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I originally took this course with Wormington and had to retake with Kozminski. Plus, Wormington subbed for Koz for a couple of weeks when I took it. Therefore I think I have a good feel for both professors. I personally liked Koz wayyy better. Some may say his lectures are a bit more dry/boring but that's exactly what made them so much easier to follow. He talks very slowly and simply and so it is easier to keep up and take notes. He also doesn't use as much biological jargon as Worm. I am not a strong biology student, so this was helpful. For example, every time Koz said "apoptosis" he would follow it with "programmed cell death" so if someone forgot what that meant, he literally told you. I didn't study as much for the exams, but I did religiously attend lecture and re-listened to lectures, never opened the textbook, and still ended with a B!
*** Both professors are nice and seemed to care about their students. Worm was super helpful in office hours. However I think his lectures are harder to follow.
BIG TIP: Always ATTEND lecture. It sucks waking up for a MWF 9am but this will save you. Record the lectures yourself. Koz does not record them himself, and fellow students SOO gatekeep sharing/sending them. During class, quickly write down the time stamp of any parts you missed while taking notes, and when you re-listen to the lecture ONLY re-listen to these parts. This will save SO much time. Re-listening to an entire 50min can take multiple hours, and you WILL get behind.
Koz has no homework, but personally I disliked having to submit homework for Worm THREE times a week. It was exhausting!! Koz still gives take home questions so you still get practice.
Coming from someone who had to retake, 3000 really is not that bad if you just go to lecture and pay attention - that's it! You got this!!!
Cell Bio is a beast of a course. The material is complex and demands much more of you than intro bio. However, I would say that it is pretty fair with Kozminski. He is a decent lecturer (although I personally preferred Wormington's style when he had to step in for Koz while he was out) and is fair with his expectations. It IS upper-level biology after all, it will be very challenging no matter who teaches it. Maybe it would've been better with Wormington, idk, but it still would've been challenging either way. I finished the course with an A and did it alongside orgo (with only AP Bio credits, i didn't take the intro bio series), and I found it mostly manageable. Koz's grading system is straightforward, with a slight curve built into it. Usually around 85% is an A, and he was nice and lowered the thresholds at the end. But he isn't transparent at the beginning with how pluses and minuses are assigned which is annoying. I say go for it with Kozminski!
Some tips for success:
~Koz doesn't give homework, which means that ALL of your grade is exams, which is definitely very daunting. Be prepared to study for many hours and blankly stare at questions having no idea how to answer them. His "take-home" questions give a decent idea of how he asks test questions (especially the ones where you have to interpret data). DO EVERY TAKE HOME QUESTION and discuss them with friends, you can fill in each others' gaps in knowledge.
~STUDY EVERY SLIDE RELIGIOUSLY. Study and memorize each and every diagram and biochemical pathway. ESPECIALLY the secretory pathway, you have a whole exam on that. Know what each protein/enzyme does and what would happen if it were not working or working overactively (he loves these kinds of questions!).
~Don't worry about the textbook. He assigns long readings with each lecture, but they're mostly unnecessary. I skipped basically all of them ha ha. Everything you need is in the lecture slides, save for maybe a few questions where he took things from the textbook. Instead of doing outlines, your time is better spent studying the slides and attending office hours.
~RECORD LECTURE AUDIO. He does not do this himself, and I found it very helpful to re-listen to his lectures and fill in the gaps in my notes.
End of the day, this course is tough and will hit you like a brick wall. I found it WAYYY harder than orgo, so yeah. But, if you take the time to study and understand what is being taught, you'll be ok. Don't stress so much about which prof you take it with. Good luck all!
****I took this class during a COVID semester, in which the exams were online and open note****
Koz, in my opinion, is a great professor and definitely the way to go for cell just for general enjoyability and comfort, though he doesn't have HW grades/extra credit like Wormington. Not only is he funny and kind to students, but he's also pretty reasonable. On the syllabus, there are grade thresholds. There's somewhat of a curve (not a huge one) already built into them, like, an 85% or something could still be in the A range. AND at the end of the semester, based on the average course grade, he lowered those thresholds. He also is a professor who DOES believe in rounding up (like an 89.9 would be considered a 90), which can be rare in this department for sure.
