2.9
Quality4.4
Difficulty34%
Would Retake92
Reviews34%
Would Retake
92
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
30
4
10
3
6
2
12
1
34
What Students Say
“It seemed like she only wanted a certain type of student to succeed”
CHEM11 - 2.0 rating“If you fall behind, too bad because you're not catching up”
CHEM11A - 1.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
57%
Textbook Required
50%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-1.23 avg changeRatings by Course
GENERALCHEM
5.0
(1)CHEM 11
5.0
(1)CHEM11A
2.9
(45)CHEM11
2.9
(25)CHEM11B
2.8
(19)Difficulty by Course
GENCHEM
5.0
CHEM11A
4.5
CHEM11
4.4
CHEM11B
4.1
GENERALCHEM
4.0
Reviews (92)
She tries really hard to be helpful and make the material understandable, but her tests are pretty tricky and abstract. Know the concepts, not the problems, and always come to class! (pop quizzes!)
she is AWFUL. she has CLEAR favorites and her tests are so abstract that they are impossible to study for. Everyone does badly and she just gives good grades to the people she likes. Learn how to suck up really hard!
People who dislike her did poorly because they didn't come to class or were still stuck in high school-like study habits. She approaches concepts like a person who learned chemistry, not just a person who was good at it - and this approach is essential for students! If she sees that you are trying to do well, she works a lot harder in your favor.
I did well in her class, but didn't like her teaching style. Enforcing people to attend the class by making pop quizzes is ridiculous. We're in college, and people have different study habit; one might do well just by reading the text. If she had time to make like 5 different versions for a single quiz, why didn't her make any practice exams?!?!
I did well in the class and her teaching style was okay, but I didn't like the fact that she made attendance mandatory for this lecture-based class. Though recitation was optional, she only taught useful exam info during these sessions, which I find very sneaky/underhanded. It seemed like she only wanted a certain type of student to succeed.
I just wanted to reply to one of the comments here so as to not allow readers to get a false impression. Novack's test ARE very abstract but knowing "concepts" won't save you. Go to RECITATION (and class--pop quizzes). She has a terrible, nearly incomprehensible teaching style and has a latent catty side. It likes to come out sometimes.
Besides doing the homework problems she has assigned and the practice exam, i still feel that it is possible to do well in the class. As long as you do not do your homework last minute before exams,i feel that it is quite possible to do well
just go to recitation everyday, lecture is useless. exams test you on abstract parts of the material that is unnecessarily detailed. curving to a C+/B- in gen chem is absurd. take this class over the summer at a different school unless you want a C.
I loved Professor Novak. She worked with the students and made sure that we understood everything. It was a big difference from first semester Professor Popchapsky. I feel like I understand the concepts of Chemistry. Attend office hours and recitation and you will be fine.
Nice Teacher but exams were way too hard and sometimes even inconsistent with what was said was going to NOT be included in exams. READ the book and DO the problems in book. They help a lot. She is approachable in her office hours.
She is the best teacher ever!! Her lecture is fantastic. As long as you go to the recitation, you will ace the class. She really makes you to understand the material. If you hope to get As by memorization, good luck with that.
Awesome lecturer, but her tests are very difficult. Make sure to do the problem sets, and go to recitation. Go to her office hours, she's really cool
She is a fantastic professor who clearly knows her subject inside and out. Her lectures are meant to help understand concepts while the recitation is used to do practice problems. Many people find recitation more helpful because it closely resembles what she asks on tests. Keep in mind that the subject is difficult so expect to work hard.
AWFUL teacher. Does NOT know chemistry. In fact, she's not even a chemist: she took a couple of Chem courses after getting a PhD on... Slavic languages. Avoid if you can.
This course goes at a really fast pace. If you fall behind, too bad because you're not catching up.
She gives really hard tests and quizzes, but she is there to help and does want you to succeed. You will have to work harder than you've ever worked before, especially if you don't have a good background in chemistry in high school. But it is possible to pass and she does her own recitations. GO TO RECITATION!
Sure she's a tough teacher, but she knows her stuff and her information is clear. Just because she doesn't cut you any slack doesn't make her a bad teacher, it just makes you work harder and actually know the material.
I think she is compensating for the fact that she has a PhD in slavic languages, and not chemistry. So she makes the test difficult and hard to understand, and the only way you can do well is if you go to recitation, which not everybody can. It's messed up. Some people like her, I cannot stand her or this class.
