Cantrill is the BEST Chemistry professor at UCLA. He is indeed extremely hard. I had him for fall of 05 and these were his averages:

Quiz 1: 47%
Midterm 1: 55%
Quiz 2: 50%
Midterm 2: 31%
Quiz 3: 90%
Final 55%

He also gave us a pop quiz the class after the midterm. The average for that was 48%.

Yes, his class was indeed difficult but not impossible. I actually scored a little bit below average on the midterms and still ended with a B+ in the class. His quizzes (which were hard too) helped me a lot. But I think he was way too generous on the final. I thought the final was easier than his midterms.

Also, he gives you "deals." Some deals were, if you scored 160/200 on the final exam you can get an automatic A in the class. But dont get ure hopes up because it is easier said than done. Just study really hard. Study for 2 weeks nonstop. Your other classes will suffer, yes, but in a way, it was all worth it. I came out knowing a lot of Ochem. The OCHEM Section of the MCAT seemed easy when I was doing practice exams.

Overall, I feel that Cantrill was such a nice, caring, and wonderful professor. He cares so much for his students that he went out and held extra office hours when he had the flu! He also replies to your emails 30 minutes after you write them--and would kindly want to meet with you if you have any concerns about your progress.

Even though I got a B+ in the class, I'll give Cantrill an A+ for being such a stupendous professor! Have fun in the UK Stu! We'll miss you !!!

Best prof at UCLA yet. my interest in chemistry had been severely diminished with such professors as Baugh and Gimzewski, and i can honestly say that Cantrill reinstilled that interest back in me. He makes you think, you can memorize all you want and still do poorly. Go to his reviews and office hours and you will do fine. keep your mind open and do not get caught up in specific cases. watch out for internal sn2 reactions

Cantrill's a very good teacher. His midterms and final really test that you understand the material and that you're not just simply memorizing reaction mechanisms. This means that his exams are REALLY hard. However, you do come out of his class feeling like you have really learned a lot.

Cantrill is a great professor. I would highly recommend him for 30A. After taking this class, I actually felt like I learned something. Going to lectures is a must because he does give hints to what's on the exams. AND definitely go to office hours... just be there for every office hour he has 'cause has extra office hours around finals for people who attend his office hours... and he gives out hints at his office hours. The exams were not extremely difficult but challenging. For my class, we had 3 quizzes, 2 midterms and a final. And yes, he does use the element "D" a lot but it's just to see if you have a firm grasp of the subject. I ended up getting an A- in the course and I did average on everything except I improved a lot on the final.

a lot of those who have taken his class agree that he's so hard... however, most of them also agree that he's one of the best chem professors in UCLA..i took cantrill for chem 30A in fall 2004 and i'm amazed of the way he taught a very large class. He was very organized, very clear when explaining the material. I would suggest you to read the material before his lecture and do the problems after his lecture. And if you have any questions about the material, dont worry..just simply go to office hours, catch him after class, or use the advantage of VOH.. believe me, this guy is amazing, he's always around..
however, it is true that his class is really hard.. i mean really hard... you cant just memorize everything for the midterm n final.. maybe yes for the quiz.. but the quiz was just worth 20 percents.. so you have to really understand the material to get a good grade..
i finally get a B.. much better than i expected since i know i did bad in the final..
oyah..the final was really hard.... much much harder than the midterms..
so.. take cantrill if you wanna study...