Reviews of professor Raymond Essick

Rating: 5.0/5, difficulty: 4.0/5
Honestly, the best CS professor at Georgetown. Very clear grading assignments, interesting projects, very accessible and helpful outside the classroom, and very passionate about the subject. Most importantly, is just a nice human being which can very hard for some CS professors at Georgetown... Don't think about it, just take his class.

Rating: 1.0/5, difficulty: 4.0/5
This teacher is terrible. He hardly responds to emails and often misses work due to personal matters.

Rating: 3.0/5, difficulty: 5.0/5
Kind, understanding professor that still sets expectations way too high. His class covers concepts that are wildly inappropriate for a 100-level CS class. Can be extremely hard to reach, even though he uses Piazza, with several days between asking a question and getting an answer. Also, no office hours, so you rely heavily on his slow answer rate.

Rating: 5.0/5, difficulty: 2.0/5
Clear and concise lectures. Very clear autograders. Admittedly a little slow on human feedback and not the most accessible outside of class, but great with in-class questions and great at explanations the first time around.

Rating: 3.0/5, difficulty: 4.0/5
Professor Essick is an OK speaker during lectures. Tends to drone on and on, much to my chagrin (I have dozed off quite a few times in his lectures). Fair grader, slow to respond to questions posted on Piazza(which improved DRAMATICALLY during the height of COVID-19) and was not readily accessible 2 students before COVID really hit (relies on TAs).

Rating: 4.0/5, difficulty: 3.0/5
Clear lectures that are easy to follow and learn from. He's funny and always happy to take questions during lectures. Homework and exams are fair. But for coding projects, you'll usually have to rely on TAs.

Rating: 4.0/5, difficulty: 3.0/5
Essick is a very nice guy and explains CS concepts well. There is a homework due every week and a project due every other week or so, but overall, a very easy CS class (and that is coming from someone who had never touched CS in their life). He is impossible to reach outside of class, but the TAs are all very helpful. Final exam was really tough.

Rating: 3.0/5, difficulty: 3.0/5
Class is all lectures and no coding so when projects are assigned you pretty much have to depend completely on TAs to teach you how to apply the lecture slides to actual coding. Also, the professor doesn't respond to emails even with multiple follow-ups.

Rating: 5.0/5, difficulty: 4.0/5
He has been the best lecturer I have had at Georgetown. Enthusiastic, loud, and funny at times. Highly recommend Professor Essick!

Rating: 5.0/5, difficulty: 3.0/5
Low ratings are prob more about the subject being difficult than the professor. Yes, projects are hard, but he releases them early + is very available for office hours. The grading criteria is clear, the homework/quizzes are doable, and he is a clear and effective lecturer. Straightforward, great choice!