Sonia Hirschauer

This professor has taught: CHEM231, CHEM242

Sort By:

Information	Review
Sonia Hirschauer CHEM242 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 12/06/2024	This was Dr. Hirschauer’s first semester as Orgo 2 lab coordinator and she exceeded my expectations. She’s hands-down the best lab coordinator I’ve had so far and the first who actually showed that they cared. Also, she responds to emails SUPER quickly and considerately. She came into my lab section a few times early in the semester to troubleshoot the faulty IR machine but was always willing to talk to students while there. The course itself is still a decent amount of work, and I could have certainly put in more effort, but her weekly resources were super helpful for the assignments. I also had a solid, chill TA who made the experience better in general.
Sonia Hirschauer CHEM231 Expecting a B Anonymous 11/21/2024	First, let me say, Dr. Hirschauer is the best professor! She’s funny, engaging, and not passive-aggressive or rude. She’s really knowledgeable and always willing to help you if you’re struggling. Her notes are super organized, and you can either print them out or download them, which makes studying a lot easier. BUT... that being said, this year, the class was way harder than it was last year. Orgo is hard for everyone, and you have to study A LOT (like weeks in advance), but don't listen to the past reviews if you want an "easy" Orgo class. Dr. H said she "got in trouble" with the chemistry department because her averages were too high, so they made her make the curriculum more difficult?!. As a result, the exams were harder, and the averages were much lower this year. A friend showed me their exam from last semester, and it was COMPLETELY different/way simpler. Most of the questions now are conceptual, and she requires you to memorize A LOT of information. She also doesn't record lectures, which is annoying because sometimes I want to review what she said before an exam, or I feel sick and don't want to attend class. She does post her notes, but honestly, they’re not very helpful because she often explains things without writing them down, leaving very little on the notes. Maybe this will change with time. Don’t get me wrong, I love her so much, but I think everyone in the class had different expectations based on past class experiences and reviews.
Sonia Hirschauer CHEM231 Expecting a C+ Anonymous 10/02/2024	Dr. H is a really good professor in my opinion and the way she styles her notes is very organized. She mainly teaches from lecture guides that you can print or annotate on your iPad and she's honestly a very funny professor. It's not like she's speaking at you but she like to engage and make sure everyone is learning and understanding what she says. I will say orgo is definitely a hard class but she makes resources very accessible and is lenient on grading so unless you are practicing problems almost everyday up until the midterm using those resources, it will be really hard for you to catch up. The textbook is free but I'd say download the Organic Chemistry Second language book she gives as well as her PP sets, b/c those will really come in handy. AND GO TO OFFICE HOURS!! she's there to help and she won't be rude like some of these other professors you have. if she was teaching 241, i would take her again
Sonia Hirschauer Expecting a B Anonymous 09/27/2024	Literally the best professor, an even better person. If you go to her after hours she will go through everything. Take her if you are lucky enough
Sonia Hirschauer CHEM231 Expecting an A- Anonymous_2018 08/20/2024	I took 231 in Spring '24, and even though it was only my second semester, Dr. H is one of the best professors at UMD, especially for the chemistry department. Her unique teaching style, passion, and dedication made organic chemistry possible and even enjoyable at times. Rather than resorting to boring lecture slides and memorization, she optimized active engagement and stimulated interest during classes, using guided notes, models, and sometimes examples from movies and shows like Star Wars and Pokémon. It was almost like learning from a big kid! In addition, Dr. H's exams were fair with material-representative problems with medium difficulty and ample time. No doubt, even though she'll be there to help you every step of the way, you WILL have to exert work and effort to succeed in organic chemistry, so don't expect an easy A. PRACTICE A LOT. There's really no other way to master the material, and Dr. H provides a lot of practice material. Optimizing studying techniques, going to office hours, and attempting to enjoy the material (it works!) can significantly transform your performance in the class even if it starts bumpy. Try to think of the course as a video game if it helps! Dr. H genuinely wishes you to do well, so don't hesitate to reach out for questions and tips. She is the epitome of what a professor should be.
