2.7
Quality3.7
Difficulty42%
Would Retake230
Reviews42%
Would Retake
230
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
230 total ratings5
41
4
30
3
56
2
64
1
39
What Students Say
“Cogan is a pretty good professor”
BIOCHEM4511 - 4.0 rating“Cogan is my favorite professor at OSU”
BIOCH4511 - 5.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
51%
Textbook Required
86%
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Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
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BIOL100
5.0
(1)CHEM511
5.0
(1)BIO1101
5.0
(2)BIO4798
5.0
(1)LAW406
5.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
BIOH115
5.0
BIO1101
4.5
1113
4.2
4511
4.2
BIOCH511
4.0
Reviews (229)
early in the quarter he was very clear and everything made sense. as time progressed it seemed like he gave less useful information. its' best to just study the quiz review like a fiend than to actually attend this lecture.
I don't know whether the lecture is too early or just boring but I always fall asleep. Quizzes every Friday seem easy when I take them but the class average has steadily been declining. All notes are online and a really nice quiz review once a week.
In the beginning of the quarter the course wasn't too bad, and I did well on the weekly friday quizzes. But later on, the class average for the quizzes started to drop. I would prefer non-multiple choice questions; the final exam is going to be hard.
posted notes online, which was nice. tried to make lecture interesting and tell jokes, with occasional success. quizzes every friday at 8:30 am were a pain, definitely required studying. final was alright. anoter prof would probably be easier for 101.
No Comments
Dr. Cogan was a pretty good teacher. Explained things well, made occasional jokes, and he answered questions correctly and to the point. Posted helpful notes online. I would recomend him to anyone.
He was our laboratory coordinator. He never had anything set up by the time lab started and didn't even bother posting the stuff that we were supposed to read before class online, so we had to waste 30 minutes of class listening to him explain it after he made us read it. He made bio lab a worthless 2 hours twice a week.
He is helpful but I felt like at times he didn't know his stuff. Class is very disorganized and exams were extremely hard.
Nice guy, but he is very boring. It is hard to stay awake in that class. His slides are really good and he gives helpful practice problems prior to exam. Study his slides and you should do fine.
He's a little dry... and his PowerPoints make lecture a little useless to attend. My best advice for this class is READ THE BOOK! And you know that little CD that comes with it? Use that too! I did and I aced this class.
His efforts to be funny did not go unappreciated. He is very easy going and just an all around great guy. His quizzes were straight forward even though the tests were a little trickier. He made the 8:30 am 5 days a week go a little easier
His exams are really hard as mentioned.
The class really isn't that hard. The questions asked on the quizzes are more specific than you'd expect but he gives review sheets... show up to class and stay somewhat awake (not as easy as it sounds) and read the review sheet and you were fine. I didn't buy the book... getting an A.
He was a super nice guy and great to help you when needed, considering the class size. The quizzes and tests were difficult, but there usually is quite a curve. Dr. Cogan is a great professor and I enjoyed getting to know him! Very funny, always said something in the mornings to make us laugh!:)
Professor is very nice but very jumpy on subject matters. The quizzes and final was very hard even with studying the review sheets.
Cogan was alright. He was pretty boring, but his midterm was pretty easy if you studied. He gives homework so that the midterm is worth less. The assignments aren't bad.
Cogan has the very best intentions. Unfortunately this wasn't exactly manifested through his somewhat mediocre teaching abilities. In his defense, there is a ton of information to cram in your head in only one quarter, so often times the subject material seemed scattered and incoherent. None the less, I would still recommend taking him.
I really tried to like Cogan because he seems like a nice guy. His exams, however, are completely vague, which seemed to be the general consensus among my class. If you study a lot and like to do well, take someone else!!When you don't know what test questions are asking, it doesn't matter how much you study. If only someone would have told me.
he sort of expects everyone had taken AP Bio unless how could he cover 10 chapters in 4 weeks?! His explanation on the subject matter is not clear either...
Dr. Cogan was very interested in the subject matter. He did a very good job of making the long lectures interesting and helpful. Some quiz questions were vague at times, but he usually tried to understand and make things fair in the end. Great guy, recommend him.
Avoid him! I did not like his teaching style (confusing examples...tried to incorporate pointless and unhelpful media sources.) Quiz questions are confusing and unclear and he only has one test:the final. I would have definitely taken this class with another professor. Plus, to top it off he makes inappropriate jokes to try to relate to students.
Only had him for half the quarter. Course is at a very fast pace. Exams were hard. Seems like a nice enough guy but did not like him as a professor.
The labs & article responses are easy points, but his quizzes and the final are difficult. The first few quizzes are pretty easy, then they just get ridiculous. His final is pretty hard too; he said to study the quiz reviews for it and that didn't even help. His lectures are very boring as well; luckily he posts the notes online & quiz reviews.
He posted thorough quiz reviews and lectures online. His quizzes and final exam were fair and presented in a way that encouraged the students to think about the subject matter. He was very easy going and likable. His lectures were organized and presented using various methods such as PowerPoint, films and etc. I would definitely recommend him.
Lectures should be focused on important topics and less time wasted. Students are more likely to be apt to come to lectures if material covered was not prefaced with "this won't be on the test; don't worry about writing this down." He goes way too fast!
Took his class in fall 08' and thought that his lectures were a waste of time. Just MEMORIZE his lecture notes, because there were often minute details that were on his tests from the notes, also don't bother with the textbook, you won't need it.
He is good guy but he doesnt give enough study guides, his exams are tricky and hard. he gives previous exams for study guide but they dont help. i wish he could give study guide. other than that he is a good guy.
Took his class AU 08. He was an ok guy. He did provide quiz reviews/lecture notes and was a helpful when we had questions. His quizzes were somewhat difficult, but he allowed his students to challenge their grades. Would recommend.
Cogan is a good teacher, and the notes are all online so you should bring them to class so you have a chance at actually following along. We did not get through the syllabus so it seems he has started to get better about going slower. It was still a REALLY difficult class, especially for a GEC so take 101 if you can.
Hard exams. Tests you on the most obscure things from powerpoint pictures that you dont pay much attention to. Concepts are fairly easy but the concepts aren't what is tested.
