Self-studying Bio 220?

[10ninja]

<p>Hello! I will be an incoming freshman in the spring semester of next year. I am planning to take chem125a and Bio 220. Some of my friends recommend that I self study Bio, considering that I am premed and have not taken AP Bio.
Do you guys think that this is feasible? I definitely have the time. Also, does the class still use the Campbell book mentioned on the online syllabus?</p>

[10ninja]

<p>Bump
And thank you for all of the help so far!</p>

[gioosorio]

<p>bio 220 is difficult. even having taken ap bio would not have helped you much. feel free to self-study but i’m sure you’ll see how crazy bio 220 is. you’ll need to know very specific/detailed things. and yes they still use campbell.</p>

[alamemom]

<p>10ninja, by “self-studying” do you mean you would like to attempt Credit by Examination? (If you are talking about some other self-study plan, you can ignore the following.) If so, please be sure you understand all the policies. I have highlighted in bold some that you should pay particular attention to:

Subject Credit by Special Examination
Special examinations for subject credit establish subject credit in a subject area in which the student is sufficiently prepared but in which no previous credit has been accepted or attempted toward the USC degree.</p>

<p>Students who would like to request a waiver from the normal course requirements may request that the chair of the department in which the course is offered allow them to take a special examination challenging the course for subject credit only. The fee for the examination is one half of a unit per examination.
With the permission of the dean of the academic unit in which the student is a degree candidate, the student may file a Request for Credit by Special Examination form in the Grade Department (Hubbard Hall, Room 106). The following rules apply:</p>

<p>(1) Credit by special examination is available to undergraduate students only.</p>

<p>(2) No more than one special examination may be taken in a given course.</p>

<p>(3) Special examinations will not be allowed in any course for which a student has received a grade or mark on the transcript (e.g., W, UW, IN, IX, F or D) at USC or elsewhere.</p>

<p>(4) A special examination will not be allowed if the course is a prerequisite to or sequentially precedes a course or courses that appear on a college level transcript, unless USC allows similar courses to be taken out of sequence.</p>

<p>(5) Credit cannot be earned by special examination for the Expository Writing requirement, the first three semesters of any foreign language or Mathematics 040x.</p>

<p>(6) Native speakers of a foreign language may challenge only literature or linguistics courses offered through the respective language department.</p>

<p>(7) Results of all special examinations taken for subject credit only will appear on the USC transcript with a grade of “CR” (credit) or “NC” (no credit) and will not reflect unit value.
[USC</a> Catalogue: Academic Policies: Examinations](<a href=“http://www.usc.edu/dept/publications/cat2009/academic/exams.html]USC”>http://www.usc.edu/dept/publications/cat2009/academic/exams.html)

</p>

<p>To sum up: There is a $700 fee, you can only attempt it once for a given class, and if you do not pass it will appear as “NC” (No Credit) on your transcript.</p>

[10ninja]

<p>Thank you for the responses! Wow, I love the USC board :]
Alamemom, I did not want to get credit for the course by taking an exam. I want to self study it so that I am prepared when I take in the spring because I don’t feel prepared. I haven’t taken AP Bio and I want an A for med school.
Gioosorio, do you have any tips so that I may have a better chance at getting a good grade? Are the tests solely based off of memorizing the book’s minute details? Or do I have to take the tiny, minute details and apply them to scenarios on the tests?
Yikes, I’m scared.</p>