2.5
Quality4.2
Difficulty39%
Would Retake103
Reviews39%
Would Retake
103
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
103 total ratings5
11
4
19
3
16
2
18
1
39
What Students Say
“This class was unnecessarily difficult, especially for those who haven't taken AP Chem”
CHEM135 - 2.0 rating“I took this course over the summer in 2015 and I thought Dr Koppel was great”
CHEM231 - 4.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
65%
Textbook Required
3%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-1.45 avg changeRatings by Course
CHEM131
3.6
(8)CHEM135
3.0
(4)CHEM231
3.0
(43)CHEM232
1.9
(40)CHEM132
1.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
CHEM132
5.0
CHEM242
5.0
CHEM232V
4.8
CHEM232
4.5
CHEM231
4.0
Reviews (102)
This class was unnecessarily difficult, especially for those who haven't taken AP Chem. She teaches way more orgo than we should be required to know in an INTRO to chem class. Although she held extra office hours and review sessions, her lectures were confusing and I learned most of the material on my own.
She's actually a really good lecturer and person. She has an open door office hour policy so if you need help, she is always there. Her tests are very fair and doable if you are willing to put the time and effort in. She also explains things very well and the clicker questions were a great way to help you boost your grade. Great Professor
This was Dr. Koppel's first time teaching ORGO1 and I would say she did a phenomenal job. She works to explain everything and the way she outlined the material is a lot more effective than the other orgo1 teachers. I was terrified coming into this course and she made it welcoming.
Dr. Koppel is a trickster. The whole class had terrible grades (D's, C's) the whole semester and poof everyone ends up with a decent grade with her crazy curve. Added unnecessary material to the course such as organic chemistry. Overall if you stick with it you should end up with a B!
Organized material very well and in a manner that made more sense than other orgo professors, had reviews before every exam, great lecturer, I rarely used the textbook and I loved that Very knowledgeable about the subject, even gave random trivia facts during lecture Lots of extra credit points available and helpful points available from HW
It's not really the professor that matters for orgo lab. You do labs once a week and answer the lab questions. The TA teaches the labs and ALL the TA's grade labs. Essential to go to TA office hours often and find a TA that helps with lab questions. Some TA's are snobbish. Lab questions are usually not easy to answer. 1 credit class but DIFFICULT.
She's teaches well but goes way too fast through her lecture.
I think Dr. Koppel is a great teacher, she explains everything in her lectures, but also gives clicker questions that are accurate to what will be on the exam. She gives a lot of extra credit on the exam of around 5-10 points and 15 on the final. However, she can be a bit condescending.
Dr. Koppel's SIE Orgo 1 class is manageable. She wants you to succeed. We only had 5 homeworks throughout the course of the semester. She gives lots of extra points on her assignments and her exams. The lectures can seem excruciatingly long and dense, but good notes -- good grades.
I took this course over the summer in 2015 and I thought Dr Koppel was great. She sped through concepts very quickly but our discussion TA was amazing (Chris Ma). If you have Koppel as your teacher, go to her office hours and hold on to your TA because you don't want to be left behind! Fundamental concepts from earlier exams appear on future exams.
Dr. Koppel does an exceptional job at explaining material and putting it in perspective. Yes, the lectures are dense, and yes, the tests are hard. That's a given for any orgo professor. She gives lots of extra credit, easy clicker points, and won't hold you accountable for anything she doesn't explicitly tell you.
Teaches too fast and is condescending. One of the worst chem professors I've had.
Avoid her, she doesn't explain anything well and gives tough tests. You will regret taking a class with her. Take ochem with another professor.
Organic chemistry I; lecture. This course is very VERY fast-paced. Her tests are difficult but the TAs were amazing (Chris/Jessica). Dr. Koppel means well but the course is just too fast... she's like 5 miles ahead of us and we're over here on the 2nd block to get gas. If you want a good grade, you'd better get ahead during the first month.
Amazing, helpful professor! This course is hard but if you attend all of her lectures she makes everything very easy and simple to understand and follow. Very organized and there is a huge curve. Even a D+ in the class will end up being a B- so as long as you do close to average on exams (which is usually 60's) you will earn the grade you want!
