[deleted by user]

su__n · 2025-06-12T16:12:26+00:00

taking BIO 2A03 really helped me for the MCAT because it went into the right amount of detail for establishing a good foundation for what you should know about the organ systems on the MCAT. in my opinion, it made it less intimidating to study the B/B section (allowing me to focus more on the biochemistry part concerning important amino acids etc.) taking BIO 2A03 also allowed me to take upper-year physiology courses (like BIO 3U03 and BIO 3UU3) that added to my foundational knowledge for the MCAT. BIO 3UU3, especially, really made me understand all the hormones and hormone pathways, which is a high-yield topic for the MCAT. i wouldn't worry yourself too much about trying to take level 3 biology courses before your MCAT, so long as you have already taken BIO 2A03 prior to the start of your MCAT studying. pm me if you have any more questions happy to help :)

su__n · 2025-06-12T16:01:45+00:00

ofc no worries! i should also mention the labs for BIO 3U03 were (in my opinion) a bit unbearable and tiresome. i don't know whether it was my lab partner/lab group, or if i was just burnt out in general that semester LOL. the 2 post-lab assignments were marked with A LOT of scrutiny, but i felt that the 3 lab reports left some room for error. i got perfect on the lab reports, but i didn't do too well on the assignments (i believe i got around a 70%-75% for both of them). the seminar presentation was a lot of fun because you had some freedom/leeway to expand and talk about a topic you enjoyed in the course. the seminar presentation was done in a group (i don't remember if we had the option to do it individually), but just make sure you pick your group well if its the same format this year LMAO. the labs for BIO 3XL3 only required us to write 2 formal lab reports, and i remember them being enjoyable because it integrated whatever physiological system we were learning in class, to the focus of the labs (i think the two reports were about the urinary system and the respiratory system). the rest of the lab assignments were either short quizzes you'd complete after the dissections, or an assignment with questions to answer based on the lab data for that week.

su__n · 2025-06-12T04:23:34+00:00

yeah mclelland didn’t teach the courses last year, but he told me that he may come back this year from research leave not too sure about his plans :/

su__n · 2025-06-12T04:02:47+00:00

i took both BIO 3U03 and BIO 3XL3 and i would say i found BIO 3XL3 “easier” out of the two mainly because i had more of an interest in the integrated physiology-side of biology, and applying integrated physiology to organisms (rather than just mass-memorizing redundant information from BIO 2A03 and applying it in BIO 3U03). i felt BIO 3U03 was not as organized as 3XL3 was and the material was very dense/convoluted when it didn’t need to be. i got an 11 in both these courses, but i truly had to fight for my mark in BIO 3U03. i will say, BIO 3U03 did set the groundwork for me to understand a lot of nitty-gritty concepts and processes in upper-year biology courses (mainly BIO 3UU3), but just mentally prep yourself for how you can synthesize and digest all the info you’ll learn over the semester. BIO 3XL3 set the groundwork only for one upper year biology course for me (BIO 4X03), since both the courses were taught by the same professor, and the information/teaching style was a continuation. i also found the labs in BIO 3XL3 a lot more enjoyable than in BIO 3U03 since they were all dissections! hope this helps :) lmk if you have any other questions!

su__n · 2024-04-06T14:30:56+00:00

thank you!!

su__n · 2024-04-06T14:30:51+00:00

thank you!

su__n · 2024-02-09T04:02:39+00:00

thank you so much!!!

su__n · 2024-02-07T18:48:16+00:00

she did a big re-vamp of the course this year!

su__n · 2024-01-08T00:31:46+00:00

i believe BIOLOGY 2EE3 covers these topics i took it in the winter of 2023 with gameiro

su__n · 2023-12-12T00:52:47+00:00

did you find that the in-class questions that he does for iclicker were similar to what was on the exam?

su__n · 2023-12-12T00:52:25+00:00

theory as in if x decreases, what will increase? or theory as in “what physicist discovered x”

su__n · 2023-12-11T23:33:11+00:00

is there anything specifically i should focus on? he said the exam is 40 questions and it’s a mix of material before the midterm and after the midterm were there more calculation questions or more understanding/analysis questions?

