Patrick McAvoy

This professor has taught: ENEE473, ENES100, ENES100A, ENES102, ENES102H, ENES221

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Patrick McAvoy ENES221 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 05/13/2025	McAvoy is a model mechE instructor. For each topic, there is usually a bit of theory, then specific examples to show some important point, then general HW/exam type problems. He helps break down big concepts in a way that can be intuitive and is very excited to show the information and different ways to solve. He shows strategies to break down difficult problems "so that you don't have to be a mechanical genius" to be able to solve. Main irritations are with the course structure. There are weekly homeworks, which usually consist of around 10 problems, but you usually only need to complete 5 of them. There are weekly quizzes, which have a strange structure of being graded as 100% or 0% so you need to submit a regrade request to get points. Quizzes/ exams are doable, but there's no specific way to prepare except for reworking the many HW problems or doing book problems. The worst part of the course is the exam MCQ, which is three theory questions that sometimes border on specific dynamics trivia. each question is worth 10%
Patrick McAvoy ENES221 Expecting a B- Anonymous 05/12/2025	Great instructor. Passionate about the class and wants the students to really learn the material. Dynamics is a hard entry level mechE course to begin with, so make sure to dedicate sufficient time to it. The class is designed in a way with weekly quizzes, online homeworks, Computer Based Testing (CBT) exams, and a written exam. Professor McAvoy will answer any questions and is a quick grader.
Patrick McAvoy ENES221 Expecting a B- Anonymous 05/11/2025	His lectures and videos make the class easier to learn. Dynamics is not an easy class- you will definitely struggle, especially in the beginning. The department throws you in the deep end without you knowing how to swim at all. McAvoy is a very passionate teacher that will work with you to understand concepts but doesn't focus on helping you with homework- rather the bigger picture. You will most likely need to go to a TA for that. The class involves a quizzes, multiple choice conceptual question part of the test, and your free response test questions. The quizzes were honestly the worst part of the class for me. If you miss a single part or answer, it is marked as a zero. The intent is that you review your results and figure out your error for partial credit, which makes sense, however, the grading is atrocious. By simply missing a sign and explaining your error, you can go from a 0 to as high as a 11/16. It seems very random as some days you can receive a 14.4 and others a 4 for what seems to be similar errors. This is by no fault McAvoy's, rather the grading TA. McAvoy is the best professor for this hard class, he definitely set some concepts in stone with me and his enthusiasm for dynamics was definitely appreciated.
Patrick McAvoy ENES221 Expecting a B- Anonymous 05/10/2025	The lectures are sometimes difficult to follow because he's very passionate, which leads to him going on tangents about "waht not to do" which in turn can make the material more confusing. Other than that, his office hours are very helpful and he's very happy to answer any questions. This class is hard in general, so I recommend going to office hours early on and putting in effort.
Patrick McAvoy ENES221 Expecting a B Anonymous 01/19/2025	I was terrible at statics/ENES102 (i failed), so coming into Dynamics I was pretty nervous but picking McAvoy as my professor was my best decision of the semester. I would always go to his office hours (which most people didn't) and you can honestly see how passionate this man is about engineering. McAvoy is super kind, understanding, and willing to spend the extra time you need to understand a concept. His lectures can be a bit dry as he usually just does practice problems but his office hours make up for it by A LOT. McAvoy genuinely cares for his students. Also, McAvoy is so passionate about the subject he is constantly seen smiling while teaching and gives us visual examples, this man truly seems like he LOVES his job. So far from my 3 semesters at UMD he has been my favorite professor for sure. Blessed to have him as a professor, this class will be very difficult but if you prioritize going to office hours with McAvoy and office hours in general I believe you will survive. glhf
Patrick McAvoy ENES221 Expecting an A- Anonymous 01/14/2025	221 involves weekly quizzes, weekly homeworks that are somewhat difficult, and exams with a MCQ and FRQ portion. The MCQ portion can be retaken the week after. Homeworks are definitely harder than the exam. McAvoy is an enthusiastic, fast paced lecturers. I found more value in his office hours than in his lectures, however, the examples he explains in class really do help you master each topic. He also derails into different topics after semi-answering your question. If you want to pass this class, go to office hours for content you don't understand, use the YT channel Questions Solutions, and redo homeworks before exams.
Patrick McAvoy ENES221 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/17/2024	He got so much aura. But in all seriousness, he is the best prof in engineering here.
