This class was hard but very do-able. You have to do past exams and book work problems to do well in the class. She was available in office hours, however, I found her to be slightly intimidating.

This class was actually ridiculous. She explained nothing in her lectures then tested us on the most advanced material. Told us there would be a curve and then told us the curve wouldnt affect our grades since theres so many ppl in the class. Dont take this class

With online learning, Sylvester was not a good choice. More often times than not she ended up testing us on material that I had never seen in my entire life, and I was watching her lectures/doing her practice tests. I had to have my friends in other classes teach me the material. idk how I made it through tbh

This professor was not good. All the test averages were very low and she told us multiple times there would be a curve. At the end, she emailed us and told us the curve wouldnt affect some peoples grades. Her lectures were very vague and scattered and tests were very advanced. I would not recommend

This is the worst Professor Ive had by far. She told the class there would be a curve, and then emailed us and told us she only curved SOME of the grades since theres so many people in the class. I ended up with a C in the class and she did not curve it at all. Take another professor

Sylvester was my worst professor this quarter. Her lectures made the content seem simple and even doing ALEKS and textbook problems will not prepare you for her ridiculous tests. Its completely asynchronous so if you have to take it sign up for CLAS or you will not pass. I studied hard and still didnt do very well. Would not recommend.

This class is actually terrible with Sylvester. Her lectures were WAY to brief and she made the tests EXTREMELY complicated and advanced without teaching it. Doing the practice tests are your only hope. If Sylvester is the only professor open for chem, its better to wait until next quarter and get a different professor

If you plan on taking CHEM1A online, do not by any means take it from Sylvester. If doing the in lecture quizzes were not required, I would not have watched bc they were the biggest waste of time and taught nothing. Her exams, and especially her final, were unnecessarily hard especially compared to what other CHEM1A profs give out.

By far the worst thing thats ever happened to me. This class is so bad do NOT take this class. Her lectures are 5 minutes long and does not teach ANYTHING. I'm literally begging you not to take this class it's SO bad. It's horrible. I am balding because of this class. bro im serious don't take it with her

If you have Sylvester for CHEM1A prepare to teach yourself the material. Although she goes over material in lectures, it's a poor overview at best and even once you think you've taught yourself the concepts, the exams consist of poorly worded questions you've never seen anything like. If you want a good grade, do your ALEKs.

Online learning has been a huge disappointment and this class was as terrible as it got. As everyone else has mentioned the recorded lectures were a joke. It was taught in such a manner that it felt like I was already supposed to know the content, and she was just briefly reviewing. They went extremely fast with very little detail given.

Her recorded lectures were mediocre at best. She goes over the content quickly and simplifies a lot of information, but on the test, we always get advanced problems that are much more difficult than the examples she provides from the lectures.

Confusing. Book problems she recommends sometimes have nothing to do with what she's talking about in lecture.

This class is very hard. Prof Sylvester lectures are very brief and vague. The class test averages are very low and she does not curve. I study very hard in this class and still seem to score low on the tests. don't take this class unless you are willing to teach yourself the lessons. She may be a good in person but I would not recommend online.

I had Sylvester for my first chem class and I quickly found that she goes very fast and does not explain herself very much, she seems very rushed and makes jokes a lot but does not take the time to slow down and really go over things like other gen chem profs do

The tests in CHEM 1A/B were very similar to her real exams. She provides a lot of practice, so as long as you take good lecture notes (usually one or two questions related directly to a factoid in class) you're set! CHEM 1C was much more book heavy, but she gives you recommended practice problems before each exam so nothing is out of left field.

If you have not taken a heavy chem class before, brace yourself. This class is fast paced, and even with tutoring, practice problems, and readings I struggled SO much. Prof Sylvester goes through things pretty quick and expects all students to have about an AP chem level of knowledge already under their belt.

I retook this class because I failed last quarter, and I'm glad I took it this quarter with Sylvester. She made it so much easier to understand subjects I was struggling with, and provided forums in which she answered any questions, even silly ones. Her tests are based on previous exams/quizzes, which was a lifesaver this quarter due to quarantine.

I really enjoyed her class. I had taken this course before and failed but her teaching really made it easy for me to learn. I took her during my spring quarter of 2020 during quarantine and she made the class worthwhile. Shes a great professor in general!

I had her for all 3 quarters of gen chem and loved her! Doing textbook problems isn't essential to succeed because she provides practice quizzes & tests and uses similar problems in her exams. I got a 2 on the AP chem exam in high school but got high B's and low A's in gen chem. It definitely helps to have taken a chemistry class before.

I had her for 1B and 1C. Excellent lecturer, reasonable tests, and all around really helpful. Gen Chem will always be a pain (especially 1B in my opinion) but if you put in the work you'll be fine. Would recommend for sure!

Took her for every quarter of gen chem. Very passionate about her field. Subject matter is very difficult but she gives you the tools to learn it. Tests are difficult but practice tests provided are very valuable prep tools. Only complaint is that the class moves too fast but that is just the qtr system. Also online version of the class was rough.

Sylvester has a somewhat scattered way of teaching. She is very example/calculation heavy and somewhat vague on concepts. If you do not have a previous knowledge of chemistry I do not suggest taking her.

Her lectures are clear and organized and she is very helpful when answering questions. She posts a lot of practice tests that are just like her actual exams, so make sure you understand the problems on them. I highly recommend her for Chem 1A!