BSCI330 | PlanetTerp

Information	Review
Kenneth Frauwirth BSCI330 Expecting an A Anonymous 11/21/2024	This is one of the most knowledgeable professors I've had at UMD. He knows how to explain difficult concepts in many different ways, and draws analogies to everyday life, so that anyone that pays enough attention can understand. He does show up late to class. I don't understand why this would bother anyone, as it would only work in our favor as students. It means that we have less material to study, and shorter lecture recordings to review, since exams are essentially entirely based on what we cover in lecture. He is also very nice and willing to talk with anybody to explain anything. He has a sense of humor. He did move an exam forward two days, and then reschedule it to the original date. Again, I don't understand why this would bother anyone, because it only gave us more time to study. He also gave people that wanted to still take the exam that same day the opportunity to do so. So, if someone that wanted to take the exam that badly , and was that upset by the fact that we got more time to study, had a bit of patience and waited till he came to the class that day, then they still could've taken the exam.
Kenneth Frauwirth BSCI330 Expecting an A Anonymous 11/18/2024	You will hear that he was late consistently this semester, which is true, but it is largely due to him having a hard time with a lot of weird random stuff at home. You may have heard he is not a particularly exciting professor, which is also true. If you are seeking an exciting and deeply enriching lecture, he is not the professor for you. On the other hand, he provides a consistent and predictable (in terms of curriculum) course load that makes getting an A totally doable compared to other biology classes you will take, especially if you are a good student. Definitely recommend for any premed, this is not a hard class to succeed in if you have a little patience and a pretty normal amount of studiousness. There are small issues like boring lectures and inconsistent scheduling from the professor but for the most part you get what you put in with Dr. Frauwirth. Anyone with a crazy negative opinion is straight tweaking, dawg.
Kenneth Frauwirth BSCI330 Expecting an A Anonymous 11/18/2024	Literally the nicest professor I have ever had. The class itself is totally doable. The exams are fair, and he usually will emphasize the topics he wants to ask about on the exams so pay attention. He records all lectures so you can rewatch to study for exams. The lab is a super grade boost and there are is a ton of built in extra credit. Take his class!
Kenneth Frauwirth BSCI330 Expecting an A Anonymous 11/18/2024	He is the sweetest man ever. One short Canvas quiz per week, 3 midterm exams, 1 final. The lab is ridiculously easy so it will boost your grade if you struggle on exams. No surprises, concepts might seem tricky in class but are very study-able. Lectures are recorded too so you can go back and watch. Easy A!!!!
Kenneth Frauwirth BSCI330 Expecting an A Anonymous 11/13/2024	Consistently late to class. He once moved an exam two days before it was scheduled, then emailed everyone that he couldn't make it the day of the exam. Unbelievably difficult to pay attention to, this man needs to take INAG110
Kenneth Frauwirth BSCI330 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 11/05/2024	Dude is nice and is generally a good lecturer. Exams are EXTREMELY lecture-heavy and contains a lot of specific content that he TALKS about, but does not put in the slides. DO NOT take tues-thurs 75 minute lectures. This man does not stop talking the entire way through, and I guarantee you will fall asleep, zone out, or generally pray for the sweet release of the void. The mon-wed-fri lectures are less overwhelming.
Kenneth Frauwirth BSCI330 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 08/25/2024	All the material you need to know for his exams comes from the class lectures. If he doesn't cover something in class, it won't be on an exam. His lectures are well-organized and easy to understand for the most part, but there is a lot of content, and they are quite monotonous. I fell asleep during multiple lectures, but catching up with the content was easy with the recordings. Sometimes he makes jokes though, which help make the lectures more engaging. Like other reviews have said, there isn't a lot of homework and the lab isn't difficult. I found lab fun, but it didn't really connect with lecture content too much. Make sure to keep up with your lab notebook; it makes it so much easier near the end of the semester. He also gives some extra credit with the TopHat questions and lecture quizzes, so make sure to do those. The first exam had less content than the rest, but only slightly. The exams are fair, but sometimes he words questions weirdly and his explanations if you ask him for clarification aren't clear. There was this one exam question that the whole class was confused about and his "explanation" of the question was frankly terrible. I probably would have gotten more points if he didn't explain. Exams consist of a few multiple choice, some short answer, and 2 long essay questions. The final is cumulative but only has multiple choice, fill-in-the-blank, and short answer questions. The exams and lab assignments are graded by your TA, so hope you get a good one. You can get a regrade for exam questions, but I've heard that Frauwirth is pretty strict with regrading.
Sergei Sukharev BSCI330 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/23/2024	Would I take him again? NO. But is this class doable? Yes. Dr. Sukharev is a super sweet, nerdy, passionate guy! If you go to his office hours and ask him targetted questions (after doing your own HW) he will answer and explain the concepts. What makes him hard is HOW MUCH CONTENT HE PUTS. He definitely expects us to know significantly more than Frawurth (this is after discussing our content with Frawurth's students in BSCI330). As another person said, his exams feature all free response (drawing and question answer [explain how this works.. etc]). This is hard because he asks us to recall super small details that we would not notice in lecture. Our class was lucky enough to convince him to record, so he started recording mid semester. OH did I mention there are essentially no words on the slides. Meaning, you really need to either watch the videos or focus in lecture to understand what is going on. Alright, so you have to take Sukharev. What do you do? - Mark any slides or topics he says will be on the exam. He is very honest with this. Make sure you understand the math inside out. - He puts the location of the figures in the TB on the slides. If you do not understand a figure, look in the TB. If you still don't understand, ask chatGPT. And if you are still lost, go to his office. If you tell him what you know he will not be condescending towards you - Practice drawing figures rapidly and concisely, he usually tells you what he wants you to be able to draw - Understand the mechanisms well as he may ask the role of specific things in a mechanism or ask you to explain the mechanism and significance - Go through the slides on your own and use the study guide as flashcard questions. I know the class will probably work on the study guide together (bec it is hella long), but if you do it on your own you will retain the info much better and it will not just be rote memorization. Feel free to reference the class version if you are lost, but try to do it on your own as much as possible and then seek help. I know it seems like a lot of work, but it is worth it in the end. You'll come out knowing the material better than the rest AND you do not have to worry about failing ht final if you got super good grades on the midterms (yes, he does curve a good amount). You got this soldier. 💪
Sergei Sukharev BSCI330 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/17/2024	DO NOT TAKE. Take ANY other professor for this class. This professor does not care if you do not understand content, and he expects you to already have the background knowledge on the subject. On top of that, he does not teach general cell biology topics, but incredibly specific topics that do not need to be taught in order to understand biology. He also includes topics from other classes including BCHM461/463, PHYS132, and CHEM231 even though they are not required before taking the class. His slides will not help you learn the material, they are just diagrams copied and pasted from the textbook with no explanations or supplementary text to help the student understand what they are looking at. I spent hours upon hours reviewing material for this class for exams because he expects you to remember very specific details from his 40-page slides in order to write the exam. His exams are also COMPLETELY free response. The professor also turns away students from office hours, claiming to be busy, without an announcement in advance that he would not be available. In general, this class was time-consuming and I did not learn anything valuable.
Sergei Sukharev BSCI330 Expecting a B Anonymous 05/17/2024	Please take frauwirth, the material in this class is easily so much harder than the other sections. Along with the fact that his study guides are not transparent at all and the exams are 40-60 free response questions with no Multiple choice or matching. Final exam was 75 questions all free response with 15-20 questions of material he never taught, expected us to memorize the codon table without specifying.
Sergei Sukharev BSCI330 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 05/17/2024	Truly a horrible professor. Basically 0 organization to his lectures, 0 opportunity to practice any of the random concepts that he expects students to master, 0 concern for any of his students. It's crazy that a person can care so little about his job. Exams do not test material that was covered on the lectures because he doesn't even remember what he taught. Do not take a class with him if you can help it.
Sergei Sukharev BSCI330 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 05/16/2024	Good professors just use the study guide to do well in the class. He is passionate about what he teaches but tends to overcomplicate things.
Sergei Sukharev BSCI330 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 05/16/2024	He is not that bad of a professor, just the way the class is structured is hard because it is very exam-heavy and has very little supplemental work other than the quizzes. As long as you do well on the exams and lab you will be fine. He is a good at explaining certain things but tends to overcomplicate them, but you can tell he is passionate about his work and what he teaches. Overall would take it again, I took it with other heavier courses and it was not that much extra work. The study guides are word for word on the exam.
Sergei Sukharev BSCI330 Expecting an A- Anonymous 05/16/2024	I would not recommend this professor to anyone. He explains concepts very poorly, expects students to memorize far too much information, and does not provide adequate resources to prepare students for classes. Expect the lecture to start about 5 minutes late, and to run about 5 minutes over. He does not care about students' time. I know him to be a very nice individual, but being nice is not what makes a professor good. He really should not be teaching this course as this is at least his 3rd year teaching it and is still getting the same comments. He teaches it like he's teaching graduate students who have nothing else to do other than memorize everything he tells them ... or doesnt.
Kenneth Frauwirth BSCI330 Expecting an A- Anonymous 05/11/2024	Really great professor that makes lectures relatively easy to understand. I didn't find myself having to go back and review material super extensively after class. Not a lot of work, weekly textbook quizzes on canvas, lab assignments, and in class Tophat questions that are only graded for participation. Exams are relatively fair (some multiple choice questions can be pretty specific to certain lectures). Only downside is the grade is very dependent on the TA. My TA graded harsher than the others so many in my section struggled through the course. Frauwirth tried to be understanding but would only give a few points back on exams (if that) during office hours. Overall he's a good professor but I think the TAs need to be more consistent with their grading practices across the class.
Kenneth Frauwirth BSCI330 Expecting a B Anonymous 05/02/2024	Very monotone voice that can be difficult to engage with at times. A lot of the class is review from other biology classes but ends up going more in depth. Lecture slides are packed with information so I recommend going back to watch the recording to make sure that you catch everything as questions on exams can be based on very specific things he mentions on lecture. The exams themselves aren't super difficult but it really depends on the TA you have (mine was a very tough grader with almost no partial credit). However, if you go to office hours he is likely to give a few points back.
Kenneth Frauwirth BSCI330 Expecting an A Anonymous 04/24/2024	Attendance CAN be mandatory due to top hats, but some have gotten away with just doing it away from class. LECTURE-HEAVY. Get ready for content. He can be a little unorganized and blab away so try to keep an eye on what specifically he wants you to know for the exam. Hint** there's a ton of useful quizlets. Lab is tedious, it's a big waste of time BUT can be a tad fun as well as a great grade boost.
Sergei Sukharev BSCI330 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 03/27/2024	Easily the worst professor I have ever had in my life. This guy is actually the devil. Exams were insanely hard and tested us on extremely specific and niche information that is barely talked about in lecture, not to mention that the whole entire test is free response. Our last test was 7 pages of free response questions that we were expected to finish in 50 minutes. The test averages are always in the 60's, and although sukharev is a nice guy, he is the worst at explaining concepts and often leaves students feeling more confused after his explanations. He does not assign readings or give any supplemental materials, and there are no TA's to give you guidance either. Would not wish this guy upon my worst enemy
Kenneth Frauwirth BSCI330 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 12/24/2023	Biggest tip I can offer is: Do NOT slack on that final just because you've done well on all your other exams. The final is a real kicker! Exam content is very fair and the professor is very smart. Lectures can be very content-heavy and it'll definitely test your attention span, but you'll learn a lot!
Kenneth Frauwirth BSCI330 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 12/23/2023	So so nice and thoughtful. Has a lot of points which help boost your grade and is always willing to answer questions! Favorite professor so far for sure
Kenneth Frauwirth BSCI330 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/21/2023	I cannot recommend Dr. Frauwirth enough for this class. First of all, he is a very nice professor and it truly shows that he wants you to succeed in this class. The class was very organized, you will have an textbook quiz once a week due before the first lecture of the week, you will have questions during the lecture that are graded just for participation, 3 midterms, a final, and separate assignment for the lab. This class can be boring sometimes and it could feel a bit slow but Dr. Frauwirth throughly takes the time to explain all the concepts and everything going on and if you pay attention you will understand everything he is saying. There are a lot of free points that helps your grade. The exams are very fair, the multiple choice section can sometimes ask some very specific questions but the short answer and the essay portion of the exam is usually filled with broad questions where there are a lot of ways to answer and get all of the points. The lab portion of this class is very easy and for the most part you will get out of lab early and get almost perfect scores on all the assignments (depending on your TA). Overall, taking BSCI330 with Dr. Frauwirth was amazing and I learned everything while also not having to stress about my grade too much.
Kenneth Frauwirth BSCI330 Expecting a B Anonymous 12/19/2023	Great professor! No crazy homework, TopHat questions in class. HOWEVER, THE TA MAKES YOUR EXAM GRADE. There was a significant issue my semester with one TA (mine) grading extremely tough for her sections compared to the other sections. Frauwirth did nothing to change this. This made the exams way harder than needed to be. Otherwise a decent class
Kenneth Frauwirth BSCI330 Expecting a B Anonymous 12/17/2023	He is overall very knowledgeable but can be extremely harsh. It was very humiliating to have questions about my exam and be made to feel unintelligent around so many other students. Nonetheless, he was always willing to help and provided many opportunities to do better.
Kenneth Frauwirth BSCI330 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 12/09/2023	Anyone who doesn't love Frauwirth is an automatic red flag in my book, this man is the salt of the earth and truly a GEM. I wasn't supposed to have him originally, I had signed up for Parent due to all his sections being closed/not working for my schedule, but he ended up taking over for her due to some unforeseen events. His exams are super fair, there's about one lecture quiz per week (pretty easy, open note), participation questions during lectures, and a couple in lecture discussion posts. The lab is also pretty straightforward, as long as you keep on top of your work and don't leave the lab notebook til the last minute (I did and let me tell you, DO IT THROUGHOUT THE SEMESTER) it's fine. There are two big presentations (both group work), one individual lab report, and one group lab report along with some post-lab quizzes, but all are fine if you have a good group to work with. All in all this class is an easy A as long as you put the time and effort into studying + keeping up with your work, Frauwirth is an EXCELLENT choice of a professor and one of the few I've had that I can wholeheartedly say is passionate, caring and patient towards his students.
Kenneth Frauwirth BSCI330 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 11/17/2023	Literally the cutest professor ever. We saw him with his kids and it was so wholesome, we all love Frauwirth. His exams are really fair, he really knows his stuff, and he records lectures.
Kenneth Frauwirth BSCI330 Expecting an A- Anonymous 11/02/2023	Good, funny, and knows his stuff
Kenneth Frauwirth BSCI330 Expecting an A Anonymous 08/23/2023	Dr. Frauwirth was an outstanding professor and I'm planning on taking his immunology class as well in the future. Don't get me wrong, this class is difficult and a lot of work, but he provides plenty of resources to set you up for success. The class structure was super organized, with pre-lecture quizzes each week, lectures with TopHat clicker questions, 3 midterms, a final, and the separate laboratory section. The lectures were engaging and Dr. Frauwirth has a great sense of humor. He also records the lectures which is super helpful for studying if you need to brush up on a topic. There are also a couple of extra credit points built into the course, which is nice. He provides sample questions for the exams and reuses questions from past exams which are also available. I found the exams to be kind of difficult, but I scored well on them. They included multiple choice and short answer questions, with 2 long answer essay questions except the final. This is definitely a material-dense course, but the content is actually super interesting and engaging, and it's cool to see how it aligns with other biology and chemistry courses. There is also a textbook, but personally I didn't really use it because his exams only cover content from the lectures. The laboratory section wasn't too bad, definitely try to get good lab partners. Overall I'd definitely recommend taking his class!
Carmen Cantemir-Stone BSCI330 Expecting an A Anonymous 07/06/2023	she is so sweet, good at explaining things, and fair exams. lab can be a little annoying but only towards the end. it is a useful and interesting class and i would take her if i could again
Carmen Cantemir-Stone BSCI330 Expecting an A Anonymous 06/30/2023	She made Cell Bio my favorite class at UMD. I learned so much and I liked the flexibility granted from her posting lecture videos. It helped tremendously prior to exams. She is so sweet and cares about every student.. and if you need help just ask. The exams are more or less straightforward and I am usually not good at exams (my exams were 84, 86, 96, 97). Take her.. she is a blessing
Carmen Cantemir-Stone BSCI330 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 05/26/2023	Dr.Cantemir was a very good professor in my opinion. I thought her slides were great, and I was able to learn a lot by just looking at the slides multiple times. One thing I really liked was how I didn't need to refer to the book to understand things because her slides were very clear and she wasn't pulling exam questions from the book. Her exam questions are only what are covered in her slides, and she really does not throw curveballs or unexpected questions on the exams. She also had multiple extra credit opportunities that were a grade booster and she is very accommodating. Highly recommend you take her for this class.
Kenneth Frauwirth BSCI330 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/17/2023	What I appreciate about Dr. Frauwirth is that he didn't make this class harder than it needed to be. His exams were fair, as everything he tested on was outlined in the slides. In addition, there are a bunch of free points to boost up your grades, such as the lecture quizzes which are open note, participation tophat questions, cell biology in everyday life discussions, and the lab, which is essentially busy work, though Frauwirth doesn't run the lab. The only thing I wish Frauwirth did was provide a study guide for his exams, but if you study in advance, you should be fine.
Kenneth Frauwirth BSCI330 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/09/2023	My favorite professor ever! So understanding and really knowledgable about the course. He tries to make the class as interesting as possible even though it sometimes might get a little boring. The exams are fair and he reuses a lot of questions.
Carmen Cantemir-Stone BSCI330 Expecting an A Anonymous 04/20/2023	Don't listen to the people complaining, she is a good lab professor and great lecturer.
Carmen Cantemir-Stone BSCI330 Expecting an A Anonymous 04/17/2023	She seems chill but the final lab project is actually rediculous. They give no explanation as to what to do, honestly so annoying
Beth Parent BSCI330 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 04/11/2023	her tests are fair. just study her notes and you will get an A.
Sergei Sukharev BSCI330 Anonymous 04/06/2023	Awful professor. Says "I will only give extra credit to students that deserve it" after everyone completed it. And the extra credit was by no means easy. You have to use an outdated program to analyze molecular structures, and he gives you no support or help. Also at the end of the semester, the grade distribution was absolutely bonkers. Some people got a lower percentage in the class, but they somehow received a better grade. Mentions nothing about the curve, completely disorganized, and cannot teach to save his life. DO NOT TAKE!!!!
