Schlimgen, Scott  

this guy is freaking terrible.. 4.5 hours of lab.. and guess what, he turns it into a 4.5 hour lecture.. i swear, he loves to hear himself talk. if you are one of those students who kisses ass and loves to hear yourself talk, then take schlimgen, you guys can listen to each other banter over nothing for 4.5 hours. however, if you want to actually learn to do stuff, take someone else. everyone IVE personally talked to, dislikes his teaching methods.. its weird. he treats us like 2nd graders, then expects the work from graduate students, i mean for crying out loud. he talks so much, and then when i go home to do the assignment, i have no idea what he wants. he is soo vague, but he elaborates sooo much on stuff that we already know, or stuff that isnt that important. for example, we had this series of drawings due and everyone came in with something different. no one knew for sure, what to do for that class. everyone had an assortment of elevations, sections, exploded, perspectives, floor plans, it was a mess. no one had anything rite. he expects us to do alll the work outside of class, except for that one day where we could stay in class and work,he doesnt realize that labs are long so that we can do work in them. he thinks labs are there so he has an audience forced to sit and listen to him talk. also, he takes roll,! who does that in college?!not a big deal, cause if u miss a class, u have no idea whats going on even more. so.. class is pointless. i just got back from it, and all i did was sleep, along with the rest of my classmates.. *sigh.. i wish i woulda taken someone else. the class next to us. geez. they start an hour later, but they get out b4 us everytime.. everytime!!1..

Ahh, good ol' Schlimmy. I hate this guy, and yeah he does turn it into a 4.5 hour lecture. He tries to talk about designs and how they work together, but he puts no real substance behind why its a good or bad design. This basically makes your grade a question of how well and how much you draft. He never brought in other professors to evaluate our work, so pretty much all the opinions were from him.

I learned a lot from this instructor. His outside real life experience and input as an actual professional in this field really helped the course. This was not only a drawing course, but also a design fundamentals class. Scott did a good job to inform me on all the necessary background for any design process including the assignments at hand. His techniques helped me look and create things I otherwise wouldn't think that I am capable of accomplishing. Scott showed me how to communicate quickly, thouroughly, and present a nice design in a short amount of time. This has not only helped me for his class but every other class. If you take a class with Scott, you will learn a lot of valuble information.

Scott was a great professor! Yes, we did have a lot of class discusions, but they were always relevant to the class, informative, and interesting. He was very dedicated to getting outside input on our work and held reviews throughout the quarter. It is true that he likes to use the whole class period...but thats a great time to get all his work done and not have left over homework. He never wants us to have to work on weekends or holidays if it can be avoided. Overall Scott was a fabulous prof and a great person to stay in touch with.

Its interesting reading other people's opinion's about certain teachers, I'm sure everyone is entitled to their own opinion and whatever they think but hey, I just want to shed some light where others might find quite dim. Sorry to say this but those two sophomores below me need to get a clue, first of all, since both of you bring up points of... 4.5 hour class, and then the TEACHER decides to use HIS classtime to talk for 4.5 hours, guess what... that's his choice, not saying he does that. Sure I agree with you, he does talk a lot, so what? If you would stop falling asleep the entire class period you'd realize after the first few weeks he doesn't talk quite as much anymore, it's a lot more hands on work with discussions instead. But then again I'm talking from a Third year design lab perspective, and being an ARCH major rather then some engin that only needs DESIGN labs as support, I probably follow what he says and understand why and where he's coming from when he says it. To be completely honest, and probably taking another tangent here as I type, after 1/3 of the class I was burned out because we always used the full time. The next 1/3 of the class I probably did the least and I just wanted out, but guess what, After a couple talks with him about my design, some show of interest in how to get fired up again, and after he gave me some great comparisons and ideas, the last 1/3 was a blast. I guess you can kind of say... Its one of those experiences where during you feel its slightly what the heck is going on, but then afterward you realize it was a great learning experience and environment. If you are an ARCH major, want to realize how design really is and how it functions, want some very constructive crits with no real bashing for no apparent reason other then "its not how i do it so it sucks" and an experience you'll really look back on and say I learned a lot, I would say schlimgen is someone you want to take... However, if you aren't ARCH... are a lazy bum and doesn't realize that college isn't "oh i should have it my way cause its IN REALITY, MY CLASS" or, just plain ignorant about certain things, don't take schlimgen so some other worthy student might have the chance, anyway, again, opinions opinions, and these.. are just another two cents

