2.8
Quality4.0
Difficulty61%
Would Retake114
Reviews61%
Would Retake
114
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
114 total ratings5
25
4
18
3
19
2
24
1
28
What Students Say
“Advise: study early, and a lot”
CHEM213 - 1.0 rating“There is a TON of material and most of it is difficult”
CHEM213 - 1.0 ratingClass Info
Attendance Mandatory
60%
Textbook Required
56%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Stable
+0.01 avg changeRatings by Course
CHEM413
5.0
(1)CHEM333
5.0
(1)CHEM313413
5.0
(2)CHEM235
5.0
(2)213
4.5
(2)Difficulty by Course
213
5.0
CHEM569
5.0
CHEM313
4.8
CHEM313413
4.5
CHEM233
4.3
Reviews (113)
high energy prof, very interestiing, known to give marathon final exams
Difficult tests that make you think--something that really separates those who deserve an A (not me) from those who really should get a high B (me). Explains things well. Very friendly.
Decided to teach 'favorite' part of course in three lectures. Assigns reading during examination period! Real great!
A very smart prof, but goes very fast and hard to keep up; gave long and impossible midterm but ended up scaling; gave overwhelming amount of new materials in the last couple of lectures :(
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Really nice professor no doubt, but his classes are not for average common minds. His midterms are fair but his finals make you want to cry and pull your hair out. I recommend Chem geniuses to take his classes, but average people can take his class to actually learn useful chem knowledge.
Dr. Perrin is still my favorite prof after years. I took more Organic Chem courses than I needed to JUST b/c he is such a great teacher. I HIGHLY reccommend it. Not easy, but very cool.
If you are not a genius, don't take his class... this guy is evilly smart.... and he expects everyone to be smart...
not a good prof for a first yr course. taught concepts not in the syllabus. and if you like structured notes, dont take his class. he occasionally draws a diagram on the chalkboard but that's it.
2008 and still uses the chalkboard in the giant lecture hall. he draws random diagrams without labelling them, so you'd get confused sometimes. BUT he is so good at teaching how to picture the mlcls in your mind w/o model sets!
Really quite intelligent. To do well in his lecture you MUST preread, even if you think you understand the material. Not exactly the greatest 200 level prof... but would be great if your a 3rd/4th yr o-chem major.
Ranted about stuff that was not even in the course and then didn't have time to finish the core material at the end of term. The last class was a whir of slides going by with no explanation whatsoever.
Totally clear, very high energy, amazingly intelligent - you need to definitely attend his class every day in order not to fall behind, made the class interesting with real world examples. Extremely engaging in officer hours.
His teaching style may have worked for other students, but NOT for me. He used very confusing chemical names and concepts when explaining things. He did not spark my interest in classes and didn't draw many pictures of molecules (I am a visual learner). I do not recommend this prof.
arrogant, poor pacing of material
I believe that he is a very intelligent prof and a nice person, but cannot teach organic chemistry very well. Some of the concepts were hard to understand without the visuals that were missing from his lecture notes.
Entertaining, clear lecturer. Extremely difficult topic -- organic chem!-- so stay on top of your readings. Perrin's super approachable and helpful in office hours.
pay attention, work hard, great proff
Very entertaining, as he will attest. Notes could have been more organized, but thats his way of forcing students to go to class. His pacing could be improved, our section was behind all the way. Didn't buy a textbook and didn't feel that it was necessary, the tests were very fair and covered the learning outcomes exactly.
five hours of office hours? wow! organic chem isn't hard, and its my least favorite class, and this prof is hilarious. lots of complaints on the discussion board. do you think your whining is a good idea? non merci!
EXTREMELY helpful prof. Held 5 hours of office hours each week, and he was definately willing to help students succeed. Most of the students that complained were students who didn't take the innitiative to ask for help. Organic is really not my strength, and I couldn't have done well without his help and encouragement!
Excellent prof! Don't understand why he gets hated on, he describes the concepts clearly and is extremely amusing. Ignoring the labour-intensive nature of the class, I found org chem to be one of the most enjoyable classes at UBC.
Course is very challenging and you will need to be quite familiar with the material. The course itself is actually quite interesting and Dr. Perrin makes himself readily available throughout the week if needed. The best advice for this course is to do practice problems regularly.
