James Rainbolt

This professor has taught: CHEM131, CHEM131S, CHEM135, CHEM231, CHEM271

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James Rainbolt CHEM231 Expecting a D Anonymous 04/01/2024	Rainbolt is one of the worst professors I’ve had in all of my life. He’s antagonistic and rude. His curve is a 44% is a C- so, mind you, his grade data might seem good but everyone passing with a C- had at least a 44% which is ridiculous. His quizzes are ridiculously difficult with no recall to any practice we do in class. Exams are unrelated to his modules as well. On our first exam he put five easy questions at the top worth one point each and after handing out our exam told us those questions would be worth zero points and to not do them. It was purely antagonistic. Rainbolt isn’t a great guy and he does not care about your success
James Rainbolt Expecting a C+ Anonymous 03/08/2024	Would give 0 stars if possible, do not take him, does not word the same on exams as his modules and a straight up narcissist, condescending, and everything else you would not want a professor, let alone one in an upper level course. Makes these long modules that're on paper and skips all over the place so you never know what to expect before class despite him acting like we already know it. Any review thats above 3 stars is either written by him or a student who was one of the few he favorites, avoid at all costs if you care about your GPA.
James Rainbolt CHEM231 Expecting a D Anonymous 02/01/2024	STAY AWAY. Rainbolt is a nice guy, but his teaching style is horrendous.
James Rainbolt CHEM231 Expecting a B Anonymous 01/23/2024	I wish that I had the option not to give him any stars. I took Orgo 1 with him and dropped it half way through. He was a terrible lecturer and honestly just flat out rude. If you did not understand the concept from the get go, well sucks for you. He refused to answer questions and if he did not think that the question was valid he would make a snarky remark. His quizzes and exams were virtually impossible and the class as a whole was doing very poorly and he did not make a change in his teaching style. I would not recommend him for any course, especially if you want to pass Orgo 1.
James Rainbolt CHEM131 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 01/23/2024	I haven't talked to anyone with other professors and how they are, but I did very well in his class and I honestly don't think he is an absolute lunatic who will eat you whole like many else described him as. One key trait of Rainbolt's teaching style is that offers these "module" packets, these packets have everything you need to learn about the topic and he goes over them in lectures. When you don't understand something and go to ask him about it, he will tell you to look at the modules, and most times he would be right, what you will need to know in this class is all printed on his modules, and he does a pretty good job at writing them, however, it is still very frustrating to be dismissed by him saying "you probably didn't look at the modules". There are also many practice questions on the modules and if you can finish those questions by yourself it means you have understood the concept. You are probably better off with other professors honestly but you can still succeed in his class.
James Rainbolt CHEM135 Anonymous 12/19/2023	Stay absolutely away from this man. I enrolled in his course before any reviews were available for the fall 2022 semester. He teaches his class as if it were a theater performance – very dramatic - NO CURVE - NO CHEAT SHEET just you and your brain. The course is extremely challenging and compact, but he offers no leniency. His exams are notably more difficult compared to those of other professors, and he doesn't provide practice exams. Instead, he hands out thick 20-page lecture booklets for each chapter. When I requested practice exams, he simply told me to study those booklets. Imagine flipping through twelve chapters of 20-page booklets. Yeah, no. Additionally, his personality is condescending. You were warned.
James Rainbolt CHEM131 Expecting a B Anonymous 12/16/2023	He is not a horrible person, he just can't teach. He stands at the front of the lecture hall and nonstop writes for the entire class. He gets irritated when people ask questions. If you have a very strong chemistry background then you will do perfectly fine in this class, since he teaches it like most of us haven't taken chemistry since sophomore year (which was virtual for most of us). He does not curve exams and drops one of the weekly 10 point quizzes at the end of the semester. These quizzes are not easy and are timed. His modules are good practice, but sometimes he omits difficult questions from the module keys because he wants to put similar ones on the quizzes. The only reason I am expecting a B is because of the curve. Which was a very generous curve, but not knowing where your grade stands all semester is very stressful.
James Rainbolt CHEM131 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/15/2023	I think this class is a lot about what you put in. Rainbolt gives a lottt of resources such as prelecture videos that are like 20 min long and I know for a fact that most people didn't watch them. He is a bit condescending but if you just take everything as a joke its fine and it makes lectures more engaging. One complaint I do get is his lectures feel a bit unorganized at times and is kind of just doing parts of the module with no slides or anything so I can see how people struggle with that, but again he presumes you've watched the pre lecture video. One thing I definitely appreciate is I feel like he really tries to gauge what students need the most work on and do a bunch of problems with those concepts. He also really tries to get everyone involved in the lecture so it's more engaging, that being said try to participate as much as possible it will help you in the long run. He even works really hard to make sure he knows peoples names which I think is commendable in such a big lecture. I also think his tests are very fair as they are similar to either the module or the weekly quizzes so if you actually understand those you'll be fine. Overall, he may not be the best 131 professor but personally I think he is over hated.
James Rainbolt CHEM231 Expecting a C+ Anonymous 12/14/2023	I would give negative stars if I could. I took him the first semester (I believe) that I took his class, and he was terrible!! The structure of his class is not organized at all like some of the other orgo 1 professors and the weekly quizzes and homework assignments are incredibly difficult rather than helping to apply your knowledge. The modules have decent practice problems in them, but he doesn’t provide enough resources to study for exams. Not to mention, he is incredibly difficult to go to for anything… I missed class because I wasn’t even in the state and was able to provide as much documentation as necessary and he refused to send me any class material!!! Take Dr. H, Koppel, Stocker. etc. You will also be WAY more prepared if you need to take orgo 2 if you DONT take Rainbolt.
James Rainbolt CHEM135 Expecting a C Anonymous 12/14/2023	Terrible professor. I wish I checked his reviews before taking this class. He assigns a quiz every week but doesn't prepare us for it or give us enough time to do it. Even worse, 90% of the time, out of the 20 multiple-choice possible answers he gives for one single question, NONE OF THEM ARE THE ACTUAL CORRECT ANSWER. His lectures are unclear and confusing and the way he answers questions is very condescending. The lecture videos and the modules are more helpful but contain errors and are not posted consistently. Nothing in his class prepares us for the exams. Worst of all, THERE ARE MISTAKES ON THE EXAMS. For the second exam, I spent all my time trying to figure out this one question (I know, stupid), but it turns out the question was wrong and we couldn't get the answer from it. Overall, horrible professor, and do not take his class if you want a good grade.
