Reviews of professor Ariel VanLeuven

Rating: 5.0/5, difficulty: 4.0/5
Dr. VanLeuven was an excellent professor. Though she is a tough grader she tells you what's going to be on the test and gives good lectures. She also is very easy going and gives good feedback on your writing assignments. Unfortunately she will be going to UGA next semester. Wish I could have taken Bio 142 with her.

Rating: 5.0/5, difficulty: 3.0/5
Dr. V has a very straightforward teaching + testing style. Learning the material depends on personal motivation (+ a good deal of studying), but she provides ample learning resources and is very willing to answer questions. Reviewing her lecture slides, going to office hours, and attending SI helped me adapt to the course, exam style, and material.

Rating: 2.0/5, difficulty: 4.0/5
Heed the previous warnings. A lot of the time she isn't entirely confident in the stuff she is teaching, however she still tries to act like she knows it well. That makes her extremely harsh grading all the more infuriating. It's possible to get an A- or B+ at least just using the powerpoints, but she makes it immensely difficult to get an A.

Rating: 3.0/5, difficulty: 5.0/5
Pros: Passionate about science & teaching, excited for you to learn, genuinely cares about her students, gives very good study material (PPTs, worksheets, etc), dorky science jokes Cons: Often unsure of herself (maybe b/c it's her first year), honestly is one of the toughest graders I've ever had, some things she just expects you to teach yourself

Rating: 4.0/5, difficulty: 5.0/5
I have to agree with the other reviews in that Dr. VanLeuven's grading is incredibly picky, but if you take the time to read over her responses and go to her office hours then you will learn to navigate the tests. Solely studying PowerPoints will get you a passing grade, but studying the book will get you an A on tests because of the added detail.

Rating: 1.0/5, difficulty: 4.0/5
took her first semester, got absolutely murdered by her grading (especially on essays.) points off for not alphabetizing works cited (and for calling works cited references)