I’m so happy this class is over, not because of the material which I loved, but because it required so much work! I spent 10+ hours a week in lecture, discussion, in LA study sessions, and on my own trying to memorize and understand the material. The discussion sections and the LA weekly workshops helped a lot. I would recommend going to both if you have a good TA. My TA was Rekha and she was awesome.

I really enjoyed Dr. Tienson’s lectures. I thought she explained the material really well. We had a substitute, Dr. Agape Awad, the last two weeks of the quarter because Dr. Tienson had a family emergency. Dr. Awad was a great lecturer, engaging, and funny. I think if I had a choice I would choose to take Dr. Awad. Her lectures made the class fun.

I would recommend memorizing the study questions and past Gradescope exams to do well on the midterms and final. The exam questions are similar to the study questions. The difficult part for me was is finishing the exams in 50 minutes. The final wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be. There were a few questions that were difficult but most of the final exam is similar to the midterms and study questions, the only difference is that you have plenty of time to check your work.

Here’s my scores:
First midterm: 76/100 (Avg. 69/100)
Second midterm: 74/100 (Avg. 72/100)
Final: 147/200 (Avg. 135/200)
Protein Assignment: 29/30
Quizzes: 100/100
Clicker: 20/20
Extra credit: 9/9 (I think)
Total score: 455/550 (Avg. 418/550)
Grade: A- (YAY!)

As you can see she is a very generous professor. I got pretty much average on the midterms and still got an A- in the class. I would take Dr. Tienson again because of her curve. Good luck to anyone taking her<3

I feel like these reviews do not do professor Teinson justice. Maybe it was because of the circumstances of the quarter, but she was by far one of the most understanding professors I’ve ever had in college. She made sure we all understood the material, answered every question one had and was very nice throughout the whole quarter. Despite her last review I applaud her for going above and beyond for this quarter. She relieved much of the stress from a difficult class during a difficult circumstance and I would take her again for a different class if given the opportunity. The exams are difficult and clicker points are based on correct answers, but I feel lucky to have had professor teinson this quarter!

(This is a review for the online version of the class during COVID-19)
The amount of cheating going on this class made it an absolute joke. It was an absolute travesty for those in the major who took this course earlier in the year, and had to actually had to put in a great amount of effort to get through. My classmates and some of my roommates would always FaceTime each other during assessments and assignments and cheat through shared online materials, not only in this course but in their other chemistry classes. If everyone could use help from the internet to find the answer in all of our chemistry classes instead of learning anything why bother even calling it a class? Just give everyone who signs up an A+ and save effort. This course is not up to the standards it used to be and it is sad for me to see it. This is much worse for us who choose to take these classes to learn honestly, it makes a double standard. I hope the chemistry department makes some big changes in how they teach online classes. Maybe giving everyone different versions of assessments would change this and actually encourage learning. This opinion may not be popular for those who saw this online class as an easy pass but I stand by my opinion.

Read the book before lecture, make sure you work to understand lecture material after each class, do the study questions as you go to every lecture, go to discussion - it's optional but the worksheets aren't online and you can go to any that fits your schedule, do to LA review sessions - their worksheets are helpful. I'm selling old biochem quizzes - it should be the same format as current quizzes - for $5 and my old protein assignment - I got a 32/30 - for $5 and $8 for both. Text me at 805-657-9253