James Rainbolt CHEM131 Expecting a C Anonymous 12/13/2023	I urge you to ignore reviews about rainbolt where he is completely slammed with negative comments. Please only listen to reviews who actually support their negative comments with factual information. I am going to break down the class for you, I took gen chem with him as a senior. He is not supposed to teach gen chem for spring 2024, however I still wanted to write my review in case he returns to gen chem or you are just curious... LECTURE: Rainbolts designed our class to have modules, pre-lecture videos, AND lecture to synthesize information. Unfortunately rainbolt rarely ever made new material for lectures. The modules were supposed to be extra practice, however around week 2 it became quickly apparent that these modules are now our lecture material. "Lecture" consisted of these modules and rarely his own practice problems. He would often make comments about our uncompleted modules during lecture and even had the class "break our papers in'' by scrunching them up with our hands, which I won't even lie made me roll my eyes but laugh. If you have a hard time hearing far away professors or seeing a chalkboard, take another professor because he rarely wore the microphone and only projected the chalkboard to the class a total of 3-4 times. You have to set yourself up for success, and being able to see/hear lectures is vital to doing so. The pre-lecture videos are beneficial if you want them to be, it was nice to have an extra resource on top of our modules but often he would post them late. I will say though that him posting the prelecture videos late didn't even make sense to me because the videos are dated from 2019 and he literally just needed to repost them for us. Lastly, word questions in class properly or he will not answer it, say "ask god" or "see me after class" and your question will not be answered during lecture. QUIZZES/EXAMS: Quizzes were difficult but good study material for the exams. One thing that bothered me about the quizzes was no partial credit is given. No matter how hard you attempt it, or how close you get your answer, you won’t get any partial credit at all. He also does not provide a quiz answer key afterwards unless emailed by multiple people to make one. He made a quiz answer key for one of our quizzes but sent it out the day before the exam, leaving no time to study the correct quiz answer for our exam. This was extremely stressful as a student trying to earn credit on quizzes for work and seeing what you get wrong so you can fix it! Exams were fair but you have to study. Rainbolt said our exam 3 was our best exam yet however the average was the lowest of all 3 exams we took (excluding final, i'm writing this before our final exam). In total we will have 4 exams (including final). I was pleased after exam 1 when he provided us with the current class curve and even provided a spreadsheet to calculate our grades. It felt like this effort quickly dropped on his part when he told us the curve changed, but would not tell us by how much. As a student it's extremely stressful to have a low grade and not know the updated information on our curve. When I would speak with him privately he would give me more information on the curve but dont even bother asking this question during, before, or after class as he more than likely won't answer it. It should be noted that he does give a curve though and doesn't want his students to fail. Rainbolt set a fair curve early on but just not knowing how it would change is frustrating to me. RAINBOLT AS A PROF: I enjoyed Rainbolt as a person, he was kind and funny! You will see many reviews mentioning he's funny or cracks a good joke, which is true but I personally felt like some of these attributes quickly went away when the topic switched to chemistry. When asking rainbolt a conceptual question, it has to be thought out or he will not answer it. I suggest going to anyone else but rainbolt for chem help because often he won’t even answer your question if you word your question weird or "wrong". It is not fair to disregard a question when the student doesn’t even understand how to ask let alone what to ask. Lastly, just know that Rainbolt hates teaching gen chem, he will tell you that if you ever get a good conversation going with him. If you are looking for a passionate GEN CHEM class, take a different professor. It's one thing to hate teaching gen chem, however as the recipient student this SUCKED. I felt he did not care about the gen chem class especially because we did not even have lecture material and his neglect showed. I want to reiterate that this is all how I PERSONALLY FELT. Take this review with a grain of salt and make your OWN assumptions. As I mentioned I am a senior, I've had over 40-50 different professors at this university and rarely write an actual review for them, which shows I am definitely somewhat fed up. HOWEVER!!!! If you are stuck with rainbolt, it's not the end of the world!!! you will pass if you put in the effort, you cannot slack off or skip lectures. You will be frustrated at the class the entire semester, but you will pass and get through it.
James Rainbolt CHEM131 Expecting a B Anonymous 12/09/2023	The only reason I am expecting a B is because of the curve. He is the most condescending professor I have ever had. I tend to enjoy professors with some character, who joke and are sarcastic, but it isn't funny or fun feeling disrespected. He doesn't allow any room for error and wont answer questions straight on. I emailed once asking for an accommodation regarding a pdf over paper copy, and he emailed back saying it was like I slapped him in the face. I would not recommend taking him unless you are comfortable spending 40 hours a week on GEN CHEM.
James Rainbolt CHEM131 Expecting a C Anonymous 12/06/2023	Where to begin….Rainbolt is an interesting fellow. I’ll just list the pros and cons of his teaching methods Pros: Gives out paper modules with practice problems Uploads pre lecture videos that can help you review the material Kinda funny?? If you’re a fan of dry humor Cons: Classes aren’t recorded Grades consist of a quiz a week and your exams, both of which he purposefully makes harder than what’s done in class Not super approachable in class.. idk what he’s like in office hours Doesn’t give many practice material outside of the paper modules Overall: if you have an understanding of chemistry concepts I think you’ll like his teaching style but if you’re a beginner or need a refresher: I do not recommend
James Rainbolt CHEM131 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/06/2023	What can I say, the reviews do him a little harshly. Rainbolt's main problem is he sometimes looks like he doesn't care about the class, and can be condescending, but if you go to his office hours he is very personable and will help you work through problems. He assigns no homework, but he gives quizzes every Friday that are challenging but solvable. His quiz questions that you struggle with are usually indicators of whats coming on the tests, as he literally just changes the numbers and rewrites the same question. A lot of people complain about Rainbolt, but I really enjoyed his class, it is certainly hard and you WILL need to study, but if you do it really is a good experience.
James Rainbolt CHEM131 Expecting a B- Anonymous 12/06/2023	Super rude and condescending to students. He excuses this by talking about how its a professional environment and we should just deal w/ it. Seriously? Also the only grades are through weekly quizzes and midterms so if you do poorly on those then sucks for you. He also flies through lectures and hardly ever explains the details of what he just did. The bright side is that he writes great modules that have practice problems and are great study tools - only reason I'm passing. His curve is very big because all his students test so terribly.
James Rainbolt CHEM131 Expecting a C Anonymous 12/06/2023	Professor Rainbolt is and okay professor. His teaching methods could be improved, but he does a great job at keeping the course real organized. He gives modules for each topic (which can be a lot but are honestly the best practice resource for exams) and at the top of each module there's like a mini description of what you should be able to do by the end of it. He also does pre-lecture videos which are helpful (sometimes). As for the textbook practice problems, it's really optional, like some students pass without ever touching the textbook. The only thing is the way he teaches isn't the best. He tends to dive straight into a new topic with little to no background/introduction on it and sometimes over-complicates things. Not to mention the questions. If you're lucky, on a good day he'll give you actual answers to your questions (and some dad-jokes), otherwise, get ready for a condescending/sarcastic answer. It's one or the other, there's no in-between. Overall, he can be a bit intimidating, but he keeps the course material organized and is actually much nicer during office hours!
James Rainbolt CHEM131 Expecting a B Anonymous 12/02/2023	I think many of the reviews are very harsh. He isn't great but he isn't terrible either. I think he's a decent lecturer; he has good energy and I was never bored in his class (expect some dad jokes too). He provides module sheets that contain practice problems and explicitly tell you what's going to be on the exams, although they often contain errors that he needs to correct and there are some things they don't explain clearly enough. However as long as you go through and understand what's in the module sheets, there should be no surprises on the exams. He also provides other resources, such as pre-lecture videos and additional practice problems on MyLab & Mastering. He can be a bit intimidating and difficult to approach, but he is willing to work with you if you need help. What bugged me the most about this class though was him assigning weekly quizzes that are harder than the exams (even the TA's thought they were unfair). There are probably better options, but his class is definitely doable and he is by no means the worst professor I've had.
James Rainbolt CHEM131 Anonymous 11/09/2023	Spent 50 minutes with him when Dr. Stocker was out for the day. Nobody in the class could tell what he was trying to teach us and he kept using the word "pneumonic" incorrectly? Really confusing
James Rainbolt CHEM131 Expecting an A Anonymous 10/27/2023	I took honors and Ap chem in HS. I thought I would do really good in his class but I was wrong. If I could give him a negative stars I would. He is very condescending and I am pretty sure he doesn’t even know what he is teaching. If you ask him a question he may not even know the answer. VERY BAD TEACHER!! He makes multiple mistakes in his modules. For our second exam, he posted the module video the NIGHT BEFORE THE EXAM. Overall, DO NOT TAKE!!
James Rainbolt CHEM271 Expecting a C+ Anonymous 10/27/2023	Horrible Horrible teacher. His style of teaching is very confusing and he tends to also skip important stuff. His exams are hard and not in what we learned in class. His class is poorly managed. If you care about your Gpa, don’t take rainbolt
James Rainbolt CHEM131 Expecting a B Anonymous 10/20/2023	super condescending and egotistical. his tests have so many errors. module keys rarely matched the problems in the modules and if so he makes errors frequently. if you ask him a question he will put you down.
James Rainbolt CHEM271 Expecting a C Anonymous 10/17/2023	Horrible teacher, has a terrible attitude. Exams are not fair at all and he expects us to know things he didn’t teach. Just don’t take him if you value your gpa and mental health.
James Rainbolt CHEM231 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 08/31/2023	Extremely helpful, but he didn't cover all of orgo 1, at least for our year, so if youre just taking this class to knock out a requirement then I highly recommend, but if youre going to orgo 2 then please take someone else who will actually teach you everything you need to know
James Rainbolt CHEM231 Anonymous 08/23/2023	Not the best but not terrible! He gives lots of resources: pre-lecture videos (super helpful!), lectures, paper module packets with practice problems, and homework through the Achieve software. I found his lectures to be very helpful, and I liked how he worked through problems with us. However, he teaches his lectures on a chalkboard and does not record or post any slides on Canvas, which can be very frustrating. It's also hard to know what grade you have until the end of the semester, and you have to manually calculate it. The course overall feels very disorganized, but I understand that it was his first time teaching it at UMD. I would try to get on his good side by asking questions in class or going in for office hours. Otherwise he can come off as rude and condescending. He does not take criticism well, and if you ask a question that he has already answered he will get mad. The first exam was easy, but the second and third ones were difficult and he gave a curve at the end of the semester to accommodate for that. Definitely A LOT of work both inside and outside class, and if you miss a lecture or don't understand a concept you will feel very lost very quickly. I would recommend keeping up with the content and going in for office hours if you need help. Take Stocker if you can but it's not the end of the world if you end up with Rainbolt.
