BIOL 3010

Coming from someone who got an A in Cronmiller: I took this class with two other extremely difficult classes, Organic Chem and Physics. When I started the semester, I had no idea what I was getting into, and despite doing well overall in the semester, I almost never had free time for anything and I was always stressed out. My advice is that you should not be taking any other hard classes when taking this class. Genetics is not a joke; it requires at least 5 hours of prep time outside of class per week, and a lot of that time should be dedicated to working practice problems, because I'm telling you, that is the ONLY way you will properly understand how CC's tests will be. She is an extremely tough grader, and she doesn't give partial credit, so you need to be able to know how to entirely work a problem front and back so you can get it correct on a test. While her lectures are fun to attend, she doesn't cover much in her lectures; you are going to have to read the textbook in order to be on your feet for every class. The best way to do well on a warmup quiz is to be able to skim over the readings and then take the quiz immediately so the information is still fresh in your head. The key to doing well on weekly homework assignments is to go to office hours, and get a study group! In that way, you'll not only complete the homework but be able to discuss any doubts you have so that you can be prepared for discussion activities and exams. While exams are totally worth only 54% of your grade, that doesn't mean you can take it lightly. The lack of partial credit can make your grade tank, and from experience, I can tell you that my test grades got progressively worse as the semester went along, and that was because not only did the tests get harder, they also progressively got more tiring, because my genetics exams were always the day before my orgo exams, and were in the same week as my physics exams. Don't do what I did! The final was very difficult, and I didn't do as well as I wanted, but there was a curve! Despite what CC says about not curving, she did curve! I got an 88.5 which was an A, so she curved roughly about 4%. Of course, this can vary among semester, due to the average and standard deviation, but if you put in the hard work, read the textbook, do the practice problems, and go to office hours, you should succeed! (Of course, sadly she's leaving, so I'm not sure about the other teachers).

Class was an absolute waste of time with Cronmiller just talking about her love Mendel and counting corn. Everything is self taught and the amount of work for this class is ridiculous for 4 credits. Everyone who put off taking gen should be so happy because cheers, she's leaving.

This was by far the worst class I've taken at UVA. The fact that Claire isn't teaching next semester is a gift from the Lord Almighty for all you lovely underclassmen.

Difficult class, but this is the last semester Cronmiller is teaching. It's a necessity for pre-med, so good luck!

This class just requires a lot of commitment. As long as you pay attention and keep up with the work you can do well. The only negative aspect of this class is the Head TA, Brittany Sutherland. As long as you do not ask any questions that she considers "stupid" then you are good. There were multiple times where I couldn't fully understand the concept we were learning in class, so I would ask questions. In response I would either get no answer or a good answer with a snarky response. When I mean snarky, I mean rude. It came to the point where I did not want to ask any more questions. If your genetics class does not have her as a TA then you are set and all you need to do is work hard. If you have her, I'm sorry; my only advice to you is to not talk to her or ask her any questions.
Make sure you stay on top of your readings.
It is also important to do all the assignments with the goal of learning and not with the mindset of getting everything done for the sake of it.
Cronmiller is also great! Its a shame its her last semester.

When choosing which semester to take this Biology core course, I do not recommend taking this class in conjunction with Physics and/or Orgo. The tests all fall in the same week every time. I didnt take those classes and I think that was huge factor in my enjoyment. I would recommend taking Microbiology with this course, as there is a lot of overlap.

As many others have said, this is the hardest bio class I have taken. For me, the material was no harder than any other bio class, and arguably there is less of it in genetics than a class like cell. However, Cronmiller gives an absolutely crushing workload - over 15 hours a week just to stay on top of the class and 3x that the weeks before tests. Brittany was a way better TA than Ariel and talked through the HW answers at her office hours which I didn't learn until the middle of the semester.... The tests don't seem that hard when you take them but they are very tricky. Cronmiller says you don't have to worry about the details, and that is true in that you don't have to really know details like names of obscure proteins that come up but you should know every small detail, tip and trick about functionality of things, because that is where she gets you on tests. Also, make sure you understand probability really well by going to office hours early. You can logic your way through it but there are a lot of tricks that would have been nice to know at the beginning of the semester rather than then end. On the 3 tests I averaged an 87 and on the final I got a 78. However my other homework and discussion grades were good so I managed to scrape out the A with about an 89. She doesn't tell you what the grade cutoffs are but based on my own experience I would guess about a 4% curve. I did progressively worse on the tests, mainly because I got sicker and sicker of the class as the semester went on, but I would say the first one was the easiest. Do not take this class with another time intensive science class if possible - the hours spent in the library suffering through reading, practice problems, and homework problems pretty much every day of the week is exhausting. That being said, it is doable and I think I learned some valuable information and problem solving abilities from the class even though I didn't technically need it for my major.

