LostInStudy's (LIS) Official Advice Thread

[LostInStudy]

Okay guys, here it is as promised. This isn't my 30+ post but it's something for the guys who PM asking about advice and such. This is eventually going to get replaced by my 30+ post but in the meantime this will have to do. These are all the posts that I think are pretty helpful. I've categorized these into General advice, Material advice, Practice advice, and Scheduling. Please read these then if you have any questions you can post them and I'll try to help as best I can.Please read this thread and limit ALL the questions regarding my MCAT advices in this thread. Only contact me if you have a personal question or a highly specific question that you are not comfortable to post because your MCAT is exceptionally low (e.g. low <= 25, personal/family sickness, and other info that you do not want to share on the internet). In all other cases, individualized questions should be made in separate threads for other members to help, the more opinions you get the better off you will be, I guarantee you that. Otherwise, I may or may not respond depending on my time situation. Anyway, I hope this helps and if you have any questions or comments or anything just post away. Also guys remember that this is just my opinion. What worked for me isn't going to necessarily work for you but I've done a lot of research on this site and spent a lot of time reading different study strategies so I can offer general advice about schedules too. This is just what worked for me and hopefully you guys can read this, the 30+ thread, SN2ed's advice + schedule, and BerkReviewTeach's advice and get a good idea for what you want to do. If anybody has any other advice please post or if you want my opinion on a certain idea or whatever it may be. As the most interesting man in the world would say "Stay thirsty my friends [for knowledge that is]."

Hopefully this will help you guys,

-LIS

General Advice:

#1

Wow, I've been kind of nervous all day and told myself I'd keep myself busy and check at the end of the day. Even though I thought I did around my averages I was still nervous for some reason. So anyway, my score is too long awaited after having my date canceled once already.

PS: 15
VR: 11
BS: 15
W: Q

Now that I think about it, this is around about my averages. I'm just so happy to finally have this over with. I'll post more later when I have time. This is such a relief to have this off my back. Just some general advice, If you prep appropriately and have confidence in your prep you will get what you deserve.

Good luck all. I'm too sleepy right now.

-LIS

#2

Yea, I think the best advice is to go over content review thoroughly the first time to make sure you understand and master everything and go back as needed according to your practice results.

Hope this helps,

-LIS

#3

My argument has always been to do as much practice as you can without taking shortcuts. Me and another member on this forum named Mr. T had sort of a discussion about it a few months back whether a person should do the TBR O. Chem books or do TPR since their content is shorter. I basically said that you should cover TBR because you don't want to get stuck with a difficult O. Chem passage and want to make sure that you don't leave your BS score up to chance (hoping the more difficult concepts won't show up). I had a few difficult O. Chem passages on my MCAT so I definitely benefited from not taking shortcuts. By appropriate, I mean fully and thoroughly without any shortcuts. I've been reading the forums for quite a while and I'd say a good 70+% of people skim on their prep because of a lack of time or whatever other reason.

Also, when I said "you'll get the score you deserve" that's exactly what I meant. I took the MCAT before and voided because I didn't feel prepared enough. At that point I had done content review and a couple of practice tests. At that point I believe if I would have decided to score my test I would have gotten in the high 20's or low 30's. My content review wasn't that great, my VR skills sucked, and I hadn't taken many FLs so that is exactly what I deserved. After redoing my content review and doing all the practice problems I could get my hands on, I think I got the score I deserved. My score reflects the amount of work I put in and my understanding of the material. I think my September score would have reflected the same thing (not score but the score I deserved at that point in time).

You know in the very beginning I thought that only really smart people could score in the 35+ range but the more I practiced and studied the more I realized that it's possible with just hard work to get at least a 34 but more likely a 35 or 36. I've said this before and I'll say it again, a person with average college student intelligence can, with hard work only, get a score around 35 or 36 but most don't (< 3%) because most don't have the time, are too lazy, don't put the effort, etc. whatever the reason may be. The point is that very few people have the time I had to spend on the MCAT and even fewer do spend that amount of time. As far as amount hours go (~1600) and amount of FLs go (40), my preparation was in the top 1% and my score reflected that.

You're not the only one who says this but I'll just address it here. Yes there are people who bust their butts and can barely get over a 30 but these people are rare. Like I said, if you're an average college student then with hard work one should be able to get into the 35 range. Most people who do score in this range and decide to retake usually do significantly raise their score because the prepare better (or in my words appropriately) the second time around.

