AP Biology w\Lab Reviews

My Experience in AP Bio with Mrs. Heapy

I took AP Biology with Mrs. Heapy in my sophomore year and honestly, I think it was my favorite course I had taken so far in high school! Even though the workload was quite a handful, it's seriously manageable and Mrs. Heapy is always willing to help in any way possible! I had a lot of fun in this class and the labs were fun to do (but I do recommend buying the materials in advance and not on the day of) and run well with the course. This class made me actually like biology (and it still is my favorite science course I've taken so far) and it made me feel really well-prepared for the AP exam. If you're looking for an intense but rewarding plunge into Biology, this is the course for you!

AP Biology 2023-2024

Did you feel this class prepared you for the AP exam?

A: Only to a certain extent, I feel like. Mrs. Heapy offered an abundance of assignments throughout the year (many being required), but they often overlapped in content and many seemed monotonous rather than targeted. There were a handful of worksheets, though, that really helped me grasp the nuances of certain topics and master some of the practical abilities involving math and analysis. Mrs. Heapy did host improptu help sessions throughout the year for questions and lecture. Even though I wasn't able to attend many due to time conflicts, I still found the recordings helpful. She also linked many youtube sources, review guides, and practice questions for students to tackle as a side tool. I chose to write this review after receiving my score to assess how accurately my perception of this class was. I ended up doing well on the exam, but I think that's a result split between Mrs. Heapy's class and self reflection on my own weaknesses to do outside studying from the class. She has a lot of tools for students, but it did seem like busy work at times. 

How many hours of work per day or per week did you generally put into this class?

It honestly depended on the week. The first semester was a lot more hands-on due to the multiple labs we did to undertake big concepts like cell cycle division and heredity. But, then again, the second semester was also pretty dense in reviewing heavily for the exam. I generally averaged between 10 and 14 hours per week.

Did this class enhance your interest in the subject?

Aside from busy work, I do think this course greatly enhanced my interest for biology and all its counterparts. For such a dense subject, the teacher had a lot of passion for biology, and it always showed through her method of teaching. The course had some organizational issues and it was quite a bit of work, but I did walk away from the course with a lot more confidence in my knowledge of biology and how to analyze trends in data! I would consider taking this class with the side note that you may have to do a bit of extra work by yourself to meet your own needs.

Mixed Feelings

After taking this class from 2023-2024, I feel like this class has many pros and cons.

Pros:

• First off, Mrs. Heapy is super nice. She holds weekly Q&A sections to help out, but I had no idea that these happened for a while... She also had a BootCamp before the AP exam and posted a bunch of helpful resources.
• Mrs. Heapy also has a lab supply kit and a very professional lab schedule. The only thing I struggled with is that sometimes I had to purchase things not included in the supply kit but I had no way of knowing until the lab instructions were released on the website.

Cons:

• I found the synchronous pattern of the class unhelpful. Some weeks, there was little work and I finished it all very quickly. Other weeks there was a ton of work (which could have been lighter if I had worked ahead...)
• The class has a lot of unnecessary work. It's expected for an AP class, but I feel like a lot of the assignments were very repetitive or unhelpful. I could have spent much more time actually focusing on AP exam content. While I do appreciate that there is a lot of content beyond the actual AP content, it would be helpful if these were optional assignments.
• The class could focus more on the actual AP content. I honestly felt less prepared for the AP Bio exam than any other exam I took this year. If you are taking this class for the exam, you'll have to supplement yourself with questions with AP exam content (such as past FRQs). I would definitely have appreciated more AP exam content versus just biology.

Overall, this course constitutes a nice in-depth study into biology, but I don't think it prepared me for the actual format of the AP biology exam.

Mrs.Heapy's AP Bio Class Review

Did you feel the course prepared you for the AP exam?

Mrs.Heapy's AP Biology class is one of the best AP classes that I have taken through PA Homeschoolers. Throughout the year, Mrs.Heapy extensively prepared us for the AP exam by assigning us practice FRQ's and concept check questions but also by conducting online review sessions throughout the week. Mrs. Heapy also offered office hours throughout the year. I couldn't have gotten a 5 on AP Bio this year without this class. Mrs.Heapy is a great teacher, and is an expert in Biology. She always answered any questions I had and was very responsive and helpful. 

