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.

I ended up with an A+ in this class, which I feel provides me with some credibility due to the limited A+ rate of this class. I did not take AP bio in high school, my bio experience was limited to 9th grade intro to biology. The key to success in this class is consistent success on exams. Now, you are probably thinking to yourself something such as "obviously, idiot" or "no duh, Sherlock," to which I would probably not find a good response to. Anyways, I pretty much studied entirely with ChatGPT (allows time for vehement scoffing and eye rolling from the reader). Prior to exam weeks, I would read the Codon material (Don't make a habit of relying on Codon it basically walks you through biology like you are a toddler and will later serve as a simulacrum of what collegiate biology is like), be diligent in lecture, and spend time reviewing things still confusing. Exactly one week before the exam Kittlesen releases all of the LOs (usually). I would compile them into a document and sort them into two categories: writing to answer and drawing to answer. Then, usually the Monday before the exam I would take about 4-6 hours to answer the LOs in as much detail as I could without referencing my notes. Tuesday, I would study my notes--Googling, YouTubing, and inquiring to friends any details I was unfamiliar with. Wednesday, I would spend another 4-6 hours asking Chat to grade my understanding of the LO with a ruthless criteria and then updating my paragraph to page-length response to the LO. Thursday, I would study the LOs that Chat declared I had the worst understanding of. Friday afternoon I would take the Codon practice exams. Friday early evening I would demolish the exam. Friday late evening I would celebrate. I strongly recommend this method.
(note: hours per week is roughly 6.75 UNLESS the week of exam where work/life balance vanishes but exam success becomes palpable.

This is definitely a harder class but it is extremely possible to get an A in. Go to all of the lectures as he randomly mentions niche facts that may help on the exam and do the Codon readings assignments on time. I reviewed the Codon readings and practice tests before each exam which helped a lot to review the whole unit and create a comprehensive review of it. These reviews really helped me and I used them to do practice questions until I had the information memorized. A lot of this class is memorization and talking through the learning objectives with friends is the best way to test your understanding and memory. Before each exam, my friends would go through all of the objectives to make sure that we understood it all. Overall, Professor Kittlesen is very nice and offers curves/opportunities to make up work, so with hard work a good grade is doable!