Kay Onan is a Chemistry professor at Northeastern University rated 2.6/5 by 26 students, with 2.9/5 difficulty and 50.0% who would take them again (TRACE + RateMyProfessors + Reddit, updated July 2026).
Kay Onan professor reviews and ratings: 2.6/5 from 26 student reviews at Northeastern (50.0% would take again). TRACE + RateMyProfessor + Reddit.
My list of cons: 1.)One time I got a question right on my test and she counted the whole thing as wrong because I didn't show my work. 2.) She made us switch back and forth from taking a partner to individual quizzes and she doesn't warn us in advance, 3.) When studying for an exam she didn't let us ask questions from the study guideCHEM1151 2019-04-02 02:31:52 +0000 UTC
A very sweet lady, but her lectures were super dull and hard to follow. If you haven't taken AP chem expect to teach the course to yourself. Since the lectures were big attendance wasn't technically mandatory, but there are pretty regular tophat attendance check ins.CHEM1151 2018-12-31 23:26:10 +0000 UTC
DO NOT BUY THE TEXTBOOK. Such as waste of money I never even opened it. Professor Onan is an OK professor. Nothing special and her lectures are pretty boring. If you're even slightly good at chemistry you can afford to miss a couple classes.CHEM1151 2018-12-04 17:46:04 +0000 UTC
Might be one of the worst professors I've ever had. Basically had to teach the entire course to myself, and the only reason I even went to class was for attendance. Incredibly boring in class, and doesn't realize when her entire class is struggling to keep up with what she's saying because she keeps making mistakes while teaching the material.CHEM1151 2018-12-03 19:49:15 +0000 UTC
Onan is someone who you want to like because she is very nice and helpful during office hours. However, in lectures she can be boring and monotonous just on account of the fact that the slides are kind of plain. If you don't go to class you will miss out on her extra explanation and examples which are helpful, as well as the ever annoying Tophat.CHEM1151 2018-11-14 13:50:40 +0000 UTC
Good lectures and well-versed with many of the topics. The Sapling homework was very helpful, though the gen chem class was very... general and thus easier than it could have been. Satisfied with the fair tests and the materials posted. Really appreciates effort and enthusiasm shown by coming into office hoursCHEM1151 2018-05-02 02:15:15 +0000 UTC
She is a great professor who is patient and cares that her students understand the material. Her lectures can get boring and hard to pay attention to, but she offers plenty of help, review sessions, extra material, answers any questions, and is always in a positive mood. The class is a lot of material, but I'm glad I had her as a professor!CHEM1151 2018-04-25 22:59:31 +0000 UTC
Great professor! Really like her lectures! I definitely recommend you to take her course. Before each test, she makes evening review sessions which are not official and super helpful. Moreover, in class discussions and conversations make the topics clear and easy to understand.CHEM1151 2018-04-19 13:33:34 +0000 UTC
I would say she is an average professor. She uses powerpoints to lecture which can get pretty boring and monotonous. But if you pay attention to lectures you don't have to read. 3 midterms 1 final, all pretty fair. Tophat (classroom response system) is annoying and time waster. Sapling (homework system) isn't that bad and it's a nice grade booster.CHEM1151 2018-01-09 18:45:03 +0000 UTC
The class is a joke which shouldn't be a thing, and I think this is reflected in many of the reviews here. However, Professor Onan herself is a solid professor (if a bit lecture heavy and dry at times) and you won't go wrong with having her.CHEM1151 2017-12-14 11:13:25 +0000 UTC
Kay Onan is a good person, but an OK lecturer. Attending the lectures is pretty useless. I wouldn't have attended the lectures if she didn't take participation using Top Hat. The good thing is that she posts her lectures online, and she provides a lot of resources. If you have a good prior knowledge in Chemistry, don't worry at all.CHEM1151 2017-11-17 15:05:20 +0000 UTC
Kay Onan is simply the worst teacher I have had in college. She should not be allowed to teach at Northeastern.CHEM1151 2017-11-08 10:51:14 +0000 UTC
She has no idea how to teach. The only good part of this class is how many resources she posts for the exams but they're not all as helpful as they could be. Everything else is inefficient and difficult when it doesn't have to be.CHEM1151 2017-10-30 17:42:37 +0000 UTC
The course might have been the nightmare of most forstbuear engineering students because it's the first real science class we take. The material is pretty tough sometimes, but we are rating the professor here. I believe that she was extremely helpful and caring, take her. The other options aren't any better tbh. Pay attention ull be fine !CHEM1151 2017-01-08 09:50:04 +0000 UTC
She's the kind of professor you want to like because she's nice, but come to despise because she's incompetent. Have fun learning nothing all year, and then come test time for her not to post practice midterms or finals; you'll have no idea what to expect, guaranteed you'll see a question(s) you've never seen before.CHEM1151 2016-12-11 16:55:49 +0000 UTC
Kay Onan has an average rating of 2.6/5 from 26 student reviews. 50.0% of students said they would take them again.
Kay Onan's classes have a difficulty rating of 2.9/5 based on student reviews.
Kay Onan has taught CHEM1151, CHEM1153 at Northeastern.
Data updated July 2026.