I went into this class very wary, as almost the entire world hates on o-chem. However, this has been my favorite chemistry class by far (much better than 14A and B). Hardinger is an exceptional teacher: he has an infinite amount of resources, is abundantly clear, and even his course reader is sooo helpful and easy to read. To get a good grade you need to do his supplemental problems. Trust me. It seems like a lot, but it absolutely cements your understanding and you will test excellently. I love this man, and highly recommend him.

Hardinger is very straightforward and gives clear and engaging lectures (most of the time). The thinkbook is pretty helpful but not necessary for doing well on exams. The problems are built to make sure you understand the concepts, which I liked, but they did not reflect the exam questions. The best way to study was to do the past exams on his website. If you do all of those and make sure you understand each problem you should be good to go for his tests, which are very fair. All in all, he's a great professor and makes Oraganic Chem much easier than it seems.

Great class, very organized!

Hardinger's class was not a difficult as I thought it would be. His lectures aren't really that great or helpful as he just tends to read his slides and add some additional information that most of the time isn't necessary. The main way to do well in this class is to work previous practice tests because all of his tests are extremely similar to each other. Doing the Thinkbook problems will help you understand the concepts better and practice the material, but you definitely don't need the textbook. I am selling old exams for midterms 1 & 2 for $5, message me at ********** if interested.

Selling previous exams for $5. Text me at ********** if you're interested. Hardinger reuses the same questions from previous exams.

Selling: Organic Chemistry, 7th Edition Textbook (by Peter Vollhardt and Neil Schore)

This bundle includes the Textbook AND Solutions Manual.

Purchased Brand new, and still enclosed in shrink wrap. Purchased new for $245.75, selling for only $120 (still cheaper than a used version from Student union). Price negotiable!

Message for details: **********

In my opinion, 14C is one of the easier parts of the chem series. Never thought I would be a chem person at all or even like ochem until this class. This class is very fair. His class is 100% based on exams. 2 midterms worth 100 points each and the final being 200 points. There are some extra credit opportunities, but I wouldn't count on them to be a total booster unless you're on the edge and need a little bit of help.
This class is structured in that everything is optional. Lectures are podcasted. Discussion sections are not mandatory. There is no mandatory homework. So, you really have to motivate yourself.
I tended to go to class most of the time and podcasted when necessary. I only went to one discussion section (I did not think it was helpful and just never went). I never went to OH. I did all the thinkbook questions or at least tried to understand them by looking at each one of the questions. Hardinger does not repeat exams anymore, BUT I think doing as many of his old exams as possible will really help. These were my main form of studying. While they aren't identical anymore, they are fairly similar. He has about 5 old exams uploaded onto his website, so make sure you do those. His exams are fair. There aren't really any curveballs. Sometimes it'll ask for definitions, but studying will make those fairly easy questions.
Overall, I actually enjoyed the class. You will do fine if you do his old exams and actually understand.

This class was very hard for me, and I did not do as well as I wanted, but it is a fair class. To do well in this class you need to know the concepts inside and out. That means going to lecture, doing the practice problems in the think book, and doing past midtems/finals until you have it all down. Hardinger is a great professor, and his lectures are clear and concise and he offers many resources to the class, so your grade comes down to how hard you worked.

Dr. Hardinger was, by far, my favorite professor that I've had at UCLA. Organic Chemistry definitely has a reputation for being difficult, but I didn't find it difficult at all with Dr. Hardinger. You do have to put in the effort if you want to get a good grade, though. I went to Dr. Hardinger's office hours, every discussion section (they aren't required), and did the vast majority of practice problems in the Thinkbook. There was a noticeable difference in the level of understanding between people who tried in the course, and didn't try. Don't be the person who didn't try. I wouldn't bother buying the $250 textbook that he recommends, I definitely regret that. I opened it once during the quarter and never touched it again. His exams are very straightforward since he gives you past 5 exams from previous Chem 14C classes he taught as a way to study. He does offer a significant amount of extra credit, so utilize that. Overall, if you really do try, I don't see how you can too poorly at all. Dr. Hardinger really does want everyone to succeed and his lectures are taught in an engaging way (even though he makes dad jokes, their cringe level makes it funny) and strives to have everyone understand.

Excellent professor!