If I could offer a fellow undergraduate any good advice, it would be to take this course in summer or spring with another professor. I'm having a significantly better experience in spring. This class was poorly organized, you don't know the span or depth of knowledge needed for the exams. Exams are unnecessarily long and difficult.

If it weren't for the exams, I actually would not have minded Diego's lecturing style, although he tends to over-simplify things to the point where its confusing. The exams were impossible. The final took me all 4 hours and I cried after. Absolutely crushing. Hardest test I've ever taken, and I'm a straight A student. Beware of the tests, esp final

Doesn't give any indication of what to expect on exams and says everything is fair game, so be prepared to study 24/7 and still get blindsided by unexpected questions. Sure, he gets you to "think like a researcher" by doing this but it is extremely unfair to not tell your students what to prepare for, especially for an INTRO biochem course.

Worst professor I've ever taken. This class ruined both my mental and physical health and any class that does that is bad. I studied like my life depended on this class and all he does is gloat about how hard his class is.

The hardest class I've ever taken at UCSB. He explains very briefly each slide which are all pictures and one sentence. He gives you scraps to learn, but the tests are 10x harder (esp. final) and tests on application. I tried reading the book, but it didn't help at all. This is the class that I went above and beyond for, and my efforts were wasted.

Incredibly rude and clearly doesn't understand/care about the students' desire to do well. Berates students with, "don't worry about your grade in this class, know concepts." In the beginning, stated that on frq's there is room for leniency if the student can show they understand the concept, but is unjustly dismissive when there are grievances.

This class was hard. If it wasn't for the pandemic I'm pretty sure I would've failed this class. Tests are very conceptual and you need to focus on how the 'simple' topics in lectures can be applied in many ways. Read the assigned research papers and think about the applications. TAs also not very helpful.

Worst class ever taken.

I dont even know what to say about this class. I dont know how much more I couldve studied. The final and midterms made me cry. This class had me feeling hopeless. I thought the lectures were fine, but compared to the tests he gives you I felt like I was doing a test for the wrong class. Sometimes I wonder if I was in this class at all.

Diego is the worst professor I have ever encountered. He generally explains things well during lectures and tells you focus on big picture concepts. But then his tests are full of things that he has never mentioned and are heavily application based. You need to have 5+ years lab experience and a PhD to get an A in this class.

oversimplified lecture slides with complex diagrams. he tells us not to worry and as long as u understand lecture you'll do well on tests. NOT TRUE. his tests are hard and expect much more detail than he teaches, all application based when he barely teaches a concept well enough to understand. harsh grading. so grateful this class is almost over.

This class is literally impossible unless you are a genius. I have put in so much effort into this class and I'm barely passing. The tests are extremely difficult and there's no way to prepare for the types of questions being asked unless you have prior experience working in a lab. Diego is a nice person but he needs to change the exams.