Review:
Everybody, in addition to the reviews below about how horrible this course is, it appears that the professor will indeed be "experimenting" this Fall 2008. Be wary fellow students. This could turn for the worst. I have found her "updates" at the following address:

http://www.tufts.edu/~labrah01/updates2008%20bme175.htm

1. Does she not realize that
"more time for reading lab prep" is not the solution to the protocol problem? It should be "more detailed information so that students won't get confused".

2. She will be adding a "Real Research Project".
Lord knows what this could mean. She has no skills for instructing students how to perform standard protocols that had been made years before. Now she wants students to engage in a project? And trust me, there will be no "resulting publication" under her guidance.

I am warning all of you to think twice about taking this class. So far only three have registered for this class. I hope that it reaches zero by the end of the add/drop period.

If there were a "zero" option available in the ratings that's what this course would get.

Workload:
Again, workload consists of decoding the jumble of mess that she calls a problem set filled with errors, typos or ambiguous questions. You will also have to strain your brain hard to figure out what will please her fancy when she subjectively grades the paper.

Look for the "research project" to add even more stress and waste of time.

Review:
While I can understand the bad rap that Prof. Ostrander receives for her short temper and for neglecting to acknowledge alternate opinions, I think there is more to the story than that. Underneath it all, I think she has a sincere concern for the progress of her students, and she is good at what she does, so she doesn't hesitate to let you know it. That being said, her suggestions and remarks are often helpful, even if they seem harsh. To add, she was extremely flexible with us, and was often willing to change due dates if we asked appropriately. I found that, if you are very friendly and patient with her, she will act the same way with you. If, on the other hand, you are impatient with her suggestions/comments on papers, or you are tardy to class often, you will likely find your place on her bad side, which you do NOT want.

Workload:
I found that the workload for this class was completely appropriate, even light compared to other classes I have taken at Tufts. She often would mix up assignments and make the syllabus a bit confusing, but ultimately, I had no problem completing the 10-30 pages of reading she had us do each week. Besides the reading, you are expected to attend your research site about once a week for a few hours, but that is something that comes with the nature of the course. As long as you keep up with research assignments, you will likely come out with a very strong body of work.

Review:
It is fairly difficult to summarize the immense amount of problems encountered in this course. Like in Chem 51 Dr. Stolow did not bother to use the blackboard to write out mechanisms or explain in detail, except for a few rare occasions. He will read from the textbook and from handouts. Which is essentially the same thing as going home and reading the textbook and the handouts. Which would have been helpful, if we solved problems relating to the material in class after this, but again this was done very, very rarely. Realistically it's possible to take down almost no notes of any great substance the entire semester.

Problem sets still did not have answers provided and exams still tested syntheses that were not always gone over in detail in class. The only way to succeed was to read the book religiously and to memorize almost every mechanism in it. In fact, the only benefit of the class was to learn which one or two mechanisms not to memorize. Since, again, exam problems were almost never completely covered in review sessions scheduled one or two days before the exam, you were left on your own. Frankly, the only way to do very well was to know every reaction from this and last semester like the back of your hand and be able to recall them quickly. Which is well over 400+ reactions and various mechanisms.

Combining weekly labs (which Dr. Stolow also lectured in), lab quizzes, lab reports, problem sets, and the hours of memorization this course was thouroughly unenjoyable. Don't except to even learn of any useful applications for the material with this professor. The relevance of this course for many people is for biochemistry and unless you like to read the sidenotes in the textbook, you won't get many connections between the fields in lecture.

So, unless you enjoy large amounts of self study, 10+ hours of rote memorization and problem sets with no answers, and a useless lecture, I would recommend taking Organic Chemistry with another professor.

Workload:
The only assignments outside of class are the weekly problem sets that are due at each exam. By the end of the course you'll probably have solved up to and maybe over 300 problems. But you won't get the answers for any of them! You have to seek out the TA's and individually ask about every question. So you'll never know if you're solving anything correctly unless you get the solutions manual, which is strictly forbidden. Three exams and a final also which almost exclusively test mechanisms, retro-synthesis, and reactions. Memorize everything in the book to do well on these. And DO NOT leave the problem sets unfinished. Unless you have photographic memory expect to spend at least 8-10++ hours a week studying for this course alone (not counting all the extra time you might need to figure out if you solved the problems correctly at all).

Review:
This was one of the best courses I've ever taken. If you have a passion for biology and understanding how the pieces of life fall together, this course will really open your eyes. It provides a systematic method for viewing life in a completely different, more informed way. Prof. Starks is a very smart guy and a really good professor, which is a great combination to have. You'll learn a lot in this course if you genuinely put time into it and can handle the 8:30 AM time slot. But to be honest, I looked forward to waking up and going to this class because of Prof. Starks' interactive teaching style. And he's great to talk to during office hours, very approachable and accommodating.

Workload:
Exams were pretty much based solely on lecture notes (took this course in the spring of 2008), so if you really know the lectures like the back of your hand, you'll be fine. I mean the material is extremely interesting, so studying for the exam wasn't bad at all. Bottom line, know your notes really well, know the concepts really well, and be able to apply them.

Review:
Murphy makes Accounting fun. Although this class doesn't count for EC majors, I highly recommend taking this course. You will finally learn something practical this time around. Murphy's lectures are clear as crystal. He's among the best EC professors if not the best!

Workload:
The workload is very tolerable. Homework is never collected. He simply goes over them the follow day in class. If you can do the homework, you'll be in good shape for the exams. There are 3 exams and not cumulative.

Review:
This course is only offered in the summer. You will learn many valuable things that very well may apply to your financial life unless many other higher level Economics courses at Tufts. Professor Murphy explains everything very clearly. He is among the best!

Workload:
Workload is minimal. Homework is not mandatory but very helpful. If you can do the homework, you will do fine on the exams. There are three exams (not cumulative). They are extremely straight-forward and come directly from the amazing lectures.

Review:
Intelligent, fun professor. His stories are very engaging and made me seriously consider pursuing a career in strategic business.

