EVSC 2050

DON'T TAKE THIS CLASS!! Professor Macko is a terrible professor who does not teach you want you need for the test. you have 5 exams, the last of which is cumulative. These are 80% of your grade and the labs are 20%. The labs are equally as impossible. He curves your final grade by about 10 points, but it is needed considering the average is a D on every single exam. I never knew what to study or how to prepare for the tests.

In his course for the Spring 2022 semester and its only been 2 weeks and I couldn't tell you where this course is heading. Lectures are all over the place and don't really correlate to the assigned text and the labs are ill explained and also random. If you're taking this for a general education requirement, pick a different class. Not an efficient enough teacher.

I took this class because I am interested in pursuing marine biology in the future and I though it would be a fun class, but I also read previous comments knowing this class would be rough. This class WAS rough. Listen to course forum! The lectures were very boring and not worth going to because all he does is tell stories that are irrelevant to the test. Sometimes he does extra credit in class. All you do is read the textbook for the tests but the tests are so specific you have to read each chapter cover to cover. The labs are a good chunk of your grade, and if you go to the TA you will go 100s on them. Do not take this class if you want an A class, this class is a lot of work and not worth the effort.

I took this class because I heard it was an easy way to meet the core requirements for non-science majors. Theoretically this class shouldn't be hard but Macko's teaching style screws you over big time. His lectures are all over the place and involve a lot of show and tell of sea shells and coral, as well as personal stories or random animal facts. Reading the book is crucial to learning anything in this class, but the exam doesn't really reflect textbook information. He does curve at the end of the course, and drops the lowest of your exam grades, but this was definitely my least favorite class this semester.

This class is pretty easy, but also super boring. I stopped going to lecture about two weeks into classes and just read the book. The book is a MUST, the exams follow the book, not the lectures. The labs are an easy grade, just go to the TA and they explain everything.

Like many of you know, there is a difference between being a nice professor and being an efficient professor. Unfortunately, this class was the former. He spent most (and I mean *most*) of the class talking about stories that didn't directly relate to the assignments or tests, gave convoluted, graph-intensive labs that were only accompanied by a ten-minute blurb about them in class, had extremely-unhelpful/disorganized powerpoint lectures and spoke so quietly that if you were stuck in the back row, you could barely hear what he was saying, let alone decipher what parts of his prolonged tangents would be useful for the class. Although he does offer optional discussion classes, I find it a waste of time to spend an extra hour going over material that could have just as easily been covered in the main lecture. Unless you have to take this class for your major—in which case you have no choice but to take it—it is in your best interest to find another alternative class to complete your requirements/credit count.

This is perhaps the worst class I have ever taken at the University. 80% of the grade consists of the best 3 scores out of 4 exams and the other 20% comes from labs out of a lab manual. It's not really possible to get above a 75% or so on the labs unless you go to office hours and talk to the Macko personally to get the answers he wants. As far as lecture goes, it's completely pointless. However, Macko will occasionally give quizzes in lecture for bonus points on the exams to entice students to actually show up to class. Exams come directly from the textbook, so before each one, you need to cram 5 chapters from the book by reading them over and over again. It's incredibly tedious. The material itself is very boring (discusses how salinty values change in different parts of the ocean, etc.--very few interesting topics in oceanography discussed.) The professor is also unapproachable and responds rudely to emails, etc. All around just a bad class you shouldn't take. It's preposterous that you spend money for this experience.

Great Class. Macko can ramble a little bit and be a little crazy but he's a great guy. Super easy for me even though almost everyone else I talked to in the class found it difficult. He curves the class at the end so an 80 average is usually the cutoff for an A-. Lab Grade (Just a couple easy assignments), four tests, and a midterm all worth 20% of the grade. (He drops either the final or midterm with the lowest score).

This is not an "easy A." It's not a fun way to get the science credit out of the way. You'll only talk about the marine biology aspect of it all in the last few weeks - otherwise, unless you're genuinely curious about the salinity and temperatures of the oceans, or what causes waves, start walking in the other direction, like, yesterday. If you're an EVSC major, you'll maybe kinda enjoy the class, but if not, there aren't even words to describe how miserable you'll be.

Read the book; get an A or B depending on how focused your reading is. Macko is a great guy and super passionate about the material, but the lectures are very rambling and not very helpful for preparing for the tests. Labs aren't too difficult. Not too bad of a class as long as you have time to put into the reading.

This was honestly the worst class I have taken at UVA in my four years. But, I'm not a science person. Macko's lectures have nothing to do with what's on the exam and the labs are impossible.

