Very fair, very helpful if you go into office hours and all in all just a nice person

She talks in a condescending tone which sucks. She also talks in a way that makes you feel like you've been time warped back into the third grade. The class isn't bad. You don't need the book. The read and the sections should be sufficient.

She sometimes acted a bit arrogant, but she seemed to like what she was doing. She put a lot of extra time into it. The book was not very helpful. The class is very general.

good prof overall, hard but makes sure you know the stuff. can be a little confusing at times.

I had Kathy for both BIPN 106 and BICD 131 - she cares about the material and knows her stuff VERY well, but she does expect you to work hard. She goes out of her way to find time to run problem sessions outside of class, and understands the limitations of time in student life. Overall, excellent.

I've had Kathy for BICD131 and BIPN106. Both are relatively time consuming. She holds problem sessions and is willing to make time to meet with you. And she provides old tests. There's no excuse to do poorly in her class. She's also very understanding of emergencies and personal conflicts

She really tries to explain things as best as she can. Always willing to answer questions, and holds problem sessions. But.. she does go bipolar sometimes, ie. can get condescending, or anal about random things. Oh yeah, tests are pretty difficult. STUDY HARD :X

French is a nice lady even though she may seem a little scary. Go to every singe problem session and definately go to sections. Go to her office hours too. Her tests can be a little difficult but if you study really hard you can get an A.

This class is hard, but there's really no avoiding it...she makes a course outline which is all you really need, the book won't help you much more than her "condensed" 300 page reader...you'll have to study but she's better than all the other mam. phys profs. so just take her, go to lectures and prob. sessions, and you'll still live at the end

Go to problem sessions and TA discussions. Most TAs will give out handouts. There is a lot of material covered, and know it for the tests. The class was hard but it is possible to achieve the A. Maybe a bit more studying than other classes, but hey, it's bio. There is always studying to do.

Professor French is the BEST teacher at UCSD. Don't believe the negative raters here. She is always available for students - answers emails alarmingly fast. If you study hard and show her that you care about the subject, you will do well. I had her for BIPN 100 also. Take her :)

Dr. French is incredibly helpful and cares about her students! She regularly stays past her alloted office hour to help you understand...whatever. Her lectures are perfectly paced, very clear, and she even has a collection of lecture illustrations so you don't have to copy every drawing. It's worth waiting a couple quarters to take bipn from her.

French is very helpful, has lots of office hours and is responsive to questions/concerns/emails. Tests are a little difficult but if you just gotta put in the effort for every class you take. She's nice and shows concern for her students. We need more professors like her.

Midterms are okay, but they may be tricky. Don't think the obvious to answer some hard questions. Exams are conceptual and the Final was very long. Half of it was True/False questions.

She is a nice person, but the information she presents is not up to date and sometimes inaccurate, and if you give an answer that is not 'her' answer it is wrong, even if it is a right answer according to everyone else.

she's a really nice person, interesting material but hard class, really need to understand the material

the material during lecture and in the course outline is difficult and requires true understanding followed with hardcore memorization. BUT her exams were surprisingly easy. I expected to get B but I actually got an A!

Awesome teacher! She might seem intimidating in class but she is helpful if you go to office hours. Two midterms and ****ilative final/third midterm. just memorize her reader and you'll ace the exams.

Kathy French is an awesome professor. She can be a little scary if you ask her a dumb question, but she explains everything SO WELL. She provides practice probs in her lecture packet and problem solving sessions that prep you well for exams. Plus she grades really fairly -- not on the curve that most professors use.

Awesome mam phys teacher, she's really nice and helpful in her office hours. 2 midterms and a final, not hard to get an A if you are interested in the subject.

Professor French is passionate about Physio! She makes the class interesting and enjoyable. She goes beyond the classroom and offers problem solving sessions that are incredibly useful. The tests are representative of the material learned. Great professor to have for this course.

she's intimidating but very helpful professor. Her lectures are crystal clear. You can learn a lot in this class, especially in preparation of MCAT.

She is gives the tough love. she is helpful but rough. you need to study and keep up with her. I have learned a great deal from her class and found out that she is very friendly and approachable outside class.study old midterms and finals and you will do fine.

She is a great lecturer. One of the best I have ever seen. She is helpful and is willing to repeat things many times until you understand her. Study hard though, her tests are difficult.

IMPORTANT - she does NOT use +/- system. Focused, clear, organized lecturer. I had her in consecutive qtrs for both 100 and 106. Exams require thinking, not just citing of facts, but this might be typical of all BIPN classes. 100 was much more loaded with material and competition with premeds, and 106 was more chill. Both were great classes.

Lectures are very clear, easy to understand. She makes mamphys easy! And she does use +/- system. Don't be intimidated by her seemingly condescending attitude because she's actually very friendly and approachable. Just study the reader thoroughly, come to class and sections and you'll do well. I loved her class!!!!

She can come across as condescending sometimes in lecture, but she is really nice one-on-one. She has a lot of office hours every week and really cares about her students. The course is kind of hard, but you learn a lot!

Comes across very mean and belittling. Probably the most disrespectful teacher I've ever had at UCSD. Watch out for her tests, because they are fairly subjective. They are entirely short answer and if you do not write what she wants in her words, you will not receive credit. Her final is 120 T/F questions which are all meant to trick you.

I don't know what people is talking about . It is simply very unfair for her . She is the best lecturer that i have ever got in UCSD. This class is hard because mamphy is supposed to be hard but she really make it as clear as possible. Test is hard and required u to really understand material. she not grade word to word . Great proffesor

she may seem scary but you'll definitely learn. She made me like biology again! i dropped the class thinking I would do horrible, but wished I stayed since she gives a good curve and I would have gotten a great grade. True tests are difficult. not an easy class. But its worth it! take her!

First impression- catholic nun with a microscope. She really is a sweetheart though, her whole and true goal is to teach students to think critically and help mold our young minds into potentially good scientific ones. Love her.

DR FRENCH IS AWESOME!!! but she is rather difficult, you have to put time into her class. She could be very intimidating if you don't get to know her. She's VERY clear about the material in comp phys and holds problem sessions every week to help with learning. Her true goal is just to make her students learn, but sometimes in an intense manner

She is mean in class but during her problem solving sessions she's really nice. All the info you need is in the reader. Midterms were pretty easy short answer questions with partial credit. Final covered a lot of small details. She repeats things too much but is an effective lecturer overall.

Really not as bad as everyone is making her look here. Yes, her class requires you to study hard, but physiology isn't supposed to be easy anyway so you can't blame her. Her tests are fair for the most part, but the final was all true-false instead of short answer, which kinda sucked. But it's not impossible to get an A!

I'm sitting here laughing because if you think her class is detail oriented, I can't wait for all of you to get to medical school. I took her several years ago and am a MSIII this year. Her information has still stuck with me to this day and made medical school a lot easier. If you think she's mean... wait until you do rotations.

Kathy French is a great prof! Although she can sound patronizing during class, she is completely approachable in office hours. Very helpful. She even helped me calculate what grade I needed to get an A. Just go to lecture and then podcast it so the material sticks in your head. Study early and do the practice exams. BTW she does give +/- grades.

love this professor! she's not as intimidating as people say she is. i'd say save your questions for her office hours because she's much nicer about answering and explaining questions. her practice midterm is a bit easier than the actual, but study ahead of time and you should be fine

She claims that she isn't trying to trick you, but her exams seem incongruent with her teaching methods. She does offer pity points if you do happen to misunderstand some of her vague questions. She boastfully provides practice midterms in her reader, but does not offer a practice final! HA! A little hypocritical if you ask me.

