BIOL 2100

This class was probably the hardest class i've ever had to keep up with in my life but not impossible. The labs, homework and readings are EASY (I never read the textbook) and don't really help on the exams. However, he records his lectures (audio only) which is what saved me. I would still go to lecture because through the recordings you can't see what he's demonstrating, but after I committed about 5 hours after every lecture to relisten to every single word he was saying and write DETAILED notes, making sure I understood what he was talking about. I also went to p2L every week but no office hours, and I ended up with an A in the class. If you commit to studying his lecture recordings, you will be ok!

Bio 2100 was definitely not easy, but it is a very manageable course if you use the resources available to you. First off, you need to be locked in during lecture. You should be taking notes on pretty much everything he says, because a test question could be based off something he only mentioned once randomly in lecture. He doesn't talk extremely fast, but once he starts he doesn't stop. If you miss something he says, mark the minute in your notes and relisten to that part of the lecture after class. Once you have your notes from class, you should work to fill out the learning objectives he gives you because those are the topics and points that he's going to test on for that unit. And if you don't understand something, read the textbook section related to that. Other than that, the readings really aren't all that important because he only tests on what he talks about in class. I wasted a lot of time at the beginning of the semester taking detailed notes on each reading and it was not helpful. After a few weeks, I stopped reading the textbook other than as a reference when I didn't understand something and that worked really well. Also, don't be stupid like I was before the first exam and wait til the day before the exam to write out your learning objectives. That was not a fun night. Another thing I couldn't recommend more is going to p2l and office hours! The p2l coaches really help you understand things that Dave might not have fully explained in class. Each one has a different style so definitely try out a few different coaches to figure out what works best for you. As for office hours, you don't even need to come with questions you can just come listen because there will be a bunch of people asking questions. I would just take notes and a lot of times people would ask things I was wondering about too. Also, Dave will usually tell you what will and will not be on the exams for a certain topic if you ask about it in office hours, which is super helpful. And then there's the homework. There's 1-2 mastering bio assignments a week. Just make sure to turn those in on time because you get 25% off each assignment for each day late, and you want to have a good homework grade to boost your overall grade because it's worth 10%. Lastly, for studying, make sure to work on application not memorization. Of course there are certain things you have to memorize, but you also need to know how to apply concepts, because Dave's questions often give hypothetical scenarios where you have to figure out how to apply a familiar concept in a new way. I found it super helpful to practice this application by studying with friends and talking things out and testing each other. Studying together is so much better! Other than the studying the week leading up to an exam, I probably spent maybe 3 hours a week working on bio ( filling out learning objectives) which wasn't too bad. Like I said, it was pretty manageable if you use all the resources you're given. The exams are hard, but doable and there's often some sort of indirect curve or way to boost your score, so don't stress. You've got this!!!

To be honest, I struggled a bit with this class. Taking this as one my first college classes ever I think was fine, but I also hadn't adopted the right study habits in time to succeed in this class as well as I could have. I did learn pretty quickly that the best way of studying for the exams was rewatching every lecture and writing down geniunely every word this man said. Then I would move it to the learning objectives and then do active recall on a whiteboard (if I could find one). I did meh on some of the exams, okay on others, and only performed really well on one. I ended with a B+ overall, which I was happy with, but be prepared to start studying a lot earlier than you think. You need to make sure you understand the applications of EVERYTHING, not just what they are or what they do. All the concepts are connected and he expects you to know and be able to apply those concepts. I liked him enough, he was funny occasionally, however he starts off the class by saying it's not a weed out class. It is. But you can definitely do well if you use the resources they offer.

I had an interesting approach to this class. I took this my first semester, first year, and it was easily my most time-consuming class, but I also took a relatively light course load so it is not saying much. I figured out pretty quickly what worked best for me, and though it is different for everyone else, I would leave my computer open in my dorm/library/study room/location of choice, do the poll ev, then watch the lecture after the recording was uploaded twice in a row. The first time, I listened for comprehension, while the second I wrote down every word he said and crossed reference his lecture with the textbook, which I always had open. You do not need the textbook to succeed in this class, but I know myself and I know I am very dense and would need it to solidify my understanding, therefore I would recommend it if you do not have an extensive background in biology. Additionally, GO TO OFFICE HOURS. I went to office hours every single time he had them and I cannot express enough how helpful it was. Also, Dave is really really sweet! It brings him joy to have familiar faces at his office hours, and he is very patient and understanding. I thought that the class was challenging, but not impossible. However, you cannot bs your way through this class like you can with others, and you MUST put the time in.
Key takeaways: rewatch lecture recordings, do whatever you can to solidify understanding (as test questions are very abstract and require complex understanding of topics), go to office hours, and be able to explain all of the learning objectives.

Genuinely hell. Never studied so much for a class and did as bad in my entire life. WORST pre-med weed out at uva. Be prepared to get eaten alive and have all your hopes and dreams crushed. Thanks Dave.

