Genuinely the WORST bio professor at UNC. Avoid at all costs. Her exams are written like riddles and she is horrifically unorganized. Lectures are impossible to follow, and she does a poor job of clarifying. I have never hated a UNC class more than this one. Choose literally anyone else. It's not hard, but it is absolutely miserable.

Her lectures are terrible to follow. At this point, I don't even know what to study. She goes on tangents in class about things, she gives almost no study material, and all you can study to prep for exams are the lectures themselves. Please avoid her at all costs-- take anything or anyone else. She also does a horrible job at clarifying answers.

Avoid her class if you can. We're still waiting on 90% of our grades to be updated, and the semester is almost over. She doesn't give objectives till 2 days before the test, and she has no GRQs or anything for lecture prep. If you must take her, she bases her tests almost entirely on lecture. Test reviews are not helpful.

You'll have to study A LOT, which isn't bad until you realize the lectures can get very overwhelming and confusing. She goes on tangents that cause you to zone out. Suddenly, you are in your head trying to remember what came over you when registering for this class. I will say once you understand what's going on, life is worth living again.

She's one of those lecturers that speaks a lot but simultaneously goes through no content, she speaks like she's addressing kindergarteners, she's permanently behind schedule, she's constantly having technology problems, and her exams are mostly lecture-based but her lectures are very confusing and she often goes on unnecessary tangents.

Her tests are actually questions based on tangents she goes on and figments of her imagination. The review sessions for the exams will be so confusing and only someone with 40+ years of biology knowledge (like her) would be able to answer. Do not take this class if you care about your gpa and sanity.

do not take this class at all. class isn't that hard but she does not care about your time and won't release assignments to turn in until a few hours before it's due. she talks to us as if we've never heard of what a bacteria is, and will give you a zero on an assignment if you talk about things you learned from other classes calling it AI.

I wish I could turn back time and not register for this class. I wish I never took it-- I hate it. Never take this class, it truly sucks. It's been almost 2.5 months since school has started and only one assignment has been graded.

Talks too much to not be saying anything for real. So disorganized from the grading, the test, the in-class assignments. Like what the hell do you mean you wrote the test the night before the test. That's why the questions are so convoluted like did you even have the TA check or take the test before we did. She's really nice but can't teach.

She has a "syllabus" that she edited multiple times, and is currently *jumping around on*, and her learning objectives are released the day before the exam. She essentially goes off on tangents the entire class. Her tests feel impossible unless you memorize everything she talks about word for word, including random side tangents. Don't take this!!!

I am left contemplating my life choices after taking this class. She is the most disorganized professor I've ever had and the tests are about the random PhD level things that she creates in her mind the night before the test. No curves in site and no extra credit. Save your gpa, don't take this class with her

She is often wrong on exams or things she says in class. Goes on too many tangents that have nothing to do with what we are learning. Trying to figure out what you should know for an exam is like searching for a needle in a haystack.

Literally what are we doing? This class is so unorganized and very confusing. Constantly falling behind and lectures serve no purpose. It's gotten to a point where I don't go to lectures anymore bc I don't gain anything from it. I'm sure she's a great person but she needs to get it together.

Take anyone else. I don't even know how to study for the exams anymore since they're mostly based on lectures, but she spends most of the lecture going on tangents. I've just given up at this point.

genuinely don't even know what this class is about anymore.

we spent all of one class on one homework question and then the pre-exam review lesson was 3 questions. class is 50 minutes long. genuinely what are we doing

DO NOT TAKE HER. Just got out of the 3rd exam - even more lost now than I was before. Her lectures are long-winded and confusing, her slideshows barely have any words on them, and anytime you ask a question, she says she already talked about it. She also rewrites test questions during the test because she realizes she messed up.

just don't

Just got out her test. I studied the lecture slides, the review sheet, the lectures (multiple times), and even watched the review session she posted at 3:30AM the night before the exam. I'm now even more lost, and she still has only graded one homework. Why hasn't she graded the other homework's that she handed out 3 months ago? Don't take her

She's literally the worst professor I have ever had, she is always so behind on everything but still somehow manages to waste time every single class telling us about utter nonsense that barely relates to the content. She's nice but that's it, she's so mean as a professor, her explanations always are extremely complex and I HATE HER SLIDES!!!!

absolute WORST professor for BIOL103. does not know how to get anything done technology-wise, always behind on lectures, and randomly sets unit quizzes so they are due at noon instead of 11:59 without ANY notice whatsoever. avoid at all costs unless you want a semester long migraine

..........

