Kenneth Hilt - University of California Davis, Davis, CA

Professor: Kenneth Hilt

Department: Biology

College: University of California Davis, Davis, CA

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: BIS102
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Podcasting his lectures after class is a must! Overall not bad as everyone says he is. Stay on top of lectures and homeworks. At least one/two hw question ends up on the exam. TA office hours were more useful that Hilts OH. If you have access to previous years exams, youll be solid. Final was easier than the midterms.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: BIS102
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

He wasnt that bad as everyone says... at least for bis 102. You do need to attend lecture and relisten to podcasts. Do the homework and all the past years practice tests you can find!

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: BIS102
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Hilt is a nice guy but in my experience, he made the course more difficult than it could have been. There are no notes posted so if you write something incorrectly down as he is speaking quickly in class, you might not have a point of reference to study from. His OH are also inefficient as I once waited 1 hour to talk to him for 5 min.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: BIS103
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

He's a good lecturer with borderline unreasonable standards. Grade is almost entirely based on exams. His courses are mostly a test of how well you can memorize everything he speaks and presents in lectures (and then write it in his way on tests too). Expect to review every lecture recording for all details to get a good grade.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: BIS105
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Amazing professor. This is an upper division class so it is difficult but Dr. Hilt is extremely fair. You get what you work for, so work hard. Don't let the lazy people scare you away from Dr. Hilt.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: BIS102
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Don't miss any of his class because he will give the iClicker questions randomly which worth 20pts (if you choose the right one). Lecture slides are missing information. Have to attend every lecture days to got it. Be ready to print those slides and writing everything he said (you'll not regret). He doesn't give the detailed steps to do the HWs.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: BIS105
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

This was one of the hardest courses I've taken at davis. You must podcast after every single lecture, and do it until you can recite them to an audience. At least one identical hwk question will appear on your midterm. You must work VERY hard for an A in this class. Don't be fooled by this class being 3 units, it's actually 13 units.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: BIS105
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Exams test on even the most minuscule of details, podcasting is a must! Dry lectures with clicker q's graded for accuracy that most get wrong. Avoid if possible but if you must take then be prepared to work! Office hours/tutoring is a must and make sure no concept slips you by.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: BIS102
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Great professor. Extremely knowledgeable. I liked the way he set up bus class. Posts lecture slides (that are basically blank) before class so you can print out and write on them in lecture. Goes at a good pace. HWs are old MT questions. Must podcast though!

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: BIO102
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

I shouldn't be adding anything new to the other comments. what I liked most about this teacher is he lets you do your own thinking instead of feeding you the material to pass the test. listen to the podcast after every lecture and rewrote you notes. don't let single word slip by, this might come on the test. use Koofer for old practice and go to OH

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: BIS102
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

You have to go re-listen to podcasts and have access to previous exams if you want to pass. I was doing poorly on the midterms because of stress, but he purposely made the final easier in order to raise the average. An 81% overall in class was an A-. Go to the tutors! So helpful! He is great in OH and lets you ask him many questions.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: BIS102
• Grade Received: C+
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

The class is extremely saturated with information. Expect to be tested on anything, even if Hilt mentions something for a mere 10 seconds. Exams are hard but he does curve. TA's help so get to know them. I easily expected to fail but shocked that I passed. What you know is not a reflection of your grade. OK teacher, but not the best.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: BIS102
• Grade Received: B-
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Professor Hilt is definitely very specific in his grading, but his tests are doable if you use his exact words in your notes. He has a generous B range for his curve but getting an A is pretty tough (top 15%). He does have clicker questions but they're only worth 20/420 points in the course. He's a super nice guy, and is helpful in office hours.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: BIS103
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

expects you to memorize and write out entire glycolysis, citric acid, and sometimes kalvin cycles on the exams as well as be able to recite the detailed mechanisms for things like ETC, ATP synthase, an others. and no he doesnt post any practice material or even lecture notes. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: MCB102L
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Great lecturer but the tests were ridiculously hard. They were free-response/problem-solving questions that were graded using keywords. Averages were in the F range. Thankfully the class is curved to a B average. You have to go to lecture/get notes from someone in order to know what's going on since complete slides aren't posted.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: BIS103
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

For a metabolism class, he says he prepares you for MCB120L. What really happens is that he probably knows nothing about metabolism that's why he focus so much on a different class materials (that he good at). If you want to learn about metabolism, take with other professors like Dr. Callis instead of trying to show off on area he can't even teach.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: BIS105
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Hilt's lectures are incredibly organized and engaging. His tests are difficult, but fair. He is very detail oriented, so taking thorough notes during class is absolutely necessary. I really appreciate that he incorporates Nobel Prize winning experiments in to lecture. Hands down one of the best professors I've ever had at UC Davis.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: BIS105
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

The most difficult course I have ever completed. I expected to fail but somehow I earned a decent grade. Attend every lecture, memorize the professor's every word using the podcasts, and don't procrastinate on the homework or "you will need a box of tissues during the exam." Buy the tissues anyway; you'll probably still need them.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: BIS103
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Hilt is a good lecturer -- very knowledgeable, organized, and easy to follow. He clearly cares about his students. His exams are graded ridiculously harshly though, down to every minute detail. You can succeed if you memorize pretty much everything he says. One of the most difficult and time consuming classes I've ever taken.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: BIO102
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Hilt is a great lecturer but can care less about your success. He takes off an absurd amount of points for not including a "key word", even if you have the right idea/concept written down. 2 MT and 1 final, curves harshly (only 15% get an A+/A/A-. Unnecessarily difficult, take Leal/Monfared if you want to learn and get the grade that you deserve