why the hell are these 2-3 unit chem labs obsessed with giving impossible finals. my grade dropped 10%...

I maintained a high A (> 95%) all quarter in this class. Gainer administers THREE midterms, a lab practical, and a notoriously hard final exam, all in the span of 10 weeks (3rd midterm was literally week 9). As if the class is not difficult enough, Gainer creates an incredibly difficult final exam, which brought me down an entire letter grade.

Gainer is approachable and nice, but I find the lectures to lack context/structure and I got lost in what we were learning. I have nothing against him but god does this class suck. I have a deep hate for this subject so I might be biased, but it really was the worst. 4 hour lab every week, plus lecture 2x a week (lab practical AND lecture final).

Gainer was a good lecturer, but the tricky thing was the fact that there was lab + lecture. TA makes or breaks your lab portion. Try to do well on lab reports, because they can help cushion your exam grades. Do all the textbook problems before exams, they helped me do really well on the exams compared to the average. Curve can help by section.

Gainer is a very approachable professor, very nice and willing to answer questions. However, his lectures are not the most organized and are quite disconnected from the textbook. Ask for a classmate's notes if you missed a class, do not waste time reading the textbook. The final is pretty tricky, but doable.

Professor Gainer is amazing! Everything he says clicks and it really stays with you till test days. This class is heavily dependent on TAs and how they grade. My TA was Ms. Bashir, and she was ridiculously impossible to work with and just a mean grader. Do not sign up for Friday 8AM with Bashir!!!!!!

Dr. Gainer is a super nice guy who has pretty useful lectures and is available for help if you need it. This class was not easy, but I think the difficulty of all exams was very reasonable. I HIGHLY recommend the book problems for practice! Labs themselves are TA dependent, but most of the TAs want you to succeed. I really enjoyed this class.

Good luck. Exams are hard. If you have the time, talk to a TA as much as possible.

Gainer has archaic standards, requiring students to write in pen and specifically use a composition style notebook. He disallows graphing calculators on his tests forcing many students to scramble to get a scientific calculator. The final was terribly written having a significant portion of its questions on content from one lecture.

Taking this class made me realize my life's just a misery.

It was not the hardest class in ucsb but the worst. I didn't realize there was a practical test until the last experiment. Prof Gainer didn't mentioned it in syllabus. Also, the quizzes were unfair and were made by TAs. Always one harder and one easier version. Don't take it unless you are required. Good luck.

Lab reports/quizzes are all graded by the TAs. He was a good lecturer in 6AL, only thing he does in 6BL is essentially make the final. Final is VERY difficult and will probably bring your letter grade down by one (happened to me and all my friends). Study for the final create a routine for the class.

Gainer was a good lecturer overall and explained concepts pretty clearly. The midterms were pretty fair and doable, but the final is a lot trickier and harder and basically determines your grade, so make sure to study a lot for it. Lectures are mandatory and it's pretty pard to catch up if you've missed one

Gainer's classes can be challenging, but engaging with the material and using study tools like unstuck study can help you succeed. The final is tough, so focus on the lab reports and quizzes. Overall, a worthwhile class if you put in the effort.

Lemme start off by saying chem is not my strong suit. However, Gainer is such a goat. Yes there is a lot of homework, yes you should do the readings, and yes the concepts are hard. However, he is a really good professor. As long as you come to him with where you are confused are what you don't understand he does an amaz job trying to get you there

Gainer is very active during lecture but doesn't teach as well as Lewis. You will have to learn material outside of class as he expects you to know more than you probably do. Has a hard final which he creates while his TAs make the quizzes. Do well on the lab reports and 3 of the quizzes and you will do well. Cushion your grade before the final.

Dreaded going to lecture because they were so dense, with little to no explanations (always left confused). The exams were quite difficult, you definitely have to study or at least review something. The labs are alright, it really depends on your TA to make or break your grade. The prof was passive aggressive, vibes were off, not very welcoming.

Study for the final - it basically determines your grade in the class. 6AL is not too hard except for the final. Gainer is really nice, but becomes a new beast on test days.

6AL really was just a pain. Not a single thing about it was fun. TA was passive aggressive grading assignments, and Gainer is also passive aggressive. The whole thing was just too uptight for literally no reason. I don't expect classes to be fun, but this class was so miserable for no reason. Miserable class, miserable people.

I honestly will 100% put him up there with Scott Price because they are that good. Chem 6AL by far, most work I ever had to do for one class but not impossible. He is such a clear lecturer, FUNNY and is SO nice during office hours (very understanding). He explains the concepts so clearly and I looked forward to his class sm! I also had a goated TA.

This class wasn't as hard as people say. I'm glad I took it as a 4th year so that I could focus on it more. Barely anyone ever went to his office hours which is weird bc I found them to be helpful. He is nice and will help you if you ask for it. He's not condescending like other chem profs can be. Gainer makes tests very difficult though so study!

Professor Gainer is super kind and I enjoyed taking his class. It wasn't super easy, as the ochem classes are typically not, but he was easy to communicate with and receive help from. I recommend any class that he is teaching especially since they made me excited to learn more about ochem and the field.

Highly disagree with the bad reviews. Amazing chemistry professor. Super approachable and gives plenty of resources. JUST DO THE RECOMMENDED TEXTBOOK PROBLEMS, they are recommended for a reason. Slower paced than other chem courses. Take ASAP after finishing prereqs even if you don't like the lab time. The final was the only rough part. Lab is fun.

Worst chemistry professor I ever took. Went over stuff in class very simply and then had the hardest examples from the book on the quizzes. His teaching style consisted of telling you "read the book" and you basically teach yourself through practice problems. He was no help in actually learning the material. Average was a C-, no curve at the end.