EVSC 2010

I was stunned at how easy it was to get an A. If you go to class, you will get an A guaranteed.

The material in this class is not the easiest - but if you study the required readings and pay attention in class, then you should do fine. Although Shiflet throws in the occasional joke and covers interesting, extraneous material, he is a very dry lecturer and is at times difficult to pay attention to. Background knowledge in science definitely helps. A huge problem I had with this course were Shiflet's treatment of students and his class rules. Students are not allowed to get up from class and go to the bathroom or use computers. He's can be pretty unreasonable if he thinks his lecture time is being interrupted.

Not as easy as everyone says if you're not a science person...Shiflet's lectures are pretty boring but go to class and the attendance points will save you.

I back up the January 2013 review entirely and it's accurate in describing the bonus points for attendance and grade breakdown for when I took the class in spring 2013.

DO NOT use technology, fall asleep in class (or at least, do not let him catch you), or come in too tardy; he will confront you and erase your attendance for the day. Other than that, I think he's a great guy. I enjoyed this class, although others may have found it difficult to stay awake.

The 3 exams (no final exam during finals) do get increasingly harder; that is, I got an A, a lower A, and then a B. I did not study much at all for the 3rd exam (and felt most unready for it), but it was probably because I knew I was going to get an A in the class even if I got a D for the exam.

There are readings besides the slides (all of which he posts online), but these extra readings are more-detailed than he expects you to know. I think Shiflet said they're not necessary, but can help you understand the material better. I did not do these readings (but I did understand all the lecture material). He also asks you to read The Last Question by Isaac Asimov, and he may ask a test question on it. It's a short read (which I didn't do either but common sense told me the correct answer for the exam), yet the Wikipedia plot summary is an even shorter read if you care.

Personally, I believe the 2000-level physics classes I took helped me understand a few concepts even better. If you've taken any real science courses, this class should be cake. Even if you're not good at science, I'm pretty sure you will do well (I'm talkin' B+ and higher). I didn't study except for the night before and an hour or two before the exams (I paid attention in class, though, and felt I naturally understood mostly everything). If you're not science-y and feel like you're not grasping things immediately, this class may not be as easy for you, so definitely don't be afraid to ask Shiflet questions after lecture or at office hours (and you should probably study more).

The most difficult part of this class was forcing myself to attend every day for the extra 10% bump to my grade. The actual material was pretty easy.

Go to class and do not use technology and you will have 10 points added to your finals grade. The first exam is the easiest and each test gets harder from then. Total of three equally weighted tests, and no final. This class was not as easy as everyone says but I would recommend it because of the attendance points boost.

Love Shiflet

This class has the rare combination of being both interesting and extremely easy. You'll learn everything from making of the first alloys all the way to the production of samurai swords. Your grade is based off of 3 equally weighted exams which are all multiple choice. Just go over the material he posts and you'll be fine. If you have 4 or fewer absences, Shiflet will give you 30 bonus points good towards any exam(s). If you miss between 5-7 times, that bonus drops to 20 points. To earn an A+, you have to have a 90 or better on all three exams and miss 4 or fewer classes.

That being said, the class covers topics not really touched on in others I've taken and really gives you an appreciation of the obstacles that were overcome to produce the metal industry we have today.

Attendance is taken; if you miss less than a certain amount of classes, you get free bonus points attached to your final course grade, which is composed of 3 midterm exams. Some of the material can be quite boring depending on your preferences, but I think this class is one of the few classes at UVA that would interest all types of students due to the course's diverse coverage of materials

Shiflet is boring. I mean really boring. I can see how this would be tough for non-science majors; he does a terrible job of explaining basic chemistry...but having a science background also didn't help too much... the whole class is on metallurgy and how strong iron is compared to bronze/stone/alloys. So knowing something like stoichiometry doesnt do any good...he covers types of bonding (covalent, ionic, etc...) but it's very basic. I thought the last exam on multi-element phase diagrams was the toughest...so make sure to give yourself a cushion in case you do poorly on the last exam.

With that said, I studied probably 3-5 hours the night before each test and ended up with an exam average in the high 80's and because I attended class, I got 10 points added to my final grade so getting an A is relatively easy. If I had the choice of taking the class again, I probably wouldn't. You don't learn much and it's not an enjoyable class.