Emilie Passow

School: Drexel University
Department: English
Location:Philadelphia, PA
Overall Rating
rated by 17 students
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Rating Comment
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 Pros: I had a couple of classes with Passow and it was under her grading that I received some of my only B's on essays at Drexel. Usually, not getting an A on an assignment would go under my con list, but Dr. Passow really pushed my analytical writing to a new level. I appreciate being graded in a way that made me a better writing in the long run, and I did receive A's in her class overall for my final grades. There is also a lot of extra credit opportunity.
Cons: I rated as 5+ projects because this professor frequently gives writing assignments. Though they can frequently be short assignments, she's a tough grader.
Lots of great reading pulled from many different sources which I always appreciate since it helped me better understand how to do appropriate research for my own projects. Also, as an English major at Drexel, I rarely got B's on essays but I got several from Dr. Passow. As a result, she pushed my analytical and research writing skills to a much more intense level and those skills are something I'll have for the rest of my life.
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 Pros: None
Cons: Hands down the Worst professor I've ever had
She was always late to class. Gave outlandish/unclear assignments. Never had any useful commentary on essays. She required us to read 2-3 BOOKS per week! AVOID HER AT ALL COSTS! Drexel needs to fire her ASAP
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 Always late, or just doesn't show up, never organized, doesn't understand the texts she assigns, will ramble about pointless moralistic tangents using pseudoscience and empty appeals to her own experience every class. This is supposed to be a history class, now half way through the term we've only been assigned fiction which is maybe supposed to be moralistic but is really just the writer's opinion about his faith. 2-3 essays a week, entire 400 page books or entire TV series assigned weekly, which is completely inappropriate. Your essays won't be graded on how well you craft your argument, nor even on how much she agrees. Rather, you have to use the same language as she uses, essentially spitting back verbatim the few lines she'll actually say about the material that you can glean from her pontifications. Easily the worst professor I've ever had at Drexel, isn't qualified to teach community college.
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 I would steer clear of this professor. She always arrived to class late and would hold you past class time. Also, she would frequently criticize your writing but would not offer commentary that allowed you to improve. She also was incapable of using BBVista and as a result our readings would not be posted.
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 Pros: NONE!!!
Cons: Extremely difficult. 2-3 papers a week. Outlandish grader.
If you take this class your GPA will go down. Hands down worst teacher I've had in college. STAY AWAY NO MATTER WHAT!!!!
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 Pros: interesting discussions
Cons: very meticulous about language and loses track of assignments
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 Worst professor I have ever had. Very disorganized and unclear. She was constantly being corrected by the students because she never had her facts straight. Extremely picky about the words you use in essays. You won't ever be able to improve your grade, because she falls so behind in grading papers. You'll be assigned about 20, yet will only ever see about 2 of those graded before the term ends. I would never recommend this professor to anyone.
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 Pros: Very interesting course. The professor is very knowledgeable and open to different points of views during discussion.
Cons: Assingments were a little bit disorganized in the sense that she would send an email out but we would not get it. IT issues.
Overrall, very fair in terms of giving out assignments appropriately and garners interesting discussions.
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 Pros: Easy to reach
Helpful comments on essays
Cons: usually late
long conferences
fell behind syllabus
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 The truth is Prof. Passow is not inherently a bad person. However she comes off as very cold and uncaring. Also, she does not care about her students. She seems to think that analyzing the role the physician plays in society and culture bears far more importance than it does. I'm truly amazed that she has been able to devote half of her professional studies to "teasing out" the role physicians play in society. The class its self is only the second worst I've had to sit through, losing the number one spot to Chem with the notorious A.W. Prof. Passow also actively dislikes giving A's, something to be seriously considered if you are maintaining a good GPA.
Despite all of this negativity, there is one person who seems to be enjoying this class. In fact he claims to be taking her for another class as well. I personally think he must have undergone a lobotomy to even tolerate Prof. Passow.
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 This class is undoubtedly one of the most useless classes Drexel has to offer. Dr. Passow is such a terrible teacher, she has no idea how to grade and never follows the syllabus she gives you. She is a nice person for sure, but you have to work so incredibly hard to get an A in this class. Other than that, the material is so boring and you really come out learning nothing important that you can apply in the real world. I def recommend taking another class if you do not have to take this one.
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 I ended up with an A in this course, but I was pretty surprised by it. She never made clear what assignments she actually wanted turned in and the final paper was silly. You cant say that you want a well formed thesis for a paper and then provide a meaningless thesis which students have to find a way to support. You will learn ZERO in the class, she just likes to talk about old people stuff.
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 She always ends class late, 5-10 minutes late, so dont take a class that starts in another 10 minutes. This class has zero structure, she has you do lots of writing assignments but she will accept less than half of them because she has not graded the previous ones. If you are B or C student and are willing to do twice as much work as is actually neccessary the class is fine, but if you care about your grade dont take her, you will never have any idea of what your grade may be. Overall, the class is 100% BS, you learn nothing, and if you want to keep a good GPA this class will you make you anxious as hell. This woman should not be a professor, she teaches nothing and has no idea about grades. Also, she never answers email and generally has no idea whats going on. Dont take any of her classes unless you are willing to do a ton of work which will never be recognized and dont care about your grade because she gives no guideline and refuses to grade and return papers. She seems nice, but actually puts you through hell.
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 lectures like a drunk person on a tangent and grades are a toss up. I had a good grade, but this is not a university level course. She makes all important anouncments ten minutes after class has ended, so be patient or be late for your next class if you want to know about her ENDLESS changes to the syllabus. She puts you through hell to get an A in what, by the syllabus says, is a straightforward A. In fact, you have to be a mindreader to get a good grade.
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 I was excited to take this class at first because I thought it'd be a great balance for a Bio major who loves English. WRONG. This class, was undoubtedly, the biggest waste of time ever. Yeah we watched a couple of interesting movies and read a few stories but that was where the good part ended. For an English class, this was more a lecture style class than anything else. She'd ask questions and then proceed to answer them on her own...She has a lot to say about medicine and physicians which makes me think that she's well-versed in her area, but still! Her syllabus was a mess. None of us knew when anything was due and even though she was lenient with the submission dates (although she kinda HAD to be since none of us knew what we were doing), it was still a hassle to deal with. Find a better 3 credit class to spend your time on.
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 No structure to the class, extremely annoying woman. the course is totally pointless, she doesnt teach anything but stupid platitudes and keeps you ten minutes late every time. There is no reason in the world for her class to exist, and anyone could teach it.
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 Lost our papers, contradicted the syllabus, didn't really teach anything new, but I ended up with an A, so I guess I can't complain too much.

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