How many hours of work per day or per week did you generally put into the course?

I generally put in 2 hours of work per day. But I would definitely recommend putting in more hours as you near the AP Exam.

Are there any particularly favorite assignments that you found especially valuable?


I found the practice exams to be very helpful for the AP Exam.

Did the course enhance your interest in the subject?

This course definitely enhanced my interest in Biology. Mrs. Heapy is a very passionate teacher, and she often went beyond the course material to also teach us how the concepts we were learning fitted into the bigger picture of life. For example throughout the year, we worked extensively on case studies which actively applied the concepts we learned to real life situations. After taking this class, I am now taking college credit courses in Neurobiology and Molecular Biology over the summer. 

Did you find your communications with other students to be interesting or valuable?

Yes, we frequently exchanged ideas and questions during the live meetings and in our group chat.


What sort of student would do well in this course? Would you recommend this course to other students (if they are willing to work hard!)?

I won't lie. AP Biology is a hard class, one that requires a lot of work. However with hard work and perseverance, any student can be successful in this class. Mrs. Heapy supports and encourages her students throughout the course. Don't worry. You got this!

Amazing AP Biology Class!

This course was absolutely amazing! Between the engaging labs, the organized Canvas pages and lessons, and the helpful zoom meetings, this class (despite its challenging nature) was overflowing with useful, enlightening content on the wonderful study of life. Mrs. Heapy is an excellent teacher! Throughout the year, she was extremely understanding of the workload of the class and frequently allowed for extensions. She guided the class through tough biological processes and voluminous assignments. 

Did you feel the course prepared you for the AP exam?

Mrs. Heapy allowed us to do many practice MCQs/FRQs in class and assigned questions as assignments. The College Board's Progress Checks, Daily Videos, and other assignments helped tremendously in preparing for the exam. In addition to these assignments, I would recommend checking out the Barron's AP Biology and 5 steps to 5 study books. Overall, this class is very oriented toward the AP exam!

How many hours of work per day or per week did you generally put into the course?

I probably put around 2-4 hours per day and I averaged around 12-15 hours of work weekly. AP Biology is naturally time-consuming. Some assignments/worksheets were optional in the class, so there was some leeway.

Are there any particularly favorite assignments that you found especially valuable?

I enjoyed many of the assignments, but if I were to pick a favorite it would have to be the photosynthesis leaf lab. Many of the genetics worksheets (Unit 5), PowerPoints, and Textbook Notes assignments were also especially valuable.

Did the course enhance your interest in the subject?

Yes, most definitely! I enjoyed learning about Biology before this course, but I have found a love for the subject after taking this class. Mrs. Heapy clearly has a passion for teaching the sciences and she exudes this energy onto the entire class. 

Did you find your communications with other students to be interesting or valuable?

There was a Discord chat for the class, 3-5 TA sessions, and even a small study group. I tend to work better independently so I, unfortunately, wasn't able to have many communications with other students. 

What sort of student would do well in this course? Would you recommend this course to other students (if they are willing to work hard!)?

I had not taken chemistry prior to enrolling in this course. However, I did take chemistry concurrently this year, and this helped immensely with the heavy content of this course. I believe any student willing to work hard in this class would not only survive, but thrive under Mrs. Heapy's guidance. She is extremely fair when grading assignments and she answered all of my (many) questions with grace and understanding. 

Dear Potential AP Biology Student, 

YOU'VE GOT THIS!!

A class for all interest in a deeper approach to Biology

Mrs.Heapy AP course was extremely fun and interesting, a lot of content was covered in the year, which flew by so fast!

I did not prepare for sitting the actual AP exams as I do not live in America however I was still able to intensively learn all of the course materials in a proper amount of time.

English is not my first language however everything in this course was perfectly clear. I had no problem understanding the lessons and Mrs. heapy was always readily available if help was ever needed, be it for the understanding of an assignment or the review of a lesson.