The lack of consideration for a student's time is comical. Posted unit quiz + study materials at 5pm ON A SATURDAY & made it due at 12PM next day. Had to cancel plans with my parents who flew in from Cali so I could study. This wouldn't have happened if she wasn't so behind that she had to reschedule the exam to catch up (we're still behind).

Just goes above and beyond for unnecessary things, provides long and confusing explanations and horrible test maker, questions are so confusing. Doesn't give exams back, instead holds exam review sessions where she literally takes pictures of everyone who came (what I mean by above and beyond for useless things)

There are 2 weeks left before finals, and we are 4 lessons behind the other sections. 2 questions were cut from the exam today because she worded them so poorly and wanted to stop answering questions. Do not take this professor. I think 24 awful reviews in her first semester here is a pretty good testament to it. She's kind, but not worth it.

I've never seen anyone so incompetent to be multiple lessons behind, not proofread exam questions, post quizzes/assignments short notice, and yap every lecture. Exams are purposefully confusing with "select all the following" or "only two of the above are true". Prepare to spend hours of studying because she can't get any learning done herself.

Honestly, this exam 3 pretty much solidified the fact that she isn't a good test maker. I spent so long on two questions that didn't even make sense, only to then hear when the test time is almost over that the questions weren't even possible to answer with our course knowledge. also we are so far behind its actually kinda crazy as well.

If you are a planner, get ready to have major changes w/ exams/quiz on a weekly basis. Posted Unit 3 Quiz (which are pretty important to final grade) on Saturday at 5pm and made it due Sunday 12pm. Because it was my birthday, I missed this email and therefore my grade dropped 3 points. The lectures are very unclear and the slides are unstructured.

I thought I was tripping but it seems we're all on the same page. Lectures not cohesive, reading the textbook kind of helps to narrow things down, but we are not adequately prepared for exams. Very last minute posting exam resources and exam dates are subject to change. Not sure how to be successful in this class anymore and feeling discouraged.

Avoid taking her at all costs. This class is ridiculous and it is beyond hard to keep up with her exam papers, let alone what she says in class. She goes on tangents, writes exams that need deciphering, doesn't even proof read her exams - in exam 3, she took two questions out because they were completely irrelevant to the content. Beyond unfair.

She's a really really sweet person but cannot teach for her life. Tests are more reading comprehension than anything. She spends the first 40 minutes of class going over stuff we already know and rushes over the hard things in the last 10. Do yourself a favor and do not take this class. I love bio but this class is ruining it for me.

I can't even explain what this class is about to you. Every lecture is just full of random tangents, her running around answering questions way beyond the scope of the class, and spending over half the class time just talking about logistics, making her rush the content. She loves Biology, but can't teach it. DO NOT RECOMMEND HER AT ALL.

Dr. Rea is a great and really caring person, however she is not meant to be a professor. We are 4 whole unit's behind the other bio 103 sections. She goes on tangents about things that are not relevant to the course. Her tests even skip whole lessons we learned about, and instead we are tested on random things. Do not take her if possible.

Always makes lots of mistakes when creating tests. When you ask for help, she humiliates you and does not offer helpful advice in the end. Anything she says during lecture is fair game and she stated she makes the tests more difficult on purpose. Would NEVER recommend. Take any other professor if you want to keep your sanity and GPA.

she's just yapping bro idek anymore i just want this sem to end purely bc of her class

take anyone else besides her i beg you its for your own good

Never take her. Take anyone else. It's literally been three months and she can't even manage to grade a single homework. Everyone I talk to feels the same way about her, and there's a reason her 240 class still has available seats in her Spring 2026 section.

