BIOL 3000

This class will engulf your entire semester, so try to lighten the load when you take this class. Like everybody else says, record the lectures and relisten once after in order to catch the underlying details. If Wormington doesn't mention it in the lecture or explicitly tell you to learn it (PULMONARY UNIT), then it will never be on the exams; therefore, don't ever waste your time buying or reading the textbook (There's a free copy online that you can look at for the one time he wants you to actually read it), because Wormington is a walking textbook. He's clearly knowledgeable and a pretty cool guy. I really enjoyed the material, but it's a hard class. He rarely curves the exams and when he does, it's 1 or 2 points so don't expect it. Office hours are super helpful, so go if you can.

TLDR: Wormington is cool. Read the textbook only when he says in lecture to read it. Memorize the lectures. It's a hard class. Good luck.

The person who commented about having to read about CO2 transport and pulmonary/systemic capillaries very clearly didn't read Mike's "reading assignments" where it explicitly states that he will NOT be teaching them in lecture but that you HAVE to know it on the exam. You can't be bitter about something that is expressed VERY clearly in his reading assignments. All of the other reading is irrelevant - just make sure to transcribe lectures and you will do fine. You do not really need to read except for what he doesn't talk about in lecture (which is stated on Collab!!!!)

READ THE TEXTBOOK FOR CO2 TRANSPORT FOR PULMONARY/SYSTEMIC CAPILLARIES AND GASTRIC EPI CELLS or you will get POINTS OFF even though he doesn't go over it

Definitely a difficult class but so so interesting! Wormington is an amazing professor and is literally so intelligent. He does go through his lectures pretty fast and fits alloooottt of material into a 50 minute lecture. His powerpoint slides are mainly pictures and diagrams without much context, so I would highly recommend recording the lecture and transcribing it word-for-word later that day. I relistened to every lecture immediately after class and I found that doing so helped the material stick a little better. Because there is so much content and so many details, studying for exams are very time consuming. We also had homework quizzes due before every class that were very difficult, but they were open note and if you spent a lot of time on them you could do pretty well. His exams are pretty dense and I always left feeling brain dead. Occasionally he also had bonus homeworks that you need to take advantage of. He did end up curving the class at the end of the semester. I got two Bs and one A on the exams and ended up with an A in the class because of the curve. A different professor taught it Spring 2019 and I think the class was structured a little differently, but I don't know if its going to stay like that or not. Overall, a very interesting class that takes a lot of work but I would 100% recommend it!

The only way you can succeed in this course is to record the lecutres and literally transcribe word for word. Look for the homework questions on quizlet and really commit to transcribing if you want a chance in this class. Didn't think it was bad as all the other reviews but Wormington's slides are very bare. Really need to pay attention to his words.

Never have I ever cried so much because of a class. Yes, the class was very interesting and eye-opening, but the exams were ridiculously difficult. Wormington definitely knows his stuff and has proved, time and time again, that he is a very knowledgeable person. The exams are difficult because the subject itself is complex and very integrative. There were three exams and a final, plus homework (THIS WILL SAVE YOUR LIFE). He does not ask a lot when it comes to homework and other outside work, so use that time to say your Hail Marys and Our Fathers and study for this class. Like mentioned before from previous students, record the lectures. Aside from that, Wormington is not very approachable and is condescending. I went to get help from him a couple times, and he was very rude when responding. But yeah, good luck :)

Workington is pretty straightforward about his expectations for his students, and if you buckle down, study, go to office hours, and show up to class, you'll be okay. It is a difficult class with lots of reading and lots of studying attached, but it is possible to succeed.

I took BIOL 3000 (Cell Biology) with Wormington fall 2018. First, the stuff you need to know:
1. Don’t buy the textbook. There are technically readings assigned, but you should not do them. Download a .pdf of an older version and use that if you ever need help outside of class with a concept.
2. Record every lecture. Go back and re-listen to the complicated ones as you prepare for an exam.
3. Memorize (almost) every word that comes out of this man’s mouth.

Mike Wormington is a legend. I know people twice my age who still remember taking biology with him when they were students here. There’s a reason he’s been at UVa since 1989 (and teaching Cell Biology since 1992): knows his freaking stuff and he knows it well. For a 9:00am lecture with 300 people, Mike made every day worth it and interesting. He explains concepts very well, he’s actually pretty funny, and his lectures cover everything you need to know. Are the exams hard? Yeah, for sure; one of my favorite quotes from this semester was when we were walking out from the first exam and someone said, “I used to think our professor was a nice guy.” But Mike knows his exams are hard, and he will prep you as well as he can for them. He can sometimes be a little unapproachable, but he has a heart of gold and I swear he knows more biology than any human on Grounds. Name one other professor who will talk about a Nobel Prize-winning lab for 30 minutes, then pull up a picture of himself working in the lab (surprise!) and roast himself for wearing short shorts in ‘80s. Dude is a legend.
As far the class itself goes, yeah Cell is difficult. There are daily homeworks, 3 exams, and 1 final exam. Do the bonus homework assignments when he offers them as these are pure extra credit. Study for exams starting a week in advance; they are hard.

Whew, what a class. This has been my most favorite class of undergrad so far and that might be part of the reason of why I was able to get a good grade. I'm not sure if Wormington is going to be teaching this class again but either way I'm gonna give some tips. Use the textbook only for the first exam for the topics he says learn on your own . You don't need it for any other part of the course because the exams are lecture heavy. Put effort into the homeworks. They may be the factor that save your grade. Go to lecture and record them. After lecture, fill in your notes on things you may have missed from lecture. I think the main mistake people make is transcribing every word Wormington says. Be reasonable and write down content you know you will actually study. Use some notetaking skills instead of just writing down every damn word that comes out of his mouth. I think another mistake people make is not thinking they need to know all the individual proteins. Yes, you do. Know their names and their functions otherwise you will sacrifice points on the exams. His exams are not just memorization, although you will need to do this to succeed. You have to try and understand the material at a higher level such as the effect an experimental action will have. Wormington is an extremely knowledgeable guy who will answer any questions you might have. Overall, you will learn more in this course than probably any other biology course at UVa. While it is difficult, you can succeed with the proper effort.

The class runs at a breakneck pace so you'll want to record everything you can. Beyond that, its a matter of thinking analytically about the course material rather than rote memorization. You'll be successful if you devote most of your time to this class and stay on top of the material.

