Claire Elise Hazen

Prof. Hazen: 9.5/10 Amazing professor. I skipped lab twice and made it up on a different day, it was so cool and unmessy... like on the first time I did it, she literally said, it's ok, the navy won't come looking for you if you don't attend lab on the right day! and then laughed in her own sweet manner. She's also so passionately proud that we still use and breed the same flies that Thomas Hunt Morgan (yes, THE THOMAS HUNT MORGAN, discoverer of sex-linked genes) and claims that our lab was also THG's lab. So that was so cute. The -0.5 was bc of her subsonic voice. sad. The class ------- Pig dissections: 6.5/10 If you've never dissected before, probably lower... but I always just tell myself that I should pretend I know what I'm doing and I should be fine. and I did. I also registered for this class after the first week of labs, so she was really flexible with Office hours and everything like it was so easy to catch up and do 'relatively' well on the practical exam. The practical was hard though. The avergae is usually 140/200. I got a 161 and my TA said I should expect an A. cool. A lot of the parts on the practical tests the views though, so if you're used to seeing the hyoid bone on the buccal area, dorsal or ventral, you might be tested on how it looks like after a saggital cut. The most painful part of the practical is the histology bc she'd give you a slide and ask you w…

This is truly one of the funnest classes at Columbia, if you like histology, dissection, and growing yeast and bacteria. I loved it! I also LOVED Lise Hazen. She's really welcoming and has a great personality. I think she makes this class a lot of fun. It's true this class is not extremely on the organized side of things... but if you prefer classes to be a little more relaxed (if, for instance, you find yourself at times describing other lab classes as "anal"), it may be *just* what you're looking for. Lastly, as far as lab reports go, I wouldn't worry about not understanding what's expected too much. First, everyone gets full credit for their flow chart, so just relax and write whatever you want for that. Second, you get to rewrite one lab report. So, if you misunderstand what's expected for the first lab report, you can shift your approach for the others and rewrite the first. No problem. Just enjoy the class, because it is meant to be fun, if also somewhat demanding (which only makes it more enjoyable...). Take a deep breath and relax.

I found the experiments and dissections to be interesting, but hated the lab reports and felt they were huge waste of time and our TA's grading was harsh. I didn't feel that I learned anything more about Biololgy than I did from my intro course, I just spent allot of time doing calculations and trying to figure out how to make interesting pictures of plasmids on my computer. As someone who wasn't fond of the class I can say that the professor is probably one of the nicest I've had at columbia and made it allot less painful. I recommend taking it in the summer when it won't interfere with other classes. The lab reports are very time consuming and, of course, are heavy right before finals. If you have a cool TA, this class will be much better for you. But you're not going to find that out until it's too late anyway.

I agree with all the previous reviews - the woman is the nicest prof i've even had who'll give her soul to help you. So sweet! My only complaint with her is that she takes forever to grade! And i mean forever! We didn't get our first lab report back until after we submitted the second one. She feels very bad about it, and keeps telling you to come back tomorrow, which you do, and they are still not done. But the woman is so sincerely sweet and caring, that you can't help but not get mad at her. She really is a wonderful person. The pig is fun! The other labs are not as fun, but definitely better then chem labs. The atmosphere in the class is very relaxed. You don't even feel like you're in class. Everyone is chatting and having a good time. Also, the TAs can make or break your experience. Make sure you do not have David Mandell as your TA. He is absolutely horrible! In my opinion he's on a powertrip, out to get everyone. And what's worse, he doesn't know his stuff! You ask him a question, and he sometimes just says I don't know, and at other times gives you the wrong answer. What's more, he's a very picky grader. Just stay away from his sections. But once again, Lise is just marvelous. I absolutely love that woman, as does everyone in the class.

Wow! This class was amazing. I am surprised she does not have a gold nugget yet. She is very nice; I remember people in the class calling her the anti-mowshowitz. Before the pig dissection, there is little to no work and it is just memorization of the pig parts. We really only had thee labs and one of them was just answering a bunch of genetic questions that she had explained how to do in class. One piece of advice is to really pay attention to her in-class lectures, as EVERYTHING is explained there. If you just meet the average on most of the assignments (maybe a little above), you are probably going to receive an A, since I did below on the practical and most likely the final, but above on the labs and received an A. Just bug your TA's for some of the answers to the post-lab stuff and lab reports and you should be fine.

Insanely nice, insanely generous with grades. The TA’s can be bossy and insensitive, but Lise will help you with absolutely everything. She wants you to do well, and isn’t the typical science teacher out to abuse your pre-med career. Don’t get the night section! (Thurs. 7:30-11:30) – even if that’s when you function best – all the 40 year olds selling their souls to become doctors opt for that one, and it’s really a drag being there the whole time with post-bacs.

I though this class was great, largely due to Professor Hazen's cheerfulness and thoroughness in teaching the material. I've worked in a bio lab before, and many people recommend not taking this class if you have. But I have no regrets. This class gave me a very nice overview in different bio fields by introducing different experiments (from a pig dissection to a fly experiment to basic molecular biology vector work). Don't worry if you don't do so well on the pig practical. I got around a C on it, but ended up getting an A in the class in the end. Be meticulous with your lab reports. The final is very similar to the practice final, so if you understand that, you should be fine! Oh, and I would also advise you to take notes during her lectures-- all of the answers for the quiz are usually given during this time!

I loved Lise. I am always amazed by how cheerful and good humored she is, and by how friendly she is. She is so approachable and honestly so great- I can understand why an undergrad would want to TA her class since she is so nice. The labs were interesting, and in hindsight the pig dissection was fun (studying for the practical was stressful though, but somehow that midterm that had material from the entire first half of the course only counted for 20% of the grade). My gripes: There was no direction in the class. Pretty much, as soon as you got to class, you could start dissecting your pig. Because the second half of the semester was done in groups, you could not start until everyone was there. Every class started about 20-30 minutes late habitually, which was honestly so annoying and made me wonder why I bothered to show up to class on time. Both the midterm and the final started late, which was frustrating too. I was also with all postbaccs who need to nitpick everything and take their sweet time, so things that should have taken 25 minutes tops took over an hour. Never before has a 4 hour lab class actually lasted for 4 hours every single session! You're reading this because you're pre-med, so you have to take this class anyway. Come to class on time, listen to Lise when she speaks and take copious notes when she does so because she gives all the answers to the lab report…

As a post0bacc in the summer session, this was a very enjoyable class. Not a blow-off by any means. You have a lot of work, but it is so interesting for most students that the investment of time is fun. I highly recommend the summer session, but I could see it being really useful during Bio I. If you start off working hard the course will pay off. And the Professor Hazen doesn't curve but grades on your own merits. Try peppermint oil under your nose during the pig portion as it really does stink. And buy all the texts asap. Study hard for the pig exam - it's doable, but you need to spend the time in the lab.

Best class I've had at Columbia, wish I could take it again and skip orgo lab! Nicest professor ever. Really. Pretty much everything has been said, except: for lab reports, make sure you go to your TA's office hours and find out exactly what they want to see on the reports. They grade using a checklist, so find out what's on that list! Also, TA's are mostly undergrads, so if you disagree with any exam or quiz grading (also done with a checklist), go directly to Professor Hazen and she'll probably add points if your answer is correct but not exactly what the TA's were looking for. It should be a fairly stress free class. If you can't hear, move. If you don't do well on the pig exam, relax, it really doesn't count for much overall. You will learn a lot and it will be the first real taste of medically-related material for many people.