<p>How is chem 210 with Sanford? Is she helpful and actually teaches the class? Any input is appreciated. And is a 92 percentile actually good enough to do well in orgo?</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>[Melanie</a> Sanford - University of Michigan - RateMyProfessors.com](<a href=“http://ratemyprofessors.com/ShowRatings.jsp?tid=522549]Melanie”>http://ratemyprofessors.com/ShowRatings.jsp?tid=522549)</p>
<p>People seem to like her…</p>
<p>Anyone want to tell me how Kiste is (he’s not on there!?!)</p>
<p>I got 98th percentile, and the difference betweeen us is probably just 1 question. Difference between me and 99th percentile is probably 1 more question. Seems like if you get nearly everything right, you should be okay. And if not, you’ll be there with a bunch of other people who shouldn’t be in the class, so you’ll be just as bad as everyone else.</p>
<p>sorry for taking over this thread, but i did not really feel like making a whole new thread for this q.</p>
<p>Anyone know how math 215 with Kessenich is? He is not on ratemyprof.
Also in general how hard is math 215?
Also what does it mean when it says my physics class is taught by “staff”</p>
<p>staff means they do not know who will teach it yet or something like that</p>
<p>Oh, freshmen. This is fun.</p>
<p>1) Sanford is ok. You could do better, but you could also do a whole lot worse. Sadly, neither Nolta nor Coppola will be doing 210 in the fall, because they are the best. Never heard of Kiste, Carroll is terrible, and I’ve heard that Montgomery is ok but I’ve never been to a lecture of his. Keep in mind that while you are free to try out different lecturers and see which you like most, you should try to pick one and stick with it, because all of them move at slightly different paces.</p>
<p>2) How you did on the Gen Chem placement test doesn’t really have much to do with how you do in orgo. Orgo requires a different type of thinking and a different approach, and requires a lot of studying (the grade is 100% exams, so you need to keep up with everything on your own). I know people who aced the placement test and then bombed orgo, and people who did poorly and still did fine.</p>
<p>3) Never heard of Kessenich, but 215 is ok. It’s multivariable, so you need to be pretty good at visualizing (you will need to draw paraboloids, boxes, and other 3-d solids), and triple integrals can be tricky. However, the class is not too hard, though the lab can be quite annoying.</p>
<p>4) Most classes will be listed as staff, which means that, as the person above mentioned, they do not know who will be teaching it yet. This should change to the name of the professor/gsi a couple weeks before classes start.</p>
<p>Cheers</p>
<p>I looked up Kiste, he was a teacher at a Highschool a while back, has some awards for teaching, and has some ties (wrote a book with?) Coppola who is highly reviewed at ratemyprofessors, so I assume he’s probably a pretty good teacher. I know that doesn’t help anyone but me, but maybe someone visits the thread wondering the same thing.</p>
<p>I had Sanford for Orgo I last fall. I went to a lot of other teachers’ lectures, but I thought Sanford was the best out of all the professors that semester (Wolff, Montgomery, no Nolta for 210). She prepares you really well. Go to lecture, keep up in class and you won’t fail. </p>
<p>A 92% in orgo is a guaranteed A, I dont know how you would think otherwise.</p>
<p>^He’s talking about 92th percentile on the Chem placement exam everyone takes at orientation. It’s just sort of basic Chem concepts.</p>
<p>Qwertykey — </p>
<p>Watch out about ratemyprofessors.com … it may be a very helpful site, but don’t depend on it 100% b/c some of the people posting may only be angry b/c the prof gave a bad grade.</p>
<p>Btw—</p>
<p>How is Tatiana Howard’s Math 285 class? How is she like? (I know that ratemyprofessors.com called her class hard and some other bad comments, but it was the only section that fit in my schedule)</p>
<p>Yeah but if you have several people posting the same thing it should be pretty accurate I would think. I looked through at some (not just professors I signed up for, but ones I could have) and most of the time it seems like the reviews are pretty consistant. If nothing else it’s the best thing available to go off of, so in the event that there is only 1 or 2 reviews of a professor, it’s better than selecting blindly right?</p>
<p>A question about selecting lectures (I only just now read all of UMgoBlue’s post), is really a good idea to go to a different professors lectures, and it won’t be a problem? Do people signup for one professor who is reputed to have easy (relatively) tests and go to the lecture of one who is a good teacher? Will there not be something on a test that makes it worth going to a bad professors class because they’d be the only one who’d ask a particular question? </p>
<p>Also, if I’m in a class of a different professor, is it okay to ask questions in class? Can I go to a different professors office hours if they’re more convient? What sort of limit is there on assistance from a professor who isn’t your’s?</p>
