<p>I'm a freshman at Cornell right now (class of 08) and just finished my first semester at Cornell. I didn't do too hot in intro bio (101: A- 103: B+), in fact it was my lowest combined score of any class. </p>
<p>For those who have taken autotutorial (105-106) I need your input. How did you find it? I know its a lot of work, but they say if you put in the work youll get a decent grade. Whereas, in lecture, if you do the work youre still not guaranteed the grade, and your lab grade depends on the TA you get. </p>
<p>cornellkhoja: I also took bio 101 and 103. I think bio 101 was one of the best classes i had last semester. I learned so much in that class. I don't think you would learn as much in bio 106 as you would in bio 102. Think of it this way, Bio 106 = reading the book + memorizing the facts. While bio 102 = reading the books + memorizing some facts + thinking about the material you read about + more thinking during the lecture + interacting with other students durig the lab and lecture. Grades are important but the most important thing is learning.</p>
<p>Next semseter will be a different professor, and so it may very well be different. Also, I know the grades are decent, but I think that, for the amount of work i put into the bio, I could score better in autotutorial. I agree with the learning aspect versus the memorizing, but this is, after all, intro bio. I will never really use information like mycorrizhae and their symbiotic relationships with plants. More input is really appreciated. I need to make a decision soon.</p>
<p>cornellkhoja: You are going to have that feeling with a lot of your classes:) I've been through 3 semesters of Cornell and in 1/2 of my classes I feel like I should have better grades with the amount of work I put into them. But that's Cornell. Competition's tough.</p>
<p>vbear: It's a class that has no scheduled classes. No lectures. No sections. You basically read and try to understand the material on your own. If you need help, there are TA's to help you out.</p>
<p>I would never touch autotutorial with a 500 foot pole. After being tricked into taking autotutorial biochem, I've realized that lectures (and a good professor) are extremely helpful to me in learning material well. Having taken bio 101-104 (I've always had a thing against autotutorial), I felt that those were the four best classes I have taken at Cornell. So, I would say, stick to the lecture :). Any idea who is lecturing next semester? I had Prof. Walcott, and he was the coolest professor. EVER.</p>
<p>intro bio is hard!!!! i took at Harvard SSP and got a B-, worked hard too. i was in my 11th grade back then. hopefully i'll do better in university</p>