Historical instructor

Simon Balto

Adjusted rating
RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 4.21/5 from 19 quality ratings. The adjusted rating blends this with the UW review average (3.66/5), weighted as 20 additional ratings. Smaller samples stay closer to that average. Each captured review is counted once in the prior; this does not correct who chooses to leave a review.

RMP profile ↗ · All captured review dates; profile matched by name.

What students say

Original student reviews · all captured dates

HIST102 · course not matched
Quality 5/5Difficulty 2/5
Dr. Balto had a lot of medical issues this past semester that started pretty early on, so we probably only had about 1/2 lectures we normally would've. Aside from that, both him and Aydan were available for any questions or if you needed help. Balto was also super apologetic when missing lecture. Extra plus that it was an easy class.
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HIST155 · course not matched
Quality 5/5Difficulty 3/5
Dr. Balto is an amazing lecturer who is very passionate about what he teaches. He conveys topics in a clear, respectful, and concise way (which I feel is extremely important when covering sensitive subject matter). His exams are a bit tedious but he prepares you well.
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HIST155 · course not matched
Quality 5/5Difficulty 2/5
Prof. Balto was an amazing professor, I genuinely enjoyed taking this class and learned so much. Although, this semester Prof. Balto did have medical issues that affected the lesson plans but the assignments were easy with weekly discussion posts and readings. The exams were really easy to study for as long as you took notes and read the textbooks.
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HIST102 · course not matched
Quality 4/5Difficulty 2/5
My experience was a little different because he had to miss a lot of class due to medical issues, but the lectures we did have were funny and informative, and gave good information that we had to use on the exams. Overall, solid professor.
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HIST102 · course not matched
Quality 5/5Difficulty 2/5
he is such a good teacher and goes so in depth. lecture wasn't monotone like others and you can tell he really wants students to succeed. loved his102 was super interesting .
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HIST102 · course not matched
Quality 4/5Difficulty 3/5
Prof. Balto is extremely knowledgeable in US history and it is very evident. He does an amazing job in lectures, stressing important points and topics that will be on the exams. Attendance was taken at all lectures, so be sure to show up.
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Personal experiences, not a representative survey. Profile matching and captured coverage are shown in the source details.

Classes with Simon Balto

No teaching recorded in Fall 2026.

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Recorded teaching history

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Teaching history may be incomplete. Course pages contain course-specific feedback and citations.

Instructor identity & provenance
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