Though at first I found Dr. Perrin a somewhat imposing presence, I eventually learned to appreciate him as one would a fine, complex wine. It's not easy, he expects you to know your stuff, but that'll make you a better student. He clearly cares and is quite helpful. Read ahead and keep up with the bloody problem sets (DO IT!!), and you'll do fine.
Even though organic chemistry can sometimes be boring, Dr. Perrin makes even the most mundane subject interesting. He is available through out the term to help students at his office hours and is very patient with every student. Take this organic chemistry course because it is definitely a GPA booster in terms of organic chemistry.
He is the epitome of a good professor who truly cares about his students. He is great eye candy and extremely helpful at office hours, and makes ochem interesting! Try to get him if you can because he makes ochem very enjoyable and truly inspired me pursue ochem as a career. Such charismatic prof!
Dr. Perrin is the best organic chemistry professor I've ever had! His online and lecture notes are very clear and textbook use is almost optional since the tests are mostly based on his own notes. If you attend every lecture you will easily do well in this class. If you need additional help, his office hours are perfect since he is very patient.
Worst prof ever. I don't know what the others are talking about here. His lectures were unorganized and useless -- we had a substitute for a couple days and it was a relief. Oh, and he posted students' midterms (not mine) on the overhead in front of the whole class to ridicule them. We call him "The Weasel". I will not take one of his classes again
Well, well, Dr. Perrin. This was class was terrible, the professor was cruel and maniacal, but alas, I did better in organic than I ever did before. This man gives difficult tests, but they're rather straight forward. Work hard and use the textbook - he lifts his questions straight out of it. Also, NMR.
Brutal! He came to lectures unprepared and at times read directly from the text or his posted notes. At the end of the semester he had 4 days to get through 4 chapters, and yes material from those chapters was on the final exam. He is arrogant and unhelpful in office hours. I would never take one of his classes again!
Overall is just a terrible prof. He is simply unable to explaim things clearly. In fact he makes thing more confusing. I studied, did questions, understood everything and then I go to his letures and leave more confused then ever. Seeing that this course is mandatory for some majors you should use your textbook wisely and think simple.O-chem is Fun
WORST chemistry teacher EVER. Do not take his class and avoid him at all costs. Lectures are very confusing, he doesn't explain things clearly and expect all of us to be geniuses in the first place, we are NOT. Jumps here and there on materials and the worst thing-SUPER HARD to follow him in lecture as he goes everywhere.
He jumps around from topic to topic during lectures, but this is usually because of the questions the students ask. He is extremely enthusiastic, helpful and encourages attending his office hours. If you read his lecture notes before attending the lectures and do the assigned problems, you shouldn't have too much to worry about.
He has a huge interest in what he teaches and is very passionate. But he lacks a connect with students and thinks they all understand his explanations. Unfortunately, he's the only prof for chem 213 and he's unavoidable. Exams are stupidly difficult compared to textbook questions. His love for NMR is..unexplainable. I got a tutor to help me.
He really tries to be a good professor but something just isn't right, especially seeing as his exams had failing averages. I love organic chemistry and usually do well, but his teaching style didn't work for me. That being said he will always try to help if you go to him.
He was very passionate about o-chem however he was a terrible teacher. His notes were all over the place and test did not reflect the information taught. He did scale logarithmically. Would not recommend him if you cannot learn the material by yourself.
Although Dr. Perrin tried really hard, his notes were very confusing and lectures were incredibly hard to follow. He was always available to help in office hours, but I would recommend teaching yourself prior to attending lectures.
I totally loved his course! He is very informative and his notes are good. I'm not a biochem major and came to this class from CHEM 233, but I don't find him hard to understand at all - his tests are pretty fair I think. You do have to have good study habits as there is no mandatory homework. Anyhow CHEM 213 is one of my favorite courses in UBC :)
He gives incorrect explanations and wrong answers to simple questions, spends 45mins on in class quizzes, and ends up not having enough time to cover all the topics in the midterm. If you have him for chem 233, good luck.
