Prof. Li just got her PhD in Chemistry and is currently the Teacher-Scholar in the Chemistry Department. In the first class, I thought she was the TA and wondered why professor was absent from the class :) Although I did not perform as well as I could have, I recommend her in the strongest possible terms. You can learn a lot in her Chemistry 20AB classes. (I also took Chemistry 20A from her.)

I had Professor Li for 20A and 20B, and got an A in both.

Her classes are about as easy as chemistry classes can get. If you're a major that doesn't "need" chemistry in terms of actual future coursework (or perhaps already know enough from a good AP chem class) then go ahead and take her and have a good time. Otherwise you might want to consider the other professors teaching. I only say this because, even though she is a gem of a person and a godsend as far as not having a terrible gen chem experience goes, her classes may leave you unprepared for other classes if it's your only exposure to gen chem material. This isn't because she doesn't teach well, as she makes every effort to do so (she actually rehearses her lectures beforehand around 10pm in the CS lecture halls). It's because the way she tests you on material doesn't really ask you to know much chemistry: you just have to be able to tell what equation on the equation sheet to use, and how to competently punch the numbers into your calculator.

However, I don't think it would be fair to review Professor Li without detailing how great of a person she is: she has plenty of office hours, and holds multiple review sessions (yes, she does them and not the TA's) which usually include pizza that she buys with her own paycheck. She also gives out "awards" (which I think are chocolates but am not really sure) for improvement in the class.

She really does want you to learn, so if you have enough motivation to do so, then take her class. If you don't then maybe you should still take her because a lot of the other gen chem professors are garbage.

Professor Li is overall an amazing professor, I can't stress that enough. She is extremely caring, dedicated, and just a great teacher. She's constantly offering all kinds of help to students and somehow manages to give attention to any student (going so far as sending an email after a not so good grade on a midterm). I had Li for 20A which was more challenging for me because it took me a while to grasp the quantum mechanics which I had never delved into before but 20B, felt like a review of AP Chemistry. Prof. Li gives problem sets which are more difficult and she also gives practice self-evaluations which are very closely aligned with the actual midterms and finals. She provides so many opportunities for help, you have to really not care at all in order to fail one of her classes. If you have the opportunity to take Professor Li for either 20A/ 20B or whatever other class she may teach, absolutely go for it. I think she's one of the best professors at UCLA!!

Prof. Li is young, energetic, brilliant, and supportive. A lot of homework and reading. But you will succeed if you invest a lot of time and great effort, as her course material is well organized. Choose her class whenever available.

If you want an easy A in 20B, take Li. I studied for maybe an hour for each of the three tests, often missed lecture, and still pulled an A+. While she is effective in teaching the basic, high-school level topics of this class, its simplicity stems from the fact that in no way does Li challenge her students to apply these concepts to complex problems. Her homework problems are the same as the textbook problems, which are the same as example problems in lecture, which again are the same as her exam problems.

Li seems like a genuinely good person and I'm sure she could be a great professor if she challenged her students. As is, however, this class offers 0 intellectual stimulation and I can only recommend it to those who would like to boost their GPA, yet are indifferent towards advancing their education.

*THIS REVIEW IS FOR PROFESSOR LI'S CHEM 14A CLASS* -sorry I just didnt wanna go through the hassle of filling out a form-

Professor Li is such a kind and hardworking professor. Just from lecture and her emails you can tell she really cares about her students. She even tried to memorize as many names as possible (she would write your name on a yellow pad to try to keep track of who you are if you ever interacted with her at one point). She really wants you to succeed in her class which is obvious through how many office hours she held (pretty much everyday except Saturday's), how many "hints" she'd give during lecture about iclicker questions and the tests, snacks and PIZZA (towards end of quarter) during office hours, review sessions, AND even during the tests (!!) and the cookies she gave out to recognize students DURING lecture who impressed her with their improvement and hardwork . The hints were almost too obvious haha. She's very approachable and usually answers everyone's questions...she always stays after lecture and office hours for thirty minutes just to answer questions. That being said, she is an amazing professor.

