Professor Corbin is easily the best professor that I have had thus far at UCLA. I have taken Physics 1A and 1B with him, and I will be taking Physics 1C with him in the Fall. I will be entering my Sophomore, and from what I have heard about my future professors, Corbin will eclipse all of them.
DO NOT listen to the people who say that he is intentionally trying to screw people over in terms of grades. Those people obviously never went to his office hours (which he has nearly every day). He genuinely cares about our education, and I find that to be the best quality a professor can ever have.
I'm not saying this because I have gotten an A in both of the first two classes with him. I am a C and B student, trust me. I just think that the value of the education I receive from Corbin is better than what I would get from anybody else.
I'm not going to lie to you, his tests are really hard. And when I say hard, I mean the average is usually around 30-40%. But don't think of that as a reason not to take him. He is making sure that you understand the material more than just merely memorizing the equations. He wants you to be "fluent", not "familiar".
Definitely take Corbin. It will make your education experience better here. And everyone can take a slight hit to their GPA, even though it is definitely possible to get a B or maybe an A in his class.

My brother is a freshman and he just told me that corbin's class was the first physics 1A class to be completely filled. I couldn't believe that it wasn't Holczer's class ... his class is so easy . Its open book, and his midterms and finale is from his homework. You do the homework and you're almost guaranteed an A. I took 91A with corbin and it was the worst class I ever took in UCLA, his lectures are way too difficult.

this class isnt hard if youve taken ap physics b (or ap physics c mechanics i would imagine but i guess you would have passed out of it). basically its mechanics so moving stuff but with a little calculus involved and some rotational stuff. i can say that i learned very little because i already knew most of it. lecture is 4 times a week and theres a discussion so this class will get very boring over time. midterms and final are all conceptual so not numbers involved. on each of his midterm there is one homework problem on it. i got burned out over the homework so i recommend just looking at the answers

This class is nowhere near as hard as I expected it to be. I went to probably a quarter of the lectures and one discussion section and managed to get an A in the class. If you have a solid physics background (5 in an AP Physics class) you should be fine, especially since he curves the class at the end. The tests were hard, but once again he curves the grades at the end so your raw score isn't important. Based on the classes I did go to, he was a pretty good professor although to be honest my high school physics teacher was a bit better, but I guess that's an unfair comparison. Overall I'd say take his class if you have a strong physics background or like the subject, avoid if physics is a weak spot for you.

Okay to be honest this guy was NOT AS HARD as the people on here make him out to be. Actually, his tests are difficult (the most difficult physics exams I've seen so far) but he gives you partial credit if you show that you have an idea of how to approach a problem. If you take Corbin, here's what you should do:

Do the homework!
Do all of it! I'm serious! For our class he would put a homework question word-for-word on each of the midterms for all or no credit (no partial credit... evil!)

Get a COMPLETE solutions manual to the textbook... it helps you out with the homework problems, and if you don't understand a homework problem go to Corbin's or the TA's office hours.

For this course it is important to know the concepts rather than the mathematical tricks thrown at you by the book. If you know what is going on in a problem, can explain it to another person, and solve it (and can explain to another person how to solve it as well), you will do fine.

Go over his notes with classmates (form a study group), and go over the examples he gives in class. He goes over difficult examples so if you understand them, chances are you will understand what will be on the tests.

I got an A doing this so you know that A's ARE possible in this class. Oh I seem to have forgotten to mention that Corbin is an awesome guy... seriously! He's the best professor at UCLA I've had so far and I hope to have him again for another course. Go to his office hours and have a chat with him he is hilarious and talks about interesting stuff. This was the only class that I had near-perfect attendance. His lectures are amazing and he devotes time to help students struggling with the course. (He had office hours like everyday almost). I definitely recommend Corbin.

Corbin is probably the best professor I ever met at UCLA. He is effective, interesting and helpful. He's been holding office hour every single day the past quarter and replies emails in time. His lectures are so much fun that I always feel excited to go to his class. His tests are hard, but interesting. In short, I really enjoyed this quarter with him.

Corbin is an amazing teacher and person. You'd be silly to pass up this opportunity to learn physics from him.
He is helpful, kind and generous in every way, and goes above and beyond to help anyone and everyone who is willing to learn. As his past physics workshops and teaching methods have shown, this includes people who may not be enrolled in his specific class, but simply those who want to develop their understanding of physics in a way that is more than just memorizing formulas..

@ the guy who "is wondering what to learn from Corbin,"
maybe you should learn to chill. ;) haha.. 8)

Brent is the best physics professor ever! The way he taught the material is easier to understand than reading the book! He expect a lot from his students and have high expectation. He is very humorous, which made the class really interesting. Personally, i hate physics, i take it for requirement. But he made it so interesting that i kinda like it now! Lots of HW, getting ready to spend time on HW. Highly recommanded to go to office hour, or workshop. He is always around to help. His lectures are well-organized. Exams are reasonable, makes sure don't miss his lecture if possible. His lecture notes are useful. Huge curves, you can't believe it!

Well, overall, this is a really tuff class. I would not recommand ppl to take it if you do not have time to spend on it, or take it for fun. Really tuff. But if you have to take any physics class, you have to take Brent.. you will know why I like him so much!

Prof. Corbin is THE professor to learn mechanics from. of all the professors i have had at UCLA, he is one of the few who understands the subject, is passionate about teaching, and actually cares about the students. I agree that he would probably be one of the harder professors you will have, but he is considered hard only because he tests your concepts, not your memory. He hates when kids try to memorize problems from the books and belch it in the tests. He wants you to learn the underlying principles of physics, and see the beauty of it by developing an analytical mind. If you don't understand something, talk to him, go to his office hours,and go to peer tutoring. He will go to great lengths to try make you understand. his tests and homework will be challenging, but they are extremely rewarding if you do them by yourself, applying all the concepts you learn. If you are a slouch, and just want to get by, he is not for you. But if you really want to learn physics, physics you can use in real world, i suggest you take his class.
ps:
(for the post below me) Please do not talk trash about him. Have some decency and show some professionalism.

I didn't have him as a professor, but I did attend his workshops, which were AMAZING. Corbin has a lot of stategies that make you understand physics a lot better. I used to hate mechanics in high school, but now I really like it a lot. I'm not sure how well I would have done in Gelmini's 1A class if weren't for his workshops, but I think I got an A+ in her class because of them. Excellent teacher.