AVOID on all accounts, wastes your time, cannot explain, gives you wrong answers, had to go to another section in order to understand and organic chem is hard enough on its own, having a terrible prof doesnt make it any better. you will regret taking his class
Use the textbook go to class and use your TAs. Ochem isnt that hard (if you spend time everyday; approach this class like a language course) and Perrin explains stuff easily (albeit a little too much) but you have to spend time.
Holy crap I have never experienced such a terrible prof! He speaks so fast and his lecture slides consist of font 3 text. If you get him you might as well not go to class because he leaves you more confused by the end of the class. EXTREMELY hard to follow.
Run like the wind. Do not take his class. Period.
He's a passionate prof, and he loves what he does. He tends to overestimate his students' ability to think in an exam and therefore gives out hard exams. Nonetheless, if you put in good effort and review and attend his office hours, you should achieve a decent grade.
Perrin's very passionate about what he teaches, and this is probably why he goes on tangents sometimes... I think he's actually a pretty great prof. If you put in the effort and attempt problems before asking about them, he's very willing to help you understand. Tough course, but I thought he was a good prof.
If you enjoyed 233 and did well except to be challenged. He excepts you to integrate a lot of chemical concepts, but it's manageable if you put a lot of effort understanding rather than memorizing. Was a fun class, but one of the hardest (in terms of material) I've had.
David Perrin is an awesome prof who cares about the students and wants them to do well. He encouraged me to pursue medical school when I visited his office, and I also found out he marked my final exam extremely easy. My first 100% at UBC! Great all around prof
Was very unclear in lectures, goes too fast. Does sometimes try to help but when he does it usually confuses students even more. Wouldn't recommend.
Oh my lord. He really should get an award for being the hardest, most unclear professor at UBC PERIOD. Things got so bad that by the end of year students started leaving in the middle of class. The final exam was SO HARD I left 8 of the 10 pages blank. The entire class was scaled up at least 20%. There is no way I passed this course without scaling
AVOID. He makes what is already a hard subject even more difficult. Even if you go to every lecture and do all his in-class problems and the recommended problems from the textbook, there is no guarantee you will do well in (or even pass) his exams - they're that hard. We had a substitute for two days and it was heaven. Prof Perrin is just awful.
The exams in this class are really hard, but he scales it in the end so it's (surprisingly) okay.
Very difficult exams. I got 90+ in all Chem 203 exams but here I was just trying to pass.. I was scared for my mark but the scaling made it okay, still never would've guessed me getting the mark I ended up with though. He tries as a prof but the practice questions were way easier than the exam questions.
Challenging. READ TEXT: in-class lectures can be confusing+rushed, textbook great for clarifying concepts. ATTEND CLASS; he will do In-Class problems which have rxnsmech not in the text but he WILL USE on exams. He has many office hourswilling to make appointment. Very willing to helpGO to OFFICE HOURS. Passionate abt chem but can be too fast.
Worse prof. 0 Lecutre slides, cant zoom in on projector so no one in the class would be ale to see the things he is writing. Spends his class telling people to stop using cellphone instead of teaching. Even made a girl move seats in the middle of lecture for no reason
Don't take if u wanna pass, final scaled up to 76% b/c midterm average was really low for most people
Be r eady to self learn if you're in his class, just finished the final yesterday and it was pretty hard since he's teaching style does not fit my learning style. He uses flipped classroom style so there isnt really any lecture slides or instructions to follow
Perrin doesnt review old materials, for those who might have forgot some of the old chem 123 material I suggest you find a different prof or review all the material before taking his class. He fully expects you to know it and teaches like you know it really well
Perrin seemed to embody the universal stereotype about professors not understanding that students have four (or even five) other courses to deal with, and therefore expected too much work from the students at home. He was clearly exceedingly knowledgeable, but was consistently incapable of relaying that knowledge to all of his students.
He is the hardest prof I ever met. His quiz if definitely harder than other prof. In Chen 233, we have different grading schemes but mostly are depending on quiz grades. his quiz most people wouldn't pass) is cutting off the path of 3-4 grading scheme and putting a lot of pressure on finals.
