CHEM 2411

Hunt is an awful teacher. He uses a poorly written lab manual and reads directly from it during lectures. Your grade is completely based on others in the class and is somewhat bullshit. You honestly have no idea how well you're doing until you get your final grade. The class is hard and the TA's grade completely different. Obviously a required class for pre-med students, but know that you were warned. ALSO - it is probably a good idea to take the class one year and the lab the next year. They don't really correlate together so it would be more helpful to have the class completed first.

Yes this is a hard class, and Hunt might not be the best at teaching but here are some suggestions to get an A in the course....

1. Start you lab reports early. I put in 8 hrs on average to each and started them well in advanced. I had friends who started them the night before...if you want a good rank this is NOT a good idea. The reports get easier as you go along.

2. GO TO TA OFFICE HOURS. Seriously. It doesn't have to be your TA if you can't make it or if he/she isn't as helpful. This is crucial to writing good reports and getting good grades on post-lab question.

3. Read the lab manual, and understand it. If you don't understand get help. Everything in the book is fair game for the final....study as you go along if at all possible.

4. Talk to Hunt. He gets such a bad rep, but he is actually extremely nice and kind and helpful if you go up after class. Don't judge him before you talk to him.

5. Sit in the very front of the auditorium for lab lecture. Hunt speaks softly!

Orgo lab is another one of those miserable chemistry classes. Take time writing your reports and actually try to understand what you're writing and every single reaction and what happens when you change one single thing in a reaction - it's all fair game for the final. GO TO YOUR TA'S OFFICE HOURS. Seriously. That's the only way to know what they expect of you, and it'll help you get good grades on your lab reports. The grading in this class is all black magic though, with rankings and mysterious normalization among lab sections. Do your best to get a good ranking during the semester, and really really focus on the final as it really determines your final grade...or so we think. Take it if you need to, but overall it's another disappointment and frustration from the chemistry department.

The stories are true. If you want a decent grade you will spend more than 10 hours or more a week working on your prelab reading, pre lab assignment, lab report and postlab. If youre a premed you should definitely attend Michael Ferracane's recitations because you will learn pretty much nothing in Hunt's lecture. The final exam is way too hard for no reason. It tests on strict memorization and less on understanding of the concepts learned. ABSOLUTELY AVOID and take in the summer or suffer the consequences.

Overwhelming the first few weeks, but Dr. Hunt is great, and it is crucial to understand his lectures. I never went to recitations and got an A both semesters - recitations are pointless unless you're completely clueless. Also, keep in mind that Dr. Hunt makes the final exam, not Michael, the guy who runs the recitations. Biggest key for success is to attend and record the lectures, and put all your eggs into that basket. Having a good strategy is imperative for success on the final, because it is definitely hard. Overall, very worthwhile course, and don't let the reputation get to you. Generally, good students do well, and Dr. Hunt is very willing to help

Hunt is a jerk.

This course is insane. The structure of this class is extremely outdated, and the experiments that we do are so damn old-fashioned most chemists would be surprised that we're doing them. Hunt is oblivious to how terrible his course is, and his lectures are the worst I've ever experienced at UVA, and also outdated! He doesn't even use powerpoint, and instead uses crude, hand-drawn notes that are barely legible. You learn nothing from the lectures and can instead use your textbook and watch online videos about the experiment. He is so condescending and assumes that you know more than you do. I am amazed at how he is still teaching at UVA, and he has one of the most confusing methods for computing grades. So complicated that not even the TAs were able to tell me how to grading scheme worked. And as for the final exam... good luck. You need to know every specific detail about every lab you do and every calculation associated with it.

This class was probably the worst class I have ever taken at UVA. The lab reports take at least 12 hours to write (if you care about your ranking and want to do well). It is absolutely necessary to attend your TA’s office hours to make sure you adhere to their guidelines and include all of the material. I was ranked highly in this class (#1) and got a B. The ranking doesn’t really matter and it is all dependent on the final. The final is, without a doubt, the hardest final. I walked out of it feeling like I confidently knew 10 answers. It was the worst. People in your lab WILL fail! It is possible! You have to TRY and STUDY! I wish you luck and genuinely hope you’ll never have to take such a ridiculous course and gpa ruiner

Do not let these reviews scare you out of taking this class and becoming a chem major. Yes, it is difficult. Yes, you will spend 10-12 hours a week on your lab report. BUT, you will be a better chemistry student as a result. Some of the experiments are outdated, but the concepts (especially in second semester) are SO interesting and learning/applying them in lab will help you out in orgo lecture!! If you are disciplined about going to the lab lecture (put your phone close to Dr. Hunt and record it), and treat TA office hours like a class (go every week with questions!), you will likely succeed on the reports and post-lab questions. If you start studying early and learn the experiments and mechanisms (memorize! everything!), you will be able to do decently on the final. There's no getting around it-- the final is one of the hardest tests you might take at UVa, but it is NOT impossible. Also-- don't be scared or get upset about the rankings. They seem to make very little, if any, difference in determining your grade, and are just a way for Hunt to compare students across TA's who grade differently.