Jay Ponder
1 course · 24 reviews
All Reviews
Ponder's Orgo class is certainly quite challenging, but his passion for the subject, and interest in his students, is genuine and clear. While tough, Ponder is a great professor. If you are PreMed at WashU you should take his class. Grading is hard but the final distribution is quite reasonable.
12/3/2018
Organic chemistry is definitely a class where you as a student have to rise to the occasion to understand the material. Dr. Ponder writes tough exams, but he is intentional about the exams and problem sets he creates. Ponder is accessible and very willing to help you rehash what you don't understand from lectures or from the textbook. Nice guy.
5/11/2018
Ponder is an excellent teacher. He does a good job of covering not just what happens but WHY. My understanding of chem was greatly enhanced by the language and methods he used. If you're focused on the grade, I advise going through every chapter problem in the text. But enjoy the class too--being taught by such a good lecturer is a real privilege.
3/3/2018
Professor Ponder is tough. His exams are not easy, but none of the material is new. He teaches you the concepts and gives you practice problems that challenge your understanding of them. His exams are a comprehensive review of all past challenges. His curve is fair with about 30% of the class receiving an A. Do all his practice sets!
1/9/2018
Ok, his lectures are not terrible, but he just doesnt know how to teach. He especially does not know how to write exams, and he brags about that. As a result, he uses a complex grading scheme, he cannot even describe. I was truly disappointed w/ this class. (Worst in Chemistry)
12/22/2017
One of the best lecturers Ive had at WashU- really cares about his students and an all around great professor.
12/13/2017
I really enjoy Dr. Ponder's teaching style. He is a great lecturer and goes slowly enough that students have time to absorb and understand the mechanisms/syntheses that they are copying from the board. His exams are quite difficult, but his grading curve is more than fair.
5/22/2016
Ponder is clearly very enthusiastic about his field, but he even confesses to be bad at writing exams...
1/22/2016
I admit that I bear much of the blame for my eventual performance in the course, however, I honestly think that Ponder needs to reevaluate how he writes his tests&problem sets. They are too difficult compared to the material provided during lectures. Your mileage may vary on office hours, I often found myself more confused afterwards than before.
12/19/2015
Lectures are pretty good, and that is where it stops. His exams and problems sets don't make sense, and the TAs don't get them either. He has no clue how to write tests, but at least he admits it. He is really weird in one-on-one settings. I stopped going to office hours. You need a PhD in statistics to figure out his grading scheme.
12/3/2015
Great, informative lectures, but the problem sets and exams made me PONDER dropping the course (get it?). Seriously though, this course was by far the hardest thing I've ever taken.
11/23/2015
Good grief, hardest course I've taken that wasn't because of the professor. Fortunately, Dr. Ponder is extremely helpful and does a very good job of explaining the essentials for understanding orgo. Exams are extremely hard but graded on a generous curve, so it's really not that bad. Doing the readings/problem sets is a must
11/8/2015
He's a phenomenal teacher, very clear and imparts knowledge of chemistry that will last far beyond the class. He teaches a way of thinking, not just memorization of very general concepts. His exams are very difficult but the curve is extremely generous. My interest in chemistry started with his class and the way he pushed students to problem solve.
4/14/2014
Dr. Ponder is an incredibly nice guy who is willing to get to know any student. His lectures are very informative, and he starts each one with a fun art history lesson! He truly loves this subject and is doing some amazing research - go ask him about it. His tests are very difficult, but once you learn how molecules work, they make perfect sense.
1/7/2014
I heard horror stories about Orgo I with Ponder. Don't be afraid! He starts every lecture with a mini art history lesson, how cool. It's a challenging class, but the curve is generous and Ponder is an enthusiastic guy who clearly loves teaching orgo. By the end you will have a strong conceptual understanding of the subject.
12/21/2013
Exams are hard but the curve is extremely generous. Pretty easy to get an A compared to other advanced chemistry courses at washu. Prof. Ponder is always available during his office hour and really helpful as well.
12/19/2013
Jay Ponder expected us to already know very difficult topics about Orgo before he even taught them to us. The gap between class material and the exams was enormous and he really knows how to shake your confidence. He doesn't understand how to relate to students or how to teach in an effective manner. Never take this with him if you have a choice.
11/29/2013
He's a good teacher and genuinely cares about students, but there's a significant gap between the material he presents in class (or even that's presented in the book) and the concepts that are tested. The curve makes grades turn out okay in the end, so long as you don't mind exam averages under 50% in the meantime...
10/14/2013
He taught out of the textbook but did not teach for his exams. The gap between the in class material and the level expected on the exams was huge.
1/9/2013
He flies through the material and does not realize the students are lying in the dust. He clearly cares, but he does not know how to relate to the students, and he cannot write exams. I understand this is the first time he has taught, and it showed. He needs to take teaching classes.
1/5/2013
Skipping the baseline levels of organic chem, expecting us to fully understand topics after one reading or example, and consistently writing tests above 80% of the class's abilities proved Jay Ponder to be the most arrogant and useless professor I have encountered. I think I would have enjoyed orgo under most other professors.
12/20/2012
Organic chemistry can be a hard class to make interesting, but Dr. Ponder certainly tried his best to make it fun. Exams were pretty brutal, but if you studied a few days prior to the exam a B was certainly possible to obtain. Overall, Dr. Ponder was an engaging lecturer who teaches a rough class, he's a good guy.
12/11/2012