This class is the hardest class for a bio major. I thought that being really interested in genetics would help me do well, but this class actually made me less interested in genetics. Professor Cronmiller has odd teaching methods; during class she will purposely try to trick you with the in-class exercises, and she does something similar on the tests. She gets mad when the TAs help us "too much" on the homework, even though it is completely open book and you're encouraged to go to office hours. Go to Brittany's office hours if she is a TA when you're taking the course, she is awesome and really really wants to help you learn. I've been to Cronmiller's office hours and she never helped with the homework, and seemed reluctant to provide any kind of explanation to her vague questions. Once we take a test, we never go over any of the problems in class, which would be helpful since the class average on the tests is a D and the final in cumulative. Overall this class is difficult, and it will probably take you a test or two to understand how her tests work. Get ahead in the readings and the practice problems, and make sure to find a partner or group of people to work on the homework with. Go to the TAs office hours to get help, and try your best in discussion, because all of these things add up and can really help or hurt your grade. Just try to get a 100% on everything in the class (discussion, homework, practice problems), because odds are you won't get that kind of grade on the tests. Good luck!

At first, I hated this class and thought it was the hardest thing ever... But going to Professor Cronmiller's office hours was really helpful, and I improved a lot as the semester went on. She really cares about her students and is willing to help in whatever way she can.

Really just a trash professor all around. Most test questions revolve around some logic-based component and if you miss one single detail, this throws off your entire answer and you get no partial credit. As others have said, she is pretty condescending and fails in most respects at teaching. Much of the warm-ups seemed like they were assigned on the wrong days, as most of the following lectures had nothing to do with the warmups. I will admit that the practice problems and hw assignments were helpful, but she says there are no trick questions. This is a complete lie. Be prepared to find trick questions mainly in the big weekend HW problems and the tests. The course wasn't even that interesting. Most of the material is review from AP Biology in high school with her own logic-based trick question twist. Honestly one of my worst experiences at UVa bio so far.

This class is unavoidable for Bio majors, which is unfortunate because it is the worst class I've ever taken. Find people to work with on all the assignments you are allowed to collaborate on because those will boost your grade and help you understand the material better. I haven't really found an effective way to study for the exams because Prof Cronmiller often tests you on material in new ways that you haven't practiced before.

By far the hardest class I have taken at UVa. Tests are designed to test you on material in ways you haven't seen before. Practice problems, homework, and discussion questions are the best way to study for the tests, since test questions involve solving problems, not just regurgitating material from the book. Cronmiller is a good professor and wants her students to succeed, but her tests are brutal.

Warning: This class is time consuming and requires a lot of brain power. Cronmiller emphasizes problem solving more than recollection of information. If you need to take this class, make sure to take it when you have a light schedule. As of Spring 2016, we had weekly homework (~4.5 hr/week incl. going to office hours), chapter homework (~4 hr/week), daily assigned readings with graded warmups (~7 hr/week), and discussion questions (1.5 hr/week). The exams are not multiple choice, you don't get partial credit on your answers, and you will hate Cronmiller and genetics during the semester, but I hate to admit that she does really prepare you to think like a geneticist.

If you do plan on taking the class, here are some useful tips I learned (I got a 92.5% in the class, which ended up being an A+):
- Have a study group / Facebook message group to collaborate with for weekly and chapter homework. I had 6 different Facebook groups I talked with during the semester...
- DON'T treat homework assignments lightly--they are worth more than an exam!
- Skim the assigned readings for the bigger picture and take the warm-ups immediately after. Videos aren't necessary for the warmups (besides the one she made herself), but they are helpful if you're a visual learner.
- Really question your logic and check your work when doing discussion and weekly homework questions. You can never be too confident in her class.
- Do the weekly homework early (!!), then go to a TA's OH or have a friend attend them to check your answers--you really have no excuse to get these questions wrong!
- Redo weekly homework questions before each exam and try to understand the steps you took to solve the problems. Get used to the way Cronmiller asks questions. Most of her exam questions are well-disguised versions of the questions she already exposed you to through Mastering Genetics, discussion, and Learning Catalytics.
- Quickly look over your lecture notes (I spent no more than 45 min per lecture, focusing mostly on her slides), but don't spend too much time on them--this took me some time to get used to.
GOOD LUCK!

