4th Year Term 1 Review
BIOL 301 - Biomathematics class average = 81
The course covers mathematical models used in biological systems - you learn about Single variable models, multi-variable models (2x2 Matrix) and a little bit of probability models to account for stochasticity.
I took it because I wanted to learn more math than 1st year calculus (and also has high class average!). At first I was intimidated because it had weekly assignments from pre-reading(usually one chapter a week) + programming (for Mathematica) + many students with much more MATH background than MATH 102/103. I was actually considering dropping the course, but it turned out that the professor covers much of the topic in class anyways and the assignments aren't too difficult either(you can always get help form the TA). Weekly labs are just for participation marks too. Moreover, you don't need much background in mathematics to do well in this course; in fact, I did pretty well even though I didn't remember much calculus from first year.
I enjoyed BIOL 301, but I wouldn't recommend it to people who don't have much interest in math. The course is actually pretty challenging to do well (don't be fooled by the class average!) in my opinion and the course material wouldn't seem much interesting with no interest in math.
I want to say few more things, the exam is completely open book, so always go to class and take good notes and the programming portion that you do in the lab comes up in the exams (counts for 10% of the exam). There is also a course project at the end of the term, but it isn't too bad.
BIOL 325 - Introduction to Animal Mechanics and Locomotion class average = 80
It is a Biophysics course, but more concept-based than calculations. Learning the physics behind flight and swimming were interesting. My friend convinced me to take it and I didn't know what to take either, so I decided to take it anyways. This year we had a new prof for this course. He was covering a lot of materials in class and his lecture pace was really fast too, but after the result for the first midterm came out, he decided to slow it down and things got better. I didn't do so well in the first midterm either, but made it up in the 2nd midterm and the final exam.
The course material isn't too difficult - the physics covered in the course don't go as deep compared to PHYS 101 or 102 and every exam question is straight from the lecture slides and the problem sets. Yes, I am making it sound really easy, but there are a lot of details to know in every slide, so take good notes in class (I highly recommend recording the lectures in case you miss anything or fall asleep).
MEDG 420 - Human Genomics and Medical Genetics class average = 78
The main reason why I took MEDG 420 is because I took BIOL 335 and wanted to learn more Genetics, and "Medical" Genetics sounded fancy. Yes, in MEDG 420 you learn more about Human Genetics; I think that is the main difference between MEDG courses and Genetics courses under BIOL.
Looking back on past 4 months, I struggled a lot. MEDG 420 doesn't have a final exam, but instead, we had Take Home Questions(THQ) almost every class which sums up to be a 45% of the grade. For THQs, you are given a paper(or papers) to read and the questions to answer - THQs were difficult as I wasn't used to reading papers (I eventually got used to it though). You also have to do a 20 minute presentation(20% of the grade) at some point in the term on a topic assigned by the instructor. You really have to know the topic inside and out because you are also responsible for leading the discussion. There are 4 instructors and each teach about 4-6 classes on different topics. I really liked when we were taught the "Medical" perspective of the course(Gene Therapy, Pharmacogenomics, Pathophysiology etc), but I didn't enjoy much when the lecture focus was "Genetics." (SNPs, Statistics, GWAS etc)
In the end, I think I learned a lot as the course deals with papers/technologies that were recently published/developed and I have no regret taking it. However, you have to think carefully as it is also true that the course load is pretty heavy, yet it is really difficult to get a high mark.
I will write another post regarding the detailed syllabus for MEDG 420.
PCTH 325 - Rational Basis of Drug Therapy class average = 86
I really enjoyed it, probably the course I enjoyed the most this term. PCTH 325 is a great Pharmacology survey course - it is perhaps the only Pharmacology course offered to non-PCTH majors, yet the material covered are diverse and interesting.
Topics covered are: Pharmacokinetics, Pharmacodynamics, Chemotherapy, Autonomic Pharmacology, Respiratory Pharmacology, Endocrine Pharmacology, Gastrointestinal Pharmacology, Cardiovascular Pharmacology, Psychiatric Pharmacology, Diabetes, Local Anesthetics, General Anesthetics, Pain Management etc. It does cover a broad range of topics and drugs, but the course coordinator is very passionate and tries to have an effective lecturer for every topic.
It also has a very high class average, but it's not dead easy - in fact, it is about the same difficulty as CAPS 390 in my opinion.
ECON 310 - Principles of Microeconomics class average = 73
This course is ECON 101 equivalent, but for upper level students. The course covers Supply and Demand, Trade, Taxation and different types of Market systems. Weekly Aplia assignments reminded me of Sapling and it was really annoying too haha. I thought it would be really easy(come on, 1st year equivalent!), but some concepts were hard to understand - I guess I'm not an ECON person. I had to put more effort than other students and spent about 4-5 hours every week studying for it and fortunately, I think it got paid off in the end. Exam questions are manageable as long as you understand the concepts and actually, many of them are straight from the review questions that the prof goes over in class, or the problem set questions. As long as you go to class and keep up with the on-line assignments, preparing for exams wouldn't be a big problem.
