Christopher Switzer - University of California Riverside, Riverside, CA

Professor: Christopher Switzer

Department: Chemistry

College: University of California Riverside, Riverside, CA

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: CHEM08C
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Swizter is extremely monotonic in lectures he puts me to bed. I used to attend his lectures but legit got nothing from him. I ended up with an A but suffered my way through it. He switched his exams to multiple choice, but his curve is extremely generous. You only have to be one and a half standard deviations above the average to get an A.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: CHEM008C
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

He was an okay professor. His tests were pretty difficult if you don't prepare for them, but the final was extremely hard. His midterms us homework questions, so make sure to do them! His lectures were pointless since he didn't really go past explaining what's on the powerpoint.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: CHEM008B
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Honestly this class wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. Ochem can be a drag but Switzer made it manageable. DO THE BOOK PROBLEMS!!! IT WILL LITERALLY SAVE YOUR GRADE!! I legit saw 5 problems on the midterm that were word for word from the book. Midterms were straightforward and easy but the final was a little difficult. Overall not bad!

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: CHEM008B
• Grade Received: B-
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Switzer is a passable class. Attending lectures is important because he says key things during class. you DO NOT need to read the book, but you DO need to do the book problems because he does pick a couple straight from the book. He goes off topic. He has 2 midterms and a cumulative final. I got a 69/100, 63/100, and 114/200 and ended with a B-.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: CHEM008B
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

I honestly had a decent time in this class. His lecturing style will take time getting used to, because of his tangents. But if you go to office hours and do all of the recommended homework problems, you will probably get an A. He takes a lot of his test Q from the homework. His final was pretty hard but just nail the midterms and you will be fine.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: CHEM12C
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Took him in this last spring quarter. Straightforward professor, not the best lecturer, midterms are okay, final is hard. He has a very generous curve though.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: OCHEM12C
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Switzer is a good guy and very generous in regards to the curve (which saves most people). But he's not the best at teaching. You honestly don't need to go to lecture to get a high grade in the class. Piece of advice: DO THE BOOK PROBLEMS. There's a lot but it WILL save you. Half of the midterm problems are straight out of the book, word for word.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: CHEM112C
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Professor Switzer is an awesome professor who cares about his students. Curve was amazing and saved all of us. Work hard to get average/above average on midterms and final (by understanding his notes and practicing problems from his notes and SI). Never really went to his office hours or did the homework, and still did well in the class. Take him!

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: CHEM112C
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Midterms straight from the Lecture notes and HW. Final is reasonable. Attendance isn't necessary but beneficial because he gives lots of hints of what will be on the exams. He cares that you perform well, but NEVER asks if the class has any questions; he just lectures nonstop. Memorize the notes and you should be able to do Very well.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: 112C
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Best curve ever. Midterms are okay but final is difficult. Possible to earn an A with a lot of effort. Hw crucial to success. Notes are easy to follow so going to class isn't needed.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: CHEM112C
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Lectures are very clear and organized. His tests are reflective of his notes. Overall average was curved to a B-. One of the easiest O-chem classes I had out of the series. Compared to the other classes in the series, I didn't go to office hours or SI sessions and did just fine. All you have to do is study and practice and take good notes.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: CHEM112C
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

midterms are based on the notes and problems. midterm averages consistently at 50 percent . average set at B minus. the final was hard because of the overwhelming amount of material to study to prepare, for me anyway. some Final questions were biochemistry concept questions not in lectures or problems, so reading the book will help.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: CHEM112C
• 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:

Switzer is a very good lecturer that is really upfront about what he is going to test on. He posts ALL lectures online and they are written so well that you could come to class and just sit and listen or just skip class and download later. I actually only went to 4-5 lectures and still got an A. Midterms were way easier than final, but curved huge

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: CHEM112C
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Boring lectures, very simple notes, and not too much investigations into the "whys" of mechanisms and reactions. Lectures felt very mechanical. Fair midterms, but final was ridiculously hard.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: 112C
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Best curve ever!! He's nice and approachable, don't be shy and go to his office hours for an A. Memorize all of the reactions and understand mechanisms. Got an A- by reviewing all of his notes straight after class and before the exam.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: CHEM112C
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Average is set to a B-. He's pretty fair in grading but regrades on tests aren't that easy to get. Midterms are based on the homework & lecture notes. He posts the slides up so it's not necessary to go to class. His final is extremely difficult and almost irrelevant to material covered in class :(

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: CHEM112C
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

This class is mainly geared for bio and pre-med students, it's really not fun if that's not what you're going to do. (I probably won't even use half of this material)

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: CHEM112C
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

go to class and understand his notes, all the test questions come from it. memorize the reactions at the back of each chapter it will help you a lot! got an A-, worked for it but its easy to get as long as you keep up with the chapters and take the time to understand/memorize his notes

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: CHEM112C
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

The test were not diffiicult but he is very poor at explaining things, one time in class he told us that he knew something just because he knew it. He writes very poor notes, they are oversimplified versions of what you will be tested on. And he's notes are writen very fast so it is hard to keep up with him in class although he does post the notes

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: CHEM112C
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Lectures are pretty decent.He is willing to answer any question and always post up lecture slides after class.Has multiple review sessions.The homework is the key to doing well on his exams.However, the final consisted of a lot of Biology questions and was fairly difficult.His midterms are fair.Overall, good class until the final.I got an A-.