This is a review for Life Science 3. He's not listed as a professor for LS 3 so I have to put this review under MCD BIO 199.

Lin's class is by far the most difficult class I have taken during my time at UCLA. Granted, it's not entirely Lin's fault because LS 3 is a difficult course anyway but he made it much more difficult than it had to be. He lectures right off of his powerpoint slides that could probably qualify as a textbook by themselves. They are absolutely crammed with information and the worst part is that you have to know every word of them. Some slides he will skip entirely during lecture but you still have to know them.

The thing about Lin's tests is that they go from 0 to 100 really quick. One question will be about the basic structure of DNA and the next will be a complex multiple part question testing a variety of different concepts. The hardest questions on the tests are the ones regarding the seemingly unimportant details from the slides which Lin didn't speak of at all. The midterms were both worth 20% with the final being 60%. Yes, that's right. 60%.

The best way to maximize your midterm grades is to go to the testbank. I cannot emphasize this enough. Lin recycles most of his questions every time so it's easy to do well on the midterms if you go to the testbank. I didn't go to the testbank for the first midterm and looking back it was one of the worst mistakes I made in the class. Other reviews say that the final is impossible and that the average is historically low at around 60%. I don't think the final is impossible but it is difficult.

Do not even bother buying the Weaver textbook. It's intended for graduate students and will be useless. The one good thing about Lin is that if you pass the class you will have a good understanding of molecular biology. Overall though I do not recommend him. Take someone else if you can