He knew what he was talking about but he wants to show everything he knows and in the end just confuses the students.. He also talks about irrelevant things and it's hard to stay on topic. His quizzes are exceptionally hard, I almost failed all of them but did really well on the midterms but it put a lot of stress on my final...
perrin made a reputably difficult course even more challenging than it needed to be. he spent way too much time in class answering (unnecessary) questions and rambling about irrelevant subjects. although knowledgeable about chemistry, he was not aware of how to effectively teach ochem. his sections had way lower avgs than the other profs.
just do not choose him if you still want to pass the course
I have never done this poorly in a UBC class before. The overall average for his section was 10-20% lower than Dake's. He answers ALL off-topic questions in and lacks clarity. I found him condescending when I went to office hours and he asked if I even attended lectures in a "how do you not know this" way. Quizzes were hard (class average 50%).
its a MIRACLE i passed his class. that being said, i hope to never do as poorly in a course again as i did in this class. at first, i didnt find perrin that bad considering we were reviewing 123 content. but this class picks up insanely fast. perrin was condescending and often made mistakes. try try try to get in a diff section if you wanna do well
he goes over the worksheets in class (as most teachers do) but he spends the first 45 mins of class on the 1st question, then rushes through the rest of the worksheet and sometimes doesn't even finish. his quizzes are exam type questions, and in the beginning of the term he'll decide if he wants them to be spontaneous or not. no help. can't teach
Arrogant and rude. Worst prof ever.
AVOID. i somehow managed to pass this course with 66% even though I failed both midterms (thanks to different marking rubrics). Had to teach myself everything because even though I attended every lecture he was absolutely useless at explaining concepts. Didn't even post post-lecture notes until final exams started. Rude and unhelpful.
Goes WAY too quick in class.. notes are very brief and hard to understand in class. Exams are hard and requires a lot of practice. :( Sometimes he does reactions not in the book which if you don't attend class, you won't know what it's about.
It's two days before final, we don't even have one sample final (he promised to give us two). He tried as a professor but his teaching style was just not working for us.
He just posted one practice final the day before the exam, and no answer key for it. Goes too fast in class, and I have heard "do you understand?" over five times from people who sit beside me. He explains stuff in a difficult way every time, so even though I go to class, I don't get anything and just reading the slides at home is better.
He is good prof but the course itself just has too many materials that need to be covered, and this makes him to rush all the time. A lot of time need to be spent outside the class or you can not pass.
Good guy but the not a very good professor at all. The content of the class is very difficult and seems unfair when compared to 233. Questions in the final were much harder than what was posted in class.
So this was actually the SECOND time I took CHEM213 because I failed it the first time, and for some reason Perrin was heaps better this year. I think it's because they removed all the stuff about IR/NMR/mass spec this year. The class is still tough though, but he seems friendlier and less of a jerk about things. Go to office hours, it helps.
Good prof, but the hard material seems to reflect on people's judgement on his character. He seems to care about the class and tries to encourage people to come to his office hours by appearing more down to earth and answering personal questions at the start of class. I like how he bans cellphones and talking during class!
Absolutely brutal class, I truly believe it will be a miracle if I pass. The final exam is worth a huge chunk of your grade (60-80%) and we weren't provided a sample final until about 2 days before the final (no answer key of course). There is a TON of material and most of it is difficult. Seriously, study hard for this class.
Perrin didn't do his job as an instructor for this insanely difficult course. He rushes through his lecture slides often without clarification over confusing concepts. What makes it worse are his exams, way too hard to be fair with how much information we are expected to know and the kind of lectures we get from him. Advise: study early, and a lot.
His exams are tough and have little tricks hidden so you have to know your reactions well. He does speed through lectures at times because there's just so much content, but office hours are incredibly helpful. Don't skip because he covers extra examinable content not found in the textbook!
I found Dr. Perrin to be THE best prof I've ever had at UBC. GO TO OFFICE HOURS; so much learning can be done there. ATTENDANCE IS KEY; some materials were given to use in lecture that were not covered in the book. EXAMS ARE FAIR; I recommend studying little by little everyday, the material is not that challenging that way. Not a good class to cram
He's actually a pretty good prof. I think people just give him heck because the material is difficult, and no one likes to do poorly. Read ahead before lecture and make sure to take notes on everything in class! If you're confused, go to office hours. He's really determined to help you if you ask
Do readings, all the problems you could possibly do! 213 is one of the hardest science undergrad courses, so make an effort. Dr. Perrin goes through in-class problems and topics not in the textbook during class (doesn't upload) so GO TO CLASS. He isn't very clear during lectures, but going to his office hours and the TA's tutorials helped BIG TIME.