Workload:
two five page midterms (easy), one 15-page research paper and a group project. it sounds like a lot, but it really is not too bad at all. plus you don't even have to go to class because he puts up slides on blackboard... but still go, because he's a lot of fun to listen to.

Review:
This class left me with mixed feelings.

First and foremost, even though I placed out of 001, I had to wait till spring semester to take this English class b/c I was unaware of Philosophy counting towards the requirement. The professor much to my surprise 2/3 of the way into the semester was not a professor but instead a grad student still working on her papers. To add insult to injury, she used a syllabus from the previous semester and forgot to change dates. It was pretty awkward when someone pointed out the fact that one of our classes was on a holiday.

Not to say she isn't a brilliant person. Honestly, if she organized the class a LOT better, I think she'd make an AWESOME professor. Creative, energetic and talented, but just too much going on and too bogged down w/ her own work to convey material well. She took eternity to return papers and had a weird grading scale (I say weird b/c I'm not used to this; perhaps this is the norm in Tufts?) where she gives a grade in four different categories and then averages?? resulting in "two grades" that eventually become one? If you're confused. Good. I was and still am. Basically, people ended up w/ C+/B- on their papers. Classes were generally disorganized with the class going over the surfaces of a lot of interesting topics but never hitting the meat. The pace was also erratic. Kind of like the Quick step: Slow, slow, quick, quick, slow. Routinely went over the time slot. Runs off on tangents a lot, which is cool when discussing sexuality in vampire lore, but not so cool when you're discussing the C+ you got on your theory paper about Freud's 'the uncanny'. She was really into participation which always a major plus in my book. And she's got such wonderful ideas!

However, none of it could make up for the experience of the class in general. We started out with 12-13 and ended w/ 7 on a good day and 9 on a GREAT day. Personally, I learned next to nothing; I flip-flopped between boredom and frustration. I had more fun and learned more from my AP English teacher. Plus, we read better books. She was always willing to help though; always available during office hours. Honestly, like I said earlier, mixed feelings. She's got the makings of a great teacher w/ a couple more years of experience under her belt. Type of English professor you'd love to work on your thesis w/ over a cup at B&B but not the type you'd like to discuss one of your awesomely bad 8-page papers about Stoker's Dracula with.

Workload:
Terrible workload. Way to much work for a simple English 002 class. Too much seemingly random readings. I felt like none of them had anything to do with the course, but that's my opinion. Some of them were interesting, but still no relevancy and you couldn't skip them b/c 95% were required to do the many, unnecessary, response papers. We read a lot of philosophical/psychological stuff that coming from a psych major, although interesting, when forced to write papers about become nerve wracking.

There were 5 long papers. All of them were basically torture sessions b/c she has this weird system of turning in a "pre-write" then a rough draft (after your partner has gone through it) and then a final. Very frustrating and time wasting for people who like to get things out in one shot, proofread and send it out. Also, topics for papers were convoluted and difficult to understand much less properly answer in papers. Usually ran out of ideas after about 2 pages (5-page requirement). Book choices were also not so good. We had to read Stoker's Dracula in a week (three classes) and had to pick scenes from it to answer some obscure question that to this day I dare not even think about. The final paper was pointless and ended up doing it the night before just to get it done. Could've definitely done without it. There were also grammar and content presentations. Useless, annoying and unnecessary. No one learned anything. Pretty sure they didn't factor into our grades and were a pain in the you know where especially when the presentation is due the same day as a major exam in another subject.

Review:
Christine Cousineau was the Executive Director of this FAILED PROJECT. Everything went wrong so if you want to see what in reality CC can do, here ya go!

Editorial: Cape Ann Housing Opportunity, leaders owe the public full explanation for Pond View

July 24, 2008 04:33 am

—

Wellspring House has always enjoyed a reputation for being a champion of social justice, of lifting families out of poverty, of supporting working men and women.

But that reputation is being unfortunately clouded by its leaders' own hands. And as more details come to light about the troubled Pond View Village development — carried out by Cape Ann Housing Opportunity, a corporation spawned by Wellspring — it gets worse and worse.

Pond View was sold to the public as a model of compassion and creativity, the conversion of a former industrial site in Gloucester to a mix of affordable and market-rate apartments and condominiums. Wellspring created a companion entity — Cape Ann Housing Opportunity — and CAHO raised millions in private and public money for what state officials called a model of adaptive reuse. But there were site problems, construction costs soared. then the condo market crumbled. Last December, the project's biggest lender, Massachusetts Housing Investment Corp., took ownership of 33 unsold condos instead of foreclosing. Cape Ann Housing Opportunity had defaulted on more than $8.5 million of $9.2 million it owed the investment corporation. There were also loans from the state totaling more than $5 million.

This week, rather than take the property as the only bidder in a foreclosure auction, MHIC postponed the auction until Aug. 19, in the hopes that another bidder would appear. That, one of Massachusetts Housing Investment Corp.'s attorneys explained, is because if another buyer purchases the property at a foreclosure auction, that will wipe out the claims of all the other creditors, including a number of contractors and subcontractors who were never paid for some or all of their work.

All of this is apparently fine with Cape Ann Housing Opportunity's president, Nancy Schwoyer, and its treasurer, Robert Gillis, who wouldn't comment when asked about the project and its aftermath. They referred all questions about the situation to their attorney — who also declined comment. But the lack of transparency goes beyond refusing to comment. CAHO, a nonprofit, is required to file annual financial reports with the attorney general's office. But its last report was in 2005. It has been out of compliance for two years. According to Massachusetts Housing Investment Corp., the nonprofit is in the process of dissolving itself.

The collapse of Cape Ann Housing Opportunity may have been caused by forces beyond its control. But, as the recipient of millions in grants, loans and contributions from both private and public sources, Cape Ann Housing Opportunity and its leaders owe the public a complete and accurate accounting of what happened — and where the money went.

The current wall of silence will not do.

