Andrew has a great personality and is very funny. He tries to make lectures enjoyable as opposed to a chore! Would definitely take him again.

Cooper is honestly an amazing professor. He makes lectures entertaining while actually teaching you in a manner that is easy to understand. He doesn't complicate biology like many professors, he just goes straight to the point in a clear and precise way. His exams are extremely fair but very long. I definitely recommend Cooper.

Andrew is a young professor. I think that helps him relate more and connect to his students. He was casual and engaging, largely because the class was small (a lab) which made it fun. The class has a report due most weeks and a quiz every week. He is transparent about the material. If you take BIMM 100 before this, it is easy, otherwise study!!

He's super funny & a bit eccentric which threw me off at first. However, he's so good at keeping you engaged during lecture even if the material can get complicated. Always willing to answer questions. Not a lot of homework and reading is optional but I recommend it skimming over it. Tests are alright but the free response sucks.

Andrew is pretty funny during lecture and makes biology kind of fun. However, the grading on assignments and tests were not clear at times and I ended up losing points for details I didn't know were being asked for

Cooper is such an amazing professor! All of his tests relate back to his lectures!! STUDY PODCASTS!! He made lectures really fun and enjoyable and is super open to answering questions/reexplaining. Given I did have AP Bio as a background, put in some effort and the class is really manageable

Andrew is a very good professor! His tests are extremely fair but are indeed a bit on the difficult side. They are also very representative of his lectures. This class does require quite a bit of studying but his engaging lectures do make it easier to learn the material.

Andrew's a solid prof. He cares about his students a lot and is usually present during labs, so he's accessible and always ready to answer questions. He's pretty funny and has good lectures, but he is not easy and you have to work for your grade: lab reports, iClickers, lecture participation, in class and pre-lab quizzes.

He lectures were really good and hardly ever got boring. The exams were really representative of the material covered in class and as long as you understood the material covered, you'd be fine. FYI: He does have clicker questions

Wonderful professor. One thing to be noted: FOLLOW all his rules if you decide to take his class, like putting your last name on the test and upload assignments on time. He is less willing to bend his rules if you break them. His tests are a bit hard, but if you learn everything in his lecture, you will get a good grade. Hope this helps

Andrew is one of the best professors I've had at UCSD. He's really funny and engaging, and is great at explaining complicated concepts in simple, clear terms. As long as you go to class and study learning objectives you will succeed. His tests can be difficult due to the long answers, but they are always fair and representative of lecture.

Andrew is a decent professor but I hate the way the class is designed. The FRQ is graded harshly, and some of the FRQ for the final was taken from past homework assignments or midterms. I wish the keys for the homework or midterms were given out so that students don't just have to "guess" the correct way to answer FRQ's.

By far my favorite professor that I've taken at UCSD. Exams are based entirely off of lecture slides. Cooper makes class fun and engaging as well.

Doesnt overload it with the work. Exams are very fair. A couple hw assignments that are representative of exams that are graded and given back before the exams. Easy to take notes while he lectures, love his soap box moments. Very understanding, esp with covid. Take him if you can!

He's a good professor, but his grading criteria is way too hard. Our exams are all free-response questions, but if you do not mention all things in detail, you would lose score. There are 6 assignments that count for 10% of the total grade, but we cannot drop the lowest one and he still expects us to reach 93% to get an A.

Andrew is a great teacher. He's knowledgable and explains things very well. Lectures are engaging even in an online environment. His tests can be very tricky though and the grading is harsh. Definitely not an easy A, but it depends how much you value learning vs getting a high grade. You will learn a lot, but he makes you work for your grade.

He's a great guy but one of his IAs is rude and condescending. Just pray that you would get a caring IA. He is harder compare to other genetic professors so if you are one of the premed kids avoid him. But take him if you want to actually learn and know the materials. He made the class fun.

Take this dude if you want to have engaging lectures and know the materials well. Don't take him if you would much prioritize having good grades over learning. There are other easier genetic profs out there for you. Save your time.

Very solid professor. I took AP bio and didn't understand a thing, but he has clear explanations, easy to learn from. My only gripe is that the tough grading, you have to be very specific in the way you word things. However, he does allow for test corrections and is fair. STUDY HIS LEARNING OBJECTIVES! If you can answer those you'll do just fine.

Dr. Cooper had great lectures (all pre-recorded) with the only attendance a 4 question quiz (2 attempts allowed). His grading system does not includes +/-, so an A is 90%, but he makes you work for it. The grading is nit-picky, but getting low-As is achievable if you understand the material. Discussions mandatory.

