BCHM464 | PlanetTerp

Information	Review
Christopher Capp BCHM464 Expecting an A Anonymous 11/02/2025	One of the worst classes I had to take as a biochem major. It also didn't help that I took this class my last semester senior year (where the senioritis was kicking in). I had Dr. Capp for 461 and thought that he was fine there and while taking this class had no idea what happened to him because it seemed like he became unbearable all of sudden. Here are a few of the highlights: - This class is a lot of work (a lot of writing) and he right off the bat tells you that he's a harsh grader - fine sure, I think if you've been in the major since the start you'll be fine. If you switched in part way through or need to take this class as a bio or nutrition major, I'm so sorry. When I compared my comments on assignments from him as a biochem major to someone who wasn't, his comments felt more harsh and unfair to the non-majors even though he was saying essentially the same thing. - He does not let you pick lab partners which is only a problem if your lab partner does not pull their weight! - Capp is incredibly condescending during class. He has a "wall of shame" and proudly admits that if your paper is bad enough, you will too join the wall of shame where he prints out whatever assignment, blacks out the name and pins it to a wall in his office. Which honestly, okay sure fear is an excellent motivator I suppose but a lot of people in this class have never done these experiments before, so why are you being so harsh with them? - Unless you are interested in research or going to grad school (which he himself dissuades you from doing), this class is not enjoyable, nor is it really useful for you. That's just my honest opinion because I know a lot of the people in the major my year were pre-med. - Like another review said, the lecture portion is pretty helpful for understanding what to do that week but there were times that he did not tell us what we needed to do until lecture (which was later in the week). If you had lab early in the week (monday/tuesday), it was not helpful. Overall, I did not enjoy my experience in this class. However, I having been a biochem major and done research did help me a lot, which really means if you were only one or the other or even neither, you got the short end of the stick (which is not fun! or fair!) That's all. Sorry to the people who have to take this class.
Christopher Capp BCHM464 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/23/2025	So. When I saw this 4.1+ star rating, I was reassured, ready to take on the biochem lab world. First and foremost, that average is incredibly misleading and i dont know how it got there. Maybe I just don’t vibe with his personality, but whatever it was I did NOT like him the whole semester. As soon as I heard him explain his wall of shame on the first day of class, I was like oh I'm in for a terrible ride. This class was a lotttttttt of work, there was always a new assignment and no matter how hard you try it felt like you were doomed to get a bad score anyway. He grades very harsh (which he does warn you about) and he tries to be quirky about it but it just made me frustrated lol. I understand the reasoning behind letting us figure out projects independently and getting a taste of what real research and grad school is like, but what I DON’T understand is the crazy grading that comes with it when we’re doing these experiments for the first time. I also thought it was ridiculous how the lab ran 20-30 minutes overtime in the beginning half of the semester, despite it already being 5 hours long. Lab exam was okay. LOVED my TA though none of this is reflective of my TA Ellen. My one piece of advice: go to discussion and take good notes. He's atleast a little clearer about his expectations there. To all the bchm majors who have to take this, good luck.
Christopher Capp BCHM464 Expecting an A Anonymous 02/04/2025	BCHM464 has got to be one of the more practical courses in the BCHM program at UMD. You not only expose yourself to different laboratory procedures common in the biochemistry/ biology field, but also test you on your ability to write. For a class like this, I'm glad I took it in the fall. Only 8 other people registered that semester – a third of the number who took it in the spring. That said, all 9 of us had many more chances to consult with Dr. Capp, which was extremely helpful since he also has to attend to his BCHM463 and BCHM461 students. Indeed, he has many students under his belt, so emailing him may not be the best approach. Therefore, take advantage of his office hours!!! His office is just one floor up from the lab, so sometimes I asked him a question during my lab times since he’s generally available. Now, his teaching style is one where he makes you solve the problem by asking you questions, so expect being asked questions when you come into OH (and lecture)! It was very hard getting an A in BCHM464 as I was competing with 8 other bright students: you really had to earn it! Please don't do go into BCHM464 solely for the grade but do it for the experience. I may not have gotten a great appreciation for the class back then. However, looking back at the long nights I put into my lab reports and data analysis, I am grateful for what this class has taught me after working in a post-graduate research lab for a year and in the midst of writing a manuscript. For all the students taking BCHM464, go in for the desire to learn! This class will really expose you to research. You have one great professor to guide you as well, don't hesitate to reach out to him!
Christopher Capp BCHM464 Expecting an A Anonymous 02/01/2025	BCHM464 has got to be one of the more practical courses in the BCHM program at UMD. You not only expose yourself to different laboratory procedures common in the biochemistry/ biology field, but also test you on your ability to write. For a class like this, I'm glad I took it in the fall. Only 8 other people registered that semester – a third of the number who took it in the spring. That said, all 9 of us had many more chances to consult with Dr. Capp, which was extremely helpful since he also has to attend to his BCHM463 and BCHM461 students. Indeed, he has many students under his belt, so emailing him may not be the best approach. Therefore, take advantage of his office hours!!! His office is just one floor up from the lab, so sometimes I asked him a question during my lab times since he’s generally available. Now, his teaching style is one where he makes you solve the problem by asking you questions, so expect being asked questions when you come into OH (and lecture)! It was very hard getting an A in BCHM464 as I was competing with 8 other bright students: you really had to earn it! Please don't do go into BCHM464 solely for the grade but do it for the experience. I may not have gotten a great appreciation for the class back then. However, looking back at the long nights I put into my lab reports and data analysis, I am grateful for what this class has taught me after working in a post-graduate research lab for a year and in the midst of writing a manuscript. For all the students taking BCHM464, go in for the desire to learn! This class will really expose you to research. You have one great professor to guide you as well, don't hesitate to reach out to him! Best wishes to you all, future scientists!
Christopher Capp BCHM464 Anonymous 05/08/2024	This class took up the majority of my time this semester and was very rigorous. The content itself is useful for people who want to pursue a career in research or biochemistry but it is required for all biochemistry and some nutrition majors. You really learn how to write well which is what I appreciated. As for Dr. Capp, he is a very interesting man. I felt that he was quite inaccessible and wasn't at his office hours at the later half of his time that he posted on his syllabus, which was frustrating. He also does not respond to emails that well. Our TAs also did not have office hours. I think he might be too preoccupied with his 461 and 463 classes to really care about us (there was like 30-40 people at most) and he sometimes laughed about some of us who were on the verge of failing (honestly very discouraging). Perhaps I just don't like people who have such strong personalities like he does, but I wish he structured things differently and was more involved with his students. All I will say is that don't take this class for the funsies!
Christopher Capp BCHM464 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/24/2023	This course really weighed heavily on me the whole semester. There were always assignments to be done the second one assignment was completed. And any assignment there was required hours and hours of work, there was no such thing as putting in half effort and just getting a bad grade, because you could put hours into an assignment and you would still get a bad grade. My entire time in the class I felt highly discouraged because no matter how hard I tried, both in lab and on assignments, it was never good enough. The whole class just felt like I was working my butt off and only ever getting mediocre grades, and so it never once felt like my hard work was awarded. Anyways, that's my experience with the class. I enjoyed my TA tho, they were a chiller, and actually very encouraging.

