<p>i'm taking bioee 278, and i know that you can take it as a 3 or 4 credit option, and the 4 credit option entails extra reading, a discussion section, and i think essays instead of prelims. is it worth it to go for 4 credits? do you get more out of the course? also, the thing about essays instead of prelims confuses me. this seems like it might actually be easier to do well on essays, though maybe more thinking and work put into them. are the essays done on spare time or are they timed like with prelims? are the discussions interesting or boring? how much extra work is the extra credit, and does it look better to take the 4 credits? if i take the 4 credits, i will be up to 18 credits not including gym, and i'm also taking chem 208, philosophy 101, a writing seminar, and a language.</p>
<p>no, i'm thinking of concentrating in neurobiology and behavior and possibly being pre-med, though i'm also taking philosophy to see if i might have an interest in that (possibly as a minor), but right now at this point it looks like i will end up as a biology major, and neurobiology seems really interesting and towards my interests</p>
<p>are most of the people in the 4 credit option looking to concentrate in evolutionary bio?</p>
<p>i'm just getting evolutionary bio out of the way for the major since it heard it's not too hard, and i know it's a requirement, and it was recommended by a lot to just get it out of the way early if possible, though i am looking forward to taking it as it will be the first non-general bio course i'm taking</p>
<p>^This is the attitude most bio majors have since most of them are premed. So, why would you then want to put yourself through 4 credits of a class you're just trying to get out of the way?</p>
<p>i just finished the bioee278 fall semester, and i must say that the 3 credit option is not hard at all. the workload is not of a typical science class and the sections actually contained all of the work save prelims, obviously. As someone who was relatively interested in evo. bio. (but dreaded non-mathematical science classes), i must say it was kind of fun. wait til the first few days of class and get a better idea of what you're going to expect and then make the decision. im premed as well but a fun class is hard to come by- and i wished i did the 4 credit option. then again, fun is in the eye of the beholder-- many many people didn't show up to class cuz the lectures were boring.</p>
<p>bioee 278's prof is kinda bad. courseload is interesting. im a freshman and i took the 3 credit option. it was terrible. i'm more of the like-to-learn rather than memorizing-useless-facts type but the 3 credit option was heavily focused on memorizing trivial factoids for prelims. the tests were terrible in the sense that the wording was so bad and the questions were stupid. take the 4 credit; i heard it was easier and so much more fun. your prelims are pass/fail and writing is emphasized a lot more. if you're into discovering the field and being actively engaged you should probably take the 4 credit option.</p>
<p>what's 19 credits when you're at 18. my friends say it's not even more work than the 3 credit one </p>
<p>oh wait. prof is different this year and this one is supposed to be the better one. >_> whatever i'd still recommend the 4 credit</p>
<p>The 4 credit option is really easy if you like to write. I think there are 8-9 assignments, the last being a hypothetical proposal with an abstract, introduction, review of the current literature and methods.</p>