<p>anybody know how much do laundry services cost?</p>
<p>congrats to all the finalists from cc! </p>
<p>anyways i had a few questions:
- How prestigious is it really if you qualify to be a USABO finalist? Is it enough to get you at most top schools considering that you’re top 20 in the nation? I ask this because USABO is the newest science olympiad and not as well known as the other ones.
- Suppose someone qualified for nationals junior year but also had the opportunity of attending a decent summer program (i.e. something like Gov School or decently known), considering that the person can then no longer participate in the program due to the conflicting dates, what should that person do?
- Suppose that same person then chooses to go to Finals and ends up qualifing for IBO. Is it now worth it?
- What colleges do most of the IBO qualifiers/nationalist silver medalists/other nationalists go to? </p>
<p>I know this is a lot…but i wanted to know whether its worth it to spend all of this time studying. In the end, though, i guess it all boils down to whether you like bio or not. Your passion for the field is what translates to success.</p>
<p>1) I wonder if I would have gotten into every school I applied to if I had not been a Finalist. I definitely think it was one of my best/most distinguishing achievements in high school, and thus part of the tipping point at least at a couple of the schools that accepted me. USABO may be the newest Olympiad, but it’s the one with the highest rate of success (if you measure by % gold medals at international level), and that has made it pretty visible, I think. Also, I’m surprised at how often people think USABO has been been around as long as the other US Olympiads, which probably reflects the lack of effect age has had on USABO’s notability.</p>
<p>4) Most of us are at Harvard/MIT.</p>
<p>I don’t know anything about your “decent summer programs,” so I can’t comment on that, but I find it difficult to imagine any summer opportunity trumping the opportunity to attend an International Olympiad, if you could guarantee the latter occurring.</p>
<p>wow! i have to say, you guys are really impressive.</p>
<p>how hard is it to get into usabo semifinals and what around what score do you need on the usabo open exam to get to semifinals. i have finished ap biology and was pretty good at it, but i am quickly forgeting the knowledge already right now during the summer. is it worth restudying?</p>
<p>Well, you know, there are only like two open slots next year, because all of the National Finalists this year that aren’t graduating plan to return to share some awesome times ;)</p>
<p>Okay, to actually answer your question, they made the Open ridiculous this year; the cutoff was 21/50. You’re not going to get past that without some serious, post-AP Bio studying.</p>
<p>you don’t need to be all that serious to get into semis. I know people who basically guessed and mathed their way into semis this year on very little bio knowledge. But, to be safe you should read campbell through at least once.</p>
<p>My guess is that next year’s open will be much more accessible. After most of the finalists left, the organizer asked us for suggestions on how to make usabo more popular, and we suggested making the open less discouraging.</p>
<p>after campbell, where should one go to for more studying?</p>
<p>i’m looking for past usabo open/semifinal exams.</p>
<p>here’s what i have to trade:
- 2003, 2004, 2006, and 2009 open exams with answer keys
- all ibo exams from 2003 - 2009 (including all 4 theoretical parts, 2 practical parts, and the official IBO answers)
- sat qas and ap tests, etc. </p>
<p>looking for: 2005, 2007, 2008, 2010 open exams, any semifinal exam </p>
<p>feel free to message me.</p>
<p>Seems like all the Bio geniuses convene on this page. I had a question: is it hard to get past USABO tests, whether it be the opening round or the semis?</p>
<p>Since the opening round was 21/50 many people I know guessed their way through. The Semis in my eyes wasn’t that difficult but it truly tested your complete knowledge of biology. The way I got in was that I focused on something that I know that I was good at and that few people can challenge me at (of course in addition to reading the campbell). iono insorak, messiah you guys creamed me; what do you think?</p>
<p>Aw, shucks. You’ll do fine next year. And if you don’t come back I’ll hunt you down and kill you. ;)</p>
<p>Basically, you need to get close as Eric as you can. Know everything, be good at everything. Make it so that there’s at least an area you’re unbeatable in (I was pretty good at animal physio, but not nearly unbeatable).</p>
<p>yep you and animal physio saved me plenty.</p>
<p>team USA cleaned up in IBO - 3rd, 4th, 5th, 26th. B*tch, what was that about team USA sucking this year? >:O</p>
<p>Yeah, I happen to be friends with the 3rd place girl. She’s pretty smart, but really all she said was to read the campbell over and over again. That’s pretty much it lol</p>
<p>lol@MeSsIaH.</p>
<p>Why don’t we have a 1st place yet?!</p>
<p>Can someone link me to the cambells book that everyone is referring to on amazon or something?</p>
<p>[Amazon.com:</a> Biology with MasteringBiology (8th Edition) (9780321543257): Neil A. Campbell, Jane B. Reece: Books](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Biology-MasteringBiology-8th-Neil-Campbell/dp/0321543254/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1279583247&sr=8-1]Amazon.com:”>http://www.amazon.com/Biology-MasteringBiology-8th-Neil-Campbell/dp/0321543254/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1279583247&sr=8-1)</p>
<p>Lol I’m not sure I want to commit myself to this anymore after seeing that book…</p>
<p>Where can I find the official curves? Like this year it was 21/50 to get past.</p>
<p>Also, do they release previously administered tests?</p>