Very very boring teacher. Only plus side is that she makes everything accessible online including Ex credit, lecture videos, additional videos.. etc

Quite possibly the worst professor I've had so far at UCSB. She's almost impossible to follow, and doesn't present any of the concepts clearly. Memorize even the tiniest details on her slides, her tests are completely unreasonable and one word is enough to get the questions wrong if you don't know every single thing she mentioned. Awful

worst professor ive at at ucsb. she does not explain anything so majority of the class is lost and gets the clicker questions wrong. instead of taking this as a hint that shes not teaching well, she laughs when she sees that theres an even spread among all of the answer options. never had to use the textbook for bio at ucsb before but need to now

Dont expect to pick up details in her lecture as you will be easily distracted due to her dull tone and forget a lot of precious details right after you are out of Campbell; look at her slides and recordings at 2x, you will see that she covers a lot of tiny things that you need to memorize on the exam

Haters will hate. It is true that she is boring in lecture, hard to pay attention. However, her slides are easy to follow and her lectures are doable once you watch it at 1.5x. Study the old tests since she copies exact questions from them. Ask your biomentor for old tests and really cram those you can get a solid A.

Her lectures were dry and she had such a monotonous voice. She didn't really seem interested in what she was teaching, although she was very knowledgeable in her field. I do agree that her tests are unreasonable - you really have to memorize everything she says and not just what's on the slides. Review the material consistently and don't cram! GL

She clearly is just at UCSB for research, as her teaching skills are nonexistent. Boring to ungodly levels, teaches the most irrelevant and tiny details, makes her tests far more challenging than they need to be, and includes small one word differences causing questions to be wrong. Avoid at all costs, shame she is the only professor for MCDB 1B.

I have an IQ of 170, I'm a straight A student, but this class is the only one that has given me trouble. Not only do you have to memorize such minute details, but you also have to apply those irrelevant details to other irrelevant situations.

memorize EVERYTHING she says, and then some. Not only is she a terrible lecturer, her tests are completely unreasonable and expects you to know stuff she spent less than 30 seconds on in lecture. multiple choice answers would be wrong because of a single word.

Its so frustrating seeing her try to play a video using a pen tool on her power points then complain about the video not playing... But also her powerpoints are difficult to follow and contain short fragmented phrases that make no sense unless you listen to her give her confusing explanation of it. Terrible professor overall.

I read RateMyProfessor on her last quarter before taking her, and thought "she can't be that bad, i'll be fine" I learned now that I was oh so terribly wrong. Finkelstein is by far the worst professor and test giver in all of the intro bio series. Her lectures are incomprehensible and she shows she obviously doesn't care about how much we learn.

really amazing professor and super rewarding if you put in the time into the class. you can't expect her to make everything super easy, she wants you to work hard!! definitely study lectures and the book and you should be fine

Get ready to sit through an hour of mumbling 3 days a week. Make sure to read the book before class because you'll be falling asleep 10 minutes into lecture. show to class with iclicker and just study the slides for the final.

This class is 40% midterm 60% final, however he allowed the final to be 100% if it improved your grade. A lot of what he tests on is what he says rather than what is on the slides (so go to class), though everything is in the text book. He doesn't want super specific answers on his tests, just to see that you understand the overall concept

Class was very interesting, but the entire grade was from a short midterm and final, meaning each question (even multiple choice ones) were worth around 1.5% of your class grade which is ridiculous. Reuses questions so if you're in greek life and have access to test banks then congrats you have an advantage over everybody in the class.

The entire class is based on a 33/66 structure with 2 midterms and a final. The 2nd midterm is where it gets everyone, the curve is to a C not a B or B-; you have been warned; which means many students got a C in the class, avoid this class if you can or wait for a different instructor other than Dr. Hayes.

Avoid this class if you can, Idk why other people before say its easy; probably before he rewrote his entire test banks to confusing MC and written w/ explanations. Sure wish I didn't listen to you fools on here! It just dropped me from a 3.7 upper div GPA to a 3.0 now...

Dr. Finkelstein is a nice lady, but her lectures are so dry and scattered. You should really watch videos/go to CLAS to get a basic understanding of the material before you go to lecture -- that way all the confusing stuff she says makes sense. Her test is hard, but it works just the same way as the first half of the class. It's just memorization.

Everyone on here is being very dramatic. Her exam was difficult, but you get THREE HOURS to complete it. Therefore, if you redo the test multiple times, any tricks she incorporates should be identified and resolved. The primary issue with this course was that a bunch of people (in the Greek system) studied off of former exams and ruined the curve.

Her lectures are confusing and she can be boring at times. Her final is extremely difficult; you need to know alot of details.

Her lectures aren't great, because she ineffectively rambles on and on. Unfortunately, this is one of those classes where you will have no chance at passing if you don't pay attention in lecture and take notes about everything she says. Study those notes in addition to the lecture slides from Day 1, and you'll be okay. Time management is key too.

Hard class, very lack-luster lectures. That being said, she's taught this class for 20 yrs. so it makes sense. EXTREMELY helpful outside lecture, super friendly woman!! Do practice tests, go to office hours, and don't go to lecture stoned.

Dr. Finkelstein is a very knowledgeable lady. She is however not a very good teacher. She has very basic concepts on her lecture slides and what you get tested on is a lot more specific and difficult.

Clearly not interested in being a professor. The powerpoint slides are just blocks of text. It took a solid amount of effort to keep from passing out during class. The final was brutal and she expects you to remember the most minute details. Luckily, they curve the class quite fairly. But do not expect to do well just by going to lecture.