"David was practically the only reason I got an A in organic chemistry. He was on time, prepared, and always went above and beyond to teach me concepts and make sure I was prepared for exams. Couldn’t have done it without him!"
"I highly recommend David for organic chemistry tutoring. He is extremely knowledgeable and great at explaining both the essential foundations and tricky, higher-level concepts."
"Coming up with hundreds of exam-like questions on the spot, David has challenged me to think critically and comprehensively about chemistry. He has helped me to believe in myself and has instilled a sense of confidence in my ability to excel in chemistry that I didn't have before knowing him. Never being condescending, David will answer all of your questions, going above and beyond what any professor ever will."
“David tailored every moment of our sessions to fit my needs and supplied me with countless practice problems and explanations. He patiently clarified concepts and taught me strategies that helped me reason through and solve complex problems.”
“David can actually teach - not just answer questions like most tutors. You can come to him with a topic you are struggling with and he will run with it, coming up with problems on the fly and making sure you truly understand the material. He took me from a student who got a 50 on my first orgo exam to an A- student.”
"Working with David has completely changed how I view the subject of Chemistry. A class like Orgo once intimidated me, but having him in my corner gave me the skills and confidence to conquer the course."
"David has been my favorite tutor throughout my college career. He can come up with hundreds of chemistry problems on the spot and takes as much time as you need to understand the material. What sets him apart from other tutors is that he is encouraging and helps you find a sense of confidence even with the most difficult material."
More Testimonials:
"David was absolutely a great TA. He was super knowledgeable, answered all of the questions I had clearly, provided extra examples, and most importantly organized the notes from class material for the week in a simple, understandable way. His notes were excellent, like a mini, summarized lecture that highlighted the most important contents."
"His greatest strengths as an instructor is he is a god. He teaches us in a very organized manner, and my understanding improved significantly after each discussion."
"David Tompkins was incredibly well prepared for each discussion and his recitations were extremely well organized. His teaching style and the way he talked about the materials were excellent in the sense that they drilled in my head general concepts, which complemented Dr. Craig's focus on rigorously understanding specific concepts."
"His explanation of topics was phenomenal. He was probably the best lecturer across all my classes at Duke"
"David is a great instructor who genuinely knows material well and is great at explaining everything. Every discussion section was meaningful and important in learning the material. Sometimes, discussion would be more useful than lecture for understanding how to apply what we learned in lecture. David's best strength is that he does not assume that we already know anything, and can explain everything very well."
"Discussion made everything in lecture make sense. Thank you, David Tompkins."
"He was very clear and did an excellent job explaining complex topics. The information he presented and his problem sets were very useful and prepared me well for the exams."
"David was a really good TA and was a lot of help. Honestly I stopped attending lecture and only attended his discussion sessions."
"David explains the concepts really well. He is able to break down everything and explain it clearly to us."
"David gives very detailed lectures during discussion that truly build upon and clarify lecture materials. I look forward to his lectures every week because of how organized and straightforward they are."
"David is AMAZING. He clarified so many misconceptions and provided an incredible supplement to the lecture with Dr. Craig. He explained topics in a clear and concise manner that made it accessible to all in the discussion."
"He definitely knows what he is talking about and will always answer questions about the material. He gives really good explanations for concepts and plows through the course material efficiently. Always provides good practice."
"David Tompkins is AMAZING. Everything that didn't click together for me in lecture made perfect sense in discussion. He didn't teach just the mechanisms, he explained the concepts behind it such as electronegativity, electron transfer, orbitals, resonance, and other ideas that gave you a deeper understanding of what was at play. Best TA ever. I went to every single discussion because they were so helpful."
"He explained concepts in a way that was easy to understand, and I really feel like he helped me learn several of the key concepts in the course."
"David is an excellent TA - frankly, I felt like I learned more from him than I did from Dr. Craig. He provides no-nonsense, practical tips for understanding mechanisms and predicting reactions, which can sometimes be a bit heady with Dr. Craig."
"David is incredible and I would say I learned the majority of the material in discussion as opposed to lecture. He is an incredibly clear communicator and his organization and breaking the material into organized groups really helped me learn. Very straightforward and thorough in his explanations."
"David Tompkins is an amazing teacher, one of the best I've ever had. He is extremely knowledgeable and never makes mistakes! He makes very complex concepts clear in his explanations."
"My TA is a fantastic lecturer. He goes in depth into important concepts each week, and his notes are very organized, well-thought out, and easy to follow. They were extremely helpful when studying in preparation for the midterms. He does a great job of breaking down concepts, and his practice worksheets are very helpful for testing my understanding of different topics."
"He makes difficult concepts relatively easy to learn by breaking them down and explaining all the components."
"David is a phenomenal TA. He explains concepts clearly and simply and always clarifies the concepts we learn in class. I hope he becomes a professor at some point because I think he would be fantastic."
"Very great lecturer, felt like I had a fourth, more personalized lecture each week."
"David is perfect. He is clearly very knowledgable about chemistry and he can communicate and teach with excellence. His lectures are extremely informative, easy to follow, and provide clarity on the lecture material. He walks us through his thought processes. He gives very helpful tools necessary to fully comprehend the material and recall it on the test. He goes above and beyond and genuinely cares about his students success and absorption of chemistry. He even gave us tips for organic chem 202. He makes this class enjoyable and it has been such an honor to be in his discussions!!!!! In my personal opinion, I believe David Tompkins has surpassed all of the desired qualifications to be a chemistry professor."
"David is absolutely amazing at teaching; sometimes I wish he was the professor."
"This man is a lifesaver. You are so prepared and go above and beyond."
"My TA explains concepts really well and only provides and the information we need to know. It is more helpful than the lecture."
"David is absolutely amazing and explains topics in a comprehensive and obtainable way to students. The way he lays out the material makes so much more sense and makes it much more organized to understand."
"David is really good at explaining the chemistry topics that are taught during lecture. The discussion sections are by far the most helpful sessions I have ever gone to. He is an amazing TA."
"He is a phenomenal instructor. His knowledge is very extensive and explains difficult topics very clearly. I couldn't have asked for a better TA. He teaches as well as, if not better than, the professor."
"He was amazing! I learned more during the TA sessions than I did in some of the lectures."
"David is absolutely amazing. He really cares about us as students, as he designs review sheets for us. The one for the final in particular was extremely helpful. As an instructor, he is always very organized, explains concepts thoroughly, and walks us through each part of his logic, step by step. He also includes tips and general trends to help us study. David is the best TA I have ever had and probably will ever have. He should be a chem professor."
"The GOAT. Would have failed ORGO without discussion. Everything was so much clearer in discussion."
"This man should be a lecturer. Incredible discussion, this is where I learned the majority of material for chem 201."