The lectures are horribly taught and you can sit through an entire lecture and not get anything out of it except for one in like the five little extra reactions/details in the whole course not in notes. Lecture slide notes and TA's tutorial are the only helpful bits. teacher is super rude and full of himself. Gives little practice tests.
One of the worst first year profs I had. He was more concerned about talking about himself or making irrelevant jokes than actually teaching the content. Anytime, I asked questions in lecture, rather than answering it he would throw a bunch of big words at me and tell a 5 minute story that was completely unrelated to my question. Avoid having him.
Good prof! Teaches the topics well and emphasizes on the important questions/concepts that might come up in the final exam. Sometimes he goes a little fast on his explanations. He also has really useful "click-o-rama" questions in lecture (for marks though!)
Dr. Perrin is very knowledgeable about chemistry and all sorts of related topics. His lectures are amazing and extremely useful if you follow closely. He really helps familiarize new content by explaining each clicker/webcam problem in detail(and there are a lot of problems!) DON'T be intimidated by his rating! He is a GREAT prof.
Gives good lectures and taught the concepts pretty clearly. Hates fischer projections. He does lots of clicker questions and had a couple clicker quiz's, which were EXTREMELY HELPFUL for letting me know what to study and where I was at. DO THE ENTIRE OCHEM WORKBOOK ITS WORTH IT!
Overall, Perrin is very clear on what we need to know for the exams. He is easy to understand, answers questions in full detail, and office hours are very helpful. Very strict - loves rules e.g. no phones in class, and isopropyl always wins.
I find his lectures a little bit confusing, but if you follow up with practicing Ochem workbook questions; then you will be fine. The clicker questions were tricky, but the good source to see if you understand the material pretty well. For sure purchase the Ochem workbook and do all the questions.
Helped me get a 93% overall, almost 100% on the final. Perrin was amazing and so engaging in lecture. I'd come out of class feeling like "woah." May seem arrogant and strict, but he has a passion for ochem and teaches well if you pay attention. Lots of practice Q's. Sit closer to the front. GO TO ALL LECTURES. Bring multiple colors for notes.
I thoroughly enjoyed being in Dr. Perrin's section, although I generally do not care for chemistry. I would certainly recommend to read the respective sections before the lecture, as he expects students to have a solid knowledge of the lecture topics already. I found his "rules" really useful and it was clear what we were expected to know.
Honestly a decent guy for CHEM 123. Sometimes can get a little all over the place during lecture. His jokes are really lame but if you're like me you'll still enjoy them. Perrin gives out a ton of clicker questions that really help as long as you've kept up reasonably with the material.
Professor Perrin explains the organic chemistry portion of chemistry 123 in an understandable way but he goes through his lecture slides very very fast. I found that he does not really explain his clicker questions and just keeps going on to the next question.
He taught the organic chemistry part of CHEM123 for my section. His lectures were pretty unclear and disorganized. There was no natural progression in the topics and he seemed to jump around different things so it was very hard to follow.
do not recommend! i found his lectures very hard to follow and had to do most of my learning myself. also he freaks out if someone is on their phone which just disrupts the lecture and made me uncomfortable.
Hard to follow during lecture, i ended up just spending lecture time doing the workbook instead of listening as I didn't get anything out of his lectures and just went to get clicker marks. he uses very 'flowery' language and tends to say a lot without saying much of actual substance. avoid if possible
Despite the negative reviews, i actually found Dr. Perrin to be a pretty good prof. He's very strict on not having cellphones out in class, which I found to be really helpful. He does move very quickly through slides, so sit at the front and ask questions if you get lost. Dr. Perrin is definitely one of the most knowledgeable profs in his field.
Had him for the o-chem portion of class, and he was pretty bad. Goes through the lecture slides way too fast and actually teaches nothing from them, so you learn very little in class. Also goes off on you for as little as asking your peers a question, creates a super uncomfortable vibe in his class. Just attended lectures to get iClicker marks.
