I worked my ass off and tried Addy for the first time because of this class. It definitely paid off, but I would have preferred another professor. I found Tienson impersonal and struggled to keep up with the material. I spent the entire quarter catching up on the material. I found my TA (Kyung) very helpful, however, and it helps to review LS2/14A-D beforehand.

I hate chem with a passion and am a slacker so those often don't go well together but overall, Tienson is actually pretty good. I don't know about other people, but for me she seems to be very nice and understanding. If you let her know about problems with your grades (through email) she'll take forever to get back to you (3+ days!) but she WILL get back to you. My class was based on: Project (30pnts), participation (20), quizzes (100), MT1 (100), MT 2 (100), and Final (200) making it out of 550 for the whole class. She lets you miss quite a few days of participation while still getting full credit and the project has a couple of extra credit points tagged on at the end. Same for the midterms and final. There's extra credit offered throughout the course. Overall she curves to a B (I got slightly below the class average and still got a B!) Extremely generous curves but don't let that have you slack off. Do her study questions and try not to procrastinate (like I did). As a lecturer she lectures really fast so the podcasts saved my life. She speaks clearly though and puts up a lot of resources that she finds may help you on the website. There are forums where you can ask questions (more convenient than office hours in my opinion) and reviews by the UAs (which in my opinion were useless). Her tests are really hard so the averages were generally in the 60s for us but that doesn't really matter since there's the curve. Study hard for this class and you should at least be able to pull off at least the average. Good luck!

I enjoyed Dr. Tienson's class. It was tough but she grades on a curve which helps a lot. The best advice I can give is to do the study questions. Do every single one and know them well. If you do that you can get an A in the class!

she is not a bad professor, you can do great in the class if you study the study questions and her slides

Professor Tienson is a solid professor with lots of experience behind her belt and plenty of tools to allow you to be successful in her class. Seriously. It's no surprise that 153A is a difficult class, but Tienson has been teaching it for so long that she has TONS of study questions to help guide your learning, and her tests are very consistent with previous tests AND THE STUDY QUESTIONS. If you do all of the questions and review them before the exam, you should get at least the average. I think what makes this class difficult for people is not so much the concepts, but the shear workload/pace that it is at. It's only a four unit course, but meets four times a week plus a discussion section. So it does require time, but I believe that Tienson did an excellent job of presenting the material to us and answering questions in office hours (even ones she had been asked multiple times). YOU CAN BE SUCCESSFUL IN THIS CLASS, I PROMISE YOU. My proof: I received a C- in 14a, C in 14B, C+ in 14C and (finally!!!) a B in 14D. So it's obvious that chemistry is something I have always struggled with, but I got an A- in 153A with Tienson!!! I contribute this mainly to a) my growth as a student, but also b) the amount of materials/resources she gives you to be successful. Just like every other post says-- DO THE STUDY QUESTIONS. Be prepared to have a shitty quarter with a larger workload. The subject itself is pretty interesting and I think most people tend to actually enjoy 153A. Don't let the nay-sayers discourage you otherwise!

Took 153A and 153C with Tienson.

153C Grading: 100 points MT1, 100 points MT2, 200 points final exam, 80 points protein brochure, 20 points clicker questions (not graded for correct answers). She gives a really generous grading scale where the average is a B.

The average of the class when I took 153C was 310 points out of 500 points. Average on MT1 was a high 50, MT2 was a low 50, and average on the final was 108/200 points.

PROS: generous grading curve, good lecturer but can speak fast sometimes, explains concepts well enough to understand the material, podcasts available, she provides a bunch of study questions, always mentions her OH are available, her test questions ARE NOT vague, extra credit available, textbook not needed

CONS: hard tests, sometimes a negative attitude when students don't answer her questions

There is a lot of information to remember in 153A and 153C (WAY more in 153C since you're expected to remember 153A pathways). I highly recommend UNDERSTANDING the study questions. People say her tests are nothing like the study questions she hands out every weekend but that's because the test questions are phrased in a different way but she's testing the same concepts from the study questions. If you know the concepts then you don't need to memorize the study questions verbatim. Also, at the end of every test are 10 freebie points where she asks you to name structures.

Also, if you're a premed, I recommend taking 153C (with or without Tienson). There is a lot of 153C material on the MCAT.

