<p>This fall I will be taking MCB 102, and was wondering a few things about it, for people who have taken it.</p>
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<li><p>How did this course compare in terms of difficulty/manageability to the lower division courses( Bio 1A, Chem 3B, etc.)?</p></li>
<li><p>If you did well in this course, like got at least a B or B+, on average how many hours did you spend studying outside of any homework assignemnts that were compulsory?</p></li>
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<p>I just want to figure out how heavy/light my schedule should be with this class, cause I heard it's really difficult, more so than Bio 1A.</p>
<p>I took it in the summer, so my experience will likely be different from yours. However, a lot of my friends took it during the regular school year.</p>
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<li><p>I think MCB 102, though not especially conceptually challenging, has TONS of material and requires a lot of memorizing. I’m typically skeptical when students describe a course as “all memorization”, and I assume that they’re not understanding/engaging with the material on a deeper level, so they have to resort to memorizing. But really. It’s all memorization. In this way, it’s most similar to Bio 1A. That being said:</p></li>
<li><p>Memorization takes time. If you want to do well in the class, read the book chapter before the lecture (YMMV with this, depending on the professor) and review thoroughly the evening after lecture. I think you can expect to spend about 1-2 hours per weekday studying, and more on the weekends, depending on your needs.</p></li>
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<p>I see, thanks. I’m thinking of taking chem 113 (advanced mechanistic organic chemistry), IB 131( anatomy) and a drawing class, and possibly filling my AC requirement. With chem 113, everyone gets at least a B- due to it being an elective course, so I’m not too worried about it.</p>
<p>I think if you take Chem 113, IB 131, MCB 102, and then one fluff class (whether it be your AC or the drawing class) makes a perfectly manageable schedule. Good luck!</p>