BIOL 3000

I just wanted to start off by making a few points about this course (NOTE: I received an A-): 1. DO NOT BUY THE TEXTBOOK. I have always been one of those people that has done all of the required readings for my courses and was hesitant when friends who had previously taken the course told me to study by reviewing the lecture notes. He has the units and the listed "readings" in his resources and he will inform you when something will not be covered in lecture, but that only occurred once or twice. I would recommend borrowing a friends textbook or asking them if they can make a summary for the few pages that may not be in lecture. I never felt that I was ill-prepared for tests, but it was usually tricky questions that I missed. 2. RECORD THE LECTURES. Again, I had never done this for the course and figured I could either write or type fast enough during lecture, but there are times when there is a lot of information being covered and you simply will need to listen to the lectures again in order to prepare for the exams or for answering quiz questions. On the first day of class you will notice a lot of individuals are recording the lectures on their phones, do so. Also, try and find out which friends are taking the course as well so you have other individuals to get recordings from if your phone messes up or if you miss class. It's not the worst thing to miss a few lectures if you're busy preparing for other tests, but try and listen to the lecture as soon as possible so that you do not fall behind. 3. There are A LOT of tricky questions on the quizzes and tests. While some questions may seem simple the best way to ensure you don't miss a questions on material that you actually know is to rule out each option. There were a few questions that I don't believe were fair and were utilized to prevent very high test averages. All I can say is there are some questions that could honestly go either way, but to think of these in an ideal scenario. 4. This is a difficult course. I took this course with Organic Chemistry and it was definitely hard, but doable. Being a Biology major, there are obviously other courses that are just as difficult. I would recommend spreading out these courses until graduation. Do not attempt to take multiple biology course on top of pre-reqs for the MCAT with Cellular Biology. It is certainly doable, but I felt if I had taken another biology course I would not have been able to do as well as I did in this course. That being said, the way I usually prepared for this course was by making notecards off of the lecture notes and recordings. It usually took me about a week and a half to begin listening to all of the lectures again (usually 10-12 hours worth for each test). I had a friend that would also type up the lectures word for word and we would use this to read over the lectures several times. In order to do well, you should be very familiar with all of the material discussed in lecture. Do not expect Wormington to reuse quiz questions, but try and understand the conceptual aspects of each question because he will change little details about them on the tests. Finally, I found this course to be extremely interesting. While this has been one of the most difficult courses I have taken at UVA, it was definitely one of the most applicable courses in terms of medicine. Professor Wormington will apply the material to various diseases and treatment options throughout the semester. As a biology major, I never found my major to be as interesting and applicable until I took this course. If you put in the work for this course and make an effort to truly understand the material you will do well in the course.

So here's the deal. This is a required course for bio majors, so I'm assuming that you're trying to decide WHEN to take it not IF (But if you are deciding if, I'd definitely recommend!). I ended up taking it along with orgo; doable but probably not my smartest decision. Even though it doesn't seem like there's a lot of work in between the tests, you really need to allot several hours after each class for the quiz and re-listening to lectures - see below if you're trying to gauge how much time you'll need for this class. Here's my advice, which I strongly suggest you follow if you'd like an A: 1. Record the lectures. Yes, when I first heard that people did this, I thought it was ridiculous. But Wormington talks way too fast during lecture to write it all the first time. (But for the love of God turn your phone on airplane mode if you put it in the front of the room during lecture. There were so many times during our class where phones up front started ringing that he eventually banned phones up there. I swear it was like 10 times.) 2. Re-listen to the lectures and take notes RIGHT AFTER every class. Don't just wait until right before the exam to listen to them! You will be so much more prepared by doing it along the way. Doing this thoroughly will take around 1.5-2 hours for each lecture. Plus when you're studying for tests, you'll already have study guides! 3. Take the 5q quizzes after re-listening to the lectures. Pay careful attention to wording. They are tricky. 4. When studying for tests, look over the multiple choice homework questions. Many of them will show up on the test, either exactly the same or slightly changed. Overall this was one of my favorite classes. I thought the material was very interesting, and Wormington is awesome at lecturing! For me, the third test was the hardest, followed by the first, second, then final. They are all fair MC exams, but still tricky. For overall grades, 14% in the A bracket, 42% in B bracket, etc. He expanded the brackets by 1%, so 89 is A- and 90+ is an A. The GPA was a 2.500. Every point counts, so spend time on the homeworks which are 15% of the grade! The first 3 exams are each 20% and the final is 25%. Not a cumulative final though, phew. Also, DO NOT buy the textbook. Believe me. All you need to know for tests and homework questions comes directly from lectures and his slides.

Overall this was a great course. Wormington is an amazing lecturer and he does a great job of making the material relevant by including case studies that can be understood from the concepts learned in class. Recording the lectures is very helpful, especially for studying and completing the homework assignments. That being said, this was one of the hardest courses I've taken (grade brackets are occasionally adjusted by 1%), and you should definitely allot it the time it deserves.