Kenneth Frauwirth BSCI330 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 01/31/2023	During the semester I took this course, I had a lot going on and ended up having to make up 3 of the 4 exams. Dr. Frauwirth was always incredibly understanding. He also records lectures, so if you miss any or were just confused, you could still keep up with the class. I found his lecture style incredibly helpful and could not recommend him more!
Sergei Sukharev BSCI330 Expecting an A Anonymous 01/08/2023	I took this class very late in my college career, so I had already taken mammalian physiology, genetics, molecular genetics, biochem, and many other very hard classes. You could imagine my surprise when this class, which only prereq was one intro chem and bio course, ended up pulling from all of those classes and more and was one of the hardest classes I've taken. Luckily I was able to get an A due to the knowledge I gained from previous classes, but I couldn't imagine what it must've been like for the younger students who had no prior knowledge of any of these concepts before. I understand it was his first year teaching this class and he is used to teaching like 700-level courses, but the students shouldn't have to suffer for that. I think he was nice, but i hope if he teaches next semester, he tries to clean up and simplify the course because it was way too advanced for what the course should have been. I do think that ppl didn't take advantage of his office hours enough tho, if you went after you got an exam back he was very generous with giving points back if you explained and fought for your case, it definitely gave me to boost to get the grade I got.
Sergei Sukharev BSCI330 Expecting an A Anonymous 01/03/2023	His teaching style was not really the best for my learning. Although I did well in the class, I had to spend an insane amount of time preparing for exams. Although I hated every second of this class, I did learn a lot. He is a nice, quiet guy.
Sergei Sukharev BSCI330 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/27/2022	He is such a sweet guy!!! But, he's not the best professor. He packs so much information in just one lecture and each exam we have covers about 9-13 lectures each. He was not consistent in recording lectures which was frustrating because I would miss so much during each lecture and could not go back and see what I missed. The only reason I did well was that I went to every lecture, every review session, and every office hours he held before an exam. You have to be willing to put in the work by looking through his lectures and taking extensive notes.
Kenneth Frauwirth BSCI330 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 12/26/2022	Dr. Frauwirth is such a great guy, where do I start. When you hear him in lecture it is clear that he is experienced and passionate about the subject. He is always willing to answer any question and explain it to you in many different ways. If you ever have extenuating circumstances he won't be one to immediately shut you down like other professors. You should choose him has your teacher.
Kenneth Frauwirth BSCI330 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/24/2022	Difficult class..basically all of it is memorization. Frauwirth is a good lecturerer and he records so you can always go back if you missed something. There were 3 midterms which were pretty fair since they contained info from his lecture slides. Lab portion was pretty easy if you had good groupmates. He reuses exam questions from previous semesters so try to find people that have taken him before. I had a B average on the midterms and final and ended with an A
Sergei Sukharev BSCI330 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/23/2022	very hard, extremely time consuming, nonetheless, I learned a insane amount of useful information regarding cell biology, if ur schedule is already stacked this professor is definitely not ideal but if it's easy you'll be fine just be ready to study a ton and make time to go to his office hours and any exam review sessions he host's outside of class time.
Sergei Sukharev BSCI330 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/21/2022	Dr Sukharev is a nice guy, can be a bit rude at times, but is nice nonetheless. His lectures were hard to follow at first due to his stuttering, however you get used to it kind of like white noise. Dr Sukharev steadily became a better lecturer throughout the semester, slowly but surely. His exams were not extremely difficult but that averages were always in the 65-70 range. All in all, he’s a nice guy but needs to work on lecturing skills, I must say I did learn a lot from this course by putting in countless hours of study time.
Sergei Sukharev BSCI330 Expecting a B Anonymous 12/18/2022	terrible class
Sergei Sukharev BSCI330 Expecting a B Anonymous 12/18/2022	This class was awful. The exams were super difficult and he was unclear about the content that would be on them. I feel like I worked so hard for nothing because my grade doesn’t reflect the effort I put into this class. His lectures are terrible and difficult to understand. Overall, would not recommend this professor AT all.
Sergei Sukharev BSCI330 Expecting a D+ Anonymous 12/18/2022	I will start by saying he is a very nice person, however nice doesn't exactly equal good. For his first time teaching in undergrad, I feel as this class had been nothing but a social experiment. His study guides for each exam before the final did not prep anyone for the exam, whatsoever. He literally released them 1-2 days before the final, and sometimes he forgets to add tings, so when we think we have it all, there is still more, and it made it worse when the extras he added did not show up in the exam. His quizzes that are also supposed to help us with exam prep were released the day before the exam as well, so no help there. I say that they were useless homework materials that were not graded. He literally said in class, "Don't worry guys, next semester I will get it right." So I wasted a good chunk of time and money trying to do well in a class, he's teaching for the first time, and said he would put in effort next semester. The biology department has been no help either, even after a class full of emails, I was the only one to get a reply and they said they were looking into this. Nothing changed. We are supposed to receive extra credit, yet someone in the class group chat announced, he will only get extra credit if he feels like we earned it. While we were promised for Exam 2, all that showed up would receive extra credit. There was also an extra credit assignment, that when we asked for help because it is a program he uses, he told us to call the IT department over Thanksgiving break. Only a few students got it to work, and when they did, most didn't know how to use the program to find the answers. This course had been a displeasure to take and I wish I dropped in when I had the chance to.
Sergei Sukharev BSCI330 Expecting a B- Anonymous 12/17/2022	-The course consist of material that are not prerequisite to this class. For example, genetics (from BSCI222) and biochemistry (from BCHEM461/462). -Rarely record any of his lectures. (only recorded about 20% for this semester) -Always show up 10 minutes late. (No, I am not joking. Lectures do not start after 10 minutes into the class EVERYDAY). -Lecture slides: 80% consists of diagrams that you have memorize and know how to DRAW them. Very brief explanation on each topic. -Lab is the only thing that is keeping up your grades and it is with another instructor/TA. Easy lab grade as long as you complete your assignment. -Quizzes: Literally posts them the night before the midterm and it won't be open until late afternoon. -Midterms: No multiple choice. All short answers and some of them you have to memorize and draw the diagrams. You have to label them as well. Early this semester, on the day of midterm, he allowed students who arrived early to get a head start of the exam (about 15 minutes head start). Which is very unfair to the people who have classes before this one. -Extra credit assignment: Little to no instructions. People complained about technical difficulties with the app that we were suppose to run. When we emailed him about the issue, he would asks you to refer to an IT. -Midterm study guide: (sigh) Not very helpful...only about 10% of the stuff will be on the midterm. On the third midterm, he even send out annoucements about the things that we were suppose to remember yet none of the related question showed up. -Final exam study guide: For this semester...two parts. About ten pages combined. After completing the questions you will get about 41 pages of information. (Not joking)
Sergei Sukharev BSCI330 Expecting a B IfCourseEvalsWereHones 12/16/2022	If you get to know Sukharev, you'll find that he's pretty decent and nice with a bit of humor. He does, however, seem to carry around a condescending & lackadaisical attitude. But, he is NOT a good professor. He is terrible at explaining concepts, and he teaches new material by using even more convoluted and complex terms & principles. He almost expects us to already have a background in cell biology, biochemistry & mammalian physiology, even though these courses are not prerequisites for the class. There is also some math & physics that you'll have to know. Expect to learn a lot of material on your own or through the textbook. His study guides are always loaded and are either a hit or miss. There are 4 exams (3 during the semester & one cumulative final), and what was on the test is COMPLETELY different than what he puts on the study guide. He even admits that his study guide was too loaded at one point, and then for the next exam, he proceeds to double the information. In addition, there are no practice exams, he doesn't release an answer key, and doesn't go over the correct answers. He also spends a day reviewing for an exam and specifically tells us to memorize certain topics, then proceeds to not even put them on the exam. Also, the exam is ALL free-response. No multiple choice, true/false, etc. The course is loaded with insane amounts of material & detail (just under 40 lectures with each lecture being at least 30+ slides - also I forgot to mention 95% of slides are diagrams & pictures with barely any words, so you'll have to record on your own because he'll only record maybe every other few lectures for whatever reason), and oftentimes, he doesn't even finish the lecture. Transitions between slides are nonexistent, and it feels like you're jumping every all at once. You're also better off betting the over on class time as he starts class late and ends the class late because spends the last few minutes + more quickly going over 10 slides that he didn't get to. I hope you find a way to stray far far away from him. Sukharev is a good person, but he is an awful instructor and is extremely disorganized, unprepared, and seems to not give an F about his students. He claims to give out an extra credit assignment that he calls easy, and then we find out that it's a whole coding program that researchers & graduates use in which we have to learn by ourselves to create molecules and answer difficult questions on it (the program is called VMD). His stutter and accent don't help the situation any better. He promises he'll go easy on the exam, and it turns out to be twice as hard as the previous. There are no TAs for the class, no discussion, no guidance, no nothing. I had a very difficult time getting used to his lecture style. He has no grade determination/cutoff at all, so you won't know where you stand until past finals, in which by then is already too late to inquire about grades. Granted this is his first time teaching BSCI330, but that's not an excuse to be a complete troll. 1/10 would not recommend.
Sergei Sukharev BSCI330 Expecting a B Anonymous 12/12/2022	too much content for exams. not good at explaining concepts
Sergei Sukharev BSCI330 Anonymous 12/06/2022	Bruh he’s nice but too rogue. The averages for the exams are in the 60s……. Meanwhile the other teachers have averages in the 80s
Sergei Sukharev BSCI330 Anonymous 11/12/2022	He is a sweet guy... unfortunately he is not the best teacher. Its his first time teaching cell bio at UMD, so there was nothing that could really help students prepare for his exams. He releases a study guide which not very helpful because it just lists LITERALLY EVERY TOPIC that was in the lecture slides. His slides are also not enough to review material because it's mostly just pictures, so make sure to record if you like retaking notes. Exams are all written response, and you have to know EVERYTHING to do well on them. It's an insane amount of detail and lecture material. I have a C in the class rn, and there is an extra credit assignment but lets hope he curves...
Carmen Cantemir-Stone BSCI330 Anonymous 11/09/2022	No regard for human life (just wait until week 8 of lab)
Carmen Cantemir-Stone BSCI330 Expecting an A Anonymous 11/01/2022	she is literally one of the kindest and most understanding professors at UMD. Loved having her for BSCI 330 over the summer. Hard class but she made it enjoyable!
Kenneth Frauwirth BSCI330 Expecting a B Anonymous 10/31/2022	I like Dr. Frauwirth! Clearly finds his own course interesting and explains everything in depth (sometimes, a bit too on depth), which is refreshing. He makes a lot of awkward jokes that I personally find hilarious. That said, the class is super boring and rehashes a lot of stuff learned in previous bio classes. He reuses exam questions and is pretty good about giving TopHat questions, even if you miss them during class you can email him to make them up. Some of the exam questions are super easy but some are fairly esoteric and you will get points off because you didn't state EXACTLY what the question asked for. Overall would not take again, but it's not the worst class in the world (like many required classes for the bio major).
Kenneth Frauwirth BSCI330 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 07/17/2022	Make sure to show up for tophats since they are easy points. Otherwise, memorize the slides and pay attention if he says "on the exam" or "expect to see" because he will put a question on the exam on that topic. He likes asking very precise and detail-oriented questions, especially for his written/short response, so make sure to start reviewing early and memorize, memorize, memorize. Otherwise, a lot of the course only covers the surface level information on a wide breadth of topics so expect to see a fair amount of review. Unfortunately, this meant sometimes lectures were boring but at least that unit's exam is easy. Study smart and review early!
Carmen Cantemir-Stone BSCI330 Expecting an A Anonymous 07/06/2022	BLESS HER SOUL!!! Honestly, this is one of the best professors I have EVER encountered. She genuinely cares about her students and wants them to do well. She gives fantastic feedback and is always willing to help. She is super understanding and treats students like actual human beings, which is rare in college. Taking a class with this professor is the best thing you can do for yourself. I wish she taught every subject because more people would actually learn stuff and graduate. Overall, amazing professor and human being!! This is not to say that this class is an easy A. You will need to put a lot of effort and energy into this class and actually try your best. Having her as a professor makes your life go more smoothly.
Beth Parent BSCI330 Expecting an F Anonymous 05/31/2022	Lacks human empathy for students with serious medical problems.
Kenneth Frauwirth BSCI330 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 05/18/2022	boring class. focus on big pictures and form study groups! difficult class but not impossible, you got this!
Beth Parent BSCI330 Expecting an A Anonymous 04/14/2022	Beth Parent is probably the word professor ive had in my life. She mumbles first off. She word vomits. She goes on tangents. I would never ever take this class with her unless you want to see what med school is like. I absolutely hate this class and she is probably the worst teacher in the world. Not evens saying this because i think the class is hard, as a bio major this class is basically everything you need to know, its just her teaching stile thats absolutely horrible.
Beth Parent BSCI330 Expecting an A Anonymous 01/06/2022	Makes a hard class enjoyable. Sets clear grading and learning expectations, tests you on them and if you did the thing you will do well. Super friendly during office hours and seems to really enjoying teaching/discussing during her lectures. Would highly recommend her to anyone.
Kenneth Frauwirth BSCI330 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 12/31/2021	Not an easy A. I had to pull lots of all-nighters to remember every sentence he ever said because everything was fair game for exams (started studying everyday 1-2 weeks before exams). He is a nice guy & it is nice that there is some extra easy points built in so you can get an A with getting a mid B average on the exams. But, I suffered.
Kenneth Frauwirth BSCI330 Expecting a C- Anonymous 12/21/2021	do not take. he isn't as nice as he was in his previous semester. no curve. no drop exam. less than 10 extra credits. Extra points only because he screwed up and didn't teach all the required materials for the final exam and speeded through 2 to 3 days worth of lecture materials last minute on the last day of class. Those 2 to 3 days' worth of lecture materials were 50 percent of the final exam. Also, his exam is not really straight from the lecture. His slides are limited with a lot of pathway systems that going to confuse you and aren't really on your exam. For your exam, if your answer is right, but it is not on his exam's answer key or lecture, it is wrong. Zero points, even though you are right. Thus, do not take knowledge from other biology classes into this class due to how he does the grading. He doesn't give you the answer key to his exam either, so you are stuck not knowing the right answer until the very end if you are a shy or a very business person that can't go to office hours. Overall, he is not a great professor when the weather, students' issue, covid, or college have other plans for his classes or exam. He does not change his plan or sympathizes with you. He is only a great professor when he screwed his own plan.
Kenneth Frauwirth BSCI330 Expecting an A- Anonymous 12/20/2021	whoever said frauwirth’s class is an easy A is a huge capper. his exams are highly specific and graded pretty strictly. he refused to make the final online because he was worried about cheating and “simply the desire to avoid the possibility of exposure is not reason enough at this time” and proceeded to give us the same exact final he gave to his online spring 2021 class. don’t forget that some people had access to that and studied off of that! kenneth is mids at best. take someone else
Kenneth Frauwirth BSCI330 Expecting an A Anonymous 11/16/2021	Frauwirth class is an easy A. His lectures are just reading off the slides, so studying the lecture material is a great way to prep for exams. He gives a small amount of exam prep via 10-12 sample questions. This semester he did video recordings so I barely went to class and he posted them regularly. He tries to make lectures fun to listen to with his jokes and enthusiasm, but tbh I could not retain much information because of how early the class was. I think he's a great teacher and the exams are fair (in my opinion easy if you take the time to study).
Carmen Cantemir-Stone BSCI330 Anonymous 05/06/2021	Great Professor
Beth Parent BSCI330 Anonymous 05/04/2021	She really cares about her students and the subject. I had her during an online setting and felt that her lectures were very clear and informative. If you studied the lectures then you would do fine on her exams. She was very helpful and responsive through email as well. Lab for this class was very easy but that might be because I had an amazing TA
Ibrahim Ades BSCI330 Anonymous 12/15/2020	The sweetest old man who cares about you very much. Took this class online because of the virus and exams were fair. Remember the specific details and you will be good
Kenneth Frauwirth BSCI330 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/09/2020	This class is pretty boring, but as long as you watch the lectures and study the lecture material you'll do fine. He said we would need the textbook for quizzes but they are always based heavily on his lectures. He can be inconsistent with posting lectures so make sure to stay on top of them; sometimes he'll randomly post 3 videos at once and not again for 2 weeks. The tests were not hard and there are old exams of his available that he recycles questions from.
Ibrahim Ades BSCI330 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 11/18/2020	Ades is one of my favorite professors at the University! He is so passionate about the topics and this makes lecture interesting! I took him for 330 and 433 and ended with a 98% and 100% respectfully. This is because he provides extra credit on the exams so you can lose points and still get 100% in the course. You have to study hard in this course but if you do you'll do well. Attend every lecture and RECORD every lecture. Review your notes several times and UNDERSTAND the details. This is what we will test on! The midterms were super straight forward but the final is much more difficult but if you prepare well, you can still get a great grade. If I could take Ades for a 3rd course I would.
Carmen Cantemir-Stone BSCI330 Expecting an A- Anonymous 12/23/2019	Great Professor, did a really good job in the BSCI330 Lab. The projects and the lab reports had excellent guidelines to complete the assignments. Overall great course!
Ibrahim Ades BSCI330 Expecting a W Cpowers 12/18/2016	I do not recommend this professor. He seems like a very kind man who would be willing to go to great lengths for his students, but his lectures and exams were irreparable terrible. I unfortunately had his class for 1 hr 15 mins, and almost every time I nodded off, even though class would start at a reasonable hour. This may have been the sound system, but I could not make out what he was saying due to the slurring/lack of pronunciation. This made taking notes extremely difficult since he does not provide ANY substantial information on his slides. I absolutely hated going to class, made me more frustrated than anything else. His exams, no matter how hard I prepared, always took me off guard. He doesn't test on actual material that you can study for, but rather he tests you on specific things he's said in lecture that are not included anywhere in his slides. One of his exam questions this semester was literally asking the species of animal examined in a specific case study mentioned once during a random lecture. If you happen to miss that one lecture, you missed 10% on the exam. Lab is extremely easy, got 100% on every lab report. Only counts for 20% of the grade, so didn't make a difference. Ended up dropping because I couldn't take it any more and didn't want this to influence my GPA because of a bad professor. Want to take BSCI330? Don't take Ades.
