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Good teacher, but boring lectures. Kinda scary sometimes the way she lectures.

AWESOME in-class demos!! her TAs work really well with her and the students... awesome team. loved the class. but since its straight scale, can be a bit scary.

He is a really, really great lecturer. He holds your attention and he's very clear if you can follow along. He's the best really. But not his exams. They are difficult and do not look like the homework.

i don't get it.

The teacher is okay. It is hard to know what will be on the exams sometimes. There is a curve. He takes the lowest B- and curves from there. Too much information. Nice guy. long exams at nighttime.

I barely passed Chem 140A. O Conner is a good professor but his tests are super hard! His lectures are clear but the subject is so hard to understand.

He's a great teacher, and very helpful if you ask him anything. Holds review sessions all the time. The class material is hard, but he's better than anyone else I've had.

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I had already taken this class once with Burkart and this time went much better on accout of Prof O'Connor. He would actually stop to explain the material when everyone looked lost, which is deffinetly a plus.

The Prof is OK. Really wants you to learn, and provides the means for the students to do well. I must say, this class was the most God awful boring experience of my life. It started out OK, then got progressively worse. By the end of the quarter, I could barely get the book open. So boring.

Cool teacher, very clear, very helpfull. Her only crime is being interested in the "wrong" topic. She really cool and very nice, her lectures are of a great help and the test are not too hard. However, the amount of time needed for the HW is huge, and its just not worth it.

omg. HW kills me. to much.. exam are ok, but since it is too simple. everyone score the same... hw takes u 10 hr per week. and they only worth 20%. don't take this class.

okay... homework is not hard at all. its only book work. i spend like one hour a week and get 100s on the homework. these people who spend 10 hrs on homework are obviously idiots or retarded. this class is so easy. the exams are a joke. easiest class in irvine. HANDS DOWN

This class is probably the easiest engineering course ever. She's a bit strict about classroom behavior, but students probably shouldn't be talking when the professor is trying to teach anyway, so it's okay. People who say this class is hard and worthless are idiots. It's a new topic to many people and they're just not used t it, so they complain.

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Good natured guy, always eager to help out his students, but his tests are really difficult. His reviews and practice tests are helpful, but he has time limits on his long, hard tests. He says do the homework, which is helpful, but he assumes you would do the problems a million times and make studying ochem a full time job. yeah right.

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He goes out of his way to make sure EVERYONE know exactly what they want to know. Some times goes to far to explain things clearly to one person out of 400. His tests have really low averages and are usually pretty darn easy.

Good professor; very clear. As one person said, practice midterms were representative of the actual exams; the final was not. I think it's because one annoying guy in class kept asking questions and annoyed everyone, including him. Don't annoy him and everyone else by asking TOO many questions, and you should be fine.

Very good at explaining it.

Yes O'Connor is clear and straightforward but, and this comes from someone who pulled off an A in Kummel's class (not easy) he is not consistent in the format of his test. You MUST know the practice tests AND the hw cold because he pulls on some tests exclusively from the hw OR exclusively from the practice test

no curve but avg midterm was a B so not bad, Waiting for the last minute to do your homework isnt a good idea tho, since if your lost, your lost. Overall would be a piece of cake if I kept up with the reading... she tries to make it fun so thats kool, tho her jokes are cheesy, most of the class laughs (except those people who hate everything).

He is a very nice person in class as well as office hours. He wants to help clarify material, and to see people do well. Do homework and go to lecture and you will do fine.

ochem is just hard. theres no hw. so grade depends on effort.

He's a fabulous lecturer. Go to his lecture, do our homework and go to his office hours to get your questions answered and you'll be solid gold for the exams. He's so helpful! giving extra review sessions, office hours, etc. probably the best professor I will come across in the Ochem series, hope I'm wrong.

Good professor. The midterms were very similar to the practice ones. Go to lecture and do the hw and you should be fine. Take Ternansky for 140A if you can (I had him before I dropped ochem the first time and he was one of the best prof's I've had so far).

Representive of homework and lectures

Great professor! Very thorough. Gave scheduled review sessions in excess of 3 hours per week!! If you cannot pass this class, change your major.

