Emphasis material, when this is done it is not on the test. Material is 50/50 slides and lecture material, but tests heavy things barely talked about. don't take.. do this class with anyone else. She's also not very accessible outside of class.
This class is tough, but manageable if you put in the work. The exams are challenging and cover tiny details, so studying the textbook thoroughly and using tools like Quizlet and Unstuck ai are key. The curve helps, but don't rely on it - stay on top of the material.
I took MCDB 1B in the summer, and Professor Low got more negative reviews than she deserved. She knows the material and sets clear expectations. While her lectures are detail-heavy, all intro bio requires memorization. It's essential to learn to accommodate different teaching styles. Just go to her office hours, and you will do better on tests.
The stuff you learn in MCDB 1B is super complicated and hard, and Low isn't the best person to explain all this content to you. She expects you to know the content as she's lecturing, and one of her favorite things to say during her lectures is, "I told you already!!!" She's low-key kinda funny, but funny doesn't make good professors.
Anything emphasized in class will not be in the test. The questions are designed in very ambiguous ways an often times will compare most to least correct. Also seemingly frustrated at questions.
Looks at student as though they are beneath her. Expects you to memorize everything she says. Anything heavily emphasized will not
Exams are ridiculously specific, questions comes from obscure concepts touched on during lectures so you have to memorize every word she's saying on top of lecture slides. When asked about the wording/ambiguity of the questions during the exam, she seemed annoyed and gave brief, dismissive answers that offered no help. Would not recommend.
This class has been relatively easy in comparison to other MCDB upperdivision courses. Everything is 100% memorization based on her slides and what she says so make sure to listen carefully and write everything down. Low is funny and I enjoyed listening to her lectures.
Low gets more hate than she deserves just because her tests are SO HARD. Her lectures are hilarious and you can tell she knows her stuff. I put in more work than I ever have for MCDB 1B and it was well rewarded. If you can truly understand what shes teaching, even the minutia, an A is very possible. Test questions were specific but still relevant.
her online recordings just make me chuckle
I did the bare minimum and passed, but tbh it was my past biology knowledge and the curve that saved me. This is a difficult class for PBS majors bc it requires gen chem levels of studying which a lot of people don't realize until it's too late. Drill the textbook.
Quizzes and practice exams are NOTHING like the actual exams. The exams are very difficult and be prepared to be tested on topics that are only covered in the textbook or briefly in lecture. Lectures are also very dense in material. The article summaries are an actual assignment that counts for credit, not extra credit like she makes it seem.
insanely difficult exams, and it's just so much material. she vaguely goes over stuff and then adds them to the exam. she's not as bad as ruth, however combined for this course they're no help. the weeder course is definitely weeding. I went to all the lectures, to CLAS, and rewatched ALL her videos, and I still bombed her midterm. boo introbioteam
I'm typically an A/B+ student but I had to withdraw from this course after the first two midterms were graded so difficultly that I was going into the final with a D+. The worst part is, when I asked her about my exams that I felt were marked down incorrectly, she took away MORE POINTS from other questions on my tests and my grade went down more.
Just don't take this class. trust.
She wasn't as bad as some people had said she was but she wasn't great either. The entire grade is based on exams, and she wants extremely specific answers to her test questions. She goes over the material so fast but all lectures were recorded so you can rewatch them whenever needed.
Honestly her slides and her lecturing for 1B isn't horrible. She does move fast and you definitely have to utilize the recordings because she moves quickly. However, if you go to her office hours and talk to her after lecture she's very dismissive and does not do a good job answering questions at all. Not approachable at all.
Primarily graded by exams, & practice tests give unrealistic expectations vs. what is actually given (watch out!). Midterms were doable through creating Quizlets of quiz questions, practice exam questions, lecture questions, etc. and studying it w/ somebody days before each exam. Make sure to really understand processes. Final was VERY difficult.
this class made me miss the gen chem series, which i never thought i would. the tests are insanely difficult and off of the smallest details, rather than general concepts. i only started to pull my grade up after skipping lectures and entirely self studying by the textbook. there's a curve, but it isn't as generous as she advertises it to be tbh.
This course was extremely hard, it was impossible to get a high grade on the midterms and final because you have no idea about what she is going to test. The lectures are unorganized and barely helped your learning, most of the slides were copy and paste from the reading.
Low is lowkey funny, but the class was extremely out of pocket. Exams are extremely difficult/detailed and not like the quizzes at all. Do a lot of practice problems (use the textbook online problems and Quizlets). Read the textbook either before or after the lecture, and pay attention to both! Start studying a couple days before the exam.
Low is tough, but doable. Need to put in the work though, beyond the level of psych majors. Read parts of book that are not clear in class, start studying a week out, and write it all out until you can teach it someone else. It is memorization at minimum, and the rest all application. Know the stuff that seems irrelevant, it'll pop up on an exam.
She calculated my grade incorrectly by 80 points, which came out to about 20%. Every single one of her tests had an average of a failing grade. Her quizzes were nothing like her test questions (tests were 100 times more difficult)
The professor lacks the skills to effectively teach the material in a way that helps students learn and succeed in the course. Study often and thoroughly. To pass the course you need to go to office hours, rewatch lectures, use Quizlet, watch Youtube videos for further explanation, and most importantly READ THE BOOK!
