BIOL 3030

Biochemistry is a difficult subject and Professor Schafer did a good job teaching the subject overall. She said in office hours that she doesn't read the textbook so if you're studying for the exams focus on slides over book material (and don't freak out if you're behind on readings). The exams focus more on broad concepts than minute details/blatant recall (there will never be a question on the exam along the lines of "what enzyme does ___?"). She really likes complicated questions you have to reason your way through so be prepared! The discussions with Laura Sipe were very helpful! She will give you test-like questions to work though and are good at checking your knowledge.

Biochemistry is a tough class, and Schafer isn't a great lecturer. She stumbles through lectures not because she doesn't know the material but because she just isn't good at lecturing. That being said, the slides are generally helpful. Her tests can be tough, but I think the other reviews here are a little harsh. She posts sample exams so you can see what the questions will be like, and they generally follow the format of the learning catalytics questions. This is a worthwhile course if you're looking to go to grad school in biomedical sciences and you don't want to take the two semester CHEM series.

Biochemistry is a very tough subject that will make you work for a decent grade. Schafer is not too great of a lecturer but her PowerPoints are key to doing well on her exams. She tries to help make the class more manageable though by dropping a few of the homework assignments and curving the class at the end. That curve is very generous, trust me!!!! The class consists of Mastering Chemistry homework, a few quizzes on some foundation material/ import topics learned in class ( we had 4 of these ), 4 exams, and Learning Catalytics ( which are similar to clickers except she can ask any type of question she wants ) . Mastering Chemistry and the Learning Catalytics are grade boosters so make sure you do them well . Some of the content in this course will be a little bit of a review at the beginning of the semester but most of it will be new material. The TA was generally helpful during discussion sections so try and prepare before you go to them. The best way to do well in this class is to use all the resources Schafer posts and go over the sample exams so you can get used to the way that she words her questions. Overall, this class demands a lot out of your schedule but you will make it. Good Luck!

Pretty challenging course but if you keep up with the material and memorize everything on the slides and mastering questions the tests aren't too bad. She tries to make us problem solve and often times that entails her questions being convoluted and hard to decipher what she is asking. It's pretty frustrating because half of her questions are really easy or trivial memorization of something not covered and the other half are poorly worded paragraph problem solving questions that are sometimes doable. My advice to you is that she is very generous with rounding up your grade at the end of the semester so if you think you are even close at all email her with some reasons why and she is usually accommodating.

This class is objectively better than orgo. It's more understanding as opposed to memorizing mechanisms and stuff. Schafer's exams aren't terribly bad overall.

This is the worst course offered at UVA. I was warned not to take this course but I thought it couldn't be any harder than orgo or cell... I WAS WRONG. It is a miracle that Professor Schafer is still a lecturer at UVA; I have never experienced a more disorganized, poorly-taught class. We constantly had online homework assignments corresponding to lengthy readings, which were often due long before we would ever reach the topic in lecture. The textbook did not present the material in a manner suitable for the learning of human beings and was almost as disorganized as Professor Schafer. The practice problems were impossible to complete without google, and even then sometimes google could not reach the same conclusions as her. I went to office hours once for a simple question and she went off on a tangent, which is not surprising considering she stumbles through lectures and never gets through all the slides. She often had to award partial credit on quiz/test/Learning Catalytics questions due to poor wording, multiple correct answers or or no correct answers at all. Tricky tests (like those of Wormington) are completely doable in my opinion, but there was absolutely no rhyme or reason to many of Schafer's test questions and they were more like guessing games than accurate assessments of what was "taught" in class. Don't go to discussion- the TA's take the whole 2 hours to go over practice questions that are all posted online. Considering that I actually enjoyed cell and orgo, biochemistry is probably not a terrible subject but there was not one day I would have preferred to sit through an exam than be hit by a Northline. In conclusion, take this class with the chemistry department because it is impossible for biochemistry to be any worse than this.

Biochem is biochem. Only take it if you have to take it. However, this one is better than the chemistry one in my opinion, and it's only one semester and not a full year. Schafer kinda sucks; but she's fine. You'll survive and it's not the worst class I've ever taken, but it's a lot of work.

The level of apathy, condescension, and carelessness of the teaching team (minus Ameera) was shocking. Both Professor Schafer and the graduate TA, Alyssa, were defensive when clarifying questions were asked during the exam and frankly seemed to care so little about teaching. Frankly, if the biology department had found an outgoing third grader from a nearby elementary school to teach the class I would have learned more biochemistry than I did this semester. Ways to do well in this course: 1. become fluent in Schafer's mind games and sloppily-written tests questions and 2. don't take it.

you know that episode on the office where toby comes back from being gone and Michael just screams "no, god no" over and over again.... yeah that's how I felt going into every class. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31g0YE61PLQ --> for reference) Schafer literally does not care at all about her students. she teaches absolutely nothing in class and then expects you to be able to figure out the most difficult questions. she even puts questions on tests that she thinks have good answers, but then, after students question her about it, she goes to her colleagues and they proceed to tell her that her question doesn't have a right answer. and the worst part is, she thinks it's funny..... personally I don't like being asked questions that don't have answers, especially when they impact my grade. if the university cared at all about students they would get rid of her. yeah maybe she does great research, but stop being selfish and actually give your students a fighting chance at learning the material. Im applying to grad school currently and will actually be extremely screwed if any of the schools actually want me to have learned anything. DO NOT take this class if you absolutely don't have to (sorry bs bio majors.. I'm with you, stay strong). @UVA PLEASE FIX THIS

Professor Schafer is by far the worst professor I’ve had at UVA. Don’t take this class unless you absolutely have to. She writes intentionally long, difficult, and confusing questions. Then when a majority of the class gets them wrong and she is confronted about the wording of the questions she gets defensive and tells students that they’re arguing semantics and her answer was right all along. Plus the study questions that she has available COME FROM A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT TEXTBOOK (essential biochemistry in case you’re wondering) and even studying both textbooks did nothing to help my grade. Overall just a horrible teacher and a horrible person.