BIOL 3170

Although I am only a second year, so far, this is my favorite class at UVA. The material is absolutely FASCINATING, and Professor Condron is incredible. He may be the most intelligent man I have ever met! There is so much content to this course, and he is able to recite it all perfectly and answer every single question asked. The tests are tricky because there are so many specific things you have to know. But, Professor Condron gives so many resources on collab such as recorded lectures, review questions, and other student notes which really help. He recommends reviewing the material the day you learn it, which is probably helpful, but I was never great at sticking to that since I had so many other classes and homework. I think I will end up with some kind of B in the class. Also, I didn't use the textbook at all and I am doing fine. He admits you don't really need it and he will cover it in lecture, but if it stresses you out not to have one, then to do so. The textbook goes more in depth I hear (which I can't imagine because there are so many details in lecture), so I never used it because it seemed overwhelming. So, overall, although the course is a little difficult, it is manageable. The subject matter is so neat, and the professor is incredible. Definitely one of the best courses at UVA!

Condron is one of the best professors I have ever had, he is very knowledgeable and knows how to make the material interesting. His tests are difficult but if you study the material and put in the hours, it is doable. I didn't do very well on the first exam because I read the textbook but I did better on the second one because I listened to his lecture recordings. It is a tough course, but considering how much I learned in this class, it was worth it. If you are truly interested in the subject and am willing to care about this class, take it. There is no homework or discussion so it's not very time consuming except for the week before exams. But studying ahead will definitely help.
Condron is great, his tests resemble Kittlesen's as they are difficult and sometimes worded vaguely, but this is one of my favorite courses at UVA. Lectures are really fun and I regret missing some of them. With work, B+/A- course with an amazing professor.

Overall a worthwhile class. Composed of 3 non-cummulative exams (35 questions for the first two and 50 questions for the third one). The class is ranked so how well you do is relative to others and the average so all three exams are very important and each point matters. I read the textbook for the first exam and realized I over studied so I stopped reading the textbook for the other two exams. Just review the powerpoint, record the lectures (everyone does), and listen to the recorded lectures before the exam. His exams are straight from his lectures. Other than cramming the week before the exam (which honestly can be very stressful), you don't have to do much for the class.

Awesome class and awesome professor! If you want to understand how you see, hear, think, balance, move, and basically do anything, this class is a great start! He talks really fast, but the nervous system is a big topic to cover in one semester. Make sure to take really great notes in class, and if you don't understand something go to the TAs who are incredibly helpful graduate students in Condron's lab. It's kind of hard to get an A because its completely based on the three tests, but you'll learn so much cool biology it's totally worth it.

Very cool, engaging professor. He knows what he's talking about, he's really interesting, and pretty funny too. It is hard, and especially toward the end the material becomes pretty difficult, but I recommend studying in advance for each of the three non-cumulative exams that make up your entire grade. Definitely the most interesting class I've ever taken; he frequently makes connections to diseases, computers, and recent developments in neuroscience. Very clear about the information to know on the test, but the test questions themselves can be tricky (or just bad. people got a lot of points back on one of the tests because I think some questions were bad). Read the book for sure, but I recommend to do it AFTER the lecture: he'll tell you what to focus on, and unless you have tons of free time you'll barely be able to learn all of that, since you go through a chapter a day. Skim the chapter and the powerpoint for the lecture beforehand if you want to be properly prepared. Go to every lecture and take profuse notes or record the lecture--don't miss anything. Go to as many office hours as possible too.

Overall: Favorite class at UVA (so far) hands down.

Great guy, explains concepts extremely well. Key is to read the text after each lecture, create notecards based upon his key terms. Oh and did I mention he gives you the exam questions, without answers, prior to the tests? So study off of those. Work every day and you can pull an A-. Not an easy course by any means, but very useful knowledge. Full of pre meds. Only take as a non-science major if you have a strong background in Biology, specifically with knowledge pertaining to the course. 3 exams, almost equally weighted. Score is based upon total questions correct with a departmental curve.

Professor: A
Reading: B- (book sucks)
Difficulty: Hard
Estimated Hours/Week: 2 reading, 2 review = 4 total.

Condron is my favorite professor I've ever had at UVa. If you approach him and ask for help, he will tell you exactly what you need to do to get a good grade in the class. It is a huge amount of work and lots of studying is required, but Condron is an amazing lecturer and is a really nice guy. Go to office hours NOT just the week before the exam. Go as often as possible, it really helps a lot. I found this subject extremely interesting, which makes the studying less painful. Go through the slides with the book the same day as the lecture, make yourself study guides, pay attention to the practice questions he provides and make sure you understand them.

The professor is intelligent, knows his stuff. He talks fast sometimes, but he's funny. However, the material is very hard. Only take if needed for your major.