Ibrahim Ades BSCI330 Expecting a C Anonymous 11/22/2016	All of the below reviews are spot on: Professor Ades is incredibly intelligent and difficult. I am new to the university and transferred here from community college. To say the least, this class has challenged me to my core. While I have A's in the rest of my science classes, I am maintaining a mid-C in BCSI330 currently... and the final isn't even here yet (pray for me?) His teaching style is definitely new to me. There is no book, only one that he recommends if you feel you need it. The slides are all pictures and only contain words if it's a chart describing a cellular process. I cannot stress enough how important it is to record all of the lectures. Without this, you're more than likely to miss many of the small details that he is bound to exam you on. His exams are the hardest that I have ever experienced. I got a D on the first exam because I simply had no idea what to expect of a university exam and this was my first. The second exam I did about ten points better and received a mid C. I am currently waiting on the third exam grade to come back. Essentially, the lab portion of this class is saving me (I have received all A's in it). You may be wondering now why I'm giving the Professor five stars... Well, it's because he is a phenomenal one. Sure, he is incredibly difficult, but it challenges you and makes you grow. Without a doubt, I've grown into a better student because of this class. The man is a genius and I take everything he says as a piece of gold. And not the colloidal gold he always talks about (take him and you'll get this joke).
Ibrahim Ades BSCI330 Expecting an A Anonymous 06/01/2016	You won’t get an A unless you work your ass off. His exams are difficult, and if you slack on studying it will completely reflect in your grade. Write down everything he says in class, and record lectures, because he goes pretty fast. But the man knows his shit. Good prof to take if you’re premed. I’d take him again if I had the chance- he’s a hit or miss with some people, but if you know how to work hard, you’ll do very well. I actually looked forward to this class at 9 AM. Lab isn’t hard, it’s up to your TA’s niceness to determine your grade, but I haven’t heard of anyone having issues with it. He curved final grades by about 4% this semester because the average on the final was a D. But DO NOT rely on the curve, because rarely does that happen in a biology course. Questions? Go to office hours, he’s super nice. Good luck :D EDIT: I also took him again for BSCI433. Any class Ades teaches, you have to work for that A - that was to be expected. I learned a ton from this class and enjoyed it. However, in classic Ades fashion, he wrecked everyone on the final, but for final grades, he was really lenient. I had an A+ before the final that dropped to an A-, but he still gave me an A. I had a friend who even dropped from an A to a B+ but he still gave him an A. Honestly, study really hard for the first two exams and you’ll have a bit of a buffer for the final. Three exams determine your grade. If you did well in BSCI330 with him, I’d definitely recommend this class. If you're interested in cancer, I would also recommend it – you learn a lot of cool stuff! Its format is the same as BSCI330. To do well, write down pretty much everything he says in lecture and memorize it. Old exams probably won't do much for you other than get an idea of the format, because Ades creates his exams from scratch. Great prof, love that dude. It’s not too bad! Good luck :D
Kenneth Frauwirth BSCI330 Expecting an A- Anonymous 05/27/2015	Dr. Frauwirth and Dr. Jose teach this class together in the Fall. HIGHLY RECOMMEND THEM. Dr. Ades' class has way harder grading/tests/time. Do yourself a favor and take them! they don't change the format of the exams which is nice. the exams are off the slides and if you study, you will do fine. go to office hours just to meet some of the coolest people you will ever meet! Dr. F is a swing dancer and is aka bio-ken and Dr. Jose has done ground breaking research
Ibrahim Ades BSCI330 Expecting an A Anonymous 01/27/2015	Ades heavily emphasizes the experimental basis behind what he teaches--it's really interesting and useful. He doesn't read off a powerpoint (the power-points are largely graphics and pictures). Some students struggle with this but I think it makes lecture more interesting and makes it easier to focus on what he is saying. He also shows interesting videos fairly regularly. If you need to miss a class or two it's okay because chances are you can find at least 10 people who have a recording you can listen to. In my opinion the midterms were very straightforward. He gives you study guide questions and 2 practice exams. If you do this with a buddy (or as a friend for their old guides) there is no reason you can't get 100 on the exams (especially since 10 points are pretty much added to every exam...for our second exam 15 points were added). Let me repeat this: if you do the study guide completely and verify your answers are correct you will be completely fine on the midterms. The final is very detailed and a little vague but flash-cards really help for memorizing small things. The terms and specific wording he uses are important. Overall, if you're reading this review because you can't decide if you want to take Ades or not I would suggest do it. He is the nicest guy ever (I asked a question at the final exam viewing and he spent a while showing me the explanation for the correct answer and looking up pictures for me). He makes himself very available as well. Just remember to focus on details and complete the study guides and you'll get an A.
Ibrahim Ades BSCI330 Anonymous 12/22/2014	Ades was an amazing professor. He was very knowledge of the subject and BSCI330 was one of the very few bio classes I looked forward to attending MWF at 9AM. Beginning of each lecture, he reviews the material he went through last lecture and then gives a quick of summary of what he is teaching us today. Class is total of 700 points (500 points come from lecture, 200 points come from lab). Doing well in lab totally depends on your TA and how hard he grades. If you have a hard TA, your lab grade will suffer. IF you have an easy TA, you will do tremendously better in lab. Lecture- there are 3 exams each worth 100 points and the final is 200 points. There is NO curve in the class (because for each of the 3 exams, there is a total of 110 points but he makes it out of 100 points only, so there are 10 point curves for each of the 3 exams). The final exam is very extremely difficult. Almost everyone going into the final pulled an all nighter. The final exam asks very, very specific details, so start studying early! But overall, Ades was a pleasure to have as a Cell Bio professor.
Richard Payne BSCI330 Expecting a B+ billnye2323 10/29/2014	Best professor ever for BSCI330! Takes exam questions straight from powerpoints. All you have to do is go to class and he hints which slides will be on the exam. Also he is so understanding when it comes to late assignments. Great man. And for the person who said he is awkward in office hours, that is not true. I spoke with Payne multiple times and he is very very polite to women and quite the gentleman when it comes to manners and doing his students a favor. I love Payne and cannot wait to take his BSCI353 class. He was a wonderful teacher and he truly understands that undergrad students do not want more work than they need in order to understand the concepts. He is awesome.
Richard Payne BSCI330 chris123 08/24/2014	I completely disagree with the review below me. His exams WERE DEFINITELY fair. He tested us ONLY on the material on his powerpoints, which is a big plus for me. I am a busy person, and I am sure many people are too, so I do not have time to read 40 pages a day for this class (I am sure every other BSCI330 proffesor makes you read). Reading from the textbook is difficult because it is so dense and there is no way a professor will test you on all of that material. Dr. Payne tells you on the first day of school that he includes only the most important material on his powerpoints, and his exams derive only from his powerpoints. All you have to do to get an A in Dr. Payne's class is to attend his lectures, pay attention, take notes, and NOT procrastinate. His powerpoints are about 40 slides each and there are about 10 powerpoints on each exam, so it is very difficult to memorize 400 slides the day before the exam. Trust me... I know... The only reason why I believe I got an A- and not an A was because I started studying for his tests literally 2 days before his exams. I actually started studying for the final a day before the exam... a horrible, horrible mistake. Anyways, if I managed to get an A- while severely procrastinating, it is definitely possible to get an A in his class if you have some sense of time management.
Richard Payne BSCI330 Anonymous 05/22/2014	God awful teacher. He is probably the single worst teacher I've had in all of my experience at UMD. His questions are beyond unpredictable, often testing on a single example he spends 2 minutes on as an essay question without even mentioning a concept he spents 40 slides on in class on his tests. Every detail he tests you on is as asinine as possible. If you are bioengineering, this is the worst possible class and is the polar opposite of any other class you take. He understands his stuff, but is a terribly dry lecturer whose lecture follows no cohesive format whatsoever. He only reads off slides making attending lecture borderline useless. Take it with Cao if you can.
Ibrahim Ades BSCI330 Expecting an A sheena 01/07/2014	Okay, so based on these reviews I came into this class thinking Ades was some demi-god or something. He wasn't superhuman or anything, just really chill. Out of the other professors at UMD, I think I liked Ades the best so far. I was aiming for an A+ in the class but the final was still a little too low, so it dragged me down just enough so I got an A. That being said, the class was NOT super easy. I think that it was moderately difficult. I invested many, many hours into studying for this class, as I do for all of my bio classes, but I wasn't freaking out about bombing like I did for some other bio courses. Exams were not focused on details as much as I've seen in some bio courses that I've taken at the 300 level. I didn't listen to lectures in 330 because I never got a recorder, but it wasn't absolutely necessary -- I just wrote down EVERYTHING that Ades said. Ades likes to post slides that are mostly pictures, with very little text. This was frustrating for me, because he can be very repetitive, yet contradict himself in lecture, so you can't always just "check the slide" to see the right answer. Office hours are held twice a week, usually right after class or a few hours after. These are group sessions where he meets with students in a conference room across from his office. I went several times to ask for clarification about his confusing/barely-touched-upon statements. Ades does NOT try to trick you. That actually made me mess up a little on the first exam, because I wasn't sure what to expect really. All short-answer for the 3 midterms, and all-MC final, ether 80 or 100 questions....I can't recall. Ades is a very gentle, polite, and nice man. He listens to you when you talk to him and lets you speak first, and is extremely respectful. He is very reasonable and I really enjoyed taking a class with him because he was so much more approachable than any of my other bio professors. He is not intimidating whatsoever. P.S. the lab is annoying and late labs (6-9 pm) is awful, but everyone has to take the lab section, so whatever. You'll survive. Averages on the practical were around a 40/50 or so, and yes everyone feels like they failed it.
Ibrahim Ades BSCI330 Expecting a C Anonymous 08/23/2013	Ades was a pretty good lecturer. His lectures were straightforward, but definitely pay attention to the details. I found that his exams focused on details, often from one individual slide. The final was terrible. Despite being multiple choice, the questions were ridiculously hard. So definitely don't rely on the final saving you.
Richard Payne BSCI330 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/29/2013	Dr. Payne is a below average teacher. He reads straight off of the slides, and usually bored those few of us in attendance to death. Doing well in his class requires knowing every word of every slide, so really do memorize EVERYTHING, as he really will test on anything on the slides/mentions in class. It's not 100% necessary to go to class, but I found that making that extra effort did help me somewhat when I was studying for the exams, as he usually doesn't test in much more detail than he goes in during lectures. Having recordings of the lectures also helped me immensely. The lab will help boost your grade, and Dr. Payne also has a very generous policy about the final exam. If you get an A or A- on the final exam, then that will be your grade in the class, regardless of what you may have had previously. I studied extremely hard for the final and ended up getting an A in the class. Overall, not an incredibly hard class, just a ton of memorization, but if you're really interested in Cell Bio then it isn't that hard to put up with.
Richard Payne BSCI330 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/18/2013	He is a good teacher. You have to know all the slides and not just verbatim but how to apply them. I found tests to be pretty straight forward from lectures. I did bad throughout the semester but ended up with and A. Spoiler The final exam counts toward your overall grade! I mean, for that alone I would give him 5 stars!
Richard Payne BSCI330 Expecting an A Anonymous 03/19/2013	I got an A in his class, so I am not writing as a disgruntled former student. But I am writing to try to warn future students of Richard Payne. I will always remember Dr Payne because of how awful he is. He is fine if you ask questions during class but I am a girl and I went to him for office hours by myself. It seriously is one of the most uncomfortable experiences I have ever had at UMD.
Ibrahim Ades BSCI330 Expecting a B+ terpade 02/28/2013	The best teacher I've had at UMD. I definitely learned more in this class than any other class. You absolutely must record the lectures and write everything he says, or be able to get every word he says in class. I did not do this for the first exam and got a C. I did do this for the next two exams and got 100% on both of them. The lab is a little harder than I expected, but it all depends on how hard your TA grades. The final is impossible. Do work on the 3 exams and the lab, to set yourself up so you can still get an A after the final.
Ibrahim Ades BSCI330 Expecting an A- Anonymous 12/18/2012	Ades is a great lecturer. His exams are doable if you study hard. Make sure you take good notes and record the lecture or make friends with someone who does both. You can also play his lectures at 1.5x speed when relistening because he speaks so slow. Final is 100 multiple choice which covers everything so study early for that, especially if you're borderline. Lab was straightforward and easy but it can bring your grade down if you have a bad TA. Ades didn't offer 20 points extra credit this semester although the lab offered 7 points extra credit.
Beth Parent BSCI330 NeuroSciX 12/15/2012	Dr. Parent was a good instructor, but don't let last year's 50% A's sway you into thinking this class will be easy. Because the reality is that this semester she stepped up the intensity and reduced the distribution to 30% A's. I personally got out with an A, but many of my friends did not despite putting in their best effort. But that being said I'd still recommend the course.
Richard Payne BSCI330 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 10/05/2012	One of the greatest professors I've ever had. Yes, there is a LOT of material and a LOT of detail, but this is a 300 level class- if you don't know if you like molecular biology at this point, you should have left a long time ago. His exams are extremely straightforward, he has an awesome regrade policy (he actually LIKES regrades unlike most teachers who see it as a hassle), is very responsive to student questions (on ELMS and in review sessions), and is all around a really interesting guy. As he says at the beginning of the semester, the grade you get out of the class is what you put in- he doesn't give extraneous work. If you love what you're doing, you'll want to learn because you want to- not because you need to be forced to. Great professor, highly recommend him for every class he teaches (be it cell biology or neurophys).
Ibrahim Ades BSCI330 Expecting an A umdcattree 08/16/2012	Terrific professor! Great lecturer and a fair grader. He even gave students to submit an extra credit video worth a maximum of +20 points (my group got +15, which definitely helped pull up one of my exam grades). It's very important to take good notes during lecture since the slides don't have all the details and he covers things that are not in the textbook. Make sure to learn all the details about the processes and structures he goes over! Also, don't take the final for granted; it is multiple choice but very comprehensive and brought a lot of people's grades down. Lab portion obviously depends on the TA but I didn't think it was too bad. Assignments seemed to be graded pretty easily (at least in my section) and we weren't penalized when procedures didn't work as planned.
Richard Payne BSCI330 Expecting a B Anonymous 06/08/2012	Dr. Payne basically reads off the slides with adding a few words here and there. I thought this class was going to be really easy and just memorize stuff, but even though it was just that, it seemed like he sometimes chose weird stuff to test on. There could be 1 slide out of the set of lectures and it would be an essay question and if you don't know it perfectly you will probably not get any points on the essay. It seemed like sometimes he chose the less important stuff to test on if you thought the other stuff was more important. Lab portion is good if your TA is good. I tried hard in lab to boost my grade. I got an A in the lab portion which combined with the lecture grade averaged me to a B final grade. It is possible to get an A if you study the material everyday and start memorizing/ understanding the material at the beginning versus just a few days before.
Richard Payne BSCI330 Expecting a B Anonymous 05/21/2012	memorize the lectures and i mean EVERYTHING in the lectures. you dont need to go to lecture, he posts all his slides on elms. learn the course material like a 'story' as he described, not as straight facts. once i understood how to learn the material this way it made studying easier. tests are 2-3 multiple choice, about 20 short answers worth 4-6 points each and the rest are 10 point questions, you need to hit the key words for each pathway to get full credit. test averages were in the low 70s. there were a bunch of easy online quizzes which were just grade boosters. labs were not bad, a few were just spent wasting a lot of time waiting around for drugs to incubate but they were overall interesting and fun, especially because my TA David was awesome. 2-4 point pre-lab quiz in lab before it starts. you will learn a LOT of material in this course and be prepared to study every night to keep up with it. overall, a very interesting class though and Dr. Payne has a cool british accent.
Richard Payne BSCI330 Expecting a B Anonymous 05/19/2012	Professor himself is a nice guy and very knowledgeable. He cares about his students and has a sweet accent. He himself deserves a good rating. Now the class as a whole can be summed up with this: ZZZZZZZZZ. Lab isn't very much fun. Lots of sitting around and doing nothing, waiting for shit to work that never does. Waste of everyone's time. Thank God I brought flashcards from my other classes to flip through during lab. The material is straight up memorization, and is DRY as can be. Well, at least it seems that way at 9am...rarely could I pay any attention even with my daily cup of trusty diner coffee at hand. Third exam material was so boring I thought my soul was going to die. But the material is useful in research/grad school/professional-y type things and I really wish I had the attention span to absorb it. Oh well.
Richard Payne BSCI330 Expecting a B Anonymous 05/15/2012	The way Payne teaches this class, he is irrelevant. Everything is on the slides so you don't even have to go to class as long as you memorize EVERYTHING. There's no real learning here, just memorize and dump on the test. If you're BIOE this class will most likely suck.
Richard Payne BSCI330 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/07/2012	This is straight memorization. Literally, requires no thinking. His lectures are extremely boring. All he does is read off the slide. You don't really have to go to lecture or read the book. Just memorize every slide for the tests. When I say memorize every slide, I mean EVERY slide. He'll ask a 10 poing question on something that takes about half a slide. Its kind of ridiculous.
Ibrahim Ades BSCI330 Expecting a B+ Mentok 04/27/2012	Great professor. Very straightforward. I took him last fall and I really did enjoy his lectures. 330 is definitely a challenging class but is an enjoyable one. He gave us an extra 10 percent on the exams, and the average my semester was really high (class average in the A's or something). I would have had an A if I didn't get lazy around the final. That's what brought a lot of people down, I think. It was multiple choice and very hard. The way to do well in this class is to attend the lectures and pay close attention. What helped me was to record and listen to the lectures later on, re-writing the things I missed in my notes. This guy was so boss that he just talked like a living textbook, so every second of audio was useful and clear. Get some sleep so you can pay attention during lectures and ask questions! That's the way to get an A! If you understand all the concepts, it becomes easy. The lab was pretty challenging too, but, like the lecture and any other challenging class, it was definitely doable. Definitely possible to get an A.
Richard Payne BSCI330 Expecting a B Anonymous 03/29/2012	I personally did not click with Dr. Payne and his teaching style. Maybe it was the material, but this class required a great deal of memorization. Further, I often found it difficult to focus in lecture and end up trying to memorize everything right before the exams (Dont do this). Instead, start memorizing as soon as possible. His exams are mostly short answer questions and partial credits are inconsistent. But if you know everything on the powerpoints, then it's simply a matter of reiterating it on the exams. Lab, for a 300-level class, is very easy. Never touched the book. No curve, but a few EC were given. Easy to get B, work to get A.
