Where do I begin?
Tobolowsky is probably the best professor I have had at UCLA. The class itself (Chem 14D) requires a lot of time and is pretty hard compared to the rest of the chem classes, but Tobolowsky goes to the furthest extent to make sure that his students are well prepared for the exams. He offers extra help on Sunday evenings by live streaming a weekly recap on Youtube. His office hours are really helpful, his slides are very clear and organized, and he is really funny. I would take this class over 100x again. It is hard and does require a lot of time and effort, so be prepared to work.

Dr. Tobolowsky was by far the best chemistry professor that I have had at UCLA. After taking 14C, which was by far the worst chemistry class I've taken, I was incredibly apprehensive about taking 14D but Tobo teaches the material to a point where I actually enjoyed going to class.

If you learn from practice, he gives plenty of opportunities to master concepts as well as offering problem sets which is essentially free credit for practice. His office hours and also incredibly helpful and he is always receptive to questions, so you don't have to feel intimidated to ask about anything. If you're unable to make his office hours, his livestreams are also great and he adds in a funny story every now and then.

Even still, be warned this class is a lot of work and you have to stay on top of everything. It is very fast paced but the results can be very rewarding!! Dr. Tobolowsky really cares about his students, so if at any point you're overwhelmed he is always willing to do one-on-one appts. If you're going to take 14D take it with Tobo!

I LOVE ROBTOB. He was such an amazing professor. He speant a lot of time out of class helping students prepare and was basically available to answer questions of ccle all the time. His tests were also really fair imo. that being said ,14d is inherently hard so I did have to put in a lot of work in this class to get an A.

Dr. Tobolowsky is the best chem professor I have ever had at UCLA, with Pham as a close second. He cares about this class so much and gives his students everything they could possibly need to do well. By utilizing everything he gave me, I was able to pass all his tests with an A and ended up with a 97% in is class, which is NOT a A+ because his A distribution is kind of tough (A-: 90%-94%, A: 95%-98%, A+: 99%+) but he is nice to the lower end of the class. Theres sooooooo many reactions to learn, but he gives out soooo much practice (Problem Sets ad Bonus Problems which are amazing) and has lots of office hours. If I could retake this class, I would! (JK, but I did love it).

Grading Breakdown:

≥99.0 = A+
95.0—98.9 = A
90.0—94.9 = A-
85.0—89.9 = B+
80.0—84.9 = B
75.0—79.9 = B-
70.0—74.9 = C+
63.0—69.9 = C
55.0—62.9 = C-
30.0—54.9 = D

He can curve this in any way, so don't let that 95 min to get an A to intimidate you. Plus, he looks at individual improvement on the final so he might curve you up for that. Plus, extra credit.

Grading Scheme:

100 points (25%) Midterm I
100 points (25%) Midterm 2
160 points (40%) Final Exam
36 points (9%) Self-Graded Homework (6 assignments)
4 points (1%) Course Evaluations
= 400 points (100%) Total Course Score

Review of Tobolowksy:

The three things I can say about Dr. Tobolowsky are: fair, straightforward, and engaging.

RobTob is a fair professor that is willing to sacrifice his own time to ensure that people understand the concepts of Chem 14D. He gives so much material and he is very straightforward. Chemistry can be a dry series, but he makes it applicable to everyday life as much as possible. I thoroughly enjoyed his lectures and felt I learned a lot, even though he goes pretty fast in lectures.

My grade is not indicative of a lack of hard work from the professor, rather it's all on myself. Dr. Tobolowksy will answer your emails, forum questions, and Q&A in an expedient matter. He once gave me an answer in email in 2 minutes. He gives a plethora of practice questions, he gives out all the reaction mechanisms you need, and he gives out at least three practice midterms/finals for each test. In addition, he held two office hours and livestreams every Sunday, answering every question you have.

The most challenging parts about this class are the tests. But it is completely fair and I would say that his Problem Set questions, which you do weekly and get points based on completion, are more intimidating, so he prepares you for his own tests.

You will also have the opportunity to obtain extra credit by attending discussions and doing a simple, fun online chemistry online tool called BACON. This quarter, the maximum extra credit was +2.5% to your overall grade.

Personality wise, he is passionate about chemistry, he makes a lot of dad jokes but he's aware of pop culture stuff, and he is one of the nicest, wholesome human beings you will ever meet.

Simply put, Robert Tobolowsky is one of the best science educators at UCLA and I would urge all students to take his class because he will teach you organic chemistry in a way that prepares you for the MCAT or for future studies, he will give you plenty of resources, and his tests are fair assessments that will ask for a straightforward answer.

Overall Grade of This Professor: 9.9/10, thanks for helping me to love organic chemistry, which I've hated for the longest time.

This dude is by far the best professor I've had at UCLA.

Tobolowsky is the best teacher I've ever had. I'm not a huge fan of OChem, but his class was actually really enjoyable. He gets so excited about chemistry, and he truly cares about his students. Seriously, the guy does livestreams every Sunday night to answer student questions. He makes this class super accessible to people who can't attend every lecture and does a great job explaining concepts in multiple ways in case it doesn't click the first time. Other professors should take notes from Tobolowsky, he manages to engage hundreds of students during lecture and keep us engaged throughout the quarter. You're the best, RobTob!

Dr. Tobolowsky is by far the best Chemistry professor I've ever had, and probably the best professor in general that I've had at UCLA. He is extremely helpful, wants students to do well and truly understand Chemistry. His lectures are engaging and easy to follow, and he is always eager to answer student's questions -- in class, over email, or during his weekly Youtube livestream. Truly an amazing teacher, if given the opportunity TAKE HIM

Dr. Tobolowsky is without a doubt the best professor I've had thus far. He is humorous, provides plenty of study resources, and is overall a very engaging lecturer. While the class curve itself is rather strict (A+ > 99%, A = 95-99%, A- = 90-94%), it is graded on a straight scale and, if he ends up curving the class, it'll only be in your favor. One thing that I really appreciated was his live podcasts where he clarifies topics asked by his students. Neither the class nor the discussion sections take attendance, which can either be a good thing or bad thing depending on how much you utilize his other resources. Though I personally never went to a single discussion section, I still worked through each discussion worksheet during my own free time (they're posted on CCLE).

TL;DR: If you get the chance to take 14D with RobTob, do it!

Dr. Tobolowsky is a relatively new professor, but he is incredibly knowledgeable when it comes to organic chemistry and the reactions we go over in class. He also goes above and beyond to ensure that students understand the material. This includes previously mentioned livestreams that take place on Sunday night, individual and group office hours, and a great amount of bonus problems. His tests aren't too difficult as he posts practice exams at least a week in advance of each test. In addition, the discussion section worksheets have good practice problems, but the sections themselves are not required. I thoroughly enjoyed this class, despite the large number of reactions and mechanisms we had to memorize. Overall, I highly recommend taking this class with Dr. Tobolowsky and taking advantage of all the resources he provides!