3. research your classes

Note how we define a COURSE and a CLASS. For example, General Chemistry I is considered a COURSE whereas the specific General Chemistry I taught by a specific professor during a semester a CLASS.

With the core courses in hand and categorized, we know the courses we need to focus on and a general idea of how to approach each course. We now try to fine-tune our approach. Because there are usually multiple classes with multiple professors teaching a course each semester, we must research ALL professors teaching that course. This allows us to further learn about each professors' teaching style, reviews, past materials etc. Rank each class/professor you believe is best for you based on your research.  Repeat this with EACH of the core courses for the upcoming semester. Steps below summarize this process.

3a. Check Course Catelog

Every semester a course catatlog will be published. It will list the available courses, professor, location etc. for that semester. Check the university's course catalog to determine a list of professors lecturing your "core" courses. This will determine which specific classes you will do further research on. For example, CHEM 101:

  • Professor Mendeleev, M/W/F
  • Professor Pauling, T/Th
  • Professor Curie, S/Su

3b. Research Professors

Research each professor teaching by looking up their syllabi (link) from pervious semesters . You can also use search engines like Google.com with keywords (quotes or without depending on search results):

  • Professor's name with one or more of the following
  • University Name
  • Course Title (e.g., Intro to Biology I)
  • Course Designation (e.g., Bio 101)

Most professors will have some type of review or rating if they have lectured previously. Nearly all professors will have some type of CV/Resume, website, social media or social network account (Facebook, Twitter etc.). Focus on the objective aspects of the reviews such as how many exams will be given during the semester or the exam format.

Take into account subjective parts of the reviews, but keep in mind that many of the reviews and ratings may be extreme. That is, students leaving reviews may really like or really dislike the professor enough to motivate them to leave a review. This may distort how the classes and professors actually are.

3c. Find Materials

From your research on each professor, you can also often find materials (lecture slides, homework, exams, quizzes) from previous semesters. This will give you an idea on each professor runs his or her class. Other possible sources:

  • UHScienceResource.com (this website)
  • Friends or those that have taken the class previously
  • Google with appropriate keywords/phrases like "ppt", "pdf", "tests", "quiz" or the like
  • Course material aggreagators (Chegg, Coursehero, etc.): be careful with these sites since many have a pay wall and provide material that may be considered cheating.

3d. Compile

Compile your research. Go over it and try to imagine which would be the best fit for your needs. Based on this, rank each class/professor. Remember, it should not just be which professor is the easiest! You may find that taking the easiest professor will not adequately prepare you for subsequent future coursework, standardized exams (GRE, MCAT, PCAT, etc.).

3e. Repeat

Repeat above with all other "core" courses.