Dr. Koppel sped through class which is expected from any orgo 1 class, but she did not explain anything well. She also made students who asked questions feel dumb and made rude remarks at times. I dreaded going to this class. You're going to be our own professor if you take her class
I was nervous to take one of the most notoriously hard chemistry classes at UMD (Orgo I) over the summer, but Dr. Koppel has made the course as straight forward as it can be in such a short period of time. She stays on topic, does practice problems in class, and is happy to answer questions that people ask in lecture. Her exams aren't too bad.
Not sure how an organic chemistry class can get easier than this. Lectures are easy to understand, and don't hesitate to ask questions. As long as you go to lecture, do the practice problems, and actually understand what you are doing, you will be fine, especially because of the huge built-in curve.
the lab exams are hard but labs themselves are straightforward. Don't miss any labs because the makeup exams are totally going to ruin your grade. Her TA's are great.
Dr. Koppel is strict but she's lenient and reasonable. It is 4 credit class so manage your time wisely. Exams are average in difficulty if you prepare for it ahead of time. She makes the course the straight forward and prepares you to what's going to be on the exam. Overall, i loved her teaching style and would love to take her for Orgo 2.
Overall decent professor and is a nice person. Her lectures are a little disorganized and she isn't the best teacher, but her exams are doable compared to other orgo professors. If you use past exams/homework to study and do the discussion worksheets, you will be ok. Practice is key to doing well on exams. There was around a 10 percent curve.
As orgo professors go she's one of the best. But since its orgo overall she is not that good. She explains things clearly and lets you know exactly what is an is not important but she goes 800mph. Super quick and lots of notes. Homework is not too difficult, exams are not that bad, she usually throws one curveball question on each exam.
Koppel lectures really fast so you have to really pay attention to what she says. Pretty nice person and talk to you and try to help if you reach out to her. Tests are fair and straightforward. Practice lots of old exams and worksheets. Overall, great professor and I'd take her for orgo 2 if I could
Really disorganized, can't follow her lectures bc she doesn't have notes. You WILL have to access outside help (tutoring/office hours etc.) bc orgo is hard, she is one of the better profs though. Her exams are fair bc she provides past exams to practice with but homework and clicker homework is ridiculously hard. DEF get orgo as a second language!
Professor Koppel is a wonderfully sweet lady who does care that her students do well. She has an open door policy with her office, allowing students to drop by whenever she's in her office. O Chem is difficult, but she gives students the tools to succeed. Her tests are incredibly hard!! So be prepared! Attendance isn't mandatory, but highly advised
Dr. Koppel is fair. You'll need to work really hard, jjst like any other orgo class. But she is clear, caring, and fair. Visit her in office hours and she will help you.
Orgo 1 lab with Koppel is terrible. I did more outside work for this 1 credit lab than I did for a 4 credit genetics class. Each lab consists of: online canvas quiz due before lab, pre-lab notebook with strict requirements, pre-lab worksheet, pre-lab quiz in lab, during lab worksheet, post-lab worksheet, and post lab questions. Overly complicated
Very nice lady who explains things well. Very test heavy class with not a very big curve even though the averages are always D's. She doesn't provide a study guide, just an ambiguous list of topics. Helpful during office hours.
Orgo 1 Lab is takes way more time out of my week than a 1 credit class should. Much harder than gen chem lab, but not awful. Cant speak on Koppel as a lecturer, but the few times I have encountered her as the lab coordinator, shes been one of the rudest people ive come across
If you are not too great at chem, do not take Koppel. She teaches like you already know what you are doing, and if you don't your grade will reflect that. The major grades are exams which are tough. Show up to get the clicker points which count towards your grade. Curved at the end based on the average but still very, VERY, hard.
I've been saying this the whole semester, but Koppel is a goddess! She truly cares about her students and wants them to succeed. Great at explaining things, responsive to student concerns. Totally on top of things (pushes homework back when we haven't covered it). Goes a bit fast, but it's Chem. Take her!! I promise you that you won't regret it.
Dr. Koppel was a great professor! Tests are super fair and almost every question she asks was a problem that she had done on the board in class. She can lecture a little fast, but besides that 10/10 recommend.