Christopher Capp
BCHM464

Expecting an A
Anonymous
11/02/2025

One of the worst classes I had to take as a biochem major. It also didn't help that I took this class my last semester senior year (where the senioritis was kicking in). I had Dr. Capp for 461 and thought that he was fine there and while taking this class had no idea what happened to him because it seemed like he became unbearable all of sudden. Here are a few of the highlights: - This class is a lot of work (a lot of writing) and he right off the bat tells you that he's a harsh grader - fine sure, I think if you've been in the major since the start you'll be fine. If you switched in part way through or need to take this class as a bio or nutrition major, I'm so sorry. When I compared my comments on assignments from him as a biochem major to someone who wasn't, his comments felt more harsh and unfair to the non-majors even though he was saying essentially the same thing. - He does not let you pick lab partners which is only a problem if your lab partner does not pull their weight! - Capp is incredibly condescending during class. He has a "wall of shame" and proudly admits that if your paper is bad enough, you will too join the wall of shame where he prints out whatever assignment, blacks out the name and pins it to a wall in his office. Which honestly, okay sure fear is an excellent motivator I suppose but a lot of people in this class have never done these experiments before, so why are you being so harsh with them? - Unless you are interested in research or going to grad school (which he himself dissuades you from doing), this class is not enjoyable, nor is it really useful for you. That's just my honest opinion because I know a lot of the people in the major my year were pre-med. - Like another review said, the lecture portion is pretty helpful for understanding what to do that week but there were times that he did not tell us what we needed to do until lecture (which was later in the week). If you had lab early in the week (monday/tuesday), it was not helpful. Overall, I did not enjoy my experience in this class. However, I having been a biochem major and done research did help me a lot, which really means if you were only one or the other or even neither, you got the short end of the stick (which is not fun! or fair!) That's all. Sorry to the people who have to take this class.

Christopher Capp
BCHM464

Expecting an A
Anonymous
05/23/2025

So. When I saw this 4.1+ star rating, I was reassured, ready to take on the biochem lab world. First and foremost, that average is incredibly misleading and i dont know how it got there. Maybe I just don’t vibe with his personality, but whatever it was I did NOT like him the whole semester. As soon as I heard him explain his wall of shame on the first day of class, I was like oh I'm in for a terrible ride. This class was a lotttttttt of work, there was always a new assignment and no matter how hard you try it felt like you were doomed to get a bad score anyway. He grades very harsh (which he does warn you about) and he tries to be quirky about it but it just made me frustrated lol. I understand the reasoning behind letting us figure out projects independently and getting a taste of what real research and grad school is like, but what I DON’T understand is the crazy grading that comes with it when we’re doing these experiments for the first time. I also thought it was ridiculous how the lab ran 20-30 minutes overtime in the beginning half of the semester, despite it already being 5 hours long. Lab exam was okay. LOVED my TA though none of this is reflective of my TA Ellen. My one piece of advice: go to discussion and take good notes. He's atleast a little clearer about his expectations there. To all the bchm majors who have to take this, good luck.