Sonia Hirschauer CHEM231 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/31/2024	THE MOST AMAZING CHEMISTRY PROFESSOR AT UMD Not only does she care about her students, but her class set-up and her teaching are so incredible. She provides lesson guides that we fill in which makes it so easy to follow along and actually absorb material without having to worry about writing down everything in time. She had 5 quizzes this semester and dropped one. She has homework almost every week but it didn't take long and you had 8 tries so it was easy to get 100% on all of them. The midterms were all very very incredibly fair in my opinion. As long as you start reviewing early and start studying at least a week early you're set. You just need to practice practice practice. That's what orgo is, the only way to succeed is practice. Speaking of practice, SHE PROVIDES SO MUCH!!! This really helped me. Now I know what you're looking for: CURVE. She does not curve each individual exam, but she curves the median of the class to a C+/B-. I think by the end of the semester is was 4-5% but that just means as a whole the class was doing pretty well so we didn't need more of a curve. 100% take her if you get the chance!!!
Sonia Hirschauer CHEM231 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/20/2024	Fucking love her! She’s entertaining in lecture, wants us to learn concepts rather than random memorization, and just generally cares about us as students. It is still a hard class (I maybe spent average of 12-15hr/week and ended with raw B+, but curved to A) but she does things like dropping lowest quiz and homework, keeping highest hw attempt with like 8 attempts, and even gave an extra credit assignment. I really feel like I understand what was happening, and she would also make fun analogies to help explain (she pulled out Pokémon a couple times). She started recording lectures a couple weeks in so you didn’t have to go, and discussion was only mandatory first 10 minutes for the quiz (of which you only had to take 5). But it was definitely very useful to actually go, and the people I know who skipped generally did worse.
Sonia Hirschauer CHEM231 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/20/2024	Dr. Hirschauer is fantastic! I loved her teaching style and it wasn't an extremely tiring class (for context, I was in her T/Th 1hour and 15min lecture). I greatly disliked organic chemistry - and I still do even after taking the course - but Dr. Hirschauer made it bearable. She had weekly homework assignments with 8 attempts which helped with keeping up with material. She also had weekly quizzes in discussion sections and she kept the first 5 (not the top 5, but the first 5 you take), though you were still allowed to take more if you wanted more review. Towards the end of the semester, she also decided to drop the lowest of the 5, so only 4 were actually put into the gradebook. The exams were similar to the practice sets she provided, so definitely do those because they are extremely helpful. The only complaint I had was that she included a lot of conceptual questions on the exam. In her practice sets, she would include very little - sometimes even none - conceptual questions, and then those sorts of questions would be a great deal of points on the exams. Definitely read over the notes before an exam to really get those conceptual ideas down, because they will 100% be on every exam. Other than that, the practice sets and the exams matched pretty well!! She made sure to keep things lively during her lecture and her chapter note outlines were very helpful. For class, she completes her lectures based off these outlines she created. Either you download them on your iPad or print them out, because it is difficult to follow her lecture without them. If you are able to bring them to class, then it is very easy to follow!! It keeps your notes very organized and easy to review for exams. Overall, she is a kind individual. I would email her sometimes late at night asking questions and she would reply very quickly (I am so sorry Dr. Hirschauer). She wants to make sure you succeed, so take advantage of her office hours and ask her lots of questions. I would definitely recommend her for CHEM231!! I am not exactly sure what her policy is for curving, I believe that it is a higher curve when you have a lower grade, but as you are receiving higher grades then the curve is smaller (I think this is it, but I may be wrong). What I do know - from what I have heard - is that the curve for Dr. Hirschauer was the smallest out of the CHEM231 teachers. This is because our class performed well on exams, so if you are looking for a teacher with a biiiiiig curve, Dr. Hirschauer may not be that for you.