This is one of the most difficult and time-consuming classes I have taken so far at UVa. With the warm-ups, practice problems, and discussion sections, there was quite a lot of work for this course. However, the professor (Claire Cronmiller) does her best to make each class interesting and engaging (she raps). Sign up for this course with caution and do not underestimate the time commitment that you are making. Otherwise, this was a interesting and rewarding course.

This is possibly one of the worst courses I have taken at this university. You work so hard in this course and none of it pays off. You think you know the material, but your grades show that you don't. If you're pre-health or a bio major, beware of this course. Don't take it if you don't need to take it. It's 4 credits and can tank your GPA.

This class is very different from anything you will take in the biology department. It's all about problem solving. Memorizing information helps you solve problems, but it won't get you a high grade. This being said, it was the most stimulating BIO class I have taken and although it is difficult, you have homework and discussions that can buffer your grade. Cronmiller also curves significantly, I had an 86 which ended up being an A-, so even you do poorly on an exam, just keep trying your best because you are doing better than you think.

Claire is the bomb! Genetics is a difficult topic to begin with, but Claire tries to teach in a way where you aren't forced to straight up memorize material, but instead need to apply the patterns you learn about in class. We did lots of interesting in-class activities and demonstrations that made going to lecture worthwhile. Don't get me wrong, the class was still pretty hard, but I also found it super interesting thanks to Claire. The reviews below me talked about the exams--yeah, they're pretty tough. Her exam are mainly word problems that make you apply the genetic information that you learned about in new ways. However, the 4 exams, including the final, only make up about ~50% of your grade. The rest comes from homework/problem sets, discussion section activities, reading quizzes (what she calls "Warm-Ups"), and Learning Catalytics. The homework and problem sets would range in their difficulty every week. However, I would go to office hours every week for the homework and I ended up doing really well on them because office hours are SUPER helpful. Go to Claire if you need conceptual stuff re-explained--she's super willing to help, and I actually thought she was really nice (don't know why people complain that she's mean). Go to the TA office hours if you need help on specific homework questions. Adam and Brian were the TAs my semester and they were awesome! They know how to explain the homework questions in ways that you can get the right answer, without them actually giving you the answer--basically, you will have completed homework assignment by the time you walk out of office hours. There were like 6 office hours/week, so you basically had no excuse if you needed help and didn't get it. The one thing I didn't like so much was discussion section. My group members were super nice, but they didn't always come to discussion prepared, so sometimes only one of us actually knew what we were doing. In discussion, you do problem sets on the material that you learned that week in class, but you can't use your notes, so you really should look over them beforehand. You don't get to pick your group members; you take a pre-diagnostic survey thing, and then Claire uses that to organize them. She claims her system works, but I don't think it did in my case.
Overall, I really enjoyed this class. It's definitely hard and a lot of work, but it's also really interesting, and there are a lot of opportunities to get help. Oh also, Claire claims she doesn't curve the class, but she totally does. I calculated what I should have gotten in the class, but my grade in SIS was actually higher. She doesn't curve a TON (I think it was like 4% for my class), but it's still something.

I feel that Prof Conmiller assumes that everyone in the class as devoted to genetics as she is, and has 20+ hours a week to devote to her class, when this is just not the case. While the interactive classes (3 hours per week), discussion sections (1 hour per week), homework (~3 hours per week), practice problems, (2-6 hours per week) readings (2-3 hours per week), and screencasts (1 hour per week) were all helpful to my learning, I constantly felt overwhelmed by the amount of work I had to do, and the amount of material I was expected to learn. This was basically just the bare minimum, and didn't include the 20+ hours of studying I would do and the 2-3 hours of office hours I would attend the weekend before the test. Despite this time commitment, I was constantly discouraged by my grades in the class. Although I was pass this class due to the gratuitous points earned through mastering genetics and discussion, I feel as though the expectations for this class are just way more than I have ever had in ANY class in my 4 years at UVA.

First of all, if this class is NOT a requirement for your major RUN AWAY NOW. I'm serious. As for the rest of us, this class is exceedingly, ridiculously difficult. Having already taken Physics, Organic Chem, Cell Bio, AND Immunology before this class, I felt well-equipped to handle this course. Oh how wrong I was. Claire centers the class around online homework--be prepared to be doing some sort of genetics homework every day. The questions are exceedingly challenging, but DO THEM--they will help save your grade later. Claire's tests are tricky and ambiguous, and there is no way to prepare for them except to make sure you know how to do each and every homework problem and do plenty of practice problems out of the book. Overall, my greatest disappointment with this class was that I truly didn't feel like I learned anything new--I only learned how to use logic and statistics to approach problems. If you have to take this class do the homework and rack up as many points as you can to buffer your test grade, if you don't have to take this class DO NOT TAKE IT.