James Rainbolt CHEM271 Expecting an A- Anonymous 08/12/2023	ok some ppl gotta chill; this dudes not that bad and his personality is fine. hes made me chuckle on occasion. i struggled just bc im bad at gen chem. yes the second exam and the final were tough (he made them tougher bc "the first exam's average was way too high"). however, despite him saying he wouldn't curve the class bc we were supposedly sooo smart i still pulled an A- bc of the fatass curve at the end. so hes at least sorta reasonable. i didnt love how many trees he killed with the ~100 or so pages of modules PER PERSON IN THE CLASS. and honestly his prelec videos made more sense than his lectures. man also needs to get an ipad or learn how to use the projector.
James Rainbolt CHEM231 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 06/10/2023	This professor's teaching style and personality are great in my opinion, just make sure to not skip any lectures- as his teaching allows for easy ways to remember concepts! Rainbolt is one of those professors that you need to go to office hours, and introduce yourself in order to gain additional understanding and feel confident in class. Sit in the front row, go to office hours, and you will thrive.
James Rainbolt CHEM231 Anonymous 05/30/2023	Was decent at the beginning of the semester, but felt like his teaching was rushed near the end making it harder to understand difficult concepts.
James Rainbolt CHEM271 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 05/29/2023	AYE I have to chime in here because all y'all are some BUTTHURT snowflakes. PEOPLE ARE LEAVING OUT SO MUCH CONTEXT WITH THEIR REVIEWS & STRAIGHT UP LYING!!! So many reviews saying hE DiDn't CuRvE BOIIII he literally added 8% to everyone's grades at the end of the semester. Y'all are exaggerting him "throwing" chairs and "saying shut-up" like boohoo maybe you should stop talking when he's giving a lecture. Also, people saying his pre-lecture videos are bad are insaneeee. He literally explains concepts so well in them and provides a general overview of what the material will look like with some practice problems. SMH sure his exams are difficult but since when has the chem department ever been a walk in the park. "hE ChoOsEs FaVoRitEs" yeah yeah but ever realize his favorites are people that PARTICIPATES in class, ask questions, and go to his office hours? You can't expect him to "favorite" you if you show up to his office hours for the first time during the last week of class. That one review saying the final exam viewings had a small spreadsheet where you can see everyone's courses in the grade... it was all by UID, no names. Tell me that you've memorized everyone's personal UID and can see their grades... Y'all are so soft and these reviews are doing a DISSERVICE to this man, a genuinly good professor. Stop being so extra...
James Rainbolt CHEM231 Anonymous 05/25/2023	Really rude and unapproachable. Take anyone else. Truly one of the most disrespectful professors I have ever had.
James Rainbolt CHEM231 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 05/24/2023	Okay. If you're going to take orgo with him, READ THIS!! I'll review this professor based on two important features: teaching style and personality. Teaching style: not bad, 8/10. Why? Well, there were four things that he utilized to teach: pre-lecture videos, module packets, his lectures, and the homework sets. Pre lecture videos were really helpful, especially before class. To be honest, I did not really watch them before class but definitely looked at them while studying for exams, etc. SUPER HELPFUL! Module packets were, in my opinion, the most useful thing in succeeding in this class. Modules included the learning objectives (what you need to know for exams, which he did stick to), loads of practice problems (SUPER HELPFUL!), and information that explains the concepts. Though, I thought the modules, when explaining topics, sounded a little esoteric and could be explained in much simpler terms, which would be more helpful when learning the harder topics. Lecture style was a little wonky. He definitely taught, but he used a chalkboard for teaching. Now, I don't have the greatest vision, so this forced me to sit in the front (WHICH I RECOMMEND!). He also doesn't record, so go to every lecture and write everything he writes. Asking questions is a little intimidating, because of his personality, which I'll get to in a second. He goes over everything in the modules and explains them well, so that was good. Homework sets were just a pain. You will soon find out that Achieve is just really annoying and really finicky, so start early! Also, Dr. Rainbolt office hours are nice. He actually is lot better in office hours, so if you have any questions, probably ask him there. Discussion was okay, the TA was not bad, just went over problems in the modules that cover the topic you covered that week. I went for the first couple, but then stopped. They also don't do exam reviews or anything like that. - His personality: 4/10. Why? He is just really intimidating and condescending. Asking questions in class is already kinda scary, but with him, it's a hard no (at least for me). He is actually great when explaining concepts and tries to be funny, but him answering questions is just...oof. But in office hours, he's a lot nicer. I would suggest asking questions that are clearly worded, since he responds better to that. Also, ask questions that are worded like a question ("Is this an SN2 reaction?"), not "I'm confused why there is an SN2 reaction." (I know this seems weird, but he literally didn't answer one student's question because it was not worded correctly!) - One other note, his elms handling is very weird. He manually created assignments and an assignment for course grade, so he calculated the percentages through his own spreadsheet. I did know my course grade throughout the semester though, but I just found it to be different. His curves are great; he adds points to each exam if the average is below 70. For example, he added 10 points to our second exam, and 20 points to our third exam. Lastly, his quizzes and exams! His quizzes are kinda hard, I would say harder than our exams. Usually 3-5 questions about the topics covered that week. To do well, make sure to understand the concepts and do the module practice questions BEFORE taking the quiz. Also practice those quiz questions before the exam!! Now, exams were fair. Any question he asks in the exam is something that was covered in the modules. If you understood the module stuff, exams should not be terrible. I hope this helps! Rainbolt is not bad. Good luck :)
James Rainbolt CHEM271 Expecting a B+ IfCourseEvalsWereHones 05/22/2023	I have to go against the grain here... Given that he's a new lecturer at UMD, I think we shouldn't blame him for not knowing how to use Canvas. Make your own spreadsheet and put in your own grades... it's not that difficult. I also have to add that his pre-lecture videos and modules ARE actually helpful in understanding course material. He ACTUALLY explains concepts well during office hours. He'll help you solve problems and walk through the steps. I really liked his teaching style. I also think he has reasonable expectations for the students... and the quizzes and exams are doable. I think people will only complain of his exams because he really forces you to think outside the box. I did poorly on his second exam, but after seeing the answers and the steps he took, it was sooooo doable. I do have to say, however, the difficulty exam questions are twice that the difficulty of module questions. Sure, his attitude can use some work. However, you can easily get on his good side if you participate & answer questions during class (he asks a lot of questions to make sure we're engaged) and show up at his office hours or even email him. I liked his humor too. However, I would agree that he is condescending and doesn't seem like he can show empathy. ALSO, PEOPLE ARE LEAVING OUT THE FACT that he only gets angry when YALL TALK SO MUCH during the lecture. Yeah... there are much better ways in addressing people talking during lecture than "throwing" (highly exaggerated) and saying shut up (why take this personally), but I think y'all softies can handle that. Stop being so extra. Are there better professors than Rainbolt? Maybe. Is it all doomed if you take him? Certainly not.
James Rainbolt CHEM271 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 05/21/2023	I’m seeing a lot of negative reviews for Rainbolt but I’m going to give the most honest review as concise as possible -to address the “throwing chair” and “shut up” comments made by other students, he only did that a total of like 3 times and it was to get the class’s attention at the beginning of class. No doubt it was strange but it was only bc the entire class would not let him begin lecture. -He is a great lecturer, and encourages students to ask questions. Though sometimes if you ask a question that he just answered, he does come off as condescending when answering it. -He is no doubt and strange guy with an interesting demeanor, but it honestly made the class more engaging. -He often let us out early, and additionally would drop jokes and humor the class (to the best of his ability) -He had 2 exams + final and yes the second exam and final was hard. He didn’t give us too many practice problems to help us study, which is main reasoning for the loss of one star. Personally, I was able to do decent on both exams just based off of the modules he gave us, but more problems would’ve definitely been appreciated bc I went into those exams concerned af. We have weekly quizzes and homework modules which helped bring up people’s grades. He also curved the class at the end. Overall, if there’s another option, take them. But don’t feel as if you got the worse teacher with Rainbolt.
