BIOL 3010

Great course! I enjoyed this course much more than I thought I would (I tend to enjoy evolution and ecology the most). Prof Parichy is a good lecturer and his slides are well made. He gave us review questions after each lecture, so I rewatched every lecture and kept a running document where I answered those questions. His exams were pretty easy in my opinion (they were open note), and on top of that he typically gave us 2-3 points back on every exam (out of 25). I don't think the textbook is necessary, and that's coming from someone who tends to actually use textbooks. There was no homework in this class, only exams.

Don't take this class if you don't need to. The class itself isn't too bad if you diligently take notes. Exams are definitely tough and require you to not only memorize the content to finish the exam in the 1 hour time frame, but also to understand the content. Most of this class is application based and a few questions are memorization based. You want to really, really take solid notes during lectures to reference them during exams. The exams are open-book, open-note. However, I don't recommend even touching the textbook since all exam assess content only covered in lectures. Expect to put in a significant amount of work into this class when it comes to studying for exams. His lectures are also extremely monotonous, so be sure to come in with a "i'm ready to listen" type of vibe.

As far as hard sciences go... you can do worse. This class with Professor Parichy was definitely one of the easier science classes that I've taken at UVA. The material is relatively comprehensive its nothing too hard, but your course grade is comprised on 125 questions; 5 exams each with 25 questions. Most information on the exams is presented in Professor Parichy's slides, however sometimes the information is not, or the way the test questions are worded can be very confusing or misleading. But Professor Parichy is very good about accepting multiple answers or giving back points on tests for questions where a majority of students had a complaint. He's a relatively accommodating professor which is great for a core bio major course and a pre-med pre-req. My only point of caution is that lecture can be very dry and often times confusing where it just feels like Professor Parichy is rambling and you're not quite sure what is important. But overall def recommend with Professor Parichy if possible. #tCFfall22

Genetics with Dave was a pretty good time. As a non-bio major, this class went about as well as I could have expected to, and it's certainly not a class that you can just skate through without any effort. Organization of your notes is going to be critical in this class. The test questions are often about extremely specific topics from lecture that require a pretty hefty grasp of the material, so definitely don't expect to walk into the exams without reviewing - I agree with the person below who suggested rewatching every lecture before each exam. After the first exam, I started doing this and it improved my grades substantially. Also, the discussions are optional but I would strongly recommend attending if at all possible. However, if you cannot attend they are also recorded.

Don't bother with the textbook - Dave gives you everything you need in lecture/on the slides. #tCFfall22

After having credit for intro bio, this was the first BIOL course I took at UVA as a prospective biology major, so I was a little worried jumping into an upper-level class. And I thought my fears were confirmed after basically failing the first midterm, but I did get an A in the class. There were 4 midterms and a final, but due to the circumstances this semester, the lowest midterm was dropped. Additionally, Dave adds back points to each midterm for tricky questions. This essentially worked as the curve for the class, instead of one at the end (which many griped about at the end of the semester, but it wasn't necessary). The distribution was roughly (with pluses and minuses): A, 183; B, 115; C, 55; D, 11; F, 10

Dave is a great professor. He is very organized and clearly knowledgeable about genetics and his work. To do well in this class, my best advice would be to rewatch all of the recorded lectures before each exam. While the tests were open note, the questions and answers need to be read very carefully and often incorporate examples of experiments given in lecture. You can take notes to transcribe everything he says, but I found that listening in lecture and again on rewatch, while relying on his slides, was sufficient to understand the material and do well. Would definitely recommend, but be prepared to be challenged a bit in this course. #tCFfall22

TAKE GENETICS WITH PARICHY!!! He is such a good professor and a nice guy in general. You can tell he's really passionate about genetics and nerds out all the time during lecture. This kind of stuff is really his bread and butter so if you want to learn about the ins and outs of the genome, take this class with Dave. He's also one of the most considerate professors when it comes to giving points back for tricky questions that a lot of the class missed. Sometimes the material can be a little dry, but if you pay attention during lecture and take good notes (I recommend pretty much transcribing everything he says LOL its useful for exams), youll do well in the class.

#tCFfall22

If you are going to take this course, I recommend it be with this professor for the most part. I think it is nice to have the same professor the entire semester since you get used to their testing style. This class was mainly online with 4 midterm exams and a cumulative final. I think what bothered me most about this course was his inflexibility and lack of transparency with grades nearing the end of the semester. More specifically, in the beginning with midterm 1 and 2, he allowed for regrades and released specific statistics regarding questions on the exam. Towards the end of the semester, he stopped doing that and thus you would not be able to get a question back if you interpreted it differently. I liked his lecturing style and the exams were not terrible overall. We had one midterm and I do not know anyone who did well, but he did not do anything regarding this. Don't get me wrong though, he is a great lecturer and is practically a genius. You can tell he genuinely cares about you and making sure you are learning and he is extremely passionate about what he teaches.

Overall the best part of the semester was Professor Parichy. He is 100% the most understanding and considerate professor I have had at UVA. Your final grade is based on 4 midterms and a final, each worth 20% of your grade. Although this makes it difficult to achieve an A, it is possible. If you attend lectures and rewatch the lectures before each midterm then you should do fine. You have to take notes on everything he says though or you will miss all the information that is necessary for the exams. The exams are open notes which is very helpful since the content is so detailed and specific, but again if you do not take thorough notes during his lecture then you will not be prepared for the exams. Some questions are more difficult than others, but some are fairly straightforward. In the end, Dave will help you out. Whether it is giving back points for bad questions, or bumping you to the next letter grade at the end of the semester if you are on the edge. He really cares about his students and their mental well-being, so don't be scared to reach out to him! It won't be an easy class, but if you put in the time and effort than it shouldn't be your hardest upper level biology class.

Dave is the man. He is very fair with his exams and most test questions are directly related to the "study questions" for each lecture. He was very approachable and responded to emails and concerns pretty quickly. I personally don't love genetics but I believe he made the learning experience pretty easy and painless. Grades just made up of exams, but he removes unfair questions so if you study it is pretty easy to get a B in this class.

Dave is very clear cut and is very effective in teaching genetics. This semester, I believe we were lucky to not have to switch to another professor halfway through. Dave's exams were difficult but fair if you studied hard and understood the material. There were some questions on each exam that the class overall did not get correct but Dave was super flexible in giving points back alongside being aware of his own mistakes. He also allowed us to submit regrades for questions if there was ambiguity given the nature of multiple choice exams. Overall, super reasonable guy and has a good sense of humor in my opinion. Would recommend Dave if you plan on taking the class!