Wish I could cuss. Terrible and overly nuanced; you are expected to devote to her class like a cult if you even dream of doing well. The exams are a toss-up; the mean is always low, and the questions are unrelated to the lessons we are told to pay attention to. The 5 star review is 100% from the few people Rea is actually nice to. Condescending af

Take 103 with any other professor!

She seems sweet and considerate but she really isn't. Her timing is always off, we were consistently about 10 days behind, and she often posted assignments late with very little time to finish them. She assigned four tasks over Thanksgiving break and regularly makes assignments due on wellness days or days off. Overall, not the best Bio professor.

She is very nice most of the time, though sometimes I feel like she is condescending. We are really behind in the class, and I am so disappointed because it is my first major class at UNC Chapel Hill. We are about 3 lessons behind, and the final is on Saturday, and she canceled class today at 7:14 when the class starts at 8. Don't take her.

She is very sweet and upbeat, but often goes on tangents, which makes it difficult to follow lecture material and differentiate between what you do and don't have to know. Her exams, while not difficult content-wise, feel like they're written to trip people up. I often find the wording extremely confusing. Be prepared to struggle.

Hasn't graded most of our written assignments and our third midterm yet and it's almost LDOC. There are very few resources to study for this course. The lecture slides barely have any written notes, and the exams are heavily based on them. I wish there wasn't a character limit because I still have more to say about how horrible this class was.

Our final exam is in 3 days and she gave us a whole lesson (60 slides) to study by ourselves. If you take her you will literally have a migraine the whole semester and regret all your life decisions.

If I ask you to picture the worst professor you can imagine, you are likely thinking of Dr. Rea. Her almost unbelievable lack of ability to teach and disorganization made this class impossible despite the straightforward material. She hasn't graded anything, and it is LDOC. Taking this class was the worst decision of my entire college career, RUN!

Nice enough, slightly condescending. Very unorganized. She will cancel class at the last minute, rambles, and is somehow overly detailed/convoluted in lecture without actually covering the course content. You have to go out of your way to find any information for her course, would recommend any other professor.

Dr. Rea is the worst professor/teacher in general I've ever had. She is highly condescending and teaches as if she's above the curriculum. At least half of the content on tests is ONLY in lecture, and almost all of her questions are worded to trick you. We have been behind since day 1, and she is still assigning work after LDOC. Take ANYONE else.

I am a junior, and I can confidently say she is the worst professor I have had. The material isn't hard, she unnecessarily makes it hard. LDOC was yesterday, and she has only graded two exams and one assignment (still waiting on third exam and many other assignments). Avoid her at all costs, unless you want a low GPA and mental illness.

She's nice but also doesn't know how to teach. at all. Its incredibly difficult to tell which random comment is her rambling about something unrelated or if it'll be a trick question on exams. We have been behind since day one, she just graded our exam we took a month ago. Incredibly frustrating class, study for hours and it makes no difference.

the campus squirrels could teach better

Biology two forty

Very disorganized and provides few resources to do well. Lectures and slides are unclear. She makes the review sheet last minute and doesn't give practice exams. Her practice questions from class are so easy compared to the actual test questions. I think the professor is pretty sweet, but I am at a loss for how to do well in her class.

Always last minute emails, extremely niche questions on exams, incomplete lectures, and whole lessons switched to asynchronous on the dime. What more could you want from an instructor?

She made my gf cry on multiple occasions, and my gf is doing well in the class.

How are we supposed to study for her tests when her questions are the most obscure, niche things that she talked about for a whole two seconds? She would ramble about unrelated things for so long, one of the reasons we were constantly behind and had to be assigned extra work to make up for it. No cheat sheet, but the other sections have it.

This class made me bald.

the minute this class ended, life was worth living again. GENUINELY don't know how I survived.