James Rainbolt CHEM231 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/20/2023	Just please don't take him. Literally anyone else is better. So condescending, passive aggressive, and has zero sympathy(literally made a girl cry in class) . He gives out these huge module packets which are so disorganized and honestly made me want to cry looking at them. He's also super unapproachable and makes you feel dumb when you ask questions. In terms of assessments he gives quizzes every week which are pretty difficult and only drops one unfortunately; The first test is easy which makes the class seem doable, but the other two tests were awful with the averages being in the 50s and the final had multiple questions that were all or nothing. If you do get stuck with him just know you're going to have to do a lot of work outside the classroom in order to get a good grade.
James Rainbolt CHEM231 Expecting an A- neesh1903 05/20/2023	Quite possibly the worst experience of my life. IF YOU ARE TAKING HIM FOR ORGO DO NOT LOOK AT THE REVIEWS FOR HIM THAT SAY CHEM 135. He is a completely different person for this class: condescending, rude, and passive-aggressive. He made a girl cry in class, literally rolls his eyes openly in class, and according to the gen chem 2 kids, threw a chair out of anger. I thank god I got a decent grade in this class but it was only because I asked for help from Stocker and Koppel kids. He teaches on a chalkboard which is so hard to read. His packets are very long and complicated and often contain practice problems that are beyond the scope of the course. And get this, his practice problem answer keys are many times incorrect and have no explanation. He has weekly timed ELMS quizzes that are difficult and timed for like 10 minutes. It is often based on the concepts taught the week of class. The averages on those quizzes are about an E each time. He only drops the lowest one but that really does not do anything to the grade. His prelecture videos are also very long and convoluted and make very simple concepts such as Grignards or conformational analysis VERY difficult. Its very clear he has favorites in the class. His exams were so interesting. The first one was so easy like it was a confidence boost, but the next two were terrible. The average on the second and third were in the 50s. He is a dedicated teacher I will say, but he is so unapproachable that it makes everyone so scared to ask him questions. The final was also stupid because he made the reaction questions multiple choice and made them 10 points meaning there's no way to get partial credit. Save yourself the mental stress and take Koppel or Stocker.
James Rainbolt CHEM271 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/19/2023	Man is so bad. Not a great lecturer and relies on his "modules" to teach mostly which have a decent amount of mistakes in them. They're pretty useful but he lacks comprehensive material before exams so I'd just redo the entirety of his modules before them. His prelecture videos are much better than his actual lectures, so I wonder why he doesn't just lecture like a normal professor instead of doing his flipped classroom experiment where he teaches like it's a high school class where he just hands you a worksheet to do. I'm not a bad student for reference, I have a 4.0 and got an A in stocker for orgo 1 and an A in MS for orgo 2, but I struggled more in this class than I did in either organic chemistries so that that as you will. I've never received below a 92 in chemistry before this class and my exam grades were 85, 77, and a 80 for the final. If you're wondering why I had an A with these exam grades it's because he gave a fat 8% curve at the end of the year which meant that I was comfortably sitting at an A. Exams are ridiculous and don't correlate to the level of depth he went into in class. During the final exam viewing I swear there were about 5 girls crying after seeing their grades. I felt a little bad for them, but not too much because I'm a dick. You have to keep in mind however that these people passed both organics before this class, and I've never seen someone cry over a chemistry grade before this, so again, take this as you will. 4/10 professor, I've seen worse teachers in high school, but this is my worst academic experience so far at umd. Upside is that I didn't work nearly as hard in this class as compared to organic because no matter how bad the professor is, the material for gen chem 2 is still braindead easy
James Rainbolt CHEM231 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 05/19/2023	He's a bad bitch. He's may come off as condescending, ambiguous, and rude but he's just quirky. People complain about his character a lot, but I think he's a good professor which is what counts. It's a tough class but he explains everything pretty well if you pay attention in class and practice a lot outside of class you can definitely do well. Make sure to watch his pre-lecture videos, it really helps to come into class sort-of knowing what's going on. His tests are very straightforward and he's pretty generous with his curves. He curves each test individually (not the class at the end, which is how other professors like koppel and stocker do it), which is nice because you know where you're at instead of having to sit in ambiguity until the end of the semester. Make sure to practice his modules and practice with two other people MAX, you won't get anything productive done otherwise. Go in knowing that he has some quirks and be ready to deal with them, if you can handle a few quirks of his you will do great I promise :)
James Rainbolt CHEM271 Expecting a D Anonymous 05/18/2023	such a rude individual, cannot teach, thinks we can learn only from example without previous explanation, needlessly hard exams with little to no curve. Literally single-handedly tanked my gpa with his bs. Not enough time for quizzes that are on subjects we did not go over in class. This guy seriously needs an attitude check. I don't understand how Anyone could ever rate him higher than one star, DO NOT TAKE HIM EVER.
James Rainbolt CHEM271 Expecting a B Anonymous 05/18/2023	do not take him. Really bad at teaching. Unreasonable hard exams.
James Rainbolt CHEM231 Expecting a C+ Anonymous 05/18/2023	do not take him. it's hard to avoid if you schedule late and aren't able to get stocker, but even then try to get koppel. he uploads pre lecture videos and uses the same examples during class, so he's essentially never actually actively teaching you anything during class. towards the end of the course he didn't even upload the videos and when he did they didn't coincide with the actual content. the last few modules had no contextualization for the reactions that he never taught us. he had to curve our exams like 20 points because everyone did so poorly and then claimed that he was "very proud" of his test questions despite the fact that they are nothing like anything we've seen or been taught before. he also is so incapable of using canvas normally and everything is out 0 and like has an x next to it; he's also always claiming that he often makes mistakes so we should calculate everything ourselves and tell him he needs to change it if that happens as though that's our responsibility and every other professor isn't very familiar with uploading grades on canvas. he's super unhelpful during office hours and will be visibly shocked if you tell him something is confusing to you just because it's easy for him to understand. him. the organic chemist. his modules have the most convoluted possible wording of everything with super frequent typos and LOADS of information that he claims is "beyond the purview of the course." you will fully receive 54 pages of rambling with the occasional practice problem that's infinitely easier than what's seen on the homework and exams. don't get me wrong! i liked the class at first because he started off very slow and thorough with an overview of drawing and understanding organic molecules and even a refresher on some bonding lore from gen chem, but gradually we started to fall SO far behind stocker and koppel's classes and really only began reactions in the last month or so. he had to SPEEDRUN the last ones so much like 30 minutes before the end of the last lecture to the point where he didn't even tell us what they were called or draw out the mechanisms. i got so lost so fast and i wish i received a more thorough and evenly spaced explanation of everything because honestly the material from this class is really interesting. people i know who took stocker actively enjoyed orgo! it is possible! just not with this man! good luck!!!
James Rainbolt CHEM271 Expecting a B Anonymous 05/18/2023	Straight narcissist, who lacks empathy. Slams tables in class and throws chairs across the room if he hears even a peep from anyone chatting. Demands respect even though he belittles majority of the people who ask questions in class. Created by far the most unfair midterm I have ever seen throughout my entire academic career, one that EVERYONE complained about. He never even addressed the fact that the midterm was unjust, he just continued to make everyone more stressed about their grade by gatekeeping the class average and repeatedly saying he’s not going to curve. He gives no proper exam preparation material other than these module packets which he creates. That’s the only study material we have to work with yet somehow he still thinks it’s a good idea to make the exam questions on concepts we have never practiced while everything on the exam barely resembles anything from class or our homework/the module packets. Worst teacher ever, UMD has yet to bring in a proper GenChem2 Professor. I’m honestly so disappointed with UMD, the Chem department and whoever hired this bozo.
