RUTHlessly hard exams, monotone asf, do not take

Extremely monotone lecturer. Teaches things giving no background which makes it sooo hard to understand. The worst professor I have ever had.

The most inadequate professor I have ever had. She briefly introduces topics without any consideration that most students have never seen this information. I hope she reads her reviews because something needs to change with her teaching. It is disappointing to see such an interesting class ruined by such an awful lecturer who zero teaching skills.

Her lectures had a lot of content and she went really fast but she rarely gave us any take home videos and she was quite funny. The tests are really hard but there is a massive curve. I honestly had to know basically everything she said for her tests. I would recommend reading the book since she follows it pretty closely.

I actually felt her lecture style was decent. She was definitely pretty organized. However, the test was just gnarly man. MCDB 1B is THE weeder class for your entire UCSB undergraduate biology education. Expect to have to work for it because if you do, you will definitely come with your head above water.

She was alright in hindsight. Just so much hecking content. This is definitely a class you want to do the reading.I feel that reading + slides + lectures should be enough, but there is just so much. Tests are quite difficult so be ready for that.

I thought Low was bad until I encountered Finkelstein. While she isn't the best professor, Low is sweet and seems to care about her students. Her lectures were okay, and heavily based on the textbook. Make sure to read the textbook. Exams were insanely difficult.

Memorize every little detail on her slides and you might get a C on the exam. Hardest class I've taken at UCSB. In all honesty, I think that this class says more about the intro bio department, which is the least empathetic and caring department I have ever met. I liked biology before taking this class. I don't anymore.

She acts like she does not want to be there. Read the textbook it helps more than her slides. Honestly ruined biology for me

Hardest class I've taken at UCSB. You have to eat, sleep, and breathe her lecture material. Write down everything on the slides and everything she says. She'll mention something once for 2 seconds and it'll show up on the exam. If you think you won't need to know it for the exam, yes you will. Use the Anki app (free) for studying, it helped a lot.

Tricky exam questions not meant to measure your understanding of the subject but check how well you can read. MEMORIZE her slides. Textbook won't really help you. Quizlets help a bit. Just survive the class, it's rough

The slides are not digestible and there is no clear organization during her lectures so it's hard to learn anything during class. Don't wait to start studying, even if you're an academic weapon. Call her Dr. ____ Finkelstein cause this class is Ruth-less (seems like a nice person tho).

You'll think you have it bad with Professor Low at the start. Then you'll experience Finkelstein, and you'll offer your firstborn to satan if only you could get her back.

You never know how good you have it until it's gone. I was a Low hater until I experienced the second half of this class, the antichrist Ruth Finkelstein. Then I realized Low is actually a sweet angel sent from heaven and I would have given anything to get her back. That being said, her midterms are impossible, you WILL dedicate your life to them.

Honestly, I thought the other reviews were giving her a hard time but they are extremely accurate. Lectures are nearly impossible to follow and slides contain very little info and abstract terminology that she does not explain more than just reading straight off the slide. Seems like a nice person, but maybe lecturing just isn't her thing.

Does not convey the lecture material in helpful or explanatory ways. I learned all content for this class from the book or CLAS. Her lectures are jumbled and she jumps straight in saying terms you've never heard of or showing complex graphics and barely explains them at all. Would have failed this class if it wasn't for reading the entire book. I

Not great, but compared to Finkelstein she's a saint. She is pretty funny and engaging in lecture, and her slides are basically all you need. Accessible in office hours, however she definitely isn't fond of giving verbose answers to questions. Expect very straightforward material with decently challenging exams. Would suggest looking at book.

Honestly, you'll have to teach yourself most of the material. Lectures are NOT engaging whatsoever and half of the time you can barely follow her line of thought. Seems confused about her own course content and it seems like she sometimes has zero interest in what she's saying. Would not recommend, and would not take again.

Great lecturer, uses lots of examples to help you understand difficult concepts. Her midterms are super specific though and didn't seem to actually test your knowledge on the course material.. overall love the professor hate her midterms

Honestly AVOID at all cost. 66% was average on midterm 1 and the class is scaled not curved meaning your grade is determined by the top 5 highest scoring students (and only benefits the people who are already doing well). take small bio the majority of people get As and Bs

If you see this comment, then stop thinking about taking her class. Her lectures are so tedious and her PPTs are quite not organized. She only follows a bunch of notes on her PPT during class and speaks so fast. Her exams are unreasonably difficult although exam grades are 90% of the score. She doesn't know how to help students understand biology.

Terrible professor. Monotonous tone makes lectures unbearable, tests you on the most obscure and minuscule details, and overall makes the class very unenjoyable. Only positives were the curve (~8%) and that she played music before lectures started in-person.

Prof. Finkelstein's teaching style did not align well with many students. It involved a lot of lecturing AT us and little to no interactive learning/engaging lessons. The iclickers and quizzes were slightly useful for gauging knowledge... but overall, a really poor learning experience. Tests were hard, and there was no traditional curve.

Finkelstein does not make this hard class any easier. Her lectures are extremely slow, and she asks for very detailed answers on her exams. Plant physio was tough, but CLAS helped somewhat.