Read the book the day before the exam and get an A. Easy as that. I spent the whole class on Tumblr. That being said, Macko is a cool guy.

Class is NOT an easy A. Pick another class for your science requirement. The exams are a lot harder than they seem, and most people do not do well. Professor Macko is a really nice guy, but rambles on and on in class a lot. He can be pretty funny, and is really passionate about his research, but overall the class is just not worth the bad grades.

I loved Macko and this class. He's an incredibly goofy guy and is clearly passionate about what he teaches. I found his lectures to be some of my favorite at UVa and he's super approachable. He gave out a study guide for all the tests and as long as you went through them, you were golden. Don't take the labs lightly though.

Lectures are a big joke. Read the book, get an A.

GET OUT OF THIS CLASS!!! There is a huge curve which makes the class GPA like it is, but the labs are hard and the exams are impossible. What he lectures about is not on the exam. It all comes from the book and the key terms he puts online. I worked my ass off on the labs and I still got an 80 average. Terrible lecturer. Really goofy and just seems like a really awkward guy.

This class was very odd. I expected something completely different. The lectures are completely worthless and any slide he shows in the lectures (which aren't even that helpful) are not posted online. Just read the book and pay attention to the minor details in the readings. Don't take this class for granted because the past test averages have been 69-73%. As for the labs he assigns in this class, they are extremely easy. They are more like busy work rather than something important.If you are trying to knock out your science requirement, turn away and find another class. There are plenty that are MUCH easier.

Good and interesting class. Macko is passionate about his subject. Not too hard.

easiest class i have taken at uva - with minimal work you can manage an 85 which is usually an A in this class

do NOT take this class.

I thought Oceanography would be pretty interesting but man this class was boring. It's easy to do well (just read the textbook) but I was so bored that I only read about 1/3 of it and still ended up with a B. Lectures aren't really relevant, and are a poor substitute to just reading the book. If you find the book interesting, take this class. If you can't tolerate that, then avoid.

if you want an easy A and are just trying to knock off a natural science/method requirement with UVa, then this class is great to take. to be honest, i don't think you even have to show up to class--half the time Macko is talking about stuff that you're not even sure is relevant to the tests. if you do go to class, he does emphasize some things that you should pay attention to for the tests (as well as the labs--he often gives away answers or explains them during class), but, again, i don't think it's necessary to go. i recommend signing up for this class with some buddies so you can work on the labs together--to study, just skim the book.
overall, not a bad class--they just get really boring from time to time.

This class is awesome. I stopped going to lecture because it wasnt necessary but started again because i realized how much fun and how interesting the class was. Macko has some real incredible experiences to talk about. I never read and just crushed the reading the day before the tests and did great in the class. he also lets you drop one of four exams which includes the final. definitely take it.

Very boring lectures that have nothing to do with the tests. You should read the chapters, going to lecture is not necessary. Lab reports are hard unless you go to a discussion and they give you all the answers. I got mostly C's and D's on all of the midterms, and 95's and 100's on the lab reports and got a B in the class. He curves as well

Don't waste your time going to lectures. He'll send a sheet of "key terms" for tests. Go through the book and make sure you can define all of them. You'll do very well.

AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME
Labs are optional; they just give you the answers. Macko is a riot. You learn a ton.
Study hard, but tests are pretty straightforward

Since I was already interested in the topic, this made the class a lot better, and I think I enjoyed it more than most people in my class. The reading wasn't great, but the class wasn't too demanding, and it's good for anyone trying to fulfill a science requirement or who wants to learn more about the subject. And Macko's endearingly crazy.

Macko is a horrible lecturer and I wish I hadn't taken this class

Macko is a terribly boring lecturer and going to class every Tuesday and Thursday was the thing I dreaded most about 2nd year.

This class is NOT the type of class that you're going to want to take if you're just looking for an easy science credit. I am writing this as a bitter student nonetheless, but the labs are just stupid...way too much work and the TAs take unfair fractions of points off for minimal error. Macko's lectures are hard to follow and he ends up rambling. The tests ask for the most minute and unimportant facts. STEER CLEAR!

Macko is really enthusiastic and relatively interesting. It's a good class and if all you did was read the text you could get an A.

This class is fairly interesting although some of the material is a little dry. Definitely go to lectures, and make note of everything Professor Macko says, because it's hard to tell what might show up on the test. Professor Macko is a little odd but he is a nice, funny guy.