A significant mistake students make is underestimating the amount of time required for this course.

Reading the appropriate pages in the textbook, and reveiwing your class notes and hand-outs before each lecture will help you better understand what the instructor is talking about. This will also help you organize your thoughts when you study for and take exams. Try this for one week and you will amaze yourself by how well material is remembered, and how it makes more sense.

Do not do all your studying the night before the exam. This is another critical mistake that students tend to make. Biology requires that you develop memorization and vocabulary skills. If you procrastinate, there will be too much material to learn in one or two evenings. The most successful students study biology materials several times a week, and 30-60 minutes of review each day will do wonders!

If you do not keep up week-to-week there will come a time late in the semester when you are frantically cramming for exams and other deadlines = stress! grumpiness! Unfortunately, many students quickly find themselves doing poorly and have to drop late in the semester because exams and other assignments are coming too fast.

Review the requirements of the course in the syllabus whenever you are unsure about something regarding the course.

"Whether you think that you can, or that you can't, you are usually right." -- Henry Ford