I didn't expect this class to be easy since it's 14D, but it was super difficult in my opinion. However, it's organic chem, so whatever... Dr. Pham, however, made it extremely difficult to do well in the class. He was rude during office hours which always made me scared to ask questions. Our class ended up having an online final due to coronavirus and he sent lots of very rude emails (though he did apologize). He told us that our anxiety having to do with the class was self-inflicted, and if we didn't want to be nervous about our grades, to just try harder. He was arrogant and just rubbed me the wrong way, wouldn't take another class with him for sure.

As a person, Dr. Pham is quite interesting and relatable but as a professor he is horrendous. I understand that remote teaching is an adjustment for everyone but it felt like he was purposefully not trying to be reasonable. Exams were quite long and difficult to complete in the two hour time frame. After students expressed their grievances with the strict time frame, Dr. Pham basically told us to suck it up. The grading scale was also a bit unfair in my opinion with an A starting at 94%. Although there was extra credit available, there weren't many other points available in the class to compensate for a poor exam grade. During lecture, Dr. Pham briefly explains the reactions without giving adequate examples. The best way to get through this class is by doing ALL the TA worksheets and attending ALL the LA review sessions. Without those two tools and my PLF, I would not have done as well in this class. I was genuinely looking forward to this course but I was immensely disappointed. If possible, please avoid taking this class with Pham.

Favorite professor & favorite class at UCLA so far! Dr. Pham is funny, captivating, and overall just a really clear, helpful, and fair teacher.

I came out of 14A and 14B with Lavelle, and I was so used to learning nothing in lecture, doing ALL of the homework, and then coming to tests that were totally unfair. Professor Pham, however, was so refreshing. The lectures were incredibly helpful and I spent the entire time paying my full attention and writing down EVERYTHING he said (especially the conceptual stuff he explains because this *will* help you understand everything better). He is so entertaining but he lectures QUICKLY, so don't zone out.

Biggest advice for this class: pay 200% of your attention during lecture, find old tests (the formatting is similar to old tests -- he makes the tests harder every quarter but they're still really fair), do TA worksheets (textbook is largely useless so this will be the best practice material), go to TA/Pham's office hours if you need explanations (he can go quickly in lecture but he will help clarify everything during OHs), and don't scare yourself (OChem has a bad reputation, but be confident that you can do this!!).

Dr. Pham made this class so enjoyable, because he's so interesting (ask him about his favorite musicals and/or his escape room in Irvine), passionate, genuinely cares about students' learning (don't ask him about grades and what'll be on the test... he hates when students do this lol), and this class is fair. Also, he offers SO much extra credit. I strongly recommend taking it with him! :)

luv u hv pham u da bestest <3

Dr. Pham is chill, and he's also pretty funny. He's also really helpful and tries to make himself available to students as much as he can. I highly recommend him. Just be sure you can thoroughly apply the concepts taught in lecture. It's not an easy class, but Dr. Pham at least makes the ride a lot more fun.

Pham is a good lecturer and funny person, but extremely condescending when people ask questions. The tests are fairly hard. The material itself is pretty difficult to grasp at times, but once you understand the course's material, then you will probably excel, but you first have to figure what is going on in the class. No homework except for Bacon which is really easy if you do it with a classmate. He really doesn't emphasize what's going to be one the test and the way he answers questions about the test can be kind of weird, but just study everything.

Pham is great, definitely take 14C with him if you can. He's chill, funny, and makes lectures engaging. He explains concepts well and really emphasizes understanding the material. There's no homework except for BACON, which is just reading some real life applications of ochem and then taking a short 4 question multiple choice quiz online. Very doable, and he drops the lowest score out of 4 quizzes. Discussions aren't mandatory, and all the TAs post their slides/worksheets online. Tests were a bit tough but very fair, and he covers everything you need to know in class. He also offers a lot of extra credit opportunities on the tests and through in-class TopHat questions (basically clickers except on your phone). Pham is by far the best professor I've had 10/10 would recommend

This class is difficult, BUT Dr. Pham is easily one of the best professors I have ever had, and I am sure that will be the case throughout my entire college experience. If you approach the class in a way where you just do the minimum, maybe just showing up to lecture and doing BACON homework, then you will get the minimum benefit from the class. Obviously, sometimes that is how you have to approach the class, but if you have the chance to get to know this amazing professor, not only will your grade improve but you will be able to see just how dedicated and how seriously he wants his students to understand the concepts. He will have full on conversations about a topic that will go out of the scope of the class which is GREAT because with the way this series is structured and with how complex ochem is, knowing more will only help you in every way. Pham knows just about every answer to any question you may have and the best part of his explanations is that it isn't a high school answer where you just have to take the answer as it is because the teacher said it's true. He will give you the why and then everything about your knowledge of anything will just click. I don't know how he does it but that was my experience. If you are only focused on getting a good grade in a class, maybe you can do it on your own or in a study group, but if you actually want to just know more about chemistry or Pham's life because he has cool stories, then I would make an effort to go to office hours or the one-on-one sessions. Do what you can to get him as your teacher because UCLA students couldn't be luckier to have Pham grace us with his presence in a rigorous and intense 14 series, pre-med environment.

Hung V Pham is such an amazing professor, I would really recommend him. He teaches Chemistry in a way people can actually understand and relate to real life.

Dr. Hung V. Pham (NOT Hung Ding Pham) is quite the eloquent and engaging professor. He teaches OChem in a way that emphasizes understanding the patterns in the reactions and trends, not memorizing each reaction and property as a discrete item.

First off, I'd like to say I rated "Workload" as 2, but if you don't want to do well, that "Workload" can be 5, easily. If I wanted to feel super confident on the exams, I probably would have done 1 on the "Workload." In short, OChem is not easy. Not. Easy. Why did I rate the "Easiness" as 1? Pham says people say 30A is the hardest class they have ever taken, and that's because it is on a higher level of thinking. It's not as discrete as Math 31A/B and is as continuous as Chem 20 is disjointed. When you learn stereochemistry in Week 3, you will keep referring to it up through Week 10. It never. Goes. Away. Never.

But OChem is logical. After a lot of studying. Keep re-running the mechanisms for everything, and eventually, the answers to your problems will come more quickly and reliably.

Lectures? Bruincasted. Engaging? Quite. Fast-paced? Yes. I used Bruincast a bit.

I fell behind a bit in the beginning of this course. Being my first quarter in college, 30A really showed me that my study habits were not adequately developed. So I say this: don't. Fall. Behind. Practice, practice, practice. I foolishly failed to work out the worksheets from discussion, and neglected to practice the book problems. The only thing that saved me was my study group sessions (which revealed gaps in my understanding lol). Do the worksheets and practice problems, and you should excel in 30A (and hence 30B/C).

The midterms are super-fast paced, but the final has twice the content with three times the time, so don't worry too much about the final. I got 76, 74, and 86 on the midterms and final, and ended up with an A- in the class. Pham gives extra credit. On midterm 1, he asked about the little guy that appears at the top of every lecture. On midterm 2, he asked about a fun Friday activity he did. On the final, he asked you to draw four shirts he wore and to give feedback on the course.

Pham is honestly my favorite professor. I used to hate ochem but he made my confidence in the subject grow astronomically. His tests are fair and do not test you on any information he did not cover in class. Also, he explains concepts clearly and concisely. He is really humble and funny in lectures and has a good outlook on life. He would often send us encouraging emails before tests and give us lessons about metacognition and confidence on exams that changed my outlook on exams a lot. Also, because we had to take finals at home this quarter, he made the (optional) final a lot easier which I appreciated. I really recommend him!