BC1601 General Chemistry I

A lot of people write reviews after seeing they didn't quite get the grade they "deserved" and subsequently blame Chapman. And on the other side are the geniuses who just GET IT and don't understand why everyone else couldn't understand. Personally, I thought Chapman was GREAT. She's this really spunky older woman and will NOT coddle you or give you the answers AT ALL (which is what some people expect). She'll lead you in the right direction but leaves the rest up to you. Utilize her office hours and don't be afraid to ask questions! I learned a lot and spent a lot of time on my work and barely received a "decent" grade. It's hard work but if you're dedicated and ready to work it's manageable.

Sally Chapman is the meanest professor I have ever encountered in my three years of college experience. While her ability to convey the rather dull information associated with Gen Chem is acceptable (although she does seem to like to make a LOT of mistakes in her presentations, which also lead to immense amounts of confusion in a subject that is so confusing as it is), she lacked an understanding for social interactions completely. This woman is such a horrible representative of my gender, I am embarrassed to call her a woman, especially a Barnard woman. She is MEAN, BITTER, INTOLERANT, RUDE, DISCOURAGING, INSENSITIVE, and all of the other adjectives you can think of that describe impossible human beings you should avoid at any cost. This woman made me cry so many times, in my room, in class, in front of her, at which she did not even blink an eye. I cannot express the emotional turmoil she put me through and how horribly she affected my academic performance. I have never felt so uneasy about a college course and the presence of a professor as I did with her and this god forsaken gen chem class. PLEASE, if you have the choice of taking gen chem ANYWHERE ELSE, DO SO!!!!! This woman will fuck you up for good.

This class was incredibly boring. If you've taken AP Chemistry and did well, you'll just feel like it's review the entire time. Sometimes she'll do mini-experiments in class which can be interesting, but overall I barely paid attention in class and did fine. The weekly problem sets are pretty easy, the weekly practice problems are NOT, and the tests are somewhere in between, so I suggest you do some of the practice problems to be well prepared. Her office hours are generally useless and she is not very helpful. I've received the following answer several times when I've asked a question: "We reviewed this in class. Think harder." I'm not kidding. I don't know how Chemistry is at Columbia, but the overall consensus seems to be to take it there.

He goes off on tangents ALL THE TIME. You really don't need to go to class... just read the book, so you'll do well on the weekly quizzes. The tests are hard whether you go to class because he loves to make the questions tricky.

By far one of the WORST professors I have ever had. She is short tempered, unfriendly, and very unforgiving. She doesn't actually seem to know what she is doing/teaching which makes the class extremely difficult. Her office hours are many, but very unhelpful and a royal waste of time. I liked chemistry coming into the course, but now I absolutely hate it. Chapman made chemistry boring, tedious, frustrating, and pretty much retarded. I wish I had never taken this course because not only did I waste most of my time doing the impossible amount of work given in this class, I had the displeasure of having this old cow as my professor for an entire semester. She asks for a evaluation at the end of the course but I doubt she actually reads them and tries to improve because she just sucks. In every way. Take chemistry at Columbia. Don't even risk it here.