Ibrahim Ades BSCI330 Expecting an A Anonymous 02/02/2012	One of the most straight forward biology classes taught at UMD. BSCI330 by Ades is a class that if you put in the appropriate amount of effort, you are guaranteed to receive the grade you desire. There were three written exams (short answers) and a multiple choice final exam. All of the exams were incredibly straightforward (only if you studied all the material) and the questions tied the subject material together. There was a bonus project given where you could send a media presentation or anything to illustrate subject material. I believe the highest rated project was given a 20 point bonus. Teacher: Ades is a straightforward professor with a classy sense of humor. You can expect to come to class every time and get all the material you need. He does not go off on nonsense tangents and explicitly lets you know if something is going to be or not going to be on the exam. A lot of people missed a problem on the first exam where you had to draw the exact structure of a phospholipid because they thought Ades was joking. His lecture pace was comfortable for me, but I still used a recorder because there was so much information given out each lecture. If you had questions about material, Ades had two office hour times per week. These are really Group style office hours where he goes in a circle answering everyone's questions until no one has any. Ades is a nice professor that is willing to help those who need it and wonderfully clarifies cloudy material. But I did notice he got a little annoyed when people would come in with simple questions that were clearly and explicitly clarified in lecture or even asked already by someone in lecture. He also posted old exams with keys and review questions on blackboard, all extremely helpful material. Material: The material is not hard but it is challenging; it just takes an effort on your part to keep up with material and take it all in. I highly suggest a recorder so you can go back on iffy spots and get clarification. If not, use office hours. Do not wait till the last minute to study as there is too much information unless you are aiming for a C or D. The overall class did extremely well this semester . For one test, I remember 50% of the class got 90 or above. But do not mistake that as a assumption that it is easy to get an A. 50% of the class did work hard and got the grade they wanted. It's as simple as that. Some exams were long and most students did not finish sometimes but the average was so high for those instances that a curve wouldn't be justified. Lab Portion I would say that a large percentage of your lab grade depends on which TA you get. Some are easy going while others are unnecessarily harsh. There wasn't enough time to complete several labs but we weren't penalized for that. Do all the work and complete assignments on time and there should not be a problem on getting an A in the lab part (unless you get a bad TA or you turn in horrible quality lab reports). Overall So there you have it. An straightforward class with resources like old exams and office hours as well as bonus opportunity to help you succeed. Based on this, there is absolutely no reason you can't do well if you want to. Great professor, great class, and the pay off of getting an A after all the work you put in at the end is enormously gratifying.
Ibrahim Ades BSCI330 Anonymous 12/21/2011	Very friendly and approachable guy. He tries to make himself available to students when they need help. During lectures, he often pauses to ask if students have questions The class was very content heavy, but he tests mainly on lectures. It might help to record him since he has a bit of an accent. Details from reading the book help a lot- especially because he always has a bonus question at the end of midterms that are based on readings
Ibrahim Ades BSCI330 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/15/2011	Dr. Ades is the man! He's an adorable little old guy who kind of looks like Professor Farnsworth from Futurama, but despite that he's really got it together. 330 is not an easy class, but if you work your ass off and go to all of Ades' lectures, you should get an A. The averages on his exams were in the high 80s-90 range. He's very fond of going into excruciating detail on processes, so if he does, learn them. If you can absorb all of his lectures and everything they contain, you should have no problem in the class. Be careful about diseases he mentions- he usually puts a question about them on every exam. No matter what, all the stuff he says makes sense and is building on previous bio classes, just in so much detail that if makes your head hurt. In summary: Dr. Ades is a cool dude, and it isn't all that hard to get an A, assuming you work hard. Very hard.
Richard Payne BSCI330 Expecting a B pat 10/30/2011	Agree with previous reviewers. This class is a huge memory dump, and I feel like it was kind of a waste of money because of that. If you are a memorization jockey, you will be in hog-heaven, otherwise it's going to be really rough to remember every little detail from the slides (HINT: his tests are just that). Bought the book, read it in the beginning, aced the first test. Studied pretty much the night or two before on the last 2 tests and final and did fairly poor. Came out with a B despite my minimal efforts. If you keep up with the material, an A is incredibly doable here. Payne is the man. He tried, and is pretty fair with everything grade-wise. He occasionally pushed things back because he felt like we were "swamped." I hear horror stories from every other cell bio teacher. Get this guy and do yourself a favor.
Heven Sze BSCI330 Anonymous 05/15/2011	AWFUL professor. Her lectures are not understandable, her powerpoints are awful (too much information, all diagrams, no notes!), she literally faces the front of the room and mumbles for the ENTIRE 75 minute lecture, and her test questions are completely convoluted and not at all straightforward. Her questions are SO difficult to follow, and she does an awful job of teaching the course material. It's beyond me why a professor like this is assigned to teach such an integral course in the BSCI program.
Ibrahim Ades BSCI330 Expecting an A Anonymous 01/20/2011	Dr. Ades was easily the best professor I have had on the UMD campus. He is extremely intelligent and knows the material like the back of his hand. He is good at making the material applicable to an undergraduate level and his tests are fair (often provided extra points on the midterms). I definitely recommend going to every lecture. You will not regret taking him - he is very entertaining and you'll learn so much!
Ibrahim Ades BSCI330 Expecting an A crazystudent 12/20/2010	This is probably the most intelligent teacher I've had on campus. He is just so interesting! The best way to get an A in this class is to record lectures and transcribe everything he says with his lecture slides. NEVER MISS CLASS! The only time you need the text book is if he specifically sites something he wants you to read. If he tells you to read something out of a book that's pretty much a promise that it will show up on the exam. His exams and grading are very fair. His midterm exams usually have 20-30 extra points on it. If you score over 100pts on the exam, you just get the score of 100. It also helps because if you don't know everything you can pick and choose which ones you want to answer. Now since he does this, don't depend on him curving his class. He doesn't really curve unless you are like 10 points away from a grade. This semester he gave 22% A's, 38% B's, 27% C's, and the rest D's and F's.
Ibrahim Ades BSCI330 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/18/2010	Ades is a great professor! His lectures are interesting and I hear that he's really helpful during office hours. As other people said, recording lectures is really helpful and something that a huge chunk of the class does. The first 3 tests were relatively easy but the multiple choice final was really hard.
Ibrahim Ades BSCI330 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/18/2010	Professor Ades was a fantastic professor. I wish all the rest of the biology professors cared as much about teaching and taught as well as he does. Yes, he does go into great detail about things, but you actually learn. It's not just memorizing facts. He always gives examples so you can remember and he always repeats himself. He even tells you "this will be on the exam." After every concept he stops and asks if anyone has any questions. He even builds in extra points for the midterm exams (more points possible than 100 and only takes your grade out of 100). However, yes, it is a difficult course. All the other reviews who whined about it being hard obviously this was their first upper level biology course. It's not Ades' fault you are lazy. My recommendation is to 1. Go to every class and take notes 2. If possible, record him. He has a bit of an accent so sometimes you may miss one or two words. Also, all of his midterms are open ended so you can literally quote him and get full credit. 3. Go over any old exams...he likes to repeat questions :)
Beth Parent BSCI330 Expecting a B- Anonymous 07/21/2010	She's a really great bio professor. But I heard as the lab coordinator during the Spring and Fall she will "murder your lab grade." As a lecturer, she is very straight forward and great on relaying information. She reads/tests directly from the slides but in class she will tell you what she is more likely to test you on so it pays to attend lectures. She doesn't curve and she grades you like this: 89.998 is a B. There is no hustling for that 0.002% to get an A. Also, the TA during the summer is a gift from bio lab heaven. He gave everyone a 100% in lab. Bless him. :o)
Richard Payne BSCI330 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 05/23/2010	Dr. Payne is a nice professor who definitely cares about his students. He's fair when it comes to regrades and his exams aren't terribly hard -- all you really need to do is know what's on the lecture slides. Though the book can help for supplemental understanding of the material, knowing everything in his lectures is key. I do mean everything -- he can ask 10 point (/100) open-ended questions on a single topic and if you don't know it well - you're grade will drop 10 points on the spot (though he's good about partial credit). Our class average was terrible for the second exam because of the snowstorms so Dr. Payne offered to allow us to make up for it by adding 15 extra points to the final. The lab portion of the class was not too bad (it was with Dr. Parent) especially if you're coming from taking those Orgo I/II or Gen Chem II labs; a grade booster if anything. Be sure to look at previous exams and his other questions before exams to know what Dr. Payne may be looking for. Going to class is not needed as he posts all of his lecture slides on blackboard...but if you do go, you'll get to enjoy his bubbly personality and awesome accent.
Richard Payne BSCI330 Expecting an A- Anonymous 05/22/2010	He is an amazingly nice guy who cares about students, although the material was dry. He tried to make it as interesting as possible, but I just could not bring myself to pay attention. Even though there is no "curve," there were enough cushy points built in to the class to allow for an a A with moderate effort (and without attending lecture). All lecture slides are posted online, and tests are ONLY based on the lecture slides, so reading the book is useless unless you want a more in-depth explanation of something he put on a slide because you didn't go to lecture.
Richard Payne BSCI330 Anonymous 05/17/2010	Payne is an awesome professor! Definitely take him! His tests are based completely on his lectures, but he posts lecture notes, so you know exactly what to study. The exams are also very, very straightforward. He's a good lecturer, and he's just a really good teacher. He wants students to ask questions at any time during the lectures, and he's really receptive in general. This was probably the best bio class I've ever taken.
Richard Payne BSCI330 Expecting an A hippoterp 05/17/2010	Dr. Payne is a good professor in that he certainly knows his stuff. But he's not as dynamic of a lecturer as Ades, the other 330 professor. Going to lectures is completely unnecessary since he reads directly off the slides most of the time and the stuff that he does say that's not on the slides he doesn't test you on. He is funny though, so it's fun to listen to him in lectures. He is a REALLY nice guy. It is crucial to have a good lab TA- lab is supposed to be easy with minimal effort (I lost 1 point the entire semester in lab). He is really fair. Make sure you look over the old exams he posts, especially for the final which is cumulative and has A LOT (A LOT) of material on it. Take this class-- you will certainly learn a lot. Also, when you're taking his exams, make sure you are thorough he is picky with points.
Ibrahim Ades BSCI330 Expecting a B zhangsta 05/14/2010	one of the best professors i've had. his lectures are very fast-paced so make sure you record his lectures and listen to them again. also helps if you read the book.
Richard Payne BSCI330 Anonymous 05/01/2010	Great professor!! Dr. Payne really cares about his students and grades fairly. He's willing to help you granted you apply the right amount of effort and he responds often to student concerns and questions.
Ibrahim Ades BSCI330 Expecting an A Anonymous 01/03/2010	Dr. Ades is by far the best professor I have had so far in my college career. He is really engaging, he knows the material very well and is very helpful in providing office hours and seminar review sessions in addition to answering questions in lecture. He is a nice old man who wants you to learn the material. Not some sadist who is out to ruin your social life-just leave your attitude at the door, and you will do just fine in the class. I found the exams to be vey straightforward and fair, albeit very thorough (memorize only lectures-book only for background i.e not too helpful and the lab was very cool and you actually learned things unlike in other lab courses. I have one piece of advice: go over every single slide in the lecture and memorize things that are not intuitive. You should also record all his lectures.
Ibrahim Ades BSCI330 Expecting an A Biology Major 12/22/2009	Dr. Ades is one of the the most engaging professors I ever had. He makes the lecture interesting. Similar to how the other reviewers have said, he does expect alot from the students. There is so much material for each exam, and everything is fair game. On the flip side, his exams are doable-there is no problem of not finfshing an exam- and partial credit is possible. His final exam is very hard. In constrast to his previous three midterms, which were all essay format, his final is all multiple choice. It is very specific, and anything he has said since the beginning of the year is fair game. This is a very hard class. But if one is willing to put the effort in, it is very rewarding. Dr. Ades goes into so much detail, but he is there if anyone needs help. Personally, I liked the class because we went into depth about topics such as cellular respiration, receptor-mediated endocytosis, and other areas that other science classes generally brush over. All-in-all, if you want to learn, take Dr. Ades, if you want to get the class over with, take another professor.
Ibrahim Ades BSCI330 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/20/2009	All the other reviews about memorizing everything he says are wrong. I never brought my computer to class and never went to an open session (I had class every Wednesday at 10) and I still earned an A. His class is like every other, you have to take notes and then actually study for the exams. All the other reviews about kids who got C's are because they've never actually had to study for a challenging class before. Dr. Ades was really good about meeting with students to discuss previous exams and I always responded quickly to e-mails. If you try in his class, you'll do well. You don't need to put in a ridiculous amount of effort like the other reviewers said- they're just whining about getting bad grades.
Reid Compton BSCI330 Anonymous 12/18/2009	I liked Compton. Struggled a bit in his class, it was kind of hard figuring out exactly what he wanted for answers on his exams but he was a good lecturer, keep you awake and listening. Very entertaining and educational. ( Likes to ask the audience questions to keep us engaged. Don't make eye contact if you don't want to answer a question...) He says he does't curve. And I don't think he does, but he builds in extra credit to his exams so its essentially a curve that you have to earn. He's a very good and fair professor. Cares about his students and is realistic with his expectations. Overall Compton is a great professor, be ready to work though!
Ibrahim Ades BSCI330 Anonymous 12/18/2009	Dr. Ades has a PhD and MD. I am a junior biology major and i am scrambling for a "C" in this class. His expectations are ridiculous for undergraduates! You cannot miss one lecture! You must record them! Memorize everything he says, verbatim. Predicting what material will show up on his exams is IMPOSSIBLE. He gives no hints in class. After having 3 exams in this class that consisted of 8 Essay Questions the final was 100 multiple choice questions, unlike any of the previous exams. I would not recommend Dr. Ades, for cell bio (BSCI330) because he has the lowest percentage of A's. The lab reports are highly time consuming and can potentially hurt your grade. ( the lab sections were not normalized, and it was very frustrating)
Ibrahim Ades BSCI330 Anonymous 12/17/2009	be prepared to spend about every waking hour you have studying or worrying about his exams which are painfully specific. forget one concept, there's one fifth of your grade right there. cell biology sounds like a trivial concept, this class is not. i'd admit, i unwittingly took this class as a sophomore in a sea of juniors, maybe if i was more experienced in developing my "type as quickly as i can", and "go back to my room immediately to rewrite, reread, and compare slides to notes and recording before i forget" skills i wouldn't be scrambling for a C. as a person, he's great- he cares and knows a lot about this subject but the whole class is one continuous monologue you have to pick apart.
Ibrahim Ades BSCI330 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/17/2009	Wow...what a GREAT professor. For sure, this class is no joke, the lab is the part that kills most people, 8-12 pg lab reports, literature reviews, lab notebooks, etc. However, although lecture is not fully attended all the time, those are the ones who do poorly. I'll be honest, I'm the type who works hard for my grade and I'm not the "naturally smart ones." But, I didn't read the book, unless if I was really confused. I recorded lectures, typed them 2 times (once in class, once after class) and memorized things he said in lecture, went to EVERY "open session" where he gave hints about exam stuff, and did exceedingly well. My averages on the exams were in the 80-81s, and they were always curved to 85-95% depending on how bad others did. The final is ALL multiple choice, and very detailed, but manageable if you kept up with the study and didn't cram all semester. He's a nice old man, a bit soft-spoken, but very very knowledgable and adorable. Take him!
Richard Payne BSCI330 Expecting an A sova 08/26/2009	Dr. Payne is an excellent professor all around - engaging, witty, organized, and extremely knowledgeable. His exams are well-written and fair, often including research-oriented questions rather than straight memorization (ex. propose an experiment for testing whether x is a consequence of y). Plus, he has a cool British accent - can't beat that!
Ibrahim Ades BSCI330 Expecting an A azn12icefarme12 04/08/2009	EXACTLY what LunarFlower said. Write EVERYTHING. Memorize EVERYTHING. Rewrite EVERYTHING on the exam. Must attend class or get someone to give you their notes. He was generous on his 3rd exam. Exam is taken out of 120 but there were 150 possible points. (No bonus points from it though)
Richard Payne BSCI330 Expecting an A rbterp 03/08/2009	Dr. Payne was a fair professor that knows the cell biology material well. He focuses a lot on research methods at the beginning of class and often asks the class "how would you prove this or investigate this" because he is a researcher himself. There is a lot of material to learn, but just study the slides and do his practice questions and exams and you'll be fine.
Ibrahim Ades BSCI330 Expecting an A LunarFlower 12/14/2008	How to do well Dr. Ades' BSCI 330 Class: Without Recording his lectures: -either bring a laptop to class and type everything he says verbatim OR write it down..which ever is possible. -Memorize everything.. especially relevant to his study questions from your notes.. he usually presents the answers to his study questions during lecture, but these questions are usually posted around examtime If you do record his lectures: -type everything verbatim and complete the review questions Attending class is essential..can't really do well without attending. Also, attending isn't your ticket to an A. You have to really know EVERYTHING he says.
Richard Payne BSCI330 Expecting an A Anonymous Terp 04/30/2008	Dr. Payne is great - good, solid professor that is interested in his students. Oh yeah, he's from England, so he's got a cool accent. I really enjoyed his class, and it was great prep for the MCAT. His lectures for BSCI330 are PowerPoint and usually consist of about 30 slides, which makes the material manageable. It's important to understand and go to lecture since that's what he tests from. He is very fair when it comes to regrades and answers student submitted questions on BlackBoard. The grading breakdown is as follows: Lecture - 68% (500 points) Lab - 27% (200 points) Web quizzes - 5% (40 points) A+ = 698-740 A = 767-697 A- = 655-675 B+ = 630-654 B = 606-629 B- = 581-605
Ibrahim Ades BSCI330 Expecting an A vdawg 12/31/2007	He goes over each process at least three times, tweaking and adding/removing details every time. This can get extreeeemely frustrating when you're studying for a test. And the tests don't seem difficult but are graded in the most arbitrary manner possible. (He does curve the tests though, and all the questions are pulled from the review questions/previous exams he puts online. But the review questions don't have answers. Also, a big fan of multiple multiples.) Going to class is absolutely imperative because of the arbitrariness of exam grading. Dr. Ades is not a particularly scintillating lecturer, in fact he can be lame beyond belief, but he's not deathly boring. And everything he says in lecture should be treated as gospel. Even though half the time it'll be contradicted in the text book.
Ibrahim Ades BSCI330 Expecting a B+ nkredible2009 12/21/2007	Lectures were sort of interesting in the beginning of the year, but when you realize that alot of the things he says conflict with what is written in the book, it starts to get annoying. Exams would never seem hard, but they would be essay based and the TAs cant grade for sh**. They would be so stingy with points and then when you ask for a regrade he almost never gives you anything back. I can think of three instances in which what he said COMPLETELY deviates with what is written in the text. And if you don't go to class there is no way to know. He also made it seem like he was curving the class in the beginnning of the yr, dropping the cut offs for As and Bs by almost 10%. Then, even after everyone BOMBED the almost IMPOSSIBLE final, he curved by only 2%!!!!! The final had about 20 pts worth of questions on Noble prize winners!!! Something on which we did not cover at all in class and that was not on the review guide he gave us. The man lost his mind this semester and I would advise you to avoid him. Getting a B is easy because the lab is B.S. But don't count on getting an A unless you focus most of your energy on this class.
Richard Payne BSCI330 Expecting an A+ scroofoo 10/23/2007	Good lectures- alot of it is a review from BSCI105. Once you get into signal transduction pathways, Payne really shines. I learned more from this class than any other bsci course. Great prep for the MCAT too. Work consists of 1 lab/week and 3 midterms plus a final. Midterms were essay so be ready while the final was more fill-in the blank, matching, and short answer.

