Microbiology

[Guest mitchie41]

Hi everyone.

 

I'm thinking about taking Microbio 202, but the course calendar recommends taking Biol 200 first.

 

Does anyone who has taken this course know if biol 200 comes REALLY handy in this course? Is it possible to do well in the course without having taken biol 200 prior to entering the course?

 

 

Thanks, and good luck to all you med hopefuls.

[Guest carbonrod]

Hey,

I didn't bother with bi 200 and I did fine in micro 202. You really dont need it.

[Guest physiology]

Don't need it - The MC tests don't examine material like translation and how mRNA is translated and translocated.

[Guest kellyl20]

you do not need the Bio course first; with or without Bio first, Microbi IMO is still a hard course. The time I took it the class average was 70%.....and it was only b/c of some scoring into the 90s

[Guest physiology]

I would consider the course of medium to high difficulty;

 

It's so interesting though - the immunology component is taught very well (Don't take the Tues/Thurs class - the prof sucks, take the MWF ones). The instructor I had integrated animations into her immunology lectures. VERY helpful.

 

The bacterial diseases component is allright and the virus section is downright boring, even though I LOVE all that apocalypse, ebola, 99% mortality rate, level 4 biohazard stuff..

 

Go figure

[Guest mitchie41]

Hi...

 

Thanks for all the prompt replies!

 

but I have one more question then:

 

What would you have to do in order to do well in a course like Micb 202?

[Guest xanth]

Hi,

 

I took Micb 202 in 1999 and tutored it this year. To do well, I really think it's a case of selective memorization. My experience was that it wasn't a course where understanding and applying general concepts was the key, although that was definitely important too. Memorize details too! Hope this helps.

 

I found Micb 201 harder than 202 (maybe because of a certain prof...)

[Guest carbonrod]

I just read the booklet a few times before the exam. That seemed to work well. I found 202 harder than 201, I was stung by a bee though in the 202 exam, so it's hard to say.

[Guest mitchie41]

Thanks for replying!

 

I found Biol 112(The new course that replaced micb 201) to be very tough too...and I think it's because of the same prof that XANTH is referring to.

 

ha.

[Guest mitchie41]

Are the final exams for Micb 202 made availible to all students? or is it like Micb201\Biol112 where they keep all the exams and midterms in TOP SECRET?

[Guest ssup]

I took Micb 202 last year and thought it was possibly the most interesting course of my 4 years at UBC.

 

mitchie41: yes, all exams are kept top secret just like 201. But our prof did make available several practice exams/problem sets. All our exams in this course were open book so many people thought there was no need for memorization. That's where they went wrong. In my opinion, the micb 202 exams are made so that some answers can always be easily eliminated if you know your stuff. If you're searching through the booklet on the exam though to find that one page where you remember seeing something, GOOD LUCK!!!

 

On that note, make a very detailed table of contents for yourself. It'll help a lot on the exams!

 

Finally, for this course, if Dr.Kion (I think that was her name) is teaching it, SIGN UP!!! She's an incredible professor!

 

Good luck!

[Guest physiology]

Hey,

 

I had Dr. Kion for both biol 112 and micb 202. She's excellent, so I didn't want to be in anyone else's class. I know her somewhat so I just asked her which sections she was teaching (Always the MWF ones).

 

Initially I was really diligent in the course and I assiduously summarized notes and made annotations whereever I could. But I grew tired after awhile and stopped doing that

But that technique REALLY works because I found repeating the inflammation process and how T and B cells respond to different antigens really good. For me, memorization leads to understanding.

 

The exams for micb 202 are "top secret" in a sense. However, the questions are re-used and put into question banks. (It's tough to constantly come up with new MC questions every year).

 

I'd say that the practice MC questions and sample exams on WEBCT are comparable in difficulty to the actual exam. Due to exam duress and stress, the actual tests give that illusion of being harder. Also, you're dealing with more questions as well, so the sheer # of questions can complicate things.

 

I found some of the MC questions to be very nitpicky - so you really have to know the "life" cycles of all the types of viruses.

[Guest mitchie41]

Thanks for all the great tips.

 

But I think the Micb 202 course policy has changed a bit over the summer.

 

I got an email a while back from the instructor (Dr. Kion)that the exams for the summer semester are going to be closed book.

[Guest physiology]

That's not any different than what I did - MICB 202 has always been closed book.

 

It's MICB 201/BIOL 112 that is the open book one.