My grandma died right before MCDB 1A midterm, i had to fly across the country for the funeral. Alice needed proof she actually died to not get a zero with no leniency. No obituary cause she was buried 24 hrs after death (jewish) & death cert would take weeks to get. I sent a picture of me at her grave, my family was in on it and we had a laugh.
Started online but in person after a month. Slides posted, but she gave additional info in the lecture. Section attendance is mandatory but the lecture is not. Lowkey hard. Take the other nutrition class through the health department. Like no assignments, so both midterms and finals are ur grade. Weekly quiz in section. Didn't expect it to be hard.
Human physiology is challenging, despite Dr. Low knowing the materials very well. As a sophomore at UCSB, it's the most difficult course I've taken. I often considered dropping it, but I'm glad I didn't. The final curve was a lifesaver, helping me secure an A+ with 86%. It turned out well despite the difficulties.
Unpopular opinion, Alice is an incredible professor. I just finished the entire intro biology series + labs and honestly, I think she did everything that she could to be helpful throughout the series. Yeah there were a few errors on her end- but cut her some slack, the woman manages the ENTIRE intro bio department. IDK why she gets so much hate.
ive never had a prof who made me hate school before. until Low. she was so hard to understand (and not necessarily bc of her accent) and did not allow for questions. she was not particularly nice either. lectures were confusing and tests were hard.
literally hands down the worst professor I've ever had for a class I didn't even need to take. she knows her stuff but makes you memorize so much it's impossible to retain every little detail. failing grades for both midterm averages (and probably final) and yet only curved the final grade by one letter. avoid at all costs and take with thrower
She's so funny and sweet. Her lectures were so entertaining and could lowkey come off as borderline offensive LOL The TAs in my quarter carried and wrote the exams, which were all very fair. It was not an easy class — I had to study (since it was basically memorization) — but if you studied well, it's a pretty easy A on the exams.
this is NOT an easy GE. lectures are interesting but the tests are basically a biology test. If you're really into bio i would say take it, but im not a stem person so it was pretty hard. lectures and sections aren't mandatory. very easy weekly quizzes and assignments. tests were honestly the only hard part of the class.
First Midterm average was 58% second was 54%. Low is unhelpful and often crass. Despite a multitude of grading errors on both midterms (due to use of AI to grade [supposed to be just students copping out of their work]) she fumes at any regrade request. While I am sure she is capable in her field, this class is a waste of an interesting subject.
This professor was not willing to work with students. Her expectations are not reasonable. She asks more of students then she asks of herself. For example me and (over 10 other students) were completely unable to reach her. I think this is unacceptable behavior from a department head at a University such as UCSB.
This professor was not willing to work with students and made herself unavailable for comi
Average for the first midterm was 58% Half the class dropped. I studied a lot and never went to lecture. She is not approachable at all. Annoyed when you ask her a question, acts as if you are wasting her time, so be prepared to just rely on yourself for this one. Take a different Prof if you can. Needed if you're pre med
I understand the rough reviews, however, she is understanding and gives second chances. She is always willing to help and just wants to see your dedication to the class. She helped me write my final poster. Tough but fair and kind at the end of the day. Go see her in person for help as much as possible.
DON'T TAKE THIS CLASS. Advertised as an easy GED but consists of extremely hard upper div bio chem concepts. Everyone in my class struggles and the tests have things we hardly talked about in class. Don't take it.
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.
Very poorly written/designed. Instructions could be way more clear. Lab videos are not in order/skips steps so it's more confusing than it needs to be and generally just not that helpful. Makes me miss gen chem lab because at least everything was clear.
Alice is literally so terrible and mean. She wants all the bio students to suffer and I truly feel like she wants to weed out as many people as she possibly can. I feel really sorry for you if you have to suffer through one of her classes. She has made me absolutely hate my major. So thanks for that!
She don't provide what student need: I have no idea how to do the programmins for statistic analysis, but I can't find any guide for this. If you get sick and miss a lab, drag your tired body to get the doctor note. Since without it you will lose whole credit for the lab, and there is no compensate lab or lowest one drop, so say bye to your A!
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.
The definition of "this is just a job". She's not even a real professor, just a coordinator. Unfortunately, that means a lot of the planning for these intro level mcdb/eemb classes get handed to her, bureaucrat-style. Terrible communication, if you reach out to her either in-person or by email, good luck getting a response back.
Literally the meanest professor/coordinator ever. Every single class I have taken run by her had something go drastically wrong (like having 800+ students take a final 3 times). She also has 0 empathy for students, almost didn't excuse my friend from a lab because she couldn't send her a LITERAL OBITUARY fast enough.
Literally the WORST HUMAN to ever grace ucsb campus. is the least understanding person and hardly responds to emails on top of how HORRIBLY she coordinates classes. My house literally flooded and she said It wasn't fair to other students for me to submit my assignment late. (bro my house flooded). awful courses for an awful coordinator
It is hard, ngl. But if you can do well, you will remember content for the rest of your life and will ace any physiology MCAT question. Grind every single slide, every single word until you understand. Watch lectures on full volume because she literally SAYING what will be on exam and gives you an answer. Every time the explains, it will be in exam
Absolute joke of a coordinator. She split a single course into 3 different professors, already confusing students, and 1 of the professors is teaching ENTIRELY on zoom. 0 accessibility, 0 transparency, 0 accommodations, and honestly the worst professor in all of UCSB. You cannot avoid her classes, but hopefully she loses her job one day.