the class.
Eoin Mackall MATH140 Expecting an A- mlc301 01/05/2023	Pros - Really good lectures, uses the blackboard and writes out steps at all examples, good at answering questions - Nice, personable, funny guy - The curve at the end was helpful and fair Cons - No lecture notes, but that didn't matter at all to me because if you attend lecture, the notes you take in there will be enough - Exam 3 had a 53 average with no curve. He only curves at the end of the course
Eoin Mackall MATH140 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/31/2022	As a professor, he could be better. I feel like the lectures focused less on you understanding and more on you knowing where it was derived from. More time was spent on teaching how some of these concepts were found and their relation to others instead of making sure that you understand the idea itself. The exams are also kind of difficult so I recommend studying if you can. I didn't study for any of the exams and BS'd most of the homeworks and was able to pull through with a B+ in the end despite taking the class in junior year of high school. The curves at the end of the semester are huge though and I think that this definitely offsets the difficulty of the exams. Overall, I recommend him as a teacher and in your discussion sessions, ask your TA for any and everything you need clarified.
Eoin Mackall MATH140 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/23/2022	His exams are tough and he spends a lot of time teaching theory as opposed to just the concept. Those are really the only downsides. Besides that it is very doable to do well in his class. He tells you what type of questions are on the exam so you can prepare.
Eoin Mackall MATH140 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/22/2022	Very reasonable professor and course. I came in having little experience in calc and was able to do very well in the class. For me, the theory that he went into was helpful and made the content easier to understand but that may not work as well for others. Get into the habit of reading the textbook before class so you're prepared for lecture. Webassigns were very helpful for reviewing the content we learned. Discussion worksheets were pretty difficult and intimidating but are designed to make you think. Your best resources are the textbook, office hours, and GSS. His midterms were of reasonable difficulty and had no surprises -- sometimes the problems came straight from the textbook, other times they included problems reviewed in GSS. Sometimes you would be short on time but as long as you make sure you really understand the material and do practice (lots of practice) you should be fine. Do the homework and the suggested textbook problems and any practice exams that are given, go to office hours when you have questions, and attend GSS for the extra review.
Eoin Mackall MATH140 Anonymous 12/21/2022	Getting any kind of a solid Math140 professor is impossible, and when it comes to lectures and their content Eoin was quite solid and answered questions. However, the discussions were unlike what was covered in lectures often and the last 2 exams were unreasonably difficult (Exam #3 had a 52% average) and did not receive a curve. The first two exams had good averages and were quality exams though. He did not record lectures and threatened to not curve the final grade at first (but he eventually did thankfully). He is one of the better options but more is desired when it comes to midterms which are important.
Eoin Mackall MATH140 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 12/18/2022	Although his mid-terms are harder than any other professor, he goes into depth for each topic, helping you understand the concept behind what you are doing. You should do okay in the class by using the textbook to study, doing practice problems, and studying in a group (most important).
Eoin Mackall MATH140 Expecting a B Anonymous 12/17/2022	Get ready for the most comprehensive review of this man. To sum it up, I found him pretty difficult because he focused more on theory and made difficult exams. Homework was pretty time intensive and I did not like his personality (he came off as very condescending to me). He couldn't stop bringing up his girlfriend in lectures. I could've taken him for MATH 141 next semester, but I decided to choose a different professor because he did not know how to teach (not that any other professors are much better. The math department sucks at UMD). What the class consisted of: Three lectures a week and two discussions a week. Every discussion, we would have a 10 point page worksheet, that was difficult in it of itself to complete. If I didn't know people in my discussion or have such an amazing TA, I would've failed all of these worksheets. It's really important to get a good TA for discussions because while my TA was extremely reasonable and helpful, I had some friends who their TA would give them a 0 out of 10 on these worksheets because they made one mistake. Onto the lectures, I felt so lost during all of them. He talks a lot about theory, which causes his lectures to absolutely make no sense. Even when he talked about concepts I've already learned, they made no sense anymore after he went through them in lecture. He also was never early. If he wasn't exactly on time to class, he would either be 5-10 minutes late. I also didn't like his attitude. He had a dry sense of humor, which came off as very condescending. We had homework due every Tuesday and Thursday morning (due at 7:45am so you basically had to do it all the night before). These homework's were quite often long and tedious. Before I had a solid study group, it would taken me up to 5 hours to complete them (reduced to 1-2 hours with a study group). Because he mostly talked about theory in lectures, he was no help when it came to being prepared for homework. I had to teach all of the concepts myself to be able to even complete just the homework. Also, he didn't record lectures, not that it made much of a difference though since I didn't learn much even from going to lectures. His midterms were difficult, more so than some other professors. There were 4 midterms, all of which he wrote (a few of them also had questions about useless theory that no one paid attention to). I had about an average of 72% cumulative for all the midterms. The only exam I really did well on was the second exam (intro to derivatives and I got a high A). The worst exam for me was the third exam (applications of derivatives) as the class average was a 52%, because the questions were unrealistic for the amount of time we got. Keep in mind that I studied for a week for all of these exams. The only thing I will say about his exams is that there were a lot of problems that were taken straight from the textbook, so if I could go back, I would pay more attention to the textbook. I found the final exam a lot easier than most of his midterms. I still studied for about a week, but I was able to an 89% on the final whereas I only had one midterm that I scored above an 89%. The math department writes the final exams, so they were very similar to a lot of the past final exams on the test bank (and Mackall wasn't the one writing it so that made it more manageable). Finally, even though he said there wouldn't be a curve for anything, he did end up curving the final grades and a 61% became a C-.
