This guy does not know how to teach, nonetheless, he talks to the students as if we are his friends who already have a PHD in chemistry and know everything he knows. He is throwing content in our faces 2 days before the midterm. DONT take this guy.

he is over glazed

Professor Riu is an incredible instructor!! I CANNOT recommend this sweetheart enough. Organic chemistry is certainly an intimidating subject, but Riu made complex concepts very clear and understandable for students, and featured in-class examples that exemplified what was tested on the exams. He was very dedicated to student learning, and the office hours he hosted the week of the exam were immensely helpful in preparing for the test and understanding concepts. The problem sets and exams felt very fair in difficulty and grading, and adequately prepared me.

When there were some issues (ie vague test questions), Prof Riu was very receptive to student/TA feedback and adjusted his grading scheme and the points distribution so that students would benefit; this is an incredibly compassionate mindset that I haven't encountered with any other professor at UCLA. Prof Riu's extra credit system was also a pleasant aspect of the course, since I could focus more on showing up to lecture and understanding content with that cushion on my exam score. Do all the problem sets, all of the discussion worksheets, all of the iClicker questions, all of the practice exams and you will flourish.

He's also hella funny and even asked us what cat he should get!

Riu is a really good professor. Go to his lectures and pay attention—it’s actually super helpful. And if you don’t understand something in lecture, go to office hours and ask for help. I learned that after getting below average on the first midterm (haha), because back then I barely paid attention in class + tried to work everything out on my own. Not efficient. Going to lectures just made everything so much more clear, and I did much much better on the second midterm and the final. You get how much you put in. Good luck!

This class is hard, but organic chemistry is meant to be hard. Riu does an excellent job of teaching material and setting his students up to do well on exams. Lecture attendance is not mandatory, but he does iclicker questions for extra credit so I highly recommend always attending. The weekly discussion worksheets and problem sets are all you need to understand material and be prepared for exams. I never touched the textbook problems. His practice exams are super similar to the actual tests. Overall, Riu is my favorite professor I have had at UCLA. He is passionate about ochem and it is very possible to do well in his class.