Bo Liu - University of California Davis, Davis, CA

Professor: Bo Liu

Department: Biology

College: University of California Davis, Davis, CA

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: BIS104
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Lecture sessions are very dry but it's very apparent that he is very enthusiastic about the topics. It's still a mystery to me how the lecture sessions were very boring despite his enthusiasm. I thought the lectures were very organized with clear outline of important subtopics. IMO, his tests are fair. Study and you'll do fine.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: BIS104
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Lecture sessions are very dry but it's very apparent that he is very enthusiastic about the topics. It's still a mystery to me how the lecture sessions were very boring despite his enthusiasm. I thought the lectures were very organized with clear outline of important subtopics. IMO, his tests are fair. Study the concepts and you'll do fine.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: BIS104
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Professor Liu is just bad at teaching. He has an extremely hypnotizing voice, and his lectures are mostly unorganized without clear emphasis. You are expected to dive into tons of details and obtain every single one of them to pass his tests that are intended to trick people. Avoid.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: BIS104
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

He's always enthusiastic to teach even though the material is tedious and boring at times. His exams are tricky and based heavily on concept application (not just memorizing info), but it's still manageable if you really understand the material. Not an easy class, but I learnt a lot and was overall satisfied.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: BIS104
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

One of the most boring and difficult classes I've taken at Davis. Final was comprehensive over 30 lectures and extremely difficult to study for. Exams were very difficult as well. Great guy, not the most interesting lectures or class though. Avoid or take with a different professor if possible.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: BIS104
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Liu is a great professor--approachable and friendly. His tests are reasonable and he provides sample tests in addition to in-class sample questions. Sometimes he reuses these questions in exams. Go to his office hours if you have any questions or reference the text book which is fairly good. Overall, highly recommend taking Liu for BIS104.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: BIS104
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Attend every lecture and write down everything he is saying, his tests are tough but if you understand the concepts you will be fine. He asks a lot of questions regarding experiments. He is very heavy on concepts, so he doesn't ask direct questions based on memorization make sure you understand everything.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: BIS104
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

.The material is relatively difficult but no worse than any other class. The problem was the tests. His questions are so roundabout and long, the material that we were supposed to study becomes less important than being able to interpret the question correctly. It was extremely frustrating to know the material well, and not be able to show him it.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: BIS104
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Awful teaching style and really difficult tests, despite a lot of hard studying and my worst mark ever. Please avoid!

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: BIS104
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Professor Liu is nice and helpful, but having class in the early morning didn't give anyone an incentive to go to class...especially since ALL of his lectures are podcasted. Having 20 MC questions in a midterm exam is not enough in my opinion, but as long as you study his slides and understand the underlying content, it shouldn't be too bad.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: BIS104
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

AVOID!!! This class will most likely NOT be curved. However this doesnt mean the class is easy. The material isnt bad, its just that Prof Liu has a thick accent and even though you feel confident on test material, its impossible to do well on tests. On the other hand, he is always available for help. But again, AVOID.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: BIS104
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

As the other comment stated, listen to the podcasts and follow the printed slides. I gave up going to class as well due to his monotonous voice, fairly fast pace, incomplete sentences and thick accent. He curves if final class avg is below a C+. He picks out very small and peculiar questions out of the lecture/slides.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: BIS104
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

First off, DO NOT GO TO CLASS. Stay home and listen to the podcast. After the first week I never attended class again. I received a B. The reason is: listen to the podcast in order to wade through his heavy accent and stuttering to catch every small detail he looks for. I had to sit there and pause/rewind constantly. Do this and you will succeed.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: BIS104
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

What just happened? I tried my absolute best, and got the worst grade I have ever gotten in college. If you take this class, expect to magically absorb knowledge that was never taught to you, and apply it to questions you have never heard of. This is really unfair...I don't understand his weird grading, which is strange since its MC exams

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: BIS104
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

I'm a senior with a 3.4 GPA in Bio Sci and this is the first time in college I have gotten less than a C+. I tried my absolute best. His test questions are VERY tricky and he never teaches the material explicitly. In other words he will give you the education blocks during lecture and on a test he expects you to build a skyscraper out of it.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: BIS104
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Poor Prof Liu...He wants so badly for us to love cellular biology and to do well. I have to say I have really learned some valuable info...With that being said, his test are SO hard. You really have to understand every fine detail to have a chance. He moves really fast and will quiz you on how to use the info in a lab, not the info itself.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: BIS104
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

This is a hard class. The professor is very nice, and VERY knowledgable but is one of those people who expects you already know everything he knows. Exams do no reflect the notes so even if you know the notes, the test is applications that arent covered in the notes. Even though this is 3 units, take it as your "hard class" Learned a lot though!

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: BIS104
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Dr. Bo Liu dual teaches this class with a Japanese professor Kaza something.. I dont remember his name. His lectures are very confusing. His quizes are not very difficult but be careful, he tends to pick some small details on a random lecture slides and asks it on the quiz. The japanese professor does a much better job at explaining the concepts.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: BIS1C
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

BIS 1C is probably the most boring class you'll ever take at Davis, but Dr. Liu makes it a little less painful. Nice guy. Wants to help you. Holds review sessions. Midterms multiple choice. Gives out lecture notes. What else do you want?

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: BIS001C
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Dr. Liu is a fairly easy teacher and sets a curve which really helps you out. I recommend reading the text since the class drowns you with terms that you have to apply to the bigger biological picture. This is not a pure memorization class you have to learn the concepts to do well. Keep up with the material and you should be fine. I got an A+.