This guy rocked!Totally didn't look like a chem prof.VERY HELPFUL.The amount of time he spent with the class other than required class time was amazing.He even spent his weekends with us, preparing for exams in the summer.Tests are very representative of lecture material.If you CAN'T learn o-chem from him ur in trouble when you take BIBC 102!!!!

Make sure you understand everything that he lectures b/c that will be on the exams. Taking good notes is the key and having the ochemplate helped alot. Dont have to buy the model since it so expensive and the ochemplate works alot better. I will be using it for the later part of the class too. I purchased it at www.ochemplate.com

Easily the best O'chem prof in the department. Posts Practice tests (use them!) which will help on the exams, which are tough. Good lecturer, too, even if I never really wanted to go anyway.

Great teacher. Very nice guy. Has extra review sessions 3 times a month. Gives practice exams, use them, but they are usually easier than the real exams so careful. Final exam was very hard. Midterms are eaiser.

He's funny. But the lecture is not that good. He doesnt go through the outline in the book, and keeps going back and forth, sometimes just cramp in some extra (but not required) stuffs, making your head spinning. 1h50 seems long as heck although he's conversational. Most of the time u dont know wat he's talking bout. Midterms are easier than final

2 midterms 50%, 1 final 50%. Very enthusiastic, office hours every day after class and weekends. Midterms are much easier than final

He was sometimes absent- minded, off topic, and disorganized, but he's one of the better O. Chem professors. His lectures are really comprehensive, and he explains things well. Cares about his students. Every Saturday, he had a review session, and he posted previous tests online, which helped greatly. Made O. Chem easier and more fun to learn.

Very dedicated professor. Lectures are a bit too haphazard, but he tries very hard. Tests are difficult (similar to the hardest homework questions), but doable.

Very casual professor, made Organic Chemistry MUCH less intimidating. Very intelligent and helpful, and his tests really aren't bad at all. He tests on material that you see in lecture. Took 140B for the first time during a one month summer school session, and I'm 100% confident that I'll receive an A.

Professor O'Connor's lectures are not that interesting, but his grading is pretty lenient and he really cares about his students. I would definitely take him again. Just don't take him at 8 in the morning, because you won't go to lecture. The lectures arent that important towards the end as long as you can learn the material yourself. Good Luck!

Great professor. I live off-campus and had him Tu/Th at 8AM, so naturally I was truant at times, but when I was in class I learned. His teaching style is very casual so as to make you really understand the material. 1 midterm, 1 final--so make sure to prepare and do your HW. O. Chem is not a hard subject per se but it takes a lot of practice.

TWO WORDS: AMAZING PROFESSOR.

The subject itself is a killer and you have to sit down and concentrate for hours to do well, but Prof. O'Connor will help you. A lot.

I took this class over the summer, and I am definitely glad I took it with Professor O'Connor. CHEM140B is a pretty tough, but O'Connor made it better. He's pretty lenient when it comes to assigning letter grades. He's definitely one of the best OCHEM professors at UCSD.

He's a really good ochem prof. he goes go on tangents but i like them as a break from some of the more boring topics. he's good at telling jokes and the saturday sessions are really helpful. His tests are doable as long as you study the material. make sure to do the HW since there's a lot of them and they're crucial to getting a good grade

He's pretty good professor. The lectures are sometimes all over the place, however he is extremely helpful before/after class, during prob sessions on saturday and office hours. Whatever he writes on the board is tested somehow on the exam. So know that stuff! and exams are doable! overall he's pretty good professor!

He'll mention a few "keys to success" to you in the very beginning... TAKE HEED, seriously! You can't just go to lecture and go about the hw on your own... he does Saturday help sessions, so GO TO THEM. He says do every single problem in the hw, so DO THEM ALL. It's crucial to getting a decent grade b/c he has only 1 midterm and 1 final!!

Going to lectures is essential. He offers Saturday morning help sessions - EXCELLENT chance for you to get review of info from weekly lectures. MUST DO ALL HOMEWORK to prepare for exams. You cannot goof up either exam b/c there is only ONE midterm and ONE final so study, study, study from day one! Clear lecturer, generous curve, but STUDY HARD TOO!