EXTREMELY disorganized. no cheat sheets when other classes got them, didn't receive past exams for review, and SO behind. going to lectures made me actually lose braincells. Get ready to basically self study the entire course. consistently contradicts the textbook and makes test nothing like the class. Save yourself.

She is extremely hilarious and sweet, but avoid taking her class! You have to imply so many things off of what she "teaches". I watched every lecture and took notes on every word she said. I was confident each time I went to take it but always ended with a D. I don't know how to study for this class and what to expect on the exams each time.

DO NOT TAKE HER CLASS. Genuinely the worst class ever. Studying for her exams is a huge pain, as she doesn't release her exams, so you never find out what you did wrong. Unhelpful. Never was on pace with the content; fully rushed through unit 4. Her lesson outlines are unhelpful, and you might as well just start teaching yourself from day 1. RUN.

The only thing good about this class was when it ended

Maybe it's just me, but I felt as though the exams weren't testing what we knew on the subject; rather, it felt like she was just trying to trick us with lengthy word questions. Extremely condescending in personal emails. Also no cheat sheet for the test when other teachers do allow it. Take Biol 103, just not with her...

Great person, not great at teaching. After working through all our assignments and readings, the exams were so unnecessarily complicated that it felt like she thinks you are supposed to know more than what you are supposed to for this class. Lectures were VERY behind schedule, and she always said, "You don't need to know this for this class, but"

actually awful.

I understand it's her first year at UNC, but we often fell behind and had extra work to catch up. Each exam was more difficult than the last and left me more confused. I do not recommend taking her if you care about your GPA and sanity.

Nice lady but the worst professor I've ever had. Lectures did not have a schedule, so we were constantly behind on content. She only tests on things from lectures, but this includes tangents that aren't always on topic. Most of our assignments still haven't been graded.

felt like she was CONSTANTLY playing in my face. never on schedule with course content, don't even think we finished the course. super condescending in emails, not accommodating at all either. half the class was unnecessary tangents that we were TESTED on... take this class with literally anyone else.

Is she nice? Sure, as a person, but as a professor, I would argue that her disorganization makes her mean. She doesn't do GRQs or pre-lecture homework, but she also doesn't have a schedule for when she will cover topics. The textbook would be much more helpful to read if there were a schedule for us to follow. Please don't take her.

We are a week past LDOC, and there are 2 grades in. She has canceled 8 classes this semester, and no one has any idea what they are supposed to be learning.

Dr. Rea is a very nice person, but not meant to be an upper-level biology professor, especially at UNC. Lectures are beyond disorganized, and her "teaching concepts" are random little tangents she goes off into during lecture. There are no assignments outside of 7 "out of class assignments", of which only 1 of have been graded (2 days before final)

At this point, finding a way to study for this class is a bigger achievement than curing cancer

DONT TAKE HER! Nice person, terrible professor. Extremely disorganized, very late in grading tests and assignments, where half of the assignments still aren't graded even after LDOC. No resources except for a review sheet provided two days before the exam, and pollev questions that dont reflect the exam. Exams are based on her tangents in class.

She is so passionate about what she teaches, but fails actually to teach anything. I've always been good at biology, but her rambles ruined the subject for me. Her last-minute, inconsiderate lesson planning caused me to fall back on studying for the final (where I had to review a whole lesson and learn it) and inevitably flunk the final.

This prof is truly horrible. The final was supposed to not be cumulative, and have a heavy emphasis on the fourth unit. She sent out an email three days before the exam to let us know that the final is going to have a heavy emphasis on the third unit instead. She released the final review sheet TWO days before the final! Truly the worst.

genuinely nobody I've met likes her class, even the ones who are buddy buddy with her. How someone can fumble so hard at teaching is beyond me. Needlessly strict about closing off REVIEW SESSIONS, and overly lax about genuinely everything else. I swear this class is harder than Organic Chem here.

worst professor. always behind on everything since the year started, and by thanksgiving break, we were basically 1 whole unit behind. she "taught" the entire 4th unit through asynch videos. all exams were so tricky - miss reading 1 word, u get the question wrong. u overthink 1 word in a sentence, still get the question wrong. AVOID!

