Studying Biology...with Cliff and KBB

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How do you guys memorize that monster amount of those two books ?


any suggestion to " Memorize " them ?


I read cliff and KBB, and I understood perfectly. Next day, I kept forgetting the detail things when I see the first chapter..

I was pissed, and I started to take notes from Cliff b/c this is the one that make me so pissed.. I did two times..


I just finished taking note from Cliff and I felt like " Ok, now I got this things done "

and yesterday, I opened the cliff and I don't remember the details again..

I threw the book and hammered it and now, I am just about to burn this book.


Ok, when I studied mid term exam, it is just Genetics or Ecology, just one concept.. so I just kept "writing and writing" and " read and read", and I got an A or A- easily.



and if I do that same method now with DAT biology, It probably takes around 14 years and 3 month to memorize it.

How the heck do you guys study this monster subject to get like 23 ????

23 means you missed like 2,3 problems, right??

How is it possible ?



Seriously, IS BIOLOGY PART " OPEN BOOK " ???

lol open book.. that it is not, and even if it were that wouldn't help you much since everything is timed.

i didn't bother taking notes, instead i highlight with a pen (aka underline), i started out reading both kbb and cliffs, but decided kbb was crap so stopped that after the endocrine chapter (whichever that was) and switched to MCAT audio osmosis and cliffs.

not sure what your study environment is but read somewhere that is quiet and non distracting so you can really focus. i didn't take notes because i knew there were some great ones out there to review with (alan, exam crackers etc.) and for me, if i take notes i focus on my notes more than really retaining what i am reading.

also review what you read the next day, before starting the next chapter. sometimes you wont remember things the next day, but guaranteed after going over it twice, you will remember more than if you never review the next day, repetition is key to memorization.

Originally Posted by bluesolic

How do you guys memorize that monster amount of those two books ?


any suggestion to " Memorize " them ?


I read cliff and KBB, and I understood perfectly. Next day, I kept forgetting the detail things when I see the first chapter..

I was pissed, and I started to take notes from Cliff b/c this is the one that make me so pissed.. I did two times..


I just finished taking note from Cliff and I felt like " Ok, now I got this things done "

and yesterday, I opened the cliff and I don't remember the details again..

I threw the book and hammered it and now, I am just about to burn this book.


Ok, when I studied mid term exam, it is just Genetics or Ecology, just one concept.. so I just kept "writing and writing" and " read and read", and I got an A or A- easily.



and if I do that same method now with DAT biology, It probably takes around 14 years and 3 month to memorize it.

How the heck do you guys study this monster subject to get like 23 ????

23 means you missed like 2,3 problems, right??

How is it possible ?



Seriously, IS BIOLOGY PART " OPEN BOOK " ???

Haha, 14 years and 3 months? I did that in 1 month of writing and writing. and another month you review the hard concept with anki.

Originally Posted by n27s

lol open book.. that it is not, and even if it were that wouldn't help you much since everything is timed.

i didn't bother taking notes, instead i highlight with a pen (aka underline), i started out reading both kbb and cliffs, but decided kbb was crap so stopped that after the endocrine chapter (whichever that was) and switched to MCAT audio osmosis and cliffs.

not sure what your study environment is but read somewhere that is quiet and non distracting so you can really focus. i didn't take notes because i knew there were some great ones out there to review with (alan, exam crackers etc.) and for me, if i take notes i focus on my notes more than really retaining what i am reading.

also review what you read the next day, before starting the next chapter. sometimes you wont remember things the next day, but guaranteed after going over it twice, you will remember more than if you never review the next day, repetition is key to memorization.

I agree! Taking notes is too time consuming and ironically distracting. I highlight and write notes on the margins and take the respective quiz at the end of each section. If i get any wrong I go back and review the section again.
Alan's biology notes are extremely helpful, but I would add my notes to each respective note card. Try using MCAT Exam Krackers for physiology sections. KBB is way too dry and boring to read! Baron's and Cliff's are also great books to use too.

good luck!

Make flashcards of important info. Understanding goes a long way compared to memorizing. Take physio class. It helped out a lot compared to reading it by myself

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