She wants you to succeed. Has helpful recitations all the time. Suggest you do practice problems (I didn't). Also partner quizzes really do help you learn. But do try to learn material before you go to the quizzes. Her tests are hard, you cannot just know the material you have to know and understand the concepts. Do not hesitate to get her help.
She is awful. Least favorite teacher I've had at Brandeis, and worst class I have taken. She picks favorites and her tests are ridiculous. She ruined chemistry for me
Class is a LOT of work but Novak is a great professor and if you put in the work you will do well in her class. DON'T get behind or its
The tests are fair, and Novak teaches in a clear manner. Her grading is fair. Attend lectures, and 2-3 recitations a week, and do the practice, and you'll be fine. It is a lot of work.
Really good class. You have to be studying continuously. Go to recitations and SI. Her office hours are good for motivation.
Helps those who understand and leaves the rest behind. Will bluntly tell you that not everyone is good enough for medical school (though not everyone taking chem wants to be a doctor) and tests are ridiculously difficult. NOT a good professor and not a nice person.
Shes a great lecturer. She really devotes alot of her time to help her students understand. This is a hard course, no doubt but chemistry is a hard subject itself. I am a student that had a very hard time with chemistry but I had to work for the grades. Novack and her slides made it alot easier. Really enjoyed having her.
Tests are tough but the group quizzes are the best! You have to study but you can get an A. And the curve is perfect!
very tough teacher - often unnecessarily so. My friends in Gen Chem at other schools don't have nearly as difficult tests as novack gave us.
Amazing teacher, gets a bad rep because of the toughness of the class but really cares about the success of students
One of the best teachers I have ever had. You will learn an incredible amount of Chemistry in her class. She is most certainly a tough grader, but curves fairly. She knows the names of mostly everyone in our class of 250 students.
Good lecturer but not a nice person.
She gives great slides but only answers questions during recitations instead of office hours.....
Dr. Novack is an unbelievable professor and person. She is so smart and is able to answer questions both inside and outside of chemistry. She wants every student to succeed and grow whether they will pursue chemistry or not. Go to office hours and get to know her. Recitations help too and go to as many as you can in a given week!
Great class! Dr. Novack is super approachable and friendly! Go to office hours and get to know her and go to recitation. Study and take weekly quizzes seriously to help keep up with the material on the level tested.
I started off the year struggling in this class, but now I am doing so much better! GO TO RECITATION AND SI!!!!!! The more work you put in, the better you will do! Dr. Novack is really motivational too, just get to know her
My main problem with her is that her powerpoint presentations/lectures offer nothing new that wasn't covered in the textbook. Wouldn't mind her using powerpoints if she broke down material, not just copy+paste the textbook. Horrible lecturer.
Amazing professor but demands a lot. Easily the toughest class I have taken at Brandeis. Her lectures are very engaging. One of the best professors at Brandeis. She not only taught me Chemistry, she taught me how to be a good student in college.
Novack was the toughest teacher I have ever met. She was unkind the tests were impossible.
Very difficult class. Quizzes are done in groups out of necessity not because "she's nice". Is often condescending to students in lecture, particularly after a test.
Great class! Chemistry is really hard but Dr. Novack knows that and its as doable as the class can be as a subject. She was amazing in office hours and recitation! Go to recitation and SI sessions. The SI leaders broke down the material and helped me pass at all!
Engaging lectures, but she's not a friendly person to talk to during office hours, she's a bit condescending. One of the hardest classes I've taken. She expects a lot from you.
Hard Class, great professor! It is easy to mix hard class with bad professor, this is not the case. Novack will knock you down with her exams (many exam averages around 45%), but you have to get back up if you want to succeed. Tough curve. You will have learned so much by the end of the year though. Don't be afraid to pick up exams.
Not a very nice person, and her class is very hard. However, her lectures are usually put together pretty well. Her exam averages are usually low, however she will curve the class to have an average of B-. Take honors chem if you have the chance.
Chemistry is hard, and I think that's the challenge for most students, including myself. Dr. Novack teaches a difficult course that prepares you to be a good college student. It helped me realize that if you want to pursue a science career you need to put in the work and that is what this class sets you up for.
Dr. Novack is a really great professor. As long as you do the readings and understand the readings, most problems should come intuitively. If you understand all practice problems, skip recitation until the Wednesday of the exam, where she sometimes gives test questions away. Very accessible outside of class, generally biases exceptional students.
Easy A
Dr. Novak comes across as a nice lady but she is not. This was one of the hardest classes I've ever taken. You will not catch me ever taking a class with her again. If you have her, good luck. She makes Gen Chem so much harder than it has to be.