Copyright © 1999-2008 cnhi, inc.

Workload:
N/A

Review:
Make sure Professor Cousineau tells you all about her bankrupt project she helped foist on the taxpayers of MA . Its called pond view village in Gloucester and is a case study on how not to leverage, plan or develop affordable housing. A total disaster actually.

Workload:
Huge

Review:
Prof Quinto is great. He is very enthusiastic about the material, genuinely concerned about students understanding and he has a great sense of humor. He also really knows what he is talking about (he would often answer students out-of-the-blue questions brilliantly after thinking about them for only a few seconds) and its a pleasure to go to his class.

Workload:
Weekly problem sets. These usually take about 5 hours to complete. Two midterms (one of which was take home). These are not so bad if youve been paying attention and doing the HW. Final is same difficulty as midterms.

Review:
Prof Quinto is great. He is very enthusiastic about the material, genuinely concerned about students understanding and he has a great sense of humor. He also really knows what he is talking about (he would often answer students out-of-the-blue questions brilliantly after thinking about them for only a few seconds) and its a pleasure to go to his class.

Workload:
Weekly problem sets. These usually take about 5 hours to complete. Two midterms (one of which was take home). These are not so bad if youve been paying attention and doing the HW. Final is same difficulty as midterms.

Review:
you'd be an idiot to graduate without taking this class. it changed my life- Lisa Coleman is brilliant.

Workload:
Tons of work/ reading. Very much worth it.

Review:
If you can, avoid taking a class with Cantu. It's not that she's a bad teacher, but just that I really learned nothing from her and she's an incredibly boring person.

Workload:
Workload is about the same as the other Spanish 21 classes, but she grades significantly harder than the other Spanish 21 teachers on essays and tests.

Review:
Whatever you do, AVOID PROFESSOR KENNY! The man simply cannot teach or convey anything remotely relevant to the topic of the class/what he puts on the test. I really believe that he means well, but he is quite possibly the most unorganized, scatterbrained professor I've ever had at Tufts. Fulfill your science requirement through another class.

Workload:
Workload was quite low, just some reading, midterm and a research paper/optional final. Beware: Midterm and final had NOTHING to do with what he went over during class.

Review:
I have to be honest, I have no idea what the other three people who reviewed this class are talking about. This was the second-worst class I've ever taken at Tufts, and it was all because of good ol' Donald. He's like the dad in American Pie, but not funny and way more annoying. He's condescending to students and thinks so highly of himself it's painful. He teaches his own ideas as if they were accepted pediatric psychology canon and single-handedly depleted the trees in the Northern Hemisphere through the amount of handouts that he printed (which, incidentally, he only mentioned 5 or 6 of in class). Though I did learn a few things, most of the material was common sense, and this was my first CD class.

Workload:
The amount of reading assigned was ludicrous. The "required" reading usually averaged 5-9 long articles plus a chapter or two in the book per night. "Recommended" reading sometimes approached 30 articles. This might not be so bad if readings were discussed AT ALL in class, but that was too much to hope for. I counted: we discussed a grand total of three articles, all on the same day, for a length of about 3 minutes each. Fortunately, he was a picky but fair grader on papers and projects (2 papers, 1 group presentation & paper, midterm, and choice of final or final project).

Review:
Professor Balbach is great. She really knows her stuff, has a great sense of humor, and makes class very interesting with personal stories, films, and guest speakers. Make sure you go to class, because the slides she posts on blackboard aren't very helpful. This was one of my favorite classes at Tufts.

Workload:
The workload was typical, maybe on the lighter side of typical. Readings were interesting and there were 3 papers, a midterm, and a final. The exams weren't easy but they were fair.

Review:
I loved Professor Gute, even though he can be a bit boring. He's so genuinely concerned with his students and you can just tell he's one of those brilliant guys who has no street sense at all. He consulted us with due dates and even moved the exam for our convenience. This class was fairly interesting, and I learned a lot.

Workload:
The workload was pretty light for most of the semester; just 2 homework assignments and a midterm for the first part. However, at the end, there's a huge paper that you also have to present in a poster session, as well as a final. It did seem overwhelming at the time but I managed to get it done. I got the sense also that he would have been very understanding with extensions and such.

Review:
This wasn't the most interesting class I've ever taken, but it wasn't too bad. It was small (only 7 people) so the group discussion format was really great. Sometimes the material was a bit tedious, but the discussion format of the class plus interesting films thrown in saved it. Professor Weiler was very nice and helpful with advice on papers, and she really gave us a lot of rein when it came to discussions and paper topics.

Workload:
The workload was fine. Usually 2-3 30 page articles per class, but you could get enough to talk about them by reading the first 10 pages or so. There was a presentation and paper on a book and a take-home final.

Review:
I had mixed feelings about Professor Silver and this class. On the one hand, it made me think a lot and it helped me to solidify my opinions on a variety of tough topics. This class certainly gives you the tools with which to think and write about these topics. On the other hand, I wasn't that fond of Professor Silver. I thought that often he encouraged participation, but when someone voiced their opinion he really shot them down. By the end of the semester there were only a select few who were still brave enough. Sometimes he was quite funny though.

Workload:
The workload was pretty light. There was a normal amount of reading, but I didn't do most of it. Paying attention in class was more important. There were two papers, the first graded by the TA and the second graded considerably easier by Professor Silver. There was a final that consisted of three questions chosen out of a bunch that he gave beforehand.

Review:
I loved Professor Woodin and this class. This is the graduate level of Epi, so it was at night, but I was always engaged and interested. Professor Woodin was just awesome: he knows his stuff and presented the material in a clear and applied way, and he has an incredible sense of humor. He tells a lot of stories about himself and his family that are hilarious. He posts the slides for all of his lectures on blackboard, but I would recommend not printing them out and taking your own notes because everything makes sense when he's doing it in class but when you go to do it on the problem sets it can be tricky.

Workload:
There was no reading for this class, which was great. There are 3 problem sets and a take-home final, all of which can (and should) be done with a partner or partners. He and the TA were fair but picky graders.