Very easy-going and helpful. Totally recommended

Awesome Professor. It's my first classes here and I'm taking 140a and 140b this summer session and I wouldn't be getting an A if I didn't have someone like him as the Professor. I Highly Recommend you take him. And people who rate low on easiness...well duhh its freaking o-chem. Its the class in general that's hard, but O'Connor makes it enjoyable.

SUCH A GREAT PROFESSOR!!!!! TAKE HIM!!!!!!

Professor O'Connor is AMAZING. Fave prof @ UCSD so far. Came in dreading ochem and he managed to make me love it. I did dreadfully in the 6 series of chem but very well in this class. He expects a lot from you but this is definitely one of those classes where it feels overwhelmingly difficult to get an A in. Great experience overall!!

His lectures are a little messy, but he does go over the details that you need to know for the exams (no calculator or cheat sheet allowed = no calculation). His exams are fair. they are almost like the practice final and homework problems.

His lecture was all over the place but he can explain things really well esp in review sessions. I liked his informal casual teaching style and his test was very representative of the practice tests and the homework problems. There's only one midterm and one final so it's super important to not fall behind and do ALL the hw probs.

Very nice Prof.

Took him over the summer and despite it being ochem, enjoyed the class much more than I expected. His review sessions are extremely helpful, and he is a very understanding teacher. I like how he's able to simplify concepts to make it easier for you to understand. 1 midterm and 1 final might be hard, but if you study you'll be fine.

HE IS THE BEST TEACHER AT UCSD. ochem is an awful subject but he makes it so much better. tests are tough but go to all his extra office hours

He's a great professor. Taking this course during a summer session was pretty fast paced, but when taking ochem, you're going to need to practice every single day anyway. There's plenty of opportunity to get help from the professor or any of his TA's--you just have to ask.

Lectures would be helpful if you read ahead but if not it's confusing...so I ended up teaching myself everything. You only have a midterm and a final. Final grade is either an avg of midt and final or if you did awesome on the final then that's your grade.

Amazing! Best professor i have ever had!

one of the best professors i've had at ucsd. He is extremely helpful he puts on a help session every saturday and always has office hours. Know the hw stone cold and study the pracitice midterms alot, + write down all your questions and get them answered and you'll get an A. This professor loves to teach! :D

He was the best professor i've ever had. he loves teaching. he has help sessions every saturday for his students. make sure you come with questions. his office hours are like an extra class go to them. he's really an amazing profesor

Best professor at UCSD. ochem is a tough subject and i had been dreading it prior to taking it after failing the course with another professor, but with dr oconnor it was so much better! he is a great lecturer! funny and entertaining while making sure to get the material across! you have to put in a lot of work but if you do it is worth it!

With ochem, no matter who you have, it's not gonna be an easy class. However, O'Connor was extremely enthusiastic and made learning ochem fun. Study sessions for midterm and final. I took 140A and 140B the same summer in consecutive sessions, both with him, and it was great. Do homework and and study and you'll get a good grade.

Take him. This is coming from a student who failed both midterms(bc I was an idiot). Tests and final extremely fair. If you go to OH/class he will alludes to what to concentrate on. His pitfall was that his Fall'12 class was at 8AM. 8AM Ochem is NEVER a good idea. Besides that, he is extremely clear and has a nice voice (doesn't even use a mic!)

He is one of the toughest organic Chemistry professor. Doing homework problems is not enough to get B or higher in the class.. Final was fair, but two mid terms were pretty difficult.

Excellent professor, great lecturer. Explains concepts very clearly. Go to lecture, it helps so much! Very helpful, holds help session on the weekend before every midterm, 2 before the final. Midterms were fairly simple and straightforward, final was ridiculously hard because the material just got 10X harder. Great o-chem professor!

I took this over summer. He knows a lot and gives good lecture but sometimes he wrote all over the place on the board so you shouldn't lose focus on what he's talking about. Midterm was doable but average was less than 50%. Final was incredibly hard and detailed. You pretty much need to know the mechanism and where the arrows go.

