7 Tips To Help You Pass Your Biology Classes

Click here to comment on YouTube

This post was last updated on March 22, 2022.

I remember those days, spending many hours trying to learn new and exciting concepts that my professor taught a few weeks before. Ahh, the stress of studying for a Foundations of Biology Test.

Fortunately, by the time I reached upper-level courses such as Systems Physiology, Cellular and Molecular Biology, and Neurobiology, I figured it out. I’d been studying the wrong way all along. There was a much easier way to do it.

Now, these 7 tips might not be new to you, but most of them were new to me, and I believe that someone is going to read this and think to themselves: “That’s something I’m doing wrong”. If that person is you, congratulations in advance. So without further ado, let’s get to my 7 tips.

Tip #1: Take lots of notes or have access to someone who does

I’ll let you in on a little secret. MOST professors cover the things they think are important in their lectures. So, the more you can get from their lectures down on paper (or on your laptop), the better off you will be.

Take lots of notes.
Take lots of notes.

This was the saving grace for me, many of my fellow students, many students years after and it formed the basis for this website. I tried getting as many details into those notes as possible to the extent that I could read through my notes and remember how my professor said the things I wrote in my notes.

Tip #2: If you learned a concept today, study it TODAY

I made this a habit. When I left class, I went to a friend’s room in the dorm before even going home and we spent about a half-hour going over the concepts we learned in class that day. That way, it was still fresh in my mind.

Tip #3: Review what you learned today, Tomorrow

In addition to going over what we learned in class that day, we reviewed the concepts we learned in the previous class. Since the information usually builds on each other, you will get some of that repetition naturally. However, it’s always good to intentionally go over older information.

Tip #4: Have a study partner

This was already covered in Tip #2, but it’s important enough to have as a totally separate tip. I had a partner, we got along well, went over most of the content together, and asked each other questions. This helped drill in what we learned.

Have a study buddy.
Have a study buddy.

Tip #5: Teach someone

One of the things my partner and I did on a regular basis is that we taught each other the information that we are trying to learn. We found that this was one of the best strategies for learning. I think this is one of the reasons why I love teaching so much – I get to learn a bunch.

Tip #6: Relax on the day before the test

This one almost sounds crazy, but I found it to be the most rewarding thing. I remember how stressed many of the other students were on the day before the test. As for me, I was chilling. The only time I went over the content the day before was when I was helping others who weren’t as prepared.

Tip #7: Take care of your body

I know, I know, you might not want to hear this, but it’s true. The mind doesn’t operate at its best when your body is taking a hit. Staying up late, eating a bunch of junk food, being a lazy bum, and not exercising (speaking to myself too) are all things that work against you when trying to get an A in that difficult class.

So there you have it. If you take my advice on those points, you will probably do much better than you thought.

Of course, I don’t have all the tips. Now it’s your turn.

What’s YOUR best tip for passing biology classes? Let me know in the comments below . . .

Infographic

Infographic: 7 Tips to Pass Your Biology Class
Infographic: 7 Tips to Pass Your Biology Class



You may also like

T-Cell Development and Maturation

T-Cell Development and Maturation

Page [tcb_pagination_current_page] of [tcb_pagination_total_pages]

Leave a Reply

  1. Great tips! Personally, I YouTube and Google videos that way I can picture the physiology. That’s how I found you!

  2. I always do my best when I study with a group. We quiz each other and try to find each others weak areas and then zone in on the common ones. For the rest of my weak areas I seek help from websites such as this one.

  3. Very true. All great tips. Your study guide and newsletters are very appreciated. As for my own tip: I do well with ROTE. I take very detailed notes both from the lecture and my own reading. I write them in separate notebooks. When I study at home, I try to meld the two and create my own study guide that I like to write over and over again. It’s old school, but it helped me to earn an A in A&P 1. Thanks again for your site.

  4. se different resources ie internet
    study with set breaks ie 15 minutes for every 45 minutes
    reward self before and after ie simply like listening to music or candy anything that you like

  5. Read and read and read !
    The most important point is to keep reading the materials so many times, because biology is not just a bunch of info. That you have to keep in mind.

    Moreover, try to look at the diagrams and recall them in your mind. This idea helped me a lot in my biology course. It works when you have a lot to study!

  6. Everything you said is basically what I like to do. Also, anotherbform I find EXTREMELY helpful is to talk talk talk! About what you’ve learned in class! CAUTION: Extreme bored reactions form people!! However, if you have a friend, partner, or family member that you talk to alot or confide in then It should not problem! Applying these things in the real world will help to understand and remember. For example, if I was learning about the integumentary system, and I saw and read about people getting blisters or how nails can tell alot about your health, then I would be looking at people’s nails or just analyze the things and people around me. It helps to put two things together. We have to see It not as a whole new “world” but as our world with just a little more understanding. It’s our body. We’re just learning a little more about It.

  7. 1# Go for the foundamental basis of biology
    1# Learn the languege of biology, i mean the terms of biology.
    2# Try to draw the picture of what you are reading about in your
    head,this will help you to remember what you have read earlier.
    3# Rest but dont be lazy, do not eat too much before your studies as you will fall asleep very nice. Try sack while reading this will keep you awake, i mean if you normally read at night.
    4# Reflesh your mind in what you have read about the previous night in the morning, this will keep you pace with your work.

  8. This might sound silly, but I never really considered doing numbers 2 and 3 before. I would make my notes, and revise them when I needed to. Nothing ever stuck.

    I will be a student again soon so I am definitely going to employ this tactic. Thanks!

  9. Thank you for your great tips. I have also learned that teaching others the material is a great tool because it makes me master the subject in order to teach it well.

  10. I have found that hearing material being presented in a different way often times helps me comprehend difficult concepts. My professor is a bad teacher, she teaches the material well, but sometimes hearing a different approach really makes things click for me. So I spend a fair amount of time on YouTube and watching your lectures. (Just be sure that you are focusing on lectures that are being presented by a person who knows what they’re talking about and not some dudd.)

  11. It often becomes difficult for the young students to handle the cumbersome
    task of carrying out research based writing, so they find it necessary to
    contact the professional essay writing service, and get the job done easily.

  12. I like to watch cartoons, that way it leaves my mind thinking about the cool adventures and I can actually visualize the structure (ie. the heart, or brain, etc.). When I grow up, I want to become a trauma surgeon so Biology is vital therefore, I read a lot about human structures (the anatomy), nerve cells and I try to acquaint myself with various diseases/illnesses while understanding their symptoms and what they do inside our body. That way, I’m not only learning about various medical issues but I’m also learning about how they affect us biologically.

  13. plz give me some tips to remember biology,when i revise biology chapters than i feel puzzled bcoz i didn’t remember it as long

{"email":"Email address invalid","url":"Website address invalid","required":"Required field missing"}

Get in touch

Name*
Email*
Message
0 of 350