Bio 2A03, as you can see from my ratings is one of those courses. You register for it, it seems supremely interesting, you're all hyped up to go, and then the course turns out to be the worst thing since food at Commons.

There are 3 tests for 32%, 5 labs for 24% (3 Formal -...

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Took this course in Winter 2011!

The course was pretty decent except for the labs. The labs required a ton of work and the marking was kinda hard.

Pros
-3 Cumulative midterms - forces you to study on a more regular basis and when it comes to studying for the exam, there isn't much new material you have to go over
-McClelland was a great prof! His tests were fair. He didn't test extra details from the textbook.
Just know the slides inside out and you're golden.

Cons
-Labs are a lot of work, and steal time away from your other courses if you leave them to last 2 days - especially if you have a lab and a physio midterm on the same day!
-Lecture time slot: 5:30 - If you're commuting, can be annoying

All evaluations are MC, except for the final exam which had 1 SA but was mostly MC.

One of my favourite second courses of second year!
IMO, 2A03 was the most interesting out of all the bios: 2A03, 2B03, 2C03, 2F03

Would highly recommend it!

took this course in winter 2011, dr McClelland...

there were 3 tests worth 30%, and 5 labs worth 30%(not evenly weighted among the 5), and a 40% exam. the tests were fairly easy, although most had ambiguous wording and some had errors, and the final exam was pretty much the same. the labs were brutal though; they took up an inordinate amount of time, and the marking scheme was unclear so your mark depends a fair bit on your TA. it is possible to get a decent mark in the labs, however you have to put in an absurd amount of effort.

i found the material fairly interesting, but the prof tended to oversimplify things in lecture, then test in more detail on the midterms(the majority of information is in the lecture slides though).

it is possible to do well in this course, but it takes up more time than any other course i've taken(with the possible exception of orgo).

Originally Posted by brendanp

took this course in winter 2011, dr McClelland...

there were 3 tests worth 30%, and 5 labs worth 30%(not evenly weighted among the 5), and a 40% exam. the tests were fairly easy, although most had ambiguous wording and some had errors, and the final exam was pretty much the same. the labs were brutal though; they took up an inordinate amount of time, and the marking scheme was unclear so your mark depends a fair bit on your TA. it is possible to get a decent mark in the labs, however you have to put in an absurd amount of effort.

i found the material fairly interesting, but the prof tended to oversimplify things in lecture, then test in more detail on the midterms(the majority of information is in the lecture slides though).

it is possible to do well in this course, but it takes up more time than any other course i've taken(with the possible exception of orgo).

Did you find the textbook helpful? Btw, if you had Dr.McClelland, is good at explaining the concepts?

I want to take this course, but I dont want to take it if wilson is teaching, does anybody know if McLelland will be the only prof?

Originally Posted by psps

I want to take this course, but I dont want to take it if wilson is teaching, does anybody know if McLelland will be the only prof?

The Master timetable says McClelland, and he was the only prof who taught us this past term. Wilson only came for a class to substitute for him but she wasn't a regular prof. I believe this was 2 years ago or something when they both taught it together.

I hope you all new 2A03 students enjoy ur time with Thelma Leech, she is just the best instructional assistant ever...

Originally Posted by L'Étoile

I hope you all new 2A03 students enjoy ur time with Thelma Leech, she is just the best instructional assistant ever...

Haha. I couldn't help but comment. Not to mention how friendly she is to students...

I'm scared about the labs, are there any tips to do well in the reports?

Also, is the textbook necessary for this course? I'll be having McClelland.

For the reports you always have to start early and would be best to talk to your TA as much as possible to get an idea of what is expected since really specific things are expected and you might not realize. Textbook is pretty necessary not for the lectures but for the labs.

How is the textbook? It says to get the 4th edition, but I've talked to a couple of ppl and they say he tends to favour the 3rd edition since most of his references are from there?

Either edition doesn't matter. He gives page numbers for both and for labs you gotta find the information on your own anyways.

Originally Posted by fernancb

How is the textbook? It says to get the 4th edition, but I've talked to a couple of ppl and they say he tends to favour the 3rd edition since most of his references are from there?

He gives pages for both. But I used the 3rd edition last year, when the 4th edition came out, and when I compared them, the book was practically the same, but for like 1/2 price. So definitely get the 3rd edition!

This should have been said last yr: Labs are very bad. The mistake you make in the first is carried over to the second since you don't get your first back before the second.

Labs were very bad! Not only is it hard to answer all the questions and get the marks in such a small space, but the TAs can be extremely slow. I didn't get my first lab back until I was about to write my third one. Some people wrote all 5 labs without getting their first lab back, and others got the marks but not their actual lab. Talking to the TA about what they want is a good idea, each TA can mark differently although they try to make it less subjective with the point-mark system for answering the question.

The content and the testing was pretty straightforward, no surprises really. McClelland can be a bit slow/boring but he's good. People generally did well on tests, he said he's never had averages that high (but he didn't kill us on the exam to compensate or anything).

Pretty good course. Lectures were good and McClelland seems like a good guy. He is approachable and helpful. Labs aren't as bad as some are making them out to be; just pay attention, do what your TA says and you will do fine.