CHEM 2410

McGarvey doesn't mess around, ever. Albeit he's hilarious (very dry sense of humor) but once he stats writing on the first of six chalkboards, you need to buckle down and hold on. His tests are always really hard, but fair, and the final grade is in relation to the standard deviation (avg usually in mid 60's) so the individual number score is subjective. All in all I though he was great, if you do the work (READING AND PRACTICE PROBLEMS) and come to class you should get at least a B. I averaged around 10 or so points above the average and got an A.

Note: some people prefer Fraser cause she's nicer/a better teacher but I suspect these might be the same people who still want to be spoon fed mushed peaches. Sorry if that sounds harsh, but in all honesty, if you put in the time, everything McGarvey says is extremely logical.

Final Advice: Buy a solutions manual and do the practice problems!

McGarvey is a great professor, and probably my favorite I've had at UVA so far. He's very enthusiastic and is subtly funny during lectures which keeps it interesting. There is no homework with the exception of reading. Tests are difficult, with the averages generally in the high 60's, but as long as you study sufficiently and go to all of the lectures, the tests are manageable.

Best orgo professor I've ever had. He knows what he's talking about and if you go to lecture and pay attention, you should do fine in the class. He shows you in lecture what he expects you do do on the exams, so pay attention, read the text, and practice a little and do fine. He uses LOGIC to teach orgo, not memorization, which makes all the concepts easier to understand.

Unlike Prof. Serbulea, Professor McGarvey expects you to read and teach yourself. He then shows a lot of examples in class. I found his tests to be easier than expected. But be careful not to procrastinate or fall behind. No homework. Just tests and a final.

McGarvey can be a bit of a drone in lectures, but he covers the material that is on the tests. To succeed on the tests you must understand the problem solving he does in lecture and read the book. I enjoyed that the class had no iclickers for requiring attendance and no homework. The test averages are low but the curve is more generous than some other teachers.

Take this class with someone else.

This was a challenging and rewarding class. If you put in the effort and take the time to go to office hours you can do well (B or better). McGarvey is great because he draws everything on the board and we copy it down. It's great practice and you become more comfortable with drawing all the structures very quickly.

probably the most unfair class I have ever taken. I know it's a pre-med weed out, but what you learn in class and study in the textbook are COMPLETELY different from the questions in the tests. There are 3 "quizzes" worth 20 percent of your grade each and then a 40 percent final. The averages for each were always in the upper 50's and lower 60's. He does the very bare minimum as a lecturer, which is just to copy and paste everything that is in the textbook for that chapter onto the chalkboard for 50 minutes every class. Expect to see things on the test that you have never seen before, even if you study for hours and hours. Apparently he applies a pretty big curve at the end, but this was hands down the worst class I have ever taken

McGarvey is a really nice guy. Lectures are a bit dry, but that comes with the subject. The material you are tested on comes from the lecture and the book, so if you pay attention during class, you won't be blindsided.

mcgarvey doesn't waste any time. lecture gets really boring, really fast, and it's hard to keep up if you are like me and need to get some daydreaming and emailing done at that time of day.
but it's organic chemistry and he got the job done. tests are fair and it's not impossible to get an A but the class can be really frustrating, for sure. Go to the TA review sessions before the tests. They shelled out questions from last year's and they were often the same or similar from year to year.