Review:
Although Sonia Hofkosh is a very nice lady, I could barely sit through this class. The Austen material is very, very dry and there is much more of it than Shelley readings. This class tends to attract an all-women base as well; you must be able to handle the competitive banter that is inevitable in feminist classrooms. Expect the class discussion to have no direction whatsoever.

Workload:
One book a week, some longer than others, and three 6-8 page essays plus one 6-page final. Students who are best prepared will have read the material in the summer or over December break; check the Tufts bookstore site for a list. I recommend lightening up your English courseload if you plan to take this class- it was very time consuming.

Review:
I loved this class! Professor McCabe is really nice, very interesting, and very smart. The class' title is pretty ambiguous, so I'll explain that "Consumption" means the history of how people consume things. We talked about tea, drugs, diamonds, louis vuitton in Asia, Marie Antoinette and the French Revolution, Coffee, bananas, and lots of other goods/topics.

The class was really easy - I think about half of the class got As on the midterm - but still really interesting. It's one of my favorite classes that I have taken at Tufts and it's the first one that I can legitimately say was an "easy A".

If you're an IR major it's the perfect class to fill your core History requirement with.

Workload:
There was a lot of reading but you don't have to do all of it. Just MAKE SURE TO GO TO RECITATIONS becuase that's where you learn everything for the tests. The readings are usually really good though so i read a lot of them.

1 midterm, 1 final, and 1 group in-class presentation. The midterm and the final are the same and are really easy as long as you prepare. They give you a list of terms the class before the test and then say that they'll choose 15 of them for the exam, of which you choose 10. So as long as you know all the terms they give you you're good to go. Same goes for short answer questions. There's a take home essay 5-6pgs for both the midterm and final due on the day of the test, but that's just about reading (aka what you talked about in recitations). The in class presentation just requires a few days to prepare - you don't have to do anything fancy, just know about your topic.


I HIGHLY recommend this class, it was really fun and not stressful at all.

Review:
This class, without a doubt, is perhaps the worst class in the history of academia. Most everyone takes this class to fulfill their natural sciences requirement, and past semester's classes have adhered to that standard. However, for Professor Vestergaard, this class was treated as a graduate course. First off, she treated the students as if they were in elementary school, making rules such as no laptops, no talking, no coming in late and making noise, and no packing up before class is over. She often made snide and sometimes outright rude comments to students, and her lectures were incredibly dry and boring. Attendance is necessary because of the i-clickers, and it is still nearly impossible to absorb any of the information.
The tests were very difficult, so much so that she had to scale all of them significantly. She uses a strange curving system, so final grades were strange(For example, an 81 would be a C+ instead of a B-).
Adding insult to injury, in an email she told students to contact her if they had any questions about their grades. Two weeks after the fact, I am still waiting for a response and very highly doubt that it will ever come.
If you have an opportunity to take this class, make sure it is not with her. It was undoubtedly the worst experience of my Tufts career so far.

Workload:
The workload is outrageous for an entry level astronomy class. Two homework assignments a week, most of the time taking several hours to do. The book was also ridiculously price, somewhere in the $130 range, and that's not even including the price of the i-clicker. As an icing on the cake for this awful course, I couldn't sell the book back to the bookstore. Hopefully, they take it in the fall or next spring, or else this whole experience has been a colossal waste.

Review:
I have to be honest, I was a bit disappointed with this class. I thought a lot of the readings (especially the books) were boring, long, and confusing. She hardly used the books at all, except to quiz us on trivial terms. And we were left reading hundreds of pages. On most days, class lectures were quite boring and mainly involved psychology definitions that were later memorized for tests. The tests weren't terribly hard, I just found them pointless: it felt like the only point was to memorize terms. My main complaint is that we never went deeper into what we learned and there was very little analysis. If you're looking for a class that won't really inspire you or challenge you beyond your memorization skills, take this class. But if not, I wouldn't recommend it.

Workload:
Two tests, two 5ish page papers, and one very long 20+ page final paper. At times, the readings felt long because they weren't very interesting.

Review:
Reading other reviews on this site, and based on my experiences this past semester, it seems like people have pretty divided views on Schildkraut. Personally, I found her class to be thoroughly engaging, relevant, and interesting. Schildkraut grades tough, but I think she curves up the grade at the end of the semester when factoring in participation and so on, which is nice. She's extremely knowledgable about the subject material and will go out of her way to make sure class discussions are a good mix of personal opinions, case studies, policy suggestions, and so on. A couple of the classes had films, too, which was nice.

Workload:
This is where things can get rough for some people. The workload for the semester was:
- A weekly Blackboard paragraph responding to the readings
- Two 5-page reaction papers responding to readings, spaced out over the semester at two class periods of your choosing
- One 20-minute presentation covering your research paper topic
- One 25-page research paper (combined with presentation, worth 45% of grade.)

DO NOT take this class with another upper-level seminar. You'll be miserable. That being said, I learned tons in this class and I think that despite the workload it was definitely worth it. Obviously, not everyone feels the same way. My advice would be to get a look at the syllabus and see if it's up your alley.

Review:
Lecia Rosenthal is a goddess, and this is coming from someone who barfs at the notion of teachers as objects of hero-worship. That being said, it's clear from other reviews that not everyone thinks so. The material is nuanced, her ideas esoteric, her methods unconventional. If you're looking for an easy A or you're not invested in the material, don't bother. She deserves invested students, and nothing is sadder than seeing her oozing brilliance in the face of 25 kids who are totally checked out and five who are in awe of her brilliance (which is what the classes sometimes seem like.) She can seem intimidating - and so can this review, I'm sure - but hang in there. Considering how smart she is, she's also more than willing to listen to people's ideas and perspectives and unlike many smart professors, she's not dismissive and is very polite.

Workload:
Book a week, final paper. Not difficult, but not easy-A easy.