Sonia Hirschauer CHEM231 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 05/19/2024	Dr Hirschauer is a great lecturer! She is engaging and tries to relate the topics back to things you might now (and includes pokemon references) to make the content more digestible. However, she does drop the ball in some of the later units and especially towards the end her lectures felt very rushed. Her exams are relatively fair but you will not get by simply on memorizing lecture examples and lecture content, you have to KNOW the material, she has many conceptual questions and you will not do well if you do not have a good fundamental understanding of the material. Self studying is a MUST, she says in the beginning you have to put in at least 9 hours of work for this class a week and that is THE TRUTH. She is a good lecturer but she is slightly overhyped and definitely not your ticket to an easy A, you have to WORK for it.
Sonia Hirschauer Expecting an A Anonymous 05/19/2024	Dr. Hirschauer is a great lecturer. Follow along with her lecture guides, and then do ample studying and review of the material on your own. She also is always there to help you out. There is only an end-of-the-year curve, which is best on how well the class does (just like every other chemistry class). The exams are honestly not that challenging, assuming you did the necessary amount of review.
Sonia Hirschauer CHEM231 Expecting an A- Anonymous 05/18/2024	Dr. Hirschauer is the sweetest professor who really cares about all of her students being successful in organic chemistry. She provides several in-class practice problems and tons of practice problems for outside the class. Organic chemistry itself requires lot of self-studying and practicing, but Dr. Hirschauer does a really good job at explaining the topics in her lectures. Her positive and cheerful attitude was something to always look forward to and she always made organic chemistry a little bit more fun with her Pokemon references every now and then.
Sonia Hirschauer CHEM231 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/17/2024	absolute gem. no other way to put it other than she is a great teacher and really wants her students to succeed and gives so many extra worksheets and problems to work on outside of class. This class isn't easy ofc and you really need to understand the content not just memorize it especially for the tests. the one thing is she does not give practice tests but with the practice sets and all the other stuff ppl are usually fine. just put in the work and go to office hours if you need and you will succeed. also the homework is mad easy so thats a huge plus. there are 5 quizzes in discussion that are 10 mins each and then the other weeks you dont have to go, but I would go because its helpful and basically office hours with you TA.
Sonia Hirschauer CHEM231 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/17/2024	Undisputed orgo I goat professor. Dr.H is actually the kindest and more caring professor I have ever had in the chemistry department at umd. She tries to make everything as clear as possible and will answer any questions asked in her lectures. She gives around 10 homework's and you have 8 tries each so you should get a 100 on all of them. She also gives out 7 quizzes that you take in discussion, but you only have to take 5 of them and your lowest score gets dropped so really its only 4. Regardless, her exams are still difficult, not because she tries to trick you or anything, but because orgo I is just a hard course that requires long hours of studying. She makes it very clear exactly what she expects of us, and provides adequate resources. and extra help to get you going. I think I put in around 20-30 hours per exam, and around 50 hours for the final, and I ended up getting an A in the class. This curve was around 7% or so, which is exactly what she predicted it to be at the very start of the semester. Overall a very good professor, lecturer, and person. Please take her for orgo I if you have the chance!
Sonia Hirschauer CHEM231 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/17/2024	Dr. Hirschauer is one of the kindest and most understanding professors I've had at UMD. She very obviously cares for her students and wants everyone to succeed, but orgo is still a hard class. She gives you tons of resources, her lectures are very organized, and she always answers questions without making students feel stupid. She also started recording her lectures this semester (Spring 2023), but I don't know if that's a permanent change she's making. She's also a huge pokemon fan and will use pokemon to explain concepts better! The exams are all fair and can be answered with the practice problems or what she goes over in lecture. She doesn't throw any weird curveball questions, but some of them do require a lot of thought. She also gives some extra credit opportunities here and there! Overall, I loved her class. She made me genuinely interested in the content and actually want to come to class. Take Hirschauer yall.
