Take Maloy! I took his class my freshman year and it was great! He is super kind and helpful. This class is also the easiest one of the LS series. There are a ton of extra credit opportunities, and you also have a chance to increase your exam scores. It's almost harder to get an F than it is to get an A on exams. The tests are mostly straightforward and similar to practice problems. But after each exam (2 midterms and a final) you take it a second time with a group, and the 2 scores are averaged together. Super nice!

I definitely would recommend this class because it is very well structured if you are into flipped classroom style of learning. The material is very much a review of AP Biology. I took it with Dr.Maloy and Dr.B which was really cool because they would switch off lecturing and pick topics that they were passionate about. It is easy class if you are into Biology.

Professor Maloy is great! For winter 2022, he made LS7A a course such that as long as you pass, you get an A. I can't see how anyone could have failed that class (basically, how anyone could've NOT gotten an A-- literally all you had to do was pass). Launchpad (used for all the LS7 series) is EXTREMELY boring and ridiculous and was my least favorite part. I personally hated how the course followed a flipped classroom structure, but Maloy himself is a good professor and is extremely fun to be around.

Honestly, I have no clue why people like this professor. I took this class twice because I failed it the first time. The lectures are absolutely useless, I cannot for the life of me understand why people like them. It is very easy to get lost during lectures and the professor wastes a lot of time. Launchpad is also completely worthless. The first time I took this class I studied the launchpad obsessively and could barely learn anything. The professor issues an absurd amount of homework at seemingly random times, with short due dates. Assignments' weightings are unfair. The extra credit sucks and is not related to the class at all. I went to PLF sessions for this class; they were extremely helpful. They taught me much more than the actual class and lecturer did, shout out to Allison Wang. The discussion sections are pretty good. As far as I can tell, nobody else could grasp much from the class either from either of my learning pods (two total, one per quarter). The exams are extremely difficult with confusingly worded questions, and as far as I can tell there's no way to know whether you got a question right or wrong except for going to office hours afterward.

took this class when both maloy and braybrook were teaching. it was an easy quarter because they changed the grading system for just this class this one time, where it would serve as P/NP but with the letter grades so A/F. you would just have to receive a total of at least 900 out of 1300 available points to receive an A. it took the stress off of scoring really well on exams (still mandatory to take and pass), and emphasized self-learning as there were questions and reading guides to turn in for points.
this class was hard to remain engaged in over zoom so the switch to in-person for lectures and discussion sections was so much more worth it.
professors cared so much about student learning, held office hours about 4x a week and also brought in 2 grad students for "student support times" as well as offered LA Problem Solving Sessions for extra practice on the material.

Professor Maloy is one of the most genuine and understanding professors out there, he always makes himself available in any way possible for students to reach out to for help, he always tries to provide as many resources as possible in order to aid your studies. He also breaks complex things down so that it is easier to comprehend and remember. I absolutely loved taking his class for the LS7 series and definitely recommend it! The LS7 series are known for having trickier exams and I can confirm that, but as long as you study all the materials he provides and listen to what he says in class and work hard, you can achieve your target grade. What I found tough was keeping up with all the textbook homeworks as they are so dense and long and assigned in bulk amounts 2x a week (so just a heads up!). I personally found them very helpful, but I know other people just did not do it and could still keep up with the class and ace the exams so it all depends on you.

LS7A was one of the first classes I took at UCLA and I absolutely loved it. Dr. Maloy is one of the most wholesome professors I've had and you can really tell he cares about the success and understanding of his students. The material can be a little tricky at times, but as long as you are doing Launchpad, going to discussion, and answering all the clicker questions in lecture you should be totally fine. If Jay is ever a TA again, I would highly recommend going to his section. Overall, great class and Maloy is literally the best.

OVERVIEW:
150 points - Launchpad
>>>50 points each for reading, review quizzes, and practice exams
90 points - Midterm #1
>>>62 multiple choice questions (2 bonus)
120 points - Midterm #2
>>>62 multiple choice questions (2 bonus)
200 points - Midterm #3
>>>102 multiple choice questions (2 bonus)
80 points - Discussion
72 points - Clicker participation
10 points - CCLE reflection questions
722 total points available (although there were about 8 points worth of extra credit surveys as well!)
There's a lot to love about Dr. Maloy's LS7A lecture. He's an energetic professor and is very passionate about teaching. The use of clicker questions and review quizzes on LaunchPad (the online textbook) really helped me gage how well I understood the course. There are a lot of resources for those who are struggling: I'd highly recommend going to the Collaborative Learning Center's Problem Solving/Q+A sessions to review each week's material and to professor/TA office hours. The lectures themselves are really engaging - full of colorful diagrams and opportunities to work with your neighbors - and Dr. Maloy was a terrific presenter. Dr. Maloy also used worksheets during the lectures to emphasize key points, which were especially handy when preparing for the exams.
However, the LS series may seem daunting at first. LaunchPad can be somewhat deflationary, as the practice exams are very challenging. Each week, you are assigned reading on LaunchPad, followed by straightforward review quizzes, which you can attempt up to 3 times and pause if needed. However, the practice exams are a different story. They are timed and you only have one shot at them, making them very stressful. There are answers posted on Quizlet (everyone seems to be aware of this, even the Learning Assistants), but I'd caution against using those. The practice exams, while they are quite stress-inducing, are very helpful when studying for the exams. Additionally, each one counts for a mere 5 points out of 722, so they aren't especially weighty in final grades. These are a helpful tool to succeeding in the course.
Dr. Maloy really emphasized student learning, which was great! He dedicated 10 easy course points to watching educational videos about the science of learning and filling out surveys about how we perceive our own ability to learn. In the face of my first quarter's near-constant stress, these reflection questions were a pleasant reminder that, even when faced with difficulty, I was capable of overcoming it. I was never able to go to Dr. Maloy's office hours because of an unfortunate schedule conflict, but I emailed him several times. He is very prompt with his replies and cares deeply about addressing student concerns.
It's also great that there are a LOT of points in this course, which gives students quite a bit of room to struggle and learn without seriously jeopardizing their grades. Overall, it was a great experience despite some initial difficulties. I'd give this course a 5/5, although it was certainly challenging, and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in life science and cells/molecules.

Dr. Maloy is the best professor in the life sciences department hands down. He makes an effort to know and help his students in any way he can and is just a genuinely nice person overall. He replies to emails promptly as well. His teaching is great and he makes it clear what is expected of us in the class. Go to his review sessions before midterms and the final! They're incredibly helpful.
The material itself is easy: more concept application than memorization. Use clicker questions to study. LA problem-solving sessions are useful if you want more explanation of concepts.
Launchpad is a pain and takes a lot of time if you take notes alongside it. But if you take notes, your understanding of the material will definitely be better than those who don't.

Maloy is a decent professor. He is very passionate about learning styles and the "flipped classroom" format. Everyone definitely hates Launchpad, but if you stay on top of it this class isn't too bad conceptually. The tests were straightforward multiple-choice. Grading schema was very friendly.