I highly recommend this professor and his courses. He will teach his ideas and opinions very carefully. In this course, he will divide a paper into several paragraphs, and then let students show their own understanding and the logic shown in the paper. The assignment is a small paper twice a week. You only need to write one page of this paper.

Lectures are easy to understand. And 45% of grading comes from R homework which is good (can ask for help and try ChatGPT :)) and bad (too heavy: each time about 300 lines of coding). Fair exams and give extra credit when needed (curve the exam reasonably). Caring and really accessible outside of class! Have great feedback for every HW.

Clear, concise lecturer that wants you to ask questions so you understand. Grade comes from R assignments, preclass quizzes before every lecture, 2 exams and a final. Exams aren't the easiest but are generally fair and based on quizzes and core concepts/problems went over in class. TAKE HIM FOR YOUR QUANTITATIVE REQUIREMENT BIO MAJORS!!

Eugene is an amazing prof! Cares a lot for his students and is very welcoming of questions. I had him for Biostats and ATB: Genetics and Genomics, and he was great for both. Take his classes!

I learned so much in this class, and Professor Plavskin really knows what he is talking about. Although it is a lot of info and R assignments take a long time and can get draining, there are drops and both Professor Plavskin and the TAs set aside a lot of time outside of class to help students, please take advantage of it. Do every practice problem

This course is hard. It is dense with material and the homework assignments take a long time. Dr. Plavskin is incredibly enthusiastic about his course and it shows in his teaching. His office hours were many hours long, and he stayed until the last student left. If you are willing to put in effort to learn difficult concepts, I highly recommend.

great professor, cares a lot about his students and breaks topics down very simply and clearly puts a lot of effort into content both in and out of class

Very caring and passionate professor with decently fair exams if you actually put forth an effort to study. I didn't take any previous AP science courses, and still succeeded. The online learning tool Codon is super helpful, and Plavskin utilizes it beneficially. Problem sets (homework) are harder than the actual exams and kinda unhelpful/useless.

One of the BEST professors in NYU. He's caring and very clear about what you should expect on exams. Just pay attention in class, study outside a bit, and utilize the resources he gives you and there's no way you'll get anything lower than a A- or B+.

Amazing professor! I never cared about science or bio before, but his class made me super interested in the subject and want to pursue it more!

Professor Plavskin is an AMAZING and WONDERFUL educator and I mean it! His lectures are very very interesting, very clear grading criteria. There are a few short assignments and a problem set (a little bit challenging) due each week. The class is very well organized and very well planned. He knows what he does. Amazing person!

Guy is hella chill these bad ratings aren't indicative of him. 50% of the grading is literally homework and easy assignments. The other 50% is exams and one is dropped. So long as you put the work in and listen to him(not cramming the week before the exam but actually doing codon over time) you're chilling

i personally think his usage of codon is really helpful and he's always been very accommodating and helpful when providing resources and guiding you towards the right answer. very nice guy in general and anyone who thinks he sucks just has a pea brain and i hope to god they never become a doctor

Great professor who cares about what hes teaching and it is obvious to tell he is passionate about it (which makes attending lecture nice). 50% of our grade is attendance, homework, and pre-class assignments, and the rest are 4 exams (lowest gets dropped).Only thing is that the exams are hard (questions aren't things we've seen before).

I have no clue why Prof. Plavskin's rating is low. He is AMAZING. He is very caring for his students and wants everyone to understand the material. He is incredibly passionate about biology, and will answer any question with no judgement. The exams are tough, but if you understand the material you can absolutely get an A.

Prof Plavskin is very caring and he really cares about making sure people understand the material. However, even if you understand the material the exams are very difficult. But he does drop a lot of assignments and one exam so it kind of balances out. You just have to put in a decent amount of work. Just do the Codon assignments and you'll be okay

Great professor who is obviously engaged with the material, interesting lectures and exams can be a bit tough but are pretty fair if you study enough.

Guys I fear we are losing the plot. This class (and the exams!) are objectively not difficult. Plavskin's lectures cover everything that he tests on, you just need to take a little bit of time to go over it and think logically. That's literally it. He's also very nice, clearly very knowledgeable, and is accessible to ask questions.

He definitely cares about the subject. Going to lectures is pretty essential, but sometimes he rambles about unnecessary information for the exam. However, I would say he is kind enough to post his recorded lectures if you miss any. His exams are hard, ngl. You should definitely study at least a week in advance if you want an A (for most people).

Best prof ever. Highly structured class with curated, paced pre-class assignments, problem sets, and practice questions. Not hard to succeed if you keep up with content and adapt your learning strategy. Genuinely cares about our scientific thinking, growth, and the bigger picture in addition to content. 10/10 would take a million times again.

As a professor, he is really passionate about what he does. The Codon pre-class readings, Study Path, Flash HWs, and Problem Sets are all super helpful. The exams are pretty difficult, but I do think it's essential because they get you to think rather than memorize. Some of the questions can be super nitpicky, but the tests are totally doable.

exams were hardish, but similar to tutorials/problemsets, so manageable if you study! anyhow, i do not tolerate plavskin slander! he's a great professor, super passionate, and his way of teaching is super compelling and makes you properly think rather than just memorize. if you're pre-med and complaining about him, reevaluate your career options...