Professor Wormington is a great professor. This class expanded my interest for biology. You learn a whop ton of information and have to be able to synthesize all of it and apply it to many different types of questions on the test. Preparation for tests is extensive. You need to start studying at least a week in advance for them to give yourself time to understand all of the different concepts. There are 4 exams and then you have homeworks due every 3 days that actually boost your final grade. Every single word that Wormington says is important so I recommend recording lectures and listening to them again and transcribing every word. If you are a biology lover, the amount of time and effort you have to put into this class to get an ok grade doesn't seem as overbearing and painful. The concepts are very interesting and apply to many different medical fields. I do NOT recommend getting the textbook. It overcomplicates the things you need to know and all of info he provides in class is enough to get you through the tests.

TL;DR this class is worth taking if you really enjoy studying biology at the cell/molecular level, enjoy the "cause and effect" style of biology exams, and are willing to spend a significant amount of time (~15-20 hours) preparing for exams. In that case, I would definitely recommend this course as an informative, interesting, and relevant experience. I'd say one should only take this with at most only one other hard class, as exam preparation can eat up at least a few days and put you in a tough spot with other coursework.

Mike Wormington is a good-to-great lecturer with an infectious passion for cell biology. This course will give you an in-depth understanding of various topics in cell biology, including cancer, cell signaling, some pharmacology, experimental techniques, apoptosis, and other hot topics. I came away with a new appreciation for how biologists discover cellular processes and how that knowledge can be used to devise novel therapeutic approaches. However, the sheer volume of information that gets tossed your way during a lecture can be overwhelming. That "drinking out of a fire-hose " analogy comes to mind. The majority of students find it necessary to record the lectures as they take notes, as Wormington doesn't waste a sentence while lecturing about some very complex systems and pathways. I would recommend taking notes on your laptop in PowerPoint, since taking written notes is something of a lost cause for most mortals. Starting a week before the next exam, I would suggest listening to each lecture again and transcribing your typed notes into written ones. All the homework together counts for a test grade, so really give your all in answering each question. I neglected to take a few of them seriously, and my otherwise good grade was shaved a few points as a result. Don't waste (relatively) easy points.

Exams take a significant investment to do well on. They are all multiple choice can be quite complicated. Reread the questions and make sure you understand what it is asking. Mike WILL throw in "not" and "except" and the other SAT trick question words to throw you off. Think through everything as carefully as possible. I always ended up changing multiple answers when I would check the exam before I turned it in. The questions are very similar in style to the homework questions, but you cannot rely on the homework alone as a study source, as Wormington has plenty of curveballs he will throw you. Prepare early and often. Listen to lectures over again, transcribe notes, review and discuss each slide with a buddy multiple times, and make quizlets that contain all the proteins and enzymes and mutations (this class is acronym HEAVY) so you don't have to spend any time or mental effort trying to remember what each acronym represents during an exam. One quizlet shortcut I can suggest is to search for pre-existing BIOL 3000 exam quizlets that other UVA students have already made, and simply go over the PowerPoint slides to see if you need to add anything. It will save you buckets of time. Another thing I would recommend is booking a room at Clem or wherever you can have access to a big whiteboard/marker surface and mapping out all the complicated pathways, especially those in the Cell Signaling unit. This will help your understanding immensely.

Specific recommendations: Give some extra attention (maybe even a triple listen of the lectures) to Units 4 and 6 (or whatever number the protein trafficking and cell signaling units are). These are easily the most complicated units associated with the most difficult exam questions. Really take care to memorize each protein, enzyme, etc. and its function. This is crucial to making any sense of Wormington's frankly confusing exam questions, which have many moving parts. Also, as I mentioned before, draw out each pathway and cellular process in these units. I cannot understate the importance of this.

This class isn't too bad once you get a hang of how to take notes and study for the tests. You MUST record the lectures -- I typed for 50 minutes straight all class, and still had missed small, important details when I went back and listened to the lectures. Wormington goes quickly, and his slides are often ambiguous, so recording really helps you later. I didn't record lectures or type word-for-word on the material for the first test and I got an F (so did 2/3 of the class). For the rest of the tests, I typed notes and listened to lectures later and I got B's on all of the tests; I ended up with a B in the class, so don't go crazy if you do bad on the first exam. He expands brackets in the end, but he doesn't expand each letter grade by the same amount, so I would STRONGLY recommend not relying on the expansion of the brackets to try and get a certain letter grade. I would also recommend studying your notes from class (your typed notes on the powerpoint slides) after each class, because you'll retain a lot more of the details this way. To study, go over all your powerpoints and lectures and make sure to know every step in any pathway and listen to the recordings of the lectures. There are also online homework questions that are important to know the answers to; when studying these make sure you can explain why all the other choices are incorrect, because he usually switches up the question somehow on the exam. Overall, if you put in 110% you can at least get a decent grade.

This is a great class, but it is a lot of work. As a student who got an A, I would listen to each lecture before doing the pre-class homeworks (which are hard even though they are open note) and studied a week leading up to each exam. There is a lot of material but the exams are pretty fair. Don't get the book, everything you need is in the lecture notes. Record lecture! Also Wormington is very approachable and helpful in office hours. Would not recommend taking this class with the 2000 series of physics because the exams are back to back. Overall a super interesting class!

I learned more in this course than I have ever learned in a course at UVA. BUT, I have also never taken a more difficult course. I only recommend taking this if you really have to or if you are really interested in cells. The textbook is absolutely unnecessary. Every lecture is required, record every lecture and relisten to it as you study. The exams are ridiculously hard and impossible. But, in the end, the homework grades and bracket extensions make a good grade attainable. Go to office hours leading up to the exam and absorb Professor Wormington's knowledge. He knows what he is talking about and really wants his students to learn, even though it is very challenging.

I really liked Wormington and he's a great professor, but the class is very hard. The exams and homework are very much memorization based, which isn't something I'm good at so I didn't do that well in the class, but lectures were very interesting. I totally recommend going to his office hours because they help a lot and he's a great professor to get to know. Also I thinks he helps your grade a little if you really show a lot of effort and dedication to the class.

(coming from a student that got an A)
I'll start by saying this course is by no means easy. Of course if you're a pre-med they RECOMMEND you take this class, but its not required. However, I am a bio major (and pre-med) so i needed to take this class regardless. As well, some people say "take this class because it'll help you on the MCAT." Based on the practice MCAT exams I've seen, this class could come in handy with the connections you make and how you understand how the cell works, but dont count on it to help you a lot.

Now with regards to the class,
It is not easy and it will require time outside of class to succeed. The homeworks you have due every other day are difficult and require you to think. It would take me about 1-2 hours doing the homeworks (they are only 5 questions) since i would go back and listen to the lectures, and even then there were times i still did not get 5s. Take the homeworks seriously since they are worth 15% of the final grade. There will be extra credit opportunities so dont worry if you miss some questions.

