Professor
Huiling Shao
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Most Helpful Review
Spring 2023 - This review is for Chem 14C: Structure of Organic Molecules, taken with Dr. Shao in Spring 2023. Dr. Shao seems to be a kind and caring professor, and this was her first quarter teaching Chem 14C. Her lectures were incredibly unclear, fast, and disorganized. She would have slideshows that she would annotate on during lecture, where she mainly rushed through a wide variety of practice problems rather than explaining the concept with clarity. The lectures were unclear and fast; she often did not have time to field any questions because she wanted to rush through all the day's slides. Outside of class, Professor Shao offered to help students in office hours and via email. Via email, Dr. Shao was quite blunt with her replies and not very helpful. Most of the learning done in this class was via Youtube videos and studying with friends. The lectures were unclear and Dr. Shao did not provide much clear help outside of class either. As for the exams, they are open note, so there is no memorization needed in this class, which is a relief considering that organic chemistry is considered quite memorization heavy. There were 2 midterms and 1 final exam. The tests were written quite fairly; the two midterms were rushed in terms of time, but the final felt quite short and simple. Each exam had multiple choice questions, short answer questions, and then longer comprehensive problems. There was scope for ample partial credit. The first midterm was slightly curved up, but the second midterm and final were not curved. Dr. Shao's grading scheme was incredibly friendly. The class average was an A-, which seems high for an organic chemistry class. She offered 3% Extra Credit in the form of surveys and feedback forms and then an additional 1% Extra Credit in the form of bonus questions on the final exam, which really boosted grades. Additionally, discussion section worksheets were worth 24% of the grade, and Canvas quizzes were worth 16% of the grade, most of which were free points. Overall, for an organic chemistry class, Dr. Shao made it quite easy to get a good grade in this class. The exams were open book/note and there was a lot of extra credit offered. However, Dr. Shao was not a clear and helpful lecturer, and it felt like I did most of the understanding of the content of this class by myself via Youtube videos. All in all, easy A class but mainly all self-learning outside of lecture.
Spring 2023 - This review is for Chem 14C: Structure of Organic Molecules, taken with Dr. Shao in Spring 2023. Dr. Shao seems to be a kind and caring professor, and this was her first quarter teaching Chem 14C. Her lectures were incredibly unclear, fast, and disorganized. She would have slideshows that she would annotate on during lecture, where she mainly rushed through a wide variety of practice problems rather than explaining the concept with clarity. The lectures were unclear and fast; she often did not have time to field any questions because she wanted to rush through all the day's slides. Outside of class, Professor Shao offered to help students in office hours and via email. Via email, Dr. Shao was quite blunt with her replies and not very helpful. Most of the learning done in this class was via Youtube videos and studying with friends. The lectures were unclear and Dr. Shao did not provide much clear help outside of class either. As for the exams, they are open note, so there is no memorization needed in this class, which is a relief considering that organic chemistry is considered quite memorization heavy. There were 2 midterms and 1 final exam. The tests were written quite fairly; the two midterms were rushed in terms of time, but the final felt quite short and simple. Each exam had multiple choice questions, short answer questions, and then longer comprehensive problems. There was scope for ample partial credit. The first midterm was slightly curved up, but the second midterm and final were not curved. Dr. Shao's grading scheme was incredibly friendly. The class average was an A-, which seems high for an organic chemistry class. She offered 3% Extra Credit in the form of surveys and feedback forms and then an additional 1% Extra Credit in the form of bonus questions on the final exam, which really boosted grades. Additionally, discussion section worksheets were worth 24% of the grade, and Canvas quizzes were worth 16% of the grade, most of which were free points. Overall, for an organic chemistry class, Dr. Shao made it quite easy to get a good grade in this class. The exams were open book/note and there was a lot of extra credit offered. However, Dr. Shao was not a clear and helpful lecturer, and it felt like I did most of the understanding of the content of this class by myself via Youtube videos. All in all, easy A class but mainly all self-learning outside of lecture.
Most Helpful Review
Fall 2021 - Disclaimer: I am a chemistry major so I actually enjoy chemistry... take it as you'd like. Chem 20A is a humbling experience. The course starts off with quantum mechanics and is very confusing at first. Midterm 1 was very long and complex even though all tests are open note, mostly no one finished. After midterm 1 the course is actual chemistry stuff which was much easier. The homework (engage assignments) are terribly long, however it is easy to get full points because you have 10 attempts per problem. The professor lacked a bit of organization, but since she's relatively new it was understandable. The grading curve most definitely saves your grade because 50% is given to you by discussion worksheets and homework assignments meaning that if you put some effort on exams you can pass. TA review sessions for exams are very useful (more than Tau Beta Pi sessions). I never went to the professor's office hours but I did go to the TA's (shoutout to Judah Raab for being a great TA!). I didn't have much of a physics background for the first part of the course, but I was still able to get an A. Overall, a good course just make sure to set aside time to review concepts and study and it should be completely doable.
Fall 2021 - Disclaimer: I am a chemistry major so I actually enjoy chemistry... take it as you'd like. Chem 20A is a humbling experience. The course starts off with quantum mechanics and is very confusing at first. Midterm 1 was very long and complex even though all tests are open note, mostly no one finished. After midterm 1 the course is actual chemistry stuff which was much easier. The homework (engage assignments) are terribly long, however it is easy to get full points because you have 10 attempts per problem. The professor lacked a bit of organization, but since she's relatively new it was understandable. The grading curve most definitely saves your grade because 50% is given to you by discussion worksheets and homework assignments meaning that if you put some effort on exams you can pass. TA review sessions for exams are very useful (more than Tau Beta Pi sessions). I never went to the professor's office hours but I did go to the TA's (shoutout to Judah Raab for being a great TA!). I didn't have much of a physics background for the first part of the course, but I was still able to get an A. Overall, a good course just make sure to set aside time to review concepts and study and it should be completely doable.
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Most Helpful Review
Fall 2023 - I absolutely hated this class. While the problem sets for homework were light and she recorded her lecture, I really did not feel like I learned anything. The 50-min exams were extremely and impossibly long. You barely have anytime to think so them being open note doesn't help. She does not post the answer key but rather records her doing the questions and the video themselves are 40 minutes long. The final was very doable however. All her lectures were recorded but her lectures are just going over the textbook so you essentially still need to read the textbook to fully understand everything. She isn't the worst professor I've taken at UCLA because I ended with a better grade then I thought. My advice is prepare good notes for your exams, they will save your life.
Fall 2023 - I absolutely hated this class. While the problem sets for homework were light and she recorded her lecture, I really did not feel like I learned anything. The 50-min exams were extremely and impossibly long. You barely have anytime to think so them being open note doesn't help. She does not post the answer key but rather records her doing the questions and the video themselves are 40 minutes long. The final was very doable however. All her lectures were recorded but her lectures are just going over the textbook so you essentially still need to read the textbook to fully understand everything. She isn't the worst professor I've taken at UCLA because I ended with a better grade then I thought. My advice is prepare good notes for your exams, they will save your life.
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