I personally didn't mind Seng Low and really liked her enthusiasm for the course. Her lectures were engaging and taught concepts in an understandable way but she moves through topics quickly (lots to cover in 1B). Her tests were fair if you knew the material well. This class is definitely a weeder class though, so join a bio mentor group or CLAS!
Low's lectures are hard to follow and the slides are poorly organized. If you want an A, you will have to write down EVERYTHING she says. Also, the test questions were vague at times to the point where you can't even understand what it's asking you. If Low just organized her slides and put more effort into making the exams she would be much better
she doesn't answer all your questions thru email when you need help. she's super lazy and tests on things that she went over for 1 second. seng babe if u reading this, either make the tests make sense or dont teach at all, we don't mind :)
Just... don't. Unreasonably hard midterms and final, and they're worth almost all of your grade. She put little to no effort into the class and it was clear that her goal was to make the class as hard as possible, not to have her students learn. She expects you to know more than she teaches, so I recommend self studying from day 1.
Low is one of the worst professors I've faced at SB so far. I ended up getting an A just from watching + notetaking the lectures. You should write down every part of the slides and what she's saying out loud too. I took the class remotely bc of COVID, so open-notes were helpful during exams, but without that the class would've been 100x harder.
She was a terrible professor and person. she completely disregarded the entire pandemic and didnt not care for students at all. this class was 95% based on test scores which didnt even match with the lectures. her exams were so specific yet her teaching was so vague since she was lazy enough to use previously recorded lectures. DO NOT TAKE LOW.
Gotta work really hard for it and had to self study almost all of it. On my part I hear she is good during office hours and her TAs were helpful. Her tests were very specific which made self studying the textbook a requirement to get an A. Her lectures and structure is confusing and largely unhelpful. Focus on textbook and OH if u wanna do well.
Online lectures are prerecorded from last year in class so they are very difficult to learn from. Lots of background noise and lecture doesn't match up with the slides she gives us. Tests are difficult and super specific. May be different in person, but it seems as though she put no effort into the class. Had to teach myself everything before exam.
Truthfully, just dont.
During OH, she's really chill and answers questions, but her tests really take you out. They demand an incredible amount of detail with little to no leniency for grading, and definitely not enough time to take it. Tiny things from lecture end up covering huge portions on the exams, so if you miss it, you're screwed. Nice person, not nice professor.
Took her for online fall quarter. She uses pre-recorded lectures that are of bad sound quality and she moves away from the recorder sometimes which makes her thick accent harder to understand. Seemed to be no communication b/t her and TAs for material covered. Pulled review pdfs from many years prior that had info that was not in main slides. 1/10
She is one of the worst professors I have ever come across with. She does not accommodate for students needs and quite literally calls people stupid when she is approached to clarify something. Her lectures are just audio recordings from pre-covid classes with distracting background noise. DO NOT TAKE HER IF YOU CAN
Professor low is definitely a great professor. She is reachable during OH, answers every question I had without any hesitation. For maintaining the course as university-level as possible, she made the exam a little harder than the impersonal class. But it is absolutely workable if you try to focus on the course material. For bad student, it is hard
complete disregard for pandemic. 2 midterm 1 final, equal weightage. tests fully misaligned from lectures. used old live lecture recordings and overlayed with ppt. unresponsive to emails. tried to raise concerns after 1st midterm and was ignored. friends took with another prof and did not struggle half as much as i am. avoid when possible.
Low's recorded lectures are from live class pre-pandemic audio and therefore not adapted to online learning at all. Gave rarely any clarifications or communication all quarter. She ghosts students' questions on Nectir and email. Tests are more complicated and nuanced than they would be irl. The absolute worst and most uncaring prof of all my 3 yrs.
For all of the reviews stating how she's funny and all, you're just falling for the bait. She is narcissistic at the core and condescending to her students. Her lectures during the pandemic are just pre-recorded lectures from the regular school year. She is incompetent for this job because quite frankly she doesn't work at all. One of the worst.
Our grade is basically 2 midterms and a final. The midterm tested us on things that were not in the lecture, in the textbook, or verbally stated. She is very condescending and quite frankly the worst professor I have had at UCSB.
If I could rate her worse I would. She is by far the worst professor I have ever had. She is degrading and does not care about her students. Her tests are awfully specific and sometimes covers materials that aren't even covered in her lectures or in the textbook. When asked to clarify material or questions, she completely disregards her students.
Her test questions are purposefully made to waste your time. She's degrading and rude to students. Marks things incorrectly. Her lectures online are just prerecorded laid over powerpoints (sometimes they don't even match up). Asks questions about material that was never taught (oftentimes not even in the textbook). Worst STEM teacher I've had.
For mcdb 1b and 111: Her lectures have a ton of info that you MUST memorize to do well (I read the slides over and over and did a bunch of practice exams/quizlet flashcards). I think she explains concepts well but she does go very fast; also she does a good job of maintaining your attention. Never went to OH's so idk how she interacts w/ students.
This is my 2nd class I've taken with Low online. The lectures are pre-recorded so you can watch them at your own time. She gives out quizzes every week which are not hard at all if you read/watch lectures. Online the lectures feel pretty long but it could be different in person. Midterms are usually 75% multiple choice and a couple short answer.
I'm usually an A student, look what I got. AVOID AT ALL COSTS- taken during pandemic/fires, 3 million acres on fire/air is hazardous. Good: funny, knows material well Bad: unapproachable, uncompassionate, unclear grading, condescending, doesn't answer emails, makes fun of people, DOES NOT CARE ABOUT YOU AT ALL. Curve helped by 1%.
I took Low session B during the summer and she was a great professor. You can tell that she is passionate about the subject and has a great sense of humor during lecture. This is easily the most interesting class I have taken here. However, if you are not interested in the subject, do not take this class as it is challenging if you don't study.
Really frustrated with how this course went. Your entire grade is essentially two midterms and a final. There is very little room for error in this class. Test questions are often written very vaguely but will want a specific answer. Also, took this during the pandemic and was my only class where there was no curve and no accommodation whatsoever.