Had her for both chem 1a/1b, I mean she was okay. Lectures only ever had surface level example problems and her exams always had questions that came out of nowhere, even after going through ALL practice exams and all the book problems. This class is going to be hard no matter but still I feel exams weren't the fairest and set up trying to trick u.

Had her for all three parts of the gen chem series. Lemme say this, she is a great professor and offers many resources however gen chem is just hard. You need to put in the effort to study at least 2-3 hours a day cranking out practice problems. She tries to trick you on exams but as long as you study and ask questions during lecture you'll be fine

difficult to understand lectures. you'll be fine if you put in enough effort though (i didn't)

do all the practice exams 2-3x each because tests are basically identical. but her handwriting is so ahh it's like deciphering code on those answer keys... lecture is useless, do aleks, and self teach the entire course to urself and you'll get a B.

i wish i could take her for the entire chem series. exams are usually similar to the practice problems so do them multiple times!!! (midterms are only 45 minutes) her lecture videos are pretty bad so go to lecture. do book problems (as you would in any gen chem class) and aleks.

Chem1A is hard in general, I think professor Sylvester made it slightly easier. Definitely need to attend lecture but you do have access to video lectures on each topic and practice exams to study. Usually a pretty heavy curve. Practice exams and problems are the only way to pass this class.

Professor did an amazing job of teaching the difficult concepts. Was easy to talk to and made lectures fun and interesting. Exams were difficult but not impossible if you studied and did book problems consistently.

very good lectures. she goes over lots of example problems during them that are similar to what is on the midterms/final. During the example problems provides students the time to do the problem on their own first before she gives the explanation which is nice.

Took her for Chem 1A and 1B. Chill professor, nice lecture. Be ready to do Aleks (which is torturing, but the whole chem department use it...). She would provide tests in previous years on canvas for you to practice, just remember to do them cuz they are SO HELPFUL.

Best teacher I could have for chemistry

Low ratings are because the course itself is difficult, she teaches well. Don't be fooled— ALEKS is NOT optional, the grade boost is a lifesaver. Exams are hard but 90% of exam problems are ~identical to textbook ones. Grind the heck out of those and you'll do well. Her lecture videos are confusing— Joseph has good vids on yt, or just google it.

Sylvester isn't the worst but definitely isn't the best. Her first midterm and final were very difficult and different from her practice tests, although her second midterm was much more easier and doable. She explains concepts at a very basic level so make sure to do ALL book problems more than once as well as the optional ALEKS to pass.