Since this is the last part of the 7 series I won't go much into detail, especially about the exams. The class was really fun overall. I loved learning about the body and learned to appreciate how we evolved such complex bodies, and how every second they are working to keep us alive. It's amazing! The class grading wasn't great, though. Every time we had a discussion sheet returned to us with a grade, it had at least half a point taken off, and before submitting we were never told what the grading rubric was or anything like that, so we were in the dark about what to write down and what was expected from us. The tests also sucked, as they were unclear and when I asked on campuswire about the test questions and how they were unclear, the prof said we are only supposed to use info we learned in class, but how am I supposed to know what I learned in class or outside? To me, it all mashes into one, so I can't tell where I learned certain things. Grades kept getting changed after tests came out because even the professors themselves don't know what the correct answers were. The LS7 series is a mess, but it's necessary for all life sciences majors, so you make do.

Professor Hsiao and Khankan taught LS7C together, and I think they both did a marvelous job as lecturers. They both explain content very well, and it is clear that they want to help students (felt welcome during OH, walk around during class to answers questions, listen to students, etc). However, I loathed LS7C. The entirety of the LS7 series really upsets, frustrates, and discourages me. The exams are not a direct test of your knowledge of the material, the questions are convoluted, and there are often multiple ways to interpret a question. The readings were way too much (why am I teaching myself the material before learning it from the professor??) and the reading based quizzes are ridiculous-- how and why is a student tested on something they taught themselves, that the professor helped with in no way at all? Please note that my point is not the professors; they are both great. It is the structure of this class. I think the LS7 series is horrible at keeping students engaged, and it makes people want to either switch majors or run through the class to just get it over with regardless of whether the students understand the material or not. Also, why are the reading guides due Tuesday, when they cover Thursday's content??? That means that the students have to do a week's worth of homework over the weekend. The structure of LS7 classes seriously needs to be fixed. Moreover, TA's aren't allowed to directly help you during discussion. They don't answer your questions, or tell you if you're right or wrong. They just "ask you questions." TA's should be there to explain things, not leave us to figure it out ourselves. If that were the case, we wouldn't need them, but we do. And when they were on strike, we didn't even have TA's or LA's to help with the discussion worksheet, which was still due. There was 0 explanation provided for the context of the discussion worksheets. Student's are basically on their own in this class.

I spent over 10 hours each week writing my notes and making sure I get everything. Thankfully, the final exam was easier than the midterms, and because of my extensive notes, I was able to find a lot of the answers in them-- I recommend you work really hard during the quarter, because that will allow the final exam to be a not-so-stressful experience (I personally did not study for the final exam thanks to the hours of work I put into the class prior, and got an A- on the final, and A in the class).

I am selling my reading notes (170 pages) for $20 and my lecture notes (87 pages) for $15. I am also selling all my completed reading guides for $15. Contact me at ********** if interested, or if you have questions.

Good luck...

This class is the worst class I have taken at UCLA solely on the unfairing grading and questioning on the tests. Having an opportunity to show your knowledge only to be greeted with stupid questions is demoralizing and makes you dislike the subject. The test questions are written in a way to purposely deceive students because they are worded extremely vague and one can interpret three questions from the original. My personal opinion is that whoever is writing these questions failed basic English sentence structuring. Seriously, the fact that you can get things wrong even if you understand the concepts because they word it in run off sentences with unclear objects and pronouns is unfair. Their response is that its justified because you need to adapt to how the questions are being asked. The department should pay attention to the general student consensus and fix this class and remove whoever is writing these questions. You guys are seriously discouraging future biologists and scientists. On the other hand, the professors seemed pretty decent. One could tell they did care about teaching, which is a surprise at a research university, but you end up disliking the class because academically you are quantified by a letter grade. The worst part is that this is probably the most interesting part of the series.