He tended to blab a lot and tested on random things on Midterms and finals. For taking AP Bio in high school, I only came out of this class with a B- after attending class and studying. Just make sure you study every single random thing. Not a bad guy though.
The worst professor I have ever had in my entire life. Doesn't understand basic chemistry. Doesn't teach. Doesn't come to lecture, review sessions,final exams on time. Doesn't answer emails. Makes you memorize everything you have to learn to the atom. Does absolutely nothing you want in a professor.
He is very boring, unorganized and hard to follow in lecture.
I would definitely NOT recommend this teacher. The class is completely unorganized, lecture material is unrelated to labs, and the material is grazed-over. DO NOT buy the book. You won't learn anything, but you will get a decent grade. Requires blog writing and quizzes outside of class.
I signed up for biology, not chemistry. I dont really care if hes a biochemistry major, thats not what I signed up for. The lecture material has nothing to do with labs or quizzes. You don't use the book at all so do not buy it.
Worst professor I think I've ever had, he is extremely unorganized and all over the place. The material was way to indepth for a 100 level course. He tended to forget that he was teaching Bio and very frequently focused more on Chem. Did give extra credit which greatly helped my grade but do not recommend him for this class.
He seems like a nice guy but I had difficulty with this class - many concepts were rushed or briefly touched upon and I didn't feel as though I learned much of anything by the end. I ended up with a decent A but I don't feel as though I did much to deserve it (a lot of points came from lab work which at best was loosely related to the lectures).
Doesn't teach to an equivalent of 101 level. teaches like a 400 level. Very confusing. Took forever to get an e-mail response for help. Lectures are incredibly boring, and the information is all imperative to know for the only test given (final only) online quizzes (get two attempts)
Worst professor ever. Quizzes do not correspond with the lectures. Labs are ridiculously easy and simple, like a bio 101 class should be, and the lectures are incomprehensible. Unorganized and never has planned what he's going to talk about in class. NO NO NO.
This class is a 101 class taught by a biochemist. He cannot teach the material and maybe that is not his fault since he has taken many biology classes to get where he is. BUT this professor is terrible, his lectures are impossible and quizzes are irrelevant to current material. DO NOT use this professor if you have to take this class.
This teacher is awful. Listen to all the comments on this site because it's true. The teacher acts like its a 400 level class and his quizzes are rediculous. Don't take this teacher under any circumstances.
Not that this class was too hard, it was just all over the place. It seems like he taught more chemistry than biology. The average on the final was a C-. I feel like he should have taught the class like an introductory biology, and he didn't.
I basically agree with everyone else. His lectures are virtually incomprehensible, the labs are completely unrelated to lectures, and his grading system is ridiculous. There's only a final exam, which will most likely end up killing your grade since it's so hard and he doesn't tell you what to study. Nice guy, but terrible professor.
this is the worst professor i have ever had. he does NOT stay on track. he spent 3 lectures on photosynthesis, yet barely anything on that was on the final. he focuses on MINOR POINTLESS details. quizzes don't match up with what was taught. class avg for final was 71% in a BIO 101 CLASS. worst teacher at ohio state, NEVER EVER take him. ever.
Lecture and lab are completely unrelated, it's like taking 2 classes. So unorganized! I spent hours outside of class every week trying to organize my notes to no avail. While I admire his passion for biochem, it makes for less of the basic bio you signed up for and lots of completely unnecessary information.. his 101 class is NOT a 101 class.
don't waste your money on the book. the lectures are very boring and the labs are stupid but if you go to lecture to get the participation points and you get good grades on your labs and quizzes, it will be easy to get an a in the class. its easy to get a good grade in this class if you put some time in, but you won't learn anything
Simple, don't take this class with him as a teacher. He teaches far beyond the requirements of the class, and quizzes are completely different from his lectures. Lab is really easy, but even if you do well in lab it won't help your grade that much. Again, don't take this teacher. FIND A DIFFERENT TEACHER!
Everyone tends to get an A in the class. But he isn't a very good teacher. His lectures are too in depth for a 101 course, but not in depth enough for his quizzes. You don't have to buy the textbook, but you have to buy a clicker.
SIGN UP FOR ANOTHER TEACHER!! His lecture is way too in depth for a biology 101 class and the lab and lectures are so unrelated that it is hard to grasp any concepts. Also, you only have online quizzes that you get to use your notes, but the notes from in class barely help you on his quizzes, because there is so much in depth stuff!
This was a horrible class! Sign up for another prof! Going to classes is useless and so extremly boring, and the labs consist of things that three year olds would be better off doing. Cogan makes Bio 101 so much more difficult that it needs to be.
I do not think Dr. Cogan as described by others. He is fine professor, lectures jus fine as well. First of all he does not require to buy a book, since he posts all notes online and he created an online book. Second labs are interesting and TA a way better than those in Chemistry.
Someone wrote that Dr. Cogan does not teach new material....well this is not a research class. He teaches facts and how life on Earth emerged, I do not know what people need more. Anyway I should say that he is not the worse professor. The only disturbing thing is that there is one cumilative exam and bunch of quizzes on Cramen that are challenging
this guy is sooooo boring. did not pay attention in lecture b/c its impossible. labs are so stupid. supposed to be bio 101 but more like bio 114 way too hard for an introductory class
His lectures were incredibly boring and he makes sure you attend class by having clicker questions throughout class. The quizzes are hard at times, but you get a couple tries. If you need him for a GEC, it isn't that bad. Just do the work and pay attention.
This guy is the most monotone person alive. He is so boring. Impossible to stay awake in his class. His test are impossible because he gives you concepts you never have seen before. His "Study" guides are useless. He basically takes his notes and copies everything down and tells you that everything will be on the test, you study you a$$ off. LAZY
Extremely boring. Hard quizzes
He is a really nice guy who looks like Alan from the Hangover, but his lectures are hard to follow. But labs are easy and he tells really dry jokes and he is really nervous in front of the class.
Biology is a subject that really can't be taught in an exciting sort of way, unless you are a Scientist yourself. Since I major elsewhere, this course is somewhat boring yet required. A majority of the class likes him, since he's an all around nice guy. He cares and will take time for his students. Pay attention in class, and you'll do well.
