BME 3080

#tCFF23
Prof Allen is the only prof that offers this course so this review won't be focused on why you should pick him but rather tips on how to do well in this class!

Most of your experience in this course is determined by who your group members are. I was in a group of five people (including me) and here was our group distribution:
a) the super-nice, straight A student
b) a coding whiz who would learn new skills to complete tasks
c) a fourth-year who mostly just wanted to get the class over with
d) an athlete who was very busy and also struggled with time commitments
e) me

This group was completely random (as they all are) and there were conflicts between several members. First, there was conflict between me (e) and (c) over IDEAS-related things. Then, there was conflict between (a) and (d) that was outside of the classroom but definitely leaked over. This was the most stressful part of the class, managing group dynamics, and it often frustrated me that I was spending effort focusing on this instead of just trying to learn the course material. I would recommend you prepare for this and also try to enroll in a section where you know you work well with multiple people to increase your chances of getting in a group with at least one.

Onto the actual course, Prof Allen definitely drones on and on and on and in my opinion, your time is better spent just reviewing the lecture slides and module instructions during lecture rather than trying to make any sense out of what he is saying. He starts each lab with a quiz. The quiz questions are usually pretty specific, so try your best to understand the lecture + experiment before going in. There are also quiz questions posted online... I won't say where but I'm sure you can find them.

The labs take the least time for this class. Most of the time is spent doing data analysis and writing the lab report. Absolutely, ABSOLUTELY, try to finish the data analysis at least 2 days before the lab report due date. This will give the group time to actually WRITE the report in the remaining 2 days.

Hope that you have good luck when the groups are chosen, because your group will determine how well you do in this course. I was tremendously lucky and was assigned to a group of 3 where the other members were my good friends and we did well, but there were some problems in other groups. The lab reports took about 30 hours each (writing, not even including analysis) so make sure to start early. As a side note, we finished each lab at 3 AM the day it was due which really, really sucked but we did quite well on them because we put a lot of time and effort. IDEAS on Thursday is the best because it will give you more time to write if you begin on the weekend. The quizzes each week weren't too bad, I made notecards of all the slides and the material in the lab handout for the week and those helped out a lot. The final was easier than I expected, just make sure to pay attention in class and take notes and you should be fine.

Prepare to spend countless hours staring at either the Google Doc or the group member who is perpetually on Instagram. It is during this time period that either true biomedical engineers are forged, or the realization occurs that working at McDonalds isn't so bad. Pain may be temporary, but a bad group can ruin your GPA forever.

I'm not sure who wrote some of these reviews, but your group 100% makes a difference. Yeah, you can still do well in this class with a bad group, but at the cost of your sanity. That being said, if you have a good group this class really isn't that bad. The quizzes are straight forward and so is the final exam. The experiments are also not too difficult once you get your group dynamics figured out. The reports take a long time to write and though people recommend not to procrastinate, starting too early never really seemed to help. No matter how early my group started we were always finishing at 4am the night before it was due. Next semester, I plan not to start the report until like 2 days before its due.

Dr. Allen is cool, definitely get to know him--though sometimes his lectures are not very useful.

You probably already know this, but this class is the staple of the BME curriculum here at UVa. You will learn some really cool lab techniques, get to know your BME class much more than you did in Cell bio, Design, or Physio, and get to know Tim Allen, who might be the greatest professor alive. Of course, after perusing through the other reviews, you probably realize that the lab reports do take a lot of time- and they certainly do, but it's definitely exaggerated. Hope for a good group, but I think that even without a good group, the reports are manageable as long as you DON'T PROCRASTINATE. This is the most important lesson I learned in the class and especially when you have four or five other classes to deal with, it is critical that you stay on top of IDEAS. This means writing reports right after you do the lab, so the material is fresh in your mind. On the topic of grading, nothing is too harsh, mainly because Allen grades in the summer, but, even in the Fall, so long as you are doing better than the average you'll be fine. The pre-lab quizzes are quite straightforward except a "once in a blue moon" Cell Bio question that makes you think a little critically about the subject material (Kevin Janes will continue to haunt you forever). There is no midterm and the final I thought was not bad at all- basically if you knew what was going on, did the labs and didn't mess around, and did parts of each of the labs, you'll be in great shape and may not even need to study. Honestly, enjoy this class because it is a good time and once you've left UVa., I can guarantee you'll miss it like hell, despite those pesky lab reports.

This class is probably one of the more time consuming classes at UVa, but just stay on top of things and you should be fine. Even though the groups are random, most groups turn out okay since pretty much everyone in BME is smart. The material is really interesting, and that's coming from someone who hasn't found BME very interesting at all up to this semester. Allen is awesome and extremely knowledgeable. If you put in a solid amount of work, expect at least a B+. Pro tip: make sure to study a lot for the pre-lab quizzes, they are all really difficult and can help your grade if you do well.

