Pham was an impressive lecturer. He often provided useful analogies and did the best he could explaining reactions in the time he had. While the class content is difficult, his exams were fair. The final for my quarter was also graded quite leniently, albeit without the opportunity to be able to see your final. Lots of opportunities for extra credit, along with a sense of reasonableness went a long way (he made the 2nd midterm optional due to bad weather). Overall a good professor for a difficult class.

Honestly, Pham is a great lecturer and the class itself is very clear (the tests are fair, there are no trick questions, and the workload (in terms of things you actually need to do and turn in) is not that bad). It's worth noting that the cutoff for an A is a 94 instead of the traditional 93, but there are plenty of opportunities to boost your grade with the BACON assignments (basically free points, just take pictures of the lessons before you take the quizzes) and the extra credit CryOFF project (Pham also includes a few extra credit questions on the midterms and the final). Lecture is solely for going over the different reaction mechanisms while discussion is for doing your TA's practice worksheet (so it's structured lecture: learn and discussion: practice). This was a bit unusual for me because I'm used to doing more practice problems in lecture, but Pham himself never really gives you problems besides the problem sets. The problem sets are the most similar to the exams, but there're definitely not enough to practice the material (for that, do as many TA worksheets as you can).

You're not required to attend discussion (or the specific discussion you're enrolled in), so I would take a look at all of the TA worksheets the first week, see whose are the most helpful, and then attend those/that TA's discussion. I only attended my discussion for the first few weeks, but near the end of the quarter when I was really grinding I started attending 3 (but this is probably not necessary since the TAs post the answer keys afterwards).

Now onto more of the bad stuff about 14D: people say that it's not about memorizing the reactions but rather understanding them - for our intents and purposes, they're wrong. You can't even look at a synthesis problem until you know all of the different reactions for that section, so stay on top of them and maybe do the Klein Second Semester Topics chapters to better understand them. (I didn't use the Vollhardt and Schore textbook or do the recommended textbook problems, just doing all of the TA worksheets kept me pretty busy.)

In addition, although Pham is a good lecturer and communicates well about the logistics of the course, he's not that helpful in office hours. At least this quarter, office hours were in a tiny room in Young and he sat at the front of the class while we sat in the back, so it honestly felt like another lecture (yikes). In addition, he was reluctant to make broad generalizations about chemistry, so unless you had the specific problem pulled up (which was difficult for him to see from the back of the class) he wouldn't give a definitive answer. This is a pet peeve of mine, but he also seemed to take every opportunity to cancel class. We didn't have class on the days of our midterms (which I actually appreciated), but we also didn't have class the last two days before our final (one was his Ask Me Anything, and the other was cancelled simply because we'd already covered all of the material). No final review? We just got a list of all of the topics we'd covered that he sped through in ten minutes.

My apologies - overall the class wasn't that bad. I never expected to get an A+ in a chemistry class, and in 14D at that, but his tests are fair, and he offers a lot of extra credit. Just stay on top of the reactions and do practice problems like your life (and your grade) depends on it. On the bright side, I stress-bonded with quite a few people in this class!

CLASS SETUP: This class is structured with five problem sets (20%), BACON tutorials (~13%), two midterms (~33%), and the final (~33%). The class has a grade scale where the cutoff for an A is higher but the cutoff for an A- is lower, and so on. It is generally graded on a straight scale, but Dr. Pham said he would curve the class if the average class grade (before extra credit) was lower than a B- (75%), this was not the case for my quarter.

CONTENT: Do not fall behind in this class. Understand that you will need to both understand and memorize the content in order to do well. I didn't have any particular qualms with the lecture style itself, but I would make sure to review the lecture recording and not just the slides themselves if you plan on missing lecture, as Dr. Pham often gave more detailed explanations of mechanisms on the white board rather than on the slides. Dr. Pham is quite generous with the extra credit he provides, and usually the midterms and finals have extra credit questions that will ask details that you may not have paid attention to (i.e. drawing the designs of a certain number of chemistry-related shirts that Dr. Pham wore to lecture) and so on. This class may be intimidating, and it certainly is not easy, but it is doable as long as you're able to keep up with the material and memorize the mechanisms provided.

class was fine, pham was a horrible lecturer.