Kenneth Frauwirth
BSCI330

Expecting an A
Anonymous
11/21/2024

This is one of the most knowledgeable professors I've had at UMD. He knows how to explain difficult concepts in many different ways, and draws analogies to everyday life, so that anyone that pays enough attention can understand. He does show up late to class. I don't understand why this would bother anyone, as it would only work in our favor as students. It means that we have less material to study, and shorter lecture recordings to review, since exams are essentially entirely based on what we cover in lecture. He is also very nice and willing to talk with anybody to explain anything. He has a sense of humor. He did move an exam forward two days, and then reschedule it to the original date. Again, I don't understand why this would bother anyone, because it only gave us more time to study. He also gave people that wanted to still take the exam that same day the opportunity to do so. So, if someone that wanted to take the exam that badly , and was that upset by the fact that we got more time to study, had a bit of patience and waited till he came to the class that day, then they still could've taken the exam.

Kenneth Frauwirth
BSCI330

Expecting an A
Anonymous
11/18/2024

You will hear that he was late consistently this semester, which is true, but it is largely due to him having a hard time with a lot of weird random stuff at home. You may have heard he is not a particularly exciting professor, which is also true. If you are seeking an exciting and deeply enriching lecture, he is not the professor for you. On the other hand, he provides a consistent and predictable (in terms of curriculum) course load that makes getting an A totally doable compared to other biology classes you will take, especially if you are a good student. Definitely recommend for any premed, this is not a hard class to succeed in if you have a little patience and a pretty normal amount of studiousness. There are small issues like boring lectures and inconsistent scheduling from the professor but for the most part you get what you put in with Dr. Frauwirth. Anyone with a crazy negative opinion is straight tweaking, dawg.

Kenneth Frauwirth
BSCI330

Expecting an A
Anonymous
11/18/2024

Literally the nicest professor I have ever had. The class itself is totally doable. The exams are fair, and he usually will emphasize the topics he wants to ask about on the exams so pay attention. He records all lectures so you can rewatch to study for exams. The lab is a super grade boost and there are is a ton of built in extra credit. Take his class!

Kenneth Frauwirth
BSCI330

Expecting an A
Anonymous
11/18/2024

He is the sweetest man ever. One short Canvas quiz per week, 3 midterm exams, 1 final. The lab is ridiculously easy so it will boost your grade if you struggle on exams. No surprises, concepts might seem tricky in class but are very study-able. Lectures are recorded too so you can go back and watch. Easy A!!!!

Kenneth Frauwirth
BSCI330

Expecting an A
Anonymous
11/13/2024

Consistently late to class. He once moved an exam two days before it was scheduled, then emailed everyone that he couldn't make it the day of the exam. Unbelievably difficult to pay attention to, this man needs to take INAG110

Kenneth Frauwirth
BSCI330

Expecting a B+
Anonymous
11/05/2024

Dude is nice and is generally a good lecturer. Exams are EXTREMELY lecture-heavy and contains a lot of specific content that he TALKS about, but does not put in the slides. DO NOT take tues-thurs 75 minute lectures. This man does not stop talking the entire way through, and I guarantee you will fall asleep, zone out, or generally pray for the sweet release of the void. The mon-wed-fri lectures are less overwhelming.

Kenneth Frauwirth
BSCI330

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
08/25/2024

All the material you need to know for his exams comes from the class lectures. If he doesn't cover something in class, it won't be on an exam. His lectures are well-organized and easy to understand for the most part, but there is a lot of content, and they are quite monotonous. I fell asleep during multiple lectures, but catching up with the content was easy with the recordings. Sometimes he makes jokes though, which help make the lectures more engaging. Like other reviews have said, there isn't a lot of homework and the lab isn't difficult. I found lab fun, but it didn't really connect with lecture content too much. Make sure to keep up with your lab notebook; it makes it so much easier near the end of the semester. He also gives some extra credit with the TopHat questions and lecture quizzes, so make sure to do those. The first exam had less content than the rest, but only slightly. The exams are fair, but sometimes he words questions weirdly and his explanations if you ask him for clarification aren't clear. There was this one exam question that the whole class was confused about and his "explanation" of the question was frankly terrible. I probably would have gotten more points if he didn't explain. Exams consist of a few multiple choice, some short answer, and 2 long essay questions. The final is cumulative but only has multiple choice, fill-in-the-blank, and short answer questions. The exams and lab assignments are graded by your TA, so hope you get a good one. You can get a regrade for exam questions, but I've heard that Frauwirth is pretty strict with regrading.

Sergei Sukharev
BSCI330

Expecting an A
Anonymous
05/23/2024

Would I take him again? NO. But is this class doable? Yes. Dr. Sukharev is a super sweet, nerdy, passionate guy! If you go to his office hours and ask him targetted questions (after doing your own HW) he will answer and explain the concepts. What makes him hard is HOW MUCH CONTENT HE PUTS. He definitely expects us to know significantly more than Frawurth (this is after discussing our content with Frawurth's students in BSCI330). As another person said, his exams feature all free response (drawing and question answer [explain how this works.. etc]). This is hard because he asks us to recall super small details that we would not notice in lecture. Our class was lucky enough to convince him to record, so he started recording mid semester. OH did I mention there are essentially no words on the slides. Meaning, you really need to either watch the videos or focus in lecture to understand what is going on. Alright, so you have to take Sukharev. What do you do? - Mark any slides or topics he says will be on the exam. He is very honest with this. Make sure you understand the math inside out. - He puts the location of the figures in the TB on the slides. If you do not understand a figure, look in the TB. If you still don't understand, ask chatGPT. And if you are still lost, go to his office. If you tell him what you know he will not be condescending towards you - Practice drawing figures rapidly and concisely, he usually tells you what he wants you to be able to draw - Understand the mechanisms well as he may ask the role of specific things in a mechanism or ask you to explain the mechanism and significance - Go through the slides on your own and use the study guide as flashcard questions. I know the class will probably work on the study guide together (bec it is hella long), but if you do it on your own you will retain the info much better and it will not just be rote memorization. Feel free to reference the class version if you are lost, but try to do it on your own as much as possible and then seek help. I know it seems like a lot of work, but it is worth it in the end. You'll come out knowing the material better than the rest AND you do not have to worry about failing ht final if you got super good grades on the midterms (yes, he does curve a good amount). You got this soldier. 💪

Sergei Sukharev
BSCI330

Expecting an A
Anonymous
05/17/2024

DO NOT TAKE. Take ANY other professor for this class. This professor does not care if you do not understand content, and he expects you to already have the background knowledge on the subject. On top of that, he does not teach general cell biology topics, but incredibly specific topics that do not need to be taught in order to understand biology. He also includes topics from other classes including BCHM461/463, PHYS132, and CHEM231 even though they are not required before taking the class. His slides will not help you learn the material, they are just diagrams copied and pasted from the textbook with no explanations or supplementary text to help the student understand what they are looking at. I spent hours upon hours reviewing material for this class for exams because he expects you to remember very specific details from his 40-page slides in order to write the exam. His exams are also COMPLETELY free response. The professor also turns away students from office hours, claiming to be busy, without an announcement in advance that he would not be available. In general, this class was time-consuming and I did not learn anything valuable.

Sergei Sukharev
BSCI330

Expecting a B
Anonymous
05/17/2024

Please take frauwirth, the material in this class is easily so much harder than the other sections. Along with the fact that his study guides are not transparent at all and the exams are 40-60 free response questions with no Multiple choice or matching. Final exam was 75 questions all free response with 15-20 questions of material he never taught, expected us to memorize the codon table without specifying.

Sergei Sukharev
BSCI330

Expecting a B+
Anonymous
05/17/2024

Truly a horrible professor. Basically 0 organization to his lectures, 0 opportunity to practice any of the random concepts that he expects students to master, 0 concern for any of his students. It's crazy that a person can care so little about his job. Exams do not test material that was covered on the lectures because he doesn't even remember what he taught. Do not take a class with him if you can help it.

Sergei Sukharev
BSCI330

Expecting a B+
Anonymous
05/16/2024

Good professors just use the study guide to do well in the class. He is passionate about what he teaches but tends to overcomplicate things.

Sergei Sukharev
BSCI330

Expecting a B+
Anonymous
05/16/2024

He is not that bad of a professor, just the way the class is structured is hard because it is very exam-heavy and has very little supplemental work other than the quizzes. As long as you do well on the exams and lab you will be fine. He is a good at explaining certain things but tends to overcomplicate them, but you can tell he is passionate about his work and what he teaches. Overall would take it again, I took it with other heavier courses and it was not that much extra work. The study guides are word for word on the exam.

Sergei Sukharev
BSCI330

Expecting an A-
Anonymous
05/16/2024

I would not recommend this professor to anyone. He explains concepts very poorly, expects students to memorize far too much information, and does not provide adequate resources to prepare students for classes. Expect the lecture to start about 5 minutes late, and to run about 5 minutes over. He does not care about students' time. I know him to be a very nice individual, but being nice is not what makes a professor good. He really should not be teaching this course as this is at least his 3rd year teaching it and is still getting the same comments. He teaches it like he's teaching graduate students who have nothing else to do other than memorize everything he tells them ... or doesnt.

Kenneth Frauwirth
BSCI330

Expecting an A-
Anonymous
05/11/2024

Really great professor that makes lectures relatively easy to understand. I didn't find myself having to go back and review material super extensively after class. Not a lot of work, weekly textbook quizzes on canvas, lab assignments, and in class Tophat questions that are only graded for participation. Exams are relatively fair (some multiple choice questions can be pretty specific to certain lectures). Only downside is the grade is very dependent on the TA. My TA graded harsher than the others so many in my section struggled through the course. Frauwirth tried to be understanding but would only give a few points back on exams (if that) during office hours. Overall he's a good professor but I think the TAs need to be more consistent with their grading practices across the class.

Kenneth Frauwirth
BSCI330

Expecting a B
Anonymous
05/02/2024

Very monotone voice that can be difficult to engage with at times. A lot of the class is review from other biology classes but ends up going more in depth. Lecture slides are packed with information so I recommend going back to watch the recording to make sure that you catch everything as questions on exams can be based on very specific things he mentions on lecture. The exams themselves aren't super difficult but it really depends on the TA you have (mine was a very tough grader with almost no partial credit). However, if you go to office hours he is likely to give a few points back.

Kenneth Frauwirth
BSCI330

Expecting an A
Anonymous
04/24/2024

Attendance CAN be mandatory due to top hats, but some have gotten away with just doing it away from class. LECTURE-HEAVY. Get ready for content. He can be a little unorganized and blab away so try to keep an eye on what specifically he wants you to know for the exam. Hint** there's a ton of useful quizlets. Lab is tedious, it's a big waste of time BUT can be a tad fun as well as a great grade boost.

Sergei Sukharev
BSCI330

Expecting a B+
Anonymous
03/27/2024

Easily the worst professor I have ever had in my life. This guy is actually the devil. Exams were insanely hard and tested us on extremely specific and niche information that is barely talked about in lecture, not to mention that the whole entire test is free response. Our last test was 7 pages of free response questions that we were expected to finish in 50 minutes. The test averages are always in the 60's, and although sukharev is a nice guy, he is the worst at explaining concepts and often leaves students feeling more confused after his explanations. He does not assign readings or give any supplemental materials, and there are no TA's to give you guidance either. Would not wish this guy upon my worst enemy

Kenneth Frauwirth
BSCI330

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
12/24/2023

Biggest tip I can offer is: Do NOT slack on that final just because you've done well on all your other exams. The final is a real kicker! Exam content is very fair and the professor is very smart. Lectures can be very content-heavy and it'll definitely test your attention span, but you'll learn a lot!

Kenneth Frauwirth
BSCI330

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
12/23/2023

So so nice and thoughtful. Has a lot of points which help boost your grade and is always willing to answer questions! Favorite professor so far for sure

Kenneth Frauwirth
BSCI330

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/21/2023

I cannot recommend Dr. Frauwirth enough for this class. First of all, he is a very nice professor and it truly shows that he wants you to succeed in this class. The class was very organized, you will have an textbook quiz once a week due before the first lecture of the week, you will have questions during the lecture that are graded just for participation, 3 midterms, a final, and separate assignment for the lab. This class can be boring sometimes and it could feel a bit slow but Dr. Frauwirth throughly takes the time to explain all the concepts and everything going on and if you pay attention you will understand everything he is saying. There are a lot of free points that helps your grade. The exams are very fair, the multiple choice section can sometimes ask some very specific questions but the short answer and the essay portion of the exam is usually filled with broad questions where there are a lot of ways to answer and get all of the points. The lab portion of this class is very easy and for the most part you will get out of lab early and get almost perfect scores on all the assignments (depending on your TA). Overall, taking BSCI330 with Dr. Frauwirth was amazing and I learned everything while also not having to stress about my grade too much.

Kenneth Frauwirth
BSCI330

Expecting a B
Anonymous
12/19/2023

Great professor! No crazy homework, TopHat questions in class. HOWEVER, THE TA MAKES YOUR EXAM GRADE. There was a significant issue my semester with one TA (mine) grading extremely tough for her sections compared to the other sections. Frauwirth did nothing to change this. This made the exams way harder than needed to be. Otherwise a decent class

Kenneth Frauwirth
BSCI330

Expecting a B
Anonymous
12/17/2023

He is overall very knowledgeable but can be extremely harsh. It was very humiliating to have questions about my exam and be made to feel unintelligent around so many other students. Nonetheless, he was always willing to help and provided many opportunities to do better.

Kenneth Frauwirth
BSCI330

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
12/09/2023

Anyone who doesn't love Frauwirth is an automatic red flag in my book, this man is the salt of the earth and truly a GEM. I wasn't supposed to have him originally, I had signed up for Parent due to all his sections being closed/not working for my schedule, but he ended up taking over for her due to some unforeseen events. His exams are super fair, there's about one lecture quiz per week (pretty easy, open note), participation questions during lectures, and a couple in lecture discussion posts. The lab is also pretty straightforward, as long as you keep on top of your work and don't leave the lab notebook til the last minute (I did and let me tell you, DO IT THROUGHOUT THE SEMESTER) it's fine. There are two big presentations (both group work), one individual lab report, and one group lab report along with some post-lab quizzes, but all are fine if you have a good group to work with. All in all this class is an easy A as long as you put the time and effort into studying + keeping up with your work, Frauwirth is an EXCELLENT choice of a professor and one of the few I've had that I can wholeheartedly say is passionate, caring and patient towards his students.

Kenneth Frauwirth
BSCI330

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
11/17/2023

Literally the cutest professor ever. We saw him with his kids and it was so wholesome, we all love Frauwirth. His exams are really fair, he really knows his stuff, and he records lectures.

Kenneth Frauwirth
BSCI330

Expecting an A-
Anonymous
11/02/2023

Good, funny, and knows his stuff

Kenneth Frauwirth
BSCI330

Expecting an A
Anonymous
08/23/2023

Dr. Frauwirth was an outstanding professor and I'm planning on taking his immunology class as well in the future. Don't get me wrong, this class is difficult and a lot of work, but he provides plenty of resources to set you up for success. The class structure was super organized, with pre-lecture quizzes each week, lectures with TopHat clicker questions, 3 midterms, a final, and the separate laboratory section. The lectures were engaging and Dr. Frauwirth has a great sense of humor. He also records the lectures which is super helpful for studying if you need to brush up on a topic. There are also a couple of extra credit points built into the course, which is nice. He provides sample questions for the exams and reuses questions from past exams which are also available. I found the exams to be kind of difficult, but I scored well on them. They included multiple choice and short answer questions, with 2 long answer essay questions except the final. This is definitely a material-dense course, but the content is actually super interesting and engaging, and it's cool to see how it aligns with other biology and chemistry courses. There is also a textbook, but personally I didn't really use it because his exams only cover content from the lectures. The laboratory section wasn't too bad, definitely try to get good lab partners. Overall I'd definitely recommend taking his class!

Carmen Cantemir-Stone
BSCI330

Expecting an A
Anonymous
07/06/2023

she is so sweet, good at explaining things, and fair exams. lab can be a little annoying but only towards the end. it is a useful and interesting class and i would take her if i could again

Carmen Cantemir-Stone
BSCI330

Expecting an A
Anonymous
06/30/2023

She made Cell Bio my favorite class at UMD. I learned so much and I liked the flexibility granted from her posting lecture videos. It helped tremendously prior to exams. She is so sweet and cares about every student.. and if you need help just ask. The exams are more or less straightforward and I am usually not good at exams (my exams were 84, 86, 96, 97). Take her.. she is a blessing

Carmen Cantemir-Stone
BSCI330

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
05/26/2023

Dr.Cantemir was a very good professor in my opinion. I thought her slides were great, and I was able to learn a lot by just looking at the slides multiple times. One thing I really liked was how I didn't need to refer to the book to understand things because her slides were very clear and she wasn't pulling exam questions from the book. Her exam questions are only what are covered in her slides, and she really does not throw curveballs or unexpected questions on the exams. She also had multiple extra credit opportunities that were a grade booster and she is very accommodating. Highly recommend you take her for this class.

Kenneth Frauwirth
BSCI330

Expecting an A
Anonymous
05/17/2023

What I appreciate about Dr. Frauwirth is that he didn't make this class harder than it needed to be. His exams were fair, as everything he tested on was outlined in the slides. In addition, there are a bunch of free points to boost up your grades, such as the lecture quizzes which are open note, participation tophat questions, cell biology in everyday life discussions, and the lab, which is essentially busy work, though Frauwirth doesn't run the lab. The only thing I wish Frauwirth did was provide a study guide for his exams, but if you study in advance, you should be fine.

Kenneth Frauwirth
BSCI330

Expecting an A
Anonymous
05/09/2023

My favorite professor ever! So understanding and really knowledgable about the course. He tries to make the class as interesting as possible even though it sometimes might get a little boring. The exams are fair and he reuses a lot of questions.

Carmen Cantemir-Stone
BSCI330

Expecting an A
Anonymous
04/20/2023

Don't listen to the people complaining, she is a good lab professor and great lecturer.

Carmen Cantemir-Stone
BSCI330

Expecting an A
Anonymous
04/17/2023

She seems chill but the final lab project is actually rediculous. They give no explanation as to what to do, honestly so annoying

Beth Parent
BSCI330

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
04/11/2023

her tests are fair. just study her notes and you will get an A.

Sergei Sukharev
BSCI330

Anonymous
04/06/2023

Awful professor. Says "I will only give extra credit to students that deserve it" after everyone completed it. And the extra credit was by no means easy. You have to use an outdated program to analyze molecular structures, and he gives you no support or help. Also at the end of the semester, the grade distribution was absolutely bonkers. Some people got a lower percentage in the class, but they somehow received a better grade. Mentions nothing about the curve, completely disorganized, and cannot teach to save his life. DO NOT TAKE!!!!

Kenneth Frauwirth
BSCI330

Expecting a B+
Anonymous
01/31/2023

During the semester I took this course, I had a lot going on and ended up having to make up 3 of the 4 exams. Dr. Frauwirth was always incredibly understanding. He also records lectures, so if you miss any or were just confused, you could still keep up with the class. I found his lecture style incredibly helpful and could not recommend him more!