She is such a nice person if you are clearly trying. If you put in effort and show her that through attending recitation and SI, she will WANT to help you. Chemistry is hard. Point blank. You wont be handed an A like you may have been in high school. But she isn't mean because of it.
gen chem made me question my sanity and my love of science as a whole. Novack is an amazing teacher and maybe the smartest person on earth, but damn did those tests ruin my life. I took the W because I would have died if I finished the class. If you thought it was an easy A, screw you. But, if you can handle it, gen chem will teach you everything
Really great person, but chem is hard and you will need to work for your grade. It is definitely not an easy course, but she is accessible and wants you to do well if you work hard
Some people (perhaps including the chemistry department) don't seem to realize that Claudia doesn't actually have any degrees in chemistry. As a result, she seems to feel the need to convince students she knows what she's doing, so she grades far too harshly. She fancies her class difficult, and intentionally comes across as rude in class and out.
Novack is probably salty that she didn't make it to medical school, so she tries to make Chem as difficult as possible to weed out any students that actually hope to be successful in science. Like a lot of the other reviews have said, she makes it a point to come across as abrasive and rude, and doesn't really seem to be interested in teaching.
Although good at lectures and a wonderfully nice woman, Dr Novak makes this course impossibly hard on purpose, as she has even said before in lecture the previous Gen Chem teacher was too easy. A challenging class and teacher but once you get a good grade you know you've earned it (if you ever get one!).
A perfect example of how to poorly integrate new students to college. General chemistry (a class that most STEM majors will probably take) is unnecessarily difficult for an entry level class. The tests are insanely difficult even with hours of study time and students are expected to conform to Dr. Novack's inconvenient schedule.
My friends in organic chem have said that that class is easier than Chem 11 which really says a lot. Dr. Novack seems nice sometimes but everyone is terrified of her because she judges of students who don't understand or who are having trouble keeping up. Recitations/SI focus on worked examples and are useless if you struggle with the fundamentals.
Difficult class and material, fast paced, no breaks, sometimes uncaring for students during class but seems to be available to meet occasionally.
This is the "Welcome to Brandeis, prepare to grind" class. She will not hold back at all. Whatever you think that you need to do, double it.
Just awful. All I have to say. The worst teacher I've ever had. Truly unkind.
Took this class with AP chem under my belt and some self-study so for me the level of difficulty was not so ridiculou, but Novak was. She had to correct me when I called her a professor and not a "doctor". Later learned she holds no chemistry degrees and has her doctorate in Slavic Languages. She is super not kind and not helpful, a bad teacher.
Has a serious ego problem, from the looks of it. Is condescending in office hours and rude to students in class. Has very clear favorites, which tend to be the students who already took AP Chem and who learn best from the textbook. If you don't like to feed her ego and can't learn from reading an entire textbook, then you're in for a rough ride.
Dr. Novack is an excellent teacher because she pushes you to work hard and earn your grades. She knows what she's doing and while the course is tough and a lot of work, it's worth it for the chemistry and work ethic you pick up.
Tough
she hard as hell. like really hard. you gotta read and do hella practice or just fall behind and have no chance to catch up. There is no break. Her exams are extremely difficult, but she is a generous grader and and even more generous extra credit giver, but she doesn't give free points. You gotta prove you know the material. Prepare to work hard
As someone who did not like chemistry at all, Dr Novack's chemistry class really broke down the concepts in a way that I understood. In terms of assessments, if you prepare and do all the practice assignments & tests, you should be fine. Pro-tip: don't wait till you're struggling/falling before you go for office hours. Also, ask questions :).
Don't go into this class with the attitude that it will be the worst class of your life. It is hard, but not impossible. Take advantage of every resource she gives you, and attend her office hours whenever possible. Forming a relationship with her early on will work out in your favor. Although attendance isn't mandatory, do NOT habitually skip.
Some students think that the reason their peers do badly is because they skip class, which is something Dr. Novack likes to tell the people who come to her office hours. The fact is that office hours attendance "matters" speaks to who she is as a person, and how prevalent favoritism is in her class. Has serious attitude problems, but doesn't care.
If you want to do well in this class, or succeed in future science courses at Brandeis, you absolutely must get yourself into Novack's good graces. Do whatever it takes—pretend to like chemistry, fawn over slavic linguistics, laugh at her jokes that target struggling students. Once she sees her old self in you, you will succeed.