Sonia Hirschauer CHEM231 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/15/2024	Was not going to take CHEM231 this semester until I saw Dr. Hirschauer teaching it and saw the reviews on planetterp... and they were right. This ended up being the only class out of the four, including two CS courses, that I consistently go. It's a class that Hirschauer makes it fun -- very approachable and understanding, especially from a student perspective.
Sonia Hirschauer CHEM231 Expecting an A- Anonymous 05/08/2024	Dr. Hirschauer is a greater lecturer and her exams are very fair. She accepts questions after class and is very welcoming in office hours. She records most of her lectures and provides lots of practice problems. Her practice problems are similar to her exam problems and she sends an email on the format before every exam. I feel even if I did poorly in Orgo 1, it would be my fault because she provides many resources and opportunities. Her TAs are also great. I highly recommend her.
Sonia Hirschauer CHEM231 Expecting a B Anonymous 05/03/2024	Best Orgo 1 teacher at UMD. Amazing guided note PDFs, extra practice problems, and good discussion sessions with TA's. She drops 2 discussion quizzes, gives you a ton of tries on the homework (basically free points), and curves the class pretty well (even though its not really needed as her students generally do pretty well). Do the practice problem sets, go to GSS and discussion, study, and go to class, and you'll do well. Definitely worth taking her.
Sonia Hirschauer CHEM231 Expecting a B- Anonymous 05/01/2024	Dr.H is so amazing! She has lecture notes presets for every student so since it is a fast-paced class we can catch up well with the notes. I have been to her office Hours multiple times and she is so sweet and wants her students to succeed! She has a lot of practice problem sets, extra book problems, and GSS also has a lot of extra practice problems. Orgo is really hard, if you put in the effort then you will get your desired grade. I definitely recommend stopping by her office hours for extra help and definitely definitely recommend Dr.H!!
Sonia Hirschauer CHEM231 Expecting an A Anonymous 04/24/2024	Sonia the woman that you are <3 She creates lecture guides so you can follow along with the material more easily. She (and I) recommend organic chemistry as a second language, it is incredibly useful for extra practice. She creates so many opportunities for you to pass her class, and is so incredibly kind and fun. She has silly little energizers and is incredibly organized.
Sonia Hirschauer CHEM231 Expecting a C Anonymous 01/29/2024	I loved Dr. Hirschauer! Orgo is still a really hard class and I definitely recommend self-teaching (watching organic chemistry tutor) and practicing more and more until you get the concepts. But Dr. H turns all that fear you felt about the class and made it a little better. Her lectures are easy to follow and she's really nice. She offers a lot of practice and has open office hours. She's approachable too and gives great advice on how to succeed. She really cares about her students. Would 10/10 recommend to take her.
Sonia Hirschauer CHEM231 Expecting a B- Anonymous 01/29/2024	Really good professor but please go to class she doesnt record her lectures. Gives lots of help, extra worksheets, and practice exams. Exams are fair and she makes a boring subject decently fun.
Sonia Hirschauer Expecting a C+ Anonymous 01/20/2024	Dr. Hirschauer is the absolute best chem professor yet! She is so kind and really wants to help you succeed. I really struggled in Orgo I and did well in Gen Chem I so I was not expecting to struggle as much but she was so emphatic and caring. Her notes are so clear and straightforward. She does plenty of practice and has so many office hours. You can really tell that she wants her students to do well in her course! I would for sure take her again!
Sonia Hirschauer Expecting an A- Anonymous 01/17/2024	Hand down the best Orgo professor someone could ask for. The best word I could use to describe her is FAIR. Her exams are very fair and they are exactly like her practice problem sets. She is so kind and sweet and has a welcoming open-door office hours policy. Mind you this is still organic chemistry so you still have to put in the work and study but she is very fair.
