Louis Scerbo

School: Drexel University
Department: Chemistry
Location:Philadelphia, PA
Overall Rating
rated by 20 students
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Easiness
Rating Comment
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 Pros: Professor Scerbo is the man. If you have a chance to ever have him for Orgo Lab 2, take it. He helps you with his vast (seriously) knowledge of the experiments and how to get them to work. He shows you helpful shortcuts. His grading scheme was weird but seemed to be fair (granted I couldn't understand his handwriting) since I never got too many points docked from my labs. We didn't have to do the lab notebook beyond taking observations/writing procedure/calculating yield.
Cons: He can seem kind of dismissive sometimes at the questions you ask even though you need to ask questions to be careful in this lab. He gets pretty irritated if you screw something up or break glassware in a manner that the lab manual warned against.
As another person mentioned, purity didn't count against you. Yield didn't count against you. He never gave 20 minute shpiels in the beginning of class like I have seen other professors do. Walking into lab was never a solemn occasion since there is no reason to be unhappy if you're in his section. Other TAs apparently grade far more harshly. A good guy to talk to during lab with his cool stories and he's got some pretty funny jokes too. Having him in lab is way better than in recitation since you get direct access to his expertise. He tells you exactly what will be on the quizzes (for example "quiz next week on experiments 3, 4, and 5 no mechanisms") but the questions can still be pretty tricky. The final had some tricks on it too but there's no reason to fail this class.
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 Pros: easy to get a good grade, gives lots of practice exams and problems to prepare for the exams, funny interludes during lectures(ex. "if I could, I would bomb Nesbitt 111 down)
Cons: MAKES MISTAKES WHEN GRADING---Check and Recheck all mistakes
Sometimes tests from material not covered--and then forgets that he didn't teach it (know that DMSO changes halogens' nucleophilicities so F is a better nuc when doing SN2 reactions with DMSO)
lectures from power points that were made for a community college in Texas--so not very reflective of test type, office hours won't help
spend time with the material, make an effort to go to class often--but make sure to go to review lectures(two lectures before exam), on the test if you're unsure then explain in your own words
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 Pros: If you memorize his practice tests, you'll do fine. He's nice and friendly.
Cons: The lecture notes are from the book. And it seems like he didn't even read them before class started. He makes plenty of mistakes that the students have to correct him on. Sometimes he's not sure why the answer he gave is wrong. He tells you from the start that he won't teach you common names, but that your other professors will want you to know them. If you need O Chem 1-3, you'll have O Chem 3 nearly impossible. He doesn't prepare you for it
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 If you're debating between taking Wade and Scerbo, take Scerbo if you want an easier time in Orgo II. He is definitely not the best lecturer, but if you go to him during office hours (I highly recommend this as he usually lays out explicitly what you need to know for the exam), he explains some of the more conceptual topics better. Overall, its easier to get an A, but I definitely did not learn as much as I would have if I had taken Wade.
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 Pros: Scerbo is a cheerful professor and if you go to his office hours he can help you out with the material.
Cons: His lectures consist of slides that come along with the textbook. He skips around a lot in the textbook. My advice is to skip buying the expensive textbook for his class because he does not follow it.
In order to excel in his class, make sure you attend the lectures where he teaches from his past exams. If you can understand and study that, then you will be fine.
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 Pros: He is a nice guy and makes his tests very, very easy if you pay attention in lecture
Cons: He will randomly cancel class without telling anyone, and also does not give partial credit on his exams. He is also the hardest guy to contact unless it is in person.
He is a good teacher if you want to get an A in orgo without learning the material. If you actually want to learn the theory instead of just doing reactions, then take the class with someone else.
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 Pros: Crazy, smart, and all around nice guy. Knows his stuff and seems to enjoy teaching. Gives a lot of practice exams to study.
Cons: Generally doesn't care about students or teaching effectively. He races through material and cancels class the day before the exam. Going to his office hours is a waste of time. I was warned of this and it held true for my class as well: he will surprise you on the exam with something he's barely talked about. Unless you've been reading the textbook nightly, the exams are going to be rough.
Exams are overly complicated and often include things he never talked about. Not an easy teacher
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 Pros: very laid back guy. but his tests are fair. past exams are great hel. review session before each test were very helpful
Cons: he certainly knows his chemistry and ends up going into extreme extreme detail whihc might leave you confused at times.
overall, he is a good teacher compared to others though! i would recomend him if you are plannin on takin the MCAT's
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 Pros: No homework
Cons: 3 tests
final is worth 50% of your grade
doesn't give a lot of review material
a lot of the work is done on your own
pay attention and go to every lecture. If you do that, read the chapters in the book and do all the practice problems you should be ok. Also, studying in a group is a big help because he doesn't do the best job of relaying the material so it helps to have a group so you can all help each other understand the concepts
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 I cannot believe that people are actually reviewing this professor as a good teacher. I actually try to learn in this class, pay attention, and take LOTS of notes, and I still find his class very confusing. I have a 3.8 GPA so it's not that I am just bad at classes. I get absolutely nothing from his class, it's great that he gives practice tests, but if you actually want to have half of a clue about any of the material in class you're pretty much stuck. The book is very complicated to read and is hard to get anything out of. Yes his tests are similar to practice tests, but I actually want to understand what is going on considering I have to take Organic 2 and 3, probably with him, unfortunately. If you're looking for a chem class you will actually UNDERSTAND then DO NOT take this professor. He speeds through the class at 200 mph and out of the 4 hours of class a week we're supposed to have, he goes so fast, we only get about 2 hours a week. If he slowed down and actually took the time to explain things then he might be a better professor, but the overwhelming feeling is that this man is not cut out for teaching, maybe it's time to retire?