Patrick McAvoy ENES102 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/11/2024	I think McAvoy geniuly cares about his students. However, his lectures were extremely boring and he doesn't explain the material well. Often he goes on little tangents that take away class time. Midterms were extremely easy especially compared to hw and groupwork. As long as your willing to study and do the work every week you should easily get a good grade. Also if you took AP physics C this class is a breeze.
Patrick McAvoy ENES221 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 12/04/2024	McAvoy might be the best lecture in engineering at this school. His lectures are fun and he is a cool guy who cares about your learning. If you ask a question, he will make sure you understand the concept and won't leave until you do. He's great!
Patrick McAvoy ENES102 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/03/2024	McAvoy is a great guy. He is super nice and wants to see his students succeed. He posts the lecture slideshows before the lecture happens which is nice and is super helpful when doing the groupwork assignments in discussion. The midterms aren't the most challenging but you definitely need to study for them. Practice problems with answers are provided before each midterm which is extremely helpful.
Patrick McAvoy ENES221 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 07/19/2024	I originally took ENES221 with Kiger before withdrawing and taking it over the summer with McAvoy and McAvoy is a far better choice. His lectures are clearer and he breaks things down very well. He can ramble and get off track but usually the point he's trying to make is actually very relevant and helpful. I would say that no matter the professor READ THE TEXTBOOK, it is a very good resource that can help you and it takes about maybe 10-20 minutes to read the chapter before class each day.
Patrick McAvoy ENES221 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 05/14/2024	He is a decent lecturer, and spends most of each class period going over example problems which I found to be very helpful. The homework was extremely difficult, which was not reflective of the Exams or Quizzes. Exams were very easy and straightforward with averages in the 80s. If you can do even half of the homework problems you should be able to do fine in the class. Definitely recommend McAvoy as he makes a course with very conceptual and difficult content relatively easy.
Patrick McAvoy ENES221 Expecting a C Anonymous 02/27/2024	[Taken Fall 2023] I do not agree that Patrick McAvoy is a five star professor, but I will admit he is not terrible. His lectures are fairly useful, but the way he does the example problems isn't super useful in my opinion. He seems to always take the scenic route in solving problems, relying on his great conceptual knowledge which students simply don't have as they aren't teaching it over and over again. I feel like he overcomplicates dynamics when he teaches this way combined with when he does unnecessarily difficult practice problems (that aren't reflective of the exams). His written exams are fair in what they expect of you and are not too difficult- overthinking may cost you like in my case. The only problem that exists with the exams is the CBTF portion, which in summary accounts for 40% of each exam grade and is taken separately in a computer lab. It grades all or nothing with zero partial credit and is more conceptual than the written exam. In practice the CBTF is terrible and I have personally seen it take large chunks out of the overall grade of students far more intelligent than myself who do well otherwise on the written exams. Also, getting points back on a regrade request for your written exams is essentially impossible as Pat is very by-the-book and is very greedy with points. Finally, dealing with McAvoy when you have questions about the class (not the material) is extremely irritating, as he is a stickler for the rules. I once asked him about whether I could take one of the written exams at a later time because I had a Calc 3 exam earlier in the day which finished ten minutes before, and he was very reluctant to make any accommodations for me and I had to go back and forth with him by email until he finally stated that if I "hypothetically" showed up late and "hypothetically" had an appropriate excuse he would consider giving me extra time at the end to complete the exam. In conclusion, McAvoy is a decent professor that you don't need to avoid, just be aware that he isn't "the best professor in the engineering department" which other reviewers seem to believe.
Patrick McAvoy ENES221 Anonymous 02/09/2024	Nice guy, bad lecturer.
Patrick McAvoy ENES221 Expecting an A- Anonymous 01/26/2024	Very good lecturer. Goes through example problems explaining concepts and also how to solve problems. The quizzes and tests were a lot easier than the homework, discussion, and lecture example problems which made it a bit annoying to study for. Overall a great professor. Easily makes a challenging class manageable for anyone who shows up.
Patrick McAvoy ENES221 Expecting an A- Anonymous 12/26/2023	He is AWESOME! He is so enthusiastic to teach, and you can see it with how much he clearly cares about the topics and having the students learn. He creates a very welcoming environment, grades quickly, responds in depth emails quickly, and makes it easy to learn. He is worth an 8am class.
