Andrew Van Der Poel is a Computer Science professor at Northeastern University rated 3.67/5 on Rate My Professors by 36 students, with 3.9/5 RMP difficulty and 67% who would take them again (RateMyProfessors + Reddit, updated October 2026).
Andrew Van Der Poel professor reviews and ratings: 3.67/5 from 36 RMP ratings at Northeastern (67% would take again). RateMyProfessor + Reddit.
Content is easy to follow as long as you show up to the lectures. The project however is completed mostly in the recitation which takes away time from going over class content and basically makes the it mandatory to attend on those days. Overall, though he is a very chill guy and is always happy to help if you are stuck.cs1800 2026-05-06 22:17:56 +0000 UTC
Good class structure and really good lectures, but it definitely gets harder towards the end of the semester, and the material gets more theoretical/harder to follow, so it's easy to fall off/stop paying attention towards the end, which can have a substantial grade impact.CS3800 2025-12-10 05:23:40 +0000 UTC
Yeah this guy is the goat. His classes are test heavy, but he sets you up to succeed. The tests do not deviate from what he wants you to learn, and it's pretty obvious what that is. Taking theory of comp w him right now, and not much has changed. If you don't want busy work and actually want to learn this is your guy.CS3000 2025-10-03 18:37:40 +0000 UTC
He is really good professor. I have learn a lot of useful CS useful knowledge from his class. Definitly recommend to take his class.CS5001 2021-05-23 23:47:14 +0000 UTC
Clear in explaining ideas, patient with all students and being fun with answering questions. Would definitely take his class again if I have a chance.CS5800 2020-12-10 01:30:27 +0000 UTC
I worked really hard for that A. His teaching is very confusing to somebody who's never come across discrete math or probability.cs1800 2026-04-28 04:39:04 +0000 UTC
Drew was awesome. Theory Of Comp is hard in general, but I really like the quiz and homework set up. There was very little that was unexpected and he prepared you well. He is so awesome personally, as long as you pay attention. I love him hes so goatedCS3800 2025-12-09 18:13:19 +0000 UTC
Quickly switches through topics without fully explaining the concepts. Will include things on exams that he barely went over in class. Take someone else if you can.CS3000 2024-04-24 04:28:47 +0000 UTC
Drew is absolutely a gem and amazing in Algorithms! He does not assume that students know the pre-requisites and covers every topic right from the foundation and gradually advances the level. Graphs are the best! Assignments are well designed to cover lecture concepts, med to high difficulty. Definitely recommend him! You won't regret :)CS5800 2020-09-18 16:50:21 +0000 UTC
Fair professor. Curves so that "80% of students get an A or a B". Project is easy and fun, just don't do the same topic as others do. 6 quizzes are 72% of your grade. Midterm and final are second-chance attempts to replace your quiz grade if you do better. TA's grade quiz/hw, and are brain dead. ALWAYS double check TA grading and disputecs1800 2026-04-26 17:09:15 +0000 UTC
He is a good professor, but unlike most classes, it's actually somewhat hard to get a good grade in CS3800. He is very reasonable and helps students even outside typical work hours through the online forum. My only complaint is his handwriting, and I really think he should just type out his slides.CS3800 2025-12-08 18:07:45 +0000 UTC
Extremely good professor who is nice and coolCS3000 2022-10-27 21:06:27 +0000 UTC
Did a great job teaching the course in the pandemic. Always reachable on piazza and outside. Makes regrading interesting by introducing challenges.CS5800 2020-08-08 18:16:59 +0000 UTC
Professor's teaching style was decent but slides were very disorganized. Weighting this year got shifted more heavily to quizzes (72% of total grade). Quizzes were generally 2-4 questions and out of 10 points. There were only 6 quizzes. Any mistake would at minimum drop you 0.5 points, meaning -5%. Had second chance makeups but still frustrating.cs1800 2026-04-26 17:06:06 +0000 UTC
Drew is a nice dude. Took algo with him and loved it. For Theory of Comp, the course structure is awkward. We spent most of the time on FSA, the relatively easy stuff. On undecidability and complexity, he went through large amount of content in a short amount of time. The assignments are only out of 30 points so there isn't any room for error.CS3800 2022-08-23 03:15:23 +0000 UTC
Andrew Van Der Poel is rated 3.67/5 on Rate My Professors from 36 ratings. 67% of RMP reviewers said they would take them again.
Andrew Van Der Poel's classes have a difficulty rating of 3.9/5 on Rate My Professors.
Andrew Van Der Poel has taught CS3800, CS5800, CS1802, CS1800, CS3000, CS5001 at Northeastern.
Data updated October 2026.