As far as his lectures, you need to write down everything he says. DO NOT rely on the text on the slides. If he doesn't record the lectures for you, I strongly advise you to record them yourself. He will explain graphics and big concepts in extreme detail and, yes, you need to know all of it. I rewatched the lectures numerous times. Also, you gotta read the book. He expects you to, and there will be questions in his study guides that are straight from the book. That being said, DO THE TAKE-HOME QUESTIONS! They're sometimes from old exams. There were a few times last year that he used the same question formats (not same exact questions), and knowing how to tackle them already was crucial! Koz loves to throw confusing graphics on the exams, so if you already know how to interpret them, you're ahead. He added short answer and short "essay" questions to the exams last year as well. Try to answer these questions in similar language to what is used in lecture because details are important here. Also, seriously go over your essay question response feedback. Sometimes responses were graded incorrectly/the question was worded poorly and easily misinterpreted. Koz will usually give you back points if you have a good argument. Sometimes he won't budge, so pick your battles wisely once the answer key is released. Like I said in the beginning, he's reasonable.
Overall in cell, graphics are everything. Practice drawing out pathways, ESPECIALLY when you guys get to the secretory pathway. Good luck! Even though it's hard, the material is pretty cool.
This class... was not a good time. Interesting. But I wouldn't take it again. The course grade is based only on four exams and there is no curve. The exams themselves have multiple choice, short answer, and short essay questions. The questions can be really confusing too because they are often worded strangely or you know the answer but it's just not one of the options. They were also really specific, like you needed to know just the right grain of information from a slide or the textbook. And some questions, not a lot, but a few, were just from the textbook so I'd recommend reading it. Readings for each lecture can be as short as 2 or 3 pages or entire chapters. All that being said, the exams were open note and that helps a lot if you have good notes, but can also mean you spend too much time trying to find information and then don't have time to finish the exam. It's no fun when you're submitting the exam with 2 seconds left. There were 'take home questions' at the end of each lecture and the TA would go over the answers in discussions, but honestly it was so hard to pay attention and more than once the TA would give us the wrong answer and have to correct later, which only made people more confused. This class has a bad reputation, but it earns it. I spent more time on this class than any other this semester and somehow this was my lowest grade. I had to change my study habits and note-taking for each exam until I found something that worked for me because my usual study methods that can get me an A in any other class just didn't work for Cell Bio. I would read the textbook before lecture, then look through the powerpoint before lecture, then watch the lecture live, then read over my notes again later that day and try the practice problems, then go to discussions and try to pay attention, then as the exam approached I would rewatch all the relevant lectures (exams weren't cumulative) and go through my notes adding things and making notes to myself. It worked well enough to get me a B, which I'm pretty happy with considering. My one piece of advice is that if you don't do well on the first exam, don't stick with the same methods that didn't work. Try something new and hopefully you'll see your grades going up on each exam. And you have to find something that works for YOU. You can try my process if you want but I make no guarantees. This class will push you to make yourself better and you can't rely on other people to do everything for you. This is a really interesting class and I feel like I learned a lot, but it was exhausting and stressful and I wouldn't recommend for anyone who isn't taking it for their major. Don't go into this class expecting an A, just do your best and it'll be fine. Best of luck :)
Just as some background, this is coming from a student that took this class during a fully online COVID semester and got an A
Don't get me wrong, this class is hard. I wouldn't necessarily recommend taking it if you don't have to. BUT it is not nearly as bad as everyone makes it out to be if you study smart and put a good bit of effort into it. Go to lecture live, sometimes he takes a bit to upload the lectures. Go to office hours if you can, even just to listen to him answer other people's questions. This class is difficult, but also super interesting. I personally loved Kozminski, I thought he was funny (most importantly haha) and straightforward both in his teaching/what he expects you to know and his exams. I would say exams are a combination of understanding/applying knowledge and some straight regurgitation. I started the class taking copious textbook notes and while I definitely recommend reading the textbook, I realized on the last two exams that reading it thoroughly (BEFORE class!) was enough and spending hours taking meticulous notes wasn't worth my time. Rather, I focused my efforts more on lecture content and the take home questions. For reference, I got an 87 and an 82 respectively for the first two exams and a 93 and a 98 on the last two. Here was the strategy that worked for me - do the reading before class and go to lecture live then the night before the next lecture, read through your notes and go through the previous lecture and answer the take home questions. Make sure you've done all the take home questions before discussion, it doesn't help if you just write down the answers and tell yourself "that makes sense." Trust me. About a week before the exam, handwrite (for me, I remember better handwriting) a comprehensive study guide for yourself, basically retaking notes from your notes and the Powerpoints. Get that done a day or so before the exam and read that over once or twice again and quiz yourself on the take home questions one more time. I hope this helps!
