Shapley really cares about the learning of her students. It shows through in her passion and easy accessibility. Just this past week our TA could not make it to discussion so Shapley ran it herself. I absolutely love Shapley, having taken Astro 3 with her in the past, and I took this class specifically because I knew she was the professor. Love love love love!

Took this class because everyone said the ASTR lower courses are good science GEs for non-majors---definitely would have gone back and chosen a different class, but that's just because I don't really like nor am I good at STEM. Professor Shapley is really helpful and kind and is willing to go over all the homework questions as long as you show up to office hours. She is also fast at responding to emails if something suddenly comes up. The homework is more complicated than the exams, which were multiple choice for my class. If you're willing to spend lots of extra time studying and trying to wrap your mind around hypotheticals as well as reaching out for help, I think you would be fine in this class.

I love Professor Shapley! She is such a kind and helpful professor and without her, I truly wouldn't have made it through this course. She works with students often over email and during office hours. Astr 6 is definitely quite difficult and goes in-depth, but I promise you can do it! The concepts are manageable once you sit down and take a bit of time to understand. This class was pretty fun and I enjoyed it overall! Be prepared for some tough hw's -- she hosts office hours to help, and the exams are easier than the hw! Also, go to class! Professor Shapley explains things very well; she does go a bit fast so I would recommend annotating slideshows rather than taking hand-written notes. If you take this class, I hope you like it!