This class has too many online components and the grading sucks. She does not care if you know it and is just out to make the material harder than it needs to be. If this is an elective, run.

This class was interesting and Claire, while rude and always blunt, pretends to care for the students. She is very difficult to deal with personally yet "cares for her students and hopes they do well". I did learn a lot in the class however I still got a poor letter grade and I feel that that was not an accurate description of how I learned.

This is a challenging class. But 75% of that challenge is purely the exams; they're brutal, and the questions seem like they come out of left field no matter how much/what material you study. Do not expect to do well on her exams, but the rest of the class is really not that bad at all. Readings, weekly homework sets (5 questions each), ~biweekly problem sets, and daily pre-class warmups (10 simple graded questions, 10 minutes) felt monotonous at times but really were great at making you feel like you were actually learning something interesting. TAs Adam and Brian were awesome. Cronmiller herself is even pretty cool.

All in all, pretty cool class, you'll learn a lot, just don't expect your grade to reflect that.

This course was actually much more difficult than I gathered from other students' opinions. All I do is study, so I can say that I put in 150% effort, and the exams still seemed to be extremely difficult. Take easy classes when you take this class, as the work is nothing short of overwhelming (IF you care about your grade, of course).

The class is designed for you to get ideas from lots of pre-class assignments and homework in order for you to get the "bigger picture". Professor Cronmiller or M.C. Milla (she raps like Tupac and breaks moves like Michael Jackson) is a great professor and wants you to succeed. Just go to office hours and experience it for yourself, but make sure you are willing to work your ass off for the semester.

Worst class ever. Should be worth way more than 4 credits. Way harder than the material should be but required for bio majors so...

Genetics is a super interesting topic, and I would recommend taking it just to learn about it. Professor Cronmiller was a great lecturer, but overall her homework assignments and tests felt like the questions were wordy and tricky. It often felt like I was trying to interpret what she meant and would want rather than trying to actually solve a genetics problem. So the class ended up being difficult, but I think it was more from the wording rather than the subject material.

Not as hard as everyone made it seem. All the extra homework really does help - make sure you do and understand all of it (the HW more than the tutorials and practice problems). Lectures are boring, learning curves are a nice waste of time, Claire is kind of crazy (she "raps".......). Personally, I don't like Claire. But she tries hard enough to be available to answer student's questions and at least pretends like she cares about her students.
First third of the semester is easy - all DNA/RNA review
Last 2/3 is all probability/pedigree/punnett square stuff that I find really difficult, but other people loved.
DON'T get bogged down on details. Claire like big pic.
Tests are unpredictable and a weird format, but as long as she continues giving partial credit, you'll do fine. There's no real way to prepare for them.. just go over lectures and practice problems. Some questions are super predictable, some will come out of NOWHERE. Literally never mentioned ever.
Discussion sections are super helpful - TA Brittany Sutherland is bomb. She's so great, she should teach. GO TO HER OFFICE HOURS.

All in all, I learned a lot. It wasn't that bad.

I thought there was a lot of busy work for the class, which at times seemed mindless and completely pointless. The tests are just like the mastering genetics homework assignments. Just make sure you understand how to get to the answer and you should do fine on the tests. The final exam was hard af tho but it doesn't make up that much of your grade, which is good.

Do all the mastering genetics, do well on the warm-ups and the homeworks, and prepare for discussion. With those taken care of, half of your grade will already be an A. Test questions are most similar to homework and discussion problems, there are very few questions from the book.
You can get a good grade in this class fairly easily, but it'll require a lot of busy work and repetition with the problems. It's stupid but it's what you have to do.

Professor Cronmiller means well and desires to be a great teacher but seems to lack some of the intangibles. Her lectures are somewhat engaging, but not comparable to those of Wormington or Kittlesen. Simply put, this class is a lot of work with tons of assignments and practice problems that are meant to help you, but only if done in the correct manner. Pay attention to assignment due dates and understand the discussion problems.

Regardless of what anyone says, what you put into this class is what you will get out. From the beginning, take ALL mastering genetics assignments seriously, understand and decode the questions. Do your readings on time for the warm-ups and so that you are well prepared for discussion activities. Also utilize Brittany's office hours. I PROMISE you will thank me later.

