Professor Garg is amazing. Devoted, witty, intelligent, and above all - caring regarding the progress and success of his students.

I have never had such an enjoyable and informative time with organic chemistry.

That's all I can say. He's brilliant.

Professor Garg, or as he introduces himself to us as, Neil, is the best overall professor I have ever taken at UCLA, for both North and South campus. Even with a difficult subject such as o-chem (because in that class you learn concepts that students in the o-chem 30 series absorb in a span of 3 quarters and we learn it all in just 1 quarter) he always makes the class engaging and fun. Never a dull moment, he just knows what to say or do that keeps the class perked up and eager to move onto the next concept. Neil doesn’t just make it a class, but also puts in a fun family filled vibe in there. He jokes with the TA’s and the students all the time without losing focus on what we’re learning.

When you go to his office hours it feels very welcoming, there’s no pressure or tension that you might ask a ‘useless’ question (unlike some professors). He goes over the time limit on his OH frequently and doesn’t make a word about time being an issue with him but just keeps on answering the student’s questions with ease and no rush. And he’s also willing to set up personal appointments with individual students too. He doesn’t try and trick you on the exams and creates questions that are very fair and straightforward. The more challenging ones just require some extra thinking but believe me; if it’s on the exam then he must’ve gone over that concept multiple times in lecture, OH, or the problem sets (optional homework) and put it on that test to make sure we’re paying attention. And if the majority of the class messed up on that specific question, it’ll pop up in some mild variation on the final (if not the exact question itself) because he’s concerned that we understand what we missed and wants us to learn from our mistakes.

In case you’re wondering, his grading system is very much the same as Professor Hardinger’s, where the class is out of 400 points (100 pts from MT1, 100 pts from MT2 and 200 pt final) with getting an 85% is an A- and a 90% is an A…you get the drill. The only ‘negative’ thing I can say about the class, and it’s not a jab at Neil’s personality or style, but it’s that the midterms are held during lecture time, so there’s only 50 minutes to take them. The good thing is that he designs the exams where they can be done in 20-30 minutes, with no rush, and you can spend the rest of the time checking them over.

The class may or may not be curved based on the class average but Neil tries his best where everyone can get all they can grade-wise. And he does give out extra credit! And it’s completely doable and fun to earn too! Just check out Neil’s youtube channel playlist and you’ll see what I mean…

He mentioned several times that he’ll be ecstatic if everyone, all 350 students, got an A and would argue to the administration that each of us deserves that A if they give him a hard time about distributing those grades. That tells you that he genuinely cares about us, both at an academic level and on a personal level, he’s not trying to screw with your GPA or make your quarter miserable. He’s trying to do the complete opposite.
Like all the previous comments, I can find no faults to his teaching style or to his personality whatsoever, just good things to say.

Seriously, taking this class could be the highlight of your academic career, like it was for me.

I cannot even begin to tell you how amazing Professor Garg is. He saved my UCLA experience. Often in undergrad classes, your professors do not show much passion for the subject they are teaching, and they are willing to leave someone behind. Garg is completely different. He searches for subjects that will interest his students and integrates those subjects into his curriculum. For instance, for my quarter, we had a Star Wars theme. We were all competing to become the next Jedi master (student with the highest grade in the class!), so we could be lucky enough to receive a light saber and periodic table beach towel! He also has an awesome extra credit music video project! Do yourself a favor and take Neil Garg's class! If you study, you can defiantly get an A in his class! I'm used to getting C's when trying my best, but with help from his office ours and a lot of practice, I was willing to get an A! Organic Chemistry is no longer scary! Take Neil Garg's class, "just do it".

Professor Garg is the best professor I have ever had throughout my whole academic career. He sincerely cares about student well-being and learning, and on top of that, actually makes chemistry interesting/fun. I've never had a class where I was actually excited about going to. Unlike many other chemistry classes, this class isn't about just reading the book and regurgitating material about class, but actually relating chemistry to real life (he actually draws structures for many common drugs we use, like ambien and ibuprofen). One thing that I was very amazed at was when I went to one of his office hours for a midterm review, and although his office hour was supposed to end at a certain time, students still had questions, and he very kindly answered all of them, and kept asking if anyone else had any other questions (he actually ended up going about 2 hours over his scheduled office hours, and even then he asked if students still had questions). Other than this incident, there are just many other ways he demonstrates his care for his students, like how he memorizes students names, even though he has 200+ in his lecture. There's just an endless amount of good things to say about Professor Garg, and I can't possibly list them all. All I have to say is, if you have to take Chem14D, most definitely take it with him (not the other guy), cus you won't regret it!

I don't think I will ever have another professor who is as amazing as Dr. Garg. I agree with all of the evaluations that have been already posted. He has a very kind heart in the sense that he is extremely understanding and will open up TWO three hour review sessions for his final exam and also additional office hours just for you if you want to talk to him and can't make his current ones. He has this awesome extra credit music video project too! If you show the slightest interest in getting to know him at office hours, he will remember your name after the first time meeting you and refer to you by it every time he calls on you or talks to you. I don't know why this was such a surprising thing to me but none of my chemistry or ls professors ever even asked me for my name-- I was just another student that they would shake off after 10 weeks.

