Mary Zavanelli - University of California Santa Cruz

Professor: Mary Zavanelli

Department: Biology

College: University of California Santa Cruz

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: 80J
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

This class was actually really hard and not worth taking. It will mess up your GPA! I dont think mary should teach this class because she is sick and is not capable of lecturing herself. Shes a lovely lady though.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: BIOL80A
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

I am SO glad I took Female Physiology. I learned a lot of things that will benefit me for many years to come. Mary is kind, non-judgmental, and has a genuine interest in the subject. I recommend this class to everyone, both females and males.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: BIO80J
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

If you are a bio major, don't think this will be a super easy class. She goes on many tangents, and tests on more statistics about HIV/AIDS than the biology of it. I think a lot of her exam questions came from the book ( which I didn't use), but overall she is a nice professor who has a genuine interest in the subject

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: BIOL100L
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Sometimes she wasn't even around for the labs. Her background information for the lab we were doing usually had no relevance. You understand more if you ask her directly instead of listening to her talk. Just follow requirement and you'll be fine. Our TA did most of the grading so pray they're not a harsh grader.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: BIO80J
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Worst class in the UCSC catalog. Mary rambles on and goes off on tangents to waste time. The information is outdated. She tries to dumb it down so we can understand it, but instead uses language inappropriate for learning science and makes no sense. This class will do nothing but hurt your GPA. So take something else.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: BIOL80A
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

I was extremely interested in the course until it started, Mary is the worst professor ever! She spends more than half of class time answering peoeple's questions and doesn't cover the material which shows up on midterms/final, overall, this class will only hurt your gpa. Do yourself a favor and avoid it, learn from my mistake!!!

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: BIO80A
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

The exams are based completely on lecture notes (which are not posted online) so must attend lecture. A lot of my lecture notes were conflicting and did not match from day to day. I earned a B+ with an 89%,but some people I know earned a B- with a 70%! Unless you are a D+ student or A student, the curve is useless to you. The B people get robbed.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: BIO80A
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

I got a 82% and got a B- in this course. My friend got a 71% and got a B- in this course. It is not fair. The grading scale makes no sense. A 68% is a C+/B-. I put in way more effort than my friend and he gets the same grade! You cannot miss class. She uses powerpoint slides and does not put them on the website.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: BIO80A
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Must attend class, nothing is posted online. A 68% is a B-, I got a 87% and got a B+. The curve in not fair. 87% versus 68% is a big difference. She basically rewards people who do poorly but do not help people that do well. If a 68% is curved then a 87% should be curved with equal standards. Also, the information is not up to date.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: BIO80A
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Terrible. Worst professor ever. Midterms and final had little to nothing to do with lecture. Textbook was useless. She would often go off topic and was willing to answer silly questions. This is a warning: Avoid this professor at all costs.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: BIOL80J
• 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:

Good professor; she explained the topics well. The course itself is pretty tough and the exams are tough as well. I don't recommend taking this class if you do not have a strong biology background.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: BIO80A
• 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:

Good prof, explains things well and very clear about what she wants to test you on. Go to lecture! best way to get material and do well on exams.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: BIO80A
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Her info is a little outdated and she also seemed unwilling to budge from her set routine for the class. Her willingness to answer questions made lectures go off track.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: BIOL80J
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

I hated this class. I thought it would be interesting but Zavanelli was a tough teacher. She expected everyone to already have a strong bio background and went way too quickly. Also made it mandatory to work with the AIDS walk project, cool, but had to shell out $100 to walk. I did NOT want to spend money! I was very angry! She's really hard :/

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: BIO80E
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

I found Zavanelli's lectures to be really hard to engage in, and the grade consisted entirely of the midterm and final, which were fairly difficult, but were slightly curved. If you are REALLY into the subject, this class may be better for you, but I had never taken an evolution class and was expecting more.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: BIO80A
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Lectures are interesting & she explains materials well. But I agree with others that strange questions appear on exams. She's willing to answer random questions but at times it holds up the lecture. Some questions are better saved for your physician/gyno and not a 300+ lecture hall.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: BIO80J
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Bad, prof. She scales nicely on the grading curve, but topics THAT SHE NEVER COVERED in lecture should be expected. Don't expect an easy A, as your guaranteed to lose points for absolutely no reason.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: BIO80E
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Relatively easy class; skipped a few lectures and didn't pay attention to the ones I did attend. Just make sure you start to study a week before midterm and final and you should be good for the quarter.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: BIO80E
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

"What hominid preceded Homo Erectus?" ... Really? Neither the textbook (which was the only great aspect of the class) nor the lectures covered the order of hominids at all. Many exam questions suffer this same problem and come out of nowhere. Students that read the textbook are not rewarded.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: BIO80
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

I took the AIDS class and Female Phys. Loved both! Mary is awesome!! I wish she taught more classes. She doesn't post the lecture notes online, so come to class. It isn't that bad! If you ask me I prefer Female Phys to the AIDS class! Would highly recommend. Nice lady.