James Rainbolt CHEM231 Expecting a C- Anonymous 05/17/2023	Professor Rainbolt is a professor that expects his student to put the effort in. You have to study every day but he is also understanding and if you don't do well on one exam or two you still have the ability to pass his class. He is really not that hard to talk to especially face to face. He just needs to see that you put an effort into the class. Don't expect to get a professor that is going to let you pass without putting your work in. He is very caring towards his students when you talk to him and you just have to make sure to not get behind and you will be able to do well in his class. His exams are very similar to the module and not extremely hard. They are pretty fair and easy if you study the modules and practice the concepts and problems. I suggest going to him in office hours and telling him what you find hard from the beginning and trying to study more on your own.
James Rainbolt CHEM271 Expecting a C- Anonymous 05/17/2023	He's actually sick and twisted for not curving the class. The topics in this class are easy (imo) as a gen chem course. The problem sets are helpful with understanding the concepts (highly recommend taking time doing them). I didn't watch any of the pre-lecture videos because he goes over what's on them in class. I've done above average on all the exams so I am shocked that I'm ending with a C-. The average on the second midterm was a 60 and he still isn't curving. The modules are helpful in understanding the concepts but do NOT rely on them for the tests. He is exceptionally clueless when it comes to how to study for the exams which is worrisome as he is the professor. If you asked me a month ago, when I had a B in the class if I would recommend him, I would say yes as he gives a lot of practice. However, if you ask me today, I would say no. Even though I did well on the exams, he made the final harder than expected. I also hate how he talks down to his students. I shouldn't even be upset because a lot of people are failing after the final but it isn't fair how he is grading the course based on his teaching style. It was sad seeing people cry when they saw their final exam :(
James Rainbolt CHEM271 Expecting an A- Anonymous 05/17/2023	WORST PROFESSOR EVER. screams in class and throws chairs around. Exams are completely unfair and he refuses to curve. his own TA told us we should've taken anyone else. Incapable of using technology and hates when students ask him questions. You can't be a bad professor AND hate answering questions.
James Rainbolt CHEM271 Expecting a C+ Anonymous 05/17/2023	This class was A LOT. I will say that at the beginning it was pretty simple and easy to follow along because he was super consistent with providing a lot of materials for us to practice form, however that really changed in our second unit. Our second exam was so hard and not doable for most of the class (avg was a 60%) and he did not curve. The class is doable with him, but don't get comfortable with his style of exams/teaching throughout the course because it will change. The final was okay, definitely better since we had 2 hours to complete the exam but a curve could've been really helpful to most of the class.
James Rainbolt CHEM271 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/17/2023	Lectures – Rainbolt's lectures are fine, he teaches you as if you know nothing, which is a good way to teach, but that's where the positives end. Doesn't record classes. He gives everyone modules as the only form of material and expects you to prepare using it. Materials – No supplemental practice outside of modules Attitude – He gets angered very easily in class and throws chairs around. Has a very condescending tone when you talk to him Exams – Honestly the worst part of the class. He curves downwards in a way where he takes off an egregious amount of points for the smallest mistake. When you go to check with him after picking up exams, he shows way to much attitude and doesn't give back points easily. The average grade seemed to be around a 70% and he didn't curve at all
James Rainbolt CHEM271 Expecting a B- Anonymous 05/17/2023	I would avoid taking Dr.Rainbolt at all costs. Truly the worst professor I've ever had at UMD. He made the course necessarily difficult because the class average was "too high for a Chemistry course" after the first exam. He was extremely rude and condescending to questions asked. Also, he refused to make a study guide or give students any indication of the material that would be on the exam. In addition to this, he didn't know how to use the platform Canvas so it was hard to have an accurate representation of where you stood in the class. I would give Rainbolt 0 stars if I could. Taking his class will make your life miserable.
James Rainbolt CHEM271 Expecting a B Anonymous 05/17/2023	Honestly, he's just a really rude person. I will admit he does explain concepts well at times but to get to that point, you need to first experience his abrasive side: yelling shut up at students, flipping chairs etc. Also his exams are really weird in that some reflect the content well like our first exam did, and others, like the second , being far from what we expected. He also does not know how to use ELMS so it is hard to tell what your grade is or to find data like the class average. This does not matter because he refused to curve our class despite our low-ish average on the last two exams. I would not recommend him but he might be your only or even best choice :(
James Rainbolt CHEM271 Expecting an A- Anonymous 05/17/2023	Just plain rude. The first half of the course went so well, with fair homeworks and quizzes, and a first exam that, while challenging, was fair and similar to provided material. It seems as though Rainbolt after the success of the first test, that the course was "too easy", and made quizzes and the second unit exam much harder. This then correlated in a challenging final exam, where the average was a low C, and the second exam having a D average. This would be fine if the course was curved similarly to other chemistry courses here, but nope, he decided a curve was not needed. To show final exam scores, he put a copy of a spreadsheet on the board at the viewing, in 3-pt font so that no one could read it, and displayed it so that everyone could view anyone in the courses final score. In addition, I watched him repeatedly laugh in the faces of students who asked him about regrades and wrong questions. Personally, I don't find joy in crushing the dreams of students who are trying to become future physicians, but clearly Rainbolt either doesn't care or gets off on sadism. Overall, just wouldn't recommend, unless he happens to change his ways in the future
James Rainbolt CHEM231 Expecting a C- Anonymous 05/17/2023	I advise all who have the ability to not take him as their professor to do so. The disparity in difficulty of the questions he works through in class to the questions he puts in his quizzes and exams is drastic. Additionally, he teaches his course in a different order than the rest of the professors. Therefore, if you are taking the Orgo 1 lab at the same time, you get completely hung out to dry and will have to teach yourself the content. However, the worst aspect of his class is how down right rude his is to his students. He answers emails and questions in a dismissive and arrogant manner while giving ambiguous responses. Overall, he is just a pain to deal with.
James Rainbolt CHEM271 Expecting a B Anonymous 05/17/2023	Our first exam was very fair and really reflected the modules he gives out. THEN, apparently he was mad that his average was too high for the first one, so he made our second exam impossible for a 50 minute exam and everyone's grades' tanked, and he still made our final ridiculously hard. Final was way too hard for a final, it didn't help anyone's grades it just dropped them more.He also refuses to curve the class. Class was not helpful, he just gave us problems to do and then asked people to solve them which ate up so much time. It's also important to note that he is highly unprofessional- he cusses every class, and even yelled the F word in office hours- honestly just a psychopath, he also broke a chair from shoving it too hard during class. If you really work hard you wont fail, but you also wont get an A bc there's no way to read his mind and hes legit the only chem professor who doesn't curve which is just unfair.
James Rainbolt CHEM271 Expecting a B- Anonymous 05/17/2023	I HAVE NEVER WRITTEN A REVIEW FOR ANY PROFESSOR BUT DR. RAINBOLT .. AVOID THIS MAN AT ALL COSTS!!!! trust it is not worth your mental health if there are other options. his exams are tough. If you really have to take him make sure you spend a reasonable amount of time studying and know that the amount of time for the exam won't even be enough. He always made homework due the same day as the exam day which was very tedious. This has been my hardest chemistry class smh. Don't get me started on his attitude. He is rude and does not care for his students at all. The manner he used was unnecessary tbh. There also is no curve so be aware of that. I could go on and on but do what you want with this information. I personally would rather never take another class with this man.
James Rainbolt CHEM231 Anonymous 05/17/2023	If I can give zero stars I would. This man is the absolute most vile professor I've had. He's inconsiderate and does not have an ounce of empathy towards his students. He says he "wants all his students to succeed" but doesn't promote an environment where I feel comfortable to ask questions because he would either call you out in front of everyone or would rudely answer. He's worse during office hours. He makes it clear which students he likes and dislikes based on how he treats his students in office hours. He doesn't understand how to use elms so he prints everything out and basically gives us textbook based info and explains such simple topics in a very complicated manner. He would record pre-lecture videos which are all absolute bs because they don't help in any way and are just long for no reason. The only good thing about the modules was the practice problems but I essentially had to teach myself everything based on the practice problems or from other youtube videos. I do not recommend him. Additionally, compared to other orgo I classes there are topics that we did not cover or not as strong in because he either didn't teach it to us or just glazed over it and just told us to review the modules ourselves. If you would like a sadistic professor then this is the one for you. I regret taking him for orgo.