Really good informative lectures. He knows his material well. Always was available during office hours. My only complaint would be that the grading rubric on the tests was a bit unpredictable.

Solid professor! Yeah, his grading rubric is very nit-picky, however, I feel like as long as you studied what you needed to and watched all the lectures you'd be good for the exams. CREATE A STUDY GUIDE WITH HIS LEARNING OBJECTIVES AND THOUGHT QUESTIONS! TRY AND ANSWER THEM ALL WITH AS MUCH DETAIL AS POSSIBLE! YOU CAN ACE HIS EXAMS IF YOU DO SO!

Andrew explains concepts really well in the class videos. We don't get +/- in our letter grades, so you can get an A with 90. As long as you listen carefully during the lectures, take good notes, and review before exams, it is possible to get an A although the free-response questions can be difficult to answer sometimes. He cares about students!

Professor Cooper is an amazing teacher. His lectures are really clear and make biology way more digestible. His tests are tough though and it can be difficult to answer free-response the way he is looking for. If you do all the learning objectives and take good notes you'll be set.

I really like Professor Cooper's lecture style. He speaks quickly but is very energetic and organized. He also occasionally includes ethical issues in lectures which is important for science! As everyone here said, very tough grader, but if you are extremely precise you will be fine. (It's open notes!) Note that exams are also free-response.

Yes, you have to be very specific on the exams, however I think this class isn't that difficult, you just have to be very fast when taking notes. If you can't keep up with the lecture, there is a recorded podcast that's posted, so it's not impossible. My section has both online and open note exams, so as long as you have good notes you'll pass.

Professor Cooper is a really great lecturer. In fact, I would definitely take a course under him again if such an opportunity opens in the future. He always keeps everyone intrigued and hooked on the concepts. On the downside, the grading criteria is not stated on FRQ exams and you may lose crucial points if you fail to mention one word or phrase.

I love Prof Cooper, he's a very engaging lecturer and very nice to talk to outside of class. His lectures are clear and concise, but I will say his grading scale is pretty hard. It's a bit hard to get full points on work and exams (which are all free response).

Coming in to this class, I had taken Honors and AP Bio in high school, so I felt prepared for what was thrown at me. The grading on tests and homework was specific, but as long as you take notes and look back at the lecture videos, what is on the homework and tests is often right in the lectures word for word. Would 100% take Cooper again, so nice

tough grader but overall a great professor as he's understanding

Cooper was an amazing lecturer and teacher. I absolutely enjoyed his course. While tests were graded somewhat specifically, attendance of lectures covered everything you needed to know for the homework and tests. The course was well organized and clear what the expectations were.

It's hard to get an A, simply because the class is graded very specifically. You have to write every little detail on the midterms in order to get full credit, but you have to remain between a 4-5 sentence guideline. It's hard to know exactly what it wants, but the class itself isn't very hard.

I really like how Cooper structures his lectures, and assignments and tests. He is helpful during office hours and will explain things again if you're really confused. Exams are difficultly graded but honestly they're questions you can find right off the lecture so as long as you take detailed notes you'll be fine.

He's really understanding and easy to talk to. The tests allow leniency on what subjects you feel you know the best and they're open note and online! The feedback helps you a lot to answer future questions and the TAs are so helpful! Overall,I would take him again, no question! I also love how the lectures outline exactly what will be on the test.

Amazing Prof! Love his style of teaching, everything is clear and going to discussion is very helpful. You will do good on the tests if you attended lecture; lectures are very detailed and most of what's covered in class will be on the tests.

Professor is fair and can teach well! If you show up to class/discussion and spend some time on the homeworks there is no way you will fail. He makes the class challenging but not impossible. Would highly recommend.

Cooper grades based on free response. The key to doing this is to doing the study guides and word vomiting. If you're not a strong writer, I wouldn't take the class. He's a great lecturer and I was very interested. If you can write well, you should be fine as he explains the material well and I learned a great deal.

Prof Cooper is evidently very knowledgeable and does provide you with all the information to succeed on his free response exams. My biggest tip is to do the free response homework using the podcast of his lectures to get the wording as close to what he said in lecture. To do well on exams, do all the study questions, write them down

Cooper is an incredible professor! All content is covered in lecture at a perfect pace with questions incorporated in order to further understand content! He gives homework that is very representative of what is learned in lecture (4-5Q) and that homework prepares you extremely well for exams! He is AMAZING! Makes learning fun and easy!

Is a good professor, and I believe that he prepared me for BILD 2 because he makes his test free response and BILD 2 is a free response. He is also a very passionate teacher. I believe that this is a good class to take if you are some sort of bio major because it teaches you how to be specific.