Now the class. Your grade is determined by: 30% from your final, 20% from your better midterm, 16% from your worse midterm, (66% just from your test) and 34% from other things like homework, ALEKS, iclicker questions, etc. She also gives out extra credit during TA discussions. Attendance is pretty much mandatory since you sign into discussion every time and have iclicker questions during lecture. Also... I recommend getting a discussion during the week or earlier so you can get your test back faster and don't have to make it up the next week if there's a holiday. I had the very last discussion, which was pretty bad since I couldn't learn material I needed to learn during discussion that'd help me during the test the same day. Professor Li usually teaches the physical chemistry series (this year was her first time with a Chem 14A class) so I feel like she went over a ton of quantum chemistry which was pretty confusing for me since I didn't have much of that kind of background... BUT I always asked my TA questions and tried to read the textbook to understand what was going on. Professor Li's tests are pretty predictable. There are usually 7 questions with multiple parts to finish in 2 h and 30 min, and the MAJORITY of the test is math based, problems you would have gone over during discussions. Make sure you understand and practice the questions the TA gives you because they will be close to WHAT Professor Li gives you. Also Professor Li usually emphasizes on the concepts she goes over during lecture multiple times... to be honest as long as you listen and understand what she's saying and don't zone out during class it's a very easy class.

I don't know if she will teach another quarter of Chem 14A ever again but if she does happen to be teaching SOMETHING I would definitely recommend her!! She's such a nice professor to have and I enjoyed her class! :)

I took this class for 14B:
This was Professor Li's first time teaching this class.
Professor Li is the most dedicated professor I have ever had the pleasure of taking. Her TA's are great, and she is very organized in lecture. Every lecture, Professor Li provides printed notes and homeworks. Thus, instead of making us buy a course reader she gives it all to you for free. Li holds several office hours a week and even added extras on weekends in cases where we had homework due that Monday. Never before have I had a professor who truly cared so much about student learning. Exams tested your understanding and beforehand students were provided practice exams to help them prepare.

Just my advice: If you have a chance to take Li, do it.

I had her for both Chem 14A and Chem 14B. I received an A- in both courses. To get an A you need 95% or higher. That being said, it is doable to get an A- if you do all the work and pay attention. To be honest, in 14B, I did not study too hard and got by sometimes. I definitely had study groups and asked questions. I used Chegg to help me and Coursehero instead of going to office hours. Please take advantage of discussion section. Sayoni is the best TA. This class overall is great because Li is the professor. Expect to get an A- at LEAST :). Overall, I'm so glad I had Li for 14A and 14B. If I had Lavelle, I probably would have gotten a B+ and B or B- since I heard he's obsessed with the textbook. Li actually wants you to understand conceptually. If you are a math person and took AP Chem in high school, Lavelle might be easier for you. If you took AP Chem, payed somewhat attention and worked hard in the course, you should take Li for sure.

I had Li for Chem 14A during fall and Chem 14B during spring. Just to clarify, my grade listed above is for spring; I had an A- during fall in 14A. Overall, I'd highly recommend Li as a professor. She's so sweet and helpful. Example of this is that she sometimes holds OH on Sunday for additional help. Also she gives you her lecture notes so you don't have to buy a course reader and she provides food at her OH and review sessions. She explained concepts well in both her lectures and OHs. Homework mainly consisted of a few problems and biweekly problem sets, which were not very time consuming. Exams are very straightforward and you should do well if you do as much of her practice material as possible (Problems Sets, Practice Self Evaluations, Recommended Textbook Problems, examples from TA discussions etc.). Even though they don't count toward your grade, I recommend doing or at least looking over her recommended textbook problems since doing so will help you better understand concepts and I've noticed usually 1 problem on the exam that resembles a textbook problem. One possible con to the class might be that attendance is checked in lecture by iClickers and in discussions through sign-in sheets. Also, to get an A, you have to receive at least 95% and the class is not curved.

(I could not find Prof. Li's Chem 14B Spring 2017 at Bruinwalk?) I took Prof. Li's Chem 14A Winter 2017 and then Chem 14B Spring 2017. I received B+ and A-, respectively. Prof. Li truly cares about her students' learning and really helps her students succeed in her classes. She is so dedicated and helpful. She is the best professor I have had so far.

Does anyone know if Prof. Li will also teach Chem 14A in Winter 2018 and Chem 14B in Spring 2018?