James Rainbolt CHEM231 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/16/2023	This man is genuinely a good professor. Organic chemistry for sure a hard class but his teaching style really worked for me. He hands out packets of paper (modules) for each unit and this is basically your textbook, study guide, and the only thing you need to master to get an A. His tests oftentimes use problems directly from the module that are slightly different. The lecture is also super important because Professor Rainbolt goes over a lot of important exceptions and facts. The problem sets (achieve) are easy and the quizzes are based off of lectures. Overall, this class was hard but all you need to do to get an A is to master and understand everything in his modules. Also he curves each test not the class.
James Rainbolt CHEM231 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/15/2023	Aye bro don't listen to what all these people are saying this mf is the goat. Makes the content interesting, and the pre lecture videos and modules are extremely helpful. Everyone saying he's a bad teacher are people who didn't put the work in and are now butthurt because they either had to drop or failed.
James Rainbolt CHEM271 Anonymous 05/15/2023	Bad professor overall, at least for CHEM 271. Expects you to learn through pre-lecture videos and modules that he hands out for each topic, which is good in theory, but his pre-lecture videos aren't good and doing the modules becomes more difficult once you have more work to do. Also, he had errors in his module keys which confused people. His lectures were OK at best, usually just talked from the modules and had students do module questions in class. Half way through the semester he just stopped making discussion worksheets so that limited the practice available to module questions and GSS worksheets. The GSS instructor may have had a mental disability or something, but his keys were illegible and riddled with mistakes and wrong answers, making it so difficult to study off of them. His first exam was fine but a little to long since the class was only 50 minutes. His second exam was way harder than anything he had shown us before and had the same problem of being to long for the time allotted. The majority of the class failed with the average being a 62%. From what I heard, he did not think of curving, even after the majority of the class failed. His personality is entertaining for like the first day, but then he just becomes annoying and can be a dick to students. Try and take someone else.
James Rainbolt CHEM271 Expecting a C+ Anonymous 05/15/2023	Don't take him!! He has anger issues and is not accommodating at all. Also, he doesn't give out practice exams so it's hard to know how the exams will be like. Also, our class filed a complaint against him, so that lets you know how bad he is. :(
James Rainbolt CHEM231 Expecting a C+ Anonymous 05/15/2023	He has modules and pre- lecture videos to help with understanding the material. But honestly they’re not that helpful I learned most of the material from YouTube. He has weekly quizzes which are notoriously hard and assigns over 50 graded practice problems. He doesn’t answer questions in lecture and will and makes you feel dumb because the answer was “obvious”. His exams are very inconsistent you could get an A on one exam and an F on the next. I would recommend any other chemistry professor.
James Rainbolt CHEM231 Expecting a C- Anonymous 05/15/2023	Rainbolt is definitely an interesting professor. Although the class is naturally difficult, he makes it even harder. He takes the 'no excuses' approach to teaching the course. Every class it was expected that students watched a pre-lecture video and read his modules and complete the practice problems in the module. This was very difficult to do as sometimes the pre-lecture video was only posted at 9pm the night before our 8am class. He was very condescending in class when answering questions- if he even bothered to answer questions. Sometimes he would refuse to answer a question or refuse to write more information on the board with the expectations that students would already know the material well enough. He is unpredictable in terms of how he acts with students in person. His demeanor is unapproachable but I think he does mean well in order to help. He will often make proclamations saying that he has full confidence in all of us to succeed in the course, but he provided little to no help with that.
James Rainbolt CHEM231 Expecting a D+ Anonymous 05/15/2023	I do not recommend taking this professor. He is dismissive and rude when you ask questions during his lectures. He writes everything on a chalk board making it hard to see and take notes from. He does not provide practice exams to review and genuinely acts like helping and caring about his students is hard. It’s been a hard and long semester with him- do not recommend!!
James Rainbolt CHEM271 Expecting a B- Anonymous 05/14/2023	Doesn't seem to know what he's talking about. Lectures are incredibly disorganized and he writes on the chalk board in a huge lecture hall so nobody can see. He can't use canvas properly (grades are so weird and confusing). He has anger issues (throws things during lecture, including chairs). He pretends to care, but will make you feel stupid if you ask a reasonable question. Also, very not generous with curving. DO NOT TAKE!! I wish I could give him a 0, but I can't so I gave him a 1.
James Rainbolt CHEM231 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 05/13/2023	(Warning long review ahead) I actually liked Rainbolt a lot until like a month ago, think he must be going through it or something... so warning he can be moody! Orgo is an extremely tough class and there's really no way to win, all the professors are "bad" to some degree; Rainbolt is different from any other professor I've had, to say the least. My decision to give Rainbolt 3 stars is based primarily on the fact that his pre-lecture vids are good, his exams aren't super ambiguous and I actually think he is pretty straightforward (modules state exactly what he wants you to take away from a topic). I didn't have the best experience with his class, however, that is primarily based on factors outside of his control. I wouldn't recommend taking him if you are someone to doesn't do well with disorganization. I have never seen ANYONE as bad with elms as him (granted I am a freshman, but I literally did not know my grade for this class for at least 98% of the semester). Rainbolt also does not record in-class lectures and instead passes out modules with TONS of practice problems that ~somewhat~ reflect exam questions. The modules are kind of a blessing and curse, it's nice to have so many practice problems you can do to study BUT I have at least 19 of these packets, and it's been a pain to carry them around everywhere while studying for finals since it's the main + most helpful resource you have for studying. Also if you lose one during the semester, you're more than likely not getting a new one since pdfs of the modules aren't on elms (you either have to pick one up during lectures or stop by his office to grab one, which was kind of tough for me due to other classes + a job). Rainbolt's not great with emails, and kind of weird about them too. At one point he had two achieve problem sets (homework THAT TAKES FOREVER TO DO, usually 20-40 problems) on our schedule and he just never unlocked the assignments, I emailed him at least 3 times over the course of 5 days and he didn't get back to me until the following week - like a week and a half before our next exam (problem sets are due the night of our exam, and because of the amount of time these assignments take, it sucked that we didn't have as much time as we could have to work on it). Now onto the actual lectures: I had him at 8 am Tuesdays/Thursdays and we basically spent the entire 75 minutes doing practice problems + learning techniques, which was really helpful. He posts one or two 15-20 minute pre-lecture video(s) that go more in-depth about concepts, I'VE NEVER MISSED ONE!!! and often went back and rewatch them to prepare for upcoming exams (sometimes he posted them a bit late though, so fair warning especially if you decide to take him first thing in the morning). Pre-lecture videos are CRITICAL to actually understand what is going on during lectures & allow for you to use class time as an opportunity to practice techniques + check to make sure you have the mechanisms down the way HE WANTS. Exams are...interesting. The first one was absolutely fantastic (I got a solid A, with the average being a low/mid-C; this was pretty shocking to me, especially coming from having Prof. Baxter for Chem131, where I always got between 71-75 & averages were between 50-57.) However, the second exam's average dropped WAY to the mid-50s and the third one was EVEN WORSE. However, Rainbolt did add a 10-point "curve" to exam II and 20 points to exam III helped boost grades a lot. However, with that, I'm not entirely sure if this class will be curved (I'm sitting at an 85 right now, and going into the final most people's grades are at a C), which is unusual for a chem course - especially one has notorious as orgo - as I've been told Stocker/Koppel sections are looking at a 15-20% curve, and even my chem131 course Fall 2022 had like a 12% final curve. Outside of his disorganization, Rainbolt is a pretty good lecturer and explains concepts pretty damn well. However, the main reason I wouldn't recommend his section class was that it did not line up with chem232 AT ALL. I learned Sn2, E1, E2, and Sn1 reactions in lecture AT LEAST 2 weeks AFTER I completed lab reports on them, which forced me to attend office chem232 office hours EVERY week, typically more than once for an hour or two at a time. Although attending office hours for 232 wasn't bad (it helped me understand concepts more in-depth + do significantly better than the mean on lab reports), it was frustrating seeing Stocker + Koppel lectures lining up with labs. None of my friends in Koppel/Stocker lecture sections spent anywhere close to the amount of time I did on lab reports since they already had knowledge of the topics, which sucked since these assignments were already time-consuming as is. On top of this class + lab, I was also taking Math141 and BSCI222 (and SOMEHOW EVERY SINGLE ONE of my midterms landed on the same week/weekend stretch -> Genetics on Thursday, Calc exam + Chem232 lab report due Friday, Orgo exam Tuesday), which was always rough ESPECIALLY since I had to actually teach myself lab topics on top of studying for all my exams. If you have a really heavy course load + outside obligations, I would STRONGLY recommend looking into Koppel/Stocker instead since this semester was absolute hell for me. My expected grade is based on the expectation that there will not be any curve added to this class, as Rainbolt never mentioned anything about an end-of-the-semester curve, and when he was asked he said "he doesn't know what a curve is" Overall, like any other professor (especially from UMDs god awful chem department), Rainbolt has his pros and cons. Your decision of which orgo professor is best for you comes down to the type of student you are, your course load, and what you find to be most crucial for you to succeed. Regardless of who you take, orgo requires practice, commitment, making use of your resources, and self-teaching(!!!). Taking a specific orgo professor will NEVER guarantee you success in this class, however, if you are looking for a way to make your life easier, go with someone who aligns their class with the chem232 schedule (KOPPEL!!!! -> I promise you she gets a worse rep than she deserves; or possibly Stocker (?) -> From people I know, it sounded like her content aligned fairly well with lab, but no guarantee since she's not running chem232). I believe this was Rainbolt's first semester teaching Chem231 at UMD, and hopefully, as time goes on he'll learn to better manage elms + plan his content around Koppel's schedule. Good luck with orgo you got this!!!!