Sergei Sukharev
BSCI330

Expecting an A
Anonymous
01/08/2023

I took this class very late in my college career, so I had already taken mammalian physiology, genetics, molecular genetics, biochem, and many other very hard classes. You could imagine my surprise when this class, which only prereq was one intro chem and bio course, ended up pulling from all of those classes and more and was one of the hardest classes I've taken. Luckily I was able to get an A due to the knowledge I gained from previous classes, but I couldn't imagine what it must've been like for the younger students who had no prior knowledge of any of these concepts before. I understand it was his first year teaching this class and he is used to teaching like 700-level courses, but the students shouldn't have to suffer for that. I think he was nice, but i hope if he teaches next semester, he tries to clean up and simplify the course because it was way too advanced for what the course should have been. I do think that ppl didn't take advantage of his office hours enough tho, if you went after you got an exam back he was very generous with giving points back if you explained and fought for your case, it definitely gave me to boost to get the grade I got.

Sergei Sukharev
BSCI330

Expecting an A
Anonymous
01/03/2023

His teaching style was not really the best for my learning. Although I did well in the class, I had to spend an insane amount of time preparing for exams. Although I hated every second of this class, I did learn a lot. He is a nice, quiet guy.

Sergei Sukharev
BSCI330

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/27/2022

He is such a sweet guy!!! But, he's not the best professor. He packs so much information in just one lecture and each exam we have covers about 9-13 lectures each. He was not consistent in recording lectures which was frustrating because I would miss so much during each lecture and could not go back and see what I missed. The only reason I did well was that I went to every lecture, every review session, and every office hours he held before an exam. You have to be willing to put in the work by looking through his lectures and taking extensive notes.

Kenneth Frauwirth
BSCI330

Expecting a B+
Anonymous
12/26/2022

Dr. Frauwirth is such a great guy, where do I start. When you hear him in lecture it is clear that he is experienced and passionate about the subject. He is always willing to answer any question and explain it to you in many different ways. If you ever have extenuating circumstances he won't be one to immediately shut you down like other professors. You should choose him has your teacher.

Kenneth Frauwirth
BSCI330

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/24/2022

Difficult class..basically all of it is memorization. Frauwirth is a good lecturerer and he records so you can always go back if you missed something. There were 3 midterms which were pretty fair since they contained info from his lecture slides. Lab portion was pretty easy if you had good groupmates. He reuses exam questions from previous semesters so try to find people that have taken him before. I had a B average on the midterms and final and ended with an A

Sergei Sukharev
BSCI330

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/23/2022

very hard, extremely time consuming, nonetheless, I learned a insane amount of useful information regarding cell biology, if ur schedule is already stacked this professor is definitely not ideal but if it's easy you'll be fine just be ready to study a ton and make time to go to his office hours and any exam review sessions he host's outside of class time.

Sergei Sukharev
BSCI330

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/21/2022

Dr Sukharev is a nice guy, can be a bit rude at times, but is nice nonetheless. His lectures were hard to follow at first due to his stuttering, however you get used to it kind of like white noise. Dr Sukharev steadily became a better lecturer throughout the semester, slowly but surely. His exams were not extremely difficult but that averages were always in the 65-70 range. All in all, he’s a nice guy but needs to work on lecturing skills, I must say I did learn a lot from this course by putting in countless hours of study time.

Sergei Sukharev
BSCI330

Expecting a B
Anonymous
12/18/2022

terrible class

Sergei Sukharev
BSCI330

Expecting a B
Anonymous
12/18/2022

This class was awful. The exams were super difficult and he was unclear about the content that would be on them. I feel like I worked so hard for nothing because my grade doesn’t reflect the effort I put into this class. His lectures are terrible and difficult to understand. Overall, would not recommend this professor AT all.

Sergei Sukharev
BSCI330

Expecting a D+
Anonymous
12/18/2022

I will start by saying he is a very nice person, however nice doesn't exactly equal good. For his first time teaching in undergrad, I feel as this class had been nothing but a social experiment. His study guides for each exam before the final did not prep anyone for the exam, whatsoever. He literally released them 1-2 days before the final, and sometimes he forgets to add tings, so when we think we have it all, there is still more, and it made it worse when the extras he added did not show up in the exam. His quizzes that are also supposed to help us with exam prep were released the day before the exam as well, so no help there. I say that they were useless homework materials that were not graded. He literally said in class, "Don't worry guys, next semester I will get it right." So I wasted a good chunk of time and money trying to do well in a class, he's teaching for the first time, and said he would put in effort next semester. The biology department has been no help either, even after a class full of emails, I was the only one to get a reply and they said they were looking into this. Nothing changed. We are supposed to receive extra credit, yet someone in the class group chat announced, he will only get extra credit if he feels like we earned it. While we were promised for Exam 2, all that showed up would receive extra credit. There was also an extra credit assignment, that when we asked for help because it is a program he uses, he told us to call the IT department over Thanksgiving break. Only a few students got it to work, and when they did, most didn't know how to use the program to find the answers. This course had been a displeasure to take and I wish I dropped in when I had the chance to.

Sergei Sukharev
BSCI330

Expecting a B-
Anonymous
12/17/2022

-The course consist of material that are not prerequisite to this class. For example, genetics (from BSCI222) and biochemistry (from BCHEM461/462). -Rarely record any of his lectures. (only recorded about 20% for this semester) -Always show up 10 minutes late. (No, I am not joking. Lectures do not start after 10 minutes into the class EVERYDAY). -Lecture slides: 80% consists of diagrams that you have memorize and know how to DRAW them. Very brief explanation on each topic. -Lab is the only thing that is keeping up your grades and it is with another instructor/TA. Easy lab grade as long as you complete your assignment. -Quizzes: Literally posts them the night before the midterm and it won't be open until late afternoon. -Midterms: No multiple choice. All short answers and some of them you have to memorize and draw the diagrams. You have to label them as well. Early this semester, on the day of midterm, he allowed students who arrived early to get a head start of the exam (about 15 minutes head start). Which is very unfair to the people who have classes before this one. -Extra credit assignment: Little to no instructions. People complained about technical difficulties with the app that we were suppose to run. When we emailed him about the issue, he would asks you to refer to an IT. -Midterm study guide: (sigh) Not very helpful...only about 10% of the stuff will be on the midterm. On the third midterm, he even send out annoucements about the things that we were suppose to remember yet none of the related question showed up. -Final exam study guide: For this semester...two parts. About ten pages combined. After completing the questions you will get about 41 pages of information. (Not joking)

Sergei Sukharev
BSCI330

Expecting a B
IfCourseEvalsWereHones
12/16/2022

If you get to know Sukharev, you'll find that he's pretty decent and nice with a bit of humor. He does, however, seem to carry around a condescending & lackadaisical attitude. But, he is NOT a good professor. He is terrible at explaining concepts, and he teaches new material by using even more convoluted and complex terms & principles. He almost expects us to already have a background in cell biology, biochemistry & mammalian physiology, even though these courses are not prerequisites for the class. There is also some math & physics that you'll have to know. Expect to learn a lot of material on your own or through the textbook. His study guides are always loaded and are either a hit or miss. There are 4 exams (3 during the semester & one cumulative final), and what was on the test is COMPLETELY different than what he puts on the study guide. He even admits that his study guide was too loaded at one point, and then for the next exam, he proceeds to double the information. In addition, there are no practice exams, he doesn't release an answer key, and doesn't go over the correct answers. He also spends a day reviewing for an exam and specifically tells us to memorize certain topics, then proceeds to not even put them on the exam. Also, the exam is ALL free-response. No multiple choice, true/false, etc. The course is loaded with insane amounts of material & detail (just under 40 lectures with each lecture being at least 30+ slides - also I forgot to mention 95% of slides are diagrams & pictures with barely any words, so you'll have to record on your own because he'll only record maybe every other few lectures for whatever reason), and oftentimes, he doesn't even finish the lecture. Transitions between slides are nonexistent, and it feels like you're jumping every all at once. You're also better off betting the over on class time as he starts class late and ends the class late because spends the last few minutes + more quickly going over 10 slides that he didn't get to. I hope you find a way to stray far far away from him. Sukharev is a good person, but he is an awful instructor and is extremely disorganized, unprepared, and seems to not give an F about his students. He claims to give out an extra credit assignment that he calls easy, and then we find out that it's a whole coding program that researchers & graduates use in which we have to learn by ourselves to create molecules and answer difficult questions on it (the program is called VMD). His stutter and accent don't help the situation any better. He promises he'll go easy on the exam, and it turns out to be twice as hard as the previous. There are no TAs for the class, no discussion, no guidance, no nothing. I had a very difficult time getting used to his lecture style. He has no grade determination/cutoff at all, so you won't know where you stand until past finals, in which by then is already too late to inquire about grades. Granted this is his first time teaching BSCI330, but that's not an excuse to be a complete troll. 1/10 would not recommend.

Sergei Sukharev
BSCI330

Expecting a B
Anonymous
12/12/2022

too much content for exams. not good at explaining concepts

Sergei Sukharev
BSCI330

Anonymous
12/06/2022

Bruh he’s nice but too rogue. The averages for the exams are in the 60s……. Meanwhile the other teachers have averages in the 80s

Sergei Sukharev
BSCI330

Anonymous
11/12/2022

He is a sweet guy... unfortunately he is not the best teacher. Its his first time teaching cell bio at UMD, so there was nothing that could really help students prepare for his exams. He releases a study guide which not very helpful because it just lists LITERALLY EVERY TOPIC that was in the lecture slides. His slides are also not enough to review material because it's mostly just pictures, so make sure to record if you like retaking notes. Exams are all written response, and you have to know EVERYTHING to do well on them. It's an insane amount of detail and lecture material. I have a C in the class rn, and there is an extra credit assignment but lets hope he curves...

Carmen Cantemir-Stone
BSCI330

Anonymous
11/09/2022

No regard for human life (just wait until week 8 of lab)

Carmen Cantemir-Stone
BSCI330

Expecting an A
Anonymous
11/01/2022

she is literally one of the kindest and most understanding professors at UMD. Loved having her for BSCI 330 over the summer. Hard class but she made it enjoyable!

Kenneth Frauwirth
BSCI330

Expecting a B
Anonymous
10/31/2022

I like Dr. Frauwirth! Clearly finds his own course interesting and explains everything in depth (sometimes, a bit too on depth), which is refreshing. He makes a lot of awkward jokes that I personally find hilarious. That said, the class is super boring and rehashes a lot of stuff learned in previous bio classes. He reuses exam questions and is pretty good about giving TopHat questions, even if you miss them during class you can email him to make them up. Some of the exam questions are super easy but some are fairly esoteric and you will get points off because you didn't state EXACTLY what the question asked for. Overall would not take again, but it's not the worst class in the world (like many required classes for the bio major).

Kenneth Frauwirth
BSCI330

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
07/17/2022

Make sure to show up for tophats since they are easy points. Otherwise, memorize the slides and pay attention if he says "on the exam" or "expect to see" because he will put a question on the exam on that topic. He likes asking very precise and detail-oriented questions, especially for his written/short response, so make sure to start reviewing early and memorize, memorize, memorize. Otherwise, a lot of the course only covers the surface level information on a wide breadth of topics so expect to see a fair amount of review. Unfortunately, this meant sometimes lectures were boring but at least that unit's exam is easy. Study smart and review early!

Carmen Cantemir-Stone
BSCI330

Expecting an A
Anonymous
07/06/2022

BLESS HER SOUL!!! Honestly, this is one of the best professors I have EVER encountered. She genuinely cares about her students and wants them to do well. She gives fantastic feedback and is always willing to help. She is super understanding and treats students like actual human beings, which is rare in college. Taking a class with this professor is the best thing you can do for yourself. I wish she taught every subject because more people would actually learn stuff and graduate. Overall, amazing professor and human being!! This is not to say that this class is an easy A. You will need to put a lot of effort and energy into this class and actually try your best. Having her as a professor makes your life go more smoothly.

Beth Parent
BSCI330

Expecting an F
Anonymous
05/31/2022

Lacks human empathy for students with serious medical problems.

Kenneth Frauwirth
BSCI330

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
05/18/2022

boring class. focus on big pictures and form study groups! difficult class but not impossible, you got this!

Beth Parent
BSCI330

Expecting an A
Anonymous
04/14/2022

Beth Parent is probably the word professor ive had in my life. She mumbles first off. She word vomits. She goes on tangents. I would never ever take this class with her unless you want to see what med school is like. I absolutely hate this class and she is probably the worst teacher in the world. Not evens saying this because i think the class is hard, as a bio major this class is basically everything you need to know, its just her teaching stile thats absolutely horrible.

Beth Parent
BSCI330

Expecting an A
Anonymous
01/06/2022

Makes a hard class enjoyable. Sets clear grading and learning expectations, tests you on them and if you did the thing you will do well. Super friendly during office hours and seems to really enjoying teaching/discussing during her lectures. Would highly recommend her to anyone.

Kenneth Frauwirth
BSCI330

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
12/31/2021

Not an easy A. I had to pull lots of all-nighters to remember every sentence he ever said because everything was fair game for exams (started studying everyday 1-2 weeks before exams). He is a nice guy & it is nice that there is some extra easy points built in so you can get an A with getting a mid B average on the exams. But, I suffered.

Kenneth Frauwirth
BSCI330

Expecting a C-
Anonymous
12/21/2021

do not take. he isn't as nice as he was in his previous semester. no curve. no drop exam. less than 10 extra credits. Extra points only because he screwed up and didn't teach all the required materials for the final exam and speeded through 2 to 3 days worth of lecture materials last minute on the last day of class. Those 2 to 3 days' worth of lecture materials were 50 percent of the final exam. Also, his exam is not really straight from the lecture. His slides are limited with a lot of pathway systems that going to confuse you and aren't really on your exam. For your exam, if your answer is right, but it is not on his exam's answer key or lecture, it is wrong. Zero points, even though you are right. Thus, do not take knowledge from other biology classes into this class due to how he does the grading. He doesn't give you the answer key to his exam either, so you are stuck not knowing the right answer until the very end if you are a shy or a very business person that can't go to office hours. Overall, he is not a great professor when the weather, students' issue, covid, or college have other plans for his classes or exam. He does not change his plan or sympathizes with you. He is only a great professor when he screwed his own plan.

Kenneth Frauwirth
BSCI330

Expecting an A-
Anonymous
12/20/2021

whoever said frauwirth’s class is an easy A is a huge capper. his exams are highly specific and graded pretty strictly. he refused to make the final online because he was worried about cheating and “simply the desire to avoid the possibility of exposure is not reason enough at this time” and proceeded to give us the same exact final he gave to his online spring 2021 class. don’t forget that some people had access to that and studied off of that! kenneth is mids at best. take someone else

Kenneth Frauwirth
BSCI330

Expecting an A
Anonymous
11/16/2021

Frauwirth class is an easy A. His lectures are just reading off the slides, so studying the lecture material is a great way to prep for exams. He gives a small amount of exam prep via 10-12 sample questions. This semester he did video recordings so I barely went to class and he posted them regularly. He tries to make lectures fun to listen to with his jokes and enthusiasm, but tbh I could not retain much information because of how early the class was. I think he's a great teacher and the exams are fair (in my opinion easy if you take the time to study).

Carmen Cantemir-Stone
BSCI330

Anonymous
05/06/2021

Great Professor

Beth Parent
BSCI330

Anonymous
05/04/2021

She really cares about her students and the subject. I had her during an online setting and felt that her lectures were very clear and informative. If you studied the lectures then you would do fine on her exams. She was very helpful and responsive through email as well. Lab for this class was very easy but that might be because I had an amazing TA

Ibrahim Ades
BSCI330

Anonymous
12/15/2020

The sweetest old man who cares about you very much. Took this class online because of the virus and exams were fair. Remember the specific details and you will be good

Kenneth Frauwirth
BSCI330

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/09/2020

This class is pretty boring, but as long as you watch the lectures and study the lecture material you'll do fine. He said we would need the textbook for quizzes but they are always based heavily on his lectures. He can be inconsistent with posting lectures so make sure to stay on top of them; sometimes he'll randomly post 3 videos at once and not again for 2 weeks. The tests were not hard and there are old exams of his available that he recycles questions from.

Ibrahim Ades
BSCI330

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
11/18/2020

Ades is one of my favorite professors at the University! He is so passionate about the topics and this makes lecture interesting! I took him for 330 and 433 and ended with a 98% and 100% respectfully. This is because he provides extra credit on the exams so you can lose points and still get 100% in the course. You have to study hard in this course but if you do you'll do well. Attend every lecture and RECORD every lecture. Review your notes several times and UNDERSTAND the details. This is what we will test on! The midterms were super straight forward but the final is much more difficult but if you prepare well, you can still get a great grade. If I could take Ades for a 3rd course I would.

Carmen Cantemir-Stone
BSCI330

Expecting an A-
Anonymous
12/23/2019

Great Professor, did a really good job in the BSCI330 Lab. The projects and the lab reports had excellent guidelines to complete the assignments. Overall great course!

Ibrahim Ades
BSCI330

Expecting a W
Cpowers
12/18/2016

I do not recommend this professor. He seems like a very kind man who would be willing to go to great lengths for his students, but his lectures and exams were irreparable terrible. I unfortunately had his class for 1 hr 15 mins, and almost every time I nodded off, even though class would start at a reasonable hour. This may have been the sound system, but I could not make out what he was saying due to the slurring/lack of pronunciation. This made taking notes extremely difficult since he does not provide ANY substantial information on his slides. I absolutely hated going to class, made me more frustrated than anything else. His exams, no matter how hard I prepared, always took me off guard. He doesn't test on actual material that you can study for, but rather he tests you on specific things he's said in lecture that are not included anywhere in his slides. One of his exam questions this semester was literally asking the species of animal examined in a specific case study mentioned once during a random lecture. If you happen to miss that one lecture, you missed 10% on the exam. Lab is extremely easy, got 100% on every lab report. Only counts for 20% of the grade, so didn't make a difference. Ended up dropping because I couldn't take it any more and didn't want this to influence my GPA because of a bad professor. Want to take BSCI330? Don't take Ades.

Ibrahim Ades
BSCI330

Expecting a C
Anonymous
11/22/2016

All of the below reviews are spot on: Professor Ades is incredibly intelligent and difficult. I am new to the university and transferred here from community college. To say the least, this class has challenged me to my core. While I have A's in the rest of my science classes, I am maintaining a mid-C in BCSI330 currently... and the final isn't even here yet (pray for me?) His teaching style is definitely new to me. There is no book, only one that he recommends if you feel you need it. The slides are all pictures and only contain words if it's a chart describing a cellular process. I cannot stress enough how important it is to record all of the lectures. Without this, you're more than likely to miss many of the small details that he is bound to exam you on. His exams are the hardest that I have ever experienced. I got a D on the first exam because I simply had no idea what to expect of a university exam and this was my first. The second exam I did about ten points better and received a mid C. I am currently waiting on the third exam grade to come back. Essentially, the lab portion of this class is saving me (I have received all A's in it). You may be wondering now why I'm giving the Professor five stars... Well, it's because he is a phenomenal one. Sure, he is incredibly difficult, but it challenges you and makes you grow. Without a doubt, I've grown into a better student because of this class. The man is a genius and I take everything he says as a piece of gold. And not the colloidal gold he always talks about (take him and you'll get this joke).