Sonia Hirschauer Expecting an A- Anonymous 01/05/2024	Dr. H is genuinely the best professor I have had at UMD. I hated gen chem and was dreading orgo, but Dr. H made the class so enjoyable. Lectures were easy to follow because of the lecture outlines she provided. She was also more than willing to answer questions during lecture, making sure everyone was on the same page. Lectures were engaging, as Dr. H actually has a personality and doesn’t just talk at the class for an hour. She also provided so many practice problem sets and resources that were very similar to the exam content. Exams were very manageable, provided you did all the practice problems and truly understood the content. Additionally, three quizzes were given in discussion, but she drops the lowest grade. Homeworks were given weekly, but you are given 10 tries for each, and it is very easy to get a 100. She also gave four opportunities to gain max 10 points back on exam two through 5 minute mechanism drawing “quizzes.” Between engaging lectures, fair exams, ample practice problems, and extra credit opportunities, I cannot recommend Dr. H enough. This class does require a lot of studying and practice, but Dr. H provides all the resources for you to succeed. If you put in the work, you will do well. Dr. H truly cares about her students and their success so I highly highly highly recommend taking her class if you can.
Sonia Hirschauer Expecting a B Anonymous 01/03/2024	Makes orgo as easy as possible by providing practice problems that mimic exams, has open door policy for office hours, encourages questions during lecture, etc. She has extra credit opportunities and multiple attempts for homeworks so that they do not bring your grade down. She is super approachable and genuinely wants you to do the best so you should get to know her if you take her class.
Sonia Hirschauer Expecting an A Anonymous 12/28/2023	Dr. H is the best chem professor I have ever had!! She provides so many practice problems and note guides, responds to emails quickly, and has super fair exams. She is so approachable and kind and going to office hours really helped. There are quizzes, which I was skeptical about at first, but they honestly helped to put me on track for where I was supposed to be coming up for the exam and I always thought they were super easy. I would highly recommend her!
Sonia Hirschauer CHEM231 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/21/2023	If you want to pass O-chem and understand it, she's the only teacher you should be taking it with! Her positive energy and general clearness/clarity around the subject matter helped us so much this past semester. I genuinely looked forward to going to class everyday since she was so cheerful and helpful whenever you needed it. The exams are hard, but as long as you use the materials she gives you, and use the GSS practice exams you should be fine.
Sonia Hirschauer Expecting a B Anonymous 12/21/2023	Dr. Hirschauer is the best professor you'll find out of the current chem231 professors. She has your best interest at heart and does everything she can to give you as much practice material as possible. She does not try to trick you on the tests, and will never include anything that has not been reviewed. She provides extensive practice material as well as recordings of how to solve most of the questions. She is also very funny in class and gives pokemon references to help further student's understanding of the material (for those who love pokemon). Understand that a large amount of your success will come from your end, you absolutely must practice the material daily, but once you do, it'll click. You will learn a lot of reactions and they will feel like the same thing, but once you practice, you'll understand the difference and when/how to use their mechanisms. So, with that being said, I recommend making a sheet of all reactions from each chapter so you can be able to differentiate their uses (she also provided us with a reaction sheet and reaction map). There are 3 midterms and one cumulative final. She did not drop any of our tests and curved the class average to a C+. Orgo with Dr. Hirschauer is probably the best way to go, good luck!
Sonia Hirschauer Expecting an A Anonymous 12/17/2023	Dr. Hirschauer is by far one of the best professors I have had within the chemistry department and at the University of Maryland. It is very evident that she is on our side, cheering for us to achieve success in the course. Her exams are not meant to trick students, she always has a positive and welcoming attitude and answers any questions students may have. She creates practice problems for each chapter covered, her homework’s are very manageable, and she offers extra credit problems towards the end of the semester. If you put in the work, you will do just fine. Organic chemistry is hard, but she makes it more than doable. I enjoyed going to class and being in her presence.
Sonia Hirschauer Expecting a C- Anonymous 12/17/2023	This semester came with challenges for me personally and Dr. H always gave me her all to help me succeed. I cannot recommend her enough. She goes above and beyond for her students and is the sweetest woman you'll ever meet!! Go to lecture, do her practice problem sets early, go to discussion, and you will be set.