I think I'm about to be the first positive review of Dr. Tienson for 153B. Bear in mind that I did get an A in this class so that probably makes me biased.
This class is by no means easy. I would still argue that 153C is harder than 153B, but 153B is still no joke. There's not as much material in 153B but Tienson structures the class in a way that still makes it hard lol. However, I still think Dr. Tienson is one of the better choices for 153B. I studied so much for the midterm exams and it was reflected in my scores. The class did really well on the first midterm and then it plummeted to a 50% average on the second one (I got a 96% on the first midterm and 72% on the second midterm). I thought the final exam was really hard like the average was 110/200 and I only got 120/200. I left a lot of part B questions blank but still managed to do alright. I was told by so many people that Dr. Tienson isn't as knowledgeable about 153B as much as 153A, which I think is true (she takes all her slides/some exam material from Albert Courey, aka the really good professor of 153B before the department stupidly confined him to teaching the 14 series), but I still think she knew what she was talking about. I feel that I have learned a lot and that this class prepared me for understanding biochem in grad school/my future career. Of course I can understand why she has negative reviews, I also had days where I came into class just thinking that I hated this class. But actually Tienson is really nice, I think she is misunderstood by a lot of people. Again, I don't blame them, as the class structure is kind of annoying and the exams are hard. I just don't want everyone going into this class hating her you know? Give her a break, she just gave birth to a baby!
My tips for doing well in this class:
-The TAs sometimes don't give you points when you deserve it! One time I submitted a regrade request for a point and the TA still rejected it, even though I knew I was right. That's when you take your case to Dr. Tienson; she gave me the point and said the TA was wrong. So speak up for yourself and really check how your exam was graded on gradescope! You may be able to get some points back.
-Go to the discussion of a TA who will just give you the answers to the discussion worksheet. Don't waste your time going to the TA that draws out the entire discussion by having you work on them during section.
-Take the group exams and actually try on them because you have access to internet/your classmates. She says on the syllabus that you only get points back if you get a higher percentage on the group exam than on your midterm. I got a 9/10 on the first group exam so I thought it was a waste of time to take it at first, but at the end of the quarter I saw that she still added a few points to my midterm score!
-Read the textbook. I couldn't get my hands on the Voet one but Lehninger was good enough. The textbook can be too complicated/too much information sometimes so try to take notes while having the lecture slides out so you know what's worth reading from the textbook.
-Don't waste your time going to tutorial on Tuesdays unless you're genuinely interested. Also same goes for the LA workshops. I found it more helpful to just watch the bruincasts of the LA workshops because you can watch it at 2x speed and skip towards the end of the class where the LAs give you the answers to the worksheet. Make sure you do the LA worksheet every week, one of the problems on there might appear on your midterm. It happened to us. There was a problem on an LA worksheet to draw out the mechanism of intron lariat formation, and the next day it appeared on the second midterm exam. This question screwed a lot of people over on the exam, but not those who knew it already from the LA workshop!
-On the exams, do all the part A questions first, then go back to part B. For questions you aren't sure how to answer, leave them for last. It is more important for you to be thorough about questions where you feel totally confident that you know how to explain it rather than wasting time guessing how to answer a question you're unsure about. You won't get any points for just writing something down, you will get points for covering all your bases when expounding upon your correct answers. I know some of us may have the whole "don't leave anything blank" mentality (I had that too) but I learned that in this class, you get more points by perfecting a few of your answers rather than half-assing a lot of them.

Tienson taught 153C well but the midterms/final were quite bad. Prepare to memorize EVERYTHING: structures, enzymes, every step of regulatory pathways, how to chop down or synthesize any amino acid, and the ATP cost of everything. Also you have to memorize the study question answers verbatim to get the "key words".

Despite this, exams were a very poor assessment of knowledge. Averages were all around 50. If you memorized everything, you'll still be thrown for a loop by horrendously vague questions ("What is the overall effect...", "What is a possible problem that arises...") or pathways she never went over. And if you DIDNT memorize everything it will be even worse. Time-management on midterms is critical because nobody will finish (final is more reasonable in this aspect).

Otherwise, I think she is good at lecturing and teaching the material, it was much the same style as 153A. Except to clarify some bad slides, you dont need the textbook. Prepare to feel fuqqed by tests. She says she curves the average to a B which is pretty generous.

Took 153A and 153C with Tienson.

153C Grading: 100 points MT1, 100 points MT2, 200 points final exam, 80 points protein brochure, 20 points clicker questions (not graded for correct answers). She gives a really generous grading scale where the average is a B.

The average of the class when I took 153C was 310 points out of 500 points. Average on MT1 was a high 50, MT2 was a low 50, and average on the final was 108/200 points.

PROS: generous grading curve, good lecturer but can speak fast sometimes, explains concepts well enough to understand the material, podcasts available, she provides a bunch of study questions, always mentions her OH are available, her test questions ARE NOT vague, extra credit available, textbook not needed

CONS: hard tests, sometimes a negative attitude when students don't answer her questions

There is a lot of information to remember in 153A and 153C (WAY more in 153C since you're expected to remember 153A pathways). I highly recommend UNDERSTANDING the study questions. People say her tests are nothing like the study questions she hands out every weekend but that's because the test questions are phrased in a different way but she's testing the same concepts from the study questions. If you know the concepts then you don't need to memorize the study questions verbatim. Also, at the end of every test are 10 freebie points where she asks you to name structures.