At first, French is really annoying and you might hate her. But give it a chance and you'll probably appreciate her class and teaching style. The material isn't ridiculously difficult. She asks pretty detailed questions on tests, but overall the tests are extremely fair compared to other Bio professors. Definitely recommend.

take her!! shes great, if you go to lecture and take good notes and study enough you can get an A its not impossible i got an A. her exams are very straightforward and i love her lecture style she is very clear. and podcasts are very helpful. shes great take her!

A great professor. I don't get why people think she is hard. She doesn't try to trick you at all. She does expect details; however, but all you have to do is go to lecture, and REALLY get everything, and there's no doubt you'll get an A. Her final format kind of sucks, though. The TAs grade really tough, so just be sure to be extra detailed.

Efficient, organized, fair, and clearly passionate about her field of study. She takes teaching very seriously, unlike most professors at a research university. She's notorious for this class because she actually wants you to LEARN the material, not just **** your way to the grade.

A teacher that really cares about students really learning and understanding the subject. The class is only difficult because of this aspect! If you honestly keep up with the work and go to class/section, it's an easy A. Otherwise, it's going to be really rough.

I guess it's an easy class/Prof. if you're smart with your physio. I could've studied more. It's really up to you. Study and put in time = easy. Don't study = hard. Simple. Also, she ridicules students who ask stupid questions- rightly so.

Her first BILD 2 class. Midterms were short answer, and final was a sort of MC-T/F hybrid. She might come off as a bit stern, but is actually quite encouraging of questions. Readings from the book are recommended, but as it seems, lecture notes and podcasts should suffice. She gave lots of extra credit for just emailing your feedback every week!

She is a GREAT professor. She speaks very clearly and emphasizes on very important details. She is difficult because she expects you to remember the details as well, and she can be intimidating at times. BUT, she shows a great deal of care for her students and is very good at getting her students to LEARN the material rather than regurgitating it.

Very knowledgeable professor and tries to provide extra help. Not a very good lecturer. Doesn't really explain everything, and sometimes hard to follow. Midterms were easy but final was a killer. Basically need to know every single word/graph on outline & problem sets. Keep in mind what appears on outline don't appear in lectures.

Great professor! She's super nice and friendly. She goes pretty slow in lecture to explain things carefully and make sure that nobody gets left behind. She answers all questions thoroughly and in great detail. The class is also really easy. Make sure to go to all of the problem solving sessions because they're really helpful and you'll do fine.

If you've taken her for BILD 2, definitely take her for BIPN 100! If not... take her anyway! To succeed you MUST: Do the problem sets. Do the past exams. Review the lecture notes. ALWAYS ATTEND CLASS. Try to read the book. After doing all that, let your logic take you through the exams. MAKE SURE your answers are clear and EXPLAINED in every way!

To be honest, I was scared of her when I first came to class but after a while, you realize how much she actually cares about her students. Do the readings before lectures, do the problem sets, go to office hours, and you should do well on the exams! She's a great professor

Dr. French isn't the most approachable professor at UCSD, but she is very fair and that is what I really liked about her. I did poorly on the first midterm, but I still managed to get a B in the class. She offers extra credit too. The final is different from the past two midterms, it definitely is harder, but as long as you study, you will do well!

Dr. Kathleen French is a very articulate and eloquent professor. Her lectures are crystal clear and very easy to follow. She does not misspeak and confuse the students. Her midterms are somewhat challenging but appropriate for an upper division class. To take her final, one must be very cognizant of what is false in every statement. I got an A.

Everything is very clear, and the course outlines posted on the website were useful for lecture. Her midterms were hard, and they emphasized some material we didn't focus on in lecture. I'd still recommend her.

Professor French is by far the one of the best professors I've had at UCSD. She is very clear in lecture and makes sure to explain everything of importance in detail so that there's no room for confusion. Definitely a difficult course, but Professor French makes sure that you learn the material. I would highly recommend her as an instructor.

The exams are hard, and honestly I was scared of her at first, but Dr. French provides really good resources. She's a great lecturer and knows her stuff. Know the course outlines, go to problem solving sessions, do the problem sets. I recommend her especially if you want to learn mamphys.

Dr. French cares more about her students than any other prof I've ever had. Her tests are hard but fair and her final exam format takes some getting used to. GO TO HER OFFICE HOURS and get to know her! She is extremely helpful and kind even though her tone may seem condescending. Love her classes to no end. I've had her as a prof 3 times now!

She is THE QUEEN. She commands attention at every lecture. DO NOT misbehave. She will embarrass you. However, as teacher, she is great. She really is crystal clear in her and tries to get u to understand the concept. Final is kinda tricky but that is the way it is. You just really gotta know your stuff to pass it. Everything is from the lecture.

Being a physiology class, this class is packed with tons of info. that needs to be learned. I hardly go to class but that's where podcasting comes in. I find that her tests are fair as long as you study. I love the way she lectures, she speaks clearly &slowly, great when you are trying to soak all the material in!

I don't know why people dislike her so much. She is very clear in lecture and what she talks about in lecture and on the course outlines is the material on the midterms/final. The final is all T/F but she gives a very generous curve. If you do fairly decent (as in just don't completely fail), you'll get a C no problem.

Dr. French knows her material better than anyone and she is super clear while lecturing. That being said...VERY DIFFICULT! You need to memorize memorize memorize! Final is T/F and very tricky. Very generous with the curve so its pretty easy to get a C but an A is much more difficult. Would recommend if you didn't mind working super hard for the A

She is a really good teacher. She was really helpful during her review sessions and problem solving sessions. Initially, I was scared about the class because of the ratings I saw, but she turned out to be really good. She may seem negative at times, but I do not believe she means to offend. Just make sure to take advantage of the chances to learn.

Took this class in the Spring of 12. Boy can I say that class will literally kick your butt. So much information to memorize, not to mention the fact that once you do get your test, the questions will come completely out of left field so ALL that time you studied memorizing things that you think your supposed to know goes to waste. Still recommend

She has high expectations. Work hard and use all resources available. I do have to note that when I raised a question during an exam the TA was unable to clarify what the question was asking for himself - example of how a few questions may not be fairly written. While she doesn't dote on her students it does appear she wants them to succeed.

DO NOT take her. For anything. Make it easy on yourself. I made the mistake of thinking maybe since BIPN 106 is an elective for most she will be easier. Well, it is likely I get my first C in college and I am 3.9 GPA student. Even if you think you cant possibly study anymore, you still don't know anything. Her tests are that ridiculous. Stay away.

I have taken 3 courses with her. I see that many complaints towards her are valid, but I don't believe that any students are fooled into thinking she designs her courses to be easy A's. Her lecture style seems slow and patronizing but it is a good way to ensure that concepts are accurately absorbed especially since details are important in BIPN.

French is a great professor - detailed, clear, and well versed in physiology - but not so much a nice person. Although her class is challenging, she lays all her cards on the table and provides on her website and podcasts all the sources necessary for success. Take her if you want a solid intro to physiology and are willing tolerate her arrogance.

Absolutely EVERYTHING is laid out in the syllabus. If you read the material before class, attend lectures, and actually do the problems, you will know the material. It's not easy but it is fair. People complain about how hard the class is but I don't want someone who can't handle this class to be my doctor, do you?

Dr. Kathleen is one of those tough professors who give you a strong foundation on physiology, she knows the material very well and expands on those information. Her tests are very hard and makes you WORK for it, consequently it is a very rewarding process, and you really discover if physiology is your thing. I learned so much in this class.

Problem Solving Sessions, discussions, office hours twice a week, course outlines, problem sets, attending discussions, and reading the textbook is what you need to be doing if you want that A+. You will learn a lot of physiology in the process. Just dont get lazy and actually spend time learning the material! we are at a university for a reason.

Dr. French is challenging. She's willing to test your ability to apply concepts to questions you've never seen before. Really, she's not bad at explaining the material - it even feels like she's dragging on a bit for some of the easier content. Her biggest weakness is that she might skip topics (kidneys), which can be important in future classes.