Dr. Cogan is a nice guy and is extremely helpful at office hours because he knows you care. The only thing is, he kind of makes the material more complicated than it needs to be at lectures.
Cog is a nice guy, and you can tell he means well. He bounces around in his lectures and it's hard to tell what's going on. 5 quizzes in the quarter, some are harder than others. Labs are easy. You have to come to class to get 40 clicker points. opportunities for extra credit points. no midterm.
I do NOT understand why he doesn't respond to e-mails. His exams are extremely hard. He doesn't do a good job explaining the material. I would NOT recommend to anybody...
The class is harder then the rating i gave it if you are actually looking for an A, you will not get it in his class. But you can get by if you do well on the labs which are simple and the online quizzes follow directly from the power point lectures. Also participation is required in the sense that you can answer questions in class to earn points.
Dr Cogan is a good teacher who tries hard to get his class to understand the material, but the lectures are often unclear and hard to pay attention to. He offers 20 extra points which can bring up any grade, and the labs and final are farely easy. The online quizzes can be difficult, but as long as you stay on top of the class its is not too hard.
Dr. Cogan is a nice guy but a boring professor. Its VERY EASY to get an A in this class: take it. You don't need to buy the textbook, the labs are very easy, there is no midterm, there are tons of participation points and lots of extra credit opportunities, and the 5 quizzes are online and can be taken twice. I did nothing all quarter and got an A.
He was a really nice guy. But his lectures topics were confusing and did not flow very well. Because of that, his tests were hard to figure out.
Easiest science class I've taken. The labs are easy. The quizzes can be difficult but online with two tries each. No midterm. BUT. Lectures are incredibly boring and don't flow too well or match the labs very well. But there is TONS of extra credit and go over quizzes and practice final for the final and you'll be fine.
Dr. Cogan is not a very enthusiastic teacher and does not enjoy communicating with students over email even for simple questions. For both midterms he taught half a chapter of material the day before the midterm (which was then covered on the midterm). Good news though his quizes are online. I would highly recommend not take Cogan for any class.
Lectures were somewhat boring and didn't flow that well. However, his class was easy and his quizzes were online with multiple attempts. The labs were also fairly easy. He also had questions at random points in the class that you had to answer with an electronic clicker. If you answered 100 or so over the course of the quarter you got full points.
Absolutely one of the worst professors I've ever had. His lectures are poorly structured and its hard to follow along with anything he does. He has 0 enthusiasm when talking. He draws with a permanent marker on white paper and you can't tell what the hell he's doing because nothing is labeled. Exams are know everything or get rocked. AVOID HIM.
One of the most confusing classes I have taken including OChem. Dr. Cogan flies through the material and expects you to remember everything. Literally the review sheets are everything you covered. Plus I never felt like I was taking Intro to Biochem. It felt more like a grad school class.
Not organized. Lectures boring, confusing, hard to follow. Never know whats gona be on the test because the study guides tell you to memorize every line of the notes and textbook. Extremely frustrating. Avoid this professor.
Dr. Cogan is a very confusing Bio lecturer. He jumps around a lot and barely talks about the subject at hand, and when he does, it rarely makes sense. It makes paying attention difficult which in turn makes the online quizzes difficult. The easy part is the labs which are with your TA and I actually understood it when my TA taught.
WORST professor I've ever had. Doesn't cover material well, jumps from topic to topic, puts stuff you've never seen on exams, boring and rude. DO NOT take Dr. Cogan for biochem. AVOID AT ALL COSTS.
Dr. Cogan is a terrible professor. His lectures are impossible to follow, his slides are useless, and he is incredibly boring. All quizzes are online so they are not too difficult, but when you don't understand anything during lecture even an online quiz becomes frustrating. You would do well to avoid him!
Avoid Cogan at all costs. Learned absolutely nothing.
His guided notes are hard to follow, and his lectures are boring. He never emails his students back -- don't even bother. He doesn't seem extremely excited about teaching. I find his exam problems very hard to reason through.
AU09 - Looking back, I think we was a pretty decent professor. It's difficult to get 100% on the quizzes even with 2 attempts. I had no midterms, just a final, that I got an A on. Make sure you write down what he SAYS instead of the PPT! If you complain to your lab TA enough, they will probably say something to him,mine did, and helped us out a lot
I wouldn't advise the guy but he's not quite so terrible as some people on here are saying. If you can, choose some other section but I wouldn't put off taking the class just because you have him. Problems are often oddly worded and difficult to follow, not due to content but rather phrasing.
I'm a senior, I've seen it all. This guy is pretty terrible. His lectures are scatterbrained, his TA's are incomprehensible, and his quiz's are very difficult. Also, he teachers "clicker" classes (if you don't know what that is, Google it, you wont like it). Hes nice, but i recommend you avoid at all costs.
The guy is very well spoken and knows his stuff but very scatter brained and the lectures are very boring. Must listen to what he says because a lot of it shows up on tests instead of what is on his long presentations.
Dr. Cogan was hard but i learned so much just by paying attention to the lectures. I personally recommend him for bio. He is a little monotone but he knows his material well and is very clear on the material.
I was a TA for one of his lab sections. Easy to work with. Has tough exam questions, but compensates with extra credit. Creative teacher... brought his dog to class one day to talk about evolution. Be prepared to read a weekly article and do a blog response. Uses clickers during class almost every time. I wish I had him when I took Bio101!
Dr. Cogan wasn't as bad as I had heard. His lectures were kind of dry, and I missed a lot of them, but between the thorough notes and slides he posts on Carmen and the textbook I was able to learn the material well enough to earn a grade in the B+/A- range. He also seems to just be a nice guy in general, and spoke candidly in lecture.
Mr. Cogan offers lots of extra credit. His material is very basic Biology that most people should have learned in high school. The lectures did get boring, but that is because I don't care about Bio. He's a good guy.
I had Cogan for bio113 & biochem511. He's a really nice and down to earth guy. He's always willing help (if u cnt make it to his office hrs he'll gladly set up an apptmnt another time). He is very clear and def knows his stuff. He presents a lot of material during lecture. I feel tht ppl struggle in his class b/c they dont come prepared for lecture
Dr. Cogan was nice. He helped me with anything I needed, and really taught the course well. I hate bio but i even thought it was interesting class
He was a cool guy and would crack the occasional joke. His tests were quite hard, failed the midterm and got a D on the final... I still ended up getting a B- in the class because the labs evened everything out. Kind of boring but hey it's bio.
