Best professor I've ever had. Learned so much, tests comprehensive but fair. He cares SO much about his students by providing MANY resources on his website. Always willing to explain problems/answer questions.

First off, Chem 14C with Hardinger is pretty much unavoidable as a life sciences major, so stop stressing! Everyone else is in the same boat. That said, Professor Hardinger is a knowledgeable lecturer, and he provides all the resources to do well in the class. I personally didn't buy the textbook for the class, and it turns out that I didn't need it to do well. Go to lecture. He talks about a lot of things that aren't mentioned in the lecture supplement. Plus, it's helpful to have something reiterated to you in a different way. Also, do the practice problems, CFQ's, OWLS problems, and PRACTICE FINALS (!). Admittedly, some of them are definitely harder than they need to be, but they really are helpful for practice. The practice finals are especially helpful before tests, so the format is familiar. Good luck.

You really need to start studying the material from day 1 of week 1. This class was hard for me and I struggled with the midterms but it was a good challenge and fair. Professor Hardinger is a good teacher and you come out of this class learning a lot...even if the test scores don't show it. Just make sure that you develop some sort of system to keep you motivated and on top of things. Definitely take advantage of discussion board because those are extra credit points that will help later on. The final was not entirely hard but the course was fairly challenging. There's no avoiding Hardinger if you're a life science major but if you work out good study habits, you should be able to do well.

I initially came into this class, scared of organic chemistry because of the horror stories I have heard about it from a lot of people. But I turned out to love this class... A LOT, and it has definitely been one of the best courses I've taken at UCLA so far. Dr. Hardinger is an excellent lecturer. His lectures are very well-organized and he simplifies a lot of complicated concepts to help us understand the material. Sometimes, he uses very cheesy metaphors, but they actually do help! The class grade is solely based on the two midterms and final exam, but as long as you keep up with the lectures, look over all the Concept Focus Questions, do all the OWLS and Practice Problems (THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT TO HELP YOU LEARN THE MATERIAL), and do all the practice exams he posted online, you'll have a pretty good idea of what to expect on the exams. His tests are tricky, but they are definitely doable. Also, make good use of the discussion board because you can learn a lot from your classmates as well as learn the material better by teaching it to other people. There's nothing to lose, because discussion board posts count as extra credit, and they help you learn. I also liked how we get to go to any discussion section we want. I highly recommend taking organic chemistry with Dr. H. He's probably one of THE best lecturers I've had so far.

I truly enjoyed 14C. I came into it worrying about what others told me, but I was surely wrong. This class was amazing and I absolutely came out of it loving Chemistry, to the point where I am considering my major to be something more chem oriented. This class is very structured and ordered and you always know what to expect. The pace is just right (although hw is sometimes a little excessive, it can only help you). Overall, I learned alot and I value what I took from this class. I highly recommend taking Organic Chemistry with Hardinger.

If you are a life science major, you really have no other choice but Hardinger. But thats okay, he's a nice guy and available to help you. Do the OWLS, practice problems, and the old exams! you will not go wrong doing that. Also going to lecture helped me alot with understanding conceptual stuff. The material in this course is hard, but it has nothing to do with Hardinger...

He is a good professor, he makes jokes which is way better than professors that just talk in monotone and put you to sleep. he has a LOT of analogies to help you understand different reactions, but honestly a lot of them really help. You don't need to buy the textbook, you just need the thinkbook and lecture supplement (in 14D they are combined into one book). to do well in his class you need to 1. do ALL the thinkbook problems and really understand them and 2. do ALL his past exams he has posted online (his exams are always the same format and after doing the past exams, its easier to predict what kinds of questions he will ask) and 3. go to lecture because he mentions exceptions and stuff in lecture. He is tricky on tests, so make sure you remember all the exceptions and you will do fine. I'm taking 14d with him right now and got an A- on both midterms so far. as long as you know the thinkbook in and out and know his format of tests, it will be fine

Steven Hardinger has his ups and downs but overall I would strongly recommend him. (Although you can't exactly get away from him for 14C...) He is very funny and makes a point of making jokes regardless of whether or not they get a response - the man tries. The class was 25 % midterm, 25% midterm, 50% final, which I personally love. I hate homework and other busy work so this class was perfect for me. You can go to any of the discussions, so don't be afraid to sign up for the 8:00 ones if its the only one left because you can just go to a convienient one. Office hours for the T.A.s were excellent ... although Hardinger's office hours I would not
recommend only because he has many many students coming to him (in an hour of office hours I usually had time to ask one mini question). There is some extra credit; the one I recommend is posting on the discussion board because it is easy and is like VOH.. just ask the questions you have anyway.. and you get extra credit! Be prepared to have to move very quickly on the (fair) midterms, and then have leisure time to spare on the (also fair) final. All in all I think he's great and can't wait for 14D in Fall 08!

Let's start with THE POSITIVES first, because there are certainly a few. 1) He is VERY organized, which is helpful; 2) He gives everyone fair access to his old exams by putting them on his website; 3) Extra credit by posting on a forum and making a crossword puzzle = easy way to get points; 4) He's surprisingly approachable in office hours 5) If you put the time in (and I mean, an hour every day at the minimum), you will do reasonably well in his class, which is more than you can say for a lot of professors at UCLA. I made this class my life for a quarter, and I still didn't do as well as I would have hoped, but my good grade was certainly a reflection of the amount of time I spent doing his millions of problems. Which leads me THE NEGATIVES....1) His Thinkbook may be helpful practice, but you really do need to live and breathe the Thinkbook (and I mean, EVERY SINGLE PROBLEM in it) in order to get an A in his class, which I think is very excessive. How about a few worksheets that test your general understanding of the concepts? 2) Hardinger tends to focus on "exceptions" and "tricks" on his exams, which I do not think is testing whether you know the concepts, but whether you know the exceptions to the concepts. This is not the way to test students about organic chemistry. This is the best way to see which students are the best at catching "tricks." 3) Instead of helping you at office hours, he lectures you about how students are amoral and will cheat, steal, and lie to get better grades. Spare me the lecture and help me with stereochemistry; 4) He doesn't do a SINGLE PROBLEM in class, and all his exams are made of are problems! So wouldn't it make sense to run through a sample problem in class every once in awhile? No, instead you get to listen to the whole history of people you will not be tested on and whose names are unimportant for your general knowledge as a human being; 5) In general, despite the fact that I got a good grade in his class, I did not leave his class with a fundamental knowledge that was necessary for 14D and will be necessary for MCAT/DAT/GRE and grad/professional school. All it did was make me a slave to the Thinkbook and made me hope that I knew the right exceptions that he would be looking for on his tests. Very disappointing, as I actually enjoy organic chemistry. I thought the concepts were great, but I wish they were tested more fairly to represent knowledge and not trickery. Hardinger overall was okay, and I may be judging him more harshly on here to warn future 14C/14D students. And honestly, you don't have much of a choice if you're taking the 14 series so grin and bear it. Live and breathe the Thinkbook, and maybe even put it under your pillow as you sleep and hope for the best. Try to enjoy it - it makes it a little easier.

Dr. Hardinger is one of the best lecturers I've had here. He explains all of the information really well and actually motivates you to want to come to lecture (as opposed to Lavelle, who was able to put you to sleep within 5 minutes of class). Like has been said before, hard work will earn you a good grade in this class. Pretty much the scale that he posts on the class website is the breakdown of your grade, but you can't let that scare you. Dr. H's class is definitely one of my favorite classes; I highly recommend (although I don't think there's really a choice for 14C and 14D during the school year).