I agree with the two young engineering students who gave Scott bad ratings

Quite honestly, I don't know how anyone could think Scott was a terrible teacher. He is by far the most inspiring architecture instructor that I have had at Cal Poly. Being we are so highly ranked, that is a lot to say for a person. He is knowledgible in most anything that has to do with the profession. However, you do have to let him TALK about it to find out. That may explain why some of you ARCE's may feel that he talks too much. Believe me, Scott doesn't just bullshit. Whatever he has to say is well worth the time. Yes, he may have developed lungs like a fish to speak at the lengths that he does, but open ears gain alot of knowledge. I think quite highly of Scott. During a time when I thought I may not like design, or have a place in the field, being in his class made me see that there is something inside of me that just screams ARCHITECTURE. Consequentially, I am going to Rome, where I expect to learn even more from Scott in a new environment where he can be even more inspiring. Overall, Scott is an excellent teacher, and really tests your dedication. This sounds harsh, but honestly, if you arent tested now, what will happen when you are a professional and you detest designing for... heaven forbid, 4.5 hours. Give me a break, go through design for 4.5 hours, then go home and do whatever the heck you want to do without having to come back. Believe me, Scott notices and appreciates the effort.

I learned so much from Scott, by far one of the best Arch teachers I have had. I opened up and was given options and ideas I had never been given before. One of the best things was he got to know the students and the projects on a personal level and could relate new ideas to them every day. He always could get you moving when you where stuck and would push you to do better work. the work load was always full but never so much that it could not be done, its not Fowler at all but not a slacker class. I feel i turned out my best work through Scott and respect him as a teacher and an architect.

Scott cares about architecture and he cares what you take out of his class. He has a lot to share with his students and he takes you and your ideas very seriously. Mutual respect can be hard to come by in architecture labs. Lectures get long when there

Scott's class was one of the best studio classes I've taken so far. He is a professor that is interested in getting to know your projects on a more detailed level and helping you with design development. You will spend a lot of time in this studio class working on projects and listening to lectures, but it is well worth it. I would recommend Scott's design class to anyone who is looking for a professor that is passionate about architecture and provides students with lots of one on one help with their projects.

Shame on Scott, he's so insecure he has to send out emails to his classes to get positive posts: "Hello class, I hope you are doing well, enjoying your summer and getting excited about what the next year will bring. I am busy getting ready from my first group of students in Rome. Last year I wrote many of you letters of recommendation and now I am asking the same favor of you. This year I taought a pretty succesful ARCH 222 design studio. Two young engineering students in the class did not understand the nature of a design studio and have gone on polyratings.com and written some rather obnoxious things about me. I am not personally worried about it. We all have a right ot our opinions and I

Scott Schlimgen was an excellent teacher. In fact, I think he was one of my favorite in my whole experience at Cal Poly. He is a good motivator, knows his material well, teaches well, and is very nice and concerned about students lives and learning experiences. One of the things that struck me as interesting in his class is that students very rarely skipped class or came late. I had never seen such an attentive class that really tried hard as a whole. I think this was due to his respect for us and respect for our major. We were all really inspired. I haven't read what the other students are commenting, but I honestly feel if you take his class you will not be disappointed. His work load was medium high but it was always at a consistent pace so it didn't feel like a huge burden.

I am writing this as response to Scott's request to his former students as shown in part by the evaluation following mine. As a student, I have asked numerous professors for recommendations - so I think it only fair to provide him one as well when he has asked. If you consider yourself a mature young adult - you will have a great time in Scott's program. If you are an immature student who acts like you should still be in high school, don't take Scott - he won't tolerate self-serving behaviors in a studio setting. Scott puts alot of heart and time into preparing for his Studio class. He gives 110% of himself and will make time for individual students when they ask. I know of one student who would say similar negative things about Scott, but he is an immature, arrogant, obnoxious know-it-all, a person whose opinion I could care less for. In regards to his Rome program - Scott is extremely knowledgable when it comes to Roman architecture, history, and culture - hence his upcoming appearance on The History Channel. I know many of the students who are going into his program this fall, and they do so with much excitement and anticipation. I would highly recommend Scott as a professor.