In summary what I'm saying is: Your score reflects your preparation.

Hope this clarifies or helps,

-LIS

#4

For the last 2-4 weeks before your test you should be doing exactly what you will be doing on test day. Wake up the same time, eat the same time, take breaks the same time, do your studying/review the same time. It's just a habit thing, not so much a morning person thing because you could just go to sleep early and wake up early and that wouldn't really make a difference as far as being groggy or tired go, at least it didn't for me.

Hope this helps,

-LIS

#5

Take a deep breath whenever you get nervous and think about how long you've spent on your prep, your scores, all the hours you've put in. Then think about how you can do best in this test. For me the last part worked to best because I came up with a strategy on how to handle situations a week before hand. So for example, if I came across something difficult that I couldn't figure out right away I would move on, I wouldn't let myself get nervous or panic, I would move quickly, efficiently and carefully to allow myself some time to go back for the sciences. This may seem obvious but a lot of people abandon the simple principles once they get to the test center or when they start the test and see something that doesn't immediately click. By the time I got to my test center I had gone over my list of situations and how to respond about 10 times a day for 8 days. I had written them out and every time I got nervous thinking about the test I stopped and look over my list and really thought about everything on it in detail while trying to control my breathing and focus. It worked for me on test day so maybe it'll work for you. You'll see that soon you recognize yourself doing the bad habits on practice tests and correct them and by test day hopefully you'll be golden.

Hope this helps,

-LIS

#6

I got a 15 on both sciences but I don't think that it's indicative of the company as it is more so of the student. Yes, TBR does help a lot with the studying but it does in no way guarantee a good score. I'm sure there are people who've done terribly with TBR as there are people who have thrived with EK and Kaplan.

How far up you go is up to the student. Not necessarily his/her natural ability but more of how much work you're willing to put into this thing. Over and over again I see people skim on their review and sometimes it works out for them but a lot of times it doesn't and they're often confused because they "worked hard" but don't realize that they went into the exam with weaknesses that could be exploited.

As a general note, the test is too unpredictable to have any "high yield" topics. Master and know everything you're supposed to (AAMC outline) and you'll do great. If not then I guess you should get comfortable with blind luck helping you out on one of (if not the most) important aspects of your application.

Hope this helps and good luck (if you need it that is),

-LIS

Material Advice:

#7

I did EK 1001 bio then TPR bio passages then TBR bio passages so for me they got progressively harder. As far as content goes, I think between TPRH and EK you have everything you need. I would spend my time reading TPRH and then read through EK as kind of a review. I actually ended up reading EK twice. The thing with EK is that it's short and dense. So while its short, you have to know EVERYTHING in the text, whereas in TPRH, it is longer but they spend time explaining concepts doing examples and asking questions and re-summarizing the info.

If you don't have access to TPR Science Workbook, then do both. Seriously practice drilling those concepts because its true that the test really only covers the basics but the test writers do a great job at pushing your understanding of them to the limit. The more times you see the concepts the better. I'll say it again just in case, the more time you see the concepts during your practice the better off you are.

Hope this helps,

-LIS

#8

I'm not really sure which is better because they served different purposes for me. TBR bio passages are hard but if you're good at analyzing passages then you can score fairly well on them and they help develop that skill. On the other hand, TPR were a mixture of testing content and analyzing passages and they have passages varying from really easy to pretty hard which is more like what you'll see on the AAMCs. I think what you should do is do the TPRH science workbook bio and do the TBR in phases. So do the first third and all bio from TPR and keep moving. If you have time you can come back and finish the rest of TBR. You could even do half of TBR and then all of TPR bio passages and come back later to TBR if you have time.

I've been telling people for months to get on TPRH bio. That thing is amazing. Yes it is a little detail oriented but it explains things from the ground up and it asks you questions in the text. It doesn't take THAT long to read, like I did about 12-15 pages an hour (I think most chapters averaged out into the 30-35 range). Plus it's engaging, not like TBR (so dull for me) or EK (which if you don't know everything already then it's just a list of facts).

I have to admit my science score is a bit of luck. On practices I was getting in the 13-14 range for both sections and on test day I got passages that suited topics that I was very familiar with. I was familiar with everything but some topics in organic I was a wiz at and those showed up. To me anything in the 38+ range is about the same. In the sciences once you get to the 13 range, you have a good shot at hitting the 15 if things can go your way.