James Rainbolt CHEM231 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/12/2023	Professor Rainbolt is genuinely a good teacher even though he gets a bad rep. He gives out modules (packets that replace the textbooks) and all you need to do to get an A is basically understand every problem in them. Most of the time questions on tests are just these questions in a different shape or form. He curved the second test by 10 points, and the third test by 20 points so there is a decent curve. He is hard to approach during office hours, but once he opens up he can be helpful. The lecture is super useful and important as well, he teaches the material really well and makes note of important exceptions. Overall, if you put in the work and understand his system, you can definitely get an A in this class. Study and understand everything in the modules to be successful.
James Rainbolt CHEM271 Expecting an A- Anonymous 05/11/2023	DO NOT TAKE HIM IF YOU HAVE A CHOICE. I believed the past reviews and took him and I regretted it. The environment he creates in class is so uncomfortable. If there is slight chatter (which will happen since it's a huge lecture hall), he throws a chair or says "Shut Up" every five seconds. He does not know the material at all. Once, someone asked him if he can go over a question he wrote in the modules and he couldn't even solve it. He never puts accurate grades on Canvas so we never know what we have in the class. He is really rude during office hours. I once asked him how to do a problem he set up in class but never solved, and he just said "Do you even come to lecture? Have a good day and bye." I never encountered a teacher like him. I don't even know why UMD hired him. Please stay away if you can.
James Rainbolt CHEM231 Expecting a C- Anonymous 05/10/2023	If you can take another professor for orgo, do it!! There weren't any reviews for his CHEM231, but there were great ones for his CHEM135, which was misleading. He doesn't know how to work ELMS properly, and you're basically playing the waiting game until he updates the course grade himself. YES, he puts in the "course grade" and it doesn't automatically add up like other classes (hopefully, he figures it out in the future). He gives out 40-50 page packets towards the end of the semester, which can be helpful since there are a lot of practice problems, but only goes over maybe about 4-5 in the actual lecture. He curves each exam individually. Not too sure if he curves the final. The class asked him if he curved the overall grades, and he gave the response "I'm not sure what a curve is". Very blunt, very unpredictable, I would recommend taking the course with somebody else, at least I wish I did.
James Rainbolt CHEM231 Expecting a B- Anonymous 05/09/2023	I had this man for CHEM135, and he was amazing. I selected this professor for CHEM231 thinking I would get an awesome experience. All I have to say is... what... happened? In Gen Chem, there are not that many rule breaks so you can really learn just by seeing the practice problems. Rainbolt pretty much does not explain. He just puts problems on the board and expects everyone to get it. This would work for gen chem, but not for orgo as there are so many exceptions. He is very nice to me, but the only reason that he is nice to me is that I had his last semester. If you don't know him and ask a question that he thinks is dumb, prepare to be embarrassed. He doesn't have any practice exams, just modules and the prelecture videos. During class, he would put reactions up for example, but just do the steps and not explain what is happening. He would just do the problems and expect us to get it. He would then ask if we had questions, and if we asked questions that didn't seem to his liking he would become rude. Then the cycle repeats as he puts another problem up on the board. I went on thinking this was normal, but deep down I knew that this wasn't right. I then was relieved when I found out people had similar problems. Also I never went to office hours, but I heard they are awful. If you are taking orgo, please do not choose him.
James Rainbolt CHEM231 Expecting a B Anonymous 05/09/2023	I wish I could give him negative stars. His lectures and canvas are horribly unorganized, has made people cry in both lecture and office hours, and he has an extremely condescending and egotistical attitude. If you want to actually learn in organic chemistry and not rely on youtube videos, I would take another professor. He can be funny sometimes, but it nowhere near overcomes his teaching style and attitude. I have talked to so many people in our class, and they all agree he can just be straight up rude. He gives us modules, which are nice because they are filled with practice problems, but the keys he posts do not explain how he got the answers, and sometimes are just straight up wrong and he never fixes them, causing you to study the wrong stuff, so they are practically useless, and they are also all paper so they are easy to lose and he never has extra and refuses to post them on canvas. He is not the easiest to reach by email, and sometimes when you ask genuine questions, he responds with "refer to the modules" instead of actually helping. Furthermore, he is not sympathetic with his students and their stress, telling them to just "try harder" rather than offer resources and support. Finally, you never know your actual grade in the class because of the way he implements scores, so your grade could be horribly dropping, but you wouldn't even know it. Overall, DO NOT TAKE HIM unless you want an ungodly amount of stress, tears and frustration; and to be treated lesser than.
James Rainbolt CHEM271 Expecting an A- Anonymous 05/08/2023	Horrible teacher, he talks down to his students. He is so condescending and doesn’t care about his students. The way he talks to students is so wrong and he’s genuinely a rude person.
James Rainbolt CHEM271 Anonymous 05/07/2023	My roommates are taking this class and oh my goodness I’m sick if hearing about this man. He posts his lecture videos so late. He is rude and creates an environment where people don't want to talk in class. Roommates used to love chem, but this class has created nothing but complaints.
James Rainbolt CHEM231 Expecting a C- Anonymous 05/05/2023	Lectures are not helpful at all, you must teach yourself. He also does not curve at all. He will give an extra 5-10 points for one exam. The quizzes are really hard and drops your grade a lot (so do them with friends). However exams are much eaiser than other professors.
James Rainbolt CHEM271 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 05/05/2023	This man is a red flag with anger issues. He gets irritated when the class is "talking too much" and tells us to shut up when we are whispering. He is extrememly unprofessional and likes to fling chairs and bang the desk when he wants to get the class' attention. He genuinely created a hostile enviornment for learning and rarely answers questions in class in a helpful manner. 90% of the time he says to see him after class if you have a question. This man needs his ego checked. Not even sure he will curve, but exam 2 had an average 0f 60% because he wanted to lower the class average. I really hope he curves. Wish me luck for the final :'(
James Rainbolt CHEM231 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 05/04/2023	Good professor, engaging lectures. He may be short with students when they ask questions with little sustenance. People get frustrated because he doesn't want to give you the answers but instead wants you to understand and figure it out on your own. Overall a very nice guy and it is worth going to his office hours with questions you have which he will answer and explain in depth.
James Rainbolt CHEM231 Expecting an F Anonymous 05/02/2023	Does a terrible job explaining, he doesn't even know how to use canvas which is hella annoying. His modules are long and disorganized. He expects to learn from pre lecture videos only. His lectures are boring and dont make sense, not to mention hes rude as hell. he doesnt answer "obvious" questions and acts like youre dumb even though the questions asked are valid. He doesn't give practice exams or problems, only from the modules, which he doesn't even explain how to do it in the keys. If I could give negative stars I would. DO NOT TAKE THIS GUY!!!