Kozminski is one of the least understanding and most uncaring professors I've ever had. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many students were struggling with his class because learning completely alone is a big challenge. Despite the difficult circumstances, he made the class harder to succeed in by raising the grading brackets from previous semesters. His exams were horribly written, unclear what was being asked, had multiple answers, had typos, and strange philosophical questions that he would harshly grade.
I and many other students worked tirelessly in his class. After contacting other students to understand the collective effort, students would write hundreds of pages of notes, read the huge textbook readings, make diagram study guides, make vocabulary sheets/quizlets, help other students in study groups, late-night studying for weeks, and it was honestly all for nothing.
When I explained to him my hard-living circumstances given the pandemic , he didn't even acknowledge it or compromise for a fair solution. He has treated countless other students with this lack of understanding and care. A girl had her computer crash during an exam and provided evidence of the situation, but he didn't even care or give her more time. I know for certain that if I took this course in the fall with the other professor, I would have done much MUCH better. At least he gives homework.
He lies in the beginning of the year claiming that his class is not as hard as people make it out to be, that he wants to give everyone As, and that he cares about all his students and to contact him if troubles arise especially given the pandemic. None of those points were held true or demonstrated at all.
Don't get me wrong, he is extremely knowledgeable. He is merely not fair, a horrible grader, egotistical, scattered and unstructured in his teaching, uncaring for students, and more. This class was a genuine disappointment and I and countless other students would not recommend taking this course unless it was for your major. Just take a look at the grade distributions for yourself and see how ridiculous this class is. I've never seen so many students dissatisfied with a single professor. It's not the content that is hard, it's the professor that is unfair.
I don't understand why Koz has so many negative reviews. At least he doesn't make jokes in class about how much he loves to watch students struggle on his exams like Wormington does. Yes, the class is hard. That has to do more with the material than the professor. Yes, his exams are hard. You do have to keep up with the material and go to office hours frequently. Unlike Wormington, there is no homework to help pad your grade so that can be an issue. If you are super intent on getting an A, Koz might not be for you based upon historical grade distributions; however, if you don't want to your fingers to fall off from having to type so fast to keep up with Wormington, take Cell with Koz.
Dr. Kozminski is amazing! He really knows his stuff, and is a genuinely nice guy that wants the best for his students. Exams are difficult, but the material is very interesting and the exams are very doable if you put the work in. Note, from what I have heard, the class is much harder than the fall class.
Do yourself a favor and take cell with Kozminski! I withdrew from cell with Wormington because i just found that class to be unbearable. Kozminski's class was significantly easier than Wormington's. There are 4 exams and they are difficult so you do need to study a fair amount in order to do well. This class is a point system which makes it so much easier to receive a good grade in the course. 4 exams totaling 400 points and you need 240 to get a C, 292 to get a B, and 340 to get an A. As he said, he tends and likes to give out + and not - which is great so as long as you score within the bracket range, you are guaranteed that grade. Each exam are not worth the same amount of points which i found to be a good thing, Exam 1 = 85 points, Exam 2 = 110 points, Exam 3 = 105 points, Exam 4 = 100 points. Really doable and make sure to go to discussion, the TA goes through the sample questions given after each lecture and these sample questions do sometimes pop up on the exam. I personally didn't do the textbook reading he assigned and still did very well, but it is a useful source if you are confused and would like more information about a topic.
Take the cell with Wormington. It was painful to sit through lectures with Kozminski, and you had to go to lecture because his tests were entirely lecture based. Many test questions were frustrating and extremely knit picky. Go to discussion to get the correct answers to the practice questions and make sure to understand the reasoning behind them, this will really help on the exams. But fr if you have any other options, don't take this class with Koz. He thinks hes funny and he is not, its just painful to sit through lectures. If this had been my first bio class I probably would have dropped the major because of how much I disliked him and how absurd some of his questions were.
