Laura Kay

I found the content of the course mostly interesting, though there were often sections of lectures that I found irrelevant or redundant. I'd recommend the course if you're just looking for an easy fulfillment of a science requirement, but not someone interested in a major/concentration in astronomy or someone looking to be challenged. Homeworks and quizzes were generally straightforward (and all quizzes are open note). The information presented in lectures, while generally interesting, was not particularly challenging either. Lectures could probably have been streamlined -- they often felt overburdened with tangential information, and relevant information could have been presented with more clarity.

Professor Kay does not a good professor. She is not enthusiastic in class, is a boring lecturer, does not explain concepts well, creates bad exams (she is not clear in her questions what she wants the answer to be), and does not accommodate students with disabilities well (for quizzes, if they are unable to come to class early to get their extra time, she has them sit in the hallway and miss part of the lecture to finish the quiz). This being said, Stars, Galaxies and Cosmology is a very easy class to pass. She drops the lowest homework and quiz grade, the quizzes are open notes, and you get one page of notes for the midterm, and two pages for the final. She also offers an extra credit assignment (paper 3-4 pages long about an exhibit at the Natural History Museum or a book on astronomy). And, because so many people take this class to fulfill the quantitative reasoning or lab science requirement, and are just looking for a pass, the curve is HUGE. She also posts the power points from class online beforehand, so you only need to take notes on any extra or clarifying information she says in class (but she does not always post them ahead of time, and not all the information from the in-class powerpoint is the a same as the one on courseworks). But if you're actually looking to understand the concepts, you need to put in a lot of extra work on your own, go to office hours, and I w…

Professor Kay is really a very dedicated teacher. The class isn't too easy, but isn't super hard either. The homework sets are rather long and are a bit harshly graded by the TAs, but the quizzes are fair and are graded by her, and she is significantly nicer a grader than the TAs. The exams are a bit tricky though. It was an interesting class for sure.

I love Professor Kay. She is terribly sarcastic and amazingly intelligent. Her lectures are clear, to the point, and funny. They can be boring occasionally, but they're powerpoint so that's to be expected. She posts all of her lectures online, and will even copy her notes for you if you miss class. The subject matter is interesting, and if you're ever confused or just want to talk about something, go to her office hours. She's a bit hard to get to know at first, but then becomes very friendly. She's also led an amazing life--if you're ever curious, ask her about her time in Antartica, or her pilot's license, her EMT certification, and when she was so close to being an astronaut. The class itself is much more focused on theory and ideas than math or physics. If you're interested in more math-oriented astronomy, take one of the Columbia classes, because her math is pretty basic and she gives you all of the equations.

This class is easier to get an A in than any other science class I have taken in high school. Laura Kay is very pragmatic about what is going on in the course and never leaves you guessing about anything. She also drops the lowest quiz and homework grades. The midterm is extremely difficult but is graded on a massive curve. On our midterm, a 88/125 was an A. On quizzes you can bring in any notes you want including the text book, yet the average score on these quizzes is always pretty low. This is because about half of the class decides to pass fail and then checks out early, which just makes it easier to stay about the average. The average on quizzes is usually around a 14/25 and if you consistently get around 20/25 your overall quiz grade will be an A. On the midterm we were allowed to bring in one sheet of notes and people basically brought in the whole course on size 4 font. She didn't care, and actually encouraged this. The information is also very interesting and if you actually pay attention to the content of her lectures instead of checking out (checking out is fine and won't affect your grade negatively) you will probably be entertained.

Are you a SEAS junior or senior with some time on your hands and want 2 easy A's (possibly A+'s) to boost your GPA? Are you interested in Astro? Then these classes are the classes for you- minimum amount of work for maximum grade return. Here's some back story- I found myself starting 2nd semester junior year just having gotten the lowest GPA I had ever had. I had literally hit rock bottom. I needed some A's to neutralize the bad grades I got and my major courses weren't helping, so I decided to take this class and what a great decision it was. Yes, they fulfill literally no requirement, but they also factor into your GPA, and 6 credits of A isn't insignificant. As a SEAS junior or senior in an intro Barnard science class, let's just say it couldn't possibly get more stacked. I literally never went to class except for exams and to hand in homework. Just printing and reading the powerpoints posted online for maybe 10-15 minutes a week is more than enough to learn all the material in this class. The homework is so easy that it becomes almost enjoyable to do them. As a SEAS junior, I'm used to looking at a pset and thinking, Crap, I have no idea how to do this. As a result, just being able to understand all the work at first glance makes me feel accomplished since I'm so used to getting completely pwned by work. Quizzes are also easy as pie. Never study for them- just print the p…

Kay is a really sweet, really approachable professor. She likes her students, and she loves astronomy, and she talks about her cats. You totally don't have to do the readings because no one else ever does them either, discussions are a joke, and at least half of our lecture time was devoted to movie watching. Kay is a really easy going professor, and if you ever really want to talk to her about the subject she loves hearing it. Unfortunately, she can easily become a pushover and a lot of students find that she's a joke and don't bother doing the work. But you should, because if you don't you'll feel guilty--she's really, awfully nice.

The biggest complaint I have is that she had an extremely arrogant attitude when I asked for help during the one time I went to her office hours. Thereafter, I got my astronomy/physics friends to help me out as a first option. She did turn out to be much more helpful via email so since I prefer email communication anyway, it worked out fine. She always replied promptly and even as late as 11PM. She definitely was available which is a huge plus in my book and that pretty much negates the rudeness factor. I did have some sporadic interesting conversations with her right after classes, but in my experience, she was fickle in friendliness when it came to talking to her in person. I most definitely recommend taking her classes, though, because her teaching method is excellent. She makes everything sound simple and easy (and she gives a high curve if you're worried about your GPA), she puts all the powerpoint presentations on her website, and the textbook was interesting and readable, not "academic". Just don't get upset if she's rude to you in person. A professor that teaches well, grades absolutely fairly, and does instant emails is worth any in-person rudeness.

This class is meant for humanities majors who need to fulfill their science/math/maybe lab requirements. Laura Kay is very aware of that and tries to structure her class with that in mind. The class is difficult and most people end up P/F/D ing it. If you haven't taken physics or calculus, it will be difficult. Just stay on top of the notes and you should be fine.

Do not take this class. If you’re anything like me, you’re a non –math or -science major looking for the path of least resistance to fulfilling your science requirements. This is not that path. To be fair, this class is some of the things you’re looking for: absolutely no attendance is required save the midterm, final, and quiz days, nor would it benefit you – of all the bored people with glazed eyes that fill the lecture hall, Professor Kay is by far the most bored of all, her eyes glazier than any. Kay stands up front, reads her Power Points verbatim, and then posts them at the end of class for everyone to download – I can genuinely say I sat through not one full lecture. And it wasn’t for want of trying; each month I’d recommit to attending class and being participatory, and each time that I tried I fled the lecture near the halfway point, re-outraged and re-in-disbelief that all the professor does is quite literally stand at the front of the room and read her bloody slides. Frankly, I am qualified to teach this course. And please don’t misunderstand me: it’s not like I wasn’t interested, and I’m not allergic to science or anything. Rather, the class is structured in such a way as to wholly eradicate anyone’s interest in the cosmos; it’s an inferno for even the slightest hint of interest or passion you might casually harbor for the subject of stars and the like. The six hom…