The best professors are those who have a passion for the subject they teach, have genuine experience in the field, and care about their students. Novack has none of these, only her own self-hatred and familial issues that she projects onto the students whose futures she attempts to gatekeep.
.
did not support students, you can tell she had insensitive favoritism and did nothing but complain all year. Made my get chem experience a living hell on earth.
lectured were hard to understand as the year progressed. Practice questions were difficult to complete at times, and even with the help of other students, I found this to be by far one of the worst general chem courses ever taken. If you are taking this class, it will not set you well efficiently for organic chemistry for the next academic year.
Prof Novak is a deeply unpleasant person. She seems to think that students who are struggling are just lazy, and is entirely unwilling to consider the possibility that chemistry is just hard for some people. Her class does have a very generous curve so numerically you should be fine, but be prepared to have a truly horrible time in this class.
This is the single hardest professor I have had at Brandeis. She is someone who you need to get to know and establish rapport so that when you are struggling she knows you and can help guide you. I would say that's the biggest thing. But for the first class of college, I would say it is a very big awakening to what college is like.
don't even waste your time. take this class somewhere else.
worst professor at brandeis. avoid at all costs.
The class is very hard (at least for me); as soon as you slip, its very hard to catch up bec she never stops for anyone. I did not want it to come to this but I got to a point where I did not have enough time to raise my grade and dropped. It pushed my premed path a year back & now need to do summer classes to stay on track. You're in for a ride.
She is mean and does not teach. She makes students feel stupid for asking questions.
This class is brutal. I would say 95% of my first semester was taken up by studying for this class. While I did receive an A- it was an absolutely brutal experience with many mental breakdowns a week.
Huge pain. Inconsiderate and uncaring. Might know her stuff but has no chemistry degree or actual teaching experience beyond this one class and it shows.
Insanely difficult. Yeah the content is difficult by nature but her personality is more difficult than the chemistry tbh. Definitely not a people person and needs to gain a passion for teaching and learn to stop playing favorites with the SI leaders
Unlike other professors she very clearly ignores all student feedback during the class and in course evaluations. Her "teaching methods" are always inflexible and just based around the same library of comic sans slides and endless calculations. You don't learn science in this course, because all she teaches is math that happens to be used in chem.
"If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough." --Albert Einstein Enough said
She is literally the only professor that actually taught me something at Brandeis. She does genuinely care about her students even if she shows it through suggesting a huge amount of preparation for learning topics. Her tests are very difficult but she taught the material very well.
Yes, her material is tough but she really cares about her students and genuinely wants us to succeed.
Two glowing 5-star reviews both posted on the exact same day?? Seems pretty convenient. The fact that authentic reviews aren't good enough for Dr. Novack should speak for itself.
She completely ruined my love for Chemistry. Not only is her class impossibly difficult, she does not explain anything. Rule of thumb, don't take it.
Dr. Novak does an amazing job at teaching chemistry and cares about her students. The lectures and recitations are engaging and clear. You need to put in time and effort to do well in the class, but you will feel like you learned a lot in the end. If you do all the suggested problems and show up to lectures and recitations, you can easily do well.
She's pretty good at explaining Chemistry but she is pretty mean. I did ok in the class and was still met with her coldness and guilt-tripping. Studying infringed on all of my time outside class despite having done well on the AP Chemistry test. The one time I went to her office hours, I was spooked away for the rest of the year.
Tainting the school & teaching community. Doesn't even have a chemistry degree/background experience. "My background is in the humanities--my PhD is in Slavic linguistics from Brown--but I would say that teaching is teaching." No, do not simplify teaching, effective teaching is complex and takes lots of skill that she clearly does not have.
She was my nightmare for the whole year.
Started this class with effectively no previous chem knowledge and was able to do rlly well by utilizing SI and recitation. RPC are very generous and can change your exam grade by basically an entire letter grade.
GOOD RIDDANCE
Dr. Novak ruined my zest for learning & love of Chemistry. Pre/Post lab reports were busy-work and despite my university approved accommodations there was no leeway given. I dropped the 2nd semester of Chem, didn't return to the Uni the following year & changed my major. I'm happy for new incoming Brandeis STEM students that they are spared her.
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
57%
Textbook Required
50%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-1.23 avg changeRatings by Course
GENERALCHEM
5.0
(1)CHEM 11
5.0
(1)CHEM11A
2.9
(45)CHEM11
2.9
(25)CHEM11B
2.8
(19)Difficulty by Course
GENCHEM
5.0
CHEM11A
4.5
CHEM11
4.4
CHEM11B
4.1
GENERALCHEM
4.0