In preparation for the tests, i would re-listen to the lectures and write down EVERYTHING he said that was important (word by word). Now that might sound too much, but based on the questions he asked on the test, I did not want to take my chances with not knowing something. With that said, DO NOT BUY THE TEXTBOOK. It is not necessary because all his slides and lectures have more than enough information for you to succeed on the tests. This is good news because you do not have to waste time reading anything, allowing you to focus on the homeworks and prepare for the test.

His questions are tricky. There will be times where you know the information, but on his questions he leaves out information that you should know and you end up getting it wrong because you did not see the whole picture of the question he was asking you. You'll understand what i mean when you see his questions.

Look at everything carefully on his powerpoints. This is the first class that i've seen where the powerpoint slides provide an abundant amount of information that will actually help you on homework questions and for the test.

RECORD THE LECTURES. You might have never done this before for any class, but you will need to for this one. He spits out so much information in a matter of 50 minutes that you will not get everything down. You will need to go back and re-listen to finish writing your notes.

3 tests, each worth 20%. Final (non-cumulative...thankfully) 25%. Homeworks - 15%
In reality, the class does not require a lot of time (compared to say, genetics). All you do is answer 15 questions throughout the week (5 on mon, wed, fri). Re-listening to lectures will take most of your time as you prepare for the test. Get ready to spend at least 10-20 hours to prepare for the test the week before.

Now with all this said, I loved this class. I honestly learned so much and its what really made me want to be a bio major. You learn so much and its not boring. You'll begin to learn how drugs work to treat specific types of diseases, why cancer is so difficult to cure, the importance of vesicle trafficking to prevent diseases like ALS, and so much more. The regular intro bio class first semester is so basic and boring it made me not want to take another bio course, but after taking this class, i liked biology even more. I feel that anyone that takes this course will like it in the end although its difficult and a lot of work, but you definitely will learn things that will help you with future classes.

The positive reviews for this class are definitely the minority, but even so, there are too many. This was probably my second least favorite class, behind physics lab. Professor Wormington's lectures are fairly interesting, but he is very unapproachable outside of class, and very condescending when asked a question. This class will not test your understanding of the material, but your ability to memorize huge quantities of unrelated information and acronyms. I do not exaggerate when I say that you are responsible for committing every single aside, figure, and research article on the slides, whether or not they are covered in class. The homework assignments are unnecessarily hard and arbitrary (as in you can argue different answers for some questions), just like the tests. I showed up to the tests feeling like I knew everything, but then came across questions that made really weak and long-stretched out connections between topics. I am not saying that getting an A in this class is impossible, but you have to make this class your number 1 priority, and shove your other classes aside, because of the raw amount of material you are expected to shove down and the stupid amount of time required to do so. Do not underestimate this class, I am not in any way exaggerating, you will need to dedicate more time to this class than to orgo - listening to all of the lectures and going over the homework and slides over and over again takes upwards of 15-20 hours per test. I am a chemistry major, not a biology major, so I was not required to take this class, but I did so anyway because I heard it was helpful for the MCAT (which I found out to be entirely false) - a decision which I strongly regret. Do not take this class unless you have to

Professor Wormington is amazing. As someone who though she was more interested in ecology before this class, cell was truly inspiring. I feel like I learned so much about the processes in our cells and everything that they need to do just to survive. Professor Wormington was super great at lecturing so I never really opened the textbook I got. I just studied the notes I took in class. For me, it was best to record the lectures on a recorder (your phone storage will fill up real quick if you use that) then listen to them and add to my class notes that day or the day after. Then I would do the homework assignments. The HW assignments are usually 5 questions and can be tricky even though they're open note, but they're good practice for the exams. There are 4 exams including the final (which isn't cumulative thankfully).Lots of material to memorize for the tests but overall they weren't unreasonable I don't think. I definitely recommend this class.

I feel like there's a disproportionate number of positive comments here. In my experience, you either love or hate this course, and I must say (after having taken orgo and physics), this was the hardest class I've taken at UVA. If you didn't enjoy Kittlesen's first semester of intro bio, buckle up bc this class is gonna be a struggle bus. This class had its moments, especially when we delved into the mechanisms of genetic diseases, cancer, caffeine, etc., but for most of the class, I felt like it was way more information than I was interested in knowing. Like previous commenters have mentioned, be prepared to focus during lecture and type down as much of what he says as possible, listen to the recordings again afterward and fill in/redo your notes, and DO NOT underestimate those 5 question homeworks due before every lecture -- they really add up. You don't need to read the textbook, bc he is the textbook. Know every word he says, verbatim. At least a few of the homework questions will appear on the exam every time, so make sure you know them. If that sounds like a lot of work, that's bc it is. Anyone who does well on his exams without consistently putting in a minimum of 12hrs/week is lying or obtained a copy of his old exams.

I just wanted to start off by making a few points about this course (NOTE: I received an A-):

1. DO NOT BUY THE TEXTBOOK. I have always been one of those people that has done all of the required readings for my courses and was hesitant when friends who had previously taken the course told me to study by reviewing the lecture notes. He has the units and the listed "readings" in his resources and he will inform you when something will not be covered in lecture, but that only occurred once or twice. I would recommend borrowing a friends textbook or asking them if they can make a summary for the few pages that may not be in lecture. I never felt that I was ill-prepared for tests, but it was usually tricky questions that I missed.
2. RECORD THE LECTURES. Again, I had never done this for the course and figured I could either write or type fast enough during lecture, but there are times when there is a lot of information being covered and you simply will need to listen to the lectures again in order to prepare for the exams or for answering quiz questions. On the first day of class you will notice a lot of individuals are recording the lectures on their phones, do so. Also, try and find out which friends are taking the course as well so you have other individuals to get recordings from if your phone messes up or if you miss class. It's not the worst thing to miss a few lectures if you're busy preparing for other tests, but try and listen to the lecture as soon as possible so that you do not fall behind.
3. There are A LOT of tricky questions on the quizzes and tests. While some questions may seem simple the best way to ensure you don't miss a questions on material that you actually know is to rule out each option. There were a few questions that I don't believe were fair and were utilized to prevent very high test averages. All I can say is there are some questions that could honestly go either way, but to think of these in an ideal scenario.
4. This is a difficult course. I took this course with Organic Chemistry and it was definitely hard, but doable. Being a Biology major, there are obviously other courses that are just as difficult. I would recommend spreading out these courses until graduation. Do not attempt to take multiple biology course on top of pre-reqs for the MCAT with Cellular Biology. It is certainly doable, but I felt if I had taken another biology course I would not have been able to do as well as I did in this course. That being said, the way I usually prepared for this course was by making notecards off of the lecture notes and recordings. It usually took me about a week and a half to begin listening to all of the lectures again (usually 10-12 hours worth for each test). I had a friend that would also type up the lectures word for word and we would use this to read over the lectures several times. In order to do well, you should be very familiar with all of the material discussed in lecture. Do not expect Wormington to reuse quiz questions, but try and understand the conceptual aspects of each question because he will change little details about them on the tests.

