I never got the impression that Dr. Hunt was some malicious or bitter man trying to punish students. He made jokes in lecture (though he does have a wry sense of humor) and was flexible and understanding when I had to reschedule my final exam. True, this class is hard and requires a lot of work. Sometimes, nobody in the section gets results. I don't think that Dr. Hunt is to blame, though. This is organic chemistry lab - it isn't supposed to be easy. To do well, you have to be willing to put in the hours.

I wanted to hurt myself because it was so hard. I've never had such a hard class before. You might be able to do it.. but honestly, I was trying to pass after a couple of the first couple of labs and lab reports.

If you start early and work hard, you'll be okay. But sometimes, it's a hit or miss. Maybe you'll be fine. Just for me... I know I got owned. Hard.

wow. terrible class. you literally open up ISIS and have NO idea what grade you are going to see on your transcript. this class WILL take over your life. hunt told us he aims for the average final to be a 55. just get through it, it sucks for being a year long, and your non pre med friends will be so sick of you bitching about orgo lab. this class stole 15 hours of my life every week my whole year that i will never get back. i have never in my life been so excited for a class to be over-the only good thing is i have heard from someone at uva med if you can get through hunt's orgo lab, you can get through ANYTHING in life. have fun next year

This class is as terrible as everyone says. Even though we often finished the weekly 4-hour labs early, the reaction mechanisms and related concepts for each lab were much more difficult to understand and retain. Really understand the reactions while you write the lab report so that it makes studying for the final a lot easier. Dr. Hunt was a good lecturer when he wasn't going too fast and he knows all of the labs so well that he can answer basically any question. I respect him as a professor, but I definitely despise his class because of the unfair grading system and the impossible final (you basically need to remember every intermediate, starting product, transition state, side product, product, etc of every reaction). Hope for a good TA (if not, go to other TA office hours) and work diligently on the lab reports and post lab questions. This class takes over your life, so don't take it unless you have to.

The course that will destroy your pre-med dreams.

This class really is as horrid as everyone says. It is made horrid just to be horrid. Dr. Hunt is MUCH better than Dr. MacDonald (perhaps the worst professor I've ever encountered), but that's like compairing rotten oranges to moldly apples -- either way, they still seem to be inedible. His grading structure is unfair, basing his grades of an individual student on the failure of others, yet he still manages to stay on staff at UVA because he's a brilliant researcher and good lecturer. I personally liked Dr. Hunt (overall) as a person, yet his class was simplely a terrible experiance. Don't take it unless you HAVE to.

Hunt is a total jerk. He makes his finals ridiculously tough compared to the day-to-day rigors of the course. He has a grudge against undergrads and I guess keeping people out of med school is his sick fantasy. I got a B first semester and somehow I ended up with a C- second. Thats due to the magic of his mystery grade system. Nobody knows how it works

A lot of people complain about the grading system, but I thought it was better than the general chemistry labs where so many students are bunched together in the top 40% of the class that there is no statistically significant distinction between a B student and an A student. Hunt's horrific final, if nothing else, is a way to guarantee uniformity across lab sections where some TAs grade more easily than others. With that being said, it is still one of the most intimidating courses you'll find at UVa, and you may struggle on the final if you are not good at multiple choice tests.

Very difficult class, although that point seems to beat a dead horse. Hunt is very, very intelligent, almost too intelligent for his own good. His lectures were very informative with a prelude to the lab, relevent background information and applied uses, and even a few jokes here and there. From my experiences, I've learned that lab reports and rank are too competitive especially since I feel like Hunt bases your grade solely on the final exam score. It's near impossible, and if you get near 100%, he'll make you take another oral exam. That's how sure of himself he is. Hunt is a great professor; however, this class is the hardest class I've taken and by far the "least fun."

Hunt got a better sense of humor, although sparse at that. The labs are much more interesting although less students have continued after having trouble with 241L. Don't take this class personally because your final grade is arbitrary.