<p>“is really a good idea to go to a different professors lectures, and it won’t be a problem?”</p>
<p>Depends on the class, I suppose, but classes with multiple lectures are usually quite large, and it’s unlikely that the professor will even know your name, so you can go to whichever you want. This is especially true for orgo (fall orgo 1 classes have around 1200-1400 people enrolled). </p>
<p>This might get tricky in classes where Qwizdom clickers are used. If you are in such a class, it might be wise to ask the prof if the remote will work in any lecture, but usually it’s not a problem.</p>
<p>“Do people signup for one professor who is reputed to have easy (relatively) tests and go to the lecture of one who is a good teacher?”</p>
<p>This, to my knowledge, is not possible, because everyone in a given class (especially a large lecture class) takes the same exam, regardless of what section they are in (yes, all 1400 orgo students take the same exams). </p>
<p>“Will there not be something on a test that makes it worth going to a bad professors class because they’d be the only one who’d ask a particular question?”</p>
<p>See above. If you like one of the orgo profs, go to his/her lectures. Just be consistent. </p>
<p>“Also, if I’m in a class of a different professor, is it okay to ask questions in class?”</p>
<p>Yes. Again, chances are the prof won’t know anyone. Also, there might not be as much time for questions in lecture (that’s where discussions and office hrs come into play).</p>
<p>“Can I go to a different professors office hours if they’re more convient?”</p>
<p>Yes, provided it’s the same course.</p>
<p>“What sort of limit is there on assistance from a professor who isn’t your’s?”</p>
<p>None, really. Depends on the class, though–generally it’s not a big deal, because there are lots of students and many of them need help.</p>
<p>Thanks :)</p>
<p>Do all (or most) courses where there is more than 1 professor teaching it work like that? Would it be okay to go to different discussions (if the time is more convient, or if you just figure it could help to go to 2)? A have a bunch of my times where I’ve got an hour or an hour and a half between classes. I figure it may be a good idea to try to fill those up with going to some office hours or discussions.</p>
<p>And another… Can I just skip my discussion in favor of another? They don’t take attendence do they?</p>
<p>^Not in every class …</p>
<p>Though wouldn’t being in discussion help you understand the material more?</p>
<p>But really I wouldn’t know. I’m not at Michigan yet, so don’t take my word for it. :D</p>
<p>Well, I’d go to a discussion, but just a different discussion. Looking at my schedule i can plug a 1 hour hole up and save myself a trip between North and Central campus if I choose a different discussion. It was either full or would force me to make some other change to fit it in or was one of those 30 seats reserved for LSA honors deals. </p>
<p>Specificly I’m talking about the Orgo discussion though.</p>
<p>Many of my friends have told me 210 discussion is optional.</p>
<p>Okay, cool.</p>
<p>And the lab lectures are all going to lecture on the same stuff (atleast with the same lecturers) so I can go to the wrong one of those right?</p>
<p>“Do all (or most) courses where there is more than 1 professor teaching it work like that?”</p>
<p>For large lecture courses, yes. For higher-level courses, this might not be the case (i.e. math 425 has like 10 different sections, each with a different professor who runs his/her own class however they want, so you have to stick with a prof. However, these classes are much smaller–maybe 30-50 people–than, for instance, gen chem or orgo).</p>
<p>“Would it be okay to go to different discussions (if the time is more convient, or if you just figure it could help to go to 2)?”</p>
<p>Depends on the class. In orgo, yes, because all you do is go over questions and get review worksheets and stuff. It’s one hour a week, so chances are the gsi won’t know your name either. In some discussions (other classes), you get quizzes, so you might be required to only go to your discussion. This question is usually addressed in the syllabus that you get when the semester starts. But in orgo, go to any discussion or lecture you want.</p>
<p>“And another… Can I just skip my discussion in favor of another? They don’t take attendence do they?”</p>
<p>I’m assuming you’re still talking about orgo. Yes, you can, or you can skip it entirely. Orgo discussion is simply to clarify concepts introduced in lecture and answer any questions. No attendance is taken (though there may be for the first discussion, I don’t remember). </p>
<p>“And the lab lectures are all going to lecture on the same stuff (atleast with the same lecturers) so I can go to the wrong one of those right?”</p>
<p>For 211? Isn’t there only one lecture (Nolta)? In any case, usually they will be pretty similar, though perhaps not identical.</p>
<p>It would be Nolta regardless which one I go to, but it would be at a different time they have different lab times for all the different lectures, and only 1 lab fits in my schedule, so I have to select that lecture.</p>
<p>Thanks :)</p>