Overall, I did not enjoy this class at all. Koppel is a nice person who seems to care about her students, but the lectures seemed to go on forever and were sometimes messy and hard to follow. However, the lectures and homework accurately reflect what's going to be on the exams. There are clicker points so you kind of have to go to class.
I worked so hard for this class (waaay more than a 1-credit class should require) and the final managed to lower my grade to an A-. The midterms and finals are just bad. There are some ridiculous questions and a lot of trick questions you would get wrong even if you knew your stuff. It's just unacceptable that no one cares about fixing UMD's labs.
There is a clear disconnect between Koppel and the students. While there are many TAs (bless), this is Koppel's class; she makes the assignments, yet takes little responsibility over them. Yes, there are 700+ students, but there's no effort to gauge our understanding to improve her course, but just a curve for grades floating on TA office hours.
Class was way too much work for just one credit. I never really knew the answers to the post labs unless I went to TA office hours to get them. Imagine doing that every week, yeah its time consuming. The exams are always hard, and the curve isn't that much. UMD labs don't teach us what we need to know which is why everyone fails and needs a curve
For a one credit class, this was ridiculous. Lab reports and post lab questions are nearly impossible to get good grades on unless you go to TA hours. Midterm and final exams are difficult and stressful. My TA was amazing though - rely on them to make it through. This lab is doable, but you are probably going to need help to get through it.
I never met Dr. Koppel but her class was too much work for a 1 credit class (as most labs are). The midterms and finals were awful, but the curve at the end was decent. The labs were much more time-consuming than CHEM131, due to the extensive post lab questions and lab workshops. Overall lab sucks and I have no personal opinions about Dr. Koppel.
I have no words to describe. This class itself is already hard and she!!! doesn't!!!! curve!!!! that!!!! much!!!! For guys around average you'll just get what you got. I think she only curves the higher and lower ones. So it's not that fair.
If you do the homework and go to discussion you'll be fine. She's a great lecturer and explains the concepts well. She's pretty accessible by email and in person if you have questions.
She made Orgo really fair. She taught the material well and the exams did not have many tricks. She has physical HW but it felt like solid prep before exams. She also supplies you with enough prep material to do well such as old exams.
A little sassy, but overall a good lecturer. Its clear that she wanted students to pass when she would answer questions that required a bit of common sense. She stated that in order to be in be eligible to pass, you must know at least 50% of the course content, but anything less than that was a guaranteed fail. The class average was used as a B-.
Dr. Koppel has created an aggressively overbearing one credit class in CHEM 232. This class is a truly ridiculous amount of work for one credit. The structure to turn in assignments is confusing and inconsistent. The post lab questions are filled with trick questions, forcing students to spend even more time outside of class going to office hours.
I went to her office hours asking for more practice problems and she basically told me to find them myself. She also crammed material we didn't even need to know for CHEM131 into the class. She obviously knows what she's talking about but has no clue what the capabilities of 100 level students are.
Dr. Koppel is a solid choice for gen chem. She goes a little fast sometimes, but if you prepare beforehand, like she expects, then you will do fine. She gives tons of partial credit on exams and has a nice curve. For a class that isnt supposed to be easy, she makes it very manageable to do well. Also, TA Mark Wallace is great.
She was in charge of Orgo I lab. So smart, nice, and really cares about the success of her students! Held a review session for the final for us :) Warning that Orgo I Lab is hella work for one credit - go to office hours & get answers! Know what you're doing on the exams & you'll be fine! I took her for Gen Chem as well & would totally recommend!!
Dr. Koppel is the only choice for orgo 1 lab at UMD, she's a solid choice. You will learn a lot. This class is hard. It is graded very hardly by the TA's. If you mess up on one report, it will haunt you for the entire class. Go to the TA's for help the first week. If you go in with decent answers, they will help a lot. Average was curved to low B.
I took this class the first semester of college so it was my first big lecture class (200 students). Her lectures were interactive which I liked a lot. She does clicker points. The TA (Mark) was great and very approachable and good at teaching during the discussion and it looks like he gets along well with the professor.