He is a really good professor and is very witty, and can tell he loves his job. He does speak and move quite fast but gives podcasts to rewatch lecture if needed. Does grade very particularly and wants you to hit every single point about that one subject. Testing is a reflect of homework and practice problems. Is a hard class but would take again.

Really kind professor and will answer all of your questions during office hours. Exams are exactly what we see during lectures. Nice guy!

I was scared to take this class at first because of the mix reviews but he is amazing! His exams are not difficult and straightforward;he doesn't try to trick you with the questions. He is specific about wording but if you have the concepts down its an easy A. Just get prepared to stand in long lines in order to get into the discussion! Great prof!

BILD 1 itself is very content heavy so it can be hard to fall behind, but as long as you are consistently putting in the effort and paying attention during lecture, the class isn't too hard. He genuinely cares about his students and is very accessible at office hours. He also lets you rewrite the FRQs with his token system and has extra credit.

Professor Cooper is great and knows what he's talking about. I like how concise he is with his lectures but at the same time he can move too fast sometimes, which is okay since all the lectures are recorded. He also gives a lot of opportunities/flexibility with assignments, exams, and attendance. It's hard work but he provides the resources.

Overall Prof. Cooper does a good job at explaining concepts in lectures. Attendance is taken by iclicker but there is a certain amount of unexcused absences that you can get. Can be picky about small details, but it will be discussed in lecture. As long as you put in good effort and go to lecture/watch lecture recordings you should be fine.

If u put in the work studying & going over lectures, u should be fine on exams! 5 hws total, iclickers for attendance. lecture isn't mandatory but i def rec going bc he can go fast thru the slides! he gives u 4 tokens for the quarter (to use for extension/redo on a hw/exam q). watch podcasts & go to discussion irl for full credit! super chill guy

He gives good lectures, but talks very fast. The good thing is he has podcasts out so you can go back and watch them. Although he is a tough grader, he makes sure you know the material very well. You have to put the work in, as this is not as easy class. If you do not put in the effort, your grade will reflect that.

The professor is pretty good at teaching introductory biology to even non-bio majors who might be taking it for GE requirements. He dropped a few questions per midterm and a bunch from the final allowing me to score above a 100% on all of them. Most people I know who took this class were able to learn and score well.His lectures and slides are good

FRQ is the hardest thing in his class because he gave out no rubrics and grades harshly. You have to be as detailed as humanly possible for those questions and don't leave out any vocab or steps or explanations to get full points. The final felt easier than the midterms though. Use the tokens, they're grade-saving!

Copper doesn't use +/- for grading,which was helpful. He also gives students tokens.We spent them to redo a written exam problem.The exams were difficult to get full credit in the written section since it had to be word for word of what he said in the lecture.The discussion questions end up on those exams, so ask for help from a TA or office hours.

I dedicated a lot of time to studying for this class. He is nitpicky. I wouldn't recommend taking it unless you're a bio major. His lectures are packed with information, the tests require you to explain things exactly as he taught them. Grading for homework and tests is pretty tough. He offers extra credit opportunities that can boost your grade.

The class was overall pretty easy. There are only 5 homework assignment for the entire quarter so not time consuming at all. You have to be specific on the tests and homework but if you study with the lectures and the explanations he uses, you'll be fine.

Cooper is gives great lectures. If you do take him make sure to write down anything he says outside of the notes on the screen, those are usually the most important. The tests are basically what was on the homework. Also you only have 5 hw assignments, but they're worth 30 points each. He has a token system where you can redo hw and test questions.

Great professor and explains the content well, but getting 100% is nearly impossible because he will mark you down for literally anything. Uses iClickers for participation/attendance, but you can miss up to 8 lectures. He's honestly not that bad, just a harsh grader and he can be pretty funny at times.

I really enjoyed Professor Cooper's lectures and it was clear that he is passionate in what he is doing. He was also really funny in class. But the main problem that I had was how fast he talked. I almost always had to rewatch his lectures to study. He is a picky grader but you will be fine if you do the study guides that he provides.

Prof. Cooper provides us with 4 tokens, which we can use to correct our homework/ exam questions. This was extremely helpful in getting back the points you've lost. I got a 100 on all his midterms, even though I answered a few questions wrong, because he likes to lower his total exam score. Overall, his lectures were extremely entertaining.

cool professor! do the homework and follow stuff word to word and that yo would be good. great professor and makes things very fun!

fast lecturer, fair grading policy. review the podcasts and do the practice questions. review discussion worksheets.