Dr. Cogan is just a great teacher. Biochem is a hard class but he made the material interesting and kept class upbeat. He told a lot of jokes and explained all the material so that it was easier to understand.
EASY. And that is saying a lot, because I hate biology. There were so many "easy-point" assignments and a lot of graded material that made it extremely easy to do well. There was one exam and it was extremely easy because you just study the quizzes and practice material...and the exam questions are literally the same but worded slightly different.
Dr. Cogan is one of the few professors in academia who truly concerns himself with the growth and learning of his students. This is likely due to him not being involved with research. To add, Dr. Cogan is an outstanding human being and teaches others to do so through his demonstration of being a genuinely good person. Thank you Dr. Cogan.
Dr. Cogan's class was great. He tells side stories and jokes here and there. Makes class more enjoyable. It's not as bad as everyone has said :)..He knows his stuff and teaches it well. There's A LOT to learn in this class. Make sure you go to lecture! Reading the textbook will help clarify details.
Much better than I was expecting. Not too difficult, really tests on what he mentions in class. Sometimes ideas are not connected fully together, but when studying his slides and notes, it does make sense. Definitely there to help you. Certainly a great human being and a good professor.
Overall good teacher. Its a hard class in general but he's very helpful if you ask or go to office hours.
He was a little soft spoken, but was a great lecturer. I would recommend printing out all of his notes; they make the lectures easier to follow. His exams are tough, so study a lot and go talk to him if you ahve trouble. He is genuinely willing to help students.
He makes is lectures interesting and relates the material to everyday situations.
Such an easy class. The textbook is not needed and all the lecture slides are posted online. Coming to class is smart because of the clicker points, which after 40 correct you can get extra credit. For a science GEC, this was the way to go.
You'd have to try REALLY hard to fail this class. I went to all the labs which are easy, went to most of the lectures and got bonus points, and even though i got C's on the both midterm and final, i got a B+ overall.
Pretty good class. Go for the clicker points. The labs are easy, but pointless.
Study the study guides he gives you for the midterm and final because the book is useless. Labs are very easy, but he can be confusing during lecture.
gave exams with a median grade of a d and would not curve. very hard to understand and no kindness. do not recommend!
I got an E on the midterm & final and still got a B+ in the class (bonus & labs). Love him!
Cogan was a terrible professor. AVOID HIM IF YOU CAN. His exams were purely based on lecture, so having the textbook was pointless. His exams are ridiculously hard, so even if you go to lecture you are probably screwed. His claim is that even if everyone does bad on the exam, they will get points from lab. He NEVER answers emails from students.
Very dry and monotone. Not always very clear. I highly recommend getting the book as well as seeking other resources. Exams weren't terrible, but be prepared to put in some time to do well in this class. Not my favorite professor, but not my worst.
Avoid Cogan. Median grades were always very low. He moves at a very fast pace in lecture and many test questions are based off of diagrams he spends only cursory time explaining. Pay attention to very small details and stories, they pretty much always pop up on tests. Labs were easy, lecture is the beast here. Book is useless.
This guy was not that bad. If you put the work into the class, an A is not that hard to get. He presented information in lecture that would be on the exam, and that's all you need to succeed.
I bombed the first (and easiest) midterm which caused me to get a B+. The class was certainly difficult and there are A LOT of details. I was started doing heavy review for his exams at least a week before. The final's material was the most difficult. I had lecture 4 days a week at 8am so it was essential for me to record the lectures.
Avoid Cogan !!!!!The course is extremely hard. You have to study really hard to pass the course.
Cogan is one of those professors who knows so much he can't simplify it down and explain it to an intro to bio class. Even the TA's say he is being unreasonable. His notes go in circles and make you even more confused. He doesn't offer much help outside of class, and is standoffish to his students. Avoid him if possible!
Not a good lecturer, doesn't make things clear, doesn't care if a student is struggling, will avoid questions and talk in circles.
He talks in circle, jumps to random topics and has a hard time formatting his lectures/notes into an easy to understand format. At the beginning he was uncaring as to if anyone was struggling. Average on the first exam was a 58%. Very difficult although not impossible. Very Boring as well.
First time I've been in a class that unanimously answered "NO!" when a professor asked, "does that makes sense?" His exams are not legit, and infiltrated with charts/graphs/images. Often, more than one answer ends up being correct - not sure if on purpose, either. Basically, impossible lecturer to follow, and he doesn't use the book. Go figure!
Dr.Cogan is an excellent professor. He is responsible,serious and nice guy. Every one knows that biochem is hard course,he can use good examples to explain difficult questions that help students to easily understeand.Also he has a good team for REC. I have good experience with ths corse.
Cogan was okay. His notes weren't great and he had some trouble simplifying things. He tried to engage the class and most clicker questions were decent. He adjusted the exam difficulty, but beware the many application questions. Reasonable expectations. If you're interested in Biochem(it gets mixed in) and a critical thinker take him. TAs were good
The test are challenging, yes. The class average will be low, but there are a ridiculous amount of opportunities to earn (full) points in other areas. Also, maybe those that claimed that he doesn't "care" about student's concerns never actually contacted him until the 11th hour-- he always clarified things I was confused on.
Cogan is all over the place with his notes and his midterms are super hard. Would not recommend him!
I disagree with several of the previous comments. His tests are average, he tries to make lecture interesting, he wants students to succeed. He gives bonus points for clicker questions and is willing to provide clarity when necessary. I really enjoyed his class. Biochem does get mixed in and there is critical thinking, but it's not horrible at all.
When his material did not make sense, he took the time to help when he did not have to. Yes, some of his tests were tough, but I studied hard and ended up successful in the class.
By far the hardest professor I have had here at OSU, and I have taken the chem and physics series. His notes are terrible, his tests are impossible, and he goes over material twice without making anything more clear. We spent a month talking about every little detail about respiration and photosynthesis. He expects too much for a GE science course.
While his information is slightly disorganized, his lectures are interesting and informative. His tests are hard but fair. He is also very open to meeting for office hours and mentoring students.
