Ecology/Evolution...how do I hate thee?

[BerkeleyPremed]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Was anyone else required to take an ecology and/or evolution course in order to fulfill your major requirements? I'm required to take this ecology/evolution course in order to fulfill my major requirements, but the material IS SO unbelievably boring. Right now, I just memorized a series of dates regarding the mass extinctions that occurred in the Ordivician, Devonian, Permo-Triassic, and Late Triassic eras...in addition to the Cretaceous-Teritary period and the Quarternary era. I memorized which genera went extinct in a given era....e.g.: trilobites, bivalves, phytoplankton, corals, reefs, amphibians, etc. The rest of the classes I have this semester are good though...so that sort of compensates for the mind-numbing effect of this class.

 

[Pinkertinkle]

Sounds like fun. Who thinks of making students memorize stuff they'll eject from their minds about two weeks after the final anyways?

 

[uniqueseraph]

I don't have to take an evolution class, but I did have to take ecology. Had to memorize food webs for the class. I got something out of the lab at least, first learned excel there. I remember a girl sitting next to me in lecture though who fell asleep many times in our row. She would snore too-I didn't know whether or not to wake her from further embarrassment or leave her alone in blissful peace (away from what she was missing). 😉

 

[jlee9531]

i really enjoyed bio 1b. which is the reason i ugsi-ed for it.

 

[BerkeleyPremed]

Originally posted by jlee9531
i really enjoyed bio 1b. which is the reason i ugsi-ed for it.

I actually liked Bio1B too. Some of the material related to plant biology was really boring...but the rest was pretty good. Unfortunately, the class I'm talking about is an upper division integrative biology class.

 

[jlee9531]

Originally posted by BerkeleyPremed
I actually liked Bio1B too. Some of the material related to plant biology was really boring...but the rest was pretty good. Unfortunately, the class I'm talking about is an upper division integrative biology class.

you majoring in IB?

 

[BerkeleyPremed]

Originally posted by jlee9531
you majoring in IB?

Yeah, I'm doing in the integrative bio major. For the longest time, I wasn't sure what to declare...it was either MCB or IB. I finally decided on IB because I really like the other IB courses I'm taking this semester (IB 245-Neuroanatomy and 245L-Neuroanatomy lab) as well as IB 132-Human Physiology.

 

[LoneCoyote]

I had to take both ecology and evolution for my bio major. Ecology was awful. I learned a lot more working for an ecology professor doing lab work than i learned in that class. It was all about memorizing graphs for exams. I actually think the subject is pretty cool but my professor was awful. Evolution was even worse. The first part of the course was actually somewhat interesting since it was team taught and the professor was very interested in the intersection of evolutionary theory and medicine. But the second part was terrible... all those dates to memorize, pointless problem sets and labs. It was a total nightmare and it was my last semester and I was studying for the MCAT. And then I got 2 evolution passages on my MCAT... crazy coincidence. Hang in there with it... just memorize and you'll do well.

 

[TTSD]

Ecology makes me want to eviscerate myself or pound my balls with sledgehammer for the only reason that that might prove to be more fun than sit through lecture.

Never took Evolution.. but took Comparative Anatomy. That class busted my balls for me, but it was damn interesting and you learn a lot. Often times I thought I was in Veterinary school.

 

[BerkeleyPremed]

Originally posted by TTSD
Ecology makes me want to eviscerate myself or pound my balls with sledgehammer for the only reason that that might prove to be more fun than sit through lecture.

Never took Evolution.. but took Comparative Anatomy. That class busted my balls for me, but it was damn interesting and you learn a lot. Often times I thought I was in Veterinary school.

LOL.

 

[NRAI2001]

Originally posted by TTSD
Ecology makes me want to eviscerate myself or pound my balls with sledgehammer for the only reason that that might prove to be more fun than sit through lecture.

Never took Evolution.. but took Comparative Anatomy. That class busted my balls for me, but it was damn interesting and you learn a lot. Often times I thought I was in Veterinary school.

Wow, sledgehammer heh.