Hope this helps,

-LIS

#9

As long as we're talking about hours, I regularly hit 15 hours a day in the middle of my studying. Basically I did three 5 hour shifts to get used to concentrating for 5 hours straight. Of course I did break for 5-10 mins every 60-80 mins in those 5 hours.

Another piece of advice guys, if you're going to take short days then don't take them in the beginning or middle. Take them when you do FLs. FLs you can afford to get behind on because as legitboss said you can cut some extra ones out but if you get behind on content then you can get into a pickle really fast. So go through a subject hard (so if you don't rotate like I didn't then do a full subject) and then take a day to rest and re-energize your ambition, motivation, hatred, and will to beat this test. I personally used my days to catch up on chores and watch war/sci-fi movies. It's easy to tell yourself that "I deserve to take one day off" or "I'll catch up tomorrow" but don't get into the habit of it. Work hard and take a good rest after the war is over.

Oh MCAT, you were such an interesting romance. You left my life as suddenly as you came. I miss you sometimes...but then I remember how much work I put into us and am glad that such a selfish, time consuming, soul-eating, heartless woman is out of my life.

Good riddance you passive aggressive street walker,

-LIS

Practice Advice:

#10

Nope, very lightly. I don't think when you're learning the material you should time yourself strictly and I think even BerkReviewTeach has said it a few times. Just learn and master the material first. Once your problem solving skills and knowledge develop speed picks up. This doesn't mean I sat there and spent 10-15 mins on problems. I would work through at my own pace and if I couldn't solve something, moved on and came back in the end. If I couldn't figure it out at the end, I just guessed. I hated flat out guessing so that fueled my need to tear apart questions and learn everything I could from them.

Basically I looked at the clock when I started and finished. If I spent less than 8-9 mins on a passage, good and if I didn't then I just kept mindful of that for next time and tried to figure out why I spent so long. That's about it. The rest just picks up with practice and as you acquire skill.

Hope this helps,

-LIS

#11

I used TPR heavily for content for Biology and Physics only (their 2 best content sections). For O. Chem content and G. Chem content I used TBR because they are simply the best, better than all the rest (like the song).

Here's my view on the whole do the passages one day and review them the next day thing: I wouldn't and didn't do it. Maybe for verbal but not for the sciences. The reason is that you have to treat the MCAT studying as two completely different phases. The first is where you learn and master the necessary material (content review) and the second is where you do everything else (learn to speed up more, learn to pace yourself, stamina, test taking strategies, etc) or basically the little things. With that in mind, you need to do your passages and practice the same day or within a day of your lecture review to make sure you've mastered it and hammered it in. Here's what I did as far as material since so many people seem to ask, I started with reading the lecture, then EK 1001 problems (getting the basics and subtleties down), then I did the TPR science workbook problems for that topic, then I did TBR phase I passages. I did that everyday during content review for about a month and a half. I've posted the phases for TBR passages in the Berkeley review discussion thread. I would then do all the phase II passages at the end of the week.

I would do the EK Bio 1001 questions first (because they're not TRULY passage based) and then I did the TPR bio passages, which were amazing by the way. Also I would encourage anyone else to respond, my way was an obvious yet unorthodox way to study for the MCAT and OP should get as many different opinions as possible to see what could work for you. My way worked for me, but I'm certain it won't work for everyone else. You have to evaluate what kind of student you are, what you know and don't know, and what you need. I think the self evaluation is the hardest part of it all. After you have the figured out, put on your blinders and charge full steam ahead.

Hope this helps,

-LIS

#12

Yea agree with the above [about careless mistakes], it also goes away with more practice. After you've been slapped around, tripped, and laughed at a few times (usually 3 or 4 times) by those questions then you learn it and it becomes habit. If you forget after those times then a little voice inside your head says "nooo read the question/answer/calculation/passage again carefully." Kind of like mini-me from Austin Powers.

Hope this helps,

-LIS

#13

Two things that helped me. I kept an excel spreadsheet with everything in it (FL scores, verbal scores, practice scores, hours, etc.) each separated by subject and the company I used. I could go in and see trends regarding hours studied, how my scores were going, which specific subjects I struggle with, basically everything I wanted to see a trend in. It helps color coding by scaled scores or percentages too and helps you see it quicker kind of like of Vihsadas did it. I think self analysis is crucial, especially when you get to the 35+ range where single questions start counting more. The spreadsheet helped me seek out and eliminate my weaknesses.