Review:
Ughhhhhhh. This class annoyed me. People seem to fall over themselves to convey their love of Abdullah, but I never really got it. He's a nice guy, sure, but he conveys very important material in a very dry and abstract way that can be difficult to apply to real life and can turn people off. Also, TAs are a crapshoot - you get a bad one like I did, and it just makes you want to die rather than go to recitation (not to mention impeding your understanding of the material.) If you MUST take this class for your major, then good luck. If not, I highly suggest you drop out like I did, and read "The Undercover Economist" by Tim Harford instead. It'll basically teach you the exact same material in a way you can understand and be invested in.

Workload:
Three exams, I think? Lots of dry textbook reading. Everyone skips class, which I think says a lot.

Review:
Ah, Pearl Robinson. First class I had, I was a little intimidated, but I grew to love her. Very knowledgeable about Africa as a whole and loves to wander off into story time about her life and experiences in Africa, from her days in the Peace Corps in Niger up to the present day. Apparently this annoys some people, but I loved it. I've never been to Africa but I learned so much in this class not only about the history, politics, and economics, but also a general sense of the "feel" of Africa which I think is something that is probably very hard to convey, but that she did a good job with. Her interest, involvement, and dedication to the subjects at hand are evident, plus she has a sense of humor and a degree of flexibility to boot. Downsides: has a tendency to lose emails, turned in assignments; has a rigid template for reaction papers that can be difficult to adapt to every reading.

Workload:
It's an upper-level poli sci seminar, so know what you're getting into. You should take a good look at the syllabus on the first day of class. The reading is a book a week, and varies from very interesting (Joe Stiglitz and Jeffrey Sachs' new books this semester) to the excruciating (I won't name names.) You have to do weekly reading responses of about 500 words, but fortunately you only have to do 5 out of the 7 books you read, so you have a degree of flexibility for opting out if the reading is just too painful or you get sick or something. The kicker is a 25-30 page research paper worth 70% of your final grade. No, that's not a typo. Fortunately there's a low-key presentation where you can get feedback from her and classmates, plus ample time to prepare. Considering how much I learned, I thought it was worth it.

Review:
I signed up for this class with a lot of interest in the subject matter, however, I found the course lackluster, at best. When class wasn't cancelled, there was no structure to the lesson and was mostly the professor talking at us. This is the first time I've ever been dissatisfied with an Ex-College course. The department usually is able to filter out the good from the bad, but clearly they have overlooked this course.

Workload:
The workload was typical, however, figuring out what assignment was due when was a nightmare. We received a loose syllabus that was never followed, and many assignments we were supposed to do were cancelled. Grading was based on very subjectively graded assignments, and we never had any clue as to what the professor was looking for in the homework.

Review:
Linda did a fantastic job of teaching the principles of Calculus II. In a fast paced class with a tremendous amount of material to cover, she always made time for questions in class. I never felt intimidated by her in class. She also does a good job in office hours. She makes sure you understand everything completely and you grasp the concepts. Her lectures were easy to follow considering the speed of the class. I would love to take another course with Linda.

Workload:
I placed into Math 12 because of AP Calculus in high school and I had no trouble with the course. The homework was fair and not too much. If there was ever any problems I couldn't do, I would just ask in class. Overall, the class was not too time consuming.

Review:
Professor Kryatov was a very good lecturer and knew his chemistry. For each lecture he prints out the power point for each student to take and follow along with. This allows you to be able to listen to the lecture rather than spend the entire time writing down notes. He also, from time to time, performs awesome demonstrations that are relevant to the topics discussed in class. This makes his lectures much more exciting. He was always available for outside help and spent a lot of effort making sure you understood the material. Although he may seem boring at some times, he covers the material in a clear way that is a difficult feat in terms of Chem 1 and 2.

Workload:
Intro chem is exactly what is sounds: an intro course. It has a fair amount reading and nonstop problem sets and online homework. It also has lab once a week that usually does not use the entire three hours. The tests are difficult but not unfair. He posts practice tests that are very helpful in preparation for the test. I highly recommend completing in full the online MasteringChemistry homework because that works you through the types of problems that will be on the test. If you read the book, do the homework, and go the the recitation when you do not understand something, you should be fine in this course.

Review:
Great, unique class. Every lecture was engaging, and discussions were constructive and dynamic.

Prof. Smith is by far the most student-engaged professor I've had at Tufts. Speaking to him one-on-one was easy, productive, and unintimidating.

Workload:
Lots o' reading, but all of it relevant, most of it interesting, some of it brilliant.

Two papers, a 10pg and a 20pg.

Review:
Prof. Litvak is very personable and engaging, both in lectures and in person. His analysis of the works can sometimes be frustrating and superficial, but I suppose there is some merit in pointing out phallic and fecal references in every work. I don't know why he bothers teaching Lolita...two class periods for that book doesn't even scratch the surface.

Workload:
Not alot of reading, and all of it is really fun.

2 papers, 5pg each. Litvak is known for being a tough grader. He will also, somewhat hypocritically, call you out for being pretentious.

The final is asinine....basically a cumulative memorization test (as described by Litvak in class--this review is being written an hour before the test). Very little to do with analysis and understanding of black comedy.

Review:
Despite insisting on the a discussion-based medium for teaching her class, Susan has an awful tolerance for outside views, and incessantly stifles conversations even to the point of cutting off students while they are talking, just to hear her own voice. She is only concerned with a student's progress as long as that student is willing to swallow and reiterate all of Susan's own opinions. She approaches class every day with a palpable air of superiority that takes away from the feeling of a safe learning environment; condescending on students with alternative views is her modus operandi.

The class covers a large amount of very interesting material. Buy and read all of the books, they are extremely valuable. The classroom experience fails to actually analyze or interact with the readings.

I would never take another class with Susan Ostrander... even if my major depended on it (It is a waste of time and money).

Workload:
You are expected to read around 50 to 70 pages a week. Assignments are straightforward; however, the grading rubric that Ostrander uses is completely subjective. Personal analysis and creativity is discouraged. If you want to get a good grade, hide your opinions behind the quotes of an author she assigns. Susan is not at all interested in what you have to say.