Finally, I found this course to be extremely interesting. While this has been one of the most difficult courses I have taken at UVA, it was definitely one of the most applicable courses in terms of medicine. Professor Wormington will apply the material to various diseases and treatment options throughout the semester. As a biology major, I never found my major to be as interesting and applicable until I took this course. If you put in the work for this course and make an effort to truly understand the material you will do well in the course.

So here's the deal. This is a required course for bio majors, so I'm assuming that you're trying to decide WHEN to take it not IF (But if you are deciding if, I'd definitely recommend!). I ended up taking it along with orgo; doable but probably not my smartest decision. Even though it doesn't seem like there's a lot of work in between the tests, you really need to allot several hours after each class for the quiz and re-listening to lectures - see below if you're trying to gauge how much time you'll need for this class.

Here's my advice, which I strongly suggest you follow if you'd like an A:
1. Record the lectures. Yes, when I first heard that people did this, I thought it was ridiculous. But Wormington talks way too fast during lecture to write it all the first time. (But for the love of God turn your phone on airplane mode if you put it in the front of the room during lecture. There were so many times during our class where phones up front started ringing that he eventually banned phones up there. I swear it was like 10 times.)
2. Re-listen to the lectures and take notes RIGHT AFTER every class. Don't just wait until right before the exam to listen to them! You will be so much more prepared by doing it along the way. Doing this thoroughly will take around 1.5-2 hours for each lecture. Plus when you're studying for tests, you'll already have study guides!
3. Take the 5q quizzes after re-listening to the lectures. Pay careful attention to wording. They are tricky.
4. When studying for tests, look over the multiple choice homework questions. Many of them will show up on the test, either exactly the same or slightly changed.

Overall this was one of my favorite classes. I thought the material was very interesting, and Wormington is awesome at lecturing! For me, the third test was the hardest, followed by the first, second, then final. They are all fair MC exams, but still tricky. For overall grades, 14% in the A bracket, 42% in B bracket, etc. He expanded the brackets by 1%, so 89 is A- and 90+ is an A. The GPA was a 2.500. Every point counts, so spend time on the homeworks which are 15% of the grade! The first 3 exams are each 20% and the final is 25%. Not a cumulative final though, phew.

Also, DO NOT buy the textbook. Believe me. All you need to know for tests and homework questions comes directly from lectures and his slides.

Overall this was a great course. Wormington is an amazing lecturer and he does a great job of making the material relevant by including case studies that can be understood from the concepts learned in class. Recording the lectures is very helpful, especially for studying and completing the homework assignments. That being said, this was one of the hardest courses I've taken (grade brackets are occasionally adjusted by 1%), and you should definitely allot it the time it deserves.

Just took the final for this course, and I've got to say, it's been one of the most rewarding classes I've taken. It's definitely my favorite class at UVA so far, and required for Bio majors so you might as well embrace it. Wormington can be tricky, he really tests if you know the material or not, it's not simple memorization. That said, I never read the book, and I'm looking at an A- in the class. There's 4 tests and a homework grade that's 15% of your grade. I recommend really taking the time to do the homework and spending an hour or two on each one, as it all adds up and it's basically a test grade at the end of the day. A lot of the questions in this class are of perturbing different biological systems, so you need to really understand the material so you can know what happens in certain situations, what elements of certain pathways are most necessary, etc. Wormington's a great professor, he really cares about the material and his students. It's a tough class, but it's rewarding and really interesting stuff!

I loved this class! It's required, so bio majors don't have much of a choice, but really Wormington is an incredible professor who is immensely knowledgable about the course matter. Definitely spend a lot of time on the homework every night; they add up quickly and they're really helpful for the exams! His exams are tricky but fair. He really tests if you actually know the material, but I loved this class and was actually sad on the last day.

Just recently took the MCAT, and this class definitely helped me to prepare for it. The kind of questions that he asks on exams and homework force you to understand experimental design. There are a lot of questions about what results you would expect if X happened/was changed. The material you are taught in this course helps for the MCAT, but I think the types of questions that really force you to reason through multiple factors helped me even more to be ready for it.

That being said, it's a difficult course. I barely got an A, pretty much by luck. It is difficult to get an A/A- in this class. (I did not look at old exams. There were some who I suspect looked at old exams that did worse than me in the course. Contrary to what many say, you do not need to have access to his old exams to succeed in this course.) Take the homework seriously! Each individual assignment is not worth much, but it really adds up. Homework questions are also pretty representative of exam questions. The first exam was pretty easy and straightforward, but don't let that fool you! The rest of the exams are more difficult, but not unreasonable... generally.

Many people love Wormington, and he is a great lecturer. However, I found him to be somewhat abrasive as a person. To each his own.

I can't say enough incredible things about this course. Cell includes everything from why people get heart attacks to how caffeine works to why we can't seem to find a cure for cancer. Never have I had more interesting course material taught by a more engaging Professor. Wormington has been doing this for 20 years and you can tell. Keys to success in this class are going to every lecture, recording the lecture, taking meticulous notes in class and augmenting them with the recording if you miss something or fall asleep (which happens as a result of the 9am lectures..). Before tests a small group of friends and I would go back through every lecture, accumulating basically every single thing he said into a study guide and then went through it in conjunction with the slides. This takes a lot of patience and work but it got me an A in the class because everything he asks on the test was mentioned in class, even if he makes you think a little extra. For homeworks, set aside an hour or 2 every time and don't rush through them. They really add up and can make or break your grade. Grading scales seem to vary by 1-2 points year to year based on the mean, but for us the mean was 82, median 84. A was 91+, A- was 90, B+ was 88-89, B 82-87, B- 80-81. You can imagine by how tight those brackets are that every point counts and a lot of people end up regretting a test or homework grade. I thought the third test was the easiest, followed by the final, the first test, and the second test as the hardest. If you put a lot of effort into this class you will come out with a lot of cool biology knowledge and a good grade.

