Yost, Jenn  

Dr. Yost is an amazing professor although she can seem very intimidating at times. I had her for the lab, and I struggled a lot in the lab because I just hate labs and anything science related. I thought I was doing horrible in the class, and I ended up getting a B. If you visit her office hours and try your best I really think she will take that into account when she calculates your final grade. As long as you study for the midterms and finals, you'll be fine. The lab was really difficult for me because her lab quizzes seemed kind of vague to me. She is probably the best teacher I have ever had, and really wishes success for all of her students. The class was pretty difficult for me but as long as you put in the time and effort, you'll do well. She is always in a great mood and very funny

Best Professor Ever! Literally the best one I have ever had privlege of learning from. I strong suggest taking Dr. Yost's class

Jenn Yost is a perfect person. She is so enthusiastic about Botany and makes class so interesting that she manages to get people that were never into plants (like myself) intensely passionate about the subject. I'm now super into plants, thanks Jenn. Seriously she makes class so cool, she's really funny, she's great at explaining concepts (super helpful in office hours). The class itself is somewhat difficult for a GE, but it's absolutely possible to pass if you just pay attention a little and put in some effort. Remembering the material is easy though because of how good of a professor Jenn is. 10/10 Jenn/Jenn would take another class with.

Jennifer Yost is literally the BEST teacher I have ever had in my life. She is passionate, cool, and fair in all that she presents. Yost's quizzes and test (2 midterms and a final) are so straightforward and are exactly what she says will be on there. I thoroughly enjoyed Yost's class as she is the most admirable person I've come to know, it's truly a shame she won't be teaching Botany Winter and Spring Quarter as I know so many people who desperately wanted to experience her as a professor. Trust me on this, if you can take Yost for Botany you are one lucky bastard and you ought to take her.

Jen. Yost is an amazing professor, she has so much energy and will make anyone interested in the class. The class can be difficult, especially for someone like me who knew nothing about plants and trees, but after her class I knew a lot of new interesting things! I view nature differently now than before. She has two midterms and one final, just study for them and review your notes and you'll be fine. I'm glad I took BOT 121 with her, and I wouldn't mind taking the class with her again. You should totally get her, you won't regret it, she'll brighten your day with her jokes.

Yost is the best professor i have had at Poly. She is adorably passionate about plants and made me totally stoked on plants for the 10 weeks i had with her. Her test is exactly the notes she gives you in class with pop quizzes most classes. these add up, so make sure you know your shit. take yost, you will not regret it. be careful though, you will probably fall for her.

I never knew I could love plants so much. The course was straightforward and nothing absurd. Yost's excitement for plants made me excited for plants. Only downfall: some other students who took the final on the earlier available dates cheated and so she made the last final the HARDEST. I studied and should have gotten a solid A but because of the heavily analytical nature of the last test, I settled for a B.

Dr.Yost is an amazing teacher, I never thought I would find myself so interested in Botany; she finds a way to make the material easy to understand and she is also very organized. She is extremely nice if you talk to her during her office hours or even after class. The class itself can get difficult at times, but if you study then you should have no problem getting an A/B.

Jenn is the most amazing professor ever. Her enthusiasm for plants is extremely infectious which makes her class really enjoyable. She's just a really chill and understanding person. Definitely take a class with her. You will not regret it! Jenn is bae

She is one of the best teachers I have ever had. She's very passionate about what she's teaching and makes it a really awesome class. She is very good at presenting information and will definitely work with you if you don't understand something. She knows everything about everything and I would go into her office hours just to hear what she had to say. The tests are very hard they require you to apply a lot of the information you learned instead of memorizing it which is hard to do in a bio class but if you go into her office hours she will actually give you questions like that. I did that a couple times and she ended up giving me some of the questions that were on the test. If you can get Dr. Yost I 10/10 recommend her she is fantastic.

Dr. Yost is amazing. She genuinely cares about her students and the pursuit of knowledge. She is an amazing help in office hours and is on your side! Material in her class is presented clearly and concisely.

