Sylvester doesn't give a dang about her students. I was OUT for a week with COVID and she didn't give a flying funk. I was battling all the demons. She made me take the midterm regardless. I got a 58. DUH. I wasn't about to pass with her terrible teaching and non-empathetic persona.

She teaches through examples but skips over steps which can be confusing for people learning the content for the first time. I personally don't get the sense that she actually cares about her students. When I was extremely sick during midterm season, I asked to take the exam just a few HOURS (not days) later and she said no.

Lectures are straightforward. There are a few times it would be nicer if she could go in depth but doesn't. Tests are fine if you study reasonably. There will be 2 tough questions that aren't really something that can be studied, you just really need to get the concepts and apply them. Otherwise just attend 3 50 min lectures, do the work, pass.

She was a decent lecturer; concise, good explanations, readily answered questions. However, the course material overall is very tough & fast-paced if you don't set up a good study sched, but luckily there's usually a generous class curve. DO BOOK PROBS/PRAC EXAMS, so important. Lectures are online if you have to miss but I'd recommend attending.

I thought Sylvester's class was alright, but I took AP Chem in high school so it felt like a review. The people I know who didn't really struggled in this class. She is direct and concise in her lectures, which I liked, but if you are learning the material for the first time this will not benefit you. Her grading curve is pretty generous.

Good lecturer but homework was arduous and useless in preparing for the test. Many test question were not taught in class.

Sylvester wasn't that bad, but chemistry is very hard and you have to study if you want to even think of passing. The only thing really bad about her is that she only reviews the easy versions of problems in class, but gives really hard versions on the exams. Definitely do practice exams that she provides AND PRACTICE DOING EXAMS AT A FAST PACE.

The only reason why I didn't fail her class is that her practice exams are basically like her real exam, except with dif numbers and maybe a few ALEKS problems thrown in here and there. Grind ALEKS + practice exams a few times and you be chillin'

By far the worst professor I have ever had. In some ways her practice exams are like the actual exams except the actual exam will be one hundred times harder. Her final was super hard and was nothing like the practice one. ALEKS is honestly busy work it doesn't help much and she just throws information at you in lectures instead of teaching.

Her lectures are not the best but also not the worst. The test averages were around 65% but she didn't seem to change her teaching style to help us do better. I spent 95+ hours doing ALEKS assignments as well as practice tests on top of that but still managed to fail every test. Find a study buddy who is also in her class if you can. Good luck.

Even after doing her recommended studying schedule with a friend and understanding her practice tests, I still failed every test. The average for the tests were 65% and she did nothing to try to improve that average. Her final exam was nothing like her final practice exam or anything she's taught in class. Do ALEKS, it has good explanations!

Just horrible. Doesn't care about students after seeing our results on the exam. Didnt change anything about her teaching/exams. Lectures are very unorganized and just throws information on you. Although chem is hard in itself, I believe she didnt help us at all. Likes to make her problems/exams very wordy and tricky. I do not recommend.

Practice exams are your best friend- and time yourself; the most difficult thing about this class is the time crunch on tests (and tests make up 80% of your grade). Utilize CLAS worksheets for extra practice; ALEKS is also good concept practice (and helps your grade). Attend class and/or watch recordings. Good luck!! :)

Professor Sylvester is great. Chemistry is a beast of itself so get ready. You will have to study outside of class in order to understand the concepts.

She's a very good lecturer and has an awesome sense of humor! Her tests are very difficult but Chem1A is known to be particularly difficult anyways, so it isn't just her. She is great at answering questions and clearly exhibits expertise as she is able to thoroughly answer any question.

The lectures are required homework is easy, but her tests are extremely hard and there is no curve. Theres 3 tests (the lowest gets dropped) and the final that make up the majority of your grade. Id recommend doing the practice problems because even though I took Chem and AP chem, I still did average on the tests.

Took Feldwinn for 1A and Joseph for 1B (all online). Sylvester was pretty average and the lectures definitely were not as great or organized as Joseph but they were still fairly effective. There was a pretty big curve post final so that was also helpful. Not good, not bad either.

Not great, not bad. Lectures are OK, exams are tough but of consistent difficulty, just study the recommended book problems a lot, and ALEKS. Not as good as Price but a solid choice nonetheless, she also didn't troll us on the final like Joseph did to his students. Sometimes she sucks at explaining stuff but most of the time it's good enough

Her lectures are straight and to the point. Understand the book problems and youll have no problem getting an A in the class.

I took Joseph for Chem1A & 1B. I was TERRIFIED to take Sylvester at first, but she was by far the best and I wish I took her sooner. Her lectures were WAY more straight forward, there was actually a curve, she was available to Zoom anytime I had a question, and I spent significantly less time studying for her than for Joseph & I got a better grade.

in-person may be different but her online class was really bad. took her in spring, retaking it just to see her reusing all lectures (which are terrible bc she is extremely bad at explaining). however, i find her exams a bit less tricky than the other profs. sign up for CLAS asap, they explain things 10x better!

Overall solid professor with solid lectures and she is a very nice lady in office hours. I bombed the first exam and did okay on the second exam because I am very bad with chem but she was helpful and I was able to end up with a B+ in the class, almost an A-. Aleks can be annoying but its helpful and overall solid course, would recommend.

All lectures were prerecorded bc of covid and besides doing ALEKS, watching lectures was pretty much the only assignment so the class is very manageable time-wise. She posts practice exams that are similar to the actual exam so if you study those you will be fine. I didn't enjoy the class simply because I don't like chemistry but she is a good prof

Terrible Chem professor. Her online lectures are so bland and vague. She does not elaborate. Her audio sucks and her handwriting does too. Her tests are nothing compared to the practice exams and she puts questions that she's never taught. They are very difficult and even with CLAS this class is tough.