Actual course taken: LS2

Professor Phelan is, without a doubt, one of the best professors here at UCLA. Though his exams are difficult(to do well(above the average), you need to know how to apply concepts instead of blatant regurgitation), his personality and great lecturing make up for it. His lecturing style is really refreshing and you'll never fall asleep as he applies the lecture material to interesting everyday life events. You can tell he really wants you to learn and really get something out of this class and UCLA.

As for how is class is structured... His class has no powerpoint slides, so you have to write down everything he has in class, which can be a pain sometimes since there's a lot of information. However, he does this because by writing down information, it helps you retain it better. He podcasts his lectures, which is very helpful if you missed anything or need to miss class. He has 2 midterms, 1 cumulative final. He can be very detail oriented(i.e the glycolysis and electron transport chain). His take-home messages are a bit broad, so be sure to learn how to apply those concepts, instead of just knowing the outside layer. He also uses the book, which you NEED to read because there are details in there that you need to know. This is a class that mixes both lecture and the book so be ready to study your ass off!

Jay Phelan is one of the most down to Earth professors there is. He really relates to his students and talks about his old days at UCLA where even he struggled with school. He knows what it was like to be on academic probation and is willing to talk to and counsel any struggling students. He is a film buff and watches movies 24/7. Instead of being an intimidating professor, he's a guy that you feel comfortable talking to like a good friend.

At his last lecture, he gave a little spiel/speech that left a lasting impression on me. He wants you to grow as a student AND as a person. Instead of just focusing on your science/premed courses and other courses that are required, he recommends taking a class that you're just interested in, such as CS, history of rock and roll, etc. By doing this, you expand your horizons and will grow as a PERSON instead of being just a fine tuned premed. In addition, he welcomes his old students to come back to office hours just to talk or if they have an issues with school.

Bottom line: Professor Phelan is AMAZING. You could not ask for a better LS professor. DEFINITELY TAKE HIM!!!

Best professor at UCLA hands down! Phelan is AMAZING. I took him for LS2. His style of teaching and his enthusiasm will keep you entertained the entire quarter.. even in an LS2 class. The class can be a little difficult but definitely doable. His exams come straight from his lectures so you really don't even need to look at the book.. just as a supplement. He gives big Red think questions every lecture and usually two or three of those will be a part of the short answer questions. He podcasts and webcasts his lectures which is also really great. You will learn SO much about real life from Phelan. Take him for sure. You won't regret it!

I took LS2 with Professor Phelan this past quarter and it was my favorite class in my first year. He obviously loves what he does and he's brilliant. Such a nice change from LS1, where I fell asleep every lecture. LS2 I never even zoned out because Phelan makes the information interesting with his anecdotes and trivia. I wish more professors at UCLA were like him, learning would be so much easier and more efficient.

His tests are definitely difficult, and there is a lot of material in the class, but it is doable if you are prepared to allocate a significant amount of time into studying for the exams. If you took AP Bio, that'll help out a lot. I worked my butt off in the class and got an 87 then an 82 on his midterms. Go to lecture, read the textbook, and use Prep-U, this website that he designed. Some exam questions are directly from the site. If you're given the chance, take Phelan for LS15 or LS2, you'll love the class and you'll love his teaching method. I am switching from MIMG to Phy Sci because I was so interested in the material he taught.

--LIFE SCIENCE 2--

The person below me is crazy. You will never meet a professor like Dr. Phelan. He cares about his students and takes 5-6 students to lunch after class Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. This professor will make you love life science. Especially for a class like LS2...it can be horrible or it can be great. It all depends on the professor. His offices hours are crowded and people come just to chat or to ask questions. His exams are honestly not that difficult since it's so obvious what he's going to test on! He has these "take home questions" that he posts during lecture and "take home messages" and the exam is pretty much based on that. For people who don't pay attention in lecture...don't be pre-med! It's a really really awesome class and for sure do-able. Multiple choice is pretty easy and it's meant to pad your grade a little and the free response is very do-able. Some questions were like "talk about hemoglobin and myoglobin and their differences." If you have half a brain, you can answer that.

TAKE HIM. you won't regret it.

*Life Science 2*

Very articulate. Great lecturer. Difficult exams, unexpectedly difficult, in fact. He speaks in broad terms during lecture, and the tests are way more detailed. He makes the TAs very nit picky, so one incorrect adjective can cost you half the points. I wouldn't recommend this professor.

~LIFE SCIENCE 15~

By far my favorite professor so far!
His lectures are very engaging. I enjoyed studying the material. He wrote and co-wrote the two books for the class, and his humor comes through the writing. The information I learned is easily applied to life. I loved this class and highly recommend it! As long as you study and work on the weekly problem sets, you will do fine :)

Ignore the above, I took LS15

Phelan is one of the BEST professors here at UCLA. He's a WONDERFUL lecturer, and won't make you go to sleep like other science professors!! He actually makes the lectures really enjoyable with funny stories, pictures, and color (you'll know what I mean if you take the class). I would definitely recommend him as a professor. His textbook is very easy and enjoyable to read through, but his exams are definitely difficult. Don't think that you can pass this class without studying, because you really need to be able to answer short answer questions!!! Studying for his class isn't too bad though, because they're interesting materials :)

For discussion, you'll need to attend it every week to take a quiz, and you'll have one debate and a group project to do (which is a pain in the neck..). Discussion's manageable even though it's tedious, and usually won't take 2 whole hours for it.

