Beware of taking this class async during the summer!! Recorded lectures from COVID era, so probably little time and resources for Sylvester to prepare these then. Handwriting and videos can be hard to understand, a couple things not taught that were on tests. Overall seems like a nice person, but definitely take this class in person if possible.
I took Chem1A and B with Joseph and 1C with Sylvester. Personally I like Joseph's lecture style better than Sylvester's, but frankly speaking she is also definitely one of the best gen chem lecturers. Very organized. Although she talks very fast, so it takes some time to adapt to it. Midterms are very easy and the final is significantly harder.
Love her. She's great, easy midterms but insanely hard final. Super kind and funny person. Hard just because it's Chem, and there's wasn't really a curve because our midterms were so easy (80&86 avg).
Her lectures are organized and there are videos posted online which is nice. The midterms were chill but the final was significantly harder so be prepared for that (do the book problems!). The final can replace your lowest midterm score and the class is curved at the end which is nice. If you put in the work, you can be successful in this class!
She teaches very fast, so I recommend skipping lectures and just watching the pre-recorded ones on the Canvas page. The first two exams are easy and exactly like the practice tests on Canvas. However, the final was unnecessarily hard, and unlike the first two midterms. I had an A coming into the final, and ended up with a B+ which sucks.
Lectures are really great and straightforward. Exams are easy if you do the practice exams.
Took Joseph Anyika n Sylvester for genchem. Retook chem1C w/sylvester. I feel like ppl r gatekeeping her because her tests compared to joseph's and anyika's are SO much easier. U still have to study but not anywhere near as brutal as the other 2 profs (her book probs r easier tbh). she only puts EXACTLY what she goes over in class on tests!!
i took this class online. do all the book problems and then redo them, but even that might not prepare you for the final exam :(
Took Feldwinn for 1A and Joseph for 1B (all online). Sylvester was pretty average and the lectures definitely were not as great or organized as Joseph but they were still fairly effective. There was a pretty big curve post final so that was also helpful. Not good, not bad either.
Not great, not bad. Lectures are OK, exams are tough but of consistent difficulty, just study the recommended book problems a lot, and ALEKS. Not as good as Price but a solid choice nonetheless, she also didn't troll us on the final like Joseph did to his students. Sometimes she sucks at explaining stuff but most of the time it's good enough
Her lectures are straight and to the point. Understand the book problems and youll have no problem getting an A in the class.
I took Joseph for Chem1A & 1B. I was TERRIFIED to take Sylvester at first, but she was by far the best and I wish I took her sooner. Her lectures were WAY more straight forward, there was actually a curve, she was available to Zoom anytime I had a question, and I spent significantly less time studying for her than for Joseph & I got a better grade.
in-person may be different but her online class was really bad. took her in spring, retaking it just to see her reusing all lectures (which are terrible bc she is extremely bad at explaining). however, i find her exams a bit less tricky than the other profs. sign up for CLAS asap, they explain things 10x better!
All lectures were prerecorded bc of covid and besides doing ALEKS, watching lectures was pretty much the only assignment so the class is very manageable time-wise. She posts practice exams that are similar to the actual exam so if you study those you will be fine. I didn't enjoy the class simply because I don't like chemistry but she is a good prof
Terrible Chem professor. Her online lectures are so bland and vague. She does not elaborate. Her audio sucks and her handwriting does too. Her tests are nothing compared to the practice exams and she puts questions that she's never taught. They are very difficult and even with CLAS this class is tough.
Compared to the other Gen chem lecturers, professor Sylvester is easily the worst. She NEVER elaborates on anything in lecture, doesn't connect topics well, and also doesn't explain things In a clear way. She gives a 20 question exam as opposed to other professors 15, but with the same amount of time given? Overall avoid if possible.
literally the worst lecturer ever. For the first 6 weeks her audio was busted so it sounded like she was underwater and she never bothered to fix it. Doesn't ever elaborate, is super vague, sign up for CLAS if u want to succeed
retaking chem because I was in her first 1C class that moved to online, and didn't pass. hard class, +her lectures are just bad. This quarter I had to retake with her due to scheduling, and when I clicked on the lectures, I literally facepalmed because they are the same bad videos as lastyear. she is reading offa note pad and barely elaborates.
She's quite enthusiastic and gets so excited to do more problems it's pretty fun to see. If you do the practice quizzes/tests the midterms were super easy (some questions were almost literally copy-pasted). The final hit me like a train though, way harder than the midterms. Overall though pretty easy class and pretty good professor.
She looks out for her students which shows that she cares unlike many professors. She puts in effort and therefore she wants you to show effort as well. The chem series is always going to be hard but at least with professor Sylvester it's going to be acknowledged.
The online exams were very difficult with little to no multiple choice questions. The final had topics not covered in class
Took her for all of gen chem. I used to hate chem but now I love it. Always available outside of class during office hours or email. Really funny and really cares about her students. Tests are very similar to the practice tests which she posts a ton of, sometimes some book questions too. Writes everything out on the board w examples which I loved.
The online structure of this class is very difficult. In my opinion, she glazes over topics and doesn't go enough in-depth with the subject. The online tests have gotten significantly harder compared to in-person tests (she pulls material from 1A and ties it in with 1C material). If you have never taken a chem class before, do. not. take. her.
She doesn't use lecture slides and abbreviates a lot when she writes on the chalkboard so you can get lost if you aren't constantly paying attention. If you go to her office hours she will help you. Make sure to do book problems and practice exams. Her tests sometimes have aleks type questions, so do aleks. She wasn't bad just not my style of teach