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.
Hard to understand. Grading on tests is really tough and not too clear. Obvious lack of communication between students and professor on whats going to be on the test or what should be studied.
Her score here is much lower than I expected. Her lecture is clear and intense, and she is good at explaining process in human body. The exam is really hard, but it is doable if you review on the lecture and textbook.
Worst professor I've had. She reads the slides word-for-word, goes pretty fast, and doesn't explain or go into depth about the material at all. She really made bio uninteresting and more confusing than it already is. Just having to listen to her voice for an hour every other day bugged me. And not to mention her midterm was extremely hard.
Her lecture is very very funny. She speak slowly, if you go over the lectures recordings (2x speed)before exam you will be fine. Her exam is easy. Since herself is not native English speaker, she will not trick you on language which means the wrong choices will be very obvious if you know you know.
The exams and quizzes are very very very difficult. Professor Low is very funny but the information she is teaching is extremely challenging and she goes very quickly and tests us on SO much information.
The exams were rough.
I went to every class, read all the required readings, and studied extremely hard for the midterms and final; yet passed, and that is only thanks to the curve. Be ready for exams that are nothing like her practice tests. Her lectures barely dip into the content covered on exams, so read EVERY sentence of the required readings if you want to pass.
Exams are definitely challenging. Must memorize and understand all the concepts to do well. Curve is decent though.
MCDB 6 was the hardest class Ive ever taken, but not impossible. 2 midterms and a final; all extremely difficult, but there is a curve. Rewatch her lectures online and study for at least a week before any exam and youll be fine. I found writing down all the notes from the slides helpful and listening to what she emphasizes in class.
Get ready to memorize almost everything learned in intro bio, in much more detail, in 1 quarter -- graders dock points if your answer is not what her key says nearly verbatim, and barely-covered details from the slides will be asked about. Luckily, exams are not cumulative and the textbook is only necessary if her verbose slides confuse you.
mcdb1A is a weeder class for med students, so you're better off taking this. It seems difficult cause most fail the first midterm, but it is heavily curved. she posts all slides online, so just memorize them and you'll get a decent grade
Yes she's difficult, but there is no way I'd recommend taking 1A over mcdb 6. I have many friends in 1A and it is 10x harder and has a lab. She isn't a great teacher, but if you are able to teach yourself material you'll be fine. The class is curved to a B-, so you'd have to try to fail. Hard to get a good grade though, but most of are fine w/ a C
worst professor ever. laughs when you get things wrong and likes to watch you suffer. very rude and not approachable. very hard to get a good grade in this class
PBS majors: I also thought that this would be an easy class to take since it's SUPPOSED to be tailored to our major, but you're better off taking 1A. Her lectures are so hard to sit through and she's just generally not an approachable person. If you're struggling (like I did) good luck cause you have to teach yourself. Extremely hard midterms/final
Took over the summer, so yes, I was expecting a more-than-average course load but Dear Lord. Holy. Mackerel. This lady surpassed all bounds of making this a weeder class. Unless you absolutely must, I would not recommend taking this course with Low because of how dull her lectures are and how unwilling she is to interact with her audience.
They changed the format of the bio labs, and I had hoped that they would be better, but in fact, they have become worse! The grading scales are harder, and the lab practicals are no easier than before. Unfortunately there's no way to avoid this class if you're a bio major, so good luck and may the odds be ever in your favor tbh.
Totally unorganized, making the material which was clear in lecture more confusing. Many of the questions she writes dont feel fair and her grading policy is rigid for a 1 unit class. If you every have her, Im sorry
The actual worst, she overcomplicates the lab practicals to the point where they're more difficult and time consuming than the actual classes. The lab manual is disorganized and barely corresponds to lectures anyways. Probably the worst person they could have chosen to organize the intro bio labs.
If I could rate her a zero I would
Lows tests are really hard. Nearly every question is which is false and it really tests you on details because one word can make a whole statement false. Definitely stay on top of studying, go to clas and the review sessions. Try to study the material before you go to clas so everythings review. Rewatch lectures. Iclickers graded for accuracy
The literal worst, the labs are completely disorganized and the practicals test on tiny details with not enough time to answer the questions. The manual is horrible, and there's no guidance on the research project. WAY too much work for 1 unit.
Worst class I have taken at UCSB. Prof expects you to memorize way too much info in such a short amount of time. Lectures are extremely boring. Her tests are way too hard!!!!! (especially if you're a non-bio major. I am not exaggerating when I say she made this class miserable. Would not recommend. Avoid at all costs