I use an app to scan my lab for our first online assignment, only to realize I will have to pay if I want to scan multiple pages. I have to download multiple apps until I find one that works. I finally go to turn in the assignment, and I'm 2 minutes late and get a 0 with no opportunity for partial credit. I will probably have to retake this class:/
Lab-based class so obviously attendance is mandatory. Took this class partially online because of remote learning requirements thanks to covid-19. Even with all of the dismay, there were no exceptions or compassion shown to any student, even with most student's life situations being turned upside down. Would not recommend but there is only one prof
Due to COVID-19 I don't have a choice but to take this online. She doesn't care about the entire situation and doesn't take into consideration the new course layout with it being online. The experiment videos suck, doesn't help much.
No sympathy or understanding during COVID-19 switch to online learning. Lectures were confusing and notes unclear before it was moved online, and online learning has only made it worse. She mentioned making our final exam optional and then turned around and told us she changed her mind and its mandatory. Never met a more heartless prof
One of the worst professors at UMD. No consideration for online environment due to COVID-19. The final had nothing to do with labs performed. Included unknown concepts in the final exam. Didn't add grades right away so people didn't know where they stood by the last day of class. So many typos in the final; sent corrections DURING exam. the worst!
Dr. Koppel's lectures are not detailed at all and exams require much more in depth knowledge than is taught. You are expected to have prior knowledge before this class and if you don't you will have to work super hard. She was rude during office hours and not very helpful.
Bruh once we went online all hell went loose. This class made me dedicate what felt like 15+ hours a week while I had five other classes. Mind you, she had months to prepare the final & there were three typos on the test which she emailed us abt WHILE WE WERE TAKING THE FINAL....
She is not a horrible teacher, but she is certainly not the best either. Sometimes she is not direct about answering questions and dances around it. She is incredibly extra about academic dishonesty- don't even try to cheat because if she gets a WHIFF of chegg she will report you instantly. I cannot wait to get out of this class.
Just terrible. She tried to report half the class for academic dishonesty, and I think it really says something if students have to resort to online resources to pass because she can't teach or help students. Labs are graded so tough, and not explained well at all. Seriously, take someone else! Save yourself! I cannot wait to get out of this class.
Bruh!!!!! This class is unnecessarily hard. The lecture videos are impossible to read and take out any information. Especially when you need to collect data from them. Don't expect to get anything from Koppels office hours because she just beats around the bush and barely helps you. Don't get me started on the academic dishonesty accusations.
So bad. She had videos that were minutes long and those were the only source of information to complete the lab manual. I emailed her asking how to do better, and asking for help and she never replied. She handled this class horribly. She reported half the class for cheating even though she did nothing to help them.
Everything is a secrete. They will falsely say to go over PLQ to study for final exam and NO!! However, Dr. Koppel is very smart. She will look everywhere to see if you have cheated. Go to her office hours as they are most helpful than the TA's..
She makes this class (orgo lab) much harder than it needed to be. Post lab Questions are unrelated to the actual lab. Quite rude in office hours. Absolutely insensitive to the fact online learning makes labs a lot harder since we are not doing them! Tests us on lab equipment we never used! The actual orgo class was easier than this.
I had Dr. Koppel for CHEM232 lab and it was such a mess. The lab videos were not helpful. She was SOOO strict about cheating and didn't give students any chances. The final and quizzes were super hard and unfair. Thankfully she did a huge curve because she knew everyone failed the final terribly.
This is the worst lab I've ever done. I knew that the Chem department was generally disorganized, but oh my, this truly takes the cake. The lab videos look like they were shot out of a potato, which makes it impossible to see what we're looking at. We're tested on concepts and tools we've never seen or used at all. If I were you, I'd stay away.
Had to take this class twice both online, but this professor expects too much out of her students and does not show any sympathy to her students who are struggling to learn organic chemistry ONLINE. Not given enough time to complete exams and doesn't give any good feedback at all
I took this class virtually. Labs were confusing, and she barely gave us enough information to complete them. At the end of the semester, only 3 out of my 8 labs were graded, so if any of those 5 labs had mistakes, i had no way of knowing before working on the next one (which built off of the ideas from the last).
Lab was harder than lecture which is ridiculous. She responds to emails rudely or not at all . If you want a good grade you have to go to office hours because the lab questions are hard and they only provided lecture videos for a few labs. Grades for labs arent released until the end of the semester even though the labs build off one another.