The second thing was that I did all my practice problems in a separate 5 subject notebook and split them up as all O chem, all Physics, all Bio, all Chem, all verbal practice problems and notes I made on particular subjects as I did those problems. For example, I saw on my spreadsheet that electrostatics was my worst section, when I went back I had notes for all the problems I had gotten wrong or guessed on from all the different materials I did. I also wrote down intricacies for each subject that I thought I would forgot later on so that when I came back I could have a quick read over and remember all that again.

Hope this helps,

-LIS

#14

Doing one passage at a time then reviewing it is what I did for all of content review and it worked out excellently for me. First you master the content then you master the timing. Those are two separate skills that are hard to master at the same time.

It's like when you learn to throw a baseball, you learn to throw the ball properly and with accuracy first and then you work on adding power and speed, you don't just grab the ball and work on throwing it hard and accurately at the same time. You learn the mechanics and once you've mastered them you work on the power and speed. No use in finishing on time if you still get a lot wrong.

Maybe this helps,
-LIS

#15

For practice, yes. But the TPR is still an amazing resource that I think people shouldn't choose either one or the other but use both to compliment each other. TBR has only hard passages which can be good and bad because although it does prepare you for the hard stuff, that's not exactly how the test is. TPR does a better job at giving you the spectrum that you'll see on AAMCS and on the real thing. Not all of your passages are going to be TBR hard. A few will but some will be easy and some will be in the middle and that's exactly what TPR has.

Also as far as Bio goes: TPR>>EK 1001 Bio>TBR for passages. I think they all are used for different purposes. TPR tests content and passage comprehension and EK Bio 1001 tests mostly content and not much passage comprehension, TBR was sort of weird. They have passage comprehension but some questions are just sort of weird as hell in that it's not mentioned in the passage and they expect you to know minute details that aren't important. Detail wise, EK 1001 covers everything as far as facts you need to know. TBR is still decent practice though. If you have time do all 3 but if not stick with the top 2. That's just my personal suggestion though.

Hope this helps,

-LIS

#16

Guys, don't be afraid to get questions wrong. You have to treat it like a learning opportunity and not a criticism. In the beginning you might be getting hammered by the passages and doing bad. A few weeks later you're doing slightly better or the same. A couple months later you rarely ever get any wrong. I'm a true and honest believer that if you practice and get hammered enough and get questions wrong while reviewing thoroughly then eventually you'll master the material. I know it sounds scary but you can seriously only make the same mistake 5 or 6 times before you never make that mistake again. That's why you practice, so you make it in practice and not the real thing.

Hope this helps,

-LIS

#17

I'm not saying this to be rude or harsh but just to be honest with you so that you can improve, but if you got a score lower than 27 then that means that you're majorly lacking in the fundamentals. Go back to the drawing board and start over because you can't get any worse. Pick a prep company you're comfortable with (TPR hyperlearning is an excellent start) and read the books in each section carefully and do as much practice problems as you can get your hands on. That means EK 1001 books, TPR science workbook, and TBR sciences at the least. Don't worry about getting a ton of questions wrong, because I missed a lot but focus on learning the material and perfecting your understanding of it. I never cared about getting a question wrong during content review, I just cared about understanding the concepts and making sure I knew exactly why I got the question wrong and what I could do to get it right. Only worry about scores during your FLs. Taking the above approach should get you at least a 10 or 11 on each section or even higher depending on how much effort you can put into your prep. This test is all about training. You train to get good at answering questions about the sciences. Some people do well without much studying because they got that training throughout their education, other people have to make up for not having that training (like me) by practicing a crap load of problems until you are at that level. You should be asking yourself the same questions for every question you're not 100% sure about or you don't get right which are: why did I get the question wrong?, what didn't I understand?, what is my current understanding of the subject?, what is the explanation trying to tell me?, starting from the basics how should I have thought about this to get the question right?, did I get the question wrong because I didn't understand it because it was poorly worded or I didn't concentrate? Did I get it wrong because I forgot something I should have known? and on and on.

Sorry this seems jumbled and unorganized but that's all I have time for right now.

Hope this helps,

-LIS

#18

Personally, I think the best prep is through practice. I practiced my understanding of the material by doing a bunch of practice problems during content review with EK 1001 books, TPR Science workbook, and TBR books and a little kaplan stuff. Then I practiced combining the different concepts in a section and pulling out information quickly by practicing with FLs. When I took FLs, my knowledge base was solid, it was just that I had to get quicker at pulling it out and remembering equations and facts. Practice problems and FLs each serve a different purpose and I think each is essential for doing well on this test.