One of the worst professors I have ever had. Don't get me wrong, her intentions are great. She just has no idea how to teach a college level course, so she lectures as if you are middle school students. There are endless assignments that are useless and time consuming. In lecture, she plays with an online 'toy' called learning catalytics or tries to teach via obnoxious group activities. Instead of teaching in class, she wastes time. Worst part, the exams are actually challenging. If you do the reading and take notes on it, and actually put the effort in, you will do well in the class. Just do not expect to learn anything from attending lecture. Better yet, don't go to lecture. It's a complete waste of time.

Don't be discouraged by what others have said! It is definitely a manageable class if you can put the time to learn the material. The final and tests make up 50% of your final grade, so the discussions, homework, LC, warm-up really do help boost your grade if you don't do exceptionally well not the tests. Studying for the tests relies on practicing the problems at the end of the chapters and understanding the weekly homework. Preparing for discussions will also pay-off, especially if your group is not the best. The lectures were entertaining and overall, you will learn a lot from Professor Cronmiller.

I really dislike this class. I will say, I did learn a lot though and there is plenty of buffer in the grade. It is unnecessarily hard. You must go to class. You must do the readings. Dutch Knockout is in play, but will help almost no one, because the final is extremely difficult. If you are into genetics, then this will definitely be a worthwhile class. If you are not, good luck. Just keep up with the work and readings. Go To class. Form a SMART study group. Study as you go, you cant just cram for the tests.

I used to love genetics, but this was by far my least favorite class, even in comparison to organic chemistry. Although Cronmiller tries to be a good teacher, the lectures were not very useful, and her tests did not always seem to focus on the major concepts. I tried going to office hours multiple times, but since they were group based, I could never get specific questions answered. This class was very frustrating, and I would not recommend this course.

Well, I have a lot to say about this class...

First of all, it is very time consuming. Warmups before every class were hard and required careful reading, HW each week was tricky, and all the other little assignments really add up in terms of time. I felt that the HW and discussion sections quizzes were very helpful, but the other smaller activities were pretty much just wastes of time

Next, it is difficult. Cronmiller's testing style really makes it tough to get partial credit, and certain questions are weighted very heavily, making the tests sometimes seem unfair.

Finally, it IS curved. Maybe not by much, but this semester by at least a few points.

To do well in this class, you have to:
1) Do most of the practice problems before tests
2) Get a smart HW group or go to TA office hours for HW help
3) Go to class
4) Not forget to do LC or warmups (but just doing them is fine, no need to fret over these)

Ultimately, this class was very rewarding, and I learned SO much from it. It really is interesting, and although Cronmiller wastes like half of each class walking around and do examples, she did a good job of teaching the tougher stuff.

Time consuming class, but worth it!

HARDEST CLASS EVER. Do not take if you don't have to. Nearly impossible to prepare for the exams, making it equally impossible to do well.

Overall a good class. Cronmiller is kind of eccentric but she is definitely enthusiastic about the class and the material. The material is interesting for the most part. There is a lot of work for the class on a weekly basis. There are warm-up quizzes before every class, weekly homework assignments, Learning curve assignments for every chapter, and weekly group quizzes in discussion sections. However, the tests aren't that difficult and are pretty fair. Cronmiller also makes herself available to meet with you and spends a great deal of time replying to student emails in a timely fashion. Overall a great class!

This course is more difficult than it should be. Cronmiller's tests are extremely short but count for large portions of your grade. She doesn't really provide good study material to prepare you for the tests. She does do final exam swap... where if you do better on your final than the average of the three exams throughout the semester, she'll change your semester grades to your final grade. Difficult class but is required for bio majors.

GO TO HER OFFICE HOURS AND STUDY THE HOMEWORK AND PRACTICE PROBLEMS. It's definitely possible to get an A if you read, do all of the problems that she give you online, pay attention to what you're doing in discussion, and go to HER office hours. She holds her office hours in a classroom in the form of an open discussion. Everything that has seemed unclear in class or on homework will click in her office hours. Even if you don't have questions, go and listen to other people's questions. Despite what you may hear, she's actually incredibly friendly and extremely interesting.

So glad to be done with this course. If you're not a bio major (or a pre-med that needs genetics for the MCAT and/or med school), I don't recommend taking this. If you're a biochem major, taking BIOL3000 with Wormington will probably be less painful. I mean, it's still it's worth taking if you're reeeeally into genetics--the course is really interesting, and despite having had Cronmiller as a prof, I ended up learning a lot. One of my problems with her lectures was that she spent practically half the time doing useless demos (i.e. taking 5-10 minutes to walk around the lecture room demonstrating something as simple as DNA supercoiling with 2 pieces of rope). When she did teach, she was just okay at explaining concepts. Reading the book and practicing the problems at the back of each chapter were much more helpful than any lecture. The homeworks were tricky; the reading quizzes on MasteringGenetics were also useless and mostly just a pain (3 a week); and the group quizzes during discussion were somewhat helpful--I was glad that I ended up in a good group. Oh, and the exams seemed a little easier than the homeworks. Overall, though, the time needed to complete all the mostly unhelpful weekly assignments (I know it's a 4 credit class, but still), Cronmiller's subpar lectures, and annoying iClicker questions were what made the class painful--the material itself wasn't that hard.