Awful. Awful class. Rude TAs (very condescending). Everything about this course was terrible. Extremely unfair practical quiz. Please do not take her.
Just no.
Online labs were given without sufficient information to complete. Very difficult to reach. Does not reach out to students at all. It is the last day of classes and I still do not know if I should pass/fail because I have ungraded assignments and cannot reach her through email.
Terrible class. Way too much work for only 1 credit. The TAs graded everything, and there was way too much variation in the way that lab reports were graded. If you ask questions in office hours you will almost never get a straight answer to any of your questions if it has anything to do with the answer. Post lab qs may or may not be related to lab
Worst "professor" I've ever had in my entire life. Just do yourself a favor and dont take her because if you do you will regret it. She is insanely rude in office hours and in emails. She instructs TAs to leave no feedback on labs so good luck doing well on the final (which everyone failed). I have absolutely nothing good to say about this prof.
Literally the worst class Ive ever taken. There is no sympathy given for anything and the lab manual barely says anything about the lab. I spent multiple hours doing independent research on the subjects covered and still did terribly on the labs. Dont take this class with her whatsoever. Shouldnt have a job here or in chem ever again.
Such a hard class for one credit. Very rude professor who does not care about her students. The final is impossible. All of the labs have unclear grading criteria and the TAs all grade differently. super disorganized and uncessarily difficult.
Took online for the lab of chem 232 and was a horrible experience. Little to no guidance on labs and will be leaving you confused on everything. Do. not. take.
Literally the worst professor ever. She seems to thrive off of students struggling. I truly think she should never teach again. She reported me for cheating for having a similar answer to one student who was in the same lab and lecture as me but we didnt know each other. When I asked her how to properly do the problem, she refused to tell me.
Awfullllllllllll very rude wnd inconsiderate of how hard orgo is for first timers. The curve was barely a curve and doesnt help when youve flunked the past few tests
Teacher does not care about students. Reports students frequently to the Office of Student conduct. Be careful! It's impossible to get an A.
Nightmare of a woman. Avoid her and her orgo lab at all costs.
She teaches both the lab portion of orgo and sometimes will teach the lecture portion.. The labs are time-consuming, but go to your TA's office hours and you will be fine. Koppel is a really good lecturer, and she is always more than willing to help and answer questions during office hours. Her exams are very fair.
The work and stress is unnecessary for a one-credit class. The instructions were usually unclear and we would get contradicting answers from her vs the TAs. Clearly does not like to see students thrive and complains about low grades when we are not really being taught anything, but will also accuse you of cheating if you score "too high"
For a 1 credit lab, this course so excessively challenging and stressful. On top of that grading is harsh and you have to spend time going to office hours, which may be inconvenient sometimes. The lab experience wasn't that much, not as fun as I expected.
WAY too much work for 1 credit - spent hours on this class. She realized that some TAs were showing students the answer keys, so she took the answer keys away from the TAs. How are you supposed to learn when your TA doesn't know what she's looking for? Lab manual was riddled with errors. Everything is required to be pen and paper. Not worth the $.
Orgo I lab went something like this. Clutched up on all the experiment post labs (11 total), failed the final, failed the midterm, heavy curvegot an A-. The exams are very difficult and she knows it. As long as you stay just above the horrendously low averages, youll be perfectly fine.
Lab reports were awful, only about 2 of then actually related to what was taught in lecture. Some reports were based on irrelevant articles from 1930s. There was no reason to be taking a midterm, its only purpose was to drop students grades. Only saw the prof once when she did a review and was inconsiderate of some peoples questions and concerns.
You only ever interact with your TA so just pray to get a good one. Midterm and final are difficult so make sure your lab grades are stellar. 10 labs, fair prelab quiz each class, post labs (difficult, go to office hours for help). Labs range in length and difficulty. Nice curve (averaged 85% on labs and 50% on the exams, got a B+).
Really not that difficult. Just gotta get all of the answers from TA's because its impossible to know what she's looking for otherwise. Like just go to multiple TA office hours to complete your postlabs. The exams suck, but again, class is curved so a decent grade is doable. Lab book is useless so you def need the TAs to carry you.
referred to me as the girl with the rag on her head so Im gonna go with racist.