Eoin Mackall MATH140 Expecting a C+ Anonymous 12/16/2022	He is a pretty personable dude and lectures are funny sometimes. He spends way to much time on definitions and how deriving equations. I don't care how you got to that equation just show me the equation or whatever and how to apply it. Because he spends 40 out of 50 minutes of a lecture (if he shows up on time) on definitions and the proof of the equation we don't actually have time to see how to apply it. Also the homework sucks and is just completely useless most of the time plus the discussions are insanely difficult and just a giant waste of time but they are only 5% of the grade. I signed up for him after all the reviews said he was fair on exams but that didn't hold up. Exam 1 and 2 weren't bad but 3 and 4 were super hard and he basically told us he would curve the whole class because the average for exam 3 was a 50 then came in at the end and said no curve out of no where and screwed half the class. Bro is a straight genius and could actually explain stuff if you have the time to go to office hours. Go to GSS because it will save your grade. This is all on top of the textbook and overall math140 being an absolutely terrible curriculum.
Eoin Mackall MATH140 Expecting an A- Anonymous 12/13/2022	Started coming in 10 minutes late regularly near the end of the semester, seems to be underprepared when he finally does show up, and comes across like he doesn't want to be teaching calculus to freshmen anymore. I learned more doing GSS than I ever did going to the lectures. He is brilliant with math, but is young for a Postdoc and has a lot of learning to do if he wants to be a good professor.
Eoin Mackall MATH140 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/09/2022	He spends majority of the lecture going over the theory of the topic instead of teaching us how to solve the problems (so we can do the homework). In the beginning of the semester, he would take half of the class going over a warm up question. Personally, I struggled a lot because I have a hard time teaching myself with the textbook, but that's what was expected out of us - that we teach ourselves. If I didn't have my TA or GSS, I would have been done for. HIs midterms are difficult and not doable in the amount of time that we are given. For some reason, whenever we do bad on a midterm or express that we're struggling, he compares us to his college student girlfriend and tells us everything she's doing right and that we should be more like her.
Eoin Mackall MATH140 Expecting a B- Anonymous 12/07/2022	To be clear, MATH140 is just awful regardless of who you get. The process of getting a MATH140 professor is just sorting through all the professors and choosing which one is the least bad of them all. Personally, I enjoyed Mackall for what he did. I'm not going to act like I understand a single thing during lectures. He explains everything decently theoretically, which caused most students to not understand anything during lectures. He also has a very dry sense of humor, which worked for me but not for some others. To me he seems like an interesting guy at least who is just stuck teaching MATH140. The real reason why you would want to take Mackall is that he is at least reasonable when it comes to telling you what will be on each midterm. The class before he would tell us how many questions were on it and which type of topic we learned would be for each question. This is the real reason why you take Mackall. His tests are hard but if you study enough, especially with a group (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED), you will get at least 70s hopefully on the tests. Compared to other professors, he is just your best option. I honestly wouldn't listen to other reviews for other professors because the general consensus amongst the people I know in other classes is that they are just worse than him. Discussions are just unnecessarily hard worksheets that you have to cheat on or just rely on someone extremely smart to figure them out to solve them. My TA was not good at explaining, when he hardly did explain anything in the first place. I wouldn't say worry about getting a good TA, just worry about finding a group of people to study with. Expect to spend your entire life studying outside of your classes studying for this class. MATH140 is just a practical joke played upon students to make them want to dropout or switch majors just because UMD thought it'd funny. I really hate this class. Good luck future students, I hope you do not become as depressed as I did taking this class!
