Need Bio advise from current Bio Majors Please

Colleges and Universities A-Z Cornell University
1

<p>D is Bio major in CAS. She scored a 5 on AP Bio test. It appears to me that on the website they suggest that you take at least one semester of intro bio to see how you do befoe electing to take all 8 credits. She is planning on being pre-med. She is away most of this summer w/ very limited phone access and not able to access an advisor.</p>

<p>She is considering Bio 1101 w/ the Bio 1103 lab OR
Bio 1105/1106 Auto-tutorial format.</p>

<p>Could you please give feedback on pros/cons of these classes. She is self motivated and manages time well. Thank you.</p>

2

<p>i took 1101 and 1103. 1101 uses the same book that most AP bio classes use (campbell) and the material isn’t that hard. the tests can have some tricky questions but are not too bad. it’s just sometimes hard to get a good grade b/c the class is curved to a B-. there are three exams, weekly online quizzes, and clicker questions so attendance is required. you really dont need to start studying until a few days before the exams in my opinion. the lab is 1103 and involves a 3-hr/wk session, some writing assignments/projects, several midterms, and a practical. can sometimes require a lot of studying, and is also curved to a B- or B.</p>

<p>as for 1105/1106, i think theres like 1 lecture/wk for which attendance is not required. there are oral tests done with TAs which require you to know the material in-depth, but from what i understand, you are often tested on picky details that may not be that important in the long run. didn’t take the class so maybe someone else should verify that. i dont think 1105/1106 places as much emphasis on lab as much as 1101/1103, but also uses the same campbell book as 1101/1103. this may be a good option if your daughter really manages time well, which i dont haha</p>

3

<p>it depends how you learn best. if you absolutely need to attend lecture to have someone teach you to do well then 101/102. if you’re like me and skip class constantly and pretty much teach yourself then 105. i got a lot out of 105 - there is decent emphasis on labs. there are basically 2 major labs with large lab reports that are difficult to do well on but prepare you well for simply how to write a good report. there is also one large practical. you have to put in a lot of work, but you get a great deal out of 105, and there are interactive demos and a study center with good hours for help</p>

4

<p>take AP credit. cornell bio 101-102 is useless. its so useless that even cornell thinks its useless. they had meetings about changing the general biology courses cause its so bad. i slept through both 101 and 102 and only read the book. i dont think theres any pro to 101-102. </p>

<p>103-104 you learn some lab techniques and information. you dont learn much but what you learn is quite detailed in my opinion and it involves a lot of understanding (unlike lecture, just memorize) 103-104 is worth taking but is not worth giving up ap credits for.</p>

<p>and whatever your D likes it or not, GPA to pre meds are very important and even if your D is a super insanely genius, you can never guarantee the A. like when i took 102, i caught flu and pneumonia during the bio exam time and bombed it so badly my grade dropped from a A to a B- lol…</p>

5

<p>i had a 5 on ap and couldve gotten out of 1101-1104. i took 1101/1103 since they recommend that, and just ended up taking 1102/1104 anyway. after doing so, i regretted it. i’d recommend just taking 1101/1103 at the most.</p>

6

<p>Any other pro’s and con’s? Anyone take the Into to Bio via the auto tutorial that could give pro’s and con’s? Thanks.</p>

7

<p>yeah the thing is if you are a bio major if you do well in the first semester the second one is not as necessary. this is since, at least for 105, the first half of the course is biochem, cell bio, cellular respiration, photosynthesis, and plant anatomy and physiology, and the second half is animal/human anatomy and physiology. The second semester I belive is mostly evolutionary biology, genetics, ecology, behavior and some other random things. You’re gonna have to take evo and genetics as courses in themselves for the bio major anyway, and ecology doesn’t really make a difference unless you’re majoring in it, in which case upper level courses in it would be more useful anyway. The second semester just is not as important as the first</p>

8

<p>I took BioG1105-1106 this past year. Overall, I put more work into this course than I did in any other course. If you want an A in the course, you have to put a ton of time and work into it. First semester for me was doable, because I just took Math 1120, Chem 2070, FWS, and a PE class. I was prepared well for calc and chem, and FWS was… FWS, so the only thing I had to worry about was my bio class. I think I spent about 20 hours a week on that class, maybe more, maybe less. I don’t think this should frighten anyone because between going to lecture, web quizzes, doing the reading, and studying for prelims for the lecture bio course, you would probably be spending a similar amount of time. Both autotutorial and lecture bio were curved to a B-, I believe. </p>

<p>First semester was easier for me, just by the nature of the material and because I was more motivated at the beginning of the year. For someone with a different background, this could easily be the opposite. There is more of an emphasis on the lab portion in BioG 1106 and the core units get easier at the end. </p>

<p>Some people might think that the material in either of the intro courses is useless or that AP bio is sufficient. I took AP bio in high school, got a 5 on the exam, but still learned a lot in the course. For each unit, I feel like I reviewed the material I learned in high school, and then went a bit further for each concept. Different teachers and courses emphasize different points.</p>

<p>Regarding the structure of the course, there is a short written quiz out of 15 points and an oral test (pass/fail). I heard from people who asked for averages that a lot of the means for the written quizzes are around 11 or 12, so if you can get a 14 or 15 on every quiz, that will put you in good standing. The oral tests can range from 15 minutes to 45 minutes, depending on which TA tests you. Anything in the reading/objectives is fair game, and at first it might be nervewracking but you get used to it. </p>

<p>If you’re proficient at time management, then you should be off to a good start. You’ll still have to put in the time, though. I knew I wasn’t that great at time management, but I knew that if I felt the pressure to stay on my game, I’ll be able to manage my time well [enough]. First semester I only used one extension day (you get 10 extension days for the semester, which you can use to extend any of your 10 core unit deadlines). Second semester, I got lazy and used nine, but I also had to deal with Math 2210. </p>

<p>Even though I had to spend a lot of time on autotutorial bio, I feel that it’s a good course for people who work hard. I guess one negative aspect is that you aren’t really taught by the instructor, Dr. Campbell. She explains anything you don’t understand pretty well, but just by the nature of the course (“autotutorial”) you often teach yourself. For labs and flock sessions, you interact a lot with TAs. If you do want to talk to Dr. Campbell, her door is usually open from 9-5 and I haven’t heard of anyone having trouble contacting her.</p>

9

<p>Thank you everyone for your imput! D now has some more info to make her decision. KenK that was helpful about the auto-tutorial. Thanks again.</p>

10

<p>So now that d is at Cornell and went to advisor, they are suggesting she think about taking the AP credit for Bio (8 cr) and going right into Evolution 2070. She will be pre-med. I have concerns. Med schools require at least 2 sem of bio w/ labs and it appears there is no lab with evolution. Also it states that “does not meet evolutionary bio requirements for bio sciences major” on the course roster.</p>

<p>Her advisor assigned does not know much about bio requirements and has already suggested that she find another advisor, which hopefully she will do soon.</p>

<p>D has said that it appears Cornell is really pushing this evolution course to Bio majors with 5 on the AP. I guess they are changing the bio program???</p>

<p>Any thoughts on this?
Thanks!</p>

11

<p>she’d be taking BioEE 2780 and not 2070. 2780 is for bio majors.</p>