Reviews of professor Mike Larsen

Rating: 5.0/5, difficulty: 4.0/5
OChem is HARD but Mike makes it really clear that he prioritizes students' well-being as well as our understanding. He makes jokes in class but might seem less friendly in office hours- don't stress it, he's super patient and kind and knows this class is hard. Be ready to put in time (office hours!!) and WORK for this class, but Mike has your back.

Rating: 4.0/5, difficulty: 4.0/5
-He has a cat named Beaker

-Lecture recordings and slides available in Canvas through Panopto and Modules respectively

-Lectures are engaging

-Slides have good (+ sometimes funny) examples

-Genuinely loves chemistry

-Younger; better at communicating with college-age people I think.

-Welcomes questions

8.5/10 professor. (subjective of course)

Rating: 5.0/5, difficulty: 3.0/5
Dr. Larsen made the O-Chem series very approachable. I took him for 351-353 (all online) His lectures were amazing, always explained well and easy to take notes off of. He also posts "quizzes" on smart works that help you get familiar with the material very effectively with little consequence. The exams are definitely tough, but totally doable.

Rating: 5.0/5, difficulty: 3.0/5
Larsen was a great professor for ochem lab! I really enjoyed this class. Before we start lab, he would explain what we were doing and it helped a lot before doing the actual procedure.  He would explain everything clearly. He was also very helpful during lab if we had any questions or needed help setting up the lab!

Rating: 5.0/5, difficulty: 3.0/5
Mike is great. He's a really cool guy that knows the ins and outs of what he is teaching. He records his lectures which is very nice, and what he teaches coincides well with the online homework. As for quizzes and exams, he is pretty fair and doesn't expect much more than what the homework asks you to do. Highly recommend.

Rating: 3.0/5, difficulty: 3.0/5
Dr. Larsen seems like an awesome guy, but because I can only speak for my experience, the lab class during COVID was just... strange. He seemed tired and bored, generally just "done" with our class (or maybe online learning in general). Lab reports are kind of vague, criteria is stiff, but very doable. Lab exams are tough! Practice exams are great.