The material in this class is very interesting but difficult. The structure of the class is strange, and it's awkward when Cronmiller tries to "involve" 300 students in a lecture. I don't recommend taking it unless you're a Biology major, but if you do, attend the lectures and do the reading before the discussion sections.

Class is not easy. Possible to do well if you have a little bit of prior knowledge of genetics. Really have to understand concepts and application.

Hard class. Midterms and finals were kinda weird - fill in the blank and matching.

One homework per week-can work with other students and get help from TAs. Weekly discussion sessions where you work on questions with a group that are similar to exam level questions. These were helpful but we were required to stay for the entire scheduled time even after we completed the questions. This turned more into a study hall than anything. Reading quiz every night-not bad at all, adds to your grade and makes sure you stay on top of reading. Prof. Cronmiller is entertaining in her lectures. My friends always said genetics was like a box of chocolates..... The exams were all 'short answer', and required really understanding the material to complete. I would recommend this course, but only if you feel comfortable with biology.

Cronmiller is not a very good lecturer as has been stated in other reviews. It's really the group work, quizes, and hw that gets you through the class. The exams are not fun and truly take a full understanding of the material. You won't do poorly in this class if you try, but it's not an easy class to get an A or A- at all.

I thought this class easier than Cell Bio. Cronmiller is not a very good lecturer (low attendance), but the weekly HW, group work, and reading assignments really force you to stay on top of the work. It's basically like high school, and kind of annoying when you have a lot of other things going on because you can't put off Mastering Genetics (vom). But as a result, studying for the tests didn't take as long… guess that's what she was going for.

Class changed so much this from other years: three tests, one final, weekly homework (usually no more than nine questions), weekly discussions problem (usually no more than 5) worth 10 points as a whole, reading quizzes due the morning before each class... It's a lot of work, but towards the end, you'll be glad it was so much. She really made sure (to the best of her ability) that people were able to keep up with the class and the material. I think it helped for a better learning experience, even though at times it could be gruesome

Very tough class. Tests are very challenging and require a lot of abstract thinking. Memorizing gets you nowhere. The daily quizzes are a huge pain and the class is ultra stressful, but if you keep up with the quizzes and do well on the homework, your grade will definitely benefit! Cronmiller really does care about her students and rewards hard work.

Not the easiest class out there. Definitely for bio majors only. When Cronmiller says do all the practice problems, really do them. She gives you so many resources for practice it's hard not to take advantage of them. This is probably the best way to study for her tests. Her lectures are helpful and generally worthwhile. Office hours are set up like a discussion, which was also very helpful.

This course is required for the Bio major. It's worthwhile information to have but I would advise against taking it if you aren't a Bio major

I did not enjoy this class, mainly because I don't like the material. There is difficult homework every week, a quiz before every class, and tutorials on Mastering Genetics that are necessary to do if you want to do well on the tests. Also, the book that is used has many errors so the only way you have to learn the material is lecture and her slides. Professor Cronmiller knows what she is talking about, but she is sometimes a little bit mean.

This class requires a lot of work. Cronmiller is a decent teacher but she really makes you think with the problems. DO NOT TRY TO MEMORIZE! You really have to understand the concepts to succeed.
Definitely get a good homework group (she allows that) and compare until there is a general consensus so you have homework cushion. The quizzes each day are sometimes harder then you thinks so make sure you actually read the text well beforehand.
Tests aren't cumulative until the final, but they do build off each other. The final is a bitch.
I do not suggest taking this course with organic chemistry, physics, or any other time consuming course. However, still an interesting class where I learned a lot.

This class is pretty good considering it's a core. You'll need your Intro Bio knowledge on DNA, RNA, and protein formation, which I lacked and struggled because of it. Cronmiller definitely cares about the topic and wants her students to learn. The weekly group homework assignments are actually helpful and you can learn quite a bit if you get a good group. Reading the textbook also helps, as well as completing the problems in the back of the book. My only complaint was that I thought some of the exam problems were misleading and poorly worded. Since you can't ask questions during the exams, you're basically screwed if you are confused by the question.