James Rainbolt CHEM231 Expecting a C Anonymous 04/30/2023	He talks a lot but says nothing at the same time. He records pre-lecture videos and hands out note packets with practice problems, which both sound good in theory, but he expects you to immediately learn the material solely from the pre-lecture videos and treats actual lectures like a review instead of teaching the material. If you didn't ask questions in a specific way, he would be rude about it and basically embarrass you in front of the entire lecture hall. He seems like he cares, but doesn't execute it very well. Whenever I went to his office hours, I felt dumb asking questions since he would act like the answers were always obvious. Despite watching all of the pre-lecture videos, doing all of the practice problems, going to class, etc. I didn't do well on the exams and when I asked him what else I could do to improve, he basically told me nothing and said that "C's are passing." I would recommend any other professor.
James Rainbolt CHEM135 Expecting an A Anonymous 04/26/2023	Honestly great teacher and a great guy. I can say that the exams for this class are FAR easier when compared to other classes. His lectures are sometimes difficult, but going to his office hours does help a lot.
James Rainbolt CHEM135 Expecting a D+ Anonymous 04/24/2023	Rainbolt is a decent guy but not that great of a professor (at least for my teaching style). His lectures were not organized and he wrote all of the work he was teaching us on the board, making it hard to see if you were in the back. Other than that, his class atmosphere made it so hard to ask a question without being judged. A lot of the other reviewers said he's condescending, and I think that only applies to him during his lectures. Not sure if he's trying to be witty but it makes students not want to clarify mistakes if the teacher deems question "good" and "bad". During office hours, he is really nice and approachable. He is very understanding of makeups and tends to take a while to grade so you will probably get your makeup grade the same time as the class gets their grade (do with this what you please). All in all, not the best Professor and won't suggest taking unless your grasp of Chem is already good.
James Rainbolt CHEM231 Anonymous 04/22/2023	not a nice man. never explains things in office hours and was very rude when I was ill and wasn't able to attend an exam
James Rainbolt CHEM231 Expecting a W Anonymous 04/16/2023	Very thorough and good at presenting students with the material reviewed in the course. However, he is unapproachable and has not been very willing to understand student's problems outside the classroom, or student's questions regarding the coursework.
James Rainbolt CHEM231 Expecting a C- Anonymous 04/11/2023	literally do not take his class he makes you feel dumb for asking any question and makes the whole class feel uncomfortable. he doesn’t even explain concepts well and literally made a girl cry in class today, take any other organic chem teacher
James Rainbolt CHEM135 Expecting a C+ Anonymous 12/25/2022	I honestly didn’t really like his class. I saw he had good reviews but maybe he wasn’t for my learning style. I didn’t like the confusing lectures/videos, and sometimes he put the wrong answers to the modules. But the modules are helpful, he writes all of them himself and I owe it to them that I passed the final. Occasionally goes on tangents in lectures but cracks a few jokes. Could be condescending to confused students. Doesn’t give nearly enough time to solve problems in lecture. Gave few extra credit problems in tests and quizzes. Tests are both concept and problem based but still pretty fair. He gives formula sheets for the tests so you don’t have to memorize them. Slow/bad at grading in elms, so you can’t check your grade unless you go to his office
James Rainbolt CHEM135 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/25/2022	Great teacher, teaches the class content very well, keeps classes interesting and is an interesting person overall. Keeps the classes engaging by answering questions and giving the class practice problems in his custom modules. Great teacher overall
James Rainbolt CHEM135 Expecting a C+ Anonymous 12/24/2022	Everyone knows chemistry is hard asf, but this professor did a pretty good job at teaching it. The beginning of the year started off very easy, but it progressively got harder. The first topics taught were stuff we learned in high school such as lewis dot structures, compound naming, dimensional analysis, etc. But don't get comfortable. The first test I got an 80% (because it was easy compared to the rest of the year), and I thought the next few tests were going to be that easy. I then bombed the next 2 tests. Because there are only 3 tests before the final, so much material is crammed into one exam. This class requires a lot of complex word problem solving with several steps, so be ready with that. As the topics got harder, Rainbolt's lectures were hard to follow, as he goes pretty quickly. Sometimes he would end his lectures 30-45 minutes early, which I honestly would rather have him continue to teach us because of how hard this class is. Overall, he is a good teacher and he will crack jokes every once in a while so just laugh. He gives prelecture videos as well as practice modules so make sure you watch and do them. He curved the 2nd test and that was it. Sadly, he didn't curve the test that everyone and their mom failed (the 3rd one) and I don't think he curved the final either. I ended up with a C- in the class, you most likely have a few more braincells than me so you should be able to do a little better. However, most of my friends ended up with the same grade as me (highest being a C+).
James Rainbolt CHEM135 Expecting a B- FozzyBear1 12/23/2022	Lectures could be confusing but the modules and the prelecture videos he made were very helpful. His grading is very fair. He makes this challenging class fun and doable.
James Rainbolt CHEM135 Expecting a C Anonymous 12/23/2022	The only thing I can criticize about Dr. Rainbolt is that there wasn't really comprehensive review material for any exam. The modules are great for review, I just would have liked something a bit more concise for reviewing. The lectures are very engaging, and really the only lectures I got anything out of this semester. The exams were manageable for the most part, and other assignments were fine. The focus was placed on where it should be for most engineers: solving problems, and I appreciate that given that most engineers will probably never need chemistry. I have no doubts he'll be good in higher level chemistry courses.
James Rainbolt CHEM135 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 12/12/2022	This chemistry professor is amazing. He cuts right to the business and doesn't fool around with anything. For example, he doesn't like memorization and only makes you memorize what you NEED to know (which is little). He loves to puts jokes in his lectures. Even though his lectures are kind of hard to understand, he knows this flaw by making prelecture videos and going in-depth in the modules so you can understand it. What he puts in his content will be EXACTLY on the test. I have him for Orgo next semester, and even though it is at 8am, I will probably not feel lost. His personality is overall approachable and kind.
James Rainbolt CHEM135 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 12/09/2022	Dr. Rainbolt is truly an amazing professor! He knows the course content extremely well and is amazing to have for lecture as he consistently tells you exactly what you need to know and how to apply it. Rainbolt knows that memorization, to an extent, is unreasonable and he has a heavy emphasis on applying the actual content of the course instead of simply memorizing a ton of equations and constants. For each topic of the class, at least for CHEM135, he gave out a module with practice problems, explanations of every topic, and an outline for exactly what you should be able to do on an upcoming exam. For anyone reading this review but is looking to take something like O-Chem, Rainbolt has said that gen chem is not his specialty so with the experience I had, I'm sure O-Chem with Rainbolt would be even better. I don't think there is anyone better who could have taught this course and I was extremely lucky to have Dr. Rainbolt for this semester.
James Rainbolt CHEM135 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 12/02/2022	Really good at teaching and explaining chemistry concepts. He occasionally can be a little condescending, but it doesn't get in the way of him explaining things well. He also makes super helpful modules and pre-lecture videos. He's also funny and likable.
James Rainbolt CHEM135 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/02/2022	Rainbolt was amazing. His grading is really fair. This is a really big factor because he really cares about your grade and is generous with his grading policy. His lectures were a little confusing, but if you watch the pre-lecture videos and use the modules he provides, you are going to do well. I personally hate chemistry, but he made the class fun. I definitely looked forward to his lectures. If you need some in-depth help, definitely utilize the office hours, he is very approachable and helpful. He genuinely cares and you will know it. He does stick specifically to what is required for the course, so that is very good thing.
James Rainbolt CHEM135 Expecting an A- Anonymous 12/01/2022	He's an amazing professor who provides students with all the study materials and resources they need to succeed. His modules and pre-lecture videos contain a run-down of all of the content you need to know and practice problems that prepare you for problems on the exams. Although his lectures are sometimes slightly confusing, his humor makes lectures enjoyable and he is very easy to approach.
James Rainbolt CHEM135 Expecting an A- Anonymous 11/11/2022	Great professor. Likes to make jokes and keeps it interesting. Posts prelecture videos that are super helpful for review time. Also writes his own modules which have everything you need to succeed in them, so even if lecture can be a little confusing, you have everything you need to learn in your hands. Approachable, great during office hours, and a nice guy overall.
James Rainbolt CHEM135 Expecting an A- Anonymous 11/08/2022	He made class very fun with his lightheartedness but his lecture style was sometimes slightly confusing. The modules he creates are very useful in studying and to learn the material.
James Rainbolt CHEM135 Expecting an A- Anonymous 11/08/2022	He was funny and kept the class interesting. His lecture style was a bit hard to follow but the modules he gives out are very useful.