This class is definitely not easy at ALL. It requires sooo much time, to the point where one homework assigned for one night amounts to 3 hours if not more. The midterms are extremely difficult and do not have anything to do with your understanding of the general concepts. They are basically a bunch of diagrams with T/F questions or multiple choice and Maloy makes them so tricky. Many people are failing, however some are doing very well. It all depends on how much time you are willing to put in. This is NOT an easy class and the TAs are not very helpful. The CLC hours are very helpful though. However, I do want to say that the best part about this course was Professor Dasgupta! He was so nice and so kind and helpful and he is a genuinely funny and great professor! I wish he would have taught more than he did.

I scheduled a meeting with him in Week 9. I forgot to go, and I haven't talked to him since.

Dr. Maloy is hands down the best professor I've had . He is really approachable and his office hours are very helpful, He really tries to get to know his students.
The work itself is very doable. My recommendation would be to go to all of the review and office hours he has.
The tests are true/false questions. Not too bad but one word can change the whole answer so read thoroughly.
The class is based on points so try to compile as many as you can to be ready for the midterms and final. I personally did horrible on my midterms and final but because I went to class, did the hw and went to the labs I passed the class. What I'm saying is that if you fail one midterm you still have many more other things to fall back on. It'll be okay.
Study as you go and if you get confused for something ask that same week or you will fall behind.
My grade had nothing to do with Maloy, it was all me. He is a great professor.

Professor Maloy was nice and engaging during lectures. This class was rough though. Studying for these tests was very hard as we learned a very basic level of the subjects in class and were expected to know 100x more. The questions on the AOLs and PALs were very hard, but I recommend going to the PSS every week. It was frustrating because if you got something wrong on the individual AOL, they won't show you what you got wrong, so you can't even know what to fix and study better for the final. The work was manageable, but the 7 series is not formatted the best. Go through the PAL's as they are past AOL questions and really understand the group phase questions for the individual phase. I think the questions are not fairly asked at all and are worded very weirdly so just try your best! I had a tutor, went to PSS every week, and met with my TA for extra help, and still struggled.

Lifesci 7A is probably one of the easiest classes out there, but it is also a very annoying class in nature. The flipped classroom approach is not very helpful because the lectures are often not that useful. Just know your stuff from the slides, and you will be fine. The part that pissed everyone off was how you MUST sit with your pod mates during lectures, and it is excruciatingly painful to sit in the corner in the middle of nowhere.

Also another painful thing about the class is that they don't give out practice tests at all. Please please go to the SAC and print out past exams because that's what is going to benefit you the most in the long term.

if anyone is taking this class as a GE, take Maloy. his class is really easy as long as you do the expected reading + preclass assignments for the class. 7a is standardized so professors don't really matter, but maloy is often funny and very inclusive.

One thing I have to say to anyone taking this class is to take it with Dr. Maloy. His lectures are incredibly engaging, he's very clear, and you can tell he really cares about his students and their understanding of the topics. Overall, the course is graded out of 717 total points and not weighted percentages, so it's easy to get an A or an A- if you're smart about it. There are point caps for certain parts of the course, like iClicker questions and discussion sections, so you can miss a few classes without losing points. One thing I will suggest is to do all of the 'easy' assignments and maximize the points you get, because the midterms and final are definitely tough, but not impossible. Rely on your pod group, check your group AoLs thoroughly, review the slides and iClicker questions, and don't skip lectures.

Maloy is a great professor. He really cares about his students and making his lecture a welcoming environment. He is responsive to direct messages and so are his TAs, he runs a tight ship. Lectures are standard, the iClicker questions are helpful for preparing for the AOLs (basically the midterms.) Group AOL is free points, individual AOL is same questions but reworded. Overall an easy A if you keep up with the class all quarter and don't procrastinate on the weekly readings. I wish he taught 7B, I would definitely take another lecture with him!

Dr. Maloy is a very engaging professor which can really makes a class that much better. That being said, this class is super standardized--so many people take it--so all of my friends with other professors were doing the exact same assignments and activities. Dr. Maloy is great for an engaging lecture, but don't fret if you get someone else.
The speed at which we had to learn new content was a little overwhelming at first, but it was one of my first classes here, so that was just before I had adjusted to the quarter system. If you've taken AP Bio, I've heard its a little easier, but I had not and I was completely fine. Honestly, if you just go to the problem solving sessions every week (you can go almost every day and just study if you really wanted to) its a GREAT way to do practice problems, ask questions, and connect with other students. Office hours were also helpful, and if you put in the work, the midterms and final can turn out to be very doable-- even easy.

This class felt very much like a high school class, where there is a lot of groupwork and collaboration involved. The midterms are group exams and are online.

I thought the final was difficult but since there are a lot of other things in the gradebook (like section participation, homework, extra credit) it isn't hard to get a good grade in the class.

I thought Dr. Maloy did a great job teaching. He goes at a good speed and explains concepts clearly, and also uses fun + easy to learn analogies to help us.

The class goes a bit fast though, so for those who didn't take AP bio/other biology classes in the past this class might be hard.