I literally had no idea what was going on ever felt like she be making her own biology up at one point as literally what she taught was different from what I was taught in other biology courses.

Very kind and clearly enthusiastic about the material. However, the course was incredibly unorganized. Lectures often veered off into completely different topics, we received no feedback on our assignments throughout the semester, thus no one knew their real grade going into the final. Good vibes but def try to take the course with someone else.

She was a new professor but I think a squirrel is more organized than her. She would lecture 50 minutes on one slide and say nothing of importance. MC exams took over 2 weeks to grade because there were so many mistakes. Review sheets were posted at 11:50pm the two night before the exams and she tried to move every exam the week before we took it.

ain't never called a prof a b before but she's genuinely a b

Genuinely the worst professor AND TAs I've had at UNC. Hasn't graded anything all semester until today and will give you failing grades on those assignments based on a rubric they didn't even give us. I want a refund for this class and I WISH I P/F and was never a BIOL major. To all freshman, change your major and never take a class with this b.

Please take anyone else. We are just now getting our grades back for assignments we turned in months ago, and the semester and finals are over! We asked about these assignments several times, and she dismissed our concerns as a non-issue.

By far the worst class I've ever taken at UNC. The last day of exams was three days ago, and in-class assignments have yet to be graded. It takes over 3 weeks to get exam grades back. Not to mention the in-class assignments are graded SO harshly for absolutely no reason, and we never got a course schedule.

she literally had no structure to her class. just spent the entire time yapping about random topics. takes forever to grade exams and assignments. the fact that i did not know (and still don't) know my grade going into the final is absolutely insane. take anybody else for this class.

i think a squirrel is more organized than her. she will spend 50 minutes on a tangent then test you on the tiny details. assignments from the first week of the semester are just now being graded (extremely harshly based on a rubric we weren't given) kept trying to move exams the week before. if you value organization or sanity take with anyone else

How did I do better in chemistry than in cell bio, a topic i've been learning about for the entirety of my college career...

This course might be the worst part of the human experience. How someone could have a degree in something and know so little is insane. I pray that she remembers even half of it or she'd be better off teaching at the asylum I'll be at.

Extremely disorganized, barely anything was graded until after the final except for exams which were graded 3 weeks after, no resources to actually study for exams that were based off the tiniest things from her tangents. Genuinely worst professor I've ever had.

This was the most dysfunctional class I've ever taken. Did not know half of my grades in the class before the final; her exams were a disaster (there were poorly written questions in every one of them), and she would cancel class at the drop of a hat. I promise you IT'S NOT WORTH IT!!!!!!! Save your sanity!

Focuses too much on irrelevant details during the lecture. Behind schedule since FDOC. Lessons skipped or moved asynchronously to "be caught up" (we never caught up). ALWAYS last minute. Unit quizzes due less than 24 hours before the exam. Has assignments due AFTER LDOC. Modules and assignments are not posted in a timely manner.

Professor Rea is inconsiderate, rude, irresponsible, confusing, and honestly unknowledgeable about the content of this course. I do not understand the rationale of her hiring and I do not believe she should be kept as a UNC professor. I have had the absolute worst experiences in her class. EVERYTHING is unclear.

Even though I ended with an A in this class, I would NOT recommend Rea for 103. Extremely unorganized and unprofessional. Our class was several lectures behind the other 103 sections all year long. Class was unnecessary stressful.

Engaging lecturer, but didn't cover much. Exams were insanely hard. Even after going to her office hours and doing what she told me I still got a 58 on a midterm after getting an 86 on the one before. No consistency or organization. She gave us 7 assignments worth 20% and did not grade them until after the final.

Hardest class of the semester, chemistry is a breeze in comparison. The content is not hard in itself, but Rea expect us to remember a random assortment of facts tangent to the things we actually need to know. Also extremely unorganized, we are several lessons behind other classes at all times. DO NOT RECOMMEND!!!