First of all - IDEAS is not as bad as everyone says. Unless you save it all for the night before, it's manageable (unless you get a terrible group assigned to you). It is definitely a time consuming class, but it feels much different and a lot more manageable than an APMA or Physics II. It's not constant busy work. That being said - don't take it lightly! Just be responsible with how you use your time.

When it comes down to it, this class is great! Where else are you going to learn about and actually do a bunch of lab techniques? Sure, your technique isn't going to be perfect, but you get a great hands-on introduction to so many relevant methods that most people don't get to until grad school or summer internships.

Dr. Allen is great. Knows his stuff and truly cares for the students. Get to know him!

learn to love your lab group because if you do this class right you will spend at least every day with them for multiple hours

Okay this class is not nearly as bad as everyone says. The reviews on this site exaggerate the class to a point that makes it sound unfair. You write 5 lab report and each takes 10-15 hours of work. You have a lab report due every 2-3 weeks so that averages to 5-7.5 hours of work a week. Thats nothing for a four credit class. Take a chill pill. Its time consuming, but did not make my semester miserable.

Most work intensive class in BME (and probably all of UVA).

The in-lab portions are generally interesting and fun. Writing the lab reports is very difficult at first due to vague instructions and lack of a rubric. However, the writing gets easier as you get more used to it. Regardless, if you want an A in the class, plan to spend 35-45 hours writing each lab report.

This class is incredibly challenging, but you also learn tons. The TAs are a huge factor in this class- a nice TA won't rip 30 points off your lab reports for not putting scales on your figures or something like that. And the groups are a huge factor, too- a group that doesn't work well together or a group where members don't work will be facing ~50s/60s on reports after doing 30+ hours of work per report. It's a brutal class, but it's required and you do learn lots.

This class is without a doubt the hardest in the BME major. What makes it bad is the fact that your entire grade depends on your group - even if a single member of your group slacks, it will be reflected in your lab report grades. Writing the reports takes forever because you have to spend lots of time just figuring out what's going on and doing the subsequent analysis. The procedures are filled with typos and errors that Allen refuses to correct, and that only makes writing the reports that much more difficult. The reports are graded according to a really specific rubric (which they give you as part of the syllabus), so if you do poorly on the first one go talk to a TA (NOT Allen) and go over it with them and have them explain what they're looking for. Dr. Allen and the TAs are on the lookout for group participation, so do well on the quizzes, be active in lab, and let them know if your group dynamic isn't working. As much as it sucks, this class is a really really valuable experience in learning how to write scientifically, conduct research, and most importantly, work in an assigned group.

Pray to the gods of BME that you get a good group. If you think it's better to be in a 5 person group don't go in Tuesday's section. It never fills up. But honestly, due to the fact that 100% of the work is group lab reports you need a good group. Otherwise, you spend 3.5 months in a constant fit of rage. If you have heard horror stories about people's group members, they are all true. It doesn't matter how ridiculous it sounds, it's true. And you may think "oh, I've worked in groups where one person is kind of lazy". No. You don't know what it's like. Don't come into this expecting anything else than a hurt butthole at the end.

Required class, but totally worthwhile. It's miserable and a ton of work while you're doing it, but I'm so glad I learned all that stuff now.

I mean, you have to take the class for BME, but just don't take it lightly and you'll be fine.

IDEAS Lab 380: Intellectuals Deal Effortfully Against Slackers.

Day 1: Introductions
"Oh hi, I'm _____, nice to meet you, yeah we haven't talked much before but it should be good working together!”

Week 2: The Honeymoon Phase
“So do you guys want to get together at my place to work on the report due soon? We can start early so we’re not doing it last minute like those CRAZY groups Dr. Allen talked about. That’ll give us time to divide up the work evenly, do it well, and then come together to organize it before the report is due. It’ll work perfectly!”
--everyone nods and agrees happily—

Week 4: Reality Settles In
“Well... we’ve done pretty badly on these last couple of reports, maybe one person should work on the main section, and we can split up the IBQs (Impossible Bogus Questions). Then we can go through it together.”
--everyone nods solemnly, but with hope—

Week 5:
Member 1: “I sent you my part”
Member 2: (Thoughts): You mean the junk that I’m not going to be able to use at all and will have to end up rewriting anyway? (Words): “Ok thanks.”

Final Week:
Members 1-3: “Yippee we’re done!”
Member 4: “Wait, what did we do?”

Just hope the random number generator Dr. Allen uses sets you up with a good group. Otherwise plan on giving up sleep and sanity for about 3 ½ months.

Challenging course requiring massive amounts of quantitative analysis, collaboration, and report writing. Pray for a decent group and prepare to spend a lot of your evenings with your group in the library. TAs are generally helpful. It can be frustrating and tiresome, but you will be rewarded for what you put into it.

It is very useful class but I did not like the organization of the class.

This class will kick your butt regardless of how much time you spend studying and preparing for it. Hopefully you'll get a good group. I learned more in this class than I have in all my other BME classes, but you definitely have to work. Allen = fantastic.