He's a pretty good prof; cares about his students and has help sessions (office hours). His first midterm wasn't bad, second midterm and final harder, but it's the nature of the class. At least this quarter, he's doing two separate curves; one where he counts both midterms and the final (25%, 25%, 50%) and one which is all the final (100%).

Prof that makes himself very available for help whether through help sessions (office hours) or email. Don't attend OH without questions, going to simply absorb is ineffective and a waste of time. His ppts aren't amazing and he goes way too fast. Most of the learning I did through the book, but he is amazing at clarification

Hard subject, but great professor. I wish he also 140c. He spends more time than any professor helping students understand concepts. Don't overload with this course.

O'Connor spend more time than any other professor helping students and answering their questions. GO TO HIS HELP SESSIONS EVERY TIME HE HOLDS THEM. He explains things so clearly in these sessions. One time we got kicked out of the review room before a midterm so he walked us all to his personal office to continue answering any and all questions!!!!

Do not fear ochem! he will make you enjoy it as long as your willing to put in the work. Tons of help available if you need it. He loves giving thorough answeres and even hints on whats going to be on exams. Midterm was easy, final was pretty tough but if you study you will do well. It's definitely do-able to get an A in ochem!

He is very helpful with providing content on how to be successful and he goes out of his way to provide extra three hour long help sessions on Saturdays. He made the material interesting and I always looked forward to coming to lectures.

What a great professor! I thoroughly enjoyed his class. He is open to answering questions and tries to make things as clear as he can for you. Go to his discussion sections, as he elaborates much more than in class. He said that he sets an A usually around a B-. If you take it over the summer, though, make sure it's the only one you're taking.

I did the hw problems about 3 times each, that way when he did ask about that one hw problem on the exam, I knew how to do it. However, the two midterms and final had at least one "challenge" problem, those were tough. The exams are representative of the material and he curves, he made a 297600 a B-. I would recommend him, just do the hw often!

He is great, but you should pay a lot of attention in his class. Lectures are on fast base. 2 midterms 1 final no other assessments. If u want to take an A in his class attend to his helping sections its very helpful.

A clear and helpful lecturer who gives a more mechanistic approach to ochem. By that, I mean think about electron movement, sterics, and partial charges rather than memorize products and reagents. Has office hours on Saturdays; They are VERY helpful if you bring a lot of questions. Do the textbook problems at the end of the chapter!

Taken for two quarters of Ochem over the summer. Fair exams, no surprises. His office hours are extremely helpful (almost like a mini lecture), so go to these. Avg B-. Go to class and DO THE HOMEWORK if you want at least a B. If you take it over the summer DON'T TAKE ANYTHING ELSE or you'll be overwhelmed. He might round up if you participate.

I love this guy! Lectures are clear and understandable. Exams are tough, but you know, that's because it's ochem. He takes so much time explaining everything clearly to the confused students. Tests are extremely fair, no surprises. Do homework and go to all lectures and help sessions. If you're taking him in the summer, get ready to study HARD!

He is more than willing to answer any question you might have. He's good at explaining things simply. He emphasizes what he wants you to know. His tests are completely fair, no surprises at all. He has a few funny stories, too. Overall, a chill professor. Curves his class so the avg (which is 50%) is a B-.

Attend every class period and actually pay attention. He explains mechanisms really well so make sure to take notes! Do the practice problems from the book and practice midterm!!!!!!!! Offers atleast one help session a week for students to ask questions. Try and finish the homework before the help session so you can get your questions answered!

Best professor I've had in 4 years at UCSD. Difficult course, but you can tell Dr. O'Connor really cares about his students and holds office hour sessions regularly. If you put in the work, you will do well.

Regular Organic Chemistry is really simple. If you've done will in AP Chemistry in high school, this class should be a breeze. AP Chemistry is a year long course, whereas this is 10 weeks. You're going to have to put in effort. O'Connor is a really good lecturer. If you want an "A," do the problems and attend his help sessions and lectures.