This AP class took me about 2 hours at least of work per day and might vary a little more depending on the different assignment or weekly content. Even though the assignments can prepare you well for the unit exams and the actual AP exam, studying on top of everything else must be required to have a clear and consistent memorization and knowledge of all topics covered.

What is truly great about Mrs. Heapy's class as that there is a wide variety of assignments therefore I'm sure at least one type will perfectly suit at least any student. There are assignments such as ED Puzzles which are interactive videos with questions to be answered, and then more classic worksheets such as the POGILs. I found the latter very helpful as by doing those worksheets, that are often a little bit more demanding, I could check my understanding and memory on each topic at the end of every unit.

This course definitely had an impact on my love for biology, which is a subject I was already fond of before. Instead of just grazing the surface of the functioning of most biological processes, we really dived deep into the scientific aspect of it all (which is what's expected from a good AP level class!).

This made each topic much more interesting as now I have a sharper understanding of the world around me and all the complex processes it contains.

The interactions with other students in the class was very helpful. A discord group was set up to share questions or reviews for different assignments or lessons. Mrs. Heapy weekly live session was very helpful in understanding the lessons, labs or assignments, and the discussion between students also contributed to understanding the classes materials in an easy way for everyone.

There was also multiple meetings with TAs during the year, which was quite valuable regarding the upcoming revisions for exams as we worked on past AP exams questions together.

I would definitely recommend this course to any student that wishes to take up AP Biology. The variety of assignments and tools given by Mrs.Heapy are bound to fit anyone between short podcasts or videos for reviews. I'm sure that no matter what type of learner you are, you are bound to find something that works for you perfectly regarding your learning and revisions. If you are willing to work hard and sometimes not count the time spent, you should definitely sign up! The material learned is very precious and even seeing further than the actual exam, this knowledge will stay with you forever and definitely help you in further studies if you pursue a career in the biological field.

In-Depth Science Course

Mrs. Heapy's AP Biology class was a very rigorous and interesting class!  She provides many assignments covering a large number of different biological topics, which was not only interesting to learn, but also gave us great background for the AP exam.  The course prepared me well for the exam.  Not only was Mrs. Heapy there to answer any questions you had about confusing content, but some of the information in review videos she provided showed up directly in some of the exam questions, and I felt ready to answer them.  Although it was up to the student to seek out some information in order to do well on the exam, she provided many resources to use for the exam, and it was more up to the student to take the initiative and utilize them.  For example, the AP Classroom work she provided as well was a great resource, but since it was not technically a graded assignment, it was up to you to get the practice done and review your wrong answers.  I put a lot of time into this course.  A lot.  With weekly labs, I would say I spent about 2-4 hours each day on biology on average, and much of my weekend time.  Many in-person AP Biology classes are two periods long everyday, so although this class requires lots of time, it is not more than what public school AP Biology students do.  There is so much content to cover in AP Biology, it just takes time to learn it all!  

I found the EDPuzzle videos she assigned as well as the labs the most helpful for learning content, and in preparation for the exam.  The EDPuzzles were an engaging way to learn the content with questions about the video content every couple minutes, and the labs were helpful in developing our scientific thinking skills, which came in handy on both sections of the exam.  AP Biology definitely increased my interest in the subject.  It was so interesting to learn the whys behind life processes, and see how intricately our world operates.  The AP Biology exam questions were also a fun challenge; this class helps you to think carefully about what you read and articulate accurate, scientific answers! Mrs. Heapy was also the most patient and willing teacher I have had, and made the class all the more enjoyable.  I would recommend this class to any student who is up for a tough course load content and quantity wise, and who has done a full year of biology, chemistry, and at least algebra 1 before the class.  Those 3 classes helped me a lot with the content, especially at the beginning of the year.  Although Mrs. Heapy will work with students about deadlines, it is really important to stay on top of the course work, as there is always more to cover, and the year goes quickly!  

Since we only had 1 live class a week, we had some interaction with classmates, but most of the communication with others we had to pursue ourselves, whether that was study sessions or asking questions on the Discord class chat that was made.  Overall, I have enjoyed my time in AP Biology with Mrs. Heapy, and would recommend this class to anyone who has enough time to truly devote themselves to becoming mini biologists for the year!