Brilliant man. Brilliant Class. No one can argue with this fact: He is the best professor at UCLA.

I cried at the end of the last lecture. I didn't want it to be over.

One reason why the tuition increase didn't make me mad: Dr. Neil Garg compensated for it.
Neil is hands down the best professor at UCLA. I always had a hard time with my chemistry classes until I met Professor Garg.
Like someone else said before...if Professor Garg taught every chemistry class at UCLA, I would change my major to Chemistry in a heart beat. He is a brilliant man, with a humble heart. He's not like some professors that think very highly of themselves. He brings himself down to our level. He puts himself in our shoes. He understands his students. Please, wait a quarter and take Garg in the Spring for 14D. You will not regret it. He makes you want to go to class. I NEVER dreaded going to ochem. I actually looked forward to it. I also had a great TA (Evan!) Stephen was also amazing too!
Thanks for all the help! O-Chem is my favorite subject :D

I had Professor Garg spring 2011. He is an AWESOME teacher and somehow managed to make o-chem fun (well relatively at least). He's a great professor, really cares about us LEARNING and not just memorizing, and that A that all us pre-meds are after is definitely do-able.
If he taught every chem class at UCLA, i'd be a chem major in a heart beat.
Basically, take Garg, go to class cuz he makes it as entertaining as possible, and you'll start to think you're getting your money's worth at UCLA. Who wouldn't love a professor who references star wars on a regular basis??

Dr. Neil Garg is an amazing professor for premeds and for anyone interested in organic chemistry. His class focuses on more than just memorization and involves critical thinking-- similar to what is needed on the MCAT. I took his class Spring of 2010 and loved it. He is extremely caring and his classes are so much fun. He has a dynamic personality that prevents even the most lazy students from falling asleep. If you have a lot of anxiety going into organic chemistry, do not worry with Dr. Neil Garg. Him and his amazing team of TAs will explain questions very thoroughly. UCLA is extremely lucky to have a professor like Dr. Neil Garg.

TAKE PROFESSOR GARG! HE IS AWESOME!
You seriously won't regret it.

Personally, I really really do not enjoy chemistry. NOT my forte at all. Suffering through Lavelle, Pang, and Hardinger made Garg seem EVEN more cool haha. He really cares about his students and he's really accessible and welcoming during office hours (he also responds to VOH fairly quickly). He makes you feel cared for, unlike a lot of other professors who don't give a crap about their students. Tests are super super fair and totally doable if you put in the effort. Just do the problem sets and make sure you understand how to do each problem and you'll be fine.

I have never written a bruinwalk review before but I just HAD to after taking Garg for 14D. Best professor I had at UCLA, hands down.

Garg is a great guy. He's very nice and easy-going. That said, he DOES expect you to think and work hard in his class. Make sure you go to class and take good notes, because everything he expects you to know will be covered in lecture.

The first midterm will cover a few basic reaction mechanisms. After that, he'll give you a bunch of reactions for turning one type of molecule into another. If you just put in the time to memorize the reactions well, you just need to worry about the synthesis reactions. Basically, he gives you some small molecules and asks you to use reactions with them to make the big molecules. That comes down to sheer problem-solving ability, so make sure you practice them a lot.

It can be a challenging course, but if you memorize the reactions AS the week he gives them to you, you should be fine.

Garg is a great guy. He's very nice and easy-going. That said, he DOES expect you to think and work hard in his class. Make sure you go to class and take good notes, because everything he expects you to know will be covered in lecture.

The first midterm will cover a few basic reaction mechanisms. After that, he'll give you a bunch of reactions for turning one type of molecule into another. If you just put in the time to memorize the reactions well, you just need to worry about the synthesis reactions. Basically, he gives you some small molecules and asks you to use reactions with them to make the big molecules. That comes down to sheer problem-solving ability, so make sure you practice them a lot.

It can be a challenging course, but if you memorize the reactions AS the week he gives them to you, you should be fine.

Neil Garg is so freaking awesome! If any of you have a chance to take him for 14D, go for it. His lectures are all chalk-talk - there is no thinkbook or lecture supplement, you just take notes on your own. He has suggested Problem Sets on his website every week or so, they are not very long and are good examples of what will be on the exam. You can tell he really cares about student learning and he makes the lecture hall feel like more of a classroom. His tests are reasonable - they aren't impossible and if you study well and thoroughly understand the material you're guaranteed a good grade. His extra credit music video assignment is a great opportunity for points and also ends up being pretty fun.

If you do not have a problem going to class and do not have to rely on podcasts, Garg is the professor for 14D. Hardinger is a great teacher and does podcast and does give about 7 past exams for each midterm and finals, but Garg has a much more ENTERTAINING class. He does very cool things during lecture and makes a class of abou 350 seem like 20. He is a wonderful teacher and is really concerned with student learning.
As for the book, I wouldn't buy it, just go to lecture EVERY DAY! do not miss, or at least make sure to get the notes. I never looked at the book and managed a high grade.
If you do all the problem sets and review things he gives you, you should be fine for the exams.
Once you hit synthesis, just stay on top of it and practice a lot. Once you get it, it's easy breezy :)

One of the best professors I've ever had at UCLA along side with Dr. Phelan. He makes learning a very hard topic of organic chemistry fun, easy, and exciting.

I HIGHLY recommend waiting to take 14D with Garg in the spring and skip Hardinger's class. While I did manage an A- in Hardinger's 14C, I understood the material better with Garg, was taught it better, was easier, and got a better grade (A).

Take 14D with Garg, you won't regret it!