I enjoyed taking this professor very much, his lectures were entertaining but covered content very quickly. If you have taken AP Bio before this class shouldn't be too hard because it would be that and then more in depth. There wasn't too much homework and the tests were graded fairly. Overall a pretty good class, I would take again.

Prof Cooper is funny and keeps lectures (which can be very dense and content-heavy) interesting and interactive. If you pay attention, you will do well in the class. He sets you up for success with discussion and clicker problems that mirror the exam, and he's very approachable. You also get a good amount of free missed classes.

amazing professor. i came to class with a weaker biology background but that as long as you understand the corse you would be good to go. amazing lecgtures. would take again.

He grades very tough and doesn't answer emails. These are the only critics I have for him. I went to every single lecture, got a B on midterm 1, A on midterm 2, B on final, averaged A on HWs. All the questions are FRQ, which rlly isn't that bad bc partial credit. Yes the tests were hard, but some ppl def didn't put in the work...

Cool guy, always very eager to help during office hours. 25% of your grade is just participation. Rest is homework, that can be answered easily as long as you paid attention in lecture, and exams. 4 tokens for redoing homework or exam questions. Midterms were easy to get a high grade. Final was a bit harder but manageable

Best professor I have had at UCSD. Super passionate about bio and genetics and is very kind and funny, I always looked forward to going to class (even at 9am). The content is a lot but if you put time in you will do great. The exams are clear and reflect the material (discussion sections are great practice). 10/10 would take a class with him again.

He is an amazing professor. I took BILD 1 with him and i immidiately enrolled in BICD 100 when i saw he was teaching again. Very clear power point and good grading system. Its almost impossible to fail the class and there are many chances to get extra credits. You also get the grade back fast and have chance to get a regrade. HE IS AMAZING!!!!!

The lectures are very interesting. Attendance taken through clicker questions. The midterm exams were not bad as long as you practice the topics given in the homework questions. Discussions are mandatory, but usually do not take the entire 50 minutes.

Good lecturer- entertaining and passionate. Mandatory lectures but he does offer a fair # of absences. His hw grading criteria is specific, but helps with test prep. Test is very fair- he gives you the recipe to solve it during lecture, just make sure you know how to utilize it. He also offers tokens which is a great opportunity to re-try problems.

He always brought a vibrant energy to the lecture room every day. He was really nice, but his grading policy is strict. You accumulate points based on specific information you put into the hw, and your grade depends on your ability to answer FRQs well. Midterms were semi-difficult, and the final was not too bad. Take if you want to KNOW genetics.

He had great lectures and a genuine passion for teaching. I took BICD100 as a first year and ended with an A, but beware that he has very strict grading standards. You can't imply things on exams, you must say them explicitly. He taught very well and his exams were fair, definitely my most interesting class--I actually enjoyed going.

he was actually pretty solid fr

Despite what the other reviews say he's a good prof. Is his grading strict? Yes it is. Course is info heavy but not impossible. What he says in lecture directly correlates to the exams, even the TA's say this. He's entertaining and funny, he is very open to questions. You need to put in actual effort in this class not for people who need an easy A.

Cooper was the best teacher I have had at college. He actually teaches properly and what he says in lecture is what is on the test. No surprises. Listening in lecture is all you need to do well. He can be a hard grader but if you focus on his lecture content you should be set up for success. He also records. Can be very forgiving.

Professor Cooper was a cool professor! Class was a breeze, but I wish I studied harder for exams. With the regrade tokens, you basically have 3 freebees for: turning in late assignments without deductions, redoing an exam question for full/partial credit, and free extension. Exams are all written but you only have to answer 5/8 questions!

I don't know why people are upset at Andrew Cooper for WI25. The course consists of 6 Homework assignments which take 30 minutes each, just make sure they are refined and it is easy. Discussion in person is based on completion, easy. Tokens make your midterm grades both 100% if you just study. The final is just a little harder. Super easy class.

class was straight forward as a bio major that did not take ap bio in high school. class is structured very well, homework is graded fairly and on accuracy. both mid terms were slightly curved and you had chances to go back and redo one midterm problem using his "token" feature. gives out 4 tokens a quarter to redo a midterm or homework problem

a funny teacher, midterms are fairly graded and curved. He did well on explaining the content of the course, making it pretty easy.

He deeply loves what he teaches and wants his students to know everything. The grading is harsh, all exams are written response. Section is mandatory unless you want to do it by yourself and be graded on correctness, not completion. Attendance is mandatory he uses iclickers.

For everybody complaining, you clearly put zero effort into the class. Genuinely the easiest class i ever took. His grading is SO reasonable. Homeworks are once a week and take 30 mins max. The token system allows you to regrade midterm questions making it super easy to get A's. The prof is energetic and funny.