The course covers mathematical models used in biological systems - you learn about Single variable models, multi-variable models (2x2 Matrix) and a little bit of probability models to account for stochasticity.
I took it because I wanted to learn more math than 1st year calculus (and also has high class average!). At first I was intimidated because it had weekly assignments from pre-reading(usually one chapter a week) + programming (for Mathematica) + many students with much more MATH background than MATH 102/103. I was actually considering dropping the course, but it turned out that the professor covers much of the topic in class anyways and the assignments aren't too difficult either(you can always get help form the TA). Weekly labs are just for participation marks too. Moreover, you don't need much background in mathematics to do well in this course; in fact, I did pretty well even though I didn't remember much calculus from first year.
I enjoyed BIOL 301, but I wouldn't recommend it to people who don't have much interest in math. The course is actually pretty challenging to do well (don't be fooled by the class average!) in my opinion and the course material wouldn't seem much interesting with no interest in math.
I want to say few more things, the exam is completely open book, so always go to class and take good notes and the programming portion that you do in the lab comes up in the exams (counts for 10% of the exam). There is also a course project at the end of the term, but it isn't too bad.
BIOL 325 - Introduction to Animal Mechanics and Locomotion class average = 80
It is a Biophysics course, but more concept-based than calculations. Learning the physics behind flight and swimming were interesting. My friend convinced me to take it and I didn't know what to take either, so I decided to take it anyways. This year we had a new prof for this course. He was covering a lot of materials in class and his lecture pace was really fast too, but after the result for the first midterm came out, he decided to slow it down and things got better. I didn't do so well in the first midterm either, but made it up in the 2nd midterm and the final exam.
The course material isn't too difficult - the physics covered in the course don't go as deep compared to PHYS 101 or 102 and every exam question is straight from the lecture slides and the problem sets. Yes, I am making it sound really easy, but there are a lot of details to know in every slide, so take good notes in class (I highly recommend recording the lectures in case you miss anything or fall asleep).
MEDG 420 - Human Genomics and Medical Genetics class average = 78
The main reason why I took MEDG 420 is because I took BIOL 335 and wanted to learn more Genetics, and "Medical" Genetics sounded fancy. Yes, in MEDG 420 you learn more about Human Genetics; I think that is the main difference between MEDG courses and Genetics courses under BIOL.
Looking back on past 4 months, I struggled a lot. MEDG 420 doesn't have a final exam, but instead, we had Take Home Questions(THQ) almost every class which sums up to be a 45% of the grade. For THQs, you are given a paper(or papers) to read and the questions to answer - THQs were difficult as I wasn't used to reading papers (I eventually got used to it though). You also have to do a 20 minute presentation(20% of the grade) at some point in the term on a topic assigned by the instructor. You really have to know the topic inside and out because you are also responsible for leading the discussion. There are 4 instructors and each teach about 4-6 classes on different topics. I really liked when we were taught the "Medical" perspective of the course(Gene Therapy, Pharmacogenomics, Pathophysiology etc), but I didn't enjoy much when the lecture focus was "Genetics." (SNPs, Statistics, GWAS etc)
In the end, I think I learned a lot as the course deals with papers/technologies that were recently published/developed and I have no regret taking it. However, you have to think carefully as it is also true that the course load is pretty heavy, yet it is really difficult to get a high mark.
I will write another post regarding the detailed syllabus for MEDG 420.
PCTH 325 - Rational Basis of Drug Therapy class average = 86
I really enjoyed it, probably the course I enjoyed the most this term. PCTH 325 is a great Pharmacology survey course - it is perhaps the only Pharmacology course offered to non-PCTH majors, yet the material covered are diverse and interesting.
Topics covered are: Pharmacokinetics, Pharmacodynamics, Chemotherapy, Autonomic Pharmacology, Respiratory Pharmacology, Endocrine Pharmacology, Gastrointestinal Pharmacology, Cardiovascular Pharmacology, Psychiatric Pharmacology, Diabetes, Local Anesthetics, General Anesthetics, Pain Management etc. It does cover a broad range of topics and drugs, but the course coordinator is very passionate and tries to have an effective lecturer for every topic.
It also has a very high class average, but it's not dead easy - in fact, it is about the same difficulty as CAPS 390 in my opinion.
ECON 310 - Principles of Microeconomics class average = 73
This course is ECON 101 equivalent, but for upper level students. The course covers Supply and Demand, Trade, Taxation and different types of Market systems. Weekly Aplia assignments reminded me of Sapling and it was really annoying too haha. I thought it would be really easy(come on, 1st year equivalent!), but some concepts were hard to understand - I guess I'm not an ECON person. I had to put more effort than other students and spent about 4-5 hours every week studying for it and fortunately, I think it got paid off in the end. Exam questions are manageable as long as you understand the concepts and actually, many of them are straight from the review questions that the prof goes over in class, or the problem set questions. As long as you go to class and keep up with the on-line assignments, preparing for exams wouldn't be a big problem.
Thank you for all the reviews. Really appreciate them!
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure :)
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