Professor
Huiling Shao
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Most Helpful Review
Spring 2023 - It was her first quarter teaching this class when I took it. Many people have heard about the chaos of our first midterm (there weren't enough paper copies), but Shao ultimately tried her best to make sure it didn't negatively affect us. We were able to choose to retake the exam or disregard it and weigh our other exams heavier. The retake exam was more than fair; it was extremely similar to the original test. She also offered extra credit when most of us would miss an exam question. The people saying bad things about this professor are just mad about what happened in the first midterm, but that wasn't necessarily her fault and she did address it in the best way possible. I also think that Shao had very clear lectures and was very open to helping students. Homework and quizzes were fine and we were able to work together on them. Getting an A in this class is very doable but most people want to dwell on mistakes that happened rather than take the opportunities she gives students.
Spring 2023 - It was her first quarter teaching this class when I took it. Many people have heard about the chaos of our first midterm (there weren't enough paper copies), but Shao ultimately tried her best to make sure it didn't negatively affect us. We were able to choose to retake the exam or disregard it and weigh our other exams heavier. The retake exam was more than fair; it was extremely similar to the original test. She also offered extra credit when most of us would miss an exam question. The people saying bad things about this professor are just mad about what happened in the first midterm, but that wasn't necessarily her fault and she did address it in the best way possible. I also think that Shao had very clear lectures and was very open to helping students. Homework and quizzes were fine and we were able to work together on them. Getting an A in this class is very doable but most people want to dwell on mistakes that happened rather than take the opportunities she gives students.
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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