Jonathan Tilly is a Biology professor at Northeastern University rated 2.48/5 by 128 students, with 3.63/5 difficulty and 15.0% who would take them again (TRACE + RateMyProfessors + Reddit, updated July 2026).
Jonathan Tilly professor reviews and ratings: 2.48/5 from 128 student reviews at Northeastern (15.0% would take again). TRACE + RateMyProfessor + Reddit.
Worse professor I've met. No teaching in any style but giving textbook to read. Lots and lots of HW, graded on correctness and were just useless. Discussion forums were also useless and meaningless, graded harshly. You have to devote a lot of time. Does not care about students. Do take it for credits but don't take it if you want to learn somethingBIOL3603 2025-12-02 09:50:05 +0000 UTC
No lecture videos just teaching yourself from the textbook, and if your relative dies and you ask to make your midterm up the next day you just get a zero because he could not care less. Avoid this Professor if there's any potential for life to happen to you, or if you want to pay for a class where you're actually taughtBIO3603 2025-02-13 20:36:11 +0000 UTC
Amazing professor. Super nice man who is very passionate about his work. Leading scientist in his field, very knowledgable and will go into a lot of detail in the lecture but the tests are open note so you don't need to memorize. Not a lot of work, fun class to enjoy.BIOL2299 2020-01-06 20:33:47 +0000 UTC
NEVER take this class. Even in a PANDEMIC he was the most unapproachable and rude Professor Ive ever had. He doesnt teach a single thing. All he does is send emails assigning heavy work loads because he thinks his class matters most. All of the learning was from the book and modules. Its useless work that takes up hours per day. Save yourself.BIOL3603 2021-04-28 00:25:15 +0000 UTC
I don't know what I expected from an online course but I'm honestly disappointed that I used my tuition towards three months of reading a textbook, which I could have done in my free time. Very minimal course materials and a professor that did not help to engage students. I'm thankful for the A but feel that I wasted a lot of time.BIO3603 2024-04-18 01:37:23 +0000 UTC
Tilly is the best. He always gives good feedback, and makes you want to learn even if you're not interested in human aging and infertility. Every exam and quiz in his class was open note, and there are many ways to boost your grade if you don't do too hot on the exams. He knows what he's teaching, speaks from experience, and I'd recommend his classBIOL2299 2019-12-04 21:26:36 +0000 UTC
I would not have taken the course if i had known that we would have hw assignments due every other day, discussion posts every week with heavy participation, no lecture slides, and hard tests. Tests could be taken with notes and were still difficult. The teacher is a busy individual, which affects his rating bcuz his response time was no good.BIOL3603 2020-12-13 00:17:57 +0000 UTC
Teaches class asynchronously, yet offers office hours "by appointment only." Good luck getting one of those appointments though, or any response. A close friend of mine took their own life and Dr. Tilly didn't respond for almost a week, and then it was to complain about how busy he is and then tell me to drop the class. Students are not a priority.BIO3603 2022-09-13 00:13:05 +0000 UTC
DO NOT TAKE THIS COURSE!! PLEASE SAVE YOUR GPA AND LIFE To be honest, this course is very difficult to do well for a variety of reasons. 1. There are assignments every other day with strict deadlines. If you miss one day, thats about 3 percent of your total grade. No Make Up 2. Exams are IMPOSSIBLE. 3. Reading load is crazy.... at least 30 hrs/wkBIOL3603 2020-12-11 16:11:54 +0000 UTC
Requires everyday discussion posts&homework assignments. Requires heavy textbook -- reading hundreds of pages for exams since there's no lectures at all (idk if I took an online robot class or a real professor's course) Sometimes the exam covers questions that weren't mentioned in the textbook. Do not waste your tuition.BIO3603 2020-12-11 16:12:38 +0000 UTC
I heard so many great things about Dr. Tilly, so I was so excited to finally get into one of his classes. BIG MISTAKE! The class was entirely self-taught and based on a textbook (no lectures whatsoever). Despite being an online class during COVID, he was extremely strict, unapproachable, and make no exceptions for late work/technical difficulties.BIOL3603 2020-12-10 08:27:42 +0000 UTC
Took his Mammalian Physiology class during COVID. Doesn't allow ANY late work (automatic zeros) and said we couldn't email him about grades. This class was online but I didn't expect no lectures and hw/tests based purely on the textbook (it was impossible to actually be engaged and learn). Wouldn't exactly call him prof since he never taught.BIOL3603 2020-12-07 18:01:13 +0000 UTC
I had him for Inquiries in Bio and loved him in that class so I decided to sign up for Mammalian Physiology with him - an online class. Biggest mistake of my life. Textbook-based homework due every other day, tests were randomly extremely difficult, and he is EXTREMELY unapproachable for extra help. DON'T TAKE AN ONLINE CLASS WITH HIM EVER!!!BIOL3603 2020-11-20 17:01:57 +0000 UTC
Jonathan Tilly has an average rating of 2.48/5 from 128 student reviews. 15.0% of students said they would take them again.
Jonathan Tilly's classes have a difficulty rating of 3.63/5 based on student reviews.
Jonathan Tilly has taught BIOL3603, BIOL5301, BIOL4701, BIOL1149, BIOL5303, BIOL2299, BIOL3409 at Northeastern.
Data updated July 2026.