I absolutely loved this class! Shapley is a fantastic gal, super engaging and easy to approach. She hosted zoom review sessions about a week before each exam, which were recorded and posted. The review sessions are super interactive, like she'll ask questions in the chat and stuff, which tbh was really good preparation for the exams.

This class is pretty nice to fill a lab requirement bc the labs were super chill. Lab attendance was taken (at least for my section with Shreya, who is fantastic btw), but you have 24 hours to complete and submit the lab so it's easy.

This class is basically a sampling platter of a bunch of different parts of astronomy so it's very interesting, but also a bit of a beast just by sheer volume of content. It is mostly conceptual and there is minimal math and actual hard physics. Shapley gave us a formula sheet for all the exams to do any calculations.

There is a 1% extra credit opportunity for this class where you can either visit Griffith observatory and like do a little write up, or write a paper on a JWST finding you like. The two midterms were not curved. She didn't advertise it but I'm pretty sure the final was curved somehow. Our final was "cumulative" but heavily, heavily focuses on the new content so definitely study that. You do need to memorize numbers for this class or at least have a relative scale of things in the universe.

Also you do not need the textbook. Never opened it.

Professor Shapely is a fun and passionate professor in astronomy. She is a great professor who has fun and engaging lectures. Her lectures do tend to be very information heavy with 55 long slides on average but she does post them on BruinLearn before class. Her lectures are also recorded and posted on BruinLearn.
There is a weekly quiz based on the lectures of that week alongside a weekly two-hour lab. All lab grades are completely up to your TA and done with a group.
There are two midterms and a final which are all just MCQ, everything on the tests is on the lecture slides. Professor Shapely also offers Zoom reviews the weekend before the test. If you pay attention to her lectures and take notes or review and study the lecture slides you can pass her tests. I do find the heavy lectures make it difficult to know everything which can make the test extremely challenging. If you pay good attention, take great notes, and truly take time to review and study your notes you will pass the tests. I struggled with the tests, failing both midterms and final but the curve at the end helped a lot.
Extra credit is offered through a three-page reflection essay after visiting Griffith Observatory or on recent astronomical discoveries.
If you are looking for an interesting GE to finish your lab requirement this is a great option, this is NOT the easiest class and definitely requires dedication in notes, studying, and preparing for the tests.

I didn't expect to like this class but was proven wrong. Professor Shapley loves what she teaches and that genuine interest is contagious. She is super engaging and I thoroughly enjoyed taking her class. There is basically no homework, the tests are easy multiple-choice, and the lab is super basic math. I highly recommend this class. It is super unique and a great way to expand your overall knowledge. I may not ever apply this stuff in the workplace but I have hella sick facts and a new appreciation when I look up at the sky. This class rocks!

Overall, this course was interesting and I enjoyed the subject material. Prof. Shapley is an amazing professor, very easy to approach and converse with, and clearly expresses her enthusiasm about teaching this course. The labs are overall pretty easy as long as you pay attention in class and to the lectures. That being said, the course itself isn't a walk in the park and definitely requires some extra review outside the class, especially for the midterms that seem to draw questions from small details you might not pay much attention to in the slides. Professor: 10/10 (excellent) Course: 8/10 (interesting) Difficulty: 9/10 (probably the hardest course I've attempted so far simply due to the amount of information I need to digest)

Shapley really cares about the learning of her students. It shows through in her passion and easy accessibility. Just this past week our TA could not make it to discussion so Shapley ran it herself. I absolutely love Shapley, having taken Astro 3 with her in the past, and I took this class specifically because I knew she was the professor. Love love love love!

Selling "The Essential Cosmic Perspective" Seventh edition textbook required for this class :) Email me *************

Took this class because everyone said the ASTR lower courses are good science GEs for non-majors---definitely would have gone back and chosen a different class, but that's just because I don't really like nor am I good at STEM. Professor Shapley is really helpful and kind and is willing to go over all the homework questions as long as you show up to office hours. She is also fast at responding to emails if something suddenly comes up. The homework is more complicated than the exams, which were multiple choice for my class. If you're willing to spend lots of extra time studying and trying to wrap your mind around hypotheticals as well as reaching out for help, I think you would be fine in this class.

I love Professor Shapley! She is such a kind and helpful professor and without her, I truly wouldn't have made it through this course. She works with students often over email and during office hours. Astr 6 is definitely quite difficult and goes in-depth, but I promise you can do it! The concepts are manageable once you sit down and take a bit of time to understand. This class was pretty fun and I enjoyed it overall! Be prepared for some tough hw's -- she hosts office hours to help, and the exams are easier than the hw! Also, go to class! Professor Shapley explains things very well; she does go a bit fast so I would recommend annotating slideshows rather than taking hand-written notes. If you take this class, I hope you like it!

• 20% Lab assignments
• 10% Homework assignments
• 20% First midterm exam (in class)
• 20% Second midterm exam (in class)
• 30% Final exam

The professor for this class is super engaging and fun, but the exams definitely aren't the easiest. The average grade on each of the exams was a C, but Prof Shapley curves the class at the end of the quarter which means you don't have to ace the exams to get an A in the class (I got a C+ and B on the midterms and got an A on the final & ended with an A). She also offers an extra 2% grade boost at the end of the quarter which really helps. Overall, you can definitely get an A in the class if you're willing to put in a little work and study for the exams.

Alice Shapley is as wonderful as they come. She is a great person and a fantastic gal. I'm a big fan of hers.

The class is as easy as you make it for yourself. Every lecture's slides are posted on bruinlearn at the start of class. This being said, you can get lazy. fast. No attendance is taken.

Some people struggle with this class and others dont. Very conceptual based and very little math (not zero, just not as math saturated as one may think. the labs are a different story though not difficult). Shapley openly states that we won't be tested on anything that isn't on the slides. So, learning the slides and giving it the best go that way is beneficial.

She says you need the textbook. You don't. Supplemental at most. Are helpful, but overall just not necessary.

Grade Breakdown:

labs:
eight labs, must go to INSERT labs in order to pass the labs. Can makeup only one lab.
The labs aren't bad, they just read poorly, but overall its fairly easy to get through and if you ask your TA the right questions, you'll be able to get the correct and right answers from them.

Midterm setup:
40 questions, multiple choice,
first midterm was lectures 1-8 and second midterm was lectures 9-16

Final setup:
cumulative of all lectures.