Congratulations to everyone who qualified for the USABO Semifinals 2018!
Congratulations to all of those who did not qualify, too – you did a great job and gained a lot of experience for the following years! Keep up the good work and you will qualify next year. 😉
Many students are wondering what the best way to prepare for the USABO semifinals is. To those who are trying to prepare for semis, keep in mind an important date: April 9 to 13, 2018. This means you’ve got only two weeks and your preparation should be very focussed. I built a study schedule and I am sharing key links to crucial study resources for USABO.
Animal Anatomy and Physiology: 25%
Cell Biology: 20%
5-07SC Biochemistry from MIT Opencourseware
Review Module I, Module II and Module III
Review ‘Exam‘ and ‘Study Material‘ sections
Review these topics
| Lecture | Online Link | Essential Cell Biology (3rd edn pages, new page numbering for 4th edn) | |
| 1 | Cell Biology Introduction | Chapter 1 Introduction to Cells pp1-38 | |
| 2 | Cells Eukaryotes and Prokaryotes | Chapter 1 Introduction to Cells pp1-38 | |
| 3 | Cell Membranes and Compartments | Chapter 11 Membrane Structure pp363-386, Chapter 12 Membrane Transport 387-424, Chapter 15 Intracellular Compartments and Transport 495-530 | |
| 4 | Cell Nucleus | Chapter 5 DNA and Chromosomes pp171-196 | |
| 5 | Cell Export – Exocytosis | Chapter 15 pp514-518 | |
| 6 | Cell Import – Endocytosis | Chapter 15 pp522-529 | |
| 7 | Cell Mitochondria | Chapter 14 Energy Generation in Mitochondria and Chloroplast pp453-492 | |
| 8 | Cell Junctions | Chapter 20 Cellular Communities:Tissues, Stem Cells, and Cancer – Epithelial Sheets and Cell Junctions pp700-705 | |
| 9 | Cytoskeleton Introduction | Chapter 17 Cytoskeleton pp571-608 | |
| 10 | Cytoskeleton 1 Intermediate Filaments | Chapter 17 Cytoskeleton – Intermediate Filaments pp571-576 | |
| 11 | Cytoskeleton 2 Microtubules | Chapter 17 Cytoskeleton – Microtubules pp577-589 | |
| 12 | Cytoskeleton 3 Microfilaments | Chapter 17 Cytoskeleton – Microfilaments pp590-598 | |
| 13 | Extracellular Matrix 1 | Chapter 20 Cellular Communities:Tissues, Stem Cells, and Cancer – Extracellular Matrix and Connective Tissues pp690-699 | |
| 14 | Extracellular Matrix 2 | Chapter 20 Cellular Communities:Tissues, Stem Cells, and Cancer – Extracellular Matrix and Connective Tissues pp690-699 | |
| 15 | Cell Cycle | Chapter 18 The Cell Division Cycle – Overview of the Cell Cycle pp609-624 | |
| 16 | Cell Division | Chapter 18 The Cell Division Cycle – Mitosis pp625-634, Cytokinesis pp634-638 | |
| 17 | Cell Death 1 | Chapter 18 The Cell Division Cycle – Control of Cell Number pp638-647 | |
| 18 | Cell Death 2 | Chapter 18 The Cell Division Cycle – Control of Cell Number pp638-647 | |
| 19 | Signal 1 | Chapter 16 Cell Communication pp531-570 | |
| 20 | Signal 2 | Chapter 16 Cell Communication pp531-570 |
Genetics and Evolution: 20%
Review ‘Lecture notes‘, ‘Assignments‘ (review only solutions as you won’t have time to do problems), and ‘Exams‘ section
Plant Anatomy and Physiology: 15%
Ecology: 10%
Ethology: 5%
Biosystematics: 5%
Further resources:
Biolympiads question bank – To practice biology olympiad-type questions
Biolympiads Semifinal mock exam – To score your knowledge before the real semis
For Top 20 camp and for Semis
Only if you have time review problem solutions:
