2.1
Quality3.6
Difficulty50%
Would Retake86
Reviews50%
Would Retake
86
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
8
4
7
3
12
2
29
1
30
What Students Say
“Overall was a horrible class”
EVSC101 - 2.0 rating“I've never been in a worse class at UVa”
EVSC101 - 1.0 ratingClass Info
Attendance Mandatory
100%
Textbook Required
71%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
A-
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Stable
-0.17 avg changeRatings by Course
EVSC4240
5.0
(2)BIOL312
3.0
(2)EVSC
2.5
(2)EVSC1010
2.5
(6)EVSC101
2.2
(69)Difficulty by Course
101
5.0
ENVISCI101
5.0
BIO101
5.0
1010
4.0
EVSC
4.0
Reviews (86)
Envisci 101 seems like it would be an easy class, right? WRONG
a bit boring and not always clear on test material needed to know, but not hard
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Not as bad as people say. An A- or A is easily within reach of average UVa stu.
UMMM...what?
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evsc is very, very boring; makes it hard to enjoy the class
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umm..umm...linda blum...ummm...can't get...umm...the words...out of her...umm...mouth. lecture was torture.
Not so much that the class is hard; Prof. Blum is hard to get along with and doesn't really get her point across, and she takes her job way too seriously. I never know what will be on the test.
Relatively decent teacher. I just believe she's been teaching this class for more semester's than she has wanted. The class is not hard, and she will help if you really want it.
probably the worst prof I've had here, definitely not up to par - passion seems to be creating a course to take up all of students' time for any random chance of an A
Her class is VERY easy. What's the problem here?
No Comments
Super helpful on hard material
This woman is SO boring. When the lights are dimmed and she starts umming...it puts me right to sleep
BAD! DO NOT take her!
worst class ever, so boring, hard to know what's on the tests
The tests had nothing to do with the practice questions or material. bad lecturer. mean. don't take.
One of the worst professors ever, not to mention says umm, well umm a lot =P
worst class..i thought it would be easy..all her tests were as if she was trying to fail you!!! horrible experience..her help didnt really help either...her tests had nothing to do with the lectures..no matter how hard u studied...dont ever take this...
I hate environmental science thanks to this class.
Boring as this class was, it wasn't particularly hard. As for not knowing what was on the tests, several practice questions could be found verbatim on each test. Staying awake in class should by itself guarantee a B.
I had a good backround in this area before taking this class, yet somehow that didn't help at ALL on her ludicrous exams. I absolutely hated this class and this professor. But thanks to her project I salvaged my gradfe. And trick questions don't prove your knowledge as well as an essay would.
This class is super boring and this prof will make you fall asleep. You may think the material is easy to understand when you read the texts and powerpoints but the tests are crazy hard.
She's nice, but her lectures are SO boring. And her tests are unnecessarily hard. I hate the environment now.
Lectures are boring and her speaking skills are not very good. Even by reading the text, studying notes and the lectures, the tests were hard to take... especially when there was no motivation because the material was boring! Not a recommended class.
Professor Blum taught me a lot in EVSC 101.
This woman is really annoying, and unfair. She purposely makes the tests very hard, and is totally unsympathetic. On the fun side, if you get stuck with her, you can drive her INSANE with cell phones. It sure breaks the usual monotony of the class.
Horrible class. Tests are impossible no matter how hard you study. Stay away from this lady!
I agree with all the negative comments that have been said above.
She destroyed any interest I had in environmental science. I took this class expecting it to be easy, but I was definitely wrong. What everyone on here has said about her is completely true. Take another EVSC class if you want something easy.
Lectures are relatively borning, but don't pass them up. Extra credit opportunities are only offered to those in attendance and there is no telling when she'll spring some on you. If you pay attention and do the work, the class is easy.
I would only take this class if you watned an excuse to hate everything about env. science. Absolutely terrible. One of the most annoying, incompetent, and generally unclear professors I have ever studied under. Do not take this class.
This class is very hard. She purposely makes the test hard. The reading is not that bad and if you go see her she is very helpful. But TESTS ARE HARD!
This class is easily among the most frustrating ever. Like everyone else has said, the tests are ridiculously hard to the point of hopeless and the lectures are boring to the point of pulling your hair out in frustration. STAY AWAY!
I don't think she's realised that she's teaching a 101 class and not a thesis program. If you're only trying to fill a requirement DON'T take this class, it will screw you over. If you do take it...beware of her 'teaching moments'.
ok yess i dont know whether i read all those comments i might have and just didnt take them seriously,,,pleasee take them seriously this class is extremely pointless not an easy A
Absolutely Horrible. She needs to take a public speaking class and for someone to read over her tests for her, because apparently she doesn't understand english too well. Going to lecture doesn't help too much on tests. This class will drive you nuts, especially if you are interested in Envi-Sci
the tests are hard and unrelated to the material taught in class, there is no curve, and the only thing that can save your grade is the few extra credit points she offers. she is also extremely inflexible with her stupid policies. DO NOT take this class.
