<p>Does anyone know that dates for the Open Exam?</p>
<p>Feb. 7th - 17th
your school could get it at time between these two dates, though.</p>
<p>:O once you find out the dates, the whole test seems so real.</p>
<p>@Sreesri:</p>
<p>Pretty much anything in Campbell is fair game.</p>
<p>For Alexander255110 - You need to get a teacher to register you. My daughter is the only one from her school who takes the test. She asked her biology teacher if he would do it if we paid the fee. He had to check with the principal, who (of course) said yes.</p>
<p>Here is a link to the portal for the teacher to use:</p>
<p>[CEE</a> | USA Biology Olympiad](<a href=“http://www.usabo-trc.org/]CEE”>http://www.usabo-trc.org/) </p>
<p>The fee is $75. Registration closes on Feb. 3, 2012. My daughter’s teacher paid the fee personally, then I wrote him a check to pay him back. But other schools might handle the payment differently. Once the fee is paid, as many students as the school wants to sign up can take the test from that school.</p>
<p>The teacher then proctors the first test for you during the testing window (a couple of weeks long). And also the second one if you make it that far.</p>
<p>Last year only the teacher could look up your scores for you once they were released, but the portal has changed this year. It looks like you will be able to look up your own exam scores.</p>
<p>My daughter’s biology teacher is happy to answer questions for her, but doesn’t really “coach”. But he is excited to have a student who is so interested in biology and willing to do this extra work on her own.</p>
<p>is it still too late to start studying for the test now? originally i was gonna study over the summer but i changed my mind but now i really wanna do it so if i start studying Campbell now, is it still possible that i can do well and possibly qualify as a semi-finalist?</p>
<p>Also, is there practice problems in the Campbell textbook and if there are, are the questions in the open exam similar to those?</p>
<p>Lastly, I have the AP edition of the Campbell’s textbook for AP bio and i know that people have mixed feelings of the AP edition so i should i just buy a copy of the 8th edition cuz i found one for $30 w/ shipping so money is not a problem.</p>
<p>Hi Sorry to interrupt the convo, </p>
<p>but I have Open exams 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2004 and 2003. I am willing to trade any of them for 2005, 2010, 2011 open exam or any of the semi final exams other than 2006 “example” semi that y’all can find online. Please contact me via email address <a href="mailto:changyoon94@naver.com">changyoon94@naver.com</a>…</p>
<p>Good luck to y’all.</p>
<p>Does USABO still rely on Campbell 8 or is it now based off of Campbell 9?</p>
<p>well, since biology hasn’t drastically changed in the past year, i think that studying campbell 8e is just as good as the 9e. </p>
<p>i’ve also heard rumors that it’s easier to understand 8e in comparison to 9e, and there are many people who use the 5e and still get into the IBO.</p>
<p>Are past exams available under the teachers resource center link on the USABO website? If not, where can I find all the past open and semi final exams. If some have it and some don’t then it is not a level playing field. I found out that chemistry Olympiad past exams are available in amazon.com. I don’t mind paying for the USABO past exams ( as long as it is reasonable) and can someone please tell me if it is available anywhere.</p>
<p>Lol. To the best of my understanding, USNCO exams are also available for free download on their website…I don’t know who’s going around selling them for money on amazon.</p>
<p>And unless this has changed since last year, CEE’s official policy is that past exams are not to be released to the public. Thus why you have this system of people black market trading Opens for Campbell Test Banks and whatnot. If you ask me, it’s ridiculous and CEE should just release every exam, and I know lots of people agree with me on this point. If it’s any consolation, I do sort of remember a conversation where Kathy Frame was talking about moving toward removing all repeat questions and releasing the tests to the public. More to come, I guess.</p>
<p>I really hope CEE does that. Well said, oldguy433, it is ridiculous that a highly academic pursuit such as this is being commercialized. I hope someone from USABO is reading this and will soon release all the old exams. The Canadian national Biology exams, IB exams and Regents exams are all available for free downloads. In fact I even found sites which claim to allow you to download USABO tests for a small payment but I am scared because in that process they want to install things on my computer that could cause harm. Is anyone listening, I mean reading these posts???</p>
<p>I’m barely holding an A- in my AP biology test because of first semester sport (waterpolo) commitments. I’ve slept through almost every class and the only studying I’ve done for tests has been read through chapters the night before…</p>
<p>…but I’m ready for some hardcore studying winterbreak is here!!! I’ve been trying to force myself to take notes, as I think that’ll help in the long run, but its so boring. The actual reading is quite interesting and I can handle that but having to write down and summarize stuff is so tedious =(. Hoping I didn’t start too late and can still win something though =)</p>
<p>Hi,
I was like two points away from semifinals last year… and I did not read Campbell at all… I wasn’t even in Honors Bio… How the heck does that work?
