BIOL 3000

Great class, harder than expected. Just study fairly consistently and go to all the discussions and you should be fine. I ended up with a B+ just cause I bombed the final, it was extremely tricky, but if you study you should be fine.

Not an easy class, but you learn the big picture.

GENE IS AMAZING. Go to discussion and class. Don't even buy the book. Didn't look at it once.

It's a tough class. Wormington talks quickly but if you record lectures as other people recommend, he's actually very clear and repeats things for emphasis. Class notes are definitely important than because the book sucks and he makes you skip around a lot. Gene's awesome, but he somehow talks even faster so actually know something before going to the discussion section.
•Hard but doable class
•Take notes on lecture
•Book sucks
•All the acronyms and stuff sound like gibberish after a while

Wormington is a good professor and I find the material interesting. However, the finals are pretty difficult and you really have to know all the details in order to do well.

Fantastic lecturer - one of the best in the biology department. Wormington has been teaching the class for a long time, so he has all procedures down to a science and the course runs like a well-oiled machine. Exams are difficult and require a good bit of thinking, and the class itself is very time-consuming, but an A is well within reach to attain (and despite what he says, there IS a curve). Overall, wonderful class - cannot recommend enough.

I agree with the consensus that Wormington's a great lecturer, and the material was certainly interesting (esp. the examples relevant to medicine). The one time I attended his office hours.. it was a bit of a disappointment; I think I enjoyed the course more at a distance. Still, I'd recommend the course if you're even remotely interested in cell bio.
I'd also recommend going to every single discussion section if you can - you'll get a good idea of what types of questions will be on the test, and they're really the only practice you'll get.
I actually liked the text for its detail/clarification, but yeah, I'd say it's not really essential.
And our TA (Manisha) went through the review sessions a little quickly, but you'll be fine if you've been following the lectures. She's a lot more helpful during office hours, at least.

Good class

You don't need to buy the book. Just write down everything he says during the lecture and go over them word for word for the exams. He is a very approachable and knowledgeable professor! The class is not boring but demands very good attention to details~

Chances are you don't have a choice taking this class and are just curious what you're in for, so my advice is TAKE THIS CLASS SERIOUSLY. I don't know what you can see in terms of grades but the average grade for my semester was a C+ and it sounds like the trend is staying around there. The grades are entirely composed of four midterms, and even if you do slightly better than average either expect to lower your standards or be disappointed with your grade. Study HARD and read the test questions really carefully- they're tricky!