Sven Olson is a Business Administration professor at Northeastern University rated 3.16/5 by 470 students, with 3.56/5 difficulty and 48.0% who would take them again (TRACE + RateMyProfessors + Reddit, updated July 2026).
Sven Olson professor reviews and ratings: 3.16/5 from 470 student reviews at Northeastern (48.0% would take again). TRACE + RateMyProfessor + Reddit.
He is a very lenient grader and understanding in general. The homework's have multiple attempts and he often pushes back quizzes. Although he is highly educated in accounting, he talks very fast and lectures could be boring/hard to follow. Taught myself most of the material but he is always open to help.ACC1201 2025-12-17 22:49:40 +0000 UTC
BUSN1101 is a lot more work than anyone realized going in, and it is a group project with the same group the whole semester. Sven is a really cool professor, but the class as a whole takes a lot more time and effort than an 1101 course should have. If you get a bad group your just kinda screwed. I probably would not take this class take another oneBUSN1101 2025-12-16 20:40:52 +0000 UTC
Sven Olsen is an amazing professor. With a Northeastern accounting degree and real-world experience, he makes even hard material easy. Everyone I know in other sections says the class is difficult, but everyone with Sven finds it manageable and fair. He truly cares—best professor at NU, absolutely take him.ACC4320 2025-12-04 17:22:04 +0000 UTC
Professor Olsen was by far my favorite during my MBA. His real-world experience set him apart from the other professors at Northeastern. Listen to what he has to say and you'll take quite a bit from his classesMKTG2201 2025-05-29 14:17:29 +0000 UTC
Grading was super subjective; no clear rubric or guide for any assignments. (BUSN1101 is not even a mandatory class; feel free to take another class to fulfill and NU Path Diversity requirement.) Olson was biased in terms of grading. Grade depended a lot on how your teammates graded you. The course lowers your GPA, and it is a huge time commitmentBUSN1101 2025-11-21 22:42:36 +0000 UTC
Need to read and understand textbook before every class to even follow along to what he's saying. Required to participate if you want to get any value from him. HW is long as hell too. He skips around the presentations a lot, talks fast, but is extremely knowledgeable and understanding, maybe a little too knowledgeable.ACC4320 2025-10-10 20:11:51 +0000 UTC
tests are very vague and he often didn't seem to understand why one answer works better than other himself. he did give lots of partial credit though. didn't really teach the slides (which he didn't make), just chatted. i'd say if you want a chill class with a funny guy, take him. but if you want to learn a lot about marketing take someone else.MKTG2201 2022-06-06 18:09:00 +0000 UTC
ACCT1201- I don't see why he has such low ratings; he is a very good professor for accounting. Although he can be hard to follow when going through the slides, all you have to do is ask. He is cool and flexible, never be afraid to ask him for something. My only and biggest complaint is the homework, it is very long, but willing to give extensions.BUSN1101 2025-11-20 17:13:17 +0000 UTC
I took him for accounting 1201 and he my favorite professor I've had. If you ask him questions and participate you will do well in his his class. He does make his quizzes and tests very hard, but usually curves. You need to build a relationship with him to do well, but he's really funny and kind when you do.ACC4320 2025-04-14 22:36:47 +0000 UTC
Pathetic experience, totally inaccessible outside of class, does not reply to emails, no feedback at all, no interest in students' growth during a course, doesn't teach, tests are online but tough, unorganised.MKTG2201 2022-05-01 03:27:06 +0000 UTC
I was less than 0.05 away from a B+ and he did not round up my grade, but he grounded up someone from a B to an A. Do not take him if you want fair and equal grading.BUSN1101 2025-05-28 14:55:04 +0000 UTC
Worst professor I've ever had! DO NOT take his classes unless absolutely necessary. He provides no clear guidelines, grades unfairly, and expects you to write a could be 100-page final project. Grades your writing tougher than College level English classes. He is not responsive and not flexible. If you have an emergency, forget about your grades.ACC4320 2023-11-28 02:50:07 +0000 UTC
Sven is an OK professor when it comes to Marketing. Has his own business which is cool, however, he often rambles about it and forgets that he's supposed to be teaching us. The course shell is not his so sometimes he is confused as to what he's teaching. Exams are all online but still difficult.MKTG2201 2022-04-07 13:52:45 +0000 UTC
The class did help me with learning aspects of business through a project. I think Sven himself was very unorganized and impossible to reach. I spent weeks trying to reach him about fixing grades or posting things on canvas and he would never respond or say "shoot me an email". His grading is harsh so it is hard to get an a. Take his wife's class.BUSN1101 2025-05-02 18:50:29 +0000 UTC
Tests are hard but lots of partial credit is given (talk to him for points back) Not a lot of feedback. Great guy but content is taught by a conversational discussion and some slides with simple definitions. If you're not into marketing it is great, but if you're highly interested maybe take a more interactive professor to get something out of it.MKTG2201 2022-03-30 15:03:26 +0000 UTC
Sven Olson has an average rating of 3.16/5 from 470 student reviews. 48.0% of students said they would take them again.
Sven Olson's classes have a difficulty rating of 3.56/5 based on student reviews.
Sven Olson has taught ACCT1201, BUSN1101, MKTG2201, MKTG6224 at Northeastern.
Data updated July 2026.