Ibrahim Ades
BSCI330

Expecting an A
Anonymous
06/01/2016

You won’t get an A unless you work your ass off. His exams are difficult, and if you slack on studying it will completely reflect in your grade. Write down everything he says in class, and record lectures, because he goes pretty fast. But the man knows his shit. Good prof to take if you’re premed. I’d take him again if I had the chance- he’s a hit or miss with some people, but if you know how to work hard, you’ll do very well. I actually looked forward to this class at 9 AM. Lab isn’t hard, it’s up to your TA’s niceness to determine your grade, but I haven’t heard of anyone having issues with it. He curved final grades by about 4% this semester because the average on the final was a D. But DO NOT rely on the curve, because rarely does that happen in a biology course. Questions? Go to office hours, he’s super nice. Good luck :D EDIT: I also took him again for BSCI433. Any class Ades teaches, you have to work for that A - that was to be expected. I learned a ton from this class and enjoyed it. However, in classic Ades fashion, he wrecked everyone on the final, but for final grades, he was really lenient. I had an A+ before the final that dropped to an A-, but he still gave me an A. I had a friend who even dropped from an A to a B+ but he still gave him an A. Honestly, study really hard for the first two exams and you’ll have a bit of a buffer for the final. Three exams determine your grade. If you did well in BSCI330 with him, I’d definitely recommend this class. If you're interested in cancer, I would also recommend it – you learn a lot of cool stuff! Its format is the same as BSCI330. To do well, write down pretty much everything he says in lecture and memorize it. Old exams probably won't do much for you other than get an idea of the format, because Ades creates his exams from scratch. Great prof, love that dude. It’s not too bad! Good luck :D

Kenneth Frauwirth
BSCI330

Expecting an A-
Anonymous
05/27/2015

Dr. Frauwirth and Dr. Jose teach this class together in the Fall. HIGHLY RECOMMEND THEM. Dr. Ades' class has way harder grading/tests/time. Do yourself a favor and take them! they don't change the format of the exams which is nice. the exams are off the slides and if you study, you will do fine. go to office hours just to meet some of the coolest people you will ever meet! Dr. F is a swing dancer and is aka bio-ken and Dr. Jose has done ground breaking research

Ibrahim Ades
BSCI330

Expecting an A
Anonymous
01/27/2015

Ades heavily emphasizes the experimental basis behind what he teaches--it's really interesting and useful. He doesn't read off a powerpoint (the power-points are largely graphics and pictures). Some students struggle with this but I think it makes lecture more interesting and makes it easier to focus on what he is saying. He also shows interesting videos fairly regularly. If you need to miss a class or two it's okay because chances are you can find at least 10 people who have a recording you can listen to. In my opinion the midterms were very straightforward. He gives you study guide questions and 2 practice exams. If you do this with a buddy (or as a friend for their old guides) there is no reason you can't get 100 on the exams (especially since 10 points are pretty much added to every exam...for our second exam 15 points were added). Let me repeat this: if you do the study guide completely and verify your answers are correct you will be completely fine on the midterms. The final is very detailed and a little vague but flash-cards really help for memorizing small things. The terms and specific wording he uses are important. Overall, if you're reading this review because you can't decide if you want to take Ades or not I would suggest do it. He is the nicest guy ever (I asked a question at the final exam viewing and he spent a while showing me the explanation for the correct answer and looking up pictures for me). He makes himself very available as well. Just remember to focus on details and complete the study guides and you'll get an A.

Ibrahim Ades
BSCI330

Anonymous
12/22/2014

Ades was an amazing professor. He was very knowledge of the subject and BSCI330 was one of the very few bio classes I looked forward to attending MWF at 9AM. Beginning of each lecture, he reviews the material he went through last lecture and then gives a quick of summary of what he is teaching us today. Class is total of 700 points (500 points come from lecture, 200 points come from lab). Doing well in lab totally depends on your TA and how hard he grades. If you have a hard TA, your lab grade will suffer. IF you have an easy TA, you will do tremendously better in lab. Lecture- there are 3 exams each worth 100 points and the final is 200 points. There is NO curve in the class (because for each of the 3 exams, there is a total of 110 points but he makes it out of 100 points only, so there are 10 point curves for each of the 3 exams). The final exam is very extremely difficult. Almost everyone going into the final pulled an all nighter. The final exam asks very, very specific details, so start studying early! But overall, Ades was a pleasure to have as a Cell Bio professor.

Richard Payne
BSCI330

Expecting a B+
billnye2323
10/29/2014

Best professor ever for BSCI330! Takes exam questions straight from powerpoints. All you have to do is go to class and he hints which slides will be on the exam. Also he is so understanding when it comes to late assignments. Great man. And for the person who said he is awkward in office hours, that is not true. I spoke with Payne multiple times and he is very very polite to women and quite the gentleman when it comes to manners and doing his students a favor. I love Payne and cannot wait to take his BSCI353 class. He was a wonderful teacher and he truly understands that undergrad students do not want more work than they need in order to understand the concepts. He is awesome.

Richard Payne
BSCI330

chris123
08/24/2014

I completely disagree with the review below me. His exams WERE DEFINITELY fair. He tested us ONLY on the material on his powerpoints, which is a big plus for me. I am a busy person, and I am sure many people are too, so I do not have time to read 40 pages a day for this class (I am sure every other BSCI330 proffesor makes you read). Reading from the textbook is difficult because it is so dense and there is no way a professor will test you on all of that material. Dr. Payne tells you on the first day of school that he includes only the most important material on his powerpoints, and his exams derive only from his powerpoints. All you have to do to get an A in Dr. Payne's class is to attend his lectures, pay attention, take notes, and NOT procrastinate. His powerpoints are about 40 slides each and there are about 10 powerpoints on each exam, so it is very difficult to memorize 400 slides the day before the exam. Trust me... I know... The only reason why I believe I got an A- and not an A was because I started studying for his tests literally 2 days before his exams. I actually started studying for the final a day before the exam... a horrible, horrible mistake. Anyways, if I managed to get an A- while severely procrastinating, it is definitely possible to get an A in his class if you have some sense of time management.

Richard Payne
BSCI330

Anonymous
05/22/2014

God awful teacher. He is probably the single worst teacher I've had in all of my experience at UMD. His questions are beyond unpredictable, often testing on a single example he spends 2 minutes on as an essay question without even mentioning a concept he spents 40 slides on in class on his tests. Every detail he tests you on is as asinine as possible. If you are bioengineering, this is the worst possible class and is the polar opposite of any other class you take. He understands his stuff, but is a terribly dry lecturer whose lecture follows no cohesive format whatsoever. He only reads off slides making attending lecture borderline useless. Take it with Cao if you can.

Ibrahim Ades
BSCI330

Expecting an A
sheena
01/07/2014

Okay, so based on these reviews I came into this class thinking Ades was some demi-god or something. He wasn't superhuman or anything, just really chill. Out of the other professors at UMD, I think I liked Ades the best so far. I was aiming for an A+ in the class but the final was still a little too low, so it dragged me down just enough so I got an A. That being said, the class was NOT super easy. I think that it was moderately difficult. I invested many, many hours into studying for this class, as I do for all of my bio classes, but I wasn't freaking out about bombing like I did for some other bio courses. Exams were not focused on details as much as I've seen in some bio courses that I've taken at the 300 level. I didn't listen to lectures in 330 because I never got a recorder, but it wasn't absolutely necessary -- I just wrote down EVERYTHING that Ades said. Ades likes to post slides that are mostly pictures, with very little text. This was frustrating for me, because he can be very repetitive, yet contradict himself in lecture, so you can't always just "check the slide" to see the right answer. Office hours are held twice a week, usually right after class or a few hours after. These are group sessions where he meets with students in a conference room across from his office. I went several times to ask for clarification about his confusing/barely-touched-upon statements. Ades does NOT try to trick you. That actually made me mess up a little on the first exam, because I wasn't sure what to expect really. All short-answer for the 3 midterms, and all-MC final, ether 80 or 100 questions....I can't recall. Ades is a very gentle, polite, and nice man. He listens to you when you talk to him and lets you speak first, and is extremely respectful. He is very reasonable and I really enjoyed taking a class with him because he was so much more approachable than any of my other bio professors. He is not intimidating whatsoever. P.S. the lab is annoying and late labs (6-9 pm) is awful, but everyone has to take the lab section, so whatever. You'll survive. Averages on the practical were around a 40/50 or so, and yes everyone feels like they failed it.

Ibrahim Ades
BSCI330

Expecting a C
Anonymous
08/23/2013

Ades was a pretty good lecturer. His lectures were straightforward, but definitely pay attention to the details. I found that his exams focused on details, often from one individual slide. The final was terrible. Despite being multiple choice, the questions were ridiculously hard. So definitely don't rely on the final saving you.

Richard Payne
BSCI330

Expecting an A
Anonymous
05/29/2013

Dr. Payne is a below average teacher. He reads straight off of the slides, and usually bored those few of us in attendance to death. Doing well in his class requires knowing every word of every slide, so really do memorize EVERYTHING, as he really will test on anything on the slides/mentions in class. It's not 100% necessary to go to class, but I found that making that extra effort did help me somewhat when I was studying for the exams, as he usually doesn't test in much more detail than he goes in during lectures. Having recordings of the lectures also helped me immensely. The lab will help boost your grade, and Dr. Payne also has a very generous policy about the final exam. If you get an A or A- on the final exam, then that will be your grade in the class, regardless of what you may have had previously. I studied extremely hard for the final and ended up getting an A in the class. Overall, not an incredibly hard class, just a ton of memorization, but if you're really interested in Cell Bio then it isn't that hard to put up with.

Richard Payne
BSCI330

Expecting an A
Anonymous
05/18/2013

He is a good teacher. You have to know all the slides and not just verbatim but how to apply them. I found tests to be pretty straight forward from lectures. I did bad throughout the semester but ended up with and A. *Spoiler* The final exam counts toward your overall grade! I mean, for that alone I would give him 5 stars!

Richard Payne
BSCI330

Expecting an A
Anonymous
03/19/2013

I got an A in his class, so I am not writing as a disgruntled former student. But I am writing to try to warn future students of Richard Payne. I will always remember Dr Payne because of how awful he is. He is fine if you ask questions during class but I am a girl and I went to him for office hours by myself. It seriously is one of the most uncomfortable experiences I have ever had at UMD.

Ibrahim Ades
BSCI330

Expecting a B+
terpade
02/28/2013

The best teacher I've had at UMD. I definitely learned more in this class than any other class. You absolutely must record the lectures and write everything he says, or be able to get every word he says in class. I did not do this for the first exam and got a C. I did do this for the next two exams and got 100% on both of them. The lab is a little harder than I expected, but it all depends on how hard your TA grades. The final is impossible. Do work on the 3 exams and the lab, to set yourself up so you can still get an A after the final.

Ibrahim Ades
BSCI330

Expecting an A-
Anonymous
12/18/2012

Ades is a great lecturer. His exams are doable if you study hard. Make sure you take good notes and record the lecture or make friends with someone who does both. You can also play his lectures at 1.5x speed when relistening because he speaks so slow. Final is 100 multiple choice which covers everything so study early for that, especially if you're borderline. Lab was straightforward and easy but it can bring your grade down if you have a bad TA. Ades didn't offer 20 points extra credit this semester although the lab offered 7 points extra credit.

Beth Parent
BSCI330

NeuroSciX
12/15/2012

Dr. Parent was a good instructor, but don't let last year's 50% A's sway you into thinking this class will be easy. Because the reality is that this semester she stepped up the intensity and reduced the distribution to 30% A's. I personally got out with an A, but many of my friends did not despite putting in their best effort. But that being said I'd still recommend the course.

Richard Payne
BSCI330

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
10/05/2012

One of the greatest professors I've ever had. Yes, there is a LOT of material and a LOT of detail, but this is a 300 level class- if you don't know if you like molecular biology at this point, you should have left a long time ago. His exams are extremely straightforward, he has an awesome regrade policy (he actually LIKES regrades unlike most teachers who see it as a hassle), is very responsive to student questions (on ELMS and in review sessions), and is all around a really interesting guy. As he says at the beginning of the semester, the grade you get out of the class is what you put in- he doesn't give extraneous work. If you love what you're doing, you'll want to learn because you want to- not because you need to be forced to. Great professor, highly recommend him for every class he teaches (be it cell biology or neurophys).

Ibrahim Ades
BSCI330

Expecting an A
umdcattree
08/16/2012

Terrific professor! Great lecturer and a fair grader. He even gave students to submit an extra credit video worth a maximum of +20 points (my group got +15, which definitely helped pull up one of my exam grades). It's very important to take good notes during lecture since the slides don't have all the details and he covers things that are not in the textbook. Make sure to learn all the details about the processes and structures he goes over! Also, don't take the final for granted; it is multiple choice but very comprehensive and brought a lot of people's grades down. Lab portion obviously depends on the TA but I didn't think it was too bad. Assignments seemed to be graded pretty easily (at least in my section) and we weren't penalized when procedures didn't work as planned.

Richard Payne
BSCI330

Expecting a B
Anonymous
06/08/2012

Dr. Payne basically reads off the slides with adding a few words here and there. I thought this class was going to be really easy and just memorize stuff, but even though it was just that, it seemed like he sometimes chose weird stuff to test on. There could be 1 slide out of the set of lectures and it would be an essay question and if you don't know it perfectly you will probably not get any points on the essay. It seemed like sometimes he chose the less important stuff to test on if you thought the other stuff was more important. Lab portion is good if your TA is good. I tried hard in lab to boost my grade. I got an A in the lab portion which combined with the lecture grade averaged me to a B final grade. It is possible to get an A if you study the material everyday and start memorizing/ understanding the material at the beginning versus just a few days before.

Richard Payne
BSCI330

Expecting a B
Anonymous
05/21/2012

memorize the lectures and i mean EVERYTHING in the lectures. you dont need to go to lecture, he posts all his slides on elms. learn the course material like a 'story' as he described, not as straight facts. once i understood how to learn the material this way it made studying easier. tests are 2-3 multiple choice, about 20 short answers worth 4-6 points each and the rest are 10 point questions, you need to hit the key words for each pathway to get full credit. test averages were in the low 70s. there were a bunch of easy online quizzes which were just grade boosters. labs were not bad, a few were just spent wasting a lot of time waiting around for drugs to incubate but they were overall interesting and fun, especially because my TA David was awesome. 2-4 point pre-lab quiz in lab before it starts. you will learn a LOT of material in this course and be prepared to study every night to keep up with it. overall, a very interesting class though and Dr. Payne has a cool british accent.

Richard Payne
BSCI330

Expecting a B
Anonymous
05/19/2012

Professor himself is a nice guy and very knowledgeable. He cares about his students and has a sweet accent. He himself deserves a good rating. Now the class as a whole can be summed up with this: ZZZZZZZZZ. Lab isn't very much fun. Lots of sitting around and doing nothing, waiting for shit to work that never does. Waste of everyone's time. Thank God I brought flashcards from my other classes to flip through during lab. The material is straight up memorization, and is DRY as can be. Well, at least it seems that way at 9am...rarely could I pay any attention even with my daily cup of trusty diner coffee at hand. Third exam material was so boring I thought my soul was going to die. But the material is useful in research/grad school/professional-y type things and I really wish I had the attention span to absorb it. Oh well.

Richard Payne
BSCI330

Expecting a B
Anonymous
05/15/2012

The way Payne teaches this class, he is irrelevant. Everything is on the slides so you don't even have to go to class as long as you memorize EVERYTHING. There's no real learning here, just memorize and dump on the test. If you're BIOE this class will most likely suck.

Richard Payne
BSCI330

Expecting an A
Anonymous
05/07/2012

This is straight memorization. Literally, requires no thinking. His lectures are extremely boring. All he does is read off the slide. You don't really have to go to lecture or read the book. Just memorize every slide for the tests. When I say memorize every slide, I mean EVERY slide. He'll ask a 10 poing question on something that takes about half a slide. Its kind of ridiculous.

Ibrahim Ades
BSCI330

Expecting a B+
Mentok
04/27/2012

Great professor. Very straightforward. I took him last fall and I really did enjoy his lectures. 330 is definitely a challenging class but is an enjoyable one. He gave us an extra 10 percent on the exams, and the average my semester was really high (class average in the A's or something). I would have had an A if I didn't get lazy around the final. That's what brought a lot of people down, I think. It was multiple choice and very hard. The way to do well in this class is to attend the lectures and pay close attention. What helped me was to record and listen to the lectures later on, re-writing the things I missed in my notes. This guy was so boss that he just talked like a living textbook, so every second of audio was useful and clear. Get some sleep so you can pay attention during lectures and ask questions! That's the way to get an A! If you understand all the concepts, it becomes easy. The lab was pretty challenging too, but, like the lecture and any other challenging class, it was definitely doable. Definitely possible to get an A.

Richard Payne
BSCI330

Expecting a B
Anonymous
03/29/2012

I personally did not click with Dr. Payne and his teaching style. Maybe it was the material, but this class required a great deal of memorization. Further, I often found it difficult to focus in lecture and end up trying to memorize everything right before the exams (Dont do this). Instead, start memorizing as soon as possible. His exams are mostly short answer questions and partial credits are inconsistent. But if you know everything on the powerpoints, then it's simply a matter of reiterating it on the exams. Lab, for a 300-level class, is very easy. Never touched the book. No curve, but a few EC were given. Easy to get B, work to get A.

