BIOL 3420

This course consisted of 5 lecture exams, laboratory, tophat questions, weekly quizzes, and connect assignments. The lecture exams were offered online this semester which was very convenient and nice, except for the final which was a 75 question cumulative final in person on paper. you are able to drop one exam though, which can be the final if you do well on the other exams. Exams are not too difficult usually, and other than the final were around 40 multiple choice questions. Lab consists of activities and lab quizzes each week. The lab checkpoint practicals are incredibly difficult and require you to memorize an insane amount of material in order to be prepared for it. There is also very clearly bad communication between the lab TAs and the professor. The tophat questions were participation, and you had to answer 70 (there were way more than 70 opportunities) to get the full number of points in that section. There were also weekly quizzes, which I personally didn't think were too hard but also didn't feel were super necessary. Additionally, there were connect assignments due the Sunday before exams, which I thought were actually helpful review for exams. Professor Massey also gives out blueprints to her exams, telling you how many questions the exam will have on specific topics, which is nice for studying and preparing.

The course is extremely useful for anyone in pre-health and introduces you to lots of medical terminology as well. The professor is very unorganized and sometimes changes her mind at the last minute and might not tell you if she spontaneously removed something from the syllabus. Going off of what she says in lecture is definitely not enough - I highly highly recommend taking notes from the textbook. Going to lecture is still useful but only after you did the reading because she will add a few points of superficial information. The exams are not bad but I do not believe you could do well if you only go off of what she says in lecture. The time spent in lab is complete busywork and not helpful at all. It is also structured horribly. The only time I learned is when I memorized anatomy at home on my own, because in lab all we do is label structures we've never seen before. The experiments we do are also not very related. When studying for lab practicals, make sure you search up cadaver pictures as well as we aren't given any in class.

Massey is a sweet professor but is super unorganized. The final is optional, meaning you can take it to replace your worst exam grade and it can only help you. Being at an 89, I needed to take the final to get a 90 (A-). She claimed that she would put final grades in before the final so students can see if they need to take it or not. Well, the day before the exam, my friend and I study from 9 AM-1AM non-stop, just for Massey at 1 AM, the night before the final (which is at 9 AM), to release final grades. We both realized that we no longer had to take the final exam as I had already hit 90, and even if I got 100 on the final it wouldn't have brought me to an A (93). Our entire day and efforts were for nothing, and both of us have other finals the next day, which we could've spent this time studying for. Your final grade is determined by your exam scores period. All the extra HW assignments you think will inflate your grade barely will. My advice: Watch the short lecture videos, skim the textbook, and be prepared to get your time wasted.

If you survived A and P 1 you will survive 2. It is the same exact lab/lecture/exams/homework setup.

This content was harder than 1 because it is more physiology-heavy and is more difficult to understand all the processes that go on in a flow. Doesn't help that Massey doesn't do a great job explaining stuff but overall you will be fine.