Wholy Crap. Let me just tell you about Dr. Jenn Yost. Dr. Yost is the most enthusiastic and passionate human being I have ever met. As a professor, she not only explains the content clearly and concisely, but her passion for life is so contagious you can't help but get excited about the materials. She is extremely approachable and helpful in office hours, so I recommend you attend them if you can. She is hilarious and says stuff that makes you legitimately laugh out loud. Many, many times per lecture I just hear people talking amongst eachother exclaiming how much they "love Dr.Yost". Im not kidding. This woman will change your life. I am honestly so sad to leave her class, I just love her so much. For BIO 160 most of the homework was through Mastering Biology, along with a few quizzes and podcasts (which are actually super cool and relevant) to listen to on PolyLearn. Dr. Yost has high expectations of all of her students, but she is not a unjustly harsh grader. If you put in the work and study (I recommend the supplemental workshops as well) you can do duper well in this class, but if you snooze off in the back of the lecture hall and don't put in the work to learn the content you probably won't do well.

Yost is amazing! She has a way of making biology simple through her metaphors and power points. She wants the best for every student, and it shows through the effort she puts into this course. The tests are relatively difficult, but if you study hard and go to office hours you can do well. Also, she gave a motivational speech on the last day of lecture and it was so moving that I cried. I'm going to miss her class.

Dr. Yost is probably one of my favorite women on this planet. If I loved plants as much as she does, I would definitely take one of her other classes. Dr. Yost is passionate, intelligent, funny, and a really nice, just AWESOME woman. She is a great lecturer and presents information both clearly and at a good pace. She is very helpful in office hours (I wish I had gone more just to talk to her because she is so great) and it's really hard not to love biology (and maybe plants a little bit) having her as a professor. Her midterms and final were difficult, but very doable if you go to lecture and put in the effort to study. There is a reason her polyratings are so high! She blew my mind every single day of lecture.

Proffessor Yost is definitely one of the best teachers I ever had. Despite the size of the lecture she was able to connect with everyone in her class just because of her awesome quirkiness! Very helpful in office hours and really good and presenting the information she will test on!

Yost is incredible. For freshman Fall Quarter, she taught the huge 300+ lecture hall in Spanos, which already shows not just her impressive oratory ability, but her organizational ability as well. She is an amazing lecturer, probably THE most ENTHUSIASTIC professor I've come across. She absolutely loves her material, and will make you excited to learn it as well. Being said, it was definitely a hard class. I got a C on the first midterm, but I worked really hard (studied almost 35 hours for the final) and made it out with an A-. She is not only a great lecturer, but also one who is extremely relational in office hours, and really cares about how her individual students are doing. Even after the quarter was over, she was more than happy to meet up. That's crazy. To be able to still be relational in a class of over 300 students. It's extremely rare to find someone like that. I'd recommend taking workshops if you want that A, as there is a lot of material that is covered. I learned so much, and after taking her, she made me so confident to stick to my Biology (pre-med) track!

I LOVED Dr. Yost. She is so enthusiastic about the material and relates to her students (she went to Cal Poly for her bachelors). She's very helpful during office hours. Her tests are hard so study a lot and go to office hours. This class is doable and enjoyable. The lab is pretty pointless and a struggle to get through sometimes.

I didn't do too well in Yost's class, but it has nothing to do with Yost's teaching abilities. Most of the biology department staff are great professors, Yost has a passion for plants and overall science. She's hilarious and honestly I would take any class she teaches regardless if its for my major concentration or not.

Yost is an absolute boss. I wish I was interested in botany (is that it's own major??) just so I could take more classes with her in the future. If you ever have the opportunity to take a class with this professor, DO IT. Yost is intelligent, engaging, and perhaps most importantly; ENTHUSIASTIC. This was a morning, 300+ student lecture for your most basic biology class, yet every day Yost brought an energy and excitement to the room that made it feel like a small class. Even in the huge auditorium, she was always open to answering student's questions or providing clarification. What was even cooler was how often I got to speak with her outside of class- I only went to office hours a few times, but she showed up in my lab section on numerous occasions. Each time she did was the BEST- she would pull out a microscope and get so freaking excited over whatever she was looking at, and then have discussions with students on the awesome-ness of biology. She is a straight up homie, and by far the best professor I've had at CP so far. As far as the class itself- it's easy to get an A. I just should have studied more than morning-of for the majority of my lab quizzes, and I would have gotten an A, oh well. The material is boring and repetitive, but again, this is just a basic fundamental class. Yost is sharp, smart, and has a great personality and obvious PASSION for what she does. Her powerpoints are FANTASTIC; just the perfect amount of info at an appropriate speed, with little breaks in between lots of notes to watch some video or something. Very well put together. The only thing I didn't like about the class was that she is awful at keeping grades up-to-date. I had no idea really what my grade was until after the final. Can't really blame her in such a huge class though. WORD OF ADVICE- JUST BUY THE ONLINE TOOLS (mastering bio and learning catalytics). I NEVER ONCE USED THE BOOK, NOR FELT LIKE I SHOULD HAVE.