Hope this helps,

-LIS

#19

I think first you have to look at how comfortable you are with the material. Personally, when I started FLs, I was extremely comfortable with the material because I had done all the EK 1001 books, TPR science workbook, online kaplan stuff, and TBR Phase I and II passages. Now, not everyone needs to do that but that's what I needed personally to feel comfortable. Once you feel comfortable you can move on to FLs. When you do FLs though, you need to really tear them apart. For me the motivation came from "well okay I made mistakes, so what do I need to fix and how do I do it" It irritated the heck out of me when I got a question wrong or even if I got one right but for the wrong reasons because I did the content so why didn't I get it right. The first thing is just to realize why you got the question right or wrong (was there something in the passage you missed, was there something you misread, did you just skim over some answers, did you not use POE, etc). Then the why behind it and that's when you need to dive into your prep books. Don't read the whole chapters, that's just not time efficient. Just read the parts that are relevant to your mistake. Now you have to be honest and ask yourself if you truly understand it. For me if it was something more than a simple calculation mistake then I would do a few problems just to help my conceptual understanding.

Also, I think THE BEST way to review any of the questions is to look at the questions you get wrong and try to do them again without looking at the explanation. Try to get them right on your second chance. So all you know is that you got the question wrong and you need to figure out what the answer is. If I got it wrong the second try to then that meant I really needed to go back and do some review on the material. Work on the question with your prep material and your notes and try to figure out the solution before you look at the explanation. Once you've done that and read the explanation, try to find another path to the solution (Was there a faster way, was there a different conceptual approach, etc). So I always tried to find two ways to do it. Usually there's one way that is fast and efficient (which is what you want to do during the test) and there is a longer drawn out way that uses the basics concepts to get to the solution (which you want to use on questions that are harder and you're not sure about). This way, you always have two ways of getting an answer so it'll be rare when you come across a problem that you can't solve one way or the other. So for example, in PS you can do a question by dimensional analysis or looking at units or degrees of magnitude of the answers or you can use some of the equations related to the concepts. I think TBR does a pretty good job or showing you this with their passages and explanations so definitely use those and spend time with them and not just gloss over the explanations. After I did each set of questions from practice I could tell you exactly what types of questions I got wrong and why. That's important because if you keep a track of those (written or mental) then you see patterns and know exactly which areas to target to improve.

So I hope I've helped and if you have anymore questions let me know,

-LIS

#20

To start off, I did do all those materials and them some with 40 FLs outside of those practice passages and questions. It's weird but I felt I had to do everything solely due to confidence because I felt like if I did all the material there was NOTHING else I could have done. But with your time (unless you're willing to postpone) I don't think you can finish everything...well you might since you don't have as many FLs to do.

What I did was I would read the chapter for whichever book I chose, then do the EK 1001 problems, then the TPR science workbook problems, and then the TBR passages.

As far as bio goes, I would say that if you feel very confident with bio then EK bio is fine but if not then just spend the time with TPRH bio because it isn't THAT long (trust me it looks long but its a fast read so even though it might be twice as long as EK, it reads twice as fast too). I think for bio both were necessary. You first need the necessary facts for bio to understand the concepts then you need to practice passages and not only solidify those facts but learn how to analyze and parse through passages.

As far as study habits ago, I just kept consistent and didn't let myself take more than a day off per week or week and a half. Work hard everyday on accomplishing set goals and don't let yourself waste the time. Get it done and kill it the first time. Immerse yourself in it. I started off with the attitude of I have to put in a lot of work to do well and changed to, man I've put in quite a lot of hours and it would be a waste to slack off now no matter how tired or how much is left, to i put in so much work it would all be ruined if i don't close this out strongly in the end. The hardest thing for me each day was getting started. Once I got started I was gone. After I finished my food I got up put up the dishes and didn't let myself touch my computer and make myself pick up my book instead and start reading. I did the same with breaks, those were the hardest to get restarted from.

If you have any more questions let me know,

-LIS

#21

[For Organic Chemistry] No, don't memorize. Just look at the general trends of each reactions. Memorizing is worthless in my opinion. After you practice the trends are easy to see as to where the electrons go. That's all that organic is, electrons moving around. Learn the concepts and trends and in my opinion this can only be successfully done by lots of practice.

