<p>Hey everyone.....so in Bio 1A lab course, Im really screwed, I have much lower than the class average on the quizzes (although we probably have the hardest GSI) and on the first lab exam I barely got a C-. Now, Im sort of in panic mode with my grade in jeopardy so I wanted to ask people who have taken this class before about their study techniques. What kind of things would help prepare me for the second lab exam and how hard is to get a B- at the end with a grade like mine on the first exam and quizzes(with the hardest GSI), considering you have been in a similar situation. Thx for reading and lemme know any words of wisdom :-)</p>
<p>how’s wilt professor? sorry… i dunno how to answer ur question. im gonna take it next semester. don’t scare me :|</p>
<p>Who’s the GSI? It’s not Helen is it?</p>
<p>Bio 1A and 1B are the weedout classes for MCB. They are full of pre-meds. It is likely that you are going to get a bad grade. There is not easy way to get a good grade in weedout classes.</p>
<p>Sorry.</p>
<p>^
doesn’t same go with chem 3a/3b and math 1a, 1b, and physics 8a,8b?..</p>
<p>pretty much all premed classes? lol</p>
<p>Can you be exempted from Bio 1A and 1AL if you got a 5 on the AP Bio test??</p>
<p>if pre-med, you need to take the course, not test out with APs.</p>
<p>For the second lab exam, simply immerse yourself in the material.</p>
<p>Memorize, compare, and contrast all the specimen like you invented that ****. There are always tricky questions and doing comparisons and contrasts between specimens help tremendously. Also, don’t forget to use some common sense. On my lab exam, there was a twig and a pickle disguised as specimen.</p>
<p>sorry, but tough luck dude (or dudette). I am always in the belief that the first MT is ultra-important for your grade because well, the lab final, as everyone knows, is a toss-up. It’s the type of exam that you can least depend on, no matter how much you “study”. </p>
<p>I guess you need to pay 200% attention to the rest of the labs this semester.</p>
<p>You can be exempted from Bio 1A/ 1AL if you got a 5 on the AP test, but medical schools do NOT like this and lots of pre-health schools also do not. I AP’d out of Bio 1B instead because I personally don’t think that class would have added to my knowledge, but I double- and triple-checked with the schools I’m interested in.
Anyway, I don’t post here much, but I feel since I’m almost done with all the lower div’s of MCB (taking Physics 8B this semester), I should help out more around here. I took Bio 1AL last semester and had Helen, and our final was written by Helen and Christian. I got an A, so I could probably give you some good study tips. I can’t really tell you if you could get a B- or not because my grades on all the exams were pretty high, but maybe someone else could shed light on that. Anyway, what I did, was I read the lab manual three times before my quiz. Then, I made as many graphs/ tables/ charts as I could, especially in regards to all the phyla names and representative animals. Then, I seriously stared at the stuff I made whenever I had a spare half an hour. There’s no other way - repetition is imperative for the second part of the course. I personally didn’t find lecture useful because it was too scrambled, and I learn things in an ‘organized’ manner, so I stopped going to lecture because I wasn’t learning anything. I would webcast it the night before my quiz right before I went to sleep, so I was already as prepared as possible and the lecture made absolute sense to me (whereas if I went on Monday, my eyes would be mega glazed over the whole time). Anyway, you can ask me more specific questions, but I hope that helps! Good luck; that class honestly drained me and I feel for you!</p>
<p>I got a 5 on the exam so is it ok to get out of the course if I’m a biology major? (I’m not pre-med but want to go to grad school in some field of biology.)</p>
<p>konakai, I’m not sure what grad schools require in terms of pre-req’s, but find out if you really want to AP out of it. You could technically AP out of both Bio 1A and Bio 1B with a 5, but I strongly recommend you take Bio 1A/ 1AL. The lab material is really fascinating (if you really enjoy biology and are not just picking the best major for <em>fill in the blank</em>. And, I strongly believe in challenging yourself to see what you can do. Don’t AP out of it for the sole purpose of making your life easier. I like a little challenge now and then, and it’s not impossible to get an A. I consider myself of average intelligence, but I worked hard and proved my own worth to myself. I know that’s kind of feel-good stuff, but it’s true!</p>
<p>konakai27, you said you are interested in ecology and evolution in another thread, so you should NOT AP out of Bio 1B. Bio 1AL is also very important for those fields as the second half of Bio 1AL is (amongst other things) about animal diversity</p>
<p>Both medical schools and graduate schools do not like people AP’ing out of either 1A/L or 1B</p>
<p>AP tests are used to get people accepted to UC Berkeley. Once you there, you need to stop milking your AP tests; they have served their purposes.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Berkeley doesn’t use AP tests for admissions purposes. AP tests are just for getting ahead in classes you don’t want to take again. For me, they would be history, literature, etc. For your major classes, you should retake those classes for a solid foundation.</p>
<p>Personally, I really think if you are a bio major, it won’t make you look bad if you don’t take bio 1a but instead use your ap bio credit. If you are able to earn good grades in upper div bio courses, I really don’t see why would any medical school be obsessed about you not taking that general bio course & lab. I took bio1a/1al but now if I can go back I probably wouldn’t take them because it was just a waste of a semester. I wished I took mcb c100a earlier so I have more chances to take classes like chem 120 series, upper div math, and quantum mechanics. But that’s just me and I know tons of my friends who should have and did take bio 1a/l even thought they had ap bio credits. </p>
<p>I also agree that if you do bad on the first midterm it puts you in a very bad situation in bio 1al… because the 2nd midterm is just insane.</p>
<p>The main reason I asked is not because I want to “make my life easier.” I love biology and would be perfectly happy taking the course. However, financially I’m screwed and would like to graduate as soon as I possibly can. I’m actually now leaning towards UCSB because I have a Regents scholarship. I hope that if I do well at SB, I can go to Berkeley for graduate school. It is disappointing to reject a school because I can’t afford it, but at least this will motivate me to do my best at UCSB. I’ll be in the honors program so I’ll still receive a high quality education.</p>
<p>It is next to impossible graduate UC Berkeley under 8 semesters. Those that graduate in the fall semester are mostly transfers who stay for 5 semester. (most transfer students try to graduate in 2 years. but because a lot of the major specific classes are not available at junior colleges, they have to take an extra semester to finish all the major requirements.)</p>
<p>im scared in bio1al. what’s it about.</p>
<p>Nope. Quite a number of people can graduate in 7 semesters, even engineers. Many of them just choose not to do it. A lot of seniors have very light courseload because they don’t need that many classes at all.</p>