Dr. Yost made the 8:30am lecture engaging and interesting enough that I looked forward to waking up early to attend. Instead of purely reciting the info we needed, she formed real life connections between us and the material. She did this in fun and quirky ways like youtube videos. The weekly homework is simple. Studying for the midterms and final is difficult and trying to predict how the material on the final will be presented was difficult.

Dr. Yost is the best bio professor I have ever had!!! She is so passionate about plants, and everything else in bio. She is great at explaining the material, and makes it fun! As long as you pay attention in lecture and do the mastering bio homework, you'll be fine in this class. I would highly recommend taking Yost's class, it is one of the greatest bio classes ever!!!

Yost presents material very clearly and is a good professor for an incoming freshmen to help them learn the ropes of college biology classes. However, the class Diversity and Evolution of life is very boring and although she was very perky and into her topic, it was hard to pay attention to at times. I had the class at 8:30 am and we would walk into an assortment of weird screeching music every day which was odd but most likely woke everyone up in some way. Her tests are harder than you would think based on the material presented in lecture so make sure to STUDY.

She is a very enthusiastic and smart lady! I learned a lot from her and she definitely put effort into making early am lecture interesting. Her tests were tough but mostly because that was my first hard class of freshman year and I was learning to study. I only attended office hours once but I can tell it would have been super worth it to go more often because she was so helpful. Fair class. Great teacher who tries to help her students even in a class of 300+

Dr. Yost was such an incredible professor. She made learning fun and intentional, and her expectations were really clearly laid out. The exams were tough, because what bio exams aren't tough, but she made it really easy to study and allowed students to learn and also do well. At the end of the quarter she gave us a lecture on how we should make ourselves happy and don't let our lives control us. She very clearly cared about students within class and outside of class and really showed it. I wish I could have her for every bio class, she's the best!

Yost is super passionate about bio. Her lectures are super clear and concise. Her tests are based on what she teaches during lecture so to study I would study the lecture slides and lecture notes then supplement what you’re confused on with the textbook. That’s the best way to study in my opinion. She’ll give you a study guide. Fill out the study guide using the lecture notes and study that. If you’re unclear on some learning objectives go to office hours. Also review the Mastering Bio homework. HUGE TIP: The lab fucks a lot of students over because they don’t take it seriously. STUDY FOR THE LAB QUIZZES AND GET 100%s ON THEM!!! If you study they should be easy points. The LAB IS 25 PERCENT OF YOUR GRADE so if you’re doing great in lab that can REALLY boost your overall grade. I think the lab got me the A in the class to be honest.

Yeah Dr. Yost is an awesome person and all, but the class and tests were hard. She rushed through so many of the lectures and forgot to tell us important stuff, which she had to later email us. And there were questions on the midterms that she had to take off because they literally didn't make any sense or because there were two right answers. She even told us that when she practiced taking our final after writing it, she got questions wrong. Like???? If you got the questions wrong do you expect us to get them right? Anyway she is an awesome professor and the material is super interesting and you will do absolutely fine in the class, but I just didn't like it as much as people told me I would :/ also make sure to go to office hours!!

I really didn't try that hard for this course, I really didn't go to the lectures that often, she posts the lectures on polylearn, but definitely don't be me and go to the lectures. I still wrote down the notes but studying for the exams was a lot harder. There was 2 midterms and the final exam. If you put a little bit of time and effort into the class it's easy. Got C's on all exams but did the homework and I did alright in the lab and came out with a B.