Hope this helps,

-LIS

#22

A typical day was I would wake up around 8 or 9, then eat breakfast while either reading the forums or watching the news. That took me about an hour sometimes less, never more though. I did study everyday but I took breaks as needed. So I didn't do the once a week thing more like half a day a week or a full day off every two weeks because that's what worked for me. I don't tire easily and can go for long stretches without burning out. Then I would do three 5 hour sessions with breaks every hour or so. It really got be used to the stamina needed to take this test. My breaks were usually 5-10 mins each hour and then after the 5 hours I would eat and do errands for an hour or so, until I felt like working again. FL days varied depending on how I did and how much I got done the previous day but usually 1-3 days. I have about 2 days between FLs in the end to give myself sometime to rest up before the test.

-LIS

#23

Do the EK 1001 series first. Go through all four books. It took me about 6 days to do them. They test on the very basic aspects of the sciences and they will get your fundamentals down. No need to waste time re-reviewing. Do like 20-30 questions and then go back and review them. If you get something wrong, don't turn to the explanations (they suck anyway) and look up and review that material from your TBR books. So go through all 4 subjects in EK 1001.

Going through and eliminating all of your weaknesses will probably take anywhere from 4 days (if you work on them full time) to 10 maybe.

Then you are ready for the more advanced passages. If you get the TPR Science Workbook, then go through that whole thing which will probably take you a week or week and a half doing it full time. Again, if you get something wrong then go back and try to figure it out on your own without looking up the answer explanation and if you can't figure it out then use your TBR or TPR content material.

Then lastly, go through and do all the TBR Phase I passages.

Then you can start FLs and finish the rest of the Phases of TBR as you go along.

Basically that's what I did but I also had the Kaplan online course material. But what you have, if you include TPR, is DEFINITELY more than enough. Anyway, doing it that way worked out for me as far as practice AAMC FL scores go.

Hope this helps,

-LIS

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[Excelsius]

We'll have to disagree. I respect your opinion though. It's funny that you say that my ideas are "not true". As if there is a true and false here.

Learning/memory is one of my favorite topics. I've purchased/read through probably 7-10 books on the subject. The stronger the initial stimulation, the more you will remember is overshadowed by repetition. Obviously this isn't true in once in a lifetime situations, your memory will be very strong in a traumatic experience (i.e. your brother dies), but as for reading content with doing passages vs just reading content, I would have to disagree. My content is done largely in Berkeley Review which is very conceptually strong and includes in chapter problems.

The problem often with content is what is being read: EK's style of fact/fact/fact will not improve problem solving but is ok if you are already strong (i.e. it's your major). You need conceptually strong material if you are weaker in a topic.

I assure you that reading a specific area, followed by doing passages on it is not an efficient means of learning. Your argument is that the initial stimulus will be greater by doing passages, my argument is that spaced repetition of concepts will exceed doing everything in a single day. I think if you truly study this idea, you will see that spaced repetition is a greater tool for long term learning.

My advice stems from USMLE prep strategies. What you're talking about is people reading content and doing poorly on passages afterward (we don't know how focused or active they were in the learning, if they were trying to learn from a prep book as a primary source as opposed to a review book, etc).

"Not true" due to universal experiences not limited to the MCAT - anyone who has taken science courses can tell you that without doing any problems/passages you do not know if you have learned the material or not. What this means is that your initial studies might not have been learned properly making the initial stimulus "inaccurate" by a certain degree. Repetition is very powerful, but doing problems after you do content review is repetition because you are now trying to apply what you have learned and it stimulates different circuits in your brain rather than mainly hippocampal activation. My research involves a lot of electrophysiology and when we're trying to evoke strong LTPs, an intense stimulus (high frequency) is used, but followed by another tetanus after just 20 seconds.

As for the reason why people do poorly on the passages after the content review - it doesn't really matter. The fact is that passages tell you if you have learned them correctly or not to make sure that the stimulus is accurate. Whether you spaced out or the material wasn't in-depth enough is impertinent. I can't think of going through a physics chapter and learning much if I don't do problems afterward. Repetitions that are spaced at longer intervals (days, weeks, months) happen by default, everyone already does them because of continuous stream of practice passages and FL tests. So spaced repetition already occurs regardless of anything else. It's not about doing these additional tests OR passages after you review. You do both. There is no question that if you master the material and then don't review it for weeks, you will forget at least some details. This is why programs like Supermemo are based on regular recall.