This class is TERRIBLE. The woman expects you to have no life outside of work - and that includes no eating or sleeping in her terms. She's boring and unclear. The tests are hard and she doesn't curve. If its just to fulfill a requirement, DO NOT take this class!!!
This class sucked
Does environmental science have to be this hard? NO! Ok, she makes it sound easy in the lectures, but once you get your uncurved test back (ave usually 72%), you just want to cry. Spare yourself.
I think Blum is great to have, especially for an intro class. She's very organized- she puts the lecture outlines online, as well as slides, and also posts practice tests. She holds a review session the day before the test will stay long to help clear up anything. You still have to study to do well, but it's not a hard class. I liked her!
She's a crazy person. If you want to spend a review session learning SCIENTIFIC NOTATION because somone there missed it in 6th grade, take the class. If you have mastered scientific notation and don't want to listen to Linda's other "learning moments," don't take it. She wears sweater vests and courdoroy, she should be teaching kindergarten.
This class was soooo frustrating. Test questions were very ambiguous. One in particular was worded so that you had to read her mind to know which of two answers was correct, but she refused to give credit for the one that was "wrong". Others were not quite so blatant, but still... this was a horrible course.
This professor is horrible. Not only is she rude when you approach her to ask questions, she also makes things about 20 times harder than they should be. Test questions are poorly worded and there is no curve. I now hate environmental science completely. Thanks Professor Blum!!
She's not that bad,the tests can be kind of hard. Do the reading and the practice questions provided by the book website, and should be fine
all of the tests were hard, even after studying for a long time and going to class! all tests are m/c and so your grade is mostly that. not very engaging lecturer
Overall terrible class. Lectures are disorganized, boring, and don't cover the material you are tested on. Tests themselves are frustrating bc the material should not be hard, yet the questions are random, poorly worded, impossible to study for, and don't seem to test what you're learning in class. Don't take this as an easy science credit!!!!!!!
Worst professor I have ever experienced. Sounds like a broken record player in class and tests have the most arbitrary questions that you will ever come across. DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS
If she was suffering from a fatal, painful disease and i was the governor, i would outlaw euthanasia and force her to listen to her own lectures and take her own tests.I've never been in a worse class at UVa.She should be fired.Immediately.
Linda Blum is a very confusing professor who gives test questions that were not covered during the class.
Linda makes tests harder than they should be because she is a heartless jigamasauntez with no sould and she is married only to hide her true feelings. Questions are worded poorly and content on the test is only slightly covered in class so answers are usually educated guesses. Dont take this class unless you like stupid questions from christoff.
DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS! I ignored people's warnings and the class was terrible. She's boring and her exams are unreasonable. If you take the class, you'll regret it.
Not a hard class material-wise but expect a B because of the tests-basically the only grades. Professor Blum clearly enjoys EVSC but doesn't seem that excited about teaching it.
Seriously...stay away. Before the semester, I read through all of these reviews and said "Nah...she can't be this horrible...OK, she's teaching a new class, so maybe she'll do a better job here." Absolutely not. She's terrible, incompetent, and tests at a far more difficult level than how she lectures. AND NO CURVE!? WTF! Stay away!
IMO the WORST class/teacher I have ever experienced. Blum's unsympathetic (doesn't curve her tests), incompetent (needs speech class), dry (try stayin awake to her "uh uh uh.." with the lights off) and unreasonable (her tests require you to make UNEDUCATED GUESSES!!!). For your own sake, stay away from this course. Blum SHOULD BE FIRED!!! >_<
She is not that bad! Maybe she's bad for Envi Sci but her tests were easy enough. There was no curve but the averages on the last two tests were in the low-mid 80s!! Not a great professor but not as bad as people say and really a nice, if awkward, person.
This woman should be FIRED IMMEDIATELY!!! Tests are absolutely RIDICULOUS. She ruins the EVSC program b/c everyone who takes her 101 class (including me) decides that they hate EVSC. EVSC deserves SO much better! Seriously, get your parents to write to UVA and get this loser FIRED!!!
she is a terrible professor. her lectures are extremely boring (uhhh, every few seconds) and include a lot of uneeded info. she also grades extremely harshly; i have gotten zeroes on homework that i spent hours on simply because i neglected to sign the pledge (i wrote it out, just forgot to sign it) and her tests are pretty ridiciulous also.
She is nice enough but will only help if you go to office hours. She gives pop quizzes on the readings.