This was legit the worst class Ive ever taken. Grading criteria is not specific and most of the post lab questions dont pertain to what you did in lab at all. Horrible.
My advice is to do all of her old exams (to the point you think it's easy), all of the GSS review packets, practice problems, discussion packets, etc. The exams are given with the assumption you've done all these things. Listening to the lecture is only 1/5th of the understanding you will need. Good luck. Shes really tough but fair.
Dr Koppel's assignments and exams are very fair, they reflect things that were taught in class and the class is curved. My biggest tip for her class is to do the past exams that she has posted and make sure you fully understand the correct answer. Her notes are unorganized and doesn't make sense so I would suggest going to class.
The assignments and exams during this class was very hard. Even when I'd go to TA office hours for help, I would get no higher than B's on my lab assignments. The midterm and final were also very difficult.
Not as bad as everyone says she is. It's organic chemistry so regardless of your teacher it will be difficult. Her lectures are for the most part easy to follow and she holds review sessions before exams. Tests were difficult but also fair and she gives lots of partial credit. Be prepared to study a lot. While it's difficult, it's not impossible.
Dr. Koppel is not a bad option when it comes to orgo. She is a good lecturer (a little fast at times) and her exams are EXTREMELY fair. She gives you all the information you need to succeed and if you work hard outside of class it is very very possible to get a good grade. She seems to really care about her students, and I would take her again!
This class is DIFFICULT, and its not Dr. Koppel that teaches it. Your success really depends on the TA you have and how much time you put into the lab reports outside of class. To succeed you will NEED to go to TA office hours and not be afraid to ask for help. Getting a good grade in 232 is possible but you will need to work HARD!
I think the way the whole class is set up is difficult. When doing the experiments you'll think "okay I got this" but wrong. Our TA nor professor teach us how to answer the post-lab neither does our professor so it's upsetting that we have to basically become scientists to figure out the post-labs. I'm not sure how they expect us to figure it out.
Offers a lot of outside resources and help. The class is structured in a way that the homework is due the night before the exams, there are 3. The exams are pretty much structured like her old ones so review all of those. The curve is godly. Got below a 50% on the final and the curve was about 15% for me at the end.
I was nervous going into this class after reading reviews and registering for the six week summer session alongside the lab. However, I found Dr. Koppel to be a decent professor. The material seemed overwhelming at first, but just stay on top of things and you should be fine. The class was well organized, though beware that it is exam heavy.
Success depends on your TA. The post-lab questions are extremely difficult with little direction and you have to get help from outside sources because the textbook is not helpful in that regard. The labs can be confusing and challenging. You must go to office hours if you want a good grade in this class.
Her lectures are clear and the points from lecture are similar to what you are tested on. She usually does not give very detailed explanations and to ensure you fully grasp the material you need to do a lot of practice. She had a really good TA who essentially would re-teach the material to the class in a way that students could better grasp.
Be prepared to teach all of the content to yourself outside of class. Dr. Koppel is by far the worst when it comes to explaining material. Not to mention her outside resources are useless and do not match up half of the time. Her methods are so unhelpful, she makes it hard to retain or ask anything in class because of her demeanor. I warned you :(
Take her only when you absolutely have to She doesn't do makeups, its homework heavy (adaptive quizzes and regular homework), attendance not mandatory You might think you have studied enough for her exam but truth is you haven't You have to re-teach yourself and practice questions constantly TAKE THIS CLASS ONLY IF YOU HAVE NO OTHER RESPONSIBILITY
Shes definitely difficult. Lots of homework. The curve is pretty nice, class average rounds to a b-. Take someone else if you can. Her lectures are fine, but the notes after are meaningless, and she doesn't record them.
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
65%
Textbook Required
3%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-1.45 avg changeRatings by Course
CHEM131
3.6
(8)CHEM135
3.0
(4)CHEM231
3.0
(43)CHEM232
1.9
(40)CHEM132
1.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
CHEM132
5.0
CHEM242
5.0
CHEM232V
4.8
CHEM232
4.5
CHEM231
4.0