I actually really enjoyed this class! This came as a surprise. I’d heard absolutely terrible things about Wormington’s cell bio and I was terrified going into Kosminski’s, especially considering his sections’ lower gpa.
However, cell ended up being one of my favorite upper levels. The material was really interesting to me and super applicable to research. Lectures were generally interesting, pretty straight-forward, and generally tied in to the textbook quite well. I got to know Kozminski during office hours and found that he’s passionate on the subject and was more than happy to answer the same stupid questions over and over. I’d definitely recommend taking the class with him over Wormington.
As a word of caution, you’re going to be completely screwed if you don’t stay on top of material and go to office hours very regularly. I went to Kosminski’s office hours every single week with pre-prepared questions from the lectures and readings. I got an A pretty easily just by doing that. :)
I personally found this class served as a good foundation for upper-level biology courses. Yes, it is difficult, but not impossibly hard if you attend class every day and take detailed notes. Review sessions are also helpful to go over practice problems that may come up in the test. It is a good class for those who like strictly lecture-based exams. Overall it was a worthwhile class and rewarding of your efforts.
This is one of the most difficult courses I have ever taken. Your grade is based entirely on four multiple choice exams, on a point system (i.e. no class curve). I attended every lecture, took notes, read all the reading, listened to recordings, and studied in groups, and I still felt like some of the test questions came out of nowhere. There are a lot of pathways that you need to outright memorize. Overall, I would recommend taking this class with another professor if possible. If not, attend the review sessions because those questions often show up on tests.
I took this class the spring of my first year and i definitely wasn't ready for it. Taking this class with Kozminski is rumored to be hard, but I found the time commitment and curriculum to be the more challenging aspects of the course. Test are based of the lecture and are uncurved. The textbook served as a good supplement, but I seriously recommend going to class every day.
Some people didn't like Kozminski, but I thought his lectures were fine. You do have to make sure you take scrupulous notes on the lectures for his exams, which are pretty specific, but it was very doable. There isn't much of a need to read the textbook if you can take quick notes during lecture, because all of his questions came straight from the lectures. I enjoyed his dry humor, and he seemed like a nice person outside of class. Exams are pretty nit-picky and emphasize memorization, but that's expected of Cell Biology. I thought he was pretty fair.
I do not recommend taking this course with Kozminski (for those of us who have to take this class for our major). He is an adorable professor who loves cells, but is a terrible test writer who will draw from vague concepts sometimes only touched on briefly in the discussion section (not even his own lectures or the book!). Although I found some of the material interesting, the tests were atrocious and required far more work to prepare for than they should have (and I have taken some very hard courses I loved).
6% of the class got A's this semester. 14% got D's and F's. this course is not for the faint of heart. study study study the powerpoints and type down everything he says in lecture. don't bother reading the text, it's useless except for the figures he puts in the powerpoints. this got me a B in the course. kozminski himself is a pretty cool guy who is super knowledgeable! and rich is adorbs :)
Reads off the slides, very smart and interested in the subject. However, his tests are extremely difficult and tricky and you have to know ALL the details of the subject material to get a good grade on the test. He does not curve (so he says), so a lot of the grades are lower than the normal distribution. Very difficult, I wish I studied more for each test and you will too.
The class was pretty interesting, however Kozminsky did not make it clear how much of the book we needed to know, and the information was not presented clearly in lecture. What I did learn, however, was very useful in later biology classes. That being said, even though I did well in the class I don't feel like I got much out of it.
Okay. Do not take this class with Kozminski. I figured it's cell bio, it's going to suck either way so I took it but it is so unbelievably painful it is NOT worth it. Take it with Wormington. I'm warning you now. Keith's tests are absurd. He takes great pride in making very tricky questions and you're going to be supremely annoyed when you get your test back. Yes, he's a nice guy, extremely fair and knows his stuff, but seriously, STAY AWAY.
This class sadly is part of the core curriculum and therefore cannot be avoided. Professor Carla Green is actually not so bad and her powerpoints are very informative, but Kozminski reminds students of Ben Stein and only has pictures on his powerpoints, thus emphasizing heavy note-taking and reading.
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