<p>I’m not so sure you’re “just asking.” I think you have some sort of scheme; it is never so simple as “just asking.” Next time you try to fool somebody with that, think again!</p>
<p>Can somebody explain the qualification for a semifinalist. I understand that the top 20 scorers in the second exam are considered finalists. Also in Round 1 are the questions straightforward which can be answered by simple knowledge of the subject or do they also have trick questions that require application of several facts to answer one question?</p>
<p>Mostly everyone is nice and helpful on this thread esp. thanks to you nighShadeQueen for answering my earlier question. Obviously everyone here is studying for the exam and since there are not going to be too many kids from one school interested in this exam, we need a supportive online community such as this one. Maybe we should keep it that way and no question is a bad question as long as someone is able to answer it.</p>
<p>^Well said. I think the GREs are pretty decent material for USABO, and many Open exam questions might be around that level.</p>
<p>And Seesri: Semifinalist qualification is by score as well. The cutoff score is based, obviously, on how well people did on the open. In 2009 it was 21/50, and I forget what it was last year…like 29/50 or something. It’s done, I believe, to permit the top 10% or the top 500 (whichever is more restrictive) to enter semis.</p>
<p>Hello, fellow hardcore comrades of biology!</p>
<p>I have a question relaitng to the studying. Does anybody uses MIT OpenCourseWare? Right now I have Campbell Biology 9th Edition’s Mastering Biology Online program. Are contents in MIT OCW more helpful than Campbell Bio’s CD or Mastering Biology? What kind of online videos do you recommend?</p>
<p>another question :)</p>
<p>We don’t have to know the names of scientists, do we?</p>
<p>Not to the best of my memory.</p>
<p>Hi everybody. I heard about USABO today for the first time, and this thread has been really helpful for learning about it.</p>
<p>I’ve been very successful at AP Biology and the SAT II Biology (5/800), and I continue being interested in biology even though I’m not taking it at school anymore. When I discovered USABO this morning, I randomly took the 2004 Open and got a 33/50. I haven’t read any of Campbells since my AP test in June. (We covered many of its chapters during the two-year Pre-AP/AP sequence.) It seems like I would have a pretty good chance at qualifying for the semifinal round if I study just a little bit more.</p>
<p>Problem is, my school is not particularly academically competitive. I’ve never heard of anybody participating in Olympiads, much less doing well. Only four of us got 5’s in AP Biology last year. I don’t know if anybody else would be interested in the Open, and I doubt the school would pay for it given district budget problems. Would qualifying for semifinals be worth paying the $75 myself? Or is there some way that I could take the test at another school in the area?</p>
<p>Thank you for your help.</p>
<p>You’re probably best off emailing Kathy Frame and asking her directly. I doubt 
you’ll be able to take it at another school though. Of course, whether or not you feel it’s worth it to take the test depends on how rich/poor your family is 
I probably would have taken it my freshman year even if I did have to pay the whole $75, and a 33/50 on your first try is pretty impressive. I don’t doubt you’d be able to make semis if you made that investment.</p>
<p>if you qualify for semis, you can try for finals
and if you finish finals, you can go to camp
and if you go to camp, you can go to the IBO :D</p>
<p>i think it would be definitely worth it to pay $75. plus, there might be people you don’t know who are interested! my school had a lunch meeting for everyone who wanted to try, and even though i thought it would only be a few kids, all thirty seats were filled up.
it might be the same at your school.</p>
<p>Hello, fellow comrades(?- is this right word to use?)!</p>
<p>Has anyone find MIT OCW: Introductory Biology course videos helpful to understand? Right now, I have Campbell Biology 9th e/d Mastering Biology online program, but I am really confused as to which videos to look to understand, MasteringBiology or MIT OCW?</p>
<p>I recently got my Molecular Biology of the Cell textbook (pink one), and I am wonder how to use this book along with my campbell bio 9th??</p>
<p>Good luck in your studying!</p>
<p>Do you need to memorize the metabolic pathways such as glycolysis, citric Acid cycle etc.s with structure at each step or simply memorizing the different intermediates formed at each step with co enzymes etc. should do? Is it even necessary to memorize the entire cycle? At what level are you tested for the Biochemistry knowledge?</p>
<p>I have been watching for the 2012 teacher registration form to show up on the website. There is a note saying it would be up in October, but there is no new form (in fact, when you open the form you can link to, it says 2010 on the top). My kid was the only one from her school who took it last year (we paid the $75) – I want to get that processing going again, but it does appear that this year’s info is there yet (or they are a bit lazy and don’t ever change it even though it has the wrong year?). Does anyone out here know if your teacher has registered your school yet for this year?</p>
<p>Hmm, answered my own question. Apparently they have a new location on the website for registration this year (although there are still links to the old one out there, too). 2012 info is there.</p>
<p>Looking for 2005 open and semifinal tests. I have the rest and am willing to trade. PM me.</p>
<p>Hi rupnok,</p>
<p>Would you be able to share your exams with me. I tried sending you a pm. Not sure if you got. this is my first time and so, sorry, I don’t have any old exams to share. BTW, does anyone know where you can get those from?</p>
<p>Hey guys, I’m thinking of doing USABO this year and next year. When is the deadline for registration? I think I am the only person in my school that is doing it. How do I register? I need to ask a teacher from my school to be my coach right? </p>
<p>Can someone be so kind to just give me all the basics? Thanks 
Please PM me or reply :)</p>
<p>Does anyone know where the past exams for New Jersey Biology League would be available?</p>
<p>[url=<a href=“http://www.sanjuan.edu/webpages/dkaragianes/resources.cfm?subpage=95524]USABO[/url”>http://www.sanjuan.edu/webpages/dkaragianes/resources.cfm?subpage=95524]USABO[/url</a>] </p>
<p>it has the 2004 and 2006 open exams and i thought it was pretty helpful :)</p>
<p>VitaminXD: That’s a great link! Thank you.</p>
<p>:D yay! you’re welcome</p>