SYLVESTER B M

Rate My Professors (331)


CHEM1A . Sylvester B M 3 Years Ago

By far the worst thing thats ever happened to me. This class is so bad do NOT take this class. Her lectures are 5 minutes long and does not teach ANYTHING. I'm literally begging you not to take this class it's SO bad. It's horrible. I am balding because of this class. bro im serious don't take it with her

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CHEM1A . Sylvester B M 3 Years Ago

If you have Sylvester for CHEM1A prepare to teach yourself the material. Although she goes over material in lectures, it's a poor overview at best and even once you think you've taught yourself the concepts, the exams consist of poorly worded questions you've never seen anything like. If you want a good grade, do your ALEKs.

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CHEM1A . Sylvester B M 3 Years Ago

Online learning has been a huge disappointment and this class was as terrible as it got. As everyone else has mentioned the recorded lectures were a joke. It was taught in such a manner that it felt like I was already supposed to know the content, and she was just briefly reviewing. They went extremely fast with very little detail given.

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CHEM1A . Sylvester B M 3 Years Ago

Her recorded lectures were mediocre at best. She goes over the content quickly and simplifies a lot of information, but on the test, we always get advanced problems that are much more difficult than the examples she provides from the lectures.

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CHEM1A . Sylvester B M 3 Years Ago

Confusing. Book problems she recommends sometimes have nothing to do with what she's talking about in lecture.

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CHEM1A . Sylvester B M 3 Years Ago

This class is very hard. Prof Sylvester lectures are very brief and vague. The class test averages are very low and she does not curve. I study very hard in this class and still seem to score low on the tests. don't take this class unless you are willing to teach yourself the lessons. She may be a good in person but I would not recommend online.

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1A . Sylvester B M 3 Years Ago

I had Sylvester for my first chem class and I quickly found that she goes very fast and does not explain herself very much, she seems very rushed and makes jokes a lot but does not take the time to slow down and really go over things like other gen chem profs do

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CHEM1C . Sylvester B M 3 Years Ago

She's quite enthusiastic and gets so excited to do more problems it's pretty fun to see. If you do the practice quizzes/tests the midterms were super easy (some questions were almost literally copy-pasted). The final hit me like a train though, way harder than the midterms. Overall though pretty easy class and pretty good professor.

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CHEM1ABC . Sylvester B M 3 Years Ago

The tests in CHEM 1A/B were very similar to her real exams. She provides a lot of practice, so as long as you take good lecture notes (usually one or two questions related directly to a factoid in class) you're set! CHEM 1C was much more book heavy, but she gives you recommended practice problems before each exam so nothing is out of left field.

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CHEM1C . Sylvester B M 3 Years Ago

She looks out for her students which shows that she cares unlike many professors. She puts in effort and therefore she wants you to show effort as well. The chem series is always going to be hard but at least with professor Sylvester it's going to be acknowledged.

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CHEM1BC . Sylvester B M 4 Years Ago

I had her for 1B/C and her exams were fair. Do her practice exams, go to CLAS, and book problems. Book problems are very helpful for the tricky questions she usually uses towards her end of her exam! The curve for her class is small compared to the other gen chem classes. Her exams are also a time crunch.

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CHEM1A . Sylvester B M 4 Years Ago

If you have not taken a heavy chem class before, brace yourself. This class is fast paced, and even with tutoring, practice problems, and readings I struggled SO much. Prof Sylvester goes through things pretty quick and expects all students to have about an AP chem level of knowledge already under their belt.

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CHEM1C . Sylvester B M 4 Years Ago

The online exams were very difficult with little to no multiple choice questions. The final had topics not covered in class

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CHEM1A . Sylvester B M 4 Years Ago

I retook this class because I failed last quarter, and I'm glad I took it this quarter with Sylvester. She made it so much easier to understand subjects I was struggling with, and provided forums in which she answered any questions, even silly ones. Her tests are based on previous exams/quizzes, which was a lifesaver this quarter due to quarantine.

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CHEM1A . Sylvester B M 4 Years Ago

I really enjoyed her class. I had taken this course before and failed but her teaching really made it easy for me to learn. I took her during my spring quarter of 2020 during quarantine and she made the class worthwhile. Shes a great professor in general!

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CHEM1ABC . Sylvester B M 4 Years Ago

I had her for all 3 quarters of gen chem and loved her! Doing textbook problems isn't essential to succeed because she provides practice quizzes & tests and uses similar problems in her exams. I got a 2 on the AP chem exam in high school but got high B's and low A's in gen chem. It definitely helps to have taken a chemistry class before.

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CHEM1C . Sylvester B M 4 Years Ago

Took her for all of gen chem. I used to hate chem but now I love it. Always available outside of class during office hours or email. Really funny and really cares about her students. Tests are very similar to the practice tests which she posts a ton of, sometimes some book questions too. Writes everything out on the board w examples which I loved.

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CHEM1C . Sylvester B M 4 Years Ago

The online structure of this class is very difficult. In my opinion, she glazes over topics and doesn't go enough in-depth with the subject. The online tests have gotten significantly harder compared to in-person tests (she pulls material from 1A and ties it in with 1C material). If you have never taken a chem class before, do. not. take. her.

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CHEM1ABC . Sylvester B M 4 Years Ago

I had her for 1B and 1C. Excellent lecturer, reasonable tests, and all around really helpful. Gen Chem will always be a pain (especially 1B in my opinion) but if you put in the work you'll be fine. Would recommend for sure!

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CHEM1ABC . Sylvester B M 4 Years Ago

Took her for every quarter of gen chem. Very passionate about her field. Subject matter is very difficult but she gives you the tools to learn it. Tests are difficult but practice tests provided are very valuable prep tools. Only complaint is that the class moves too fast but that is just the qtr system. Also online version of the class was rough.

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CHEM1A . Sylvester B M 4 Years Ago

Sylvester has a somewhat scattered way of teaching. She is very example/calculation heavy and somewhat vague on concepts. If you do not have a previous knowledge of chemistry I do not suggest taking her.

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CHEM1B . Sylvester B M 4 Years Ago

All of her lectures are done on the chalkboard and aren't posted online, but are more informative than Prof. Joseph's lectures. Her quizzes and exams are almost identical to the ones posted on Gauchospace, but also use problems taken from ALEKS and the textbook. Would've gotten a higher grade if the final wasn't canceled due to COVID-19.

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CHEM1A . Sylvester B M 4 Years Ago

Her lectures are clear and organized and she is very helpful when answering questions. She posts a lot of practice tests that are just like her actual exams, so make sure you understand the problems on them. I highly recommend her for Chem 1A!

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D . Sylvester B M 4 Years Ago

She wrote all notes and examples on the board, but in my opinion did not spend enough time explaining and getting majority of class to understand. Tests and quizzes had surprise questions even though she posts lots of practices tests. I learned most things online through Aleks. If you have Chem. series to tale I reccomend Price or Joseph if you can

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