Eoin Mackall MATH140 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 08/29/2022	I went from failing 140 last year to doing amazingly on tests with him. His pacing and flow in lectures is phenomenal. He doesn't rush and does example problems that are not only relevant to the material, but relevant to homeworks/exams. He definitely listens to feedback and makes accommodations for people very well. His curve at the end of the year was absolutely wild, I went up from a B- to a B+. His exams are pretty doable if you take the time to really understand the concepts taught in lectures. I totally recommend him if you're not the best with math and are looking for someone who's pretty easygoing.
Eoin Mackall MATH140 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 06/09/2022	Mackall is great, first of all, the class is just trivial, but he makes sure to liven it up so lectures are definitely worthwhile. Also, his tests are comically easy, it could just be the course materials but it was honestly a breeze. In short, take Mackall and you won't even have to bother studying because his lectures are so great and the concepts are insanely easy!
Eoin Mackall MATH140 Expecting a B- Anonymous 05/21/2022	His lecture are kind of boring but you have to go to class because he does not record his lectures. He really cares about his students and is very reasonable for his tests. Also he is very funny at times and will make you mostly enjoy calc 1.
Eoin Mackall MATH140 Expecting a B- Anonymous 05/17/2022	Started off a bit rocky, but he communicates his expectations well. If you seek help and guidance you will pass the class, very interesting lectures. If you pay attention and practice outside of class and attend discussions you will pass. Highly recommend. Mackall The Saint!
Eoin Mackall MATH140 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 05/16/2022	As long you do the work and practice the rec questions from the textbook, you're set. Mackall does not lie as he always tells us straightforward which I liked the most. He cares for his students as he curved one of the midterms and created a passing score which almost everyone passed after finals. His exams are fair and similar to the practice but some comes from lecture problems or the textbook.
Eoin Mackall MATH140 Expecting a B- Anonymous 05/06/2022	I don't know why the person below me thinks calculus is "beyond easy," I suspect they took it in high school. However, Eoin is seriously a great professor. He does many examples, takes questions, and is very responsive overall. He made a real effort to connect with his students and to care about their mental health, despite it being such a big class. Even though this is easily the hardest class I've taken so far at UMD, I can say Eoin was a much better professor than who I briefly had first semester before dropping it in the dro/add period (Pilachowski). Exams are hard and he doesn't curve, but Keystone Center, GSS, and Math Building tutoring make this class doable.
Eoin Mackall MATH140 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 03/29/2022	Literally the best math teacher I have ever had. I don't know why others say he is a hard teacher. He goes over tons of problems and is super easy with communicating his ideas. If you justGO TO HIS CLASS you will easily pass. He makes calc 1 beyond easy.
Eoin Mackall MATH140 Anonymous 01/26/2022	nice guy- doesn't really know how to teach. doesnt do a good job making math140 easy for those who havent taken it before. if its your first time i def do not reccomend. Schlenoff is a great option for your first calc class.
Eoin Mackall MATH120 Expecting a B Anonymous 06/17/2021	Eoin was a good professor, not the best but far from the worst. he does have a habit of spending the majority of class explain the logic behind problems which I personally didn't enjoy but some did. I learned better at reading straight from the book, but he is very accommodating with his exams.
Eoin Mackall MATH120 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 06/02/2021	Super chill professor. He does a great job contextualizing what you learn in class. Sometimes he goes super in depth and it ends up sounding like mumbo jumbo. Midterms, homework, and the final were fair. He also responds to emails really fast, so don't be afraid to ask him for help/extensions.
Eoin Mackall MATH240 Anonymous 12/18/2020	Really chill, laid-back dude. He designed the class really well for an online environment. There were 5 midterms and they were all take-home, open-notes, and week-long, which relieved a lot of stress of online learning. Weekly homework was 10-15 question Canvas quizzes, but you really should be doing more. He is able to explain concepts well during lecture and is pretty good at drawing/handwriting. For improvement, more of the textbook problems should be assigned for homework.
Eoin Mackall MATH240 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/05/2020	really good lecturer - got into the theory side of things a lot but explained them well enough for anyone to get it; answered questions with really detailed answers, plus quizzes had unlimited attempts + times & you had a week to do all the midterms; chill guy would definitely recommend