Sonia Hirschauer CHEM231 Expecting a B Anonymous 12/14/2023	BEST Orgo Prof EVER! I unfortunately had to retake orgo 1, and was of course dreading it, but I am so glad I was lucky enough to take it with Dr. H. Dr. H is so organized, knowledgeable, and enthusiastic about how she teaches the material that it makes lecture fly by since everyone is so focused. She provides so many resources to help learn and prepare for exams and higher level chem classes (if you need to take them) and genuinely cares for all her students and wants them to do well!! I think her exams are fair and the problems are pretty similar to what we see in her problem sets and homework assignments she gives weekly. Dr. Hs class is very manageable as long as you put in the time and work to succeed as she has all the materials for you.
Sonia Hirschauer Expecting a B Anonymous 12/12/2023	Dr. Hirschauer is the best! She explains concepts so well in lecture, thoughtfully answers questions, is super approachable in office hours. She absolutely loves organic chemistry but also understands that most students are simply taking it as a pre-rec. She truly understands student concerns so well. Her lecture notes that you can download on your i-pad are golden. They are super helpful during lecture. It takes a little to get used to the format, but they are so helpful. (Although I recommend rewriting those lecture notes in your own words or a paper notebook after each lecture.) Keep in mind that Dr. Hirschauer is an amazing professor, but organic chemistry is still something you must practice a lot to be effective. Her practice sets, office hours, and guided notes are amazing resources, but it is on you to have a study routine and to use them.
Sonia Hirschauer Expecting a B- Anonymous 12/11/2023	Literally traumatized from orgo the semester before and I took her and she makes this subject so much easier to understand and help with the concepts, her lecture notes are amazing, they are lifesavers, she give practice problems for each chapter and is so organized in her structure. literally couldn't recommend anyone else more. This is a tough class so putting in extra effort is a must, the professor can only take you so far!
Sonia Hirschauer CHEM231 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/08/2023	Dr. Hirschauer was hands down the best professor I've had at UMD. She made very hard material super easy to understand, and she really cares about her students doing well. If you have the opportunity to take her for any class, 100% do it.
Sonia Hirschauer Anonymous 12/05/2023	Dr. H is literally the sweetest, most patient professor I've taken at UMD. I was seriously not made to do chemistry so when I started falling behind, I went to her for help and she helped me make a study plan to make sure I was prepared. She provides so much extra resources like Sunday Jam Sessions to prep for exams, practice sets for each chapter, with video explanations, and a open-door office hour policy which are all SOO helpful. She has never made me feel stupid about the questions I ask, no matter how many times I ask it. She also brings cut outs of Pokemon characters and funny pointers to make lectures that much more enjoyable and easier to follow along. Genuinely, such a kind and welcoming professor, I love her!!
Sonia Hirschauer Expecting an A+ Anonymous 12/01/2023	Going into this semester, I dreaded taking ORGO based on my experience with Gen Chem 1. Much to my surprise, from the very first class I fell in love with the material . I strongly believe this mindset shift was largely due to Dr. Hirschauer. She was so incredibly passionate about the material, which only made it that much more engaging to listen to. She provided endless resources (practice problems, explanation videos, lecture guides, and even fun little facts about how Organic chemistry is applied in the real world) and it is impossible to miss how she genuinely cares about her students and wants everyone to succeed. She also replies very quickly to student emails and is always willing to meet with students during office hours. She also had an open-door policy that students could stop by even outside of office hours to have questions answered. Organic chemistry is hard, there is no getting around that; however, Dr. Hirschauer made it feel digestible, understandable, and even fun at times. I cannot recommend this professor enough for any student looking to take ORGO I.