Seriously, if you get the chance to take a class with Dr. Garg, you should. I hated chemistry with a passion before this class and now I really enjoy ochem and am a little sad that I won't be taking any more chem classes at UCLA.

I could literally write a book about how amazing this guy is. Take his class :)

Neil Garg is the best professor I have had at UCLA, if not ever. He is the perfect teacher. There is nothing bad I could say about him, even if I tried. This was the first class that I actually looked forward to and was excited to go to. Taking south campus classes, I am sure you're all familiar with how difficult it is to stay awake in class, especially after lunch. Not even a yawn once.

Rather than using powerpoint slides, he goes through every mechanism and rule of O-Chem on the chalkboard. He writes everything down step-by-step. He answers any and all questions in class and takes his time - not rushing through and assuming everyone understands everything. He ensures everything is clear, and even if it's not, he makes himself SO available outside of class you wouldn't believe that on top of that, he also has a successful lab and family that he devotes just as much to. He is truly an amazing man.

Not only is he an awesome professor but he makes the class fun. On the last day he brought otter pops for everyone. Like seriously! What south campus (or any) professor does that for a class of 300 students? He really encourages students to WANT to do well. He's the nicest and sweetest guy, and after having a few conversations with him he becomes one of your homies. Although I didn't do as well as I hoped in the class, I feel like it's completely doable. Rather than make the exams tricky, he really tests your knowledge and is very straightforward. If you go through his AMAZING notes, and do all the practice problems you will be fine. It's easy to make dumb mistakes on the exams because you really gain your confidence going through some of the problems, so watch out. I lost a lot of points like that.

Extra Credit: it's ACTUALLY achievable. Yeah, you don't need to dig though 1000 pages of textbook pages looking for a chemical mistakes for a measly half-point. You do things that are actually educational and worth your time that also help you for the class, like the music videos. There's also random dates and chemical molecules he throws out every once in a while he might put on the exam. He rewards you for your participation and your effort, so if you go to discussion and take an active role throughout the quarter you will be glad.

On top of all that, he really promotes in class participation. He gives so much to his students and really makes you want to shine your best light.

He truly makes the class enjoyable. The only class I am sad to have end, and the entire class agrees. Sitting in discussion on the last day, everyone talked about how much we will miss Garg. Have you ever seen that in any of your classes?

Garg, we love you. Thanks for an amazing quarter <3

Garg is definitely the best professor I've had, both because of how well he teaches and how fair his tests are. Unlike other O-chem professors, he lays out exactly what rules to follow and leaves almost no ambiguity (in terms of different trends conflicting, etc.)

His class is VERY challenging, however, though it is very possible to get a good grade if you put in the effort.

Tips for getting extra credit problems right on midterms and finals: Write down every date he mentions, every Nobel Prize winner. Copy down all organic compounds he draws like indigo, LSD, ambien etc. and everything he says about them.

Look back at these dates/molecules right before the test, he doesn't mention very many of them so it won't take long.

Dr. Garg is by far my favorite professor here at UCLA. I had the honor and privilege of getting to know him both as a professor as well as a person, and am truly impressed by how friendly, kind, and down to Earth he is. If you were to review his web site, it would take only a glance at his accomplishments to know that he is a big shot researcher, but the humble manner in which he speaks with students would not give you the slightest clue. As a teacher, he is perfect in all aspects. Though he expects you to learn a great number of reactions, you know what is expected of you for his tests. He would rather test you on straightforward concepts that he taught in class to gauge your knowledge of the material rather than trick you with traps as many other professors do. If you know all of the reactions it is difficult to believe you won't do well, but with that said, this is not necessarily an easy task to do because of the sheer number of reactions he will give you. Most importantly, you should know that Dr. Garg truly makes every effort to make his class entertaining and to acknowledge those who work hard and do well in class. Dr. Garg is famously known both around UCLA's science department and by schools around the country for his extra credit music video project, in which he provides students the opportunity to create a music video about chemistry to express their creative side. This project unexpectedly gained vast recognition, and was featured both on the UCLA Newsroom as well as various well-known science websites and forums. I took his Chem 14D class, his Chem 241F class, and tutored for his Chem 14D class, and after all of these experiences, I can say it has truly been an honor to meet a man of his caliber. Take Dr. Garg as a teacher if you get the chance, and if you are given the opportunity to know him on a personal level you should not hesitate, because it isn't every day that you meet a man like him.

Hands down the most pleasant experience any undergraduate student can have with respect to organic chemistry. Do not miss an opportunity to take a class with Neil Garg, you will regret it for the rest of your life...there's not much more I can say, just take him!

Neil Garg is by far one of my favorite professors at UCLA. He teaches you concepts that are relevant to the course and tells you up front what you need to do to succeed in his class: go to lecture and take notes, participate in the clicker quizzes and do the problem sets thoroughly and understand what you are doing.

He starts off with basic concepts that he builds up on throughout the course so make sure you know the foundations before you fall behind!

His tests are super fair testing you on what he has actually taught you or presented in class. Problem solving is huge so brush up combining ideas and applying it to a greater world.

I would definitely recommend Professor Garg for chemically 14d over anyone else!