Ibrahim Ades
BSCI330

Expecting an A
Anonymous
02/02/2012

One of the most straight forward biology classes taught at UMD. BSCI330 by Ades is a class that if you put in the appropriate amount of effort, you are guaranteed to receive the grade you desire. There were three written exams (short answers) and a multiple choice final exam. All of the exams were incredibly straightforward (only if you studied all the material) and the questions tied the subject material together. There was a bonus project given where you could send a media presentation or anything to illustrate subject material. I believe the highest rated project was given a 20 point bonus. Teacher: Ades is a straightforward professor with a classy sense of humor. You can expect to come to class every time and get all the material you need. He does not go off on nonsense tangents and explicitly lets you know if something is going to be or not going to be on the exam. A lot of people missed a problem on the first exam where you had to draw the exact structure of a phospholipid because they thought Ades was joking. His lecture pace was comfortable for me, but I still used a recorder because there was so much information given out each lecture. If you had questions about material, Ades had two office hour times per week. These are really Group style office hours where he goes in a circle answering everyone's questions until no one has any. Ades is a nice professor that is willing to help those who need it and wonderfully clarifies cloudy material. But I did notice he got a little annoyed when people would come in with simple questions that were clearly and explicitly clarified in lecture or even asked already by someone in lecture. He also posted old exams with keys and review questions on blackboard, all extremely helpful material. Material: The material is not hard but it is challenging; it just takes an effort on your part to keep up with material and take it all in. I highly suggest a recorder so you can go back on iffy spots and get clarification. If not, use office hours. Do not wait till the last minute to study as there is too much information unless you are aiming for a C or D. The overall class did extremely well this semester . For one test, I remember 50% of the class got 90 or above. But do not mistake that as a assumption that it is easy to get an A. 50% of the class did work hard and got the grade they wanted. It's as simple as that. Some exams were long and most students did not finish sometimes but the average was so high for those instances that a curve wouldn't be justified. Lab Portion I would say that a large percentage of your lab grade depends on which TA you get. Some are easy going while others are unnecessarily harsh. There wasn't enough time to complete several labs but we weren't penalized for that. Do all the work and complete assignments on time and there should not be a problem on getting an A in the lab part (unless you get a bad TA or you turn in horrible quality lab reports). Overall So there you have it. An straightforward class with resources like old exams and office hours as well as bonus opportunity to help you succeed. Based on this, there is absolutely no reason you can't do well if you want to. Great professor, great class, and the pay off of getting an A after all the work you put in at the end is enormously gratifying.

Ibrahim Ades
BSCI330

Anonymous
12/21/2011

Very friendly and approachable guy. He tries to make himself available to students when they need help. During lectures, he often pauses to ask if students have questions The class was very content heavy, but he tests mainly on lectures. It might help to record him since he has a bit of an accent. Details from reading the book help a lot- especially because he always has a bonus question at the end of midterms that are based on readings

Ibrahim Ades
BSCI330

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/15/2011

Dr. Ades is the man! He's an adorable little old guy who kind of looks like Professor Farnsworth from Futurama, but despite that he's really got it together. 330 is not an easy class, but if you work your ass off and go to all of Ades' lectures, you should get an A. The averages on his exams were in the high 80s-90 range. He's very fond of going into excruciating detail on processes, so if he does, learn them. If you can absorb all of his lectures and everything they contain, you should have no problem in the class. Be careful about diseases he mentions- he usually puts a question about them on every exam. No matter what, all the stuff he says makes sense and is building on previous bio classes, just in so much detail that if makes your head hurt. In summary: Dr. Ades is a cool dude, and it isn't all that hard to get an A, assuming you work hard. Very hard.

Richard Payne
BSCI330

Expecting a B
pat
10/30/2011

Agree with previous reviewers. This class is a huge memory dump, and I feel like it was kind of a waste of money because of that. If you are a memorization jockey, you will be in hog-heaven, otherwise it's going to be really rough to remember every little detail from the slides (HINT: his tests are just that). Bought the book, read it in the beginning, aced the first test. Studied pretty much the night or two before on the last 2 tests and final and did fairly poor. Came out with a B despite my minimal efforts. If you keep up with the material, an A is incredibly doable here. Payne is the man. He tried, and is pretty fair with everything grade-wise. He occasionally pushed things back because he felt like we were "swamped." I hear horror stories from every other cell bio teacher. Get this guy and do yourself a favor.

Heven Sze
BSCI330

Anonymous
05/15/2011

AWFUL professor. Her lectures are not understandable, her powerpoints are awful (too much information, all diagrams, no notes!), she literally faces the front of the room and mumbles for the ENTIRE 75 minute lecture, and her test questions are completely convoluted and not at all straightforward. Her questions are SO difficult to follow, and she does an awful job of teaching the course material. It's beyond me why a professor like this is assigned to teach such an integral course in the BSCI program.

Ibrahim Ades
BSCI330

Expecting an A
Anonymous
01/20/2011

Dr. Ades was easily the best professor I have had on the UMD campus. He is extremely intelligent and knows the material like the back of his hand. He is good at making the material applicable to an undergraduate level and his tests are fair (often provided extra points on the midterms). I definitely recommend going to every lecture. You will not regret taking him - he is very entertaining and you'll learn so much!

Ibrahim Ades
BSCI330

Expecting an A
crazystudent
12/20/2010

This is probably the most intelligent teacher I've had on campus. He is just so interesting! The best way to get an A in this class is to record lectures and transcribe everything he says with his lecture slides. NEVER MISS CLASS! The only time you need the text book is if he specifically sites something he wants you to read. If he tells you to read something out of a book that's pretty much a promise that it will show up on the exam. His exams and grading are very fair. His midterm exams usually have 20-30 extra points on it. If you score over 100pts on the exam, you just get the score of 100. It also helps because if you don't know everything you can pick and choose which ones you want to answer. Now since he does this, don't depend on him curving his class. He doesn't really curve unless you are like 10 points away from a grade. This semester he gave 22% A's, 38% B's, 27% C's, and the rest D's and F's.

Ibrahim Ades
BSCI330

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/18/2010

Ades is a great professor! His lectures are interesting and I hear that he's really helpful during office hours. As other people said, recording lectures is really helpful and something that a huge chunk of the class does. The first 3 tests were relatively easy but the multiple choice final was really hard.

Ibrahim Ades
BSCI330

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/18/2010

Professor Ades was a fantastic professor. I wish all the rest of the biology professors cared as much about teaching and taught as well as he does. Yes, he does go into great detail about things, but you actually learn. It's not just memorizing facts. He always gives examples so you can remember and he always repeats himself. He even tells you "this will be on the exam." After every concept he stops and asks if anyone has any questions. He even builds in extra points for the midterm exams (more points possible than 100 and only takes your grade out of 100). However, yes, it is a difficult course. All the other reviews who whined about it being hard obviously this was their first upper level biology course. It's not Ades' fault you are lazy. My recommendation is to 1. Go to every class and take notes 2. If possible, record him. He has a bit of an accent so sometimes you may miss one or two words. Also, all of his midterms are open ended so you can literally quote him and get full credit. 3. Go over any old exams...he likes to repeat questions :)

Beth Parent
BSCI330

Expecting a B-
Anonymous
07/21/2010

She's a really great bio professor. But I heard as the lab coordinator during the Spring and Fall she will "murder your lab grade." As a lecturer, she is very straight forward and great on relaying information. She reads/tests directly from the slides but in class she will tell you what she is more likely to test you on so it pays to attend lectures. She doesn't curve and she grades you like this: 89.998 is a B. There is no hustling for that 0.002% to get an A. Also, the TA during the summer is a gift from bio lab heaven. He gave everyone a 100% in lab. Bless him. :o)

Richard Payne
BSCI330

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
05/23/2010

Dr. Payne is a nice professor who definitely cares about his students. He's fair when it comes to regrades and his exams aren't terribly hard -- all you really need to do is know what's on the lecture slides. Though the book can help for supplemental understanding of the material, knowing everything in his lectures is key. I do mean everything -- he can ask 10 point (/100) open-ended questions on a single topic and if you don't know it well - you're grade will drop 10 points on the spot (though he's good about partial credit). Our class average was terrible for the second exam because of the snowstorms so Dr. Payne offered to allow us to make up for it by adding 15 extra points to the final. The lab portion of the class was not too bad (it was with Dr. Parent) especially if you're coming from taking those Orgo I/II or Gen Chem II labs; a grade booster if anything. Be sure to look at previous exams and his other questions before exams to know what Dr. Payne may be looking for. Going to class is not needed as he posts all of his lecture slides on blackboard...but if you do go, you'll get to enjoy his bubbly personality and awesome accent.

Richard Payne
BSCI330

Expecting an A-
Anonymous
05/22/2010

He is an amazingly nice guy who cares about students, although the material was dry. He tried to make it as interesting as possible, but I just could not bring myself to pay attention. Even though there is no "curve," there were enough cushy points built in to the class to allow for an a A with moderate effort (and without attending lecture). All lecture slides are posted online, and tests are ONLY based on the lecture slides, so reading the book is useless unless you want a more in-depth explanation of something he put on a slide because you didn't go to lecture.

Richard Payne
BSCI330

Anonymous
05/17/2010

Payne is an awesome professor! Definitely take him! His tests are based completely on his lectures, but he posts lecture notes, so you know exactly what to study. The exams are also very, very straightforward. He's a good lecturer, and he's just a really good teacher. He wants students to ask questions at any time during the lectures, and he's really receptive in general. This was probably the best bio class I've ever taken.

Richard Payne
BSCI330

Expecting an A
hippoterp
05/17/2010

Dr. Payne is a good professor in that he certainly knows his stuff. But he's not as dynamic of a lecturer as Ades, the other 330 professor. Going to lectures is completely unnecessary since he reads directly off the slides most of the time and the stuff that he does say that's not on the slides he doesn't test you on. He is funny though, so it's fun to listen to him in lectures. He is a REALLY nice guy. It is crucial to have a good lab TA- lab is supposed to be easy with minimal effort (I lost 1 point the entire semester in lab). He is really fair. Make sure you look over the old exams he posts, especially for the final which is cumulative and has A LOT (A LOT) of material on it. Take this class-- you will certainly learn a lot. Also, when you're taking his exams, make sure you are thorough he is picky with points.

Ibrahim Ades
BSCI330

Expecting a B
zhangsta
05/14/2010

one of the best professors i've had. his lectures are very fast-paced so make sure you record his lectures and listen to them again. also helps if you read the book.

Richard Payne
BSCI330

Anonymous
05/01/2010

Great professor!! Dr. Payne really cares about his students and grades fairly. He's willing to help you granted you apply the right amount of effort and he responds often to student concerns and questions.

Ibrahim Ades
BSCI330

Expecting an A
Anonymous
01/03/2010

Dr. Ades is by far the best professor I have had so far in my college career. He is really engaging, he knows the material very well and is very helpful in providing office hours and seminar review sessions in addition to answering questions in lecture. He is a nice old man who wants you to learn the material. Not some sadist who is out to ruin your social life-just leave your attitude at the door, and you will do just fine in the class. I found the exams to be vey straightforward and fair, albeit very thorough (memorize only lectures-book only for background i.e not too helpful and the lab was very cool and you actually learned things unlike in other lab courses. I have one piece of advice: go over every single slide in the lecture and memorize things that are not intuitive. You should also record all his lectures.

Ibrahim Ades
BSCI330

Expecting an A
Biology Major
12/22/2009

Dr. Ades is one of the the most engaging professors I ever had. He makes the lecture interesting. Similar to how the other reviewers have said, he does expect alot from the students. There is so much material for each exam, and everything is fair game. On the flip side, his exams are doable-there is no problem of not finfshing an exam- and partial credit is possible. His final exam is very hard. In constrast to his previous three midterms, which were all essay format, his final is all multiple choice. It is very specific, and anything he has said since the beginning of the year is fair game. This is a very hard class. But if one is willing to put the effort in, it is very rewarding. Dr. Ades goes into so much detail, but he is there if anyone needs help. Personally, I liked the class because we went into depth about topics such as cellular respiration, receptor-mediated endocytosis, and other areas that other science classes generally brush over. All-in-all, if you want to learn, take Dr. Ades, if you want to get the class over with, take another professor.

Ibrahim Ades
BSCI330

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/20/2009

All the other reviews about memorizing everything he says are wrong. I never brought my computer to class and never went to an open session (I had class every Wednesday at 10) and I still earned an A. His class is like every other, you have to take notes and then actually study for the exams. All the other reviews about kids who got C's are because they've never actually had to study for a challenging class before. Dr. Ades was really good about meeting with students to discuss previous exams and I always responded quickly to e-mails. If you try in his class, you'll do well. You don't need to put in a ridiculous amount of effort like the other reviewers said- they're just whining about getting bad grades.

Reid Compton
BSCI330

Anonymous
12/18/2009

I liked Compton. Struggled a bit in his class, it was kind of hard figuring out exactly what he wanted for answers on his exams but he was a good lecturer, keep you awake and listening. Very entertaining and educational. ( Likes to ask the audience questions to keep us engaged. Don't make eye contact if you don't want to answer a question...) He says he does't curve. And I don't think he does, but he builds in extra credit to his exams so its essentially a curve that you have to earn. He's a very good and fair professor. Cares about his students and is realistic with his expectations. Overall Compton is a great professor, be ready to work though!

Ibrahim Ades
BSCI330

Anonymous
12/18/2009

Dr. Ades has a PhD and MD. I am a junior biology major and i am scrambling for a "C" in this class. His expectations are ridiculous for undergraduates! You cannot miss one lecture! You must record them! Memorize everything he says, verbatim. Predicting what material will show up on his exams is IMPOSSIBLE. He gives no hints in class. After having 3 exams in this class that consisted of 8 Essay Questions the final was 100 multiple choice questions, unlike any of the previous exams. I would not recommend Dr. Ades, for cell bio (BSCI330) because he has the lowest percentage of A's. The lab reports are highly time consuming and can potentially hurt your grade. ( the lab sections were not normalized, and it was very frustrating)

Ibrahim Ades
BSCI330

Anonymous
12/17/2009

be prepared to spend about every waking hour you have studying or worrying about his exams which are painfully specific. forget one concept, there's one fifth of your grade right there. cell biology sounds like a trivial concept, this class is not. i'd admit, i unwittingly took this class as a sophomore in a sea of juniors, maybe if i was more experienced in developing my "type as quickly as i can", and "go back to my room immediately to rewrite, reread, and compare slides to notes and recording before i forget" skills i wouldn't be scrambling for a C. as a person, he's great- he cares and knows a lot about this subject but the whole class is one continuous monologue you have to pick apart.

Ibrahim Ades
BSCI330

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/17/2009

Wow...what a GREAT professor. For sure, this class is no joke, the lab is the part that kills most people, 8-12 pg lab reports, literature reviews, lab notebooks, etc. However, although lecture is not fully attended all the time, those are the ones who do poorly. I'll be honest, I'm the type who works hard for my grade and I'm not the "naturally smart ones." But, I didn't read the book, unless if I was really confused. I recorded lectures, typed them 2 times (once in class, once after class) and memorized things he said in lecture, went to EVERY "open session" where he gave hints about exam stuff, and did exceedingly well. My averages on the exams were in the 80-81s, and they were always curved to 85-95% depending on how bad others did. The final is ALL multiple choice, and very detailed, but manageable if you kept up with the study and didn't cram all semester. He's a nice old man, a bit soft-spoken, but very very knowledgable and adorable. Take him!

Richard Payne
BSCI330

Expecting an A
sova
08/26/2009

Dr. Payne is an excellent professor all around - engaging, witty, organized, and extremely knowledgeable. His exams are well-written and fair, often including research-oriented questions rather than straight memorization (ex. propose an experiment for testing whether x is a consequence of y). Plus, he has a cool British accent - can't beat that!

Ibrahim Ades
BSCI330

Expecting an A
azn12icefarme12
04/08/2009

EXACTLY what LunarFlower said. Write EVERYTHING. Memorize EVERYTHING. Rewrite EVERYTHING on the exam. Must attend class or get someone to give you their notes. He was generous on his 3rd exam. Exam is taken out of 120 but there were 150 possible points. (No bonus points from it though)

Richard Payne
BSCI330

Expecting an A
rbterp
03/08/2009

Dr. Payne was a fair professor that knows the cell biology material well. He focuses a lot on research methods at the beginning of class and often asks the class "how would you prove this or investigate this" because he is a researcher himself. There is a lot of material to learn, but just study the slides and do his practice questions and exams and you'll be fine.

Ibrahim Ades
BSCI330

Expecting an A
LunarFlower
12/14/2008

How to do well Dr. Ades' BSCI 330 Class: Without Recording his lectures: -either bring a laptop to class and type everything he says verbatim OR write it down..which ever is possible. -Memorize everything.. especially relevant to his study questions from your notes.. he usually presents the answers to his study questions during lecture, but these questions are usually posted around examtime If you do record his lectures: -type everything verbatim and complete the review questions Attending class is essential..can't really do well without attending. Also, attending isn't your ticket to an A. You have to really know EVERYTHING he says.

Richard Payne
BSCI330

Expecting an A
Anonymous Terp
04/30/2008

Dr. Payne is great - good, solid professor that is interested in his students. Oh yeah, he's from England, so he's got a cool accent. I really enjoyed his class, and it was great prep for the MCAT. His lectures for BSCI330 are PowerPoint and usually consist of about 30 slides, which makes the material manageable. It's important to understand and go to lecture since that's what he tests from. He is very fair when it comes to regrades and answers student submitted questions on BlackBoard. The grading breakdown is as follows: Lecture - 68% (500 points) Lab - 27% (200 points) Web quizzes - 5% (40 points) A+ = 698-740 A = 767-697 A- = 655-675 B+ = 630-654 B = 606-629 B- = 581-605

Ibrahim Ades
BSCI330

Expecting an A
vdawg
12/31/2007

He goes over each process at least three times, tweaking and adding/removing details every time. This can get extreeeemely frustrating when you're studying for a test. And the tests don't seem difficult but are graded in the most arbitrary manner possible. (He does curve the tests though, and all the questions are pulled from the review questions/previous exams he puts online. But the review questions don't have answers. Also, a big fan of multiple multiples.) Going to class is absolutely imperative because of the arbitrariness of exam grading. Dr. Ades is not a particularly scintillating lecturer, in fact he can be lame beyond belief, but he's not deathly boring. And everything he says in lecture should be treated as gospel. Even though half the time it'll be contradicted in the text book.

Ibrahim Ades
BSCI330

Expecting a B+
nkredible2009
12/21/2007

Lectures were sort of interesting in the beginning of the year, but when you realize that alot of the things he says conflict with what is written in the book, it starts to get annoying. Exams would never seem hard, but they would be essay based and the TAs cant grade for sh**. They would be so stingy with points and then when you ask for a regrade he almost never gives you anything back. I can think of three instances in which what he said COMPLETELY deviates with what is written in the text. And if you don't go to class there is no way to know. He also made it seem like he was curving the class in the beginnning of the yr, dropping the cut offs for As and Bs by almost 10%. Then, even after everyone BOMBED the almost IMPOSSIBLE final, he curved by only 2%!!!!! The final had about 20 pts worth of questions on Noble prize winners!!! Something on which we did not cover at all in class and that was not on the review guide he gave us. The man lost his mind this semester and I would advise you to avoid him. Getting a B is easy because the lab is B.S. But don't count on getting an A unless you focus most of your energy on this class.

Richard Payne
BSCI330

Expecting an A+
scroofoo
10/23/2007

Good lectures- alot of it is a review from BSCI105. Once you get into signal transduction pathways, Payne really shines. I learned more from this class than any other bsci course. Great prep for the MCAT too. Work consists of 1 lab/week and 3 midterms plus a final. Midterms were essay so be ready while the final was more fill-in the blank, matching, and short answer.

Reviews for BSCI330