Tobolowsky is hands down one of the best professors I have had so far at UCLA. This class requires a lot of studying and memorization, but he makes sure to cover everything we need to know in class and made it a point that he would never test us on anything not covered in class. During lecture, rather than use pre-made slides, he would write all the material covered in class on his iPad, which was connected to the projector, which allows time for everyone to copy down the notes. He made lecture very engaging and made funny comments and (oftentimes geeky) jokes, which I appreciated. He really cares about his students learning, and did live stream q and a's every week. The day of the first midterm, a lot of people didn't attend class to study, and Tobolowsky actually went home and recorded a video going over the entire lecture that everyone missed and decided to make midterm days a q and a day instead. The class covered a lot of information, but if you attend all the lectures and use the resources he provides, it is very doable to do well.

This class is a lot of memorization and really requires a mastery of chemical reactions. Tobolowsky is a great professor and does a great job making the material accessible. He has clear lectures, which are Bruincasted, and takes really good notes during lecture which he also posts. He also posts a ton of test prep material (practice problems, review worksheets, etc). Discussions are not mandatory, but are helpful for reviewing concepts.

For being one of the hardest classes you may ever take in your career, Dr. Tobolowsky manages to completely erase the stress from that truth. He cares so much about students' understanding of the material and success in the class. He is so encouraging in office hours and lectures. He clearly knows what he is doing and is so knowledgable and funny during lecture. I genuinely going to class and office hours. He has so many outside resources and this class is really practice for a huge puzzle and Dr. Tobolowsky is the wizard with all the answers and hints. He is incredibly fair on exams. If you go to lecture and also do every practice problem he gives you (which are a lot), and that partially includes office hours because not only do you need to do them you need to understand why they are the way they are, and you do them consistently, not just the day before exams, I think you will be perfectly fine. Also do your best to just get to know Dr. Tobolowsky because he really makes an effort to learn the names of the students who do reach out for help outside of class. Honestly learning the last reaction of the class made me kind of sad, so even though it's a stressful process, find the fun in it because puzzles are fun right? And don't stress on little details on the exam, as long as you're building up the skills the class is meant to teach you, you should be proud of that in it of itself.

I love RobTob™ with all my heart. I barely passed Chem 14C, so I was really scared taking another ochem class. However, the way he explains all the material makes sense and is extremely simple, and he is super engaging and funny as well. He posts so many bonus problems for you to do as well as practice midterms and finals (on top of the homework). Do them all because 14D is basically learning how to apply all the different mechanisms, and you just have to practice a lot. His practice exams are usually a little bit harder than his actual exams, so if you understand them, you're good. He also does Sunday livestreams, so you can ask any questions you need, which I thought was really helpful. He also gives extra credit for completing an online thing called Bacon, and it's only graded on completion. That being said, 14D is a lot of material, so make flashcards! Even though I've never studied with flashcards in any other class, I think it's a necessity to be able to memorize the reactions. Also, lectures and discussions aren't mandatory. I would definitely attend lecture though because it's easier to understand the material when he goes through the steps. He does Bruincast, but they're audio only. I went to one discussion, but it was basically just a worksheet that you worked through on your own or with a group. He posts them too, so I just did them at home, and I thought that was sufficient.
Overall, a class that could've definitely been harder, but because Tobolowsky was such a wonderful professor, it became my favorite STEM class.

Tobolowsky is AMAZING. In a perfect world, I would never have to take Chem 14D, but the closest I can get to perfect is taking it with Tobolowsky. I was shocked that I was able to get an A- in the class because I really struggled with the concepts at first, but RobTob is so clear and engaging that it made catching up and improving easier than if I took it with any other professor. The way he teaches a very complicated topic is very clear. I was dealing with some health issues and missed many classes, but he podcasts all his lectures! He also provides more than enough practice questions for us to learn. His tests are very fair, although difficult, and as long as you complete (AND understand) all his problem sets, discussion worksheets, and do the practice exams (he gives so many!!) you will be fine! I scored around the average on both midterms, then got an A on the final after studying super hard. 10/10 would recommend!!

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!

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 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

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 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).