In summary, I am not saying spaced repetition is less useful than a strong stimulus, but rather that an accurate stimulus is more pivotal and is a precondition to repetition and memorization. If you don't know whether you have mastered the material correctly or not, there is no repetition to speak of. I am not familiar with USMLE or the strategies recommended there by different companies, but I have yet to see any subject where doing problems after each chapter is not recommended or required.

 

[Don Draper]

"Not true" due to universal experiences not limited to the MCAT - anyone who has taken science courses can tell you that without doing any problems/passages you do not know if you have learned the material or not. What this means is that your initial studies might not have been learned properly making the initial stimulus "inaccurate" by a certain degree. Repetition is very powerful, but doing problems after you do content review is repetition because you are now trying to apply what you have learned and it stimulates different circuits in your brain rather than mainly hippocampal activation. My research involves a lot of electrophysiology and when we're trying to evoke strong LTPs, an intense stimulus (high frequency) is used, but followed by another tetanus after just 20 seconds.

Your argument about stimulus has nothing to do with content or passages. This reminds me of professors in undergrad or medical school who go on diatribes about their research when it is barely even relevant to the discussion (I had a neuro professor that loved to do this). Anyhow, an impulse can be content OR passages.

You constantly throughout this argument talk about the MCAT like this is the first time we've ever touched the subjects of chemistry, physics, organic chemistry and biology. As if we've never done a problem for these in our lives.

As for the reason why people do poorly on the passages after the content review - it doesn't really matter.

assumption. I do NOT do poorly on passages even after waiting a few days.

Have you ever read a BR chapter and done the in chapter problems? TPR also has in chapter problems.

The fact is that passages tell you if you have learned them correctly or not to make sure that the stimulus is accurate. Whether you spaced out or the material wasn't in-depth enough is impertinent. I can't think of going through a physics chapter and learning much if I don't do problems afterward.

again, you are assuming that content does not have in chapter problems. You also are assuming everyone who reads a chapter can't do passages well. I tutored ochem, I know the stuff very well and need little content review, but I read the BR chapters as LIS recommended. When I do the passages, I do fine. Same with my major, since I've taken many upper division courses in that area, I'm very strong in it. Did you ever think about that for a second, this is all REVIEW, we've learned this stuff before.

The accuracy of the stimulus should have been done a while ago.

Where are you in your MCAT prep, I'm curious. When are you taking or what did you score? You speak like an authority but I can't tell if you've actually gone through any prep materials.

Repetitions that are spaced at longer intervals (days, weeks, months) happen by default, everyone already does them because of continuous stream of practice passages and FL tests.

The original conversation was about setting up a schedule to increase the amount of repetition over a shorter period of time. It does not happen by default. That was the whole point. I take the MCAT in 5 weeks, if I alternate topics for 4 weeks then do FLs the last week, then obviously I will have neglected 1 area for 4 weeks. This is where the discussion about rotating subjects started, and then I mentioned a strategy I learned from medical students.

So spaced repetition already occurs regardless of anything else.

For talking about the benefits of critical thinking earlier, I'm shocked at how many assumptions you make.

This is why programs like Supermemo are based on regular recall.

I bought supermemo and used it for a little while, it is one of the worst programs I've ever used.

In summary, I am not saying spaced repetition is less useful than a strong stimulus, but rather that an accurate stimulus is more pivotal and is a precondition to repetition and memorization. If you don't know whether you have mastered the material correctly or not, there is no repetition to speak of. I am not familiar with USMLE or the strategies recommended there by different companies, but I have yet to see any subject where doing problems after each chapter is not recommended or required.

spaced repetition > stimulus or whatever the hell your saying (again, this is review). I think you forget that the MCAT is over classes we've spent a year on, done problems in, studied exams for, taking notes on, etc. To say that I'm recommending learning without doing problems is far from the truth.

USMLE is the United States Medical Licensing Examination, it is not a prep company like BR or TPR. It is the test allopathic physicians must take before being licensed. The test is over the first 2 years of medical school which is probably about 10+ times or more the volume of the MCAT.

Anyway, lets talk about something more constructive. I don't think there is anymore benefit in discussing these ideas.

 

[LostInStudy]

Yea, I think what needed to be said about the topic was said. New topic: I'm still awake on the east coast. Crazy? maybe. Hardcore? maybe. Trouble sleeping? probably. A little bit of everything I think. I work 2 jobs and sleep 4 