Unless you are a biology major/need this course for your major, I would not recommend this course with kittlesen. He is a very knowledgeable professor, but he is not the right professor for this class. You would need a very, VERY, strong base in biology already to understand the concepts in this class well. It is known as a weed out. I am on the less popular side of opinions as most people do like him, but it is just too advanced to be considered intro. Just pick another class if possible

Just found out I got an A in this class, and you can too. For reference, I took this second year Fall sem and I took it after BIOL 2200. Personally, I found 2200 MUCH harder, but I think it depends on which you take first. I did not take any AP bio in high school and had zero knowledge coming into this class, and I found it so much easier than 2200 and more enjoyable too. You must be able to do well on the exams in this class because they are weighted so heavily in your final grade. Here's what I did to study: start the Saturday/Sunday before the exam (exams are always Fridays) by rewatching every single lecture. Listen slowly for understanding and pause as needed to write down literally everything he says. After you finish this, fill out the learning objectives that Kittlesen will send out a couple of days before the exam. I did this in a study group of 3 people but would also do them on my own to make sure I understood it all. It's really helpful to study in a group because you can check each other when you're wrong. Relisten to any lectures that you are still fuzzy on, draw EVERYTHING out, explain topics out loud without notes to check understanding, and make sure you can interpret any diagrams on his slides in lecture. I HIGHLY recommend P2L for this course, especially if Marika is still a coach, she is awesome. P2L will break down the concepts AND allow you to practice applying your knowledge to new things you have not seen before, which is HUGE on exams. He's also been known to take stuff from P2L and put it on exams. The bottom line of this class is you will NOT be able to scrape by by memorizing or cramming, you have to deeply understand the concepts and be able to apply it to completely new situations on exams. There is no cumulative final, it's just another unit exam, BUT study for that thing like your life depends on it because the content is DIFFICULT. Kittlesen did not do an exam drop this year so you really need to be locked in for every exam because one bad grade can screw you quickly. GOOD LUCK and do not listen to people telling you this is a weed-out class!!!

Please do not take this class for granted! It is actually pretty difficult because Kittlesen doesn't really know how to teach a lecture. There are just a bunch of pictures on his slides, which makes it hard to follow along. I do think that it is very possible to get an A or at least a B in this class, but you really have to put in the work outside of class. I would start studying a week before the exam and would study for about 20 hours total for one exam. The codon readings and lab are only 30% of your grade, but they do help a lot to cushion the exams. If you do really badly on one exam that could make or break your grade, so make sure you try your best on every single one of them. If I weren't a kinesiology major, I don't think I would be taking this class, but you really do learn a lot about yourself from it, like how to study, especially. He does offer extra credit throughout the semester and a little bit of a curve depending on how the rest of the class did on an exam, but the highest curve I think the class got was like 2% on one of our exams. So for all incoming students for this class, please try very hard on it.

I LOVED this class. It was seriously my favorite class that I took this semester. I was very scared to take this class after I saw some of the CourseForum reviews, but I was able to earn a 99.9957 in this class after the bonuses were applied. I thought I would share my honest advice for anyone considering this class:
- If you have AP credit from high school, STILL TAKE 2100!!!!! I cannot emphasize this point enough. I had friends on my floor who decided to forgo 2100 and start with genetics and/or neurobiology, and they did not love their life. College takes some adjusting to. You are meeting so many new people, living in a new place, and you have to figure out A LOT about yourself in a very small timeframe. PLEASE do not stress yourself out for no reason. I saw this class as a pre-med GPA booster, and it was for me.
- Find yourself a P2L instructor you like and STICK TO IT. If Marika is still an instructor, I could not recommend her enough she is absolutely amazing. I went to P2L every Sunday night and treated it like it was mandatory. It was very helpful to review the material on a weekly basis.
- RECORD ALL OF HIS LECTURES! He records them himself, but he has an older iPhone, so the quality is often not the best. I recorded them myself (which he says on the first day is okay) and would relisten to them when needed.
- If you are lost on something in class, DO NOT procrastinate and make it your “weekend problem”. Go sit down in the library, relisten to the lecture, and figure it out. His exams cover an absurd amount of content, so if you are confused before you even start reviewing you are really not putting yourself in a good position.
- GO TO OFFICE HOURS! Kittlesen is a very, veyr nice professor and WILL take the time and effort to learn your name if you go to office hours and make it known that his class is a priority for you. He will answer the dumbest questions known to mankind in office hours, so utilize them! If you want him to re-explain something to you in great detail, he will! I also found it helpful because if you ask him about points in the learning objectives, he will very often clarify what specific parts from lecture he will be testing you on.
- Find someone (or even better, multiple people) in the class who you trust to have detailed notes and be in your study group. I will acknowledge that I lucked out in this aspect because my best friend was in the same lecture as me. If you are confused/need help on a topic, having friends who you can easily reach out to is invaluable.
- sit near the front and ASK QUESTIONS. Kittlesen LOVES questions. I found sitting near the front to be very helpful because it forced me to pay attention. Asking questions was very helpful for me as well because he often realized that if multiple people were confused, he did not do a good job explaining it the first time and would try again.
And lastly, I know this is iterated in other reviews, but he only tests on material that he lectures about during class time. Do not over stress about the homework, because you will not see it on the test.
Good luck to my fellow biol 2100 warriors! You got this!!!

Kittlesen seems like a really nice guy but he's too smart for an intro bio course. The course is 15% Codon assignments, 15% lab, and 5 tests that are 14% each. For context I got a 5 on the IB Bio HL exam so I thought I'd be ok but Kittlesen's tests were very difficult. The highest raw score I got was an 88 and that was on the last exam. I think that Kittlesen's exams probably have a method to the madness and once you figure out what he's looking for it's more manageable. I wasn't able to do that personally. The Codon readings were good for background info because Kittlesen doesn't explain basics of many things. The biggest tip I would have is to go to lecture and actually pay attention. If he says something that confuses you I would go to a TAs office hours because they are much better at explaining things in an understandable way. The only reason I went to Kittlesen's office hours was to figure out what might be on the exams, not to clarify topics in class. Lastly, DO THE EXTRA CREDIT. Even if it's early in the semester it can really bump up your grade at the end. I was looking at a B or B+ and the extra credit got me to an A-.