Oh and by the chemistry in the Bio Olympiad, does it mean like equations of alkenes/kynes/kanes? Or something like that? I’m in Honors Chemistry right now, is that enough?</p>
<p>Thanks,
quidditchcat</p>
<p>Oomycota is not listed in the IBO syllabus, but Campbells includes a diagram of its life cycle. Is it necessary to be familiar with such groups?</p>
<p>i just started studying for usabo…and the open exam is in the second week of feb. Do you think i can make the cut?</p>
<p>^I would like to know this as well.</p>
<p>I would also like to know how strictly one should follow the IBO syllabus outlines provided in the USABO account for the Open exam.</p>
<p>PLEASE FREAKING ANSWER IMMEDIATELY…</p>
<p>If you guys think you can have a good understanding of Campbell by Feb., then you should have no problem making Semis.</p>
<p>I noticed that by the time the exam is given out, my teacher will only have covered half of the Campbell book? Is that enough to make the cut offs? If not, what percent of the book should I aim for and what chapters should I focus on? I know I should aim to complete the book, but it might not be possible with finals coming up after winter break.</p>
<p>Wao ok. So taking this one by one:</p>
<p>@Quidditchcat: You’re thinking more organic chemistry. Bio Olympiad chem is more along the lines of pH/acid-base balance as it applies to blood or other body fluids. Equilibrium, Henderson-Hasselbalch, stuff like that. Some of it probably gets into AP level but there will be freebie chem questions that an Honors Chem course will prepare you for. You shouldn’t stress.</p>
<p>@Solferino: Systematics is of very little importance in either open or semifinals. If you are spending time memorizing all the protist life cycles you’re doing something wrong. That’s the type of thing you stress about after you get into Finals. You’re better off studying other parts of the book.</p>
<p>@Jojojo27: This applies not just to you, but to everyone who asks this question (and millions already have on this thread) Ohnoes, I haven’t started studying till X date, should I even bother? The answer is I have absolutely no idea. Yes, yes, it’s possible, I know National Finalists who picked up their textbooks two weeks before Open date. But what’s way more important is how good you are and how hard you’re willing to work, neither of which anyone but you knows one iota about. Previous Opens are out there for you to find; take one and gauge your preparedness level, the difficulties don’t vary that much from year to year, especially since the test is curved anyways.
tl;dr I don’t like it when people ask this question. You tell me. </p>
<p>@HSMCCP: Well I mean, the IBO guide is 99% generic stuff that’s covered in every bio textbook anyway, and 1% extremely detailed list of genera that shouldn’t be your concern for either Open or Semis. So to answer your question, follow the syllabus except for the systematics part, but you’re probably already doing that.</p>
<p>@kwkingdom: Eh no, that’s not too great, since the latter half of the book is plants and animals, which counts for a lot. I don’t know what to tell ya. Study plants and animals.</p>
<p>Hello to all!!</p>
<p>I am now done with Campbell Biology and now planning to read specific textbooks like plant biology and cell biology.</p>
<p>One of colleague I know gave me “The World of Cells”, “Brock’s Microorganism” and “Plant Biology-Raven” for me. Are information in these books really necessary for USABO and IBO?? Since I completed the Campbell one, I know almost all of details but I wonder if I have to know all specific knowledges like all types of signaling proteins and molecules listed in the Cell Biology textbook and all the microbes’ metabolic pathways listed in the microbiology textbook? </p>
<p>Also is there any way to obtain USABO practice tests, hopefully a released one if any?</p>
<p>Thanks in advance and have a good luck and fun in studying Biology the Central Science!!</p>