- DOES NOT GIVE TIME FOR CLICKER QUESTIONS (30sec every time, sometimes even 10sec) - okay at teaching, but sometimes doesn't teach in a way that will help students understand (he can't relate sometimes with the minds of students) - will understand course better if you find him out of class to learn - would recommend other profs over him
He's clearly very passionate about chemistry but unfortunately he's not the best professor. I honestly just ended up using Kayli Johnson's notes for final exam prep.
This dude sucks. DO NOT take any courses with him, please. He does not know how to teach.
Not sure why he has so many negative reviews, Dr. Perrin is great! He goes over detailed notes on the doc cam and teaches you his "rules" which are really helpful when doing practise problems! Definitely would recommend!
Unfortunately I had Dr Perrin amid COVID-19 so i didn't get too much time with him. But he's a great prof and really explains things well. Pay attention and go to every lecture and you'll be ok. CHEM 123 sucks in general but he does his best and if you do bad its not his fault - or necessarily yours - the material is tough.
Had him for the O-chem portion of CHEM123. His detailed notes during the in-person lectures were helpful. I personally liked his no phones during the lecture policy. Sucks to not have him till the end of the term due to COVID-19, but overall he was a decent prof.
Perrin's 213 lectures were a battle. Huge jump in difficulty from first term of second year, and expect to struggle. Make sure you do the open-ended review questions for each chapter and you should come out okay. Don't worry too much about the midterms as they get curved pretty generously and you can make up for it on the final.
Dr. Perrin packs a lot of content into each of his 213 lectures, you really need to be speed at taking notes to keep up with him during lectures. His midterms and final are mostly fair, but he does speed through the content at a breakneck pace. It is a significant jump in difficulty from CHEM 203, especially CHEM 233 to 213.
Chem 213 is very difficult, because there is a TON of content covered very quickly. However, I learned sooo much from Dr. Perrin's class and it made me way better at organic chem, preparing me well for 3rd year ochem classes. Also, the grades were scaled in the end so even though the exams were hard, the grading is fair.
CHEM213 was an uphill battle but Dr. Perrin was a good instructor. Lots of people give o chem profs bad reviews because the material is hard, but that isn't the prof's fault. I'm writing this review in retrospect while taking CHEM313, and can say that his organized lectures, friendliness, and humor are things that I miss now. Thanks Dr. Perrin!
He is very eccentric. That's all.
Perrin is a nice dude, however, he is a terrible prof. He over simplifies things. On top during lecture he just shows a chemical name for example LAH explained it a bit shows a mechanism but literally doesn't show any straight forward answer or how to go about solving for it. The bi-weekly quizzes are also terrible,just provide a weekly assignment?
Very caring and funny prof with lots of enthusiasm. The slides are very concise and he provides lots of extra practice. Bi-weekly quizzes are great to reinforce concepts from lectures without much pressure about marks. Exams are fair, and everything tested was taught. 10/10 would take again
One of the best profs I've had at UBC. This class is hard but is what you make of it. He encourages questions, was always very nice and approachable, and puts in the effort to make the course incredibly well run. Exams are not unpredictable but hard if you don't take the time to learn the material. Had a great semester :)
Dr. Perrin is an eccentric guy for sure. He teaches a hard course and personaly I think he does a pretty impressive job considering the amount of content that was covered. The extra points on the exams were useful and he does give a ton of office hours and review sections. All things said, it was torturing and lectures are content heavy.
Amazing prof, glad to have learned from one of the best. Very interactive and organized lectures and encouraged questions. It was clear he spent a lot of time and care teaching. Exams were fair, nothing unexpected. I would definitely recommend learning from him if you have the chance!
Dr. Perrin would be a great professor if he would stop making sexual jokes. This made the whole atmosphere bery uncomfortable and I stopped showing up due to this. He is very smart and passionate about his work but this joke thing just makes it all weird.
Class Info
Attendance Mandatory
60%
Textbook Required
56%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Stable
+0.01 avg changeRatings by Course
CHEM413
5.0
(1)CHEM333
5.0
(1)CHEM313413
5.0
(2)CHEM235
5.0
(2)213
4.5
(2)Difficulty by Course
213
5.0
CHEM569
5.0
CHEM313
4.8
CHEM313413
4.5
CHEM233
4.3