Review:
Prof. McCabe is great. She's really friendly and laid-back and also is very enthusiastic about the course material. She is always smiling and willing to help you. Both her lectures and readings are really interesting. I would recommend taking this class with her.

Workload:
There was a lot of reading for the class each week, but it was interesting and some of it you could just skim. Some things we read were about the history of coffee, the life of marie antoinette, and excepts from Fast Food Nation. It's easy reading. Besides reading there is just a midterm, final, and in-class presentation (which is easy).

Review:
Prof. Woodin is great. I would definitely recommend taking a class with him. He is very engaging and funny and therefore makes the lectures interesting. He is one of the teachers that cares a lot about education. He wanted you to understand not only the concepts of epidemiology but also rare diseases and biological processes that he would never test us on. He thought to increase knowledge instead of teaching for a test. Additionally, he's very accessible. He's happy to talk with students outside of class and gives all students his cell phone number and home phone number on the first day of class. It's a fabulous class.

Workload:
4 problem sets, 1 critique of an epidemiological study, and a take-home final were given. Although parts of these were tricky, you are able and encouraged to work in groups of 3-4 people, so the group as a whole can usually figure it out. The only criticism I have of this class is that I was never forced to learn anything because every assignment was take-home and in groups. I'll probably forget all of this very quickly.

Review:
This is O'Leary's best course. He is a priest, but does not let the official church get off easy. Gave time to chat about women's ordination and married priests.

Very willing to write letters of recommendation.

One of my best courses at Tufts.

Workload:
Two take home exams, weekly reading and reflection paper, research paper and presentation.

Review:
Dr. Luallen is an excellent lecturer. He is youthful and enthusiastic (physical characteristics and idiosyncratic mannerisms remind me of a young Tom Cruise: think before 2000). Lectures are Powerpoint based and very straightforward. Material was covered very quickly (some would say too quickly). If you had questions, Dr. Luallen was very helpful and demonstrated genuine concern w/ the student's progress.

I would absolutely take another class w/ Dr. Luallen.

Workload:
There were three exams, each which counted 30% of our grade with the remaining 10% based on homework problem sets that were due the lecture after we finished a chapter. No cumulative final.

Review:
Professor Mosher is straight-up old-school. Lectures were concise, blackboard and chalk. As a person, he might be rather intimidating. I feel he is very intellectual and knows his material very well.

We would start lecture w/ discussion on the current US economy, have lecture on to-be-tested material and end within an hour though the plus block is 1 hour and 15 minutes. Sometimes, Professor Mosher would cancel class spontaneously.

I would take another class with Professor Mosher

Workload:
One midterm, one non-cumulative final. All essays. Very intense. Old-school.

Review:
This is one of the best classes I have ever taken at Tufts, without a doubt. Don't get me wrong, it is a difficult class, but it is not a difficult class to do well in. The material is difficult and the readings are advanced, but Dr. Miczek is truly committed to making sure his students do well and understand the material. The class meets twice a week. For the first third of the class, you essentially do background on Brain & Behavior (PSY103, a prerequisite) and general neuropharmacology. At the end of this period, you take a test on the material which you must pass with at least an 80, or else you have to keep taking it. This isn't to harrass the students or stress anyone out, it's to make sure everyone has a strong background in the information necessary for the course and readings. For the second third, the first class of the week is a background lecture on the week's topic and the second class of the week is a group discussion of several articles from scientific journals. The biggest part of this class isn't the pharmacology or psychology aspect, it's that you really learn how to properly read a journal article and dissect it. Dr. Miczek also gives you background into the life of a professional researcher. I would absolutely recommend this class to anyone going into the sciences, especially research and academia.

Also, Dr. Miczek always says he wants everyone in his class to get an A, whether or not that corresponds with the university's grade inflation policy.

Workload:
1 Test after the first third of the class that doesn't count towards your grade (but you do have to keep taking it until you get an 80+), 1 Take home final that counts for 70% (the other 30% is participation) of your grade (~20 pages), plus reading at least 1 scientific review and 3 scientific journal articles every week

Review:
Professor Dapice is wonderful- he has great experience in the field and is always willing to talk to you or help you out if you're concerned or confused about something in class. The class is interesting and just about right for someone looking to gain a foundation in the field of economic development.

Workload:
Workload was not bad at all. 2 in-class exams and 2 papers- again, he is willing to help and he is a fair grader.

Review:
The course is more difficult than Chem 1, delving into several subjects from Chem 2. If you took AP Chem or did well in some other respectable high school chemistry or are generally good with sciences, you'll manage this class fine. It really is tailored for engineers and you will learn a lot provided you aren't lazy. Dr. Shultz is extremely knowledgable and picks great TAs.
My one big complaint is that Shultz uses her own textbook, and it is probably the worst text I've ever owned (I'm not one to complain about textbooks). Fortunately, the readings can be skipped.

Workload:
The reading is managable and completely unnecessary if you pay attention in class. The weekly problem sets can be completed in two hours or so. At the end of the year, there's a research paper, but it is not too difficult to write. You go into the research paper really prepared, because the whole semester of topics had been centered around it.

Review:
Music 8 was a great class! I'm not a music major and I was never into classical music but I got a lot out of this class. Dr. Bernstein is incredibly knowledgeable and her classes are really fun with all kinds of media supplementation like audio and video clips.

Workload:
There are regular reading and listening assignments but you don't really have to do them as they're not graded. There's also an opera performance field trip that's "mandatory" but isn't part of your grade. The grading is as follows:

Attendance 6% - each missed class after the first 2 is a whole point off so i.e. miss 3 classes=get 5/6. This was probably the biggest hassle since other classes you can just skip but this one you really can't.

4 Projects 23.5% each:
1) Historic/Mozart's Life (essay & presentation)
2) Symphony (listening project)
3) Requiem (listening project)
4) Opera (listening project)

The listening projects which made up the bulk of the grade were take-home and had 40-50 short answer and multiple choice questions. They could take a while so don't leave them to the last night.