Prof Cooper is reasonable. There is a small curve for exams although the course grade isnt curved. Very nitpicky when grading so you must hit the buzzwords. Everything is FRQ so you actually need to study. Put in more than minimal effort so you will be okay. I didnt take the class as seriously in the beginning and that came back to me, just study.

Professor Cooper is amazing! Highly recommend. His lectures are fun and interesting. His tests focus on understanding rather than memorization, all short answer questions, no multiple choice. He does take attendance but his lectures are fun. He does not require a textbook. Discussions are also mandatory, but very helpful to prepare for tests.

His lectures are kinda bad because he would speed through the important stuff and only have like 1 photo on the slides. But, if you are a quick writer or already know the content, his exams are fair. There is also a decent amount of stuff graded that your exam scores don't have to be perfect.

Great professor, a great class. I really recommend taking bild 1 with Cooper. If you just go to lecture which is already mandatory you will do great in class.

Personally, I LOVED Cooper. Felt like I got an in-depth on BILD 1 topics because of the grading criteria. Yes, he is nit-picky when it comes to grading (not to wordy responses, key words/phrases you have to put down), but otherwise it's not bad at all. He has "tokens" for you to use to recover point loses (from attendance, midterms, hw).

I don't understand why Prof Cooper's rating is so low; he was a wonderful professor. His lectures were so clear and engaging despite the difficult material and I felt I learned a ton. Clickers were participation-based and exams were super fair/reflective of material and homework. He was also funny and clearly wants everyone to succeed in biology.

His exams were 8 FRQ questions, where you chose to answer 5, the 2 midterms were pretty easy if you memorized the mechanisms. I LOVED his teaching style and lectures. The token options for hw and exam q's were great, u get 4 tokens. The hw toward the end was a bit difficult, and the final was a little challenging. Make sure to take indepth notes.

Great prof, very well organized and structured. Requires iClicker for class, for attendance. He gives homework, and 3 tests+final, and he gives grace on most of these assignments "tokens". Same thing with discussions just a worksheet that needs to be filled out in person w/ group (graded off attendance) or asynchronously (graded by accuracy).

Cooper's lectures are definitely important to go through because he doesn't have a lot of information on his slides, but the class itself was super easy to follow and lots of opportunities for points. (your grade isn't just exams) He also has a token system where you can get points back for homework and exams if you get a question wrong.

Professor goes through lecture so fast, but they're podcasted so rewatching is a must, especially because exams ask about very specific details. Grades are based on more than just exams which is nice (lecture participation, discussion, homework, exams, and the final).

Prof Cooper is definitely one of the better professors I've had at UCSD. I'm not sure why his rating isn't higher because he genuinely made this class so easy to get an A in. Loved his grading policy. On unit exams, there are 6 questions but you choose 4 to answer. Pls don't listen to the negative reviews. Just put in the effort and you'll do well!

Tests are very fair, and you can use "tokens" for a redo on a problem for a quiz/homework. His lectures are clear & interesting, and he was a funny & super nice prof! Make sure to take detailed notes as explanations for quizzes and homework need to be specific.

The class material itself isn't hard but he expects very particular keywords but tbh the lectures themselves cover that so i dont think it should be an issue. He does goes fast but you can and should rewatch the lectures + he cancels classes if we're ahead that week. Attendance is mandatory but you get 7 absences. lowest hw + midterm is dropped.

Professor Cooper has amazing lectures and has funny comments/thoughts, and doesn't assign reading. However unlike other BILD 1 professors, he does free response exams instead of multiple choice. Moreover, you must know the material and concisely write your answer to get full points. But if you pay attention and study, you'll do great with him.

Materials posted on canvas are clear and decent. Good lecturer, humorous guy. Lectures and discussions are mandatory. HW is about biology mechanicson class, and there are only 6 HWs. However, exams are toughly graded, so you have to use the same language that he uses on class. Recommend you to take all the captions from lectures and review

The lectures are pretty true to what's on the exams, and the discussion worksheets/hw are extremely helpful for the exams. Although the exams are open-response only, chances are you'll do fine if you try in discussion and listen to the lectures. Pretty even distribution of credit among attendance, exams, and homework; lowest unit exam + hw dropped.

Assignments and tests are difficult because they're all free response so you really need to understand the content to do well. There are specific points he'll want you to mention for the points. He has a token system that allows you to redo 4 exam questions or extensions on hw. Overall engaging lectures and VERY helpful TAs and discussions.

I really liked him as a guy, and this is the easiest class ever, but my god, he's a picky grader.