BIOL 2100

For context, I got an A+ in this class, so please take this advice seriously. A few things off the bat
- Even if you took AP Bio and got a 5 on the exam, I would still greatly recommend this class. Of course some content is repeated, you'll quickly realize that AP Courses don't actually reflect many intro college courses in the difficulty, amount of work, blistering speed of the content, etc.
- The class truly is not that hard. I really didn't go to many office hours, P2Ls, etc. Just don't skip lecture. I'll talk more on this

Since this will likely be one of your first ever college courses, it is very important for you to understand that many college courses revolve completely around exams because they make up such a large chunk of your grade (70% in this case, 5 exams, 14% each). Homeworks and Labs make a dent, but doing well on the exams should be your priority (Make sure you do the extra credit too, it truly adds up over the semester). Others have mentioned the idea that there is a certain way to go about preparing for Kittlesen's exams, and those who crack the code are the ones who do well. I kind of agree, but I feel like most are just mistaking the fact that they don't know how to study. The general formula to success on exams: Do the readings (I didn't read them too thoroughly nor did I take notes). I would sometimes watch YouTube videos to help me if I felt the content was clearly going to be harder than usual. Go to every lecture, don't skip. This is where he goes over everything, and you'll notice how he introduces lots of stuff not in the readings, and those things will be on your exams. I never rewatched lectures, I just went the first time, focused, and took notes. Don't go overboard with the notes. The purpose notes serve is to have a document that lists what you went over in class so you what is going to be on your exams. Never get behind. If you feel like the content was confusing, and you don't get it, watch you some YT vids and do a bit of practice. Getting behind leads to bad cramming. When the exam is approaching, start preparing about a week ahead. Start with a mostly content review (YT vids mostly), shift to a mix of practice (Codon had amazing practice, online resources, etc) and content review, and then a day or two before the exam should be 90% practice. Actively practicing the content through difficult questions is how you actually do well on the exams. It'll force you to make the connections, and you'll truly see if you understand (and can apply!!!) the content or not. The best resources are Codon, as well as AI quizzes. Give the AI your learning objectives, your notes, etc. NotebookLM from Gemini is great for this (students get pro for 1 year free). It isn't perfect, but nothing is. If you can give it screenshots of sample questions Kittlesen gives out, even better.

Otherwise, you should be good. Just be proactive, do consistent content review, and do a lot of practice problems. Don't be intimidated.