This class was extremely difficult. Exam averages were in the D and F range, which is ridiculous. His notes are scattered, he didn't cover the last 5 chapters, and he doesn't clarify things very well. Fortunately, there are a lot of extra points that help bring grades up but if you have a choice, I would take a different professor.
He is SO disorganized. His notes don't make sense at ALL and his grammar is so poor that it's difficult to even know what he's asking on the exams. Take this class with Shimko if you can. If you have to take this class with Cogan, buy the old textbook; his notes are straight out of there. He doesn't use the new book.
Dr. Cogan, at best, can be described as mediocre. He is extremely unorganized; oftentimes waiting until a few hours before a lecture to post notes on Carmen. Furthermore, he constantly talks himself into circles which causes the class to lose focus and subsequently stop learning. AVOID IF YOU CAN.
Dr. Cogan is an excellent professor. His teaching philosophy is geared to differentiate the serious students from the undisciplined ones. That being said, I do not recommend that an uncommitted, uninterested student take his courses. Personally, I was very pleased with his lectures, class format, and test difficulty.
Cogan is the worst professor I have ever had. He is unorganized and assumes you have taken other biology classes before, which I hadn't. The only good thing I can think of about him is that he posts videos of the material online, which helps a lot. If you read the book you will be fine, but I recommend finding a new teacher besides Cogan.
Dr. Cogan is a great professor. He is extremely knowledgable, and will go out of his way to explain things if people don't understand them. People expect this class to be really easy, which its not. However, if you put in some time and effort, you'll be fine. He's also really helpful in office hours and a really cool guy overall.
Not an easy professor. His class is really hard but recitation helps. If you have an issue he will help you out in his office hours. Really professional guy
The worst professor I've ever taken a class with. Very confusing and can't answer his own questions. Tests look like they're in a foreign language. He is NOT flexible in meeting outside his scheduled office hours and treats students as inferiors. All I can say is "good luck" if you get stuck with him...
Cogan is a pretty good professor. He sometimes mixes things up and can be hard to follow at times, but he's a nice guy and genuinely does care about his students succeeding and learning. Honestly, if you didn't get a good grade after how much he tries to make the subject matter easier for this class, you probably just didn't put in enough effort.
Bio is my niche - but this professor made me think otherwise. His lectures are extremely unorganized, his notes don't make any sense and are extremely scattered. His exams are near to impossible and questions are phrased extremely ambiguously - I found myself getting 90s in Ochem and barely doing well in his class. He is a kind person and his biolo
Class felt like 4113 not 1113. Cares more about sounding intelligent than explaining things clearly. I have always thought I had a clear understanding of biology before I took this class. Although it is titled "energy transfer and development", I'm fairly certain he uses the same lecture content as his BIochem course. Hardest class I've taken.
Tests are tough but fair. If you show up to lecture and put in the time studying you can do well in his class. He tests more on application and not facts which I liked but may not be for you.
Dr. Cogan is sort of boring in lecture, but is great outside of class and in office hours. The class is pretty easy if you watch the videos and take the practice tests.
Really an easy class provided that you have a little bit of biology background and are willing to go to lecture. Tests were more based on examples that he gave in class than on the material itself. He hands out a lot of free points just for showing up to lecture, and the class averages were a lot higher than some of the other 1113 classes.
His notes are very confusing and his exams are very disorganized. I simply missed couple points not because I didn't know how to answer, it was because his questions were so unclear that they didn't seem like questions. He didn't even number the questions on the exam.
Boring lecturer... talks himself in circles and never gives a straight answer... tests make no sense and diagrams are confusing... nice guy at heart but not very professional and not a good professor
Dr. Cogan has kind of an "all over the place" lecturing style but if you listen and pay attention, he repeats things a thousand times. He clearly emphasizes what is important and his tests are definitely fair (not necessarily easy). He tells funny stories that are completely random. I really enjoyed his class though.
Cogan is all over the place. He talks in circles and sometimes can't even understand his own diagrams on the notes. Only way to do well was to record lectures and read the book. The recitation activities were confusing and could show up on exams. I felt like it was a disservice to my education to take him for such an important class.
Definitely have to go to class if you want a chance at a good grade. He gives lecture slides in advance but they are so general you need to be there to hear him explain and record the info. He is extremely laid back and definitely interested in the material but doesn't seem to caring about teaching it. His tests are beyond confusing. Study a lot.
It is required that you go to lecture to get a big portion of your grade in clicker points. However cogans lectures have 0 structure and bounce all over the place from day to day. DO NOT TAKE HIM unless you want to spend entire lectures each week on your phone and then go home to teach yourself all the material from what he calls notes and the book
Dr. Cogan was all over the place. He'd constantly cancel his office hours and his lectures were disjointed and confusing. The costly book bought for the class was worthless because his (very difficult) exams were solely over small details from in-class worksheets and lectures. You MUST attend class for any hope of a good grade.
Do not take this class if you are preparing for the MCAT. Cogan is the stereotypical "scatterbrained professor" and his lectures are all over the place. Test questions are frequently unclear and contradict what was told during class. Relied on other professor's notes and the textbook to really teach me biochem.
To be fair, he's covering some tough material. Due to significant content overlap between this class and another, though, I know that he's teaching it badly. Things that were clear, detailed, and interesting in the other class became confusing and mind-numbingly dull. His tests are pretty easy though. Don't buy the book.
He is very confusing, he's a great guy and definitely wants you to learn but I think his teaching style is just terrible.
Easily the worst prof I have ever had. He is clueless when it comes to anything chemistry, especially anything organic. A large portion of this class is organic chemistry based, and he either skips over it, or gets confused. Also, he is often wrong about these concepts. Do not take his class unless you want to have a horrible experience.
Tests were horrible and way advanced beyond the material covered in class. Lectures were incredibly boring. Didn't seem to care about the material or teaching it properly. I used the textbook to take all my own notes and it is the only reason I learned anything at all.
The worst professor I ve ever met. His course just give us nothing and the lecture is unbelievable boring. I mean it's not like a "only textbook knowledge " boring, it's like you pay atteintion to the whole course but you find you gain nothing. He even just tell us to reed whole chapter ourselves because he spend too much time in meaningless thing.