It's a bio major core, so I guess most people don't have much of a choice, but I'd definitely recommend Wormington if you can spin it. He's been teaching this class for like 20 years and knows the best way to explain things. The course material is also really interesting and Wormington stays on top of current research and incorporates it into class throughout the semester. Test questions are exactly the same type of questions as on the homework, which can be a nice grade booster if you can puzzle through them. A lot of people are adamant that the only way to do well in this class is to get ahold of old tests, but that is NOT true - I haven't seen an old test all semester and I'm doing fine. There is a TON of overlap between this class and Biochemistry/Biological Chemistry, so if you've already taken those, you've got a huge leg up on everyone who hasn't. DO NOT depend on a curve, because in all likelihood, there won't be one, or it'll be like 1 or 2 overall points. My recommendation would be to go to EVERY class and record the lectures. I didn't open the textbook once to study for the test, but it did come in handy three or four times to clarify homework questions. When studying for the tests, consider that the major theme of most questions is "how can I perturb this system and what will be the impact of doing so?" A lot of those concepts are covered in lecture, and it's really difficult to figure out the main takeaways from lecture slides if you don't go to lecture and listen to him explain. None of his tests are cumulative, so you can brain dump after each one. Wormington really is a super cool guy and he really wants his students to do well, so if you need help get it early and often. Good luck!

I mean, it's a core so that sums it up. Just as hard as orgo or gen bio/chem but Wormington is a great professor; he and Condron[BIOL 3050] are by far the best in the biology department. DO NOT BUY THE BOOK. waste of like $180 or however the fuck expensive it is. Study old tests and/or go to lecture and you'll average C's on the test and with homework and other stuff probably scrape out a B- or something like that. As far as i know he doesn't curve, so just keep on stuff and don't leave shit to last minute like i sometimes do and youll be fine. REPEAT DO NOT BUY THE BOOK

Prof. Wormington is a great guy and knows his stuff. Homework is relaxed with daily assignments of multiple choice questions. Tests are diffuclt so review lecture recordings and powerpoint slides. Great class. Interesting material. Answered a lot of fundamental biology questions that accumulated from other courses.

Pay attention to class--if you're not good at keeping up with his fast pace like I was, then record and transcribe his lectures at a slower speed like I did. Transcribing is so terrible but it's so worth it, especially for the final test on cancer when you're studying pretty difficult material. If you do this, his tests are very fair. Doesn't make it easy though! No curve, so it's quite merciless so you have to keep up. I think around 30% of the exam is from the HW questions, so make sure you understand those. Don't just memorize them, but actually understand them, because he often changes up the questions a bit.

My favorite class at UVA! I've never felt like I learned so much from a class. Wormington is an amazing professor and the material is super interesting. The tests are very fair. If you keep up with the lectures and go to office hours they are doable! Highly recommend!

Wormington's class is hard but definitely worth it. You need to pay attention to class and record lectures. Take good notes. Everything he says is super important! He also repeats important notes several times if you didn't catch it the first time. He speaks quickly sometimes, so just stay awake!
Very interesting class. Great professor (even though he can be a bit condescending).

Wormington is a champ. For most, taking this class is not an option so make sure to take it with the Worm. His lectures are engaging and while he speaks fast, he tends to repeat a lot of things to help students understand. Take excellent notes and record the lectures to review them later. That being said, this is not an easy class and getting an A can be extremely tough. The homework grade is not an automatic 100 and you have be regimented in staying up to date with the material in order to do well on them. Exams are difficult, but fair. Overall, the class is great and the material is super enjoyable.

This class covers a LOT of information, but it all feels so necessary to anyone on a Bio/Biochem/Premed track. It can get a little dense at times, and Wormington really tests at a pretty advanced level at times, but it's relatively easy information to grasp conceptually. He also does an excellent job articulating the information. The class is not an easy A, but is a reasonably attainable A, and is very worthwhile altogether. By the way, the book is absolutely useless. As long as you take good notes, the slides and homework questions are completely sufficient study materials.

It was an interesting class but does require a lot of studying prior to exams. Be prepared to spend the days before the exam stuffing cell biology into your mind.

I feel I have a responsibility to write a review, just to refute the negative comments regarding Wormington's teaching style and the structure of the course. Wormington is NOT sexist- if he ever treated anyone in such a way, it was because they came to review sessions to ask questions revealing how little they studied and reviewed the relevant material. These students asked questions that wasted time by forcing the professor to recapitulate material covered in reading/class, and took time away from discussion of more targeted questions. This class was incredibly interesting, and the difficultly almost disappears as you navigate through the mechanics of the cell, learning first about the cell itself (in depth) then going on to learn more applications, such as cellular pathways and the roles they play in various diseases. I would highly recommend this course to anyone interested in a career in medicine- the material is absolutely captivating, and will surely confirm your interest in biology.

The material is awesome, but the professor isn't. Wormington is an excellent lecturer, but unfriendly towards males. If you haven't heard, he is very welcoming to questions that come from women, but not towards men. I didn't believe the rumors until I took the class, and you will definitely notice when you take it. He doesn't even try to be inconspicuous about it. Anyways, the grading of the class is way too generous as anything above a 93 was an A+. The tests vary in difficulty. In decreasing difficulty: 2nd, 3rd, final, 1st. The first exam is basically just the HW for that unit and the final is very easy and worth 25% as opposed to 20%. OVerall, the mateiral is very useful, especially if you're in the midst of studying for the mcat

This class wasn't that bad at all. I wish I could have spend more time studying for this class, but due to heavy course load, I always ended up studying for tests 2 or 3 days before the actual test. The HW can be hard sometimes, but if you spend time looking through power points and textbook then you should be fine! some of the questions in discussion sections and HW pop on the exams! My biggest tip would be not to write down anything when listening to his recordings... just listen and absorb all the info in and then write your notes in your own words!! Also, he didn't really curve the class, but adjusted the scale as mentioned in the comment below me, which was very fair in my opinion (89 or above was an A!!!). Don't stress out! the topics were really interesting.

So I have a lot to say about this class and Wormington.

This past semester, the course was structured to be 15% HW, which were old test questions given in sets of 5 three times a week, 20% for the first 3 midterms, and 25% for the final noncumulative midterm.

Firstly, I loved the content of this class. For the most part, I was excited to go to lecture and learn about how the cell works. I especially thought the content towards the end was useful, and am getting a lot of similar stuff coming up in my MCAT review.

Wormington is a great lecturer, and his tests are pretty fair. I do agree with the comments below though. He really did not do a good job enforcing people from cheating on HW, and although he knows some people have old tests, he does nothing about it. I asked him about this numerous times, and he said he changes the test enough that old tests would not be beneficial, and that students should be in his class to learn, not just to get the top grade... I did not use old tests as I felt they were dishonorable, and I did well in the class. I know people who used old tests and did worse than me. The main thing that he should focus on is making sure people do not cheat on HW by working in groups.

