Sally Chapman

A piece of cake--as long as you do the Practice Problems every week and make sure you know how to do them all, you will be fine. The three midterms are all based on the practice exams she gives you so study those and make sure you know how to do all the problems. The final has a lot from lab so make sure you know the important reactions and titrations. The final is also full of redox, so learn that well! The weekly hand-in problem sets don't affect your grade very much, and neither does your weekly lab report grade. My lab average was between a B- and a B and I still got an A in the course because I rocked the midterms and final. Just make sure to do the Practice Problems, and of course, practice all available problems, and this class will be a GPA booster, guaranteed.

A lot of people write reviews after seeing they didn't quite get the grade they "deserved" and subsequently blame Chapman. And on the other side are the geniuses who just GET IT and don't understand why everyone else couldn't understand. Personally, I thought Chapman was GREAT. She's this really spunky older woman and will NOT coddle you or give you the answers AT ALL (which is what some people expect). She'll lead you in the right direction but leaves the rest up to you. Utilize her office hours and don't be afraid to ask questions! I learned a lot and spent a lot of time on my work and barely received a "decent" grade. It's hard work but if you're dedicated and ready to work it's manageable.

chapman expects quite a bit from her students. although she's really demanding, her expectations are not at all unreasonable. in general chem, she holds an incredible number of office hours which are really very helpful. during my year of pchem, i gradually realized that once you have chapman figured out, it's really very easy to get an A in her classes. her tests are VERY similar to the problem sets. buying the book is never necessary in any of her courses. problem sets are a significant amount of work (especially in quantum-- oh my lord) but doable if you work with others and/or go to office hours. seriously, she's a really nice person and is willing to work very hard for her students as long as you work hard for her. also, the powerpoints: SO helpful. i barely took notes and instead just listened.

I'd like to start by pointing out that unless you're a chemistry or biochem major who needs to take this class as a requirement, you should just steer clear of it. Quantum chemistry is NO joke!!! That said, to those who HAVE to take it, this is what you're in for: My compliments to Prof. Chapman. I think she's an all-around great professor. She's very knowledgeable of the material and genuinely cares about making students understand. The subject matter was ridiculously tough and pretty abstract but I think she handled it well, and was always available for help. There's no way you can even survive this course unless you go regularly for help anyway. Plus there are weekly graded problem sets, worth 24% of your grade. Those p-sets are killers!! They require A LOT of thinking and calculations; and you should start them as soon as you get them. Also, I must say that this course has very little qualitative chem material. It's almost entirely calculus and belongs more in the math department. Do yourself a favor, and take this class in one of your light semesters. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO PAIR THIS CLASS UP WITH ANY OTHER CHALLENGING COURSE. Also the lectures are all powerpoint slides. Some ppl say thats not efficient because you can't teach math on powerpoint but the advantage is that the slides are on courseworks and you can return to them anytime.

Althought Professor Chapman knows her materials very well, but is not a very understanding professor. She gave me and my friends a grade that is lower than we deserved and all of us found it no point and hopeless to go and talk to her about it because we know that she is not going to do anything to change it anyway, but just to humiliate you. Agree with this other review on the web: This class is HIGHLY UN-recommended! Sally Chapman is a very quick-moving professor who expects all students to put her class at first and only priority among other classes. She is VERY strict on non-academic aspects of the class, which really takes away from the material in itself. PREMED STUDENTS AT BARNARD: Take Chemistry at Columbia!!! This class was my worst experience at Barnard and I strongly do not suggest it. She may know her material, but I felt that it really impeded my learning of the subject because I disliked her as a professor so much.

This class is HIGHLY UN-recommended. Sally Chapman is a very quick-moving professor who expects all students to put her class at first and only priority among other classes. She is VERY strict on non-academic aspects of the class, which really takes away from the material in itself. PREMED STUDENTS AT BARNARD: Take Chemistry at Columbia!!! This class was my worst experience at Barnard and I strongly do not suggest it. She may know her material, but I felt that it really impeded my learning of the subject because I disliked her as a professor so much.

Do not take this class unless you have to!!!! While Chapman is a very good teacher, the material is HARD. It is absolutely impossible to do the problem sets on your own. The exams are impossible as well. The 9:00 lecture with 150 students puts you to sleep. Do not take this class unless it's necessary!

One thing that should have become very clear from all of these reviews is that Chapman is not very warm and friendly. Even if you know what you're doing, she can be very intimidating. Nevertheless, I don't think that this makes her a bad instructor. She is not the type of professor that will coddle you, but she's fair. She's extremely clear about all of the grading, has almost ridiculous amounts of office hours, and she gives you practice tests for all of the midterms that are extremely similar to the exams. That having been said, this is still a very difficult course, especially if you don't have a strong background in Chem. I took AP Chem in high school and got a 5 on the exam, so this class was very little new material for me and was relatively straightforward. If you have a strong background in chem, this class will be fine. However, I had several friends who, while very intelligent and hardworking, had a very difficult time in this class because they hadn't taken much chem before, which made this class a struggle for them. Overall, I enjoyed the class and thought that it was taught as well as any chem lecture course could be. I didn't think that it was an unreasonable amount of work, especially since it's a 5 unit class (with the lab). Also, the information you need to know for exams is never outrageous, and it always seems like Chapman is more interested in seeing that y…

Sally Chapman is the meanest professor I have ever encountered in my three years of college experience. While her ability to convey the rather dull information associated with Gen Chem is acceptable (although she does seem to like to make a LOT of mistakes in her presentations, which also lead to immense amounts of confusion in a subject that is so confusing as it is), she lacked an understanding for social interactions completely. This woman is such a horrible representative of my gender, I am embarrassed to call her a woman, especially a Barnard woman. She is MEAN, BITTER, INTOLERANT, RUDE, DISCOURAGING, INSENSITIVE, and all of the other adjectives you can think of that describe impossible human beings you should avoid at any cost. This woman made me cry so many times, in my room, in class, in front of her, at which she did not even blink an eye. I cannot express the emotional turmoil she put me through and how horribly she affected my academic performance. I have never felt so uneasy about a college course and the presence of a professor as I did with her and this god forsaken gen chem class. PLEASE, if you have the choice of taking gen chem ANYWHERE ELSE, DO SO!!!!! This woman will fuck you up for good.

I used to like chemistry. I took Chem AP in high school and did fine. I come here, all eager in my pre-medness and I get Sally Chapman. Oh boy. Let's start off with this. She has succeeded where no other professor has-She was able to put me to sleep EVERY lecture. Every single one. No joke. Second of all, her problem sets are ridiculous and she is of no help during office hours. Her exams are HARD. So many people dropped pre-med because of this class. This is an extremely challenging class and anyone taking chem for pre-med should just take it at Columbia...the curve is so much better and seriously, your GPA is what matters here so do yourself a favor and don't throw it away by taking Chapman's class.