First and foremost, this course revolves around lots of reading and memorization. There is an incredibly expensive course reader one must purchase in order to pass the class. In addition to a midterm and a final, there are two relatively easy quizzes, as well as a pretty in-depth lifestyle report. Esdin is a sweetheart and is incredibly passionate about teaching physci. His exams are tricky AF. My suggestion is to read each question carefully because the wording can throw you off. This is neither an easy course nor is it a difficult one.; it's in between. I found it very helpful to study with other students and to attend the PLF sessions. GOOD LUCK!

I ended up dropping this class, so I'm selling Esdin's brand new course reader ( iprofile,study guide, workbook, etc) !! Feel free to email me (hyunkimm00@gmail.com) or text me (+7147190573) !!

Extremely easy class, attendance is part of grade for lecture but I didn't go. Very fair midterm and final, not hard at all. Requires a little bit of studying thats it. Final project was kind of tedious if you procrastinate but very easy. 100% reccomend

Esdin is a pretty great professor. I took him when everything was going on with the super heavy rain and fires by the 405 along with the holidays. He was completely understanding about participation points by giving his students the clicker points when they didn't show up for those particular days. Yeah out of all my LS professors he was the best. :) Definitely take him if you have the chance.

Honestly, this class is really good if you're just interested in altering your lifestyle for the sake of your health. Although I didn't score an A, it's a good class to have to balance with other difficult courses you might be taking for your major. Most of the work for this class is really straightforward and easy (the project is super easy just a bit tedious, workbook is easy basically completion). You just need to follow the course reader to really learn the material. The only problem with this class is that the tests are kind of difficult, as he tends to focus on details that you might dismiss as irrelevant, so just pay close attention. I didn't score amazing on the midterm and the final (around average on both) and still managed to score a B+, but it was definitely a useful class. Even if you're not doing amazing, it really does teach you a lot that can actually be applied to your lifestyle and health.

EVERYONE SHOULD TAKE THIS CLASS!!!

I took this during my senior year and it has by far been the best class i've taken (and i've taken lots of classes here thus far). You learn the most applicable and useful information in this class. This class is not a chore whatsoever and the information you learn will stick and will make you want to be conscious of what you eat in a very good way.

That being said, his exams, quizzes, and project are VERY FAIR. No trick questions, his TAs are very knowledgeable and often funny, and everything is very straightforward. He reminds you of tests and quizzes 2-3 time via email to make sure no one forgets. Very nice of him. Most of my other professors wait until the night before to announce where the exams will take place.

For the tests, just read the book. You should get an A easily on his exams if you do just this.
For the project, he provides a very detailed outline of what he wants. If you follow it, you will get a 100.
Dr. Esdin is amazing, no exceptions. The other reviews you see about his tests being tricky or that this is a hard class is absolutely untrue. He pretty much spoon feeds you in this class and you'd have to be very lazy to not get a good grade. I was honestly very sad when this class ended

Esdin was highly recommended to me by other students. He taught half of 7C alongside Cooper. Esdin was a very clear professor who was extremely thorough with the material. He was also very encouraging even though our class did not do too well on the clicker questions during class. Like all of the other LS courses, the exams are multiple choice. Especially for 7C, the questions are hypothetical situations in which a part of the system is changed, and you need to determine if the effect is that something increases, decreases, or stays the same. The rest of the test is true or false questions, so it could get quite tricky. I would suggest studying the clicker questions and understanding the reasoning for each of them. The practice exam questions are sometimes helpful. The most important thing for this course is understanding all of the handouts and diagrams that they show you in class. Of all of the LS courses, I liked 7C the most because we learned about many of the systems in the body, which is definitely helpful for pre-med students. At the end of the course, you need to learn how to use Genome Browser, which is part of the unit about DNA and gene modification. Overall, I would highly recommend Esdin, especially if the course is taught solely by him.

I got an A- in the class because apparently, I don't know how to read on the midterm and final, even though I try my best. But in general its a great class with a great lecturer and you will learn alot you can apply to your daily life. Work load is fairly light, however there is a fitness project and I recommend doing that ASAP so you can fix all the kinks as you go.

Context: I am a Computer Science major and this is the first bio class I've taken in like 4ish years.

I really enjoyed this class! I felt a lot more motivated to lead a healthier lifestyle and I learned a lot of stuff about diets. I felt like the content we learned was useful, the professor makes it really easy to understand even if you don't have a background in biology.

Project: A bit tedious, but very straightforward. Make sure to follow the directions. It may be useful to start early, since it does take a few hours to finish. I worked on it when I wanted to be productive, but my mind was super dead and only able to do busy work.

Quizzes: He reminds you about them, which is nice. I'm pretty sure the ones in the discussion are graded only on completion.

Workbook/Course Reader: The only negative about this class is that you need to buy the course reader. The workbook is pretty easy, you just need to read the course reader. All of the contents for the exams are based on the course reader.

Exams: An hour long, multiple choice, very straightforward. All of the questions are based on material from the course reader. Attending class is useful, because sometimes he says stuff about particular questions that will be on the midterm/final. The final is not cumulative, which is great. Time isn't really an issue during the exam if you've studied. I've finished all of the questions in like 15 min, and then I stayed around to check my answers for another 10 min.

Attendance: There's a sign in sheet passed around each lecture. You can do fine on the tests without attending, as long as you have someone sign in for you and you check if he's given any hints about the exams.

TA: My TA was Hannah. She was super nice! She held office hours before the project was due and she went over our reports to check for any glaring errors/clear doubts.

I absolutely loved Esdin's part of PS 111A! He was always so engaging in his lectures and spoke very clearly and concisely. I never felt intimidation in asking him a question after class and he definitely wanted the whole class to succeed. I would definitely take his class again if I could. His tests were a little challenging but if you pay attention in class and review you should be fine. I didn't really use the textbook at all and I figured it was more helpful for background information.