Also, I noticed that Wormington is nicer to female students. At his office hours and during tests, he seemed to answer their questions more readily. It was annoying.

The class was not curved, but the brackets were adjusted to fit his liking. an A- and a B+ were each only 1 point range, with an 86 being a B (not B+) and an 89+ being an A. I know people who got 86's and were very mad about this.

TIPS: expect to spend an hour for each hw to check them in the ppt and book or literature, go to class or get recordings, and study a lot for a few days before each exam.

Wormington lectures on everything that you need to know so don't bother to buy a textboox. The class it itself is challenging I would recommend recording the lectures and studying them. The Hw's he gives seem like they aren't important but they are very important (15% of your grade) so make sure you put in a reasonable effort into them. The good thing is that the class is interesting and you learn a lot. My major complaint is that Wormington doesn't seem to care that other students cheat in his class. Some students compare Hw answers and circulate around past tests, and of course the current tests are similar. Even when told he seemed not to care so cheaters benefit in this class apparently, if you're an honest student be prepared to fight against the curve. Also he seems to be sexist, if you are a guy don't even bother on going to his office hours, he only calls on girls for some odd reason.

Currently sitting to study for the final exam and I must say that this class is A LOT OF WORK. You do not have the leisure of slacking off in class, as the information throughout the powerpoints is very cumulative and continues to build on itself throughout the semester. Do not take this course alone. Have friends to share notes, recordings and study sessions with. Talking through the information with others is literally the only way that I even began to comprehend what was going on in this class. Wormington is a great lecturer but I found him to be relatively condescending and unapproachable (in comparison to Cronmiller/Roach/Galloway). If you are interested in this subject, definitely take it with wormington. It is a very challenging class, but I can say that I have learned a lot. This was easily my least favorite core class, but it was because I had no interest in the topic. You can do well, but you must put in a considerable amount of time and effort. No curves. No Mercy. MAY THE ODDS BE EVER IN YOUR FAVOR.

Outstanding class. Professor Wormington has this course down to a science (no pun intended) and it shows. His lectures flow very logically, and he clearly loves what he teaches. In addition, the material covered in this course is complicated, but absolutely fascinating: cell signalling, cancer, the cytoskeleton, etc. Fair warning, be prepared to work your butt off for this class. There is homework due before each lecture, and you wouldn't believe that only 5 questions could take you over an hour, but they do every time. In addition, his tests are fair, but very difficult. I easily studied in excess of 15 hours for exams to get in B+/A- range. I would suggest studying the homework questions religiously, along with all the discussion questions. More often than not, a few of each show up on the exam. Though some people may advise you not to buy the textbook (you can do well in the class without it) I would suggest buying it, because it is a great review tool, and if you like to read ahead before lectures it is an excellent resource. Overall, one of my favorite classes I've taken at UVA, and Wormington is an absolute superstar.

Decent class, not as hard as everyone says it is. Study the slides and you should be fine.

This class is hard, but you learn a whole lot. His lectures compose a textbook...heck, he should write a textbook. He's up-to-date with recent publications and research, so it's fun to hear him connect what we're learning to recent studies. Do the warm-ups, understand them, know them by heart, love them, and embrace them. Look at the powerpoints, memorize what's on there, what he said in class about each and every slide. Don't miss one thing! If you don't understand one little thing...it's CRUCIAL you GO and ASK. So you should study ahead of time before exams.

Hands down, this is a hard class. Don't buy the textbook, no matter what anyone else says, it is useless. I did MUCH better after I stopped looking at the textbook.

You'll have 5 multiple choice "warmup" questions to do before each lecture. While they are not impossible, they require looking at slides ahead of time and trying to understand things for yourself. Often this is hard because Wormington does not provide all you need to know right there on the slides, you have to really digest the info to get these questions right.

Study these warmup questions well as a handful are often repeated on the tests.

Go to every lecture too, even if they are at 9 AM. The bulk of my studying consisted of just listening to my recordings (record lectures!).

Go to the reviews too, they help you apply concepts in class.

Form a study group--helps learn the material better and gives an opportunity to vent about the class.

P.S. Wormington is obsessed with Miley Cyrus. It's kinda funny.

This class and genetics are the best core bio classes hands down. Wormington is a great lecturer, and actually a pretty nice guy if you go to his office hours. For his lectures, go everyday. You will regret the days you don't go and have to scramble to get notes/recordings from friends. If this class is offered next fall at 9am, I am so sorry. As great as Wormington is, coming to class hungover on Friday morning with little to no sleep and trying to understand cell bio might actually be the worst. Even getting to class at 9am on M/W is hard, at least for me. Take the best notes you can, and record lectures. Even though everyone says this for every class ever, this was one class where it was actually helpful. I didn't realize this until the final exam, and I regret it.
Before lectures there will be warmups due. They will be ridiculously hard. They are old test questions. You will be trying to answer old test questions before you even go to lecture. It was extremely hard and frustrating since this lead to a grade of 60% on 10% of my final grade. But it was nice, since we got exposure to test questions before the test. Hopefully he just makes this worth less % of your grade next year.
There will also be learning curves due at random times. Just do them, they are actually the easiest thing ever, you can get 40% of the questions right and still get a 100% on the exercise. So this was a nice grade boost, just don't forget to do them (oops).
The tests are a bit of a bitch, but they aren't that hard to study for. If you have gone to every class and start reviewing a week before, you should get it well enough to get an A. The book is helpful for getting the background info and especially for concepts at the beginning of the year. Other than that, focus on his lecture slides. Nothing, I mean absolutely nothing (unless he says don't worry about it), is irrelevant. Protein names, drug names, protein structures, etc.

Wormington is a really good lecturer, but somewhat difficult to approach in office hours. The warm ups helped a lot this semester, even though it's a bit tedious to have to do them before every class. The content is interesting and even though the tests are hard, they are usually fair. Study from the slides, only need the book really for background info.