Scott was actually one of my favorite design professors. I took him twice. After reading the other comments, I realized what I have to say is not much that is different from any of them. Scott is definitely just one of those teachers that after the first couple of weeks when you realize what his style of teaching is, and how to make it work for you, you know he's a very intelligent architect and really cares for the students. Not many other design professors really make it a point to talk to you more than once in a week. This can be a pain, and Scott knows that, so he doesn't force you, but he lets you know that he is there when you need him. And yes, he does bring in other design professors for crits, at least for architecture design labs. And he'll care what others say, and he'll talk to everyone about what they felt after their crit. I really liked Scott... if you want to go to Rome, do not be discouraged by what others have said here. You would probably get a TON out of it because Scott has lived there before and is truly fascinated by Rome and teaching you about it. (Wish i was going...)

I had a great time in Scott's class this year! His lectures were always interesting and useful; they covered not only design, but also presentation techniques and even different computer programs that would help us. He is very knowledgeable and always available to help (even when you didn't think you needed it). I am so glad that I took him for 353, and I only wish that I could study with him in Rome too!

Scott (and his class) made me realize that it's possible to bridge the abyss between dreams of the architecture student and the reality of practice and that doing good, fun, real architectural things is possible after graduation! He devotes himself to his students and his expertise shines through in a kind, helpful way. He's no arrogant, elitist architecture professor; he's a very nice guy who knows his stuff better than anyone else I've met so far. I learned too much in that class, both about architecture and my own work ethic, to not recall it with the fondest of memories. I believe the best way to describe Scott is by repeating what I told him a few weeks after our quarter together ended: I feel sorry for all the new third year architecture students because they won't get the chance to take his class. They are missing out, and Cal Poly will be in the same boat if they don't hold on to him.

I learned so much from Scott. He would sit down with each person in class almost everyday and critique our designs, give us new ideas to expand on, and inspire us. Yeah, granted, he did stretch out every lab to 6, but that's how long it's supposed to go! He really did prepare for class everyday with new exercises and things to teach and show us. I'm sad that he's not teaching at Cal Poly anymore. He was definately one of the great architecture professors here. It's pretty sad reading those negative reviews about him- if you don't want to work hard and be in class, maybe you should consider changing your major or getting out of college.

Reading the comments on polyratings pissed me off. Granted, Scott's class might not have been like a five-hour orgasm three days a week, but to blindly insult it is retarded. If you don't like to work hard and be in class a lot, you had better get as far away from architecture as you can. FAST! Join liberal arts and wake up sore in the bathroom of some random frat house. But these classes are what you make of them. I actually appreciated Scott's class, and was paying attention long enough to see that he actually cared about his students. So to the ones who use polyratings to vent their adult ADD... drop out, i hear Taco Bell is hiring!!! Give your seat to someone who gives a damn.

Scott is an amazing prof. He is extremely intelligent and creative as well as being accessible and helpful. I had the pleasure of having Scott for both design and practice and I can without a doubt say that Cal Poly is at a loss now without him. He is not one of those professors who gives you an assignment at the beginning of the quarter and doesn't care what you do as long as it's finished in the end, he actually makes you work. It's not an easy class, but you always get out of a design class what you put into it, and Scott gives his students the opportunity to really grow as designers under his guidance.

Prof Schlimgen conveys information well and is an excellent critic however his attitude can be interpreted as condescending, cold and mean. I think he simply lacks social skills, which explains the many complaints but doesn't justify his inability to establish a positive, encouraging rapport with his students. If you want to learn, you will-- however if you want to grow, you will find him stifling and repelling.

In response to the idiot who needed to share his incorrect opinion of Scott shows just how little they understood one of the great architecture professors at Cal Poly and his good intensions. People didn