Yost is a wonderful lecturer. She has tons of energy and is super welcoming. I think the struggle with this class is simply when I took it (first semester, first year). It is not an easy class by any means, but Yost makes it as easy as she can. She really cares about her students and wants them to learn and succeed. She still emails the class (fully into winter quarter) with cool science-y things she has happened upon. Take her if you want to learn.

She is so amazing you will be so lucky to have her. She makes every day interesting and is just generally adorable.

Dr. Yost is a great professor! Her lectures include a lot of content some weeks, but that is simply the nature of the class. She uses funny and engaging metaphors when possible, and she includes new scientific developments beyond what the textbook says. I found attending her office hours very helpful, and she was flexible when my schedule interfered with her scheduled hours and let me come in a little early or later. There are quite a few opportunities for extra credit in her class. I enjoyed this class and I would recommend Dr. Yost for 160. My only complaint is that we got a lot of homework over Thanksgiving break. Otherwise, I thought the homework and studying load was reasonable.

She is just absolutely amazing. She really solidified my love for biology; I actually wanted to wake up at 7:30 am and go to her class. She has an overwhelming knowledge of the subject as a whole, and she is so excited to share it with her students. She is so helpful in office hours, even though she can seem kind of intimidating. Her lectures were engaging and really funny at times. I thought the class had a pretty fair amount of work; you have online Mastering Biology homework due every Monday and you sometimes have to listen to podcasts or watch a film and take quizzes on them but they are easy points. The tests are extremely reasonable and really simple if you prepare for them and study a couple of days in advance. The lab is probably one of the easiest and straightforward biology labs offered on campus but it can be really boring to get through at times. Do well in the lab section because it is worth 35% of the overall grade!!!! I feel really lucky to have taken this class with her because she genuinely cares about her students; she had a presentation on how we can live better ourselves and our lives and she encourages us to get out there and connect with nature. I wish I could take every single class with her. She is the BEST professor I have ever had at Cal Poly. If you have the privilege of taking any class with her DO IT!! You will not regret it!!

Dr. Yost presents the information is a very clear way and is a phenomenal teacher. A very good class and one that is easy to do well in if you are willing to put in the time and work hard.

Loved Dr. Yost. Her lectures weren't too fast, and she posted the lecture slides for most days. Her PolyLearn was very easy to follow, but grades usually took a while to get inputed. Definitely attend office hours. You don't have to go to every single one, but she is super helpful in not only answering questions about the material, but she has so many connections and is always willing to help. We had Mastering Biology questions every week, but they usually only took about an hour and were straight from the book. Personally, I'd recommend getting the book. I didn't read the chapters all the way through, but the weekly homework was generally straight from the book. There were two midterms, weeks 4 and 7, both of which were MC and free response. I got Cs on both, but I didn't study until the day before, so definitely continuously study, but I still ended with a B in the class. As a bio major, you have to take this class, so enjoy it and memorize the tree of life early!!! Get to know Dr. Yost as well, because she is a great resource for anything and everything.

Yost is an amazing professor! Study!!! My grandmothers funeral was the day of her final exam and she allowed me to take it a different day. Overall, she is a great teacher, if I would have studied everyday then I would have received a higher grade. The LAB section of the class that I had a TA for was the hardest part of the class, the lab is worth 30% of the entire grade overall.

Yost is a great professor. Her excitement for biology and upbeat energy made attending class before 9am much more manageable. She really does care about her students and makes an effort to answer her students' questions even in a bigger class size. She explains things really clearly and has her lessons build material in an easily understood way. The homework was manageable with just a couple assignments per week. She also offers extra credit opportunities which is always a plus. I did well on homework but ended up with a C because of my grades on the midterm and final. I would say that grade came from more of a problem on my part than on Yost's teaching abilities though. I would definitely recommend taking this professor and would take a class with her again.