Wormington is a fantastic professor. He knows what he is talking about and has taught this course so many times that his lectures have truly been perfected. Everything he says is important and everything on the slides is fair game if you touched upon it in class. This class is hard, and if you want an A or B you will need to put in the time. With that said it is not impossible.
I highly recommend you go to office hours and get to know Wormington. He truly cares about his students and will remember your name if you go to office hours even once or twice, then call on you in an auditorium of 400 kids by name. To me that shows true respect and commitment to students. He is very sarcastic, so if you are not good at interpreting sarcasm don't think that he is being mean; that's just his personality. Very fair professor and wants his students to learn. Always looking for ways to become a better professor and improve his course.
I was not too interested at all times in the subject matter but having him as a professor made the course much much less painful.
Also I highly suggest you study with one or two peers, and talk through the material. I didn't start doing this until the last two tests and found that it was very useful in grasping concepts that are scattered across many slides!

Professor Wormington is a great professor and really tries to help you to understand the material presented. Not only that, he will try to connect the seemingly useless-for-everyday-life topics with current scientific research which make them very interesting. Learn to appreciate the science as much as he does and pay attention to these current topics (they will appear on tests).

The course is challenging as the material is very dense. You have to be able to not just memorize all the different proteins and their functions that are presented to you but also have to be able to see the big overall picture: how do these proteins interact to produce the ultimate end goal of their pathway. Look through the Warm Up questions that he gives you and try to understand why the answers are what they are (the same goes for any other class really).
The tests are difficult but definitely doable and are extremely fair. There will NOT be any question that Wormington did not cover with enough depth for you to figure out. Sometimes, the Warm Up questions that he gives you will appear on the tests but with some of their context changed (i.e. changing NOT to WILL). Because of this, it is crucial that you understand why answers are what they are. Thankfully, the final for the class is not cumulative (it would be insane if it was).

There are two things that you should do to succeed. First off, know that NOTHING in the Powerpoint presentations is irrelevant and you will have to know and understand all of its contents to succeed on the tests. The powerpoints themselves should be sufficient to study but if some points are unclear, the book might explain it in a different way that may help better understanding. Second, record the lectures and go through them again while looking through your notes and powerpoints as if you are sitting through the class again. I find that doing so really helped me pick up the material if I didn't understand them the first time through.

Overall the course was very enjoyable. An A is definitely possible with enough hard work.

It is really hard to get an A in this class, but Wormington is a great professor. He is a good lecturer, really helpful, and cares about his students.

I really enjoyed taking this class with Wormington. He changed up the course a little by adding Warm-ups before every class. These warm ups were pretty difficult, but they helped a lot when it came time to study for the tests. He lectures well and his tests come from material he goes over in class, so there are no surprises.

I hated this class. I think if you REALLY love cell bio as a subject, you'll like this class. Otherwise, it was pretty bad. I kept up with most of the readings, went to every lecture and discussion and studied harder than I'd ever studied before. What I ultimately hated the most was that my friends and I would study for days and would really know the material but we'd still fail the tests. Wormington was an ok professor but I just didn't really like him. It was like he expected all of us to just know all the material he was teaching rather than really trying to make sure we learned it.

This class was really interesting, but Wormington changed up the material so there was a lot of emphasis on phagocytosis. He wants you to understand the material so don't just memorize stuff because you're pretty much screwed if you do. With that said, only 14 students pulled an A in the class this past semester out of the 250 we had. Basically, you have to think through the questions logically and really understand the chimaera concepts because he really loves those. Most of his questions are application-based and require analysis of data (at least for us Fall 2012). I found the book to be detailed but helpful because sometimes Wormington says stuff like "this guy here" and "that molecule" so you can get confused with which protein/gene is doing what so the book was helpful in clarifying that. Record his lectures and pay attention in class because this class is worth it - it's interesting and fun and Wormington's one of the best lecturers at UVA.

He helps you understand the fundamental theories

the class is not easy, but learn a lot.

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!

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~

Good class

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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

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.

Interesting and relevant for Bio majors, but beware - this is not a class you should be taking with a bunch of other hard classes/commitments, or you will not get an A - it's easy to put this class on the back burner. Wormington is a fantastic professor.

This class is hard, but if you studystudystudy the material is pretty straightforward. A lot of memorization. Exams get progressively harder, so don't start slacking if you did well on the first one!

Wormington is the best lecturer I've had at UVA by far. He doesn't waste your time during lecture and tells you exactly what you need to know for the exam. Definitely bring a recorder to lecture, it'll be a good investment.(his dictation is really good so you can speed up his voice to save time as well) Wormington and Gene give out a lot of clicker questions so you know what to expect during the tests. There are usually 4 tests worth 25% a piece but this time he did 5 worth 20%, 25%, 25%, 30% (final). A 90 is a guaranteed A/A-, but he lowered the A cutoff to an 89.5 because everybody did horribly on the third exam. Don't even bother reading the book...everything you need to know comes from the slides. Take good notes and record lecture, and when you're studying just listen to the recording and follow along with the slides and you'll be set.

GREAT CLASS!!! Definitely the best biology class I have taken at UVa. Professor Wormington loves what he's teaching, and he teaches it in a way that makes perfect sense. To do well on the tests, you really just had to memorize your class notes--reading the textbook was not necessary.

The class was fairly straight forward. Tests were hard but not unfair. Wormington is a great lecturer. There is a curve in the class even though he says there isn't. By far the best biology course I have taken

Wormington is a fantastic lecturer. The topics are interesting he is extremely clear. You don't really need the book at all. Just make sure to attend every lecture and take good notes. There are four exams, which are uncurved, but very fair, and easy, in my opinion. I probably didn't study for more than a total of 4 hours for each. Gene is pretty cool.

This class is hard. Don't let the grade distribution fool you, this class is really really hard for the non-genius. You really need to keep your head in the books.

This class is extremely straightforward. Study and understand all the material from the lectures and you'll definitely get an A. In my opinion, this course was the best out of the cores. Clickers give you a good idea of what kind of questions to expect.

He's a good professor, he teaches what he has to and doesn't want further interaction with students. He's helpful if you go to him. I really don't see anything special about him he's just a typical biology professor. The exams are hard but if you study you'll get a good grade. He is a fair professor and doesn't discriminate at all.

The hardest class I have taken at UVA including biochemistry, financial accounting, genetics, O-chem, physics...etc. Beware those multiple choice questions are super tricky. I don't have a photographic memory so it is hard for me to have a 10 step pathway in mind for a multiple choice question. Also, you will have to memorize about 50 mechanisms for each test. I would suggest studying about a week in advance before the test and going to review sessions. Also, don't take this class assuming it's an easy A because it's not, but the material is pretty interesting to a science person.

great class. You'll learn a lot!

There are 4 tests worth 25% each, and they are all multiple choice. He goes into extreme detail from the slides, and all of class is spent adding information to his slides. It's not really necessary to read the book but you need to go to class and if you stop paying attention for 5 minutes youre likely to miss something.