Professor Khankan was amazing!! I had a rough start to this class due to the first midterm, but my TA's encouragement helped me continue through the class. One thing I wished I had known is that IT IS OKAY to not do as well on the first midterm!! I got a 70% on the first exam and ended the class with an A. Please try to enjoy what you are learning and make it more meaningful. That's what helped me continue improving in the class. CLC sessions and TA office hours are other resources to be utilized. If you really like the class you should switch into physci ;)
Wishing you all the best with finding the LS7 (rigorous) series and be proud of everything you have accomplished so far.

this is a review for the 7c class and not really for the professor. i will say that this is probably the most unfair class i have taken at this school. it is beyond me that the professors and instructors refuse to reform the 7 series and whats worse is that it feels like there is no point of filling out feedback forums when they constantly ignore students. the big issue about this class is the testing and grading. questions will be asked that are relatively vague and they expect students to come up with answers that include everything on their rubric. what about just asking a question straight up. it is ridiculous to have answered the question and still lose points because you did not speak about one little thing that is hidden on the rubric. then there is the issue of the midterm questions. there will be countless amounts of time where you will interpret a question one way and then answer five questions about that one interpretation. the problem is that if english is not your native language you are already at a severe disadvantage and chances are you can interpret the question in three different ways every time. so how is a student supposed to know what the professor is trying to ask? the answer is that nobody knows. if anything, this class does not test your knowledge or skills built during the course; it can be boiled down to a rigged reading comprehension test. now, the professor herself is actually pretty decent. she genuinely cares and for the amount of people in the room i would say she does a good job in trying to engage everybody. however, setting up your grading and testing like this is highly discouraging to the students. it is a general sentiment and consensus that the midterm/final questions are just not fair amongst students. not only does it feel unfair, it really makes you dislike biology because at the end of the day your learning is not being reflected in the tests. i also feel like this class should lean off of being so digital heavy because it causes way more issues than if things were carried out classically. in summary, this class is the grand finale of the 7 series in terms of ridiculousness and absurdity. please, for the students of the future, reform this class and the series so they do not have to go through this.

It's the LS 7 series, and 7C suffers from the same problems as 7A and 7B. Launchpad is annoying, and the exams seem designed to trick you, not test your understanding of the material (the exams are most difficult for 7C). That said, if you have to take 7C, and you probably do, Dr. Khankan is a good choice as a professor. She is engaging in lecture and helpful in office hours, and I do think she wants students to be successful.

Khankan was a great professor! Very engaging and funny - often walked around the hall during lecture and talked to students. Would recommend taking with her. As all 7c series the exams are worth a lot of your grade, there are two midterms and one final. Midterm 1 came as a shock and was very hard. The questions in all of the exams in this class are worded terribly and are often confusing/not concise. Don't worry if you score low on the first midterm because the questions are tricky - the second midterm and final are better once you get the hang of what type of thought process they want you to go through on tests.

Before taking this class I was extremely afraid because of the reviews and comments about the exams. As these reviews were somewhat right as this class was the hardest class I've taken so far, but it was also one of my favorites. The content is super interesting and Professor Khankan explains everything so thoroughly. She was one of the best professors I have had so if you are taking this class PLEASE try to get her as your professor!! As you have probably seen from other reviews, the tests are absolutely brutal. However, they are online so that takes away a little bit of test anxiety. Additionally, the exams aren't a major part of your grade so if you do poorly there are other things that will help to bring up your grade. I scored an 86% and 80% on the midterms and an 85% on the final exam but still ended with an A because of extra credit and doing launchpad every week. I absolutely loved this class so do not let the bad reviews scare you away!

Every test question is a model given on Canvas or on the slides!!! Then it would ask things like "oh no the gastrowhateveridase amount decreased, what happens to the xyzidase enzyme amount?" and you would have to go through all the feedback loops to find out. The whole class is basically one giant feedback loop with the occasional where-does-the-ventricle-contract-on-this-diagram. So...tests were pretty hard. I heard the average was less than 60% for the first one? and you need to average 88% on all tests to get an A, assuming you get 100% in everything else...personally I thought the tests were hard. But Khankan is such a good lecturer and so understanding! I realized that I, somehow, was in the wrong Launchpad class and was getting 0's on everything (it goes automatically into Canvas from Launchpad) and she was just like "eh whatever we'll fix it later dw about it lmao." Another time I saw her on the Hill (she lived on the Hill) and I was like "heyo u teach my bio class!" and she was all like "yeah! if u ever need help come knock on my door :D" and I really appreciate that she was so open to helping students like that.

I won't lie. The LS7 series is truly the bane of my existence. However, Professor Khankan is truly the most caring professor I have ever had. I see her on the Hill all the time and that's because she literally holds office hours on the Hill for students who can't make it to her regular office hours. She has non-content hours where you can ask her for career advice and talk about anything that isn't biology. In terms of the class, yes, it was horrible. But if you're gonna learn the same content and take the same tests anyway, might as well do it with a professor that is actually good at teaching and is chill.