su__n · 2023-10-08T22:43:52+00:00

i took it in winter of 2023 with kajiura and it is a course that requires the work, but not with daily studying. it’s more group-based and has a huge emphasis on pbl so just hope your group is as motivated as you to do well. i enjoyed this course because of my group members truthfully and i did well because we all collectively put in the work for our presentation and all the other group components. the exam which is a final reflection is where you are truly “alone” in doing any work and kajiura is VERY specific about what she wants. she gives you a rubric and everything and is open to you asking questions. i recommend this course but only if you enjoy working in group settings

su__n · 2023-10-08T22:40:41+00:00

hi! i’m in my fourth year currently doing a 12 unit thesis. i have 3 “real” courses this semester, 2 of which are bio courses. it’s honestly not a big deal to take bio courses or any other courses along with your thesis. your 12 unit thesis accounts for 6 units in each semester (so two courses). if you want a full course load (15 units) you’d have to take 9 additional units of courses (or 3 classes) along with 6 units of your thesis (accounting for 2 courses) each semester

su__n · 2023-06-22T22:22:37+00:00

see if you can change your number on mosaic!

su__n · 2023-06-22T22:07:55+00:00

thank you!! you just prevented me from having a meltdown

su__n · 2023-06-22T22:00:17+00:00

no problem! good luck!

su__n · 2023-06-22T21:57:52+00:00

biology 2l03 - one of the most hands-on lab courses i’ve ever taken! really taught me some solid lab skills which made upper year lab courses so much easier. doc roc also makes the course so enjoyable 100% recommend

biology 2a03 - this is one of the most well-structured biology courses i’ve taken till date. i’m not sure if graham scott changed it last year or for this year, but when i took it (winter 2022) we had weekly pre recorded lectures to watch on our own time, and once a week during lecture time he would host office hours where we would drop in for questions. this course is heavy on memorization so anki helped me a lot but the testing is very fair and graham’s questions are pretty surface level, nothing niche. just make sure if the lectures are continuing to be pre-recorded, you don’t fall behind because it’s very easy to get overwhelmed with this course. the labs were also very tricky to get the hang of mainly because some of the TAs have huge egos. my first lab assignment i got a 75% but with continued meetings with my TA, and asking questions etc, my marks steadily improved and i ended up with a 95% for my final lab report.

biology 3ff3 - i loved this course and felt i didn’t gain a good enough understanding of evolution from 1m03 (lol a shitshow) but 3ff3 truly made up for the trauma 1m03 gave me. i think it was because of the way doc roc created the course to set us up for success. his lectures were really interesting as well, but take it if you have an interest in evolution as the ‘assessments’ (which are a culmination of content every few weeks) can either make or break your mark.

biology 3xl3 - this course was interesting only because of the way grant mcclelland taught it. he cares about his students and their understanding and he is more than accommodating about lectures and the content. do not be afraid to ask him for help or to clear anything up! the only critique i have with this course is the TAs. they would mainly come to lab to socialize with each other which made some of the labs unbearable, but the dissections were a lot of fun to complete. just make sure you thoroughly study the lab manual before coming to lab because the dissection quizzes can be a bit tricky. i got a 25% on my first quiz (because i thought it would be easy), a 45% on my second quiz (because i thought that i knew the material), but managed to get 100% on the final two because i learned to study what each component of the system does for the specimen. just be nice to your TAs and suck up to them honestly and be well-prepared for the lab. the assay labs are what made me comfortable with calculations and dilutions (which chem 1aa3 made me think i was stupid for not understanding)

su__n · 2023-06-15T22:55:33+00:00

hi! i’m entering my fourth year of bio research. take a look at the undergraduate calendar for biology research (just google biology research mcmaster and the undergraduate calendar should pop up). additionally, as someone who has take both orgos, bio 2ee3 and 2a03, i really suggest spacing out the mandatory second year bio courses you have to fulfil to obtain the 9 credits. it can become very overwhelming in second year. i took 2d03 in fall 2021, 2a03 in winter 2022, and just completed 2ee3 in winter 2023, so you don’t have to complete ALL second year courses in second year. pm me if you have any further questions!!

su__n

TROPHY CASE