One of the worst professors I've ever had. Lectures made no sense and constantly jumped around. Tests were even worse. Unfair grader and not organized at all, and his wording on tests and recitation assignments were out of this world. Take this class with someone else!
His lectures are really just not good, and the types of problems he uses are so out of everyone's league. He didn't explain concepts well at all.
Great professor, always willing to clarify any concepts or expectations in office hours or after class. Tests are well written and fair and the notes he gives are really helpful for studying. Definitely one of my favorite professors at Ohio State.
Offers extra credit, but then takes it away after you've done the work. Have had to basically beg for our proper extra credit and even then it wasn't given to us in full. For how long he's been teaching, he should be better at this by now.
This course with Cogan/Herman was my most difficult course by far. I would take notes during the incredibly boring lecture, take notes from the book, pay attention in lab and I still struggled on exams. I think the only people who felt confident in this class were those who have no life outside of school. Thought I knew the material too.
Dr. Cogan is one of the worst professors I've ever had. Much like the others who post on here, I think he is awful at explaining concepts, his lectures are scattered and unhelpful, and his tests are legitimately ridiculous. And because it's an honors class, he feels the need to make it more "interactive" like NO
One of the worst I've ever had. None of his material goes together; one day the syllabus said "chemistry of life," assigned reading was on scientific process, he lectured on evolution(which is supposed to be 1114), and the in-class activity had us prove squares were 2D. If I didn't already know I liked bio this class would have made me HATE it.
He's awesome if you want to study abroad! Made the trip so enjoyable and class was really laid back and fun.
I don't get anything out of his lectures; they make no sense and are SO boring. His tests are very hard and confusing also. To prepare, go over in-class assignments and old exams, as he will often repeat questions, and watch his lecture videos, because they are over different material than in class lectures and he uses questions from them too.
Cogan can be frustrating during lecture- his voice drones, and he tends to make Tophat questions ambiguous or with straight up mistakes. However, the TA's are great and recitations activities, clicker Q's act a grade buffer outside of exams. There are more than enough resources to succeed in this class despite him & his thing for Jeffrey Dahmer.
Dr. Cogan is my favorite professor at OSU. He is genuinely so caring of all of his students and wants everyone to do well. His tests are pretty difficult, but he is really helpful during office hours.
He was very vague in lectures; test questions did not make sense. No matter how much you study you'll be confused during exams.
Lectures were worthless, only went for the participation points. Gave an extra ACS final exam at the very end, he was the only one in the department that gave this- very annoying. The tests weren't that bad, but questions were littered with gram. errors- hard to understand. Backwards classroom- its hard to do that successfully in a 200+ lecture.
I had him for Evidence and he was awesome! Okay, his lectures were not useful and I did not pay attention much. However, his midterm is so by the book if you are willing to take the time to read, decipher and learn the material you will do well. One of my higher grades in law school.
I loved having Dr. Cogan. He made concepts a lot easier and was a big help in office hours. He is incredibly caring and genuinely a great guy.
Dr. Cogan is a great professor who really cares about his students. The course is challenging, but if you read the book and study you'll be fine. He's always looking for ways to improve his teaching methods, and he even does research on finding the best way to help kids learn. A really nice guy
Dr. Cogan is a fantastic professor! I wouldn't normally post a review on here but I was shocked at how many people found him to be difficult or confusing. His tests are fair, given that harder questions are straightforward because they are straight from concepts that he emphasized in class. Much easier than other biochem profs as far as I've heard.
Dr. Cogan is not a professor I would recommend to anyone. I have put fourth immense amount of effort to this class and have gotten nothing out of it. The lectures are not helpful by any means. He assigns copious amounts of homework that does not help to understand the material. If you can get any other professor for this course do it at all costs!!
Overall, this class was extremely difficult. I do think he is fair though. He cares a lot about his students and opens his classroom every Sunday for 2 hours to help with the homework. If you go to these sessions you are guaranteed a 100% on these assignments, due to the help he gives and the group effort. His notes are confusing and exams are hard
Dr. Cogan is very unorganized and goes so slow to the point the other biochem classes are a month or so ahead. Instead of cutting out material, in the last couple weeks he posted about 10 lecture videos to compensate for getting behind and gave a midterm less than a week before the final over 6 chapters, most of which he barely covered in lecture.
He made Biochem4511 the most frustrating class. His lectures were filled with a bunch of nonsensical tangents and random facts that he found interesting. He assigned homework that did not translate from his lectures. Also, we got so far behind we had to learn two different chapters at once for the last several weeks. His tests are all application.
Cogan is a fair and caring professor. The class is difficult but it's biochem. He gives a lot of opportunities to earn extra points and a lot of help outside of lectures. This class is hard but structured to help you be very successful if you put in the time and effort. He also does a great job of marking his notes with MCAT tested material.
Dr. Cogan was a pretty great professor. His exams were tough and his lecture notes were sometimes really difficult to understand, but if you actually study and participate, you will do fine in his class.
People say he's caring but all I ever got from asking questions was condescension. He is available often but that wasn't much help to me. Pretty easy tests but part of the battle was understanding his notes and how he writes his questions. Just know the exam check lists he posts.
Dr. Cogan is an exceptional professor who clearly cares about student success. He had office hours regularly and even held Sunday study sessions regularly for students. Dr. Cogan's tests were not exceedingly difficult if you pay attention in lecture (they're interesting), but his exams are largely lecture-based so you will not do well if you skip.
Dr. Cogan is so nice and open to helping students; however, I probably wouldnt advise taking his class unless you have a solid understanding of Biochem. Exams are extremely difficult, even if you study weeks ahead of time it wont help much. I wouldnt advise this class if needed it for med school. We were behind and didn't cover as much material
Although some days lectures don't seem to have anything to do with the course material, Dr. Cogan is always fun to listen to and learn from. His exams are extremely fair and you go in knowing exactly what will be on them. If there ever is a weird question on an exam feel free to argue why your answer was right and you'll probably get your points.
His lectures are boring, but you need to pay attention because the commentary he adds to the slides is often the material on the exams. The exams are specific and difficult, however they aren't too bad if you take the time to study for them and not cram too much.
