DR. CASEY IS AN ABSOLUTE QUEEN. So helpful, understanding, and caring. The TA's and LA's are super helpful too. Would definitely take any classes with her again!

Casey was a really understanding and clear professor. There were frequent typos on things that we had to get cleared up on Piazza, but other than that she was organized as well. Make sure you study for the AA's since they're way more applied than anything else and sometimes have info on them that I and other students thought was slightly irrelevant to the chapter at times. The LA workshops are optional but you pretty much have to attend or at least work through all the worksheets if you want a good grade.

This class is perhaps one of the best lower div chemistry classes. I have only taken Chem 17 (which was terrible) and this, but I don't see how it can get much better. You will learn from this class. If you don't like group work and small discussions and participation, then you may not get as much out of it, but if you don't mind it then this class is perfect. There are no assumptions that you need any chemistry experience prior to this class in order to succeed, yet you won't feel like the pace is slow if you already have experience. This class with its 2-hour discussions and somewhat-required attendance heavily incorporates critical thinking and forming arguments and forces you to actually understand what's going on instead of plugging-and-chugging equations. Dr. Casey's lectures were extremely interesting and helpful since she used slides that she annotates during lecture and posts after class. She is always super nice and willing to address any question with an actual plethora of resources including piazza, office hours, the freaking zoom lecture chat, and the many small assignments that all increase your understanding of chemistry. The class based off of many different assignments rather than midterm-midterm-homework-final, but these were all carefully chosen through education research to maximize learning efficiency.
In short, I used to hate chemistry. Now, it's one of my favorite subjects. Thanks, Dr. Casey.

* Note: Class taken online due to COVID

Taking this class was definitely a great decision, especially for someone who hasn't taken chemistry since my sophomore year of high school and who was never good at it. Dr. Casey is so sweet and truly wants the best for her students. She is very clear in lectures and is transparent when concepts are difficult but makes sure that she explains topics in different ways to help students understand. This class is heavily based on group work, as seen in the 2 hour discussions where you have a small group for the whole quarter and do weekly worksheets. The LAs are super nice and helpful (GO TO LA WORKSHOPS!) and, although the TAs can be intimidating, they make sure that you thoroughly understand the answers to your questions. As for the workload, there is a decent amount of weekly textbook reading accompanied by a 10-15 question homework assignment, but it is definitely manageable. There are weekly assignments that are basically like quizzes before discussion and lecture but you have three attempts so do not worry. Like mentioned, I took this class with practically no chemistry background, so some of the topics were difficult as they are highly conceptual, but if you study hard, attend office hours and the LA workshops, and generally just do the work, you can get through it!

I barely passed the AP Chemistry exam in high school and had a really difficult time understanding the subject. I knew general chemistry would be tough for me in college. Starting my UCLA undergraduate career with Chem 14AE was the best choice I possibly could have made. Dr. Casey is super engaging and welcoming. She had multiple office hours throughout the course of the week and responds very quickly on Piazza. The discussion worksheets, LA worksheets/workshops, and homework assignments really solidified my understanding of lecture topics. The exams in this class are tougher because they are very conceptual, but Dr. Casey and the teaching staff do an amazing job at preparing you. I got a 60% on the first exam (called application assessment) but was still able to receive an A in the course! If you have the opportunity to take Chem 14AE with Dr. Casey, DO IT!!

The exams can be a little tough, especially with time constraints for midterms, but nothing is thrown at you out of the blue. Everything in the class prepares you well. I had little chemistry background before taking this class, and I feel like I learned a lot. Also, midterms and the final are weighed less heavily in this class because there are many other assignments, which I personally liked.

Professor Casey, her TAs, and LAs are all gems. The content of the course was challenging for me because I hadn't taken a chem class since sophomore year of high school, but there were so many resources in this class to make up for it. Dr. Casey takes to time to answer any questions during lecture, which is so cool in a college class. The work load is decent, and you are given more than one attempt on most of the assignments (including the two midterms). The exams were tough in my opinion, but if you adjust your studying habits and find out what works, you're set. I'd say the key to this class is being honest with yourself. If you need help, then ask for it because you have access to all of the TAs (not just the one that leads your discussion), Dr. Casey, LAs, and everyone in the class.

When I took the chemistry diagnostic it recommended Chem 14AE and I am so grateful it did. Dr. Casey and the teaching staff are incredibly helpful and provide so many resources for you to get help and ask questions. You have to be motivated to do well in this class, but everything is there for you. This class is in no way easy, but she makes such an effort to make sure the class understands concepts AND to facilitate connections/interactions during covid. You're with the same small group all quarter unless there's major problems. I am thankful to have gotten a wonderful group and they're some of the only people I was actually able to meet over zoom. I narrowly scraped by on the final to get an A overall. I did very well on the first midterm and absolutely tanked on the second one like yikes I have never done *that* bad on a test, but I pulled through on the final. I highly recommend this course over the normal 14A for the teaching staff alone, but also the 2 hour discussions are super helpful. I would not have done as well without either of those things.

Last time I took chemistry was sophomore year in high school, so I was really nervous about taking chemistry again at UCLA. I was originally in Lavelle's Chemistry 14A, but after I saw how much his assessments were worth, I was like nope. Enrolling in Chemistry 14AE was the best decision I ever made. Professor Casey is so incredibly accommodating and understanding. I don't think you will find any other chemistry teacher who is as caring as her. Her exams are quite tough, and they are heavily application-based In all honesty, I didn't do so well on the two application assessments (C on the first exam and D on the second exam). I knew I had to do very well on the final exam if I had any chance of getting at least an A- in the class. I talked to Casey about my struggles with the exams and anxiety, and we both came up with an effective final exam study plan for me. After that, I worked my butt off, and it really did pay off. I took the exam feeling confident in my answers. I ended up getting an A in the class. Based on the total amount of points lost in the class, I was supposed to get an A-, but I think she saw my vast improvement from my previous exam scores to my final exam score and decided to round up my grade. Overall, I have learned so much in her class, and she genuinely made chemistry interesting to learn. I would highly recommend taking Casey for Chem 14AE.

Dr. Casey is an angel! She and her LAs were always willing to help, which made this class more approachable for me, as I didn't have a strong chemistry background from high school. The workload and assignments for this class aren't too heavy; I would say it's average for a STEM class. Discussion sections were 110 minutes, which seems long, but it's spent in a small group working on a worksheet together. The worksheet was always very helpful, and you get to know your team and LA well. I also highly recommend the LA workshops, since the worksheets were challenging, so it was helpful to review them with the LAs. Assessments were in the form of 4 Comprehension Checks (closed-book quizzes on CCLE, pretty straightforward) and 2 Application Assessments (more difficult, application problems, open book). The final was also application based and relatively similar to problems on the Application Assessments.

Overall, I would say this class was very worthwhile. Compared to Chem 14A, it was probably more difficult to study for, as our assessments were more conceptual and application based. However, I made many friends and found a kind and welcoming community of people to work with in this class!