Reviews of professor Philip Buffum

Rating: 1.0/5, difficulty: 5.0/5
I'm currently taking Intro to Comp Sci and this is probably the hardest class I've taken here at Georgetown. The professor assigns way too much work (3-4 assignments per week) and the TAs are not helpful at all. The homework and projects cover topics that we have barely covered or have not covered at all, making it difficult to do well. STAY AWAY.

Rating: 4.0/5, difficulty: 2.0/5
Took this class to get a basic understanding of Comp Sci and Python coding, and I absolutely got that -- great class for nonComp Sci majors. Buffum is a little bit dry (including his humor) but he teaches well and I genuinely learned a lot. If you pay attention in class (which most don't), the work is very manageable and straightforward.

Rating: 4.0/5, difficulty: 2.0/5
intro to comp sci is not a hard class (and you honestly don't have to listen to the lectures). you just have to do the weekly assignments and 5 projects thru out the semester. Buffum's lecture can be kinda boring, but he's a nice guy. highly recommend!

Rating: 4.0/5, difficulty: 3.0/5
definitely a little unorganized, but overall a very nice guy. Genuinely wanted his students to succeed and went out of his way to help. We had labs on one class day that were mandatory, and despite being quite unorganized were good learning activities. I had never taken a coding class before and learned a lot. Definitely recommend for beginners

Rating: 4.0/5, difficulty: 3.0/5
I liked Buffum! There aren't a ton of good options in the CS dept. here but Buffum was solid. Super accommodating during the pandemic; curved our midterms because we did so badly. He wants everyone to pass and does a decent job explaining things. I actually really like his online lectures now; very manageable and well done.

Rating: 3.0/5, difficulty: 2.0/5
Buffum doesn't have the hang of teaching yet but his grading policy makes up for it. His instructions and lectures lack clarity, and he makes a lot of coding mistakes. But, there's a 10% cushion that brings up your grade quite a lot. If you want to take CompSci, do it. It might be hard in the beginning, but you'll be fine.

Rating: 3.0/5, difficulty: 2.0/5
lectures were informative but extremely boring. the projects and the HW are mostly easy, but prof buffum doesn't really explain how to do some of the coding requirements for the assignments as the semester progresses.

Rating: 4.0/5, difficulty: 3.0/5
This class made me want to take cs for the rest of college. Yes, Buffum's live classes/labs are kind of dull and not straight to the point but his lecture videos are great. The assignments are easy & graded for completion but they teach you what you need. Such a satisfying and fun class, if you're ok w mostly self-guided work rather than lectures.

Rating: 2.0/5, difficulty: 4.0/5
Professor Buffum is trying - Ill give him that. But the lack of consistent grading standards, large amount of homework, and his general confusion during lectures serve as serious obstacles in the class. If he can get his lessons better planned, he could be a fantastic teacher, but right now, the class isnt one I look forward to.