Yost is a great professor. I had her for lab and lecture and she always managed to keep the class interesting and was good at explaining any questions I had. Ultimately I got a bad grade in the class, but it was more due to my lack of wanting to wake up at 8 am to go to lecture than that she was a bad teacher. Would definitely recommend!

she is a very intelligent professor and she knows what she is doing. go to office hours. if you just study the lectures you will do fine

Dr. Yost is by far the most enthusiastic and knowledgeable professor at Cal Poly! I loved this class so much, and it was partly due to how interesting and engaging Dr. Yost is. The class isn't too hard, although I know a lot of bio majors don't like it because they think it's boring. Personally, it opened my eyes up to the world around me, especially plants! Dr. Yost's love of plants is contagious and now I want to take plant tax and field bot, the other botany classes she teaches. To do well, you need to study ahead of time and really make sure you understand concepts, not just memorize them. The tests are more challenging than most people would expect, especially the free response. The second midterm is also cumulative, which can be annoying, but it helped me keep up with all the material for the final. I got an A+ on the first one, a B on the second, and a B+ on the final and got an A- in the class. The homework is pretty easy and straightforward, and the lab is pretty fun too. Just make sure you study for the lab quizzes! Overall, I highly recommend taking this class with Dr. Yost! You'll never be able to look at organisms the same way again without thinking about where they fall on the phylogenetic tree of life!

Amazing professor. Was happy to wake up and have her class at 9 A.M. She clearly presented the material in class and the work load was light. Her office hours are very convenient and is great in 1 on 1 discussions.

She's amazing, definitely take her if you get a chance. She is so incredibly smart about Biology, and is extremely enthusiastic about teaching. She will help you out on just about anything. Her lectures are great and I even came to look forward to them, even though they were early in the morning. The tests are not that difficult, and she provides you with learning objectives which is great. I won't lie and say the class is easy (biology is hard), but it is very enjoyable.

Professor Yost is one the most passionate people I've ever met. The way she lights up about the material she's teaching makes it feel that what you're learning is valuable. She genuinely cares for the students and consistently sent us emails about up coming internship opportunities. Although the class covers A TON of material, she holds many office hours and even encourages students to go to other professor's office hours. If you have the option, TAKE YOST!

I LOVE YOST. Such a funny, smart, sweet professor. She makes her classes super interesting, no matter what. Definitely recommend taking her at some point during your college career. So happy to have had the opportunity to take her

Yost is by far one of the best professors that I've had so far. She does go a little fast in lecture, and sometimes her lecture tests are a little tricky, but the material is presented in a really engaging way. Show up for lab because that's where the real learning takes place- take this class!!

Jenn yost is the best teacher ever!!! She is so passionate about Botany and it makes you want to learn about botany too!! Her tests are pretty straight forward. I was supposed to get a B, but her Final is harder than her midterms so I was not prepared. It isn't that hard to remember 40 plant families because its a slow and steady process throughout the quarter. TAKE HER!!!

Jenn is the best.

Dr. Yost is absolutely my favorite professor at poly! She's an incredible botanist, she's funny, she's a great lecturer, and a truly wonderful person! Most students will have her for an intro botany class, where she's certainly take you from thinking "oh, another tree" to loving plants. But a few of you (like me) will need to take plant tax (313) and field botany (433) for your major and oh man you are so lucky! Dr. Yost's passion for botany will inspire you to start carrying a hand lens in your pocket, to scream at every crazy new wildflower, to lie on the ground to get a closer look at some meadow plants. Your friends will grow to hate how you have to point out and name every plant on your hike up Bishop's, but you'll just smile. Dr. Yost will arm you with an arsenal of plant knowledge that you can carry with you for the rest of your life. Relish the chance to take a class with her!

Coming into Plant Tax and Field Bot, I didn't care about plants at all and I was dreading having to take these classes. Now, Botany is one of my favorite subjects that I've ever taken and it's all because of Jenn. She is the best professor I've ever had. This class had the potential to be boring and tedious but she was somehow able to make learning about plants fun. She (as well as Matt Ritter who co-taught BOT 433) makes you stoked on plants because of how stoked she is. This was by far my favorite (and most challenging) class at Cal Poly. The field trips, the labs, the lectures- all of it. Take this class if you can, it will truly change how you see the world around you.

This class packs ALOT of info into a few short weeks. The field quizzes were fair though, more so when Jenn instead of Matt gives them. Both of them helped me go from hating plants from general bio, to being okay with them. Lecture takes a holistic approach such as community composition versus id in lab.