Patrick McAvoy ENES221 Expecting an A- Anonymous 05/15/2023	Great guy and fair grader. If you can take a class with McAvoy you will not regret it; he is definitely the best professor I've had in college so far.
Patrick McAvoy ENES102H Expecting a C Anonymous 04/27/2023	I took this class in Fall 2022. He was a very nice professor who is happy to help students. He didn't curve the class at all (maybe 1 or 2 percent) and didn't give extra credit like the other ENES102H class for homework. The class environment also feels very "elite" and everyone seems to know what they were doing and doesn't seem like asking questions even if they're confused. Definitely go to discussion because you'll learn a lot doing problems on your own.
Patrick McAvoy ENES221 Expecting an A- Anonymous 01/25/2023	THE BEST PROFESSOR IN THE ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT. Take him. I highly highly recommend you take 221 over winter. He gives a lot of partial credit making it easy to pass this difficult course. If you take it during the semester, you aren’t awarded partial credit for anything. The midterm and final over winter had exam averages in the high Bs. It’s a lot to take it over winter, but Dr. McAvoy makes it interesting and tolerable. Take him over the winter and you want be sorry. He values every question, stays late to answer everyone’s question, and spends a lot of time explaining topics in ways that make it easy to understand.
Patrick McAvoy ENES102H Expecting an A Anonymous 01/20/2023	Lectures: Goes really slow so you can understand concepts. Really easy if you've already taken AP Physics C Mechanics. Tests: Tests are standardized for the whole course, they're way easier than the homeworks and are very similar to the groupworks. Office hours: Don't bother going to his office hours, he has good intentions but often just talks for a long time and you don't get much out of it. Sometimes he felt a little disorganized but I can't blame the guy he was always kind and enthusiastic. Go to the TA office hours instead, find a TA you like and then just keep going to their office hours. Tips: Understand the intuition behind a cross product and program your calculator to be able to do a cross product. Will make your life so much easier.
Patrick McAvoy ENES102H Expecting an A- Anonymous 12/07/2022	Seriously great professor. He is super passionate about physics and engineering and his lectures are great--he gives good notes with derivations and the follows it up with examples every lecture. He can answer any question you ask him. Literally any question. Office hours are super helpful too!
Patrick McAvoy ENES221 Expecting an A- Anonymous 07/11/2021	Just take him! One of the best professors in engineering department and really caring for every student. I think he is really knowledgeable and was able to solve all my questions during office hours so just take him you won't regret.
Patrick McAvoy ENES221 Expecting a B Anonymous 01/24/2021	I absolutely recommend you to take Prof McAvoy if you possibly can! He is SOOOOO nice and very clear in his explanations. I took ENES221 over winter and was really nervous going into it. He kept the course very well organized with lots of well made pre-recorded lectures and consistent class schedules. I agree with previous reviews that he genuinely wants everyone to succeed. ENES221 is no joke and taking the condensed version over the winter is tough, but at the same time McAvoy takes that into account and gives problems that are at reasonable difficulty for students who have to learn a chapter a day. If you have the time to dedicate three weeks straight to studying (I had to take off work during this timespan just to keep up), I recommend getting dynamics out of the way over winter with this awesome instructor.
Patrick McAvoy ENES221 Expecting a B Anonymous 11/21/2020	Gonna ignore how hard this course is for this review. Prof McAvoy is a genuinely nice person and wants us all to succeed. Says every question is a "really great question and brings up an excellent point" even if it's dumb. Prepares theory as well as example problems and is very smart. However, going to his office hours are sometimes a waste of time because he can talk forever. He might spend his whole office hour talking with one student to answer a question. And if you were looking for a simple answer or a quick question than you'll be with him for at least 10 minutes.
Patrick McAvoy ENES221 Expecting an A+ StardustGogeta 08/15/2020	Professor McAvoy is a great teacher who obviously knows a great deal about the subject matter. He is able to answer any questions you have, and he understands the common mistakes students make and how to resolve them. I definitely recommend taking his class if given the option!
Patrick McAvoy ENES221 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 04/18/2018	He really loves the material and cares about the students. If you put forth the effort to seek help and do the problems, you will do well. Overall, this class is known to be pretty challenging, so prepare for exams well in advance.
Patrick McAvoy ENES100 Expecting an A Anonymous 11/30/2017	He is a great professor! Really chill guy and is super nice to all of his students. He is very understanding and has pushed back deadlines for our class multiple times because he knew that no one could get it done in such a small amount of time. I recommend his classes to anyone.