Like the previously mentioned reviews - this class was an extremely difficult GE and I would NOT recommend it unless you're genuinely interested in meteorology and have some sort of background in physics. However, I took this class because there was nothing else left to enroll in so if you’re in the same situation here is some advice:
- The lectures are extremely dry and boring but still show up because there are iClicker questions (graded for participation not correctness) and he offers extra credit for showing up to lecture and answering the questions.
- The workload is manageable -- There are homework assignments that are a quiz-like format which you have 6 attempts and discussion activities due every week. Using the slides and textbook can help with the homework questions and showing up to discussion was somewhat helpful.
- Go to office if you're confused because you're going to be confused at some point. The lectures build off of each other and it can be difficult to catch up if you don’t understand something from a previous lecture. Professor Mitchell is a pretty nice, approachable, and understanding guy and he will try his best to explain to you difficult concepts. Though, I never went to the TA’s office hours mainly because he can get pretty confusing in his explanations, especially during discussion
- To study for the midterm and final, memorize the homework questions, discussion activities, and pay attention to the Iclicker questions in class because they should be almost the same or similar content. In my experience, the midterm was pretty hard because I just looked at the review slides that were posted and hoped for best but you literally NEED to study and digest the information, especially when trying to understand the diagrams shown in class
- There is a separate lab for this class which is online and it sounds easy, but the directions for the lab reports are pretty unclear on what to do so i literally dropped the lab (but if you genuinely need this lab it can still be doable)
- Extra credit — he offers 5% extra credit if you show up and participate in all the lectures and attend all the discussions
- If all else fails and going to office hours or discussion still confuses you, watch a bunch of YouTube videos on the main concepts learned in class.
- Good luck and remind yourself that it is okay if certain concepts don’t come to you right away

I literally worked my ass off for this course…but still end up getting A-. IT IS definitely not an easy GE at all. DO NOT TAKE IT unless you already have enough background knowledge in geography, oceanography, physics and atmospheric sciences and think they are interesting. The first half of the class could be manageable if you spend ten hours a week to read textbook and review the lecture notes. The second half of the class is devastating. There’s nothing you can do besides memorizing those complex atmospheric diagrams. As the person below mentions, there are bonus points but are kind of useless in grading. I was having 4.0 GPA all the time and this course suddenly ruins everything.

So going into this class I was just trying to satisfy my lab GE and honestly did not expect this class to be so confusing and unhelpful as it turned out to be. I am so disappointed by the TA and his behavior towards me. Not to mention his racism towards me after I stay an hour in his office hours and then him giving me this inferior attitude. Then on top of that if you're also in the lab (which is technically a separate class you need to enroll in) the directions lacked clarification. So expect to be confused and seek help if you need it.
I have a good GPA and this class almost put me in jeopardy because of the lack of connection between the topics. So I was forced to change it to a pass no pass which I was hoping to save for an upper div. I was hoping that I would be able to thug it out. But no. week 6 came by and had to change that asap.

If you are going to take this class just know it is manageable but it is more on the harder side of GE's. The hardest one I've taken. The midterm was supposed to be in person but it ended up being online because of the weather (im not kidding). Which didn't even save me. I'm pretty sure most of the class got a 60-ish percent overall and no- the class is not curved.
The professor does offer plenty of extra credit however but it's going to be a little tough to score an A.

Some of the topics can be dry but this is not Dr. Mitchell's fault. Awesome professor overall and is very understanding. Great class if you want to learn about weather and some other atmospheric topics.

Had one midterm and weekly online homework from Pearson. Homework is extremely easy and many problems on both the midterm and final were straight from it.

The professor is somewhat boring and I often found it hard to pay attention. He is really nice and knows what he's doing, but I couldn't find the motivation to attend his lectures regularly. Every class, you have to answer clicker questions which are graded for participation, not for correctness. He has little homework assignments about once a week that took 15-20 minutes to finish and were fairly easy with the textbook. You don't need to buy the textbook since he puts a few on reserve in the library. TA was very helpful and held review sessions for both the midterm and final. Overall, a pretty easy class!

If I could take this class again, I definitely would. Absolute 10/10. Professor Mitchell is awesome, and he really knows his stuff. The material is very interesting, especially the second half of the class I liked learning about the information.

As for the class, it can be very easy if you do some basic things. Really pay attention to his lectures and slides, because his explanations are great for understanding the material. He does a good job at making sure the material is understandable, through good presentations and iClicker questions. After the lecture, watch the lecture again (it is podcasted which is great) and really understand the material. The reading questions come straight out of the textbook, so it is a must. The discussion quizzes are not too difficult at all.

I created an account just to write a review for this class, because Professor Mitchell is really understanding. I completely slacked off the first half of this class, and I didn't pay attention to any of the lectures or the reading questions. I got a straight up D on the first midterm. Before the final, I talked to Professor Mitchell about this, and he told me that if there is a solid positive trend on the final, he would consider giving me a good grade. I studied really hard for the final, and got a A doing the things I listed above. He gave me an A- in the course. (There are only two exams, so I got a D on the first and like a 95 on the final)

The midterms are very straightforward and if you watch the lectures and actually answer the Clicker questions you won't have a problem. Good luck!