Just took the final for this course, and I've got to say, it's been one of the most rewarding classes I've taken. It's definitely my favorite class at UVA so far, and required for Bio majors so you might as well embrace it. Wormington can be tricky, he really tests if you know the material or not, it's not simple memorization. That said, I never read the book, and I'm looking at an A- in the class. There's 4 tests and a homework grade that's 15% of your grade. I recommend really taking the time to do the homework and spending an hour or two on each one, as it all adds up and it's basically a test grade at the end of the day. A lot of the questions in this class are of perturbing different biological systems, so you need to really understand the material so you can know what happens in certain situations, what elements of certain pathways are most necessary, etc. Wormington's a great professor, he really cares about the material and his students. It's a tough class, but it's rewarding and really interesting stuff!

I loved this class! It's required, so bio majors don't have much of a choice, but really Wormington is an incredible professor who is immensely knowledgable about the course matter. Definitely spend a lot of time on the homework every night; they add up quickly and they're really helpful for the exams! His exams are tricky but fair. He really tests if you actually know the material, but I loved this class and was actually sad on the last day.

Just recently took the MCAT, and this class definitely helped me to prepare for it. The kind of questions that he asks on exams and homework force you to understand experimental design. There are a lot of questions about what results you would expect if X happened/was changed. The material you are taught in this course helps for the MCAT, but I think the types of questions that really force you to reason through multiple factors helped me even more to be ready for it. That being said, it's a difficult course. I barely got an A, pretty much by luck. It is difficult to get an A/A- in this class. (I did not look at old exams. There were some who I suspect looked at old exams that did worse than me in the course. Contrary to what many say, you do not need to have access to his old exams to succeed in this course.) Take the homework seriously! Each individual assignment is not worth much, but it really adds up. Homework questions are also pretty representative of exam questions. The first exam was pretty easy and straightforward, but don't let that fool you! The rest of the exams are more difficult, but not unreasonable... generally. Many people love Wormington, and he is a great lecturer. However, I found him to be somewhat abrasive as a person. To each his own.

I can't say enough incredible things about this course. Cell includes everything from why people get heart attacks to how caffeine works to why we can't seem to find a cure for cancer. Never have I had more interesting course material taught by a more engaging Professor. Wormington has been doing this for 20 years and you can tell. Keys to success in this class are going to every lecture, recording the lecture, taking meticulous notes in class and augmenting them with the recording if you miss something or fall asleep (which happens as a result of the 9am lectures..). Before tests a small group of friends and I would go back through every lecture, accumulating basically every single thing he said into a study guide and then went through it in conjunction with the slides. This takes a lot of patience and work but it got me an A in the class because everything he asks on the test was mentioned in class, even if he makes you think a little extra. For homeworks, set aside an hour or 2 every time and don't rush through them. They really add up and can make or break your grade. Grading scales seem to vary by 1-2 points year to year based on the mean, but for us the mean was 82, median 84. A was 91+, A- was 90, B+ was 88-89, B 82-87, B- 80-81. You can imagine by how tight those brackets are that every point counts and a lot of people end up regretting a test or homework grade. I thought the third test was the easiest, followed by the final, the first test, and the second test as the hardest. If you put a lot of effort into this class you will come out with a lot of cool biology knowledge and a good grade.

It's a bio major core, so I guess most people don't have much of a choice, but I'd definitely recommend Wormington if you can spin it. He's been teaching this class for like 20 years and knows the best way to explain things. The course material is also really interesting and Wormington stays on top of current research and incorporates it into class throughout the semester. Test questions are exactly the same type of questions as on the homework, which can be a nice grade booster if you can puzzle through them. A lot of people are adamant that the only way to do well in this class is to get ahold of old tests, but that is NOT true - I haven't seen an old test all semester and I'm doing fine. There is a TON of overlap between this class and Biochemistry/Biological Chemistry, so if you've already taken those, you've got a huge leg up on everyone who hasn't. DO NOT depend on a curve, because in all likelihood, there won't be one, or it'll be like 1 or 2 overall points. My recommendation would be to go to EVERY class and record the lectures. I didn't open the textbook once to study for the test, but it did come in handy three or four times to clarify homework questions. When studying for the tests, consider that the major theme of most questions is "how can I perturb this system and what will be the impact of doing so?" A lot of those concepts are covered in lecture, and it's really difficult to figure out the main takeaways from lecture slides if you don't go to lecture and listen to him explain. None of his tests are cumulative, so you can brain dump after each one. Wormington really is a super cool guy and he really wants his students to do well, so if you need help get it early and often. Good luck!

I mean, it's a core so that sums it up. Just as hard as orgo or gen bio/chem but Wormington is a great professor; he and Condron[BIOL 3050] are by far the best in the biology department. DO NOT BUY THE BOOK. waste of like $180 or however the fuck expensive it is. Study old tests and/or go to lecture and you'll average C's on the test and with homework and other stuff probably scrape out a B- or something like that. As far as i know he doesn't curve, so just keep on stuff and don't leave shit to last minute like i sometimes do and youll be fine. REPEAT DO NOT BUY THE BOOK

Prof. Wormington is a great guy and knows his stuff. Homework is relaxed with daily assignments of multiple choice questions. Tests are diffuclt so review lecture recordings and powerpoint slides. Great class. Interesting material. Answered a lot of fundamental biology questions that accumulated from other courses.