How our rankings work
Choosing classes is mostly choosing professors and times. We use two rankings to help, and they answer two different questions. Both use the same five words, from Chill to Brutal, so they are easy to read at a glance.
Chill Rank
For a professor, shown next to every section: how tough their classes tend to be, according to students.
Schedule stress score
For a whole weekly schedule in the schedule builder: how stressful that week is likely to feel.
The five Chill Ranks
Ranks compare a professor against the other CUNY professors students have rated, so each level means a share of all professors, not a fixed grade.
1. Chill
Students rate this professor's classes as low difficulty, highly rated, and most would take them again. About the chillest 15% of CUNY professors.
2. Easy
Students find the classes easier than average and are happy with them. About the next 25%.
3. Fair
A typical CUNY professor: a normal amount of work and a normal mix of reviews. About 30% of professors.
4. Busy
Students report a heavier or tougher class than average, or mixed reviews. Plan some extra time. About 20% of professors.
5. Brutal
Students rate these classes as very difficult and many would not take them again. About the toughest 10% of professors.
How a Chill Rank is worked out
We take three things students say about a professor on Rate My Professors, and blend them:
- Difficulty (counts most, 50%): how hard students found the classes, from 1 to 5.
- Overall rating (25%): how good students think the professor is, from 1 to 5. A lower rating pushes the rank toward Brutal.
- Would take again (25%): the share of students who would sign up with them again. If it is missing, the other two share its weight.
Two rules keep it fair. A professor needs at least 3 ratings to get a rank at all, because two reviews prove nothing. And a professor with fewer than 10 ratings is marked “limited data” and pulled toward the middle (Fair), so three glowing reviews can't outrank a professor with two hundred good ones.
“#2 chillest of 5 for this course”
When a course has several rated professors, we also put them in order. #1 is the chillest of the rated professors teaching that course this term, so you can compare sections of the same class directly. Professors with no rank are left out. If only one professor is rated there is nothing to compare, so no number is shown. You can sort any course by “Chillest professor first”.
The schedule stress score
In the schedule builder, every possible schedule gets a score from 1 to 5. It is about the shape of your week as well as your professors, so two schedules with the same classes can score differently.
- 😌 1 Chill
- 🙂 2 Easy
- 😐 3 Fair
- 😰 4 Busy
- 🔥 5 Brutal
Points go up for:
- classes that start early or end late;
- long gaps between classes on the same day, or back-to-back classes on different campuses with little time to travel;
- a heavy credit load;
- your work hours and commute, and any time of day you told us you want to avoid;
- professors who students rate as difficult, or who most students would not take again.
The schedule builder shows the exact reasons behind every score, so you can see what to change.
Where the numbers come from
Ratings come from Rate My Professors, matched to the instructor named on each CUNY section. We re-check them about once a month. Class times and seats come from CUNY's public Global Search.
Right now, 7,780 of the 12,884 professors teaching this year's classes have a Rate My Professors profile we could match. That is why some sections show a rank and others don't.
Why a professor might have no rank
- Instructor not announced. CUNY has not listed a name yet (“Staff” or TBA).
- No Rate My Professors profile. Many adjuncts and new faculty have never been reviewed.
- Too few ratings. Fewer than 3 students have rated them, so we show the numbers but no rank.
- We couldn't be sure it's the same person. If a name could belong to two people, we skip it rather than show the wrong professor's ratings.
What it can't tell you
- Reviews are opinions from students who chose to post. They lean toward people with strong feelings, good or bad.
- A Chill Rank describes the professor, not the subject. An “easy” professor teaching organic chemistry is still teaching organic chemistry.
- A professor can run one course very differently from another, and styles change over the years.
- Use it as one input next to your degree requirements, your work schedule and your own sense of what you can handle.
ChillSemester is not affiliated with CUNY or Rate My Professors. Always confirm class details in CUNYfirst before you register.