Great class! Wormington is the best! Makes learning Cell Bio fun!

Wormington is an excellent, if speedy, lecturer. I never once opened the book, went to class, took good notes, and received an A. If you put enough effort into your notes there is no need to worry!

The material in this class was very interesting and easier than genetics, in my opinion. The class was only difficult because of the grading scheme-no curves or scales. I made the mistake of not listening to the reviews and trying to read everything then studying the powerpoints the night before an exam. I thought maybe he'd pull something out of the reading that wasn't covered in the lecture which wasn't true. Just study the powerpoints like crazy. Wormington knows his stuff and knows how to teach this class, but he is very condescending. Eugene was an awesome TA.

Good class, test questions are given away at the discussion sections.

This class has an IMMENSE amount of information to memorize. Attendance is done through extra credit awarded via iClicker participation. Basically have to know EVERY SINGLE DETAIL that is in the lecture slides, so coming to lecture and paying attention is at a premium. The way to succeed in this class is like I said before, memorize everything, yes everything that is presented in the lecture slides. Most of the class is straight memorization like a mofo, in case you didn't know so. Grading is based on 4 50 question exams, none of which can be dropped.

Really great teacher. Really hard class. A LOT of reading/ memorization.

Go to all review sessions and write down clicker questions. Do not need to buy the book. All information is in the lectures.

I think this class is more difficult than most make it out to be. The only way to get to the A/A- range is to average 90+. Wormy is still the best core professor, though.

People say he is a good lecturer. I found him boring and monotonous. He is a nice guy though. This class is extremely boring and easy if you've taken Biochemistry already.

The best science class I have taken at UVa, and I'm a 3rd year science major. Excellent professor, and the TA, Gene, was outstanding. Gene really tried to make sure you understood the material and both he and Prof Wormington made themselves available quite a bit if you needed help. Don't buy the book, it is utterly useless. Just listen to Wormington's lectures. If you're a slow notetaker, invest in a tape recorder of some sort. Everything comes from lecture.

Amazing teacher. Wormington really enjoys students to come to office hours, and he is great at putting difficult mechanisms into perspective

great class. interesting material.

This class really wasn't hard if you paid attention in class. After a few weeks I stopped reading the textbook and just studied the slides from class. Got an A. Just make sure you take good notes during lecture.

This class was pretty fun. Wormington tries to add jokes into his slides and the tests are very fair.

Great class! There is a lot of information that can get really detailed at times but Wormington does a good job covering everything. Tests aren't that bad if you go through and memorize the his lecture slides.

Great professor!! Takes a complex subject and makes it understandable and interesting. Also focused on relevant information dealing with the topic, such as cancer.

The best core. However, there is a lot of memorization involved, and the class is not an easy A.

Wormington is a great lecturer. He makes the material fun, accessable, and interesting. The problem, though, comes with his exams. His exams are awful; hands down, some of the hardest questions out there, because he expects you to know the meticulous details of the various processes. Despite his exams, which are ridculously hard, I still suggest this course. Just don't expect to do stellar, and you'll be okay.

lots of material and memorizing, but very do-able. For tests, make sure you go to discussion section and do the practice tests and discussion questions! Wormington is a great teacher and makes complicated processes easy to understand, so go to lectures!

One of the best lecturers at UVA. Makes hard topics easy to understand.

Don't buy the book. Make sure you go to class or get notes somehow before the test. Memorize the stuff he tells you to and it's really not that hard. Definitely not a class to take if you're not a Bio or other science major.

Professor Wormington is a great teacher and tries hard to make sure everyone understands the difficult subject matter.

HARD. Be sure you have the time to devote to the class.

Biol-300 is slightly more difficult than the pie chart would have you believe, but not by all that much. There are three tests which constitute your final grade, none of which are curved, and all of which are straightforward. Practice questions are really do come right back on tests.

This was the best core. Wormington is enthusiastic about the class and doesn't use unfair curves like many other science department professors use.

Wormington is definitely one of the best lecturers. He doesn't put everything on the slides, mainly images/diagrams. Going to all the lectures is the best way to prepare for the 4 exams. Don't even bother reading/buying the textbook. I got my highest grade on one of the exams when I didn't even read anything from the book but focused entirely on the slides and my lecture notes. Trust me on this one. I'm the type of person that feels the need to read all the sections/chapters pertaining to the material but it's seriously a waste of time. Definitely go over the study questions several times because those are basically the same questions on the exams. No joke. You do have to be careful, though, because he might change some small details so make sure you understand it and don't just memorize everything. Good luck!

my goodness- this class was HARD- don't let the grading pie chart fool you. But he is a great guy!- the tests are fair. Also, dont bother buying the book- I easter 200 dollars for it and NEVER opened it once during this semester (okay, maybe once or twice to get a glipse). He says that it is supplemental, but the book is confusing so focus only ont he slides.

Wormington is an absolutely amazing professor. That said, don't let the grade distribution chart fool you- this class can be very tough, especially if you're dyslexic like me and are prone to mixing up PKC with PKA with PGK. His test questions can be quite tricky sometimes, too.

Still, grades aside, it's been one of my more engaging biology courses here at the University.

Focuses almost entirely on the material presented in class and not in the book

good lord this is a tough class. thought i was going to breeze through it. although you can do the reading, go to class and understand what wormington has to say, you NEED to go to the discussion section because this is when he pretty much gives away the test answers. I did not know this so this class was a little tough. Other than that, Wormington is an amazing lecturer and he keeps things interresting. Good guy and a worthwhile course for bio majors

Wormington's a great lecturer, funny in a dorky way. He's *fast* though, so make sure you can keep up, especially since his slides are mostly pictures from the book and not text-based at all. Tests were moderately difficult, but reasonable.

Wormington is GREAT, and you will definitely learn a lot in this class. Make sure you know everything on the slides, and his test questions can be a little tricky, but I would recommend this class to anyone interested in biology.

Great professor, good lectures. Really enjoys the subject and the enthusiasm shows.

4 tests worth 25% each make up your grade.

easy to understand lecturer. tests aren't too bad if you follow his reading outline/study the slides

great professor

While not a course typically taken for pleasure, BIOL300 proved to be engaging when taught by Hirsch and Wormington. Wormington in particular was fairly humorous, both did their best to relate rather dense and sometimes difficult material to undergraduates. Though the reading and tests may prove difficult, I recommend the course for anyone who needs or is interested in the fundamentals of biological systems.

Wormington is the man. He explains things really well =)

GO TO CLASS! Even if it's at 9 am. Just reading won't really do you any good because the exams are based off of both book and class material/examples.