I really enjoyed class with Professor Ow, to me he was hilarious, the way he would also walk around with his hands together like a Disney Villain, addressing us as "So Class," I really appreciated how organized he was with the content and with the class, it made it easier to navigate where we were relative to the entire course as a whole. He was decent lecturer having a good pace and organizing each idea relative to the class as a whole. However, it seemed like half way through the quarter he did not want to be there, or that he was not in a good mood. For his exams, I really didn't like how the midterms were only 50 min. The first midterm is all Spectroscopy stuff, which was a lot tougher than I thought it would be, I heard that someone in the other lecture hall during the exam got a panic attack midway through. It was also frustrating that there were only 5 questions, all the content you learn in the span of 3-4 weeks is reduced to 1 50 min exam. It was really frustrating because I got one concept slightly off in my head and it costed me 11 points out of 50 on my first exam. The second midterm is what you should be more familiar with from 30A, reactions. Then after midterm 2, so many reactions are taught in such a short time period, its not that the material is hard, its just alot of content. I did not have enough time to study for the final as I was taking 22 units. So all I can say is this class just has alot of content, its kind of tricky, but not impossible and mostly fair. His tests overall are fair and doable, just manage your time since you have to put alot of time into the content. Overall, would recommend taking the class with him.

NEVER EVER EVER EVER — and I mean NEVER EVER — take this class. Like many of you, I checked professor Ow's BruinWalk reviews and saw what seemed to be a beaming ray of sunlight — great overall rating, great professor rating, and EVEN outstanding comments from previous years. Well, I need all of you to look past all of that because ALL WRONG. EVERYONE IS LYING.

As an academic overachiever, I have found myself thriving with a 4.0, valedictorian, and even getting through my first year of college with a 4.0 across the board. So, when I say this class has single-handedly made me reconsider everything I know about science, myself, and the educational system, believe me. I had many friends with other chemistry professors, and they seemed to walk away from 14A unscathed. But Ow, on the other hand, has managed to create the absolutely most impossible class that has left many of my friends — myself included— feeling an unrepairable sense of doom, self-doubt, and lack of trust.

If you don't feel like reading everything I have to say, remember this one thing:
Ow DOWNCURVED the entire class. That pretty much sums it up.

After a quarter of sleepless nights, studying until my nails bleed, and ultimately trying to absorb every single detail, I still managed to find myself constantly surprised and disappointed by the truly unexplainably impossible nature of this class. In the end, I did get a B+, which honestly isn't that bad. But when you take a step back to realize the sheer amount of effort to reach this point, it suddenly becomes clear that this B+ symbolizes Ow's result for a student who has pushed themselves to their very limit.

I will give him credit that in the very first lecture he gently "warned" us, but the warning honestly should have been a red blaring siren because everything immediately went downhill. Each exam had an entirely different format from each other, none of which aligned with the practice exams. He did preface that they might not necessarily align, but the reality is that he truly does not create resources for us to succeed in the slightest. The ONLY people I know who even captured an A in this class were students who were scraping to ignite their chemistry knowledge from high school. Even a friend of mine who scored high As on both midterms found themselves unable to get an A in the class.

I went to office hours — which made me feel somehow emotionally penalized for showing up. He made me feel like it was my fault, as an individual, for asking for help. He invites questions to be asked but then makes you feel stupid for asking them in the first place. And the cherry on top, he offered two opportunities for 0.2% extra credit. Gee thanks. It almost felt like a slap in the face because that extra credit essentially makes no difference, and any difference it does make was ENTIRELY ELIMINATED by the class down the curve. So, if you spend the quarter attempting to calculate your grade — throw that method out the window. Your grades will ultimately be unknown to you, and unknown until he has decided how he wants curve — which was DOWN — AND ALREADY IMPUTED INTO MYUCLA. Once your fate is sealed, there is simply nothing you can do.

That being said, success in Ow's class entirely relies on your capacity to either 1. remember everything from high school or 2. miraculously become Ow and read his mind. If neither of those things pertain to you, then you simply do not stand the slightest of chances.

For some of you, taking Ow may be your only choice, in which case, I am very sorry. Say farewell to your 4.0 because after this class it will not be coming back. However, I can provide a slight bit of advice that can hopefully prepare you for your fate to come:
- The exams will present questions that you may have never seen before, so when you study, think BEYOND the content. You need to learn the context of chemistry outside of the things covered in class in order to succeed.
- mentally prepare yourself and lower your expectations. I came into this class filled with ambition, but I quickly found myself being disappointed time and time again.
- grades are not everything.... one quarter of chemistry certainly will not define the trajectory of your life. So try to remind yourself that you are so much stronger than 14A with Ow.

To those of you who have made it to the end of this review, I applaud your commitment to success. It is clear that you want to do well and that you are willing to take extra time to make that difference in your academics. I wish you all the best in your enrollment times and good grade fortune in the years to come.

I do not understand how this dude has such a high bruin walk rating. He definitely is not a bad lecturer and he teaches somewhat well, but his attitude is one of, if not the worst I've seen at UCLA in a professor.

Someone asked in office hours if there were outside textbooks/workbooks students could use that would be helpful in the class to study for the final. When the professor said no and another student started providing his own outside resources, the professor folded his arms and stared at the student answering and said you should not be looking at outside sources for help, what I give you is enough. That's a good example of how his personality is when asking him questions. He would also audibly sigh a lot and stare at students if they asked questions that he saw as dumb, even if the rest of us had the same question.

TLDR: This class honestly isn't too difficult for an ochem class and pretty reasonable, but you can tell he doesn't want to be there when looking at his attitude.

Notes: Lecture is recorded; No curving in our quarter

Grading Scheme:
2 Midterms: 20% each (Averages were low 70s)
Final Exam: 25% (Average was around an 80%)
Top 5 of 7 Quizzes: 20%
Discussion Attendance: 15%
(Cutoffs are more generous towards the lower end of the grading. Example: You need a 94% for an A, but an 88% for an A-)

Overall, not too bad of a class. 2 exams worth 20% each and a final worth 25%. Discussions are 15% based on attendance and there are quizzes most weeks that you take home with no time limit worth 20% but you can drop 2 of them so both of these categories should be free points. + and - were very generous with an A- starting at 84% and an A starting at 90%. First 2 exams are free response with a couple of mc questions and the final is all mc questions. All exam content was pretty fair but the second exam was too long for the time allotted. If you’ve never taken a chemistry class before, this class will likely be fairly difficult and take a lot of work to get a decent grade. I personally took AP Chem in high school and even though only like 1/4 of the content was stuff taught in AP Chem, the concepts and ways to think about chemistry were extremely helpful so I wouldn’t worry about this class too much if you have a chemistry background.