Review:
I am not a major in this subject, but find this course very useful in conceptualizing politics and would definitely take another course with the same professor. The professor is awesome, very organized, enthusiastic, intelligent, and informative on the subject. The material in every class is engaging and explained in copious and refined detail. Lectures on theory are interrupted by empirical examples, simple and common examples, and room for questions from students, with the professor taking the questions very seriously and explaining them for as long as necessary. The professor is also very available.

Workload:
The course is organized around recitation participation credit, 2 quizzes (with about 12% of extra credit), a paper midterm, and a final. There is a ton of reading assigned, but it's well dispersed throughout the course and both the professor and the TA's take care to go over everything they want you to know on most of the readings. You also don't have to do 100% of the reading, just make sure to capture the key logic and terms presented within specific articles. If you go to class (lectures are very important, as they clearly lay out the information you need to know) and take care to cover the reading, the quizzes are quite easy.

Review:
This is an extremely interesting class IF you have a really solid foundation in biology. Having taken just regular biology in high school (not AP bio) won't be enough. Prof. Siegel assumes you have a solid foundation in many bio topics and does not thoroughly explain them. He is good at explaining new, higher level information, but not foundational things. If you took AP bio in high school and just want to get a science credit out of the way, definitely take this class - it will be very easy.

Workload:
3 tests, 3 quizzes. They are relatively straighforward with a few curveball questions. Study thoroughly and you'll be fine.

Review:
People told me that Professor Taliaferro would be arrogant and frustrating. He really likes what he thinks, and he isn't the "all opinions are valid" type. But really, in an intro class, it's really good for the professor to shoot down obnoxious people who just want to spew mindless monologues about politics. He knows his stuff, and for IR, that's the best type of person to give students the foundation. I loved the class. I am scared of the guy, and his office hours are an intimidating experience, but it makes students put thought into the class and their questions. He makes you think really hard before saying anything, and that's good, in the end.

Workload:
Lots of reading, a paper, midterm and final. Standard for a hard intro class.

Review:
Just never take this class. Find another way to get rid of your science requirement. This was an agonizing experience. He uses transparencies and an overhead. It's sad.

Completely unorganized lectures. He is condescending when students come to see him after class, as if his lectures were so informative and understandable.

I don't think you understand how strongly I would dissuade anyone from taking this class. Walking into class is a feeling of surrender and disgust.

Workload:
The TA messed up on the majority of the grades. The problem sets were absurd (e.g. "what is life?" was a question on the problem set), and there is no clarity on anything. Lastly, you will be required to keep a "journal" about environmental chem articles...and oh yeah, you even get to make a table of contents and comment on your favorite entry.

Review:
I had a really good time with this class. I was interested in taking Arabic in college, and I decided to go for it when I arrived. Yes, his last name is Wulfsberg--not Arab--but it's honestly like taking the language from a native speaker. He's a young professor, and the class seems awkwardly formal at times considering the age similarity between professor and student. It's a tough language, and a tough class, but after a while, it's fun, and "Khalid" Wulfsberg becomes a little more relaxed and informal. The class itself is reall challenging, you know, seeing as there is an entirely new script to learn, but "Khalid" knows his stuff and will help you during office hours. Go to the office hours, really, it will help. If you put the work in, you will realize how good his course is.

Workload:
Lots of grammar drills, etc. Hard tests, with vocab to memorize.

Review:
The professor was interesting. He's a pretty easy going guy and tried to get people to participate. Explained concepts very well. The only downside is the powerpoints. Very bland and with too much information. He writes a lot on the powerpoints that he doesn't go over b/c its obvious or not necessary. Other than that, good professor! I enjoyed his class.

Workload:
Standard Intro to Psych readings. The book is pretty okay. Some parts were interesting and some parts--well depending on when you're reading it (i.e 2 AM)--just dragged on and on and on! Other than that, no work whatsoever. I reccommend keeping up w/ readings as he likes to throw 1-5 questions from experiments or ancedotes that the book uses but he never mentions in class.

Review:
Dr. Luallen is a great professor. His energetic and enthusiastic teaching really brings a lot to the class. He makes an effort to learn the name of every student in the class and genuinely cares about each student's progress. As a chronic class-skipper, I can say that his class was engaging enough that I skipped class only once. I highly recommend him and his class. I would definitely take another class with him.

Workload:
His problem sets are due the next class after he finishes the chapter in lecture. They're not hard at all.

Review:
Rafael is a very sweet man who doesn't know anything about teaching. He lets his students walk all over him and moves very slowly through the material. Thus, he is forced to add "make-up" classes (though he never actually misses a class).

If you are the kind of person who needs to review what you read the next day in class (and trust me, you will, the last assignment is about 40 pages a night in a chapter book until its 200+ pages have been read), then Rafael is not the teacher for you.
He is, however, available for outside help.

Workload:
Spanish 22 is pretty standard across the board. 3 tests, 1 major in class essay, many compositions and quizzes, loooong book...

However, note that I found Rafael's grading style much harsher than my Spn21 teacher's style.

Review:
Phenomenal teacher. Very well prepared, really cares for his students' well-beings, and an all-around great guy. Probably my favourite teacher at tufts so far

Workload:
decent and doable

Review:
She is really great. I have had her for both English 1 and English 2 Love & Sexuality. She's always enthusiastic, and is always avaliable if you need to see her.

Her feedbacks on essays are really fun also.

Workload:
English 1 was a rather dry, analytical readings, but English 2 Love & Sexuality had a lot of fun readings.

five essays and a debate. revisions possible.