QUITE TERRIBLE!DON'T TAKE THE CLASS!I DIDN'T SEE THESE COMMENTS TILL NOW AND IT IS TOO LATE TO REGRET!!
should have listened to the warnings here. i tried to stick it out and my gpa is suffering. don't take this course.
This class really isn't that bad. If you can put up with Blum's stutter and inability to keep lectures interesting then you'll be fine. Just read the book, memorize vocab, and do the homework.
I looked at these ratings too late. DONT TAKE THIS CLASS!!! IT SUCKS!
Honestly this woman is really helpful, knows her work but will definitely make life HELL!!! Tough tests, tough HW, loads of quizzes,tough grading, 50% B's 1% A's the rest r def C's and D'. YUP AVOID THE CLASS!!..show her she needs to change her way or else we students will stop taking her class!!
Worst class in the COD. She is terrible. She just repeats what is on her slides, and offers no help. She gave me a 0/100 on an exam even though I had gotten permission from her to miss it previously, so she went back on her word. Please avoid this class so the EVSC dept. can realize she needs to be FIRED! AVOID THIS CLASS.
Overall was a horrible class. The lectures are extremely boring and Blum tends to stutter and say "uhhhh" every two seconds. The material is fairly easy, yet the tests are almost impossible to do well on. It is an extremely hard class to do well in even though you may know the material. Don't recommend, especially if it is to fulfill a requirement.
Actually brought a student up on Honor charges because he came in late to a multiple-choice quiz, and guessed on questions he wasn't there to see. Scary. She could not only ruin your grade, but get you kicked out of school. Claims guessing correctly on three multiple choice questions is essentially statistically impossible.
A lot of people this class but I really liked it. I don't think you will find the tests too hard as long as you read the chapters and take very good notes (which you will need to study well!) And I'm not too sure why people think Linda is so evil because I really liked her. I guess just dont get on her bad side. She also gives hmwrk almost weekly.
She really isn't that bad. She loves the material, though the lectures can be a bit boring. Her tests are based almost completely off the lecture, so go to lecture and take good notes. I got a B+ by cramming the night before for everything. It's really not that bad of a class, and the material isn't that hard.
While it is obvious that Blum has a lot of interest in the course material it is often hard to follow her lectures. The slides that she posts only contain pictures so it is impossible to skip lecture and try to catch up by looking at the slides. She gives zero guidance on what to study for exams. She's tough but not terrible.
This was a great class - a lot of work, but you learn a lot. Blum was a great professor and was NOT a harsh grader at all (my lowest grade was an 89). Envi Sci students - don't be afraid to take her upper level class, she is great and so is the class!
Avoid this professor. Take this course in the spring with the other instructor. She is very unclear, her slides are disorganized and she creates no incentives for her students to do better. There is no curve even though the class average for most of her tests is 70.
I enjoyed Professor Blum. She is passionate about what she is teaching, but to do well you must go to the lectures and take good notes. If you do that you don't need to read the textbook. She is always ready to help and will spend however long it takes to make sure you do. If you want to do well, you will. The concepts are not hard.
There aren't any assignments in this class, but there are 4 exams (the lowest grade gets dropped) plus a final, which are mainly based off of the lectures. She does post the slides online for students, but she changes them. So she will show some slides in class, that we don't have. She does read off of the slides quite often. I didn't care for EVSC
Literally the worst professor I have had in my entire life. Lectures are scattered and unorganized despite her reading word for word off of the slides, she can barely answer questions and she's more often than not reciting inaccurate information. When studying for tests, the textbook and class notesslides do not match up. Impossible to do well.
DO NOT TAKE. If you need to take EVSC 1010, wait until the spring when she is NOT teaching. Professor Blum is unclear, confusing, and highly inarticulate. No student should receive a D+ in an introductory course, but somehow Blum made that possible for me. I studied hard, went to class, and went to office hours. Her tests are very difficult.
Linda Blum is not a good professor, and I would not recommend her to anyone. Estuarine Ecology sounds interesting, but her lectures are dull and repetitive and her exams are very difficult. The field trip is fun but not worth writing a 15-page single-spaced research project. I highly regret taking this class.
Professor Blum is by far the professor I have ever take a class with. While her classes are by no means an easy A, if you do the work and get invested in her class you will do extremely well. I would highly recommend taking any class you can with her.
Class Info
Attendance Mandatory
100%
Textbook Required
71%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
A-
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Stable
-0.17 avg changeRatings by Course
EVSC4240
5.0
(2)BIOL312
3.0
(2)EVSC
2.5
(2)EVSC1010
2.5
(6)EVSC101
2.2
(69)Difficulty by Course
101
5.0
ENVISCI101
5.0
BIO101
5.0
1010
4.0
EVSC
4.0