The class is not that bad. Just read and keep on top of your work. It is hard, but it is definitely manageable. READ!

This class is not as hard as people say it is, as long as you do the reading and carefully go over the powerpoints if you don't go to class. The discussions are really annoying and pointless, but the homeworks are really good examples of what the test questions are like. Make sure you don't lose points for stupid reasons like forgetting to do the beginning or end of the semester assessment or skipping too many discussions. Claire is an enthusiastic lecturer, but the material is not particularly exciting, especially at the end of the semester. You don't have to go to lecture (clicker questions don't count towards your grade), but spend a lot of your study time going over the powerpoints because her tests follow the lectures, NOT the book.

Cronmiller tried hard to be ridiculous and funny. Sometimes she could would send out student emails to the whole class and riducule them for being stupid. Other than that, the class workload wasn't terrible for a 4 credit class and lecture was reasonably interesting. Tests were challenging; just make sure you do the practice problems. This was the best of the 3 bio cores (relatively speaking, of course).

Genetics is hard; there's no way around it. It isn't about memorization, it's about knowing everything and applying those concepts. You'll be knocked around a little, and Cronmiller doesn't let you know how she does grades (if you look at the history of the course, it's still a mystery). But looking back, the first three exams are very doable (if you do the optional book homework, you should get As). The final is near impossible, so don't expect to do well there.

In summary, it's hard. Don't take the course unless it's required.

Midterms are pretty tough, but not completely impossible. Class is somewhat interesting as far as the core requirement bio classes goes, it's easier than cell but probably harder than ecology and evolution.

Cronmiller's tests do not measure your understanding of the material so much as it assesses your ability to think like her and answer some heavy weighted either random or highly specific questions. There are relevant questions on the test, but there are always a few in there that seem out of place and cause large disputes which end up hurting your grade. Very easy to get a B in this class, but getting that A will take some luck. Also, avoid Neethi Rao as your TA. She does not seem to know the material she is teaching, relying solely on answer keys she is given to explain answers, even when there is a mistake. She also frequently tells students that they are wrong when going over problems, and as she explains the answer, she comes to the same conclusion the students did. Not only that, she doesn't seem to realize that she came to the same conclusion as the students. Get another TA if you can.

Professor Cronmiller is one of the best biology professors in UVa. Her lecture is organized and lucid. She adds office hours on Sunday when there is a test on Monday.

Cronmiller is one of my favorite teachers at UVA. She might seem a little intimidating but she is really easy to talk to if you make the effort and try to talk to her. She is very passionate about the subject and makes it fun to go to class. I didn't like genetics before, but I like it a lot now thanks to her. Neethi is also a pretty good TA.

who would take this if not bio major.. the lectures weren't that helpful but she does cover some concepts not covered in the textbook. Doing the suggested problems and even all the problems for each chapter is... essential to do well on tests.

Good class. A bit difficult at first since the material she tests you on is different from the material she covers during lecture. Go to discussion, do the HW, do the recommended problems in the back of the book and you will be fine. I really like how Cronmiller emphasized the methods and logic used to finding an answer, rather than straight memorization.

This was an okay class, but the lecture was useless most of the time. The tests are very similar to problem sets and are moderately difficult...the final was a lot tougher though.

Do the problem sets and you'll get an A.

Cronmiller is the best. All other large classes I've had focus on needless memorization, but Cronmiller has you work problems that are like logic puzzles. I didn't think I'd like genetics because I'm more of a whole-organism oriented, but she knows everything about genetics and you actually learn something you'll retain if you pay attention. Get a group to study with the weekend before the test.. go to office hours to check the hw answers, you'll ace it.

This class as horrible as people make it out to be but it is a hard class nonetheless. It is manageable and if you do the problems, the homework, and go to office hours whenever you have problems you will do well. Claire is a good lecturer and the material is interesting...just keep up with the lecture and do the work...you'll do well

p.s. Pinar is an awesome T.A. !

wasn't as bad as I thought. Cronmiller was pretty approachable when I didn't understand any of the material. the key to doing well in this class is doing all the practice problems you can.

This class was so difficult...I would go to office hours and meet the TAs as much as you can.

great class, great professor. pretty tricky though so watch out for her exams

Cronmiller was a pretty good lecturer. Tests were fair, although I felt that she liked to get creative sometimes. The reading isn't too bad. Some of the topics she talks about isn't always in the book so I would strongly recommend you attend her lectures.

