Stephanie Mel - University of California San Diego

Professor: Stephanie Mel

Department: TBD

College: University of California San Diego

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: BILD4
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

Mel is awesome. Her lectures were clear, and you could tell that she cared about her students. BILD 4 is so easy, just give an average amount of effort and you can get an A no problem. It's way too much work for a 2 unit class, but the class overall is easy enough.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: BILD1
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Shes very approachable and caring but I think people mistake this as her being an amazing professor because of this. IMO, her lectures were all over the place, her slides were useless (no words just the same images and diagrams over and over again), and wording for tests was beyond confusing.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: BILD1
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

She's really passionate about the subject and it shows, she really makes an effort to make sure students understand the core concepts. Tests are fairly difficult, but if you take good notes you can get at least a B easily. Not a hard class, quizzes are online and plenty of participation points.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: BILD4
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Honestly, a decent professor as she's knowledgeable and easy to talk to. Her lectures often end up getting boring. Her quizzes and average in difficulty but she words her questions very awkwardly which makes them hard and annoying to break down. The class overall was pretty easy.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: BILD4
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Mel is a good professor! She explains concepts really well and with detail. I recommend reviewing her lectures again before quizzes because she explains important concepts that might not be on the slides. There are 3 quizzes throughout the quarter, the questions can be tricky but she does give old quizzes to practice with and a group portion.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: BILD1
• Grade Received: D
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Mel is great, I have no complaints about her but her teaching style just didnt match my learning style. The biggest problem I had about her class were her exams. The questions were worded in such a strange manner, it was almost meant to trick you, even though she says she isn't trying to. Study hard and make sure to study her practice exams!!!

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: BILD4
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Labs are run by the TAs and the lectures normally consist of a quiz and instructions for the next lab. The writing assignments are super important and the poster project at the end isn't that big of a deal as they make it seem.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: BILD1
• Grade Received: D
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Mel is a great prof, but her tests are really difficult. There's only one midterm and a final and they are multiple choice/fill in the blank, typically each question has 5 choices to choose from, which is where it can get confusing. Definitely read the textbook (even though it was optional) and go to office hours! I found out too late :(

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: BILD1
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Exams focus on different material than the ones taught in class. Confusing explanation to the questions asked. Extremely tricky and difficult exams.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: BILD1
• 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:

Prof Mel is a very good choice for a Bio class. She is very passionate about her lectures and takes pride in the understanding of her students. The only critique I would say is that there is a lot of material and she goes very fast so spend a lot of time studying.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: BILD4
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Good professor for a bio lab class.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: BILD1
• Grade Received: Audit/No Grade
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

She's a good professor. Really love her lectures, but I won't take the bio again.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: BILD4
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Pray you get a good IA, they are your lab instructors. Mel just lectures, which she does well. She gives you old tests to study which are super helpful for the 2 midterms and a final. However, her lectures are super key. Her slides are generic and she likes to write on the board. If you don't take notes about what she says, you won't get an A.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: BILD4
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

A 2 unit class but it's an unnecessary and unfair amount of work and time for a 2unit class. It's a 2 hour lecture and 3 hour lab. There are weekly lab reports and everything is depending on your group, so if you have a bad group expect a bad grade. The topic is soil bacteria which Mel manages to make interesting but at the end of the day it's not.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: BILD1
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Mel was a great professor, but her midterms and finals were SO TRIPPY. Her wordings are so ambiguous that you wouldn't even know you misinterpreted the question. But she is very friendly and does really care if you succeed in her class or not, so try to go to her office hours and you IA's OH too. Lectures go by really fast, so don't fall behind!

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: BILD1
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

She is a fantastic professor! She is very enthusiastic in class and explain things very clearly. Her 10 minute review time is very helpful. Definitely would take her again. An A is not hard if you follow her in lecture and take review. Exam consists of no things other than what she taught. Textbook is not that useful cuz some part she would skip.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: BILD4
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Mel herself is awesome and approachable, but she has nothing to do with your grade. Hope you get good TAs, because mine took off points on lab reports for things they never explained and the two of them contradicted each other often. The labs themselves were fine and it was fun to learn how to do some things in a lab.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: BILD1
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Clear lectures (tests are based entirely on it so you don't need your textbook), and most of the material is easy enough to understand but she still explains them very well.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: BILD4AND60
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

I had Professor Mel for my Introductory Bio Lab (BILD 4) and for a DEI course in biology (BILD 60) in the spring. The courses were both started in that year, but she still taught them as if she had been teaching them for years. She engages class discussion in interesting ways, and gets you to think about the course materials in new ways.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: BILD1
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

Fantastic professor. She focuses much more on the big picture rather than minute details. Very enthusiastic every class. Her quick reviews at the start of every lecture are super helpful. Tests are fair and straightforward as long as you're not a paranoid test taker. I definitely feel like I have a strong foundation for upper division bio classes.