I've completely lost respect of this person. I don't care how infamous or intelligent she is. She is not a nice person at all. When I first tried to enroll in her course back in Winter during my first pass, I enrolled in this course and another MIMG class. But for some damn reason, this class suddenly rescheduled the final exam date without any notifications. It wasn't until freakin week 6 of this quarter when I actually found out that I had an exam conflict. I talked to my MIMG department if I can reschedule my final exam to another date, but of course they said no. Perfectly reasonable because it was the freakin biochemistry department that somehow screwed up and changed the exam date to conflict with my MIMG class. So I talked to Tienson about it during week 6, but she didn't even seem surprised. She said she will take care of it and promised to let me know when the conflict is resolved. Three days passed...no e-mail. I e-mailed her back, asking whether the conflict was resolved..No response. So I proceeded to talk to her after lecture, but there were a lot of people asking questions that day, and she had to take off for the next class, so I just decided to send her another e-mail..No response. Next day I sat in front to make sure I take care of the problems asap. When I approached her and asked her about my problems, she FLAT OUT DENIED THAT SHE MADE A PROMISE TO HAVE MY EXAM CONFLICT RESOLVED. LIKE WTF. I HAD TO DROP THIS COURSE AT WEEK 7 BECAUSE OF AN EXAM CONFLICT THAT I WAS NEVER NOTIFIED. Thanks bitch, for giving me a notification in my transcription for the dumbest reason ever. I even did pretty well on the first midterm, but thanks to this prick, all my efforts during the first 6 weeks were wasted. I can't believe how brazen some people can be. I don't care how much A's you give in your class. You are by far the worst human I've encountered in my life. For those who will think how it's completely my fault for not checking the dates earlier...well I didn't freakin know that UCLA study list apparently lets me keep my classes even with a final exam conflict. And plus, if the class final exam is rescheduled, shouldn't Tienson at least send out a massive e-mail to everyone in the class that there was a change in the exam date so that there won't be a person like me who had to forcefully drop the class? I'm glad I didn't drop it after week 8 because that bitch will probably like to screw people over and refuse to sign the form that allows students to drop the class. I know this review has nothing to do with biochem, but the world should at least know about this uncouth pothead.

I'm really not getting the negative reviews here!

I personally really liked Tienson. Sure, the woman could have used a few more outfits throughout the quarter - she was particularly attached to a dark blue knit sweater when I took hear a few quarters ago. But jokes aside, she was overall a solid professor. She has the no frills approach, which means she won't sugar coat things for you. She will lay things out for you as they are, and will expect you to do learn them.

However, she does guide you along.

I must disagree with a number of posts that say that the study questions didn't help. Honestly, that's all I did. I stayed on top and made sure I completed those long, tedious study questions every week. That's what helped me get a solid grade in the class, to be honest. The study questions. DO THE STUDY QUESTIONS. I cannot emphasize that enough. Her tests are very similar to the questions. Sure, she may throw in a few twists and turns in her questions, but if you did the study questions, then you have enough practice to recognize any twists and turns she may have on her tests.

Her exams were overall fair. Her final was a bit harder from what I remember. I don't think pure memorization would do you well in the class at all. I completely disagree with the posts that simply say to memorize everything. A lot of the topics in this class are pretty conceptual.

Tienson may not be the nicest professor but she gets the job done. Her lectures aren't super fun or exciting, but to me the material was interesting enough to keep me focused. Her lecturing style is a bit dry (don't expect any jokes to keep you alert), so make sure to pump yourself with loads of caffeine before coming in to keep you awake. However, I honestly think she means well. I asked her for a recommendation letter a few quarters after taking her class, and she was more than happy to write it. She's not a bad person. I just don't think she knows how she comes off as sometimes.

Take her! I've heard the other biochem professors are worse. All the best.

This class will be tough regardless of who you take it with.

Stay on top of the study questions when she posts them. Oh you probably didn't take what I just said seriously. Stay on top of the damn study questions when she posts them!

Tienson will lecture fast, so be ready.

Everyone says biochem is all about memorization, but I honestly disagree. You need to have this stuff memorized, but you also need to be able to apply it to an extent. Don't be that premed (since most of you reading this are) that just memorizes and spits everything out onto the paper. Her tests have word limits for the answers because so many people have done that.

GRADING
My class was graded out of 500 points, where a 390+ would guarantee you at least an A- (this will change for every class based on averages from tests-she keeps you posted after each midterm). While this sounds doable, don't be alarmed when the first midterm average is between 45 to 55 out of 90. Take advantage of every extra credit opportunity she gives you, ace the really easy quizzes, and go to lecture and get your easy clicker points.
My breakdown:
Midterm 1: 83.5/90 Average was around 56
Midterm 2: 51/90 Avg was around 48
Final: 170/200 Avg was 121

Grade: A

Don't do what I did and slack off after doing well on the first midterm. You never know which buzz words you'll miss on her next test, even if you think you know your stuff well.

People are right when they say Tienson has a bit of an attitude, but she does give you plenty of opportunities to ask questions (both in person and online). Form a study group.

Overall, stay on top of the work and this class won't be extremely stressful. Slack off, and you will regret it. Go in ready to work! Don't bet deterred from taking 153a with Tienson. There are far worse professors out there.

TL;DR
She's a fine professor
Work hard and stay on top of study questions
Just bite the bullet and take the damn class

She really has a nasty attitude. Don't take this class unless you really have to. She's a b**** and often makes you feel stupid for asking basic questions. Her tests are often unfair and nothing like the stupid practice questions she gives us. I hated her class, ended up getting a B. Her lectures are boring, she's horrible and doesn't explain things at a good pace. Don't understand why she's a professor here. I learned nothing and instead memorized a bunch of bs that's not going to help me because she doesn't care about you learning the material. Instead just memorizing it and matching your answers to her dumb test keys. She's a miserable human being.