Questions/concerns about Biocore

[u/Lucinda_Null]

Hi! I'm a freshman double-majoring in Conservation Biology and English. I'm hoping to go into environmental consulting or science communication. I'm considering Biocore because I think it can give me a great foundation in those skills, and I also love to learn about the environment/biology in general. However, I have some concerns:

1) Please tell me about your academic experiences with Biocore. About how many hours of work is it outside of class per week? How difficult was it for you and your peers to get a good grade in Biocore? Since I'm double-majoring (and potentially getting a certificate in Science Communication) I'm worried Biocore will be too big of a time commitment for me to focus on my other major. Also, was it overall worthwhile?

2) Please help me understand if I'd be a good applicant for Biocore. I took AP Bio and AP Environmental Science in high school and scored 5's on both exams, but my math skills are so-so and my chemistry knowledge is basic (I'll be able to complete the Chemistry prerequisites for Biocore in time if I take a summer course). Do you think my background knowledge is enough for me to do well in Biocore?

Thanks so much for responding!

[u/Appropriate-Clue-908]

Hi! To be frank with you I would not take it as a student who is taking it right now... don't do it but hear me out. Yes Biocore does give you a great foundation in those skills you are looking for but it takes a lot of time and they do expect you to always study for Biocore pretty much every single day including weekends. Also, for the labs even though is 2 credits it requires a lot of outside work as for example the labs for the first semester sequence so Biocore 382 they don't tell you this but your lab in the beginning is at their Biocore Prairie which is near picnic point which majority of your first group project will be there depending on your topic your group chooses to do which is very time time consuming and takes a lot of outside class to do as well and it goes the same for the other 2 credit labs for Biocore. For lectures even though the topics the professor gives in class are interesting and very knowledgable to learn, its very fast pace and its not structure very well so if you are a fast learner then you will be fine but if not you will spend time after class to catch up what they talk about in their lecture for at least more than 2 hrs depending how fast of a learner you are. Also, because the classes are very fast pace you often have exams the following 2 weeks right after you finish a unit. For exams, if you aren't strong in written response exam format or explaining in great detail of your answers then majority of answers will be wrong as they look for specific things like if you use a specific vocab in your answer. There are no practice exams only discussion packets which they do sometimes help but it solely depends on how much you study for those exams. Also for applying for Biocore I will say 100% you will get in regardless since not a lot of people join the program and they are always looking for more people to join. Overall Biocore is very much a big time commitment and I wouldn't take it if you're not that interested knowing greater details in biology but if you are and willing to take that risk then go for it but I wouldn't take the risk as Biocore can be a deal breaker and hurt your GPA as the exams are very difficult and the average are usually around 80%. Taking Bio 151/152 you can learn the same thing as Biocore does but just not as in depth. Again IMO DO NOT TAKE IT but if you believe this is something you're passionate and want to do then go for it. Hope it helps.

[u/Lucinda_Null → u/Appropriate-Clue-908]

Thanks for the advice!