Reviews of professor Matteo Avella

Rating: 1.0/5, difficulty: 5.0/5
I failed my last exam (note this is during COVID and we shifted to online with a new test format) because I wasn't specific enough and didn't put enough detail in my 5 sentence summary of an entire biological process. After offering little support afterwards, he topped it off by saying that he wouldn't change any grades after consultations with him

Rating: 1.0/5, difficulty: 4.0/5
Studied a lot for this classes and felt prepared for every test, but every time I was completely caught off guard by the material. There is a disconnect between his expectations on a test vs what I learned from the lecture + book. I've heard to take Wells over the summer for a better class

Rating: 2.0/5, difficulty: 4.0/5
He's a nice guy, but not a good professor. I went into and out of every test thinking that I had learned and done enough to get an A, only to find out that I performed way lower than expected. I don't know why, but there is a serious disconnection between what he wants and what he teaches. Ask for help and he'll tell you to memorize the textbook.

Rating: 1.0/5, difficulty: 3.0/5
This guy was bad. Do not take him if you can avoid it. Tests are extremely poorly worded, if you ask to review a test he will literally just tell you to study more, nothing constructive or helpful. Very disrespectful to students, literally stopped emailing us back halfway through the semester and had his TA respond to concerns instead.

Rating: 4.0/5, difficulty: 4.0/5
He's a sweet man who LOVES genetics, but English is not his first language and he writes his own tests in the way that he speaks English, so that's why his tests are hard. RECORD HIS LECTURES AND TYPE THEM OUT. A LOT of his test questions are from things that he makes as a random side comment

Rating: 4.0/5, difficulty: 4.0/5
Dr. Avella gets a bad rap but he is truly a great professor who cares for his students. Dont get me wrong, his class is incredibly difficult & takes maximum effort/understanding for an A. That being said, he never tested us over anything that was not lectured over. He provides specific, very helpful focus areas to read & is super accessible.