Reviews for Thomas Ashton Cropp
Average Rating:| Anonymous Course: CHEM231 Grade Expected: B January 16, 2011, 8:09 pm | I created a ourumd.com account so I can review this man! HE IS THE BEST ORGO CHEM PROFESSOR EVER!!!!! I had Dr. Dixon for Chem131 and while she is an amazing teacher, her teaching style was too fast for me and I knew I did NOT want to take her for O Chem. Dr. Cropp is JUST as amazing as Dr. Dixon and even better because he understands that his class is not the only class we are taking. The thing I loved most about Dr. Cropp's exams was that the majority of them were proportional to the information taught. I never could understand why professors at UMD make their exams so hard and then throw a huge curve at the end because I usually get discouraged by midterms. Dr. Cropp's curves are not as big as Dixon's or Ammon but trust, you WILL NOT need it if you study. Also, I HIGHLY SUPER DUPER EXTREMELY recommend buying "Organic Chemistry I As A SECOND LANGUAGE" by: David Klein the first day of class and use it as a guide. This small yellow book enabled me to get an A on the first and second exams and set me up pretty well for the third. |
| Anonymous Course: CHEM231 Grade Expected: A+ December 19, 2010, 12:21 am | Dr. Cropp was really a great professor. Having been extremely nervous to take Organic Chemistry I, I started out the semester by doing most of the readings, but slowly stopped as I realized that Dr. Cropp usually only tested one what he taught in lecture. It is very important to go to his lecture and go to discussion and do the exercises in the book which he suggests, however there is no homework and the tests are VERY straightforward. There was a curve this semester. The class was out of 500 points and a 403 became an A, a 343 became a B and a 233 became a C. It was fairly easy to get a C (46%). Even an A was only 80% which was not so hard to get. Dr. Cropp overall was a very professor, never intimidating, always open to questions, and very straightforward. I would certainly recommend taking him for Orgo I. He is not out there to trick you in any way! The hardest problems on the tests always came directly from problems he went over in class or problems he assigned from the book. |
| Anonymous Course: CHEM231 Grade Expected: B+ December 15, 2010, 9:34 pm | Dr. Cropp is awesome. He's very intelligent, a really nice person and an excellent lecturer, as well as being very patient with the idiots. Despite the fact that it's O'Chem, the material never seems too difficult. I never went to office hours because I never needed to, I was never lost or confused. His TA has an irritating, squeaky voice but is otherwise pretty decent. Tests are hard but fair, I would have mos def gotten an A if I had studied harder/taken less than 20 credits and been able to focus more on this class. I highly recommend him, he is just an all-around amazing professor. His curve were generous. I actually liked O'Chem after his class. Incredible. One of the best lecturers I have ever had. Hands down. |
| GoTestudo! Course: CHEM231 Grade Expected: B December 7, 2010, 4:44 pm | Professor Cropp is a great guy and instructor. He knows what he's talking about, encourages questions and tries to help kids understand the material. He isn't as intimidating as Dixon and his tests were "easy" (majority of students got A's on the 1st exam) but generally require consistent effort. Don't get too excited--he assigns A's as final grades to only the top 10-15% of the class. In any case, appreciated that he posted practice exams beforehand--formatting and question type was consistent with the real deal. His class is one you wouldn't want to have missed--hard to catch up on (especially if you don't do the readings regularly) and always works freehand on the board. He does post powerpoint slides but they're only graphs and bullet points that don't exactly elaborate on important concepts. So go to class, take notes, do the practice exams, (maybe even read the textbook) and you'll survive. |
| Anonymous Course: CHEM231 Grade Expected: A November 29, 2010, 7:23 pm | Dr. Cropp is the best chemistry teacher I have had by far. I struggled through general chemistry and then took Orgo 1 with khachik but ended up dropping him during the semester since I wasn't doing well. Cropp teaches on a level that makes chemistry seem managable and will not move on until he is confident that his students understand the material. His exams are very fair as long as you keep up with the material and go to every lecture. He doesn't try to trick you with anything. The "tough" problems from the exams are often problems he has gone over in class, so go to class, write down everything and ask questions along the way! |
| Anonymous Course: BCHM461 Grade Expected: B- November 1, 2010, 5:39 pm | I didnt do well on mid terms.. they were hard.. but i did well on final... I memorized his lectures. Excellent professor. lectures are straightforward. If you understand the concept, then you will do great in this class. even though exam can be hard.. but he teaches VERY WELL.. I would def recommend him! |
| samallen Course: CHEM231 Grade Expected: A- December 23, 2009, 9:01 am | Dr. Cropp is a good teacher. He is easy to understand, even in organic chemistry. I rarely left lecture not knowing what happened that day. I will say this, though: his tests were very difficult. He tended to take the concepts we learned in class and applied them to really difficult problems we had never seen before. However, the curve was huge: at least 30 points. As long as you got ~10 points above the averages on the exams (which were a 58, a 47, and a 41), you were guaranteed at least a B+. Compared to the other reviews on the other orgo professors, I would definitely rate Dr. Cropp as one of the better orgo teachers. |
| Anonymous Course: BCHM461 Grade Expected: B May 20, 2009, 2:00 pm | Awesome guy! Straightforward class! |
| Anonymous Terp Course: BCHM461 Grade Expected: A April 16, 2009, 2:01 pm | This class was very straightforward. A key was to keep up with the reading. The lectures slides were very manageable - only 20 or so slides. The important information is bolded. Dr. Cropp is very laid back and has no problem going over concepts that students don't understand. He uses the board to illustrate some concepts even though they are in the powerpoint presentation. It actually makes more sense when he does that. Tests were also straightforward, but high stakes. Like the reviewer below said, exams are fair, essay style, but people start losing points fast. The class is graded on a distribution, but I think my semester we had 10-15% A's. I remember people trying to talk him into raising their final grade at the final exam viewing - and he wasn't buying it. One complaint: this course was team taught, and each professor had different teaching styles and test styles. I would have preferred to stay with one professor only. |
| Anonymous Course: BCHM461 Grade Expected: A November 10, 2008, 7:27 pm | Dr. Cropp is a good lecturer. His class can be very boring at times since he lectures straight from his slides. That said, going to class isn't essential because you won't miss a thing. He's very conceptually oriented and doesn't want students to memorize information that can just be looked up. And if he wants you to know something, he'll bold it in the notes, otherwise, just know the concept. His exams are fair, essay style, BUT, each question is worth about 20 - 30 points, so if you miss one, your screwed. He said he gives 15% A's. |