Tests aren't too bad as the other reviews say. Just solve problem sets and watch lecture notes and you should be fine. Very passionate and generous professor, often gives dropped assignments and bonus points.

Guys we are so creative here 🤣. Prof. Plavskin is definitely one of the best during my four years of college life. The syllabus is cleverly weighted, so just completing all the homework and get medium in exams can guarantee you a A-!

He's a very enthusiastic professor-- most people here complain about the exams, but the exams are pretty standard as far as college-level exams go (and his test prep problems are really similar to the exam). He gives many assignments outside of the exams that boost your grade, so you can get a good grade if you do the bare minimum.

People should not be complaining this much. Prof Plavskin grading criteria was really clear and his exam were easy as long as you watched the lectures.

This class was far more difficult than I expected, and I'm unsure how someone with limited biology experience can excel in this course. However, Professor Plavskin is incredibly caring, understanding, and passionate, and he was a great professor. His exams are not easy, and the course feels unnecessarily difficult for an intro to bio class.

Was WAY harder than I expected it to be, but with enough practice (like a lot) you should do fine in this course. The professor cares about his students, but tests tend to be harder than what's offered as practice. (I also have no past bio experience so I'm not biassed and it IS possible to excel in this course without prior knowledge)

He seems intimidating but is really caring and passionate. Fought for my life on exams but he gives plenty of resources to study, has office hours twice a week, and pretty fair in terms of grade impact. People have cheated on exams so it's understandable why he is strict for them. Never taken AP bio but passed--he's strict, but fair. Kind too!

He has so many drops which make it easier for students to get a good grade!

POB1 is harder than the average intro class.. but an A is NOT impossible. He drops a lot of grades, gives points back when there's confusing questions on the exam, he's accessible via virtual and in-person student hours, he records and uploads lectures, his accommodation policies are clear-cut, etc etc. it's a VERY structured class!!

I had no bio background and I could've earned an A if I locked in. the exams are hard. possible to get an A if you really try. Very content heavy but not a huge workload. He's a good professor. if a questions on an exam, a very similar question came up in class/tutorial/codon/problem set. No surprises. drops tons of hw + 1 exam. POB 2 next!

Took in 2023. Definitely a challenging course, but looking back, definitely a good course. Keep up with the homework, show up prepared, and ask questions. He gladly made time to explain things to me over and over. Make the most of this course, because it prepares you well for research and advanced Biology.

I loved Professor Plavskin! He is good at teaching and gives students so much wiggle room since so many assignments get dropped. Yes, the tests are hard, and questions can be super niche, but it is NOT impossible. I haven't taken a bio class since my freshman year of high school, and I did well in the class.

He is passionate, caring, and genuinely wants you to succeed. You will learn a lot of fascinating information about biology and will come out knowing a LOT more about the material. With that being said, his exams are challenging and I believe they are harder than what is expected in an intro level course. Be prepared to study and put in effort.

Wonderful professor! Very kind and very responsive with emails. He is very passionate about his work, and he's very supportive and accommodating. The tests are pretty hard, but he provides lots of opportunities to do better and to improve. Thank you, Professor Plavskin!

Attendance polls sucked, took away time from actually learning new material. His exams are mazes of word problems, but if you have strong reading skills you can get by without knowing too much bio lol. Nice that he recognized confusing problems and gave back points, responds quickly and actually listens to your concerns. Not an easy A by any means.

He's a very kind person who puts a lot of effort into the course. There's a heavy workload through Codon, including pre-class assignments, weekly study path questions, and problem sets. While time-consuming, these can help boost your grade since exams are tough and reading-heavy. Attendance is required due to in-class and recitation polls.

I didn't have any prior bio knowledge and still did well. Make sure you actually understand what is happening in assignments (especially problem sets) because this class is way more than just memorization, and exam questions require deep thinking. As for lectures, I thought they were really interesting and I learned a lot from this class!

I didn't do good cause I procrastinated but you can just tell that the prof really cares about his students and their learning. Exam was fair and there are many components to grading that each exam isn't worth too much. The course itself was harder than I thought although I took AP bio cause exam questions are not too straightforward

Very nice teacher who has great lectures. The exams are hard and require a lot of time and engagement with the material (and even then they're still difficult)

The course is formatted in a way that is very easy to understand how to get the grade you wish to achieve. The course is pretty content heavy but manageable if you stay on track with the lessons and lectures. Try to miss out on as a little of the given points such as attendance as possible. Overall, very nice guy and knows Biology well.

Very good professor, super passionate about Biology. I took AP Bio in high school, so this class was less challenging for me. However, I did have to relearn certain things, as Plavskin dives much deeper into the topics than your typical high school bio teacher. He is also extremely fast paced, so make sure you keep up.

I had no prior bio experience but still did well because he drops the lowest few homeworks and lowest exam grade. He gives a decent amount of homework and the wording on the exams are confusing so you do have to work for it, but he cares about his students and cares about bio so he will help you (he won't round your grade tho, even if its 0.01 off)

Professor cares about students' learning- not your easiest A but definitely possible if you put in the work. Exams are difficult but lectures are great and super helpful in learning the content.

Professor Plavskin has clear guidelines outlined in the syllabus. There are a lot of assignments, but most of them are easy As if they are completed. He is very lenient with dropping assignments. Try and do well on the first three exams to avoid taking the final. He is open to listening to students and adjusting the course as requested.