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 Pros: He is a pretty good teacher, Gives lots of in class examples.
Cons: Tests are hard and the final is worth 50% of your grade...
Organic chem sucks, but if you have to take it you should take it with him.
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 Lecture is very important, do not skip it! He tends to do a superb job wtih the first half of the material but fails to measure up for the second half, in which case ask him a lot of questions about reactions, how to draw them, etc. Without problems assigned to test yourself or answer keys to the packets put online, you will not know what to do for the second midterm, and will only know 2/3 of the material for the final exam.
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 Dr. Scerbo is a great teacher. I was terrified to having to take Organic Chemistry and he made the experience great. I hear from so many of my friends taking Orgo at their schools and how they're struggling to understand, but Dr. Scerbo really puts effort into helping you understand the material. He is very good at explaining and he seems intelligent. He prepares you very well for the exams because he gives you so many practice problems, which really is what we need in order to practice and he goes over them in class. I never felt lost during his class and I believe that he grades very fairly. He's a nice guy who makes class fun and lets us out early, but still manages to get through everything we need to know for Orgo I. Great class!
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 Dr. Scerbo is one of the best professors I've had at Drexel so far. He is so good about getting his students prepared for his exams that he always gives at least 2 practice exams before we take the exam. The exams are not difficult if you take pay attention a little in class, skim the book, and do the practice tests. His exams are exactly like the practice tests that he gives, so if you study and understand those, you'll do well on the test. Don't bother with non-naming and reaction content, because he doesn't test on that at all. Plus, he is so nice and reminds me of Mr. Frederickson from UP :)
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 Scerbo is a great professor. You can tell he really enjoys teaching and makes Organic Chem A LOT easier than I thought it would be. Just pay attention to the shortcuts he uses and make sure you go to class when he goes over practice tests and you should do fine.
Just don't ask a question about something he just went over 5 seconds beforehand because he'll get annoyed and most likely make fun of you while he answers your question. (I don't mind it because I find it hilarious, but if you can't handle that then don't bother asking.)
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 Great professor. Explains the theory and presents it very well. He made a hard to grasp concept and made it understandable. There is no homework and no assignments. So far just exams. He gives out practice tests and reviews it in class but there is no requirement. For your sake, review notes and practice items otherwise, you will fall behind.
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 This guy knows his chemistry. If you're paying attention in class, you'd pick up the little things that he says that shows that he's been teaching for awhile. There's no homework so your grade is purely exam grades. The first exam is extremely easy, the second will leave you praying that you made some really good guesses, and the final is kind of in between.
The secret is to study in a group because, trust me, you will not pick up everything on your own. Use the practice tests to test yourself and make sure you understand how to get from A to B in the reactions. Have someone else write the problem and then try to solve it without looking at the practice exam. The key is to understand, not just memorize, and then you'll be able to handle whatever he throws at you. And most importantly, DO NOT MISS CLASS WHEN HE GOES OVER THE PRACTICE EXAMS.
In my opinion, it was an easy class and an easy A.
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 I have him for orgo lab ii, and for this class, he is GREAT. He just lets you work, helps you when you need it, and is very flexible about most anything. Laid-back, easy to talk with.
Never had him for lecture, but I could possibly see how his laid-back nature could make a lecture a bit harder. However, I think orgo chem lecture classes just plain suck no matter who you have. I'm not sure that taking another professor will change that too much.
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 While Prof. Scerbo is a really nice, jolly guy, he is not good at teaching organic chemistry. He assigned no homework, nor did he teach in class. He simply put examples on the board and expected us to learn from pure examples -- no theories. The only thing we had to study from for tests is practice tests. He doesn't give that much partial credit, mostly due to the nature of the classes. However, if you memorize all his practice tests by doing them enough times, you can manage an A/A-/B+ in the class. The first test is really easy -- definitely read chapters 1-5 for random theory questions or you'll wind up losing up to 20 points. The second test is a lot harder, just memorize the practice tests. The final also is pretty hard and requires complete memorization of all the mechanisms in the assigned chapters.
Good luck!
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 here's the load down on scerbo-you can pretty much do well in his class (a/a-/b+) range if you just practice the practice worksheets he gives in class..don't go to class when he lectures, only go to class when he gives out hte practice worksheets...1st test is EASY. 2nd test is HARD watch out for weird mechanisms and no reactions. final is pretty hard STUDY EVERY MECHANISM FROM THE BOOK....and you should be fine.

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