It's actually a very good course if your interesting in genetics. Mrs. Cronmiller uses lots of interesting examples in class, incorporating both human and animal genetic variation and diseases into discussion. She also takes interesting breaks for humorous videos and songs (with much more humor lying in the videos). The work is conceptual challenging, but fair. Tests are not bad if you understand what is going on in class. Overall, not as bad as everyone makes it seems.

I hate to admit that Cronmiller is actually a pretty good teacher when it comes to lectures. I thought she explained things pretty well in class and tried to keep it interesting. That being said, she is not only condescending, she is just plain mean. If you email her a question she will send out an answer to the entire class but complain about how if you were paying attention you would have known the answer. In class she always yelled at all of us for not knowing the answers to her clicker questions. I actually thought the material was pretty interesting but I absolutely hated Claire Cronmiller.

Cronmiller is terrible. She has no idea how to teach complicated genetics and instead of just making the class easier akin to her ability to teach, she makes it even harder. Her tests are absurd. As stated above, she's also incredibly condescending. The TAs are mean and useless. Enjoy.

necessary evil if you're a bio major. biochem: stick to 300

cronmiller was awful. She made a potentially interesting subject extremely painful

I took this class when only Cronmiller is teaching it. It's a very challenging class!!!! Dont take it unless you want to major in biology!!! Cronmiller is fun and acessible. She tries to make her lecture interesting and engaging, but she is not very fair in her exams. The tests are supposed to focus on the chapters that she covers in class, but they do ask about the previous chapter. You have to really keep up with the reading, and make sure you do back of the book problems.

Cronmiller replies really quick to emails, as long as you catch her when she's awake (she's still awake sometimes at 11 pm).

The class is manageable if you pace it well. Do the recommended problems every week, and every time you it a hiccup, simply shoot her an email.

Secret to getting a 95/95 on each of the tests, which is basically in the same format as the problem sets.

This class was terrible. Cronmiller was condescending, the tests weren't fair, and it pretty much ruined genetics for me. Only take it if you have to and hope that it goes back to the three teacher system.

this class was horrific. Cronmiller, despite being enthusiastic, has a tendency to talk down to the class, expecting us to know how to do problems which are neither outlined in the book nor covered in lecture. Her tests are logic based and free response, but there is hardly ever partial credit given so you cant afford to make little mistakes ever. Discussion is pretty useless, except for the days you only do problems from the book. Wouldn't recommend the class unless you have to for the bio major--it killed genetics for me.

I wouldn't have taken this class if I weren't a biology major. And even so, I almost reconsidered my major because of it. I no longer like genetics, for Professor Cronmiller made it such a chore that it no longer appeals to me. Her lectures are generally good (not great) and I liked her powerpoints, but when asked to explain something during lecture, she would fail miserably. If you want clarification on a certain topic, go to office hours, she's much more helpful there. Discussion is pretty pointless except for the quizzes, so unfortunately, that makes attendance mandatory. It was an okay class, but could've been better/ worse.

By far the best class I've ever taken at UVA in the bio dept. Claire is very enthusiastic and will go above and beyond to make the concepts clear. That being said, this is not an easy class. If you are looking for an easy A, don't take it- you will regret it later.
This class requires a lot of work but it is worth it. This was taught by Cronmiller only (instead of 3) so it was better. While her tests are hard, they are fair and do really measure your comprehension level. They are not multiple choice so you need to know it rather than recognize it.
The TA manisha was also very helpful.

oh and just a tip: don't wait till the night before the tests to do the textbook problems. You will fail. Miserably.

Claire teaches all of our genetics class. She is a bit condescending and insists that we are all "memorizing" and that we need to get to the top of her learning pyramid. Her tests can be difficult but as long as you do the suggested problems in the back of the book and truly understand them, you should do fine. It is important to learn to apply multiple concepts on her test problems because they are not always straight forward.

She's kind of condescending and the material is quite difficult. I didn't enjoy this class very much. Only take if bio major/premed.

tough class... you think you understand the material, but then you sit down to take the test and your first thought is WTF!?

We had three profs for this class- which made every test a surprise. The test averages are SO low- an indicator that tests didn't always have relevant questions (the AVERAGE of the final was a 59). I spent a lot of time studying for each test, but often the info i studied wasn't even on the test. But I did manage to get an A.

Cronmiller is by far the best teacher of this class. Dr. Hirsh and Adler leave a lot to be desired. It's easy to fall alseep durin their lectures and they often seem less than enthusiastic about the material. Despite the fact that Cronmiller is the most enjoyable, she is also the hardest and her tests are a force to be reckoned with.