Sonia Hirschauer Expecting a C+ Anonymous 11/20/2023	Coming from someone who is terrible at chemistry but needs this for graduate school, Dr.H is the best orgo teacher. I've never written a review for a professor but knew I had to for her. She provides extra credit quizzes, practice problem sets, flexible office hours, and genuinely wants her students to succeed. She sends reminders for students, pushes back certain assignments for students to focus on exams, and provides guided lecture notes. Orgo is obviously difficult and requires studying but she gives you all the resources you will need! She checks in often with the class to ensure they are set or if they have questions. I came into this course unsure since it was her first semester at UMD and I am not great at any chemistry but, she is the best ochem teacher! Also, exams are very fair and she is accommodating.
Sonia Hirschauer CHEM231 Expecting an A Anonymous 11/15/2023	Dr H brings positive energy and makes learning O-chem enjoyable. If you stay on track, you can do well. The PP sets, GSS, discussion, Office hours and Jam sessions are there to help you. If you fully commit to the effort regularly, then you can do well. She truly wants her students to succeed and we see that coming through. Her lecture guides are helpful. The material can be challenging at times, and doable. I am grateful to be learning from such a knowledgable and caring professor.
Sonia Hirschauer Expecting an A Anonymous 11/15/2023	I genuinely look forward to coming to class for Orgo. Dr H makes learning O-Chem enjoyable and creates a learning environment where students have what it takes to succeed. Practice problem sets, discussion, GSS and office hours take advantage and you will do well. Exams are fair game, and she will do what it takes to support students to succeed. She brings great energy to lecture, and provides responsive communication. We absolutely love Dr H's teaching style and lecture guides!
Sonia Hirschauer CHEM231 Expecting an A Anonymous 11/15/2023	Dr H is a phenomenal lecturer, and makes herself available for students. Her exams are fair game, and she guides students with the tools needed to succeed. She wants students to succeed and makes O-Chem fun. She creates a learning environment that truly is the best interest of students. It takes practice like any other course, though if you fully commit to it, you can do well.
Sonia Hirschauer CHEM231 Expecting a B Anonymous 11/14/2023	Lectures are informative and helpful, we do lots of practice problems and she explains how to do them. Homework is super manageable and reflects the content that we are learning quite well. She is very sweet and it is clear that she cares about her students' success in this class. The exams are hard, but definitely super fair.
Sonia Hirschauer Expecting a B+ Anonymous 11/09/2023	Dr. Hirschauer is the best prof I've ever had at UMD. I literally had to make an account just now so I could write her a review and tell EVERYONE to take her! YOU HAVE TO! She's actually changed my life, I can't even describe. She has guided lecture notes, practice problem sets, flowcharts, etc. EVERY resource you could possibly need to do well in this class, she makes readily available. Her exams are also so fair, no tricks. Yes, it still takes studying and determination, but she makes it so possible to get a good grade AND actually understand the material. This is also coming from someone who took Orgo I w/ Friedman my freshman year and had to withdraw after the first exam because I realized I actually didn't understand a single thing that man would lecture about. Do yourself a favor and TAKE HER!!!!
Sonia Hirschauer Expecting a C+ Anonymous 10/31/2023	Dr. H is absolutely incredible!! Take her for orgo, you wont regret it. I dreaded orgo coming in like anyone else, and actually have been understanding pretty well. She is organized and provides you a PLETHORA of resources to succeed in the class. She has energizers that help you connect orgo to real life which are kind of interesting. Her exams are extremely fair to what you learn in class with no surprises. She's so sweet and amazing, love her!
Sonia Hirschauer Expecting an A Anonymous 10/14/2023	She is an incredibly sweet professor. By far the nicest Professor I have ever had at the University of Maryland. She takes the time to explain concepts to students when it is evident the lecture hall is struggling and she has no problem answering students questions during class. She is incredibly understanding and has pushed the deadline of homeworks back during busy exam weeks. She creates a ton of practice questions for each chapter that are very similar to her exam questions. Her exams are very fair. If you have done and understood the practice problems and homeworks, you will do just fine.
Sonia Hirschauer CHEM231 Expecting an A Anonymous 09/21/2023	Super helpful and patient, she is willing to answer many questions during lecture. Also provides lecture outlines which save a lot of time! Overall great professor