Biology Classes

[lazgirl24]

What do you guys think about your bio classes (the intro ones) ? Are they hard or easy? On tests and mid-terms, are questions "applied-typed questions" or just know the material-typed questions? I am just curious... and tired of school

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[beatla19]

I'd say my intro classes were the hardest ones. That might be because they weren't as interesting to me as physiology courses, or they were trying to 'weed' people out. It was probably a little bit of both. Anyway, intro bio kind of sucks.

 

[TTSD]

My intro classes were weeders. I was in a combined BS/MD program designed to weed out about 250 students to only 24. Curves were ATROCIOUS. Half failed out the first year. Half of that number the next year and then about half of that were selected.

 

[toastess]

i took intro bio first semester of my freshman year and it scared me out of my mind... the prof was psychotic. the tests would be over 12 chapters and would only have 4 essay questions on them, so you had to know everything from every chapter in excruciating detail. everyone was pretty much screwed because he didn't grade on a curve.... about 20 of 300 people got As... the majority got C's. second semester intro was better... different prof, easier tests, almost everyone got at least a B.

 

[UCLAstudent]

I thought the intro classes were hard... they were definitely weeder courses!

 

[alleyez]

weed out classes


withdrew the first time i took bio 1
ended up with a C when I retook it.

but i didn't learn anything the first time i took it.... even though i shouldve gotten at least a B for the course

 

[subtle1epiphany]

Originally posted by TTSD
My intro classes were weeders. I was in a combined BS/MD program designed to weed out about 250 students to only 24. Curves were ATROCIOUS. Half failed out the first year. Half of that number the next year and then about half of that were selected.

TTSD, did you go to UC Riverside?

 

[bella_dottoressa]

I'll back everyone up; my intro bio was definately a weeder. Plus it's difficult because you're gonna see SO much of that stuff in every bio class you take in the future...I like that because the concepts are tough but each time I saw them again I could learn and understand them more...So intro bio for me was crazy amounts of studying my brains out just to get an A...It gets easier after intro, and that's nice.

 

[Sophie]

Bio 1 was okay, but only because I got a great professor. I'm in Bio 2 right now and it's HORRIBLE! We just had our second midterm and it was slightly easier than the first but that's not saying much. It's all memorization.

My mantra right now is "Thank god it's over in 3 weeks".

 

[lazgirl24]

then are upper divisions better/ easier?

 

[bella_dottoressa]

Material is harder but I found them easier. Not necessarily the classes are easier but they aren't weed out classes anymore. I think for me they were also get easier as I develop a better bio background and as I become a better student and more effective studier.

 

[beatla19]

I agree w/ crystal. You're gonna see the same stuff again, but in more detail. In upper-division classes you start to understand not only what happens, but why it happens.

 

[lazgirl24]

my professor is trying to explain to us why stuff happens... well, she will tell us what happen and we have to figure out why it happens on the mid-term... (intro class). When i compare mid-terms form different schools.. i think my teacher is crazy..(but i still love her)

 

[beatla19]

Which school?

 

[lazgirl24]

a private school in cali.. it's not even one of the top school... btw.. are you going to cal poly?

 

[beatla19]

you guessed it.

 

[lazgirl24]

I was there but i didn't like it. I transferred out.

 

[TTSD]

Originally posted by subtle1epiphany
TTSD, did you go to UC Riverside?

Oh yes. Foolish me. Failed to make it through biomed, now I'm sitting in what I call the penalty box. Taking as many upper division courses as possible to make myself not look like an idiot. Okay, so I screwed up my basic classes.. sue me I did get through three years of the program, for which I should feel some slight pride. But my GPA is hurting my ego.

It also makes it worse that UCR is a second-tier school, so that probably makes the adcoms frown wondering why I should be trying to get into medschool when I couldn't do well in a second-tier school. BAH!

 

[Hethera]

I took Bio I at my alma mater and am taking Zoology at another university. I thought both were pretty easy, as long as you stay on top of the material. However, there are a lot of people failing and/or dropping the class I'm in now (which is actually easier for me than Bio I, because it's graded on a curve rather than a raw percentage), so maybe it IS a weed-out class and I'm just one of the lucky survivors.

I'm crossing my fingers that that is the case, because I'd hate to be investing all this money if I'm just going to be weeded out in a later class (i.e. O chem!!).