CHEM 2410

I thought that this was a HUGE jump from the introductory chemistry classes. You need to be prepared to stay on top of every unit when youre learning it, and not procrastinate in any way. I got really sick for a month, and because of that my grade really suffered. The first three exams arent terrible but the final is baaaaad. I would do lots and lots of practice problems

Do yourself a favor and take the class with Samonina. I have friends who went from a C+ in orgo 1 with Frants to an A+ in orgo 2 with Samonina. If someone tells you that Frantz prepares you better for the MCAT don't listen to them.

Do yourself a favor and take the class with anyone else. Samonina for example. Honestly, this class is made far harder than it ever needs to be. I understand organic chemistry is a hard subject but you are pretty much lulled into a false sense of hope in this class with the test corrections and then demolished by the final, which is and always will be the hardest exam I have ever taken. Frantz is nice as a person and her lectures are decent but I wouldn’t call her “student friendly”. I took Frantz thinking that the difficulty of her exams and final would be offset by the fact that she’s a good lecturer but I was sorely mistaken. The most frustrating part of this class is you can study until the cows come home and you still will find questions pulled out of left field that aren’t indicative of what is taught in class. Bottom line, take orgo with another professor if you want a chance at getting a decent grade.

Dr. Frantz tells you on the first day of class each semester what you need to do to succeed. She is not exaggerating the amount of work necessary to do well in her class. Organic Chemistry at all colleges is difficult, and this class is no exception. That being said, if you read and take notes on the textbook before class, pay attention and engage yourself during class, and review after class, you will do well. The most important of these is READING THE TEXTBOOK BEFORE CLASS; she often zooms through the concepts presented in the textbook during the lecture, so if you don't have anything written down already, you can't engage during the practice questions because there isn't enough time to write everything down in class. Get all of the points you can on the things that are not tests (homework, warm-up quizzes, clicker questions, discussion). The three midterms are manageable but focus on the example questions you do in class because one of them generally is on the test in some sort or another. I would also recommend doing all of the recommended practice problems she puts on Collab before the tests as well as doing ALL INTEGRATED PROBLEMS for each chapter covered on the test. The final is unlike anything you will have ever seen before and is extremely hard; it is definitely used to separate the A's from A-'s from the B+'s ... . TLDR: Do all the work she tells you to, and you will do well.

This is an extremely difficult course. Reading the textbook BEFORE class is essential because Frantz goes through the class material very quickly. Frantz does clicker questions, but she only grades for participation, which is very helpful. Frantz does test corrections (after you take the exam, you get to redo all the problems you missed and get up to 50% credit back for the problems you missed), which makes the exams more manageable. However, the final is INSANELY difficult. There is nowhere near enough time to complete a final of the difficulty Frantz gives. The best thing about this class are the TAs. My TA, Vik, was phenomenal! He would quiz us in class to test our understanding, and he was SUPER helpful in office hours and very understanding. I 100% would have failed this course if it weren't for him. I recommend scheduling a one-on-one meeting with Frantz early in the semester even if you are doing well in the course. The exams get successively difficult, and if you don't meet with her/get her advice in the beginning of the semester, she won't help in the end. All that to say, Frantz is a very knowledgeable professor and she knows orgo material very well. You will need to spend a lot of time on this course if you want an A in the class.

While organic chem is obviously quite hard, I think Professor Frantz gives you the best shot at a good understanding of orgo as well as a decent grade. There are plenty of points padded into your grade to boost it, and the mid-semester exams are only worth 10% each. The exams are hard but fair, and although Frantz is kind of a savage, she makes herself very available in office hours or whenever you need extra help.

HARD. WORK. PAYS. OFF.
Do not procrasinate! This class is great if you understand the material and enjoy chemistry! Professor Frantz cares about your understanding beyond the textbook, make sure to go to her or TAS office hours! The exams reflect concepts on the discussions and Klein. Do not think you are not capable of suceeding based on horror stories of ORGO in general. You can do it. Just practice and MARK what you get wrong in practice problems, it will help you so much. I got an A both semesters and will gladly give tips to anyone who asks me because I really think this class is based one engagement and effort and I think anyone can suceed, regardless if you took Chem in highschool or at UVA.
#tCF2020

#tCF2020
I thought the class was okay until the final where everyone’s grade blew up in their face. She offered test corrections for the first three exams, but the final will drop your grade a couple of letters. Take with caution

I came into this class with the normal fear of organic chemistry, but it turned out okay! I took Welch 1st semester of gen chem and then Lisa the second semester. I think Lisa helped me prepare a bit more for this class. Frantz structures the class with three exams (10% each), homework/ discussion points (45%), and a final exam (25%). She does test corrections on each of the three-semester tests which allows you to gain up to 50% of the points you missed back. She build in that you will miss points on homework and discussions so that 45% should be a 100%. Then if you can manage to be around the 70% range before test corrections you will end with an 85% avg on the three tests. Then comes the daunting final (which if you prepare is really not as bad as people make it out to be. Because it normally is hard though expect to do around how you did on the third test before test corrections (in all the final normally seems to bring people down from an A -> A- , B -> B- etc.) My highschool chemistry was not great, but with hard work and Frantz's great teaching (and want for her students to succeed) I pulled off an A-. Therefore, it is definitely doable if you are willing to put in the effort. No matter what, organic chemistry is just a hard class. #tCF2020

Took this online (will be different if in person). Dr. Frantz expects students to work every day on ochem or at the very minimum at least 7 hours per week. This class requires a decent amount of practice but as long as you do the work that she gives, you should be fine. Her final is cumulative so make sure you keep reviewing previous chapters and you should be good to go! Best of luck. If you have any issues, feel free to contact her as she provides countless opportunities to do so.