Such a great professor! Everyone made ochem seem impossible, it is a though subject but O'Connor explains everything so well and is so willing to help. I can't stress it enough how great he is. Definitely take him!

1) He has help sessions which really help with the material every week. They're very clear. Go to at least 60% of them. 2) Ochem isn't scary. If you're lazy with reading the book, it will be hard. 3) DRAW OUT EVERYTHING. This class is 110% being able to imagine reactions and essentially his midterms. Midterms are fair if you read + go to class.

One of my favorite professors ever. The lectures are the usual; ppt style, goes over slides, etc. BUT the best part is that he is LITERALLY always going to be there for you. He held 2 help sessions per week for the entire 10 weeks and they are super helpful to go to. Go to class, take notes, go to help sessions, prepare to ace the class!

Tough material but very doable if you go to his lectures and help sessions. Help sessions are crucial to getting a good grade because he goes over ways to approach problems and clearly states what he expects on exams. Do the book problems! Exams have no surprises, but average is always around 50% (he curves the average to a B-)

He is a really great professor, and he is very passionate about the subject. His exams are tough, but that's mainly because it's Ochem. There are no surprises on his exams, and he prepares you well for it by holding a help session every week. I did not go to all of it, but every time I did, it helped! He shows you how he approaches the problem.

I took 140A with him during summer session, time was limited but he definite tried to make things as easy as possible for his students. Lectures are clear and to the point and exams are fair. And he spent a lot of time answering questions. He's kind and approachable and you really learn stuff from his class. Highly recommend.

Seriously loved his class. Hes hilarious. Hes not really accessible outside of his classroom though but he makes up for it with office hours before class starts and 2+ hour review sessions on all Saturdays. All exams are on Sunday. MAJOR CURVE. I probably should had gotten an F in the class but some how ended up with a B.

He's a great professor. His slides and lectures are effective at leaching you the topics at hand. He's super funny and helpful if you have any questions despite not really being available outside of class. However, his tests are TERRIBLE! Most of the questions are highly specific and overly complicated. Too much on the test he doesn't review at all

Prof. Oconnor is one of my favorite professors Ive had so far. He lays a foundation in lecture so that you may master the material by reading and doing lots of practice. Thats why getting an A is meaningfulyou have to work for it. People who complain about unrelated material on tests are not putting in the time to grasp a solid understanding.

He's really not bad. At all. Although I found his help sessions to be a lot more helpful than his actual lectures. Ochem is hard no matter who you take, it's just up to you to put in the work for it.

I found his class challenging, but still understandable. His lectures are helpful, and he holds Saturday help hours in a lecture hall that was basically an extra lecture of review and clarification. Obviously will require effort, but thats just Ochem for you.

Exam is kind of hard, especially the multiple choice part. I took three exams and did only half of the multiple choice questions correctly in all three exams.

Lectures aren't the most helpful; I felt like I had to learn a lot on my own. SI sessions also really carried me in my learning. He's very open and responsive to questions though so go to his office hours. Tests are pretty difficult but the curve really saves your grade, so it's not the worst.

Great lecturer and funny dude, his slides are fairly useful but definitely use the textbook as well to get a fuller picture. Exams are tough but mostly fair, outside of a few problems here and there. Exams make up ~99% of the grade, but the curve is fairly generous. Overall, a tough, yet rewarding Orgo experience.

This class is hard and that is not this professor's fault. He answers questions super well and his lectures are good to attend, if you can follow along in the lecture then he will give a lot of help for the exams. Grade is almost entirely midterms and finals but the class is heavily curved at the end. The textbook is my best friend.

I really liked his slides/lectures, if you pay attention to all of them, and do all the recommended practice problems, the class is about 3-4 or less hours outside of class a week for an A. The grade is heavily curved. I would not give him a five, because he does not feel very kind, but he is certainly not mean, he just does his job satisfactorily.

I was a part of his FA23 class. I personally enjoyed his lectures and teaching style, as the professor for the first in the 41 series, he does a fairly decent job at preparing the class for beyond. He was very open to helping students during office hours / help sessions, and his exams were fair.