Tobolowsky is AMAZING. In a perfect world, I would never have to take Chem 14D, but the closest I can get to perfect is taking it with Tobolowsky. I was shocked that I was able to get an A- in the class because I really struggled with the concepts at first, but RobTob is so clear and engaging that it made catching up and improving easier than if I took it with any other professor. The way he teaches a very complicated topic is very clear. I was dealing with some health issues and missed many classes, but he podcasts all his lectures! He also provides more than enough practice questions for us to learn. His tests are very fair, although difficult, and as long as you complete (AND understand) all his problem sets, discussion worksheets, and do the practice exams (he gives so many!!) you will be fine! I scored around the average on both midterms, then got an A on the final after studying super hard. 10/10 would recommend!!

I love RobTob™ with all my heart. I barely passed Chem 14C, so I was really scared taking another ochem class. However, the way he explains all the material makes sense and is extremely simple, and he is super engaging and funny as well. He posts so many bonus problems for you to do as well as practice midterms and finals (on top of the homework). Do them all because 14D is basically learning how to apply all the different mechanisms, and you just have to practice a lot. His practice exams are usually a little bit harder than his actual exams, so if you understand them, you're good. He also does Sunday livestreams, so you can ask any questions you need, which I thought was really helpful. He also gives extra credit for completing an online thing called Bacon, and it's only graded on completion. That being said, 14D is a lot of material, so make flashcards! Even though I've never studied with flashcards in any other class, I think it's a necessity to be able to memorize the reactions. Also, lectures and discussions aren't mandatory. I would definitely attend lecture though because it's easier to understand the material when he goes through the steps. He does Bruincast, but they're audio only. I went to one discussion, but it was basically just a worksheet that you worked through on your own or with a group. He posts them too, so I just did them at home, and I thought that was sufficient.
Overall, a class that could've definitely been harder, but because Tobolowsky was such a wonderful professor, it became my favorite STEM class.

For being one of the hardest classes you may ever take in your career, Dr. Tobolowsky manages to completely erase the stress from that truth. He cares so much about students' understanding of the material and success in the class. He is so encouraging in office hours and lectures. He clearly knows what he is doing and is so knowledgable and funny during lecture. I genuinely going to class and office hours. He has so many outside resources and this class is really practice for a huge puzzle and Dr. Tobolowsky is the wizard with all the answers and hints. He is incredibly fair on exams. If you go to lecture and also do every practice problem he gives you (which are a lot), and that partially includes office hours because not only do you need to do them you need to understand why they are the way they are, and you do them consistently, not just the day before exams, I think you will be perfectly fine. Also do your best to just get to know Dr. Tobolowsky because he really makes an effort to learn the names of the students who do reach out for help outside of class. Honestly learning the last reaction of the class made me kind of sad, so even though it's a stressful process, find the fun in it because puzzles are fun right? And don't stress on little details on the exam, as long as you're building up the skills the class is meant to teach you, you should be proud of that in it of itself.

This class is a lot of memorization and really requires a mastery of chemical reactions. Tobolowsky is a great professor and does a great job making the material accessible. He has clear lectures, which are Bruincasted, and takes really good notes during lecture which he also posts. He also posts a ton of test prep material (practice problems, review worksheets, etc). Discussions are not mandatory, but are helpful for reviewing concepts.

Tobolowsky is hands down one of the best professors I have had so far at UCLA. This class requires a lot of studying and memorization, but he makes sure to cover everything we need to know in class and made it a point that he would never test us on anything not covered in class. During lecture, rather than use pre-made slides, he would write all the material covered in class on his iPad, which was connected to the projector, which allows time for everyone to copy down the notes. He made lecture very engaging and made funny comments and (oftentimes geeky) jokes, which I appreciated. He really cares about his students learning, and did live stream q and a's every week. The day of the first midterm, a lot of people didn't attend class to study, and Tobolowsky actually went home and recorded a video going over the entire lecture that everyone missed and decided to make midterm days a q and a day instead. The class covered a lot of information, but if you attend all the lectures and use the resources he provides, it is very doable to do well.