Grading scheme:
Homework - 20%
iClicker - 1% (you can miss up to 4 lectures and still get full credit)
In-lab practice questions: 1%
Labs: 13%
Midterm: 27.5% or 0%
Final: 37.5% or 65%
The grading scheme depends on if you did better on the midterm or on the final.

Dr. Shevtsov herself is actually a really funny and enjoyable person to be around. However, as an instructor, the lectures aren't great and it may be difficult to understand her due to her lisp + Eastern European accent. Oftentimes students may rudely talk over her leading to an exponential increase (pun intended) in more disruption, causing lectures to be even harder to understand. Slides are posted, but I also recommend following along/focusing as much as you can during lectures and iClicker questions. I also recommend going to problem-solving sessions to help with practice from past midterms/finals.

Overall the course takes calculus and applies it to biology. For example, you would use differential equations to figure out how a population might look like in the long run. If you took AP Calculus, a lot of familiar concepts will pop up and definitely be helpful for the course. Unfortunately, some concepts may get introduced too quickly or suddenly (out of nowhere, limits popped up on slides when it wasn't mentioned before) which may make the course a bigger struggle for students new to calculus. Many claim that LS30 teaches "fake math", but I personally believe that what they teach is applicable to a lot of real life aspects and research (I once attended a research workshop with a different professor held by a club where the professor talked about what LS30 concepts helped him in his work).

The midterm is also infamous for having such a spike in difficulty. Apparently, it was fully written by the other LS30A instructor, Dr. Bennoun, who teaches differently and on a higher difficulty. This caused many Shevtsov students to be thrown off and tank the midterm as practice tests given were a cakewalk in comparison to the actual midterm. Such fears were definitely there during finals, but it was now written half by Shevtsov and half by Bennoun. Luckily, the final was much better.

Labs do involve coding with Python (and you'll need to purchase a CoCalc premium subscription for around $20), but it's not too difficult. You may need to refer to past labs to figure out how to code certain problems. Shoutout to TA Ryan for being such a helpful TA and a bundle of joy in general!

Prof. Makes no sense in lectures, no outside help, was able to go to another lecture and learn that way.

For the most part the lecture and assignments clarified material, however I found myself being saved in the class due to having prior experience in Calculus. If I hadn't taken Calculus when I did, I would've struggled in the class and would have to rely on outside sources to help me learn.

I found the lab sections and clicker questions really helpful, however it was easy to get lost or confused in the course if you didn't understand a concept as it was being taught and homework can become busy work quickly if you're trying to catch up on your understanding. Even if she laid out the learning goals, they tended to be very abstract and at times I couldn't correlate how the goals related to the content. Overall, not super bad and work level wasn't overwhelming if you stayed on top of it.

Honestly, while this class wasn't too difficult, it felt like Professor Shevstov did everything in her power to make it harder for students. The homework isn't too difficult, and there are many forums to get help, but the exams were completely disjointed from the content covered in the lecture. When they make up 65% of your grade, it can be really difficult to succeed in class. For our midterm, a different professor wrote the exam, and it covered content that Professor Shevstov had yet to cover in class, leaving us completely unprepared. On top of that, since the other professor wrote it, the question formatting was completely different than what we had been exposed to thus far. You can't even skip her lecture to go to the other professor's because she requires attendance. I will say, that if you work hard, and study well, it is definitely possible to do well in the class, but I would definitely recommend working with your LAs who have taken the class before, and seeing if you can get the other professor's practice material. The way I was able to get through this class was by working with my PLF who covered Bennoun's (the other professor's) content, and studying his recorded lectures.

Absolutely insane midterm. Not a soul got up before the alarm went off and people had genuine breakdowns after class. At some points it is near impossible to understand lecture, and the ridiculously easy workload and practice midterms do not prepare you at all. A second grade scale should not be necessary if passing the first midterm was possible. Just because she failed her first midterm doesn't mean we ALL deserve to. The textbook is more helpful than the lectures, but even then you drown in boring examples and complete bull. Every NSA who is instructed to guide prospective students into this preposterous class is instrumental in the destruction of any student's impression of fake calculus and self-confidence.

Honestly, she is a pretty good lecturer. It really is just the amount of people who annoyingly talk over her during lecture that take away from her lectures. Yes, she has a speech impediment, no that does not entirely affect how well you will grasp the concepts. Me, personally, realizing now how easy the class really was and how much I lacked in actually putting in effort into the class. There are office hours, problem solving sessions, and practice exams that help a lot. The TAs for this particular class do walk around and help if you need it. Don't fall behind, participation is graded through iclicker points so don't miss class. Sure you're going to feel inclined to not pay attention in class and stuff, I would suggest paying attention though, its seriously a class you can fall behind in real quick. The labs are helpful as well, you will go over concepts from class, and learn basic coding which then progressively get not as easy but definitely not hard. You're basically just learning how to code for things you are learning in class. Put in time for this class because it really is not hard, you just really need to study. Take it from me lol. Professor Shevtsov is from what ive heard nice and helpful in office hours so I'd suggest going to those, I didn't of course, but dude, I definitely should have. Also, if you're in AAP, enroll in PLF sessions, they're super helpful. Oh and homework is LONG so don't wait for the last minute lol

Great introductory class into calculus for life science students. Lectures were engaging and helpful with multiple TAs walking around to ask questions in the middle of class. Coding labs were a fun challenge to supplement my learning and a good way to meet new people in a class so large.

Professor Shevtsov is pretty unhelpful, but this doesn't mean you can't succeed if you're stuck taking this class with her. Shevtsov is a very, very slow lecturer. I went to her lectures for the first 2 weeks of class before deciding that it wasn't worth my time. Shevtsov will show an image of a graph, ask if it's a time series or a trajectory, then give you five minutes to think and discuss with the people around you. When she tells you that it is a trajectory, she will give you an additional five minutes to process this. The lectures are so outrageously slow-paced, that even if you haven't taken calc in high school, it's honestly not worth attending lectures. iClicker is only worth 1% of your grade, so it's okay if you skip the lectures. Luckily, the homework assignments involve reading and doing problems from the textbook, which is much easier to understand than the lectures. At the same time, you will review class material with your TAs. There is a VERY steep learning curve for this class, but I promise that if you put in an honest effort to learn, by the end it will start to make sense. At the same time, LS30B which will have more conceptual applications, and the coding will be a lot more fun. It will make learning this bizarre form of math a little bit more rewarding.

Also shoutout to TA Sarah! She is such an awesome TA, and if you get her you're super lucky. She had a Minecraft theme for all of our slides, and always came to class with an insane positive energy, even though it was Monday at 8AM.