Review:
Amazing professer who I learned alot from easily and quickly. He sometimes goes a bit quickly in class but it isn't too hard to keep up. He is approachable, friendly and encourages his students to do well. I liked him so much that I actually want to take another math class with him even though I don't need to for my major and even though I don't particularly like math. Definitely take his class if you can

Workload:
Homework everyday. Not too hard and he does confusing problems on the board Like any other math class at TUFTS

Review:
Great professor!! Very laid back and understanding. Loves discussions and often just sits back and let's students analyse the readings for themselves and come to their own conclusions. Easiest A I've received amongst all my classes here at TUFTS. Objectivity is the name of the game, and the most important aspects in writing are structure, organization an punctuation. Free reign with content though. Be explicit, creative and provocative. He is also one of the coolest people you'll ever meet.

Workload:
As far as I remember around 7 or 8 written papers 3-5 pages each and one research paper of 8 pages based off of one of the previous papers that you've written.

Review:
Great professor!! Very laid back and understanding. Loves discussions and often just sits back and let's students analyse the readings for themselves and come to their own conclusions. Easiest A I've received amongst all my classes here at TUFTS. Objectivity is the name of the game, and the most important aspects in writing are structure, organization an punctuation. Free reign with content though. Be explicit, creative and provocative. He is also one of the coolest people you'll ever meet.

Workload:
As far as I remember around 7 or 8 written papers 3-5 pages each and one research paper of 8 pages based off of one of the previous papers that you've written.

Review:
One of the nicest professors you will ever meet. Highly organised (trust me for a language professor that is one of the most important qualities), approachable, and quite funny at times. She explains grammar concepts well but there are so many exceptions and weird alternatives for grammar rules, always ask her questions even over the silliest things. Other than that, I liked her so much I took her again for FR0004.

Workload:
Alot of work. But I think the workload is the same for any french class you take at TUFTS. She also like to send alot of sheets through e-mail so, you should check your g-mail or hotmail accounts every single day. Also invest in a good printer because she send a tonne of materials, which you need to print out, fill in, and take to class on the assigned day. Check over th syllabus carefully too as that is where all the hw is listed ambiguously.

Review:
Good professor, posts his notes up on blackboard, explains things rather simplistically. The key to succeed in his class though is to snatch up a good TA who you can harass night and day for help with. More than what you learn from the professor in class, it is important what you learn during recitation, so try not to miss those.

Workload:
Problem sets are highly confusing and ambiguous but if you have a good TA, your life is set. Two midterms made up of relatively objective multiple choice questions and one long ambiguous question at the end that you'll need to bull our way through.

Review:
Cebe is extremely helpful and enthusiastic. The course material is fascinating (but difficult, especially if you haven't dealt with waves before). It is one of the best classes I've taken here. The labs are time consuming but incredibly interesting. Cebe gives great notes and cares about her students. If you come in with extra questions about optics she gets really excited for you. Its great.

Workload:
The assignments were straightforward if you go to class. The labs are a pain but very relevant. The material is generally pretty easy if you know some stuff about waves but but very difficult if you don't go in for

Review:
Prof. Johnson is a wonderful lecturer and is truly passionate about what she is teaching. She made me appreciate every single film that we watched in class, even if some weren't really my style. There are a bunch of handouts/reading for the course, but you don't really have to read it all for the exam. I would suggest it though, because of the reading Prof. Johnson gives is very interesting and really helps you look at the films in a different way.

Workload:
a midterm, essay and a final exam. Plus film journals that are only a page each. The workload really isn't bad at all, and if you come to all the classes and take part in discussions, the exams are really easy.

Review:
She was a very enthusiastic good teacher, she always praised my writing during class and thought I was doing great. I received a B+ despite the fact have always received A's in these types of classes.
Hard grader, and you don't find out til the end, not for the weak of heart.

Workload:
Pretty easy. But there's really no way to improve your grade as far as I know.

Review:
Prof. Shin knows her stuff and expects her students to retain a lot of information. But the course is really interesting if you like the biology behind psychology. There is a lot of memorizing parts of the brain and what they do and how they pertain to different pathologies. It is really helpful if you are a psych major.

Workload:
There are usually two or three major assignments all semester but virtually no work outside of the classroom other than that. She also counts class participation for a large chunk of your grade, so that is a booster.

Review:
The course starts with the Big Bang theory and finishes with topics about humans. Every 4 to 6 week you get a different science lecturer: Astrophysics, Geology, Chemistry Part 1, Chemistry Part 2, Biology, and Anthropology. It's meant to be taught to First years and Sophomores who might not be science majors. Each new lecturer teaches differently and sometimes they can overload you with information. Take it if you are good with memorizing.

Workload:
You have readings every night and will have pop quizzes on the readings or lectures every time you move onto a new lecturer. At the end of each section you have an exam, which can range from 5 to 10 questions. Your grade can take a hard hit because of it. And you have to present a final poster on any issue you'd like to research that might have been mentioned in class.

Review:
Professor Gallagher is an ok teacher. It doesn't help that I don't really like Physics E&M in the first place. The beginning was a little frustrating, when he'd only do derivations on the board. But he always has powerpoint slides for every lecture, and I'm just starting to realize how useful they are. They're clear and summarize the book well. All in all, he's a good teacher, especially when considering some of the other teachers in the physics department.

Workload:
Problem set every week, takes a few hours. Sometimes the problems are really hard so I'd recommend going to recitation. Or having a really smart friend.

Just a word of warning - the averages for tests are not that high. It was a 79 for the 1st midterm and a 68 for the 2nd.

Review:
Professor Boyden has a brilliant, encyclopedic knowledge of philosophy (among other topics, like classics and psychology).

However, I had some issues with this class. He clearly proved how immense his knowledge is, and how useful he can be in explaining certain things. He also seemed to have a sense of humor. Unfortunately, he barely showed any of his personality for the entire semester.

The first work that comes to mind when describing his class is awkward. This was a tiny class, and the tension and awkwardness is so dense that I sometimes had trouble breathing. He sort of lectures, writing notes on the board. He has a very complex way of speaking (like all Philosophers), which makes it easy to occasionally miss a point simply due to poor communication (speaking in lamens terms a little more would have helped). Going along with this, he expects that you really understood everything in the reading. Given that the reading was written mainly by p