Christopher Capp
BCHM464

Expecting an A
Anonymous
02/04/2025

BCHM464 has got to be one of the more practical courses in the BCHM program at UMD. You not only expose yourself to different laboratory procedures common in the biochemistry/ biology field, but also test you on your ability to write. For a class like this, I'm glad I took it in the fall. Only 8 other people registered that semester – a third of the number who took it in the spring. That said, all 9 of us had many more chances to consult with Dr. Capp, which was extremely helpful since he also has to attend to his BCHM463 and BCHM461 students. Indeed, he has many students under his belt, so emailing him may not be the best approach. Therefore, take advantage of his office hours!!! His office is just one floor up from the lab, so sometimes I asked him a question during my lab times since he’s generally available. Now, his teaching style is one where he makes you solve the problem by asking you questions, so expect being asked questions when you come into OH (and lecture)! It was very hard getting an A in BCHM464 as I was competing with 8 other bright students: you really had to earn it! Please don't do go into BCHM464 solely for the grade but do it for the experience. I may not have gotten a great appreciation for the class back then. However, looking back at the long nights I put into my lab reports and data analysis, I am grateful for what this class has taught me after working in a post-graduate research lab for a year and in the midst of writing a manuscript. For all the students taking BCHM464, go in for the desire to learn! This class will really expose you to research. You have one great professor to guide you as well, don't hesitate to reach out to him!

Christopher Capp
BCHM464

Expecting an A
Anonymous
02/01/2025

BCHM464 has got to be one of the more practical courses in the BCHM program at UMD. You not only expose yourself to different laboratory procedures common in the biochemistry/ biology field, but also test you on your ability to write. For a class like this, I'm glad I took it in the fall. Only 8 other people registered that semester – a third of the number who took it in the spring. That said, all 9 of us had many more chances to consult with Dr. Capp, which was extremely helpful since he also has to attend to his BCHM463 and BCHM461 students. Indeed, he has many students under his belt, so emailing him may not be the best approach. Therefore, take advantage of his office hours!!! His office is just one floor up from the lab, so sometimes I asked him a question during my lab times since he’s generally available. Now, his teaching style is one where he makes you solve the problem by asking you questions, so expect being asked questions when you come into OH (and lecture)! It was very hard getting an A in BCHM464 as I was competing with 8 other bright students: you really had to earn it! Please don't do go into BCHM464 solely for the grade but do it for the experience. I may not have gotten a great appreciation for the class back then. However, looking back at the long nights I put into my lab reports and data analysis, I am grateful for what this class has taught me after working in a post-graduate research lab for a year and in the midst of writing a manuscript. For all the students taking BCHM464, go in for the desire to learn! This class will really expose you to research. You have one great professor to guide you as well, don't hesitate to reach out to him! Best wishes to you all, future scientists!

Christopher Capp
BCHM464

Anonymous
05/08/2024

This class took up the majority of my time this semester and was very rigorous. The content itself is useful for people who want to pursue a career in research or biochemistry but it is required for all biochemistry and some nutrition majors. You really learn how to write well which is what I appreciated. As for Dr. Capp, he is a very interesting man. I felt that he was quite inaccessible and wasn't at his office hours at the later half of his time that he posted on his syllabus, which was frustrating. He also does not respond to emails that well. Our TAs also did not have office hours. I think he might be too preoccupied with his 461 and 463 classes to really care about us (there was like 30-40 people at most) and he sometimes laughed about some of us who were on the verge of failing (honestly very discouraging). Perhaps I just don't like people who have such strong personalities like he does, but I wish he structured things differently and was more involved with his students. All I will say is that don't take this class for the funsies!

Christopher Capp
BCHM464

Expecting an A
Anonymous
05/24/2023

This course really weighed heavily on me the whole semester. There were always assignments to be done the second one assignment was completed. And any assignment there was required hours and hours of work, there was no such thing as putting in half effort and just getting a bad grade, because you could put hours into an assignment and you would still get a bad grade. My entire time in the class I felt highly discouraged because no matter how hard I tried, both in lab and on assignments, it was never good enough. The whole class just felt like I was working my butt off and only ever getting mediocre grades, and so it never once felt like my hard work was awarded. Anyways, that's my experience with the class. I enjoyed my TA tho, they were a chiller, and actually very encouraging.

Reviews for BCHM464