Pham is very good at explaining chemistry. You can tell he genuinely cares about teaching and wants his students to master the material. I was terrified of O-chem before this class and assumed it would be the death of me but he made his lectures very accessible to all. His exams are difficult but fair, I've never felt like he tested on something he didn't discuss in class. Sections helped immensely, they give good practice to guide learning and practice. He gives a lot of extra credit opportunities on the tests and in the class in general. The textbook is definitely not necessary but it's super helpful for practice problems for the midterms and final, buy the 7th edition used.

Chem14C with Dr. Pham was amazing! I had so much unneeded anxiety going into this class, after hearing how hard OChem is and how impossible it it to get an A. Dr. Pham definitely did his job in dispelling all those rumors and relating this class to everyday life. I’m not kidding when I say Pham will think of some silly analogy that will stick with you but explain chemistry concepts. He’s super fun, lively, and freakin’ hilarious. I really appreciated how Pham took time from Friday’s to present Fun Fridays, where he chose some fun/weird topics in chemistry to expose us to. He also has awesome chem shirts he wears that any student can appreciate. Although he can be pretty fun, he also finds a way to intertwine some life lessons into his class. As a student he generally thinks so much about academics, it was great to have a professor who encouraged us to explore interests outside of the classroom. Overall, this class may not be the easiest (you definitely have to do some practice whether it’s through the textbook, online, or discussion sections), Pham makes it tolerable. It’s very possible to get a 90 or above in his class and not feel overwhelmed at all. I would say go into this class without the rumors of ochem in the back of your mind and don’t be afraid! It truly is an amazing class with Dr. Pham!!!

Getting an A is definitely possible. I got C's on both the midterms because I just did not get the concepts down by the midterms. However, I aced the final and ended up with an A-. I definitely think there are a lot of ways to ensure you get the grade you want. For example, he offers extra credit on clicker questions, bonus points on the exams, and extra credit if you complete surveys. Further, it is also relatively simple to get credit for BACON which is 9% of your overall grade. Another key to success is asking a ton of questions on Piazza/GroupMe, utilizing your TA's/LA's, attending office hours, and forming study groups. You do not want to do OChem alone so make sure to take advantage of all the resources available to you. To review for the tests, I went through old exams (he does not provide these), went through discussion worksheets, and went through the lecture slides (his lectures are Bruincasted).
Also, make sure to take advantage of the LA Review Workshop/LA Review Worksheets for the midterms and finals. Overall, Dr. Pham is approachable, engaging, and relatable. He is funny (or at least tries to be), makes several helpful analogies that help you grasp the very complex content of OChem, and is really caring about the success of his students. Good luck!

After coming from 14B with Scerri, I'd kind of given up on every enjoying chem at UCLA. Dr Pham was able to change that within the first week -- he made the lectures fun and engaging while also succinctly explaining the information. He does go pretty fast through the lectures, but if you practice for just a little while right after each lecture and stay on top of the material, this class should be just fine.
It's really obvious that Pham wants his students to do well, and while his tests are difficult, they're very fair, and he's more than happy to discuss them with you during the many office hours he has. I'm really reluctant to go to office hours, but he's approachable and friendly and they're truly so helpful. I got a C- on the first midterm because I never did practice problems, but I was able to get an A on the second by doing practice worksheets from the TAs and the LAs every day, as well as going to a few office hours to clear up my more specific questions. Going into the final I did the same thing, and ended up getting an 88 which gave me an A- in the class. Extra credit is offered through in-class clicker questions and post-exam questionnaires, so don't forget to take advantage of those. Overall, it's a great class, and I would take it again in a heartbeat.

Pham's definitely one of the more entertaining lecturers. He's good at explaining concepts, and his tests are relatively fair, although there are a few times he included something on the test that he told us we didn't need to know. The subject itself is pretty hard, but if you are confident in your understanding of it before the tests, you should do just fine.

Dr. Pham is a great professor. He is a clear lecturer and very friendly. I found OChem very challenging, and I definitely got behind partly due to the online format. There was only 1 homework assignment every 2 weeks, so it was easy to get behind. Discussion section is a great resource for getting in more practice. TBH I only got an A because the final was cancelled due to BLM protests.