Hey guys PLEASE READ this review. I got a score of 7/272 on the final exam and I barely squeezed through with a solid A in the class (top 15 students in the class, or top 5% get As automatically...yayy). But I didn't do so well before - in fact, I scored below average on one of the midterms and would have gotten a B if I didn't study HARD AND SMART for the final!!

The keys to success in this course are being informed, knowing your lecture notes inside out (they're like the Bible for this class - worship it, and you'll be saved!), and STAYING ABSOLUTELY FOCUSED DURING THE MIDTERM EXAMS (because there's LOTS of time pressure - even if you think you're progressing at a fair pace, write as fast as you can - think SAT essay questions * 2 + Multiple choice). The final exam is a little less time-pressured - but the midterms you need to do FAST.

Dr. Phelan is an amazing professor and you'll learn so much from him, but make sure to come prepared and informed!!!

Go to the office hours. I regret not going until before the final. In that office hour, I learned a tremendous amount of material, and I got subtle hints as to what would be tested.

General advice: If you don't understand something, don't just say "oh well," and ignore it. You NEED to understand EVERYTHING in his lecture notes or you'll be at the test scratching your head thinking, "why didn't I just ask him at office hours about that...if I just asked him this question would be like pie..." This class will really teach you to seek out information, and will punish you for not being assertive and seeking out help when you need it.

Once again, I must mention that you need to know the lecture notes inside out. All study sessions should start from the lecture notes and end at the lecture notes.
-Probably the most important - he will ask you specific questions during the class (and sometimes answer them right after he asks them, and sometimes you will have to find out the answers for yourself). You need to know and understand the answers to these questions inside out, because they WILL come up on the exams. Getting these questions right will get you from the B to the A (or the C to the B).
-On each of the exams (two midterms and a final), he will ask you to write up a brief experimental design on something that was covered or mentioned in class. Be able to write up that said experiment like you do an SAT Writing Essay - this will get you the points that many will miss!!! BRING IN AN EXPERIMENT WRITE UP AND ASK HIM IF IT WOULD BE GOOD IF THAT QUESTION CAME UP ON THE EXAM!!! It should fill up one side of a page and you should be able to write it up in about 10 minutes.
-Review the notes the same day and highlight/mark things/concepts that you don't understand.
-If you don't understand something, read the relevant section of the textbook.
-If you still don't understand it, have a piece of paper (or word document) for any questions that you want to ask him during office hours, or at discussion. This is really important!!! If you don't write down the questions that you have, then you might forget about it and it's going to hurt when you're taking the test!
-There will be lots of diseases that he talks about. There is a strong emphasis on faulty genes leading to faulty proteins/enzymes leading to diseases. Know them well.
-If he doesn't mention something at all in the notes, don't even bother reading about it - it won't be on the test (unless you're curious or want to understand a concept more fully! then by all means go ahead :D)

Lab reports
-At the back of the lab manual, there will be a template for how to write up the labs. Follow it exactly. You will lose points mainly for not following subtle directions. Make sure you write everything in paragraph, not list (numbered or bulleted) form, even for the procedure and materials list.
-On the final exam, there will be 7-10 MC questions on the labs. Review your lab manual and remember the main points. The questions aren't too detailed, and if you forget to review your labs/lab manual, you'll miss a lot of points on the final that you shouldn't really miss..

Scientific American articles
-DON'T PURCHASE THE ARTICLES AT COURSE READER STORE! They can all be found free online. I saved lots of $$$ from doing this.

I got an A in the class, and I really toed the line. Don't make the same mistake as me. Start prepared, and you'll be relaxed and confident, and learn so much!

Good luck!

I had LS 4 with Dr. Phelan winter 2009. By far my favorite professor at UCLA.

It is hard to do well in his class, but also really hard to not wanna do well. He is hands down one of the best lecturers you will probably ever have as a south campus major. Also extremely approachable and a fascinating individual. Trust me, you want to go to his office hours - because they will help you do better in class and because he is one of the coolest teachers you will ever meet. My best advice for the class: go over your notes day of lectures, think about the questions he poses, and GO TO OH'S!

I had Phelan for LS15, and it was such a fun class! Phelan is one of the nicest, most caring professors around. Having such a kind teacher my first quarter here gave me a great impression of the university (plus, he went to UCLA himself, and had some funny stories to tell about his days here!). I always enjoyed going to lecture, as the information was interesting, presented in a clear manner, and supplemented by Phelan's funny stories and jokes. I wish I could take the class again! I ended up with a B in the class, which was fine, because I really didn't put that much effort into it. I read the mean genes book, didn't take the midterm (I was out of town, luckily, Phelan just doubled my score on the final), and pretty much studied just the day of the final. Oh, the book that he wrote, "Mean Genes," is hilarious!

I would definitely recommend this class. It's a great lifesci GE (and a prereq for Psych, I think).