Dr. Cogan is a great professor who really cares about his students. He takes time out of his schedule to be accessible outside of class, and holds weekly review sessions. He also does in class questions/activities to help make the class more engaging. His exams can be difficult, but if you take time to study then you can do well in the class.
Dr Cogan truly cares about his students. He acknowledges that this class is difficult, and there is too much material for the time frame. His exams are difficult, but if you stay around average you can ride the curve. He gives generous points for in class participation and online homework, so do those if you think you'll struggle.
Dr. Cogan rally cares for his students and did a lot in terms of offering extra credit and points. He took his own time every Sunday evening to come in and assist students with questions and homework. Overall a good guy, just not a great professor when it came to actually teaching the material. Very hard exams so make sure to study well.
One of the first few weeks of class he quoted Trump, and I was immediately turned off. Hard to want to learn from him after that. Regardless he was always available when I needed and even though I struggled with the midterms because there was often a lot of material, he was willing to help when he could.
Dr. Cogan makes a large lecture very personalized by showing interest in the success of each of his students. Biochemistry is not the most interesting class so no matter who you have, it will be difficult to focus in class. Dr. Cogan will help whenever he can and truly cares about your success in his class, but you have to put work in to do well.
Dr. Cogan was an average lecturer for me. The lectures can sometimes be hard to follow. Make sure to show up to class to answer tophat questions and do all the homework for easy points. The material itself is fairly easy to learn, but his exams were hard. A good amount of the questions were application. The exams did get easier in my opinion.
Cogan has no business being a professor for this class. He gives you scientific papers that he pulls extremely minute questions from without ever actually teaching the subject material he is asking about. Our entire section was lost for his entire module and ended up dropping a letter grade in the class because of his lack of organization. Avoid.
Dr. Cogan was an average professor and lecturer. I personally did better in the class when I started reading and taking DETAILED notes on the textbook sections before he covered them in class. All exams (minus the final) were open book/open note, but dont be fooled into thinking that makes them easy! Application exam questions, but fair grader.
YOU NEED TO READ TEXT BEFORE CLASS or you will not be able to follow him especially middle end semester! Exam are difficult even when you study, lecture okay, he cares and takes personal time to help. talk to him he will help! Use the tools he gives and participate, he wants to see you genuinly involved. difficult quiz lots of homework Tophat ques
People don't love his lectures, but he can be really helpful if you talk with him 1-on-1. Dr. Cogan ALWAYS finds time to meet, even though he teaches hundreds of students every semester. He has tons of experience helping people through biochemistry, so whatever problem you might have, he has probably taught someone with the same problem in the past
Cogan is a nice guy, and always made time for students outside of class. His lectures and notes are difficult to follow. Exams were open note, application-based. He loved making us use various online tools during exams. He seemed experimental in his approach to this class. Wouldn't recommend taking the online course with Cogan.
I reached out to ask for help regarding the material. I really was not doing well with the online content and the info was not sticking in my head. I asked if there were campus resources or ways to do better in studying. He replied, "These are not questions I can answer in an email. Did you even see I had online office hours last week?" Run.
Great professor. Biochem is hard in general, I feel like he did a good job
Lots of quizzes and homeworks but theyre open note so easy grade boosters. He also brought in guest speakers which was nice to get different views on what we were discussing
It's hard to evaluate Dr. Cogan, as biochem is truly a difficult course. His teaching style is helpful, but lectures for the most part are a bit unnecessary although attendance is mandatory. Tests are open internet but the internet will not help you. It's the kind of class where everyone struggles but the curve helps everyone.
Dr. Cogan is a great guy if you get to know him. He can tell when you put in the effort and rewards you for it. The class was difficult for me but he is reasonable. I went to nearly every office hour and was more often than not, the only person there. The class was curved HARD at the end. The practice exams + his note style are SUPER helpful imo.
Dr. Cogan really does care about his students and their success. The class is a bit disorganized so you just have to go with it. I recommend going to lecture and his Sunday Office Hours for help. The class is difficult, but not extremely stressful because the exams are open note - but it is still very difficult with low averages.
He cares about students but gives awful exams that really don't test your understandings of the topics covered in lecture. No real way to study for the tests either.
Professor Cogan does his best to help students, but there are straight up just too many exams. We had 4 exams, 2 of which he didn't finish the material. So ON TOP of that we had 2 take home midterms and a comprehensive exam. Seemed like we were taking an exam every week, which is ridiculous. The good thing is they're open note/internet.
Although Prof Cogan isn't super organized and tends to ramble during lecture, he makes understanding the material quite easy. I would say his exams are very fair (he could make them way harder if he wanted to), and you definitely need to pay attention in lecture to do well. Loved the class!
Dr. Cogan is bad with time management. We never had all the material in time for the exam and he always went on tangents during class. He doesnt go over his lecture notes before class and skips around to whatever pops in his head. We went over glycolysis/gluconeogenisis the citric acid cycle and the electron transport chain in the last 2 weeks. :(
Dr. Cogan is very smart and nice but he talks in 2x speed. I'm not kidding when I say I have to rewatch all of his lectures which normally takes me over 2 hours to write everything he says. You really have to understand the concepts to do well in his class. Exams are open note but very tricky and every question makes you second guess yourself.
Dr. Cogan is a great professor! His lectures really helped me to understand Biochem which is a very difficult topic, and he was always accessible outside of class. He really and truly cares for all of his students which is insane because he teaches 250+ in one class. The tests were difficult, but there is a curve. Good luck future students!
Dr. Cogan's exams were open note and internet, but were difficult and unrelated to class material. Recitation content was completely separate from lecture, and you are expected to know material not taught to you. He didn't cover all the content before some exams, and gave us an ADDITIONAL EXAM TWO TIMES as a "part two" that was not on the syllabus.
He was extremely unorganized and time management was not his strong suit. Tests are open note/internet however they're very difficult and seemed to have little to do with the material. He uses programs online to "help" with the tested material, however that means you need to troubleshoot and learn different programs in order to get correct answers.
His exams are so difficult it makes Ochem feel like a Communications course. Not studying for his exams is a completely viable strategy because most of the time it will not even help you. You will pass or fail based off luck alone. Luckily though, so will everyone else, and the class is curved. So if you just need a C, this is the class to take.
Buddy is an absolute geed. Very unhelpful outside of class and disorganized. Thinks that some students ask questions for no reason.
Very good professor but has difficult tests. The tests are open notes, but that doesn't make them much easier. He is accessible via email and his Sunday office hours and review sessions are helpful. Lots of exams and quizzes.
This class was super hard for me, but I don't know how much of that was because of the prof since I suck at chemistry. The exams are open note but REALLY hard and deadlines always get moved around. Came across as kinda callous the first few classes but he actually really cares about his students even if doesn't seem like it at first impression.
Honestly, the worst professor I have taken. I had a 4.0 GPA before this class; I'm sure I would have loved Biochemistry if he wasn't the professor. He is the worst lecturer, I don't think I learned a single thing in his class. He has a cumulative exam at the end that is closed-note and I had multiple panic attacks preparing for it. Take anyone else
extremely disorganized course and set up very strange. Exams are open internet but difficult, keeps the averages around 60-70%. Poor content time management skills and bad at communicating homework due dates changing to correlate. Overall an overwhelming course and the way his class is set up makes it significantly worse.
Always willing to help. Has lots of chances to ask questions, lots of office hours. Has a large curve
Professor Cogan's class was a real challenge. The open-note exams are deceptively difficult, with content that often feels unrelated to lectures. Though disorganized at times, he genuinely cares about students. Unstuckstudy was a lifesaver for preparing - highly recommend.
Dr. Cogan is one of the best professors I've had at OSU. He cares deeply about seeing all of his students succeed. He is understanding, and will always work with you if you are struggling. Exams can be difficult, but they are doable and you're given all the resources to study. Highly recommend doing the practice exams and going to office hours.
Cogan focus a lot on diagrams in his lectures and on exams. The exams have difficult diagrams that are complicated and don't really test you on your biochemical knowledge. His lecture do focus on the most important topics, but he is a nice guy and the class is doable. If you work hard you can do fine.
This section has four midterms and a final compared to other sections led by better professors that have two midterms and a noncumulative final. His exams are not indicative of your ability to understand the content. Lectures are beyond dry and he makes biochem an unpleasant experience.
Told us the first day that he wasn't expecting to teach
This may have been the worst profess I have ever had. For reference I had Baldwin for OCHEM, and I found that her class was easier. He gives you no practice problems and we missed two whole chapters due to lectures that talked about nothing having to do with the class. If you are pre-med don't waste your time you will be underprepared for the MCAT.
Listen to the people who say Cogan makes organic chemistry look like a complete joke. Avoid!!
Dr. Cogan's lectures are quite boring but everything on the exams comes right from the slides. There are 4 midterms and a final which is a lot but the final was much easier than the midterms to take off some of the stress. There are a lot of free homework and participation points to help your grade. There was a decent curve too.
The open internet exams really threw me. At the time I was happy not to have to memorize the things that people in other classes did. However, now in subsequent classes that build off of BioChem I don't feel like I have as strong of a basis for the metabolic pathways that other students who took BioChem with other professors seem to have.
Dr. Cogan is the worst professor I've had at OSU. He lacks communication, his lectures are disorganized, and the material is confusing and unrelated to the MCAT. His tests feel like a guessing game, and I don't feel prepared for future classes. He often seems unprepared and unsure of his own material. I don't recommend taking him.
He has an interesting vibe but is always willing to help with experiments. I enjoyed this class a lot and thought it was a lot easier than the biochemistry major sequence. Wish he taught my lectures!
Dr. Cogan is very nice and always helpful during office hours. Although, the lectures are boring and hard to follow because he rambles a lot. The exams are hard and you never know what will be on them. You have to study a lot on your own.
He's overall ok when it comes to lecturing. Can be boring and is prone to rambling but he usually is able to explain the content. It also really helps he records his lectures. There is a lot of homework and participation grades which helps alleviate the exam grades. The exams are REALLY hard and you will have to study a ton to score ok on them.
I think he was a great professor. He is definitely painted out to be pretty rough but, he has changed the class structure completely I got a 65 % in the class which ended up being a B- and I never went to lecture (not recommending that) I did still watch his lectures. I think he is a great professor over all highly recommend.
honestly this class has been my least favorite out of all my classes at osu, worse than ochem. Cogans exams are incredibly hard and he isn't the best at explaining material. His TA did most of the work with helping us before exams and explaining material. He also assigns a lot of Mastering HW. Try to get Wu or Shimko
I found his teaching style to be difficult to follow, as his lectures were scattered and lacked organization. He often bounced around material rather than explaining anything. The class itself was unorganized, and tests were unnecessarily difficult compared to lecture. He also struggled to answer questions about practice problems he would make.
Cogan is nice so I wish the class went better but it is incredibly difficult for no reason. The midterms are far beyond intro to bio chem level, TAs would often be stumped on the questions too. No amount of studying would ever get me to the point of understanding the type of questions he asks on the exam. Better taking with a different professor.
I love JoCo as a person. However, his class is bizzare. He jumps around to different topics with no context and random tangents, and if you ask him a question regarding a practice problem HE assigned you, he is often confused on what it is asking as if he didn't write it last year. He will skip pages of material in class and then put it everywhere?
If you put in the work and have (at least some) interest in biochem, you can succeed. Dr. Cogan is easily accessible outside of class, and his TAs are the best I've ever had in a class. While midterms are very hard, there are a lot of points spread out throughout the class, and ALOT of extra office hours and review sessions. I loved this class.
Prof is a great person, seems like a funny guy. Class has 4 MTs and a cumulative final which is lowk absurd. Had a MT every 3 weeks, and they were HARD. I would study a week in advance reviewing all the resources and barely get the avg. He is helpful prof tho and easy to access outside of class, and TAs were genuinely lifesavers. Office hours help
Lectures are very monotone and talks at 0.5x speed the class is super unorganised and the exam questions are HARD. 4 midterms and a cumulative final. This class ruined my life and potentially my GPA.
Interesting guy, but I find him to be chill for the most part. Tests are pretty rough, but everything can be solved.
By far the worst Professor I have ever had. He was completely unorganized and not an effective teacher. There is no point in showing up to class. Try your best to take this class with any other professor.
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