Also, if you're a premed, I recommend taking 153C (with or without Tienson). There is a lot of 153C material on the MCAT.

This class will be tough regardless of who you take it with.

Stay on top of the study questions when she posts them. Oh you probably didn't take what I just said seriously. Stay on top of the damn study questions when she posts them!

Tienson will lecture fast, so be ready.

Everyone says biochem is all about memorization, but I honestly disagree. You need to have this stuff memorized, but you also need to be able to apply it to an extent. Don't be that premed (since most of you reading this are) that just memorizes and spits everything out onto the paper. Her tests have word limits for the answers because so many people have done that.

GRADING
My class was graded out of 500 points, where a 390+ would guarantee you at least an A- (this will change for every class based on averages from tests-she keeps you posted after each midterm). While this sounds doable, don't be alarmed when the first midterm average is between 45 to 55 out of 90. Take advantage of every extra credit opportunity she gives you, ace the really easy quizzes, and go to lecture and get your easy clicker points.
My breakdown:
Midterm 1: 83.5/90 Average was around 56
Midterm 2: 51/90 Avg was around 48
Final: 170/200 Avg was 121

Grade: A

Don't do what I did and slack off after doing well on the first midterm. You never know which buzz words you'll miss on her next test, even if you think you know your stuff well.

People are right when they say Tienson has a bit of an attitude, but she does give you plenty of opportunities to ask questions (both in person and online). Form a study group.

Overall, stay on top of the work and this class won't be extremely stressful. Slack off, and you will regret it. Go in ready to work! Don't bet deterred from taking 153a with Tienson. There are far worse professors out there.

TL;DR
She's a fine professor
Work hard and stay on top of study questions
Just bite the bullet and take the damn class

If you liked Hardinger for ochem, you'll probably like Tienson. She writes her own study questions and they're really helpful, and her tests are similar formats each year. She really knows her subject well and is very straightforward with her expectations. Yes it's a lot of work and memorization, but this is an upper division biochemistry class at UCLA. Sometimes learning the basics of a topic involves memorization, get over it. And she actually does a great job of explaining why things happen, so you do have to understand the fundamentals and can't just regurgitate on her exams (quizzes, yes). Don't get scared off by some of the negative reviews, but expect a walk in the park either. You will get out of this class what you put into it.

She talks fast, so I'd recommend watching the videocasts. She's always happy to answer questions or explain things in more detail, and she has a million office hours. Other people reviewing her complained that it's hard to answer her questions correctly, but if you do the practice questions you can see what kind of answers she expects. She might take some points off for small things, but she told us that a 77% in the class is usually around the cutoff for an A and she tries to make the average in the class a B. She's very blunt and doesn't sugarcoat things, but she is definitely not a bitch. She knows her subject inside and out and really wants to transmit that knowledge to her students.

Professor Tienson is one of those professors who provide the weekly study questions and make similar questions on the exam. Her lecture is quite fast so I recommend you to watch bruincast to review the whole lecture. (This class has clicker points so you can only miss 3-4 lectures in order to get a perfect score on clicker points.) There are plenty of topics discussed in this class and the worst part of this class is there are 4 lectures per week. So make sure you review the lecture everyday. If you don't, you may fail to understand her next lecture.

The test is pretty straightforward. You just have to focus on the weekly study questions and the lecture notes (if you have time). In addition, you need to memorize several biological molecules (e.g, amino acids, lipids, carbohydrates, electron carriers in electron transport chain of mitochondria...). It may helpful to memorize the answers of weekly study guides because if you miss a single word or detail, you will lose some points even though your answer is correct.
Below are the statistics of 2013 spring chem 153A lecture 1.

Midterm 1 average: 72
Midterm 2 average: 70
Final average: 141

Just for a tip, it is important to get a really good score on midterm 1 because midterm 1 is much easier than midterm 2 and the final, which is comprehensive. It is extremely painful to memorize all the topics that you have covered in this class to study for the final.

Her grading scheme is generous. I think she tries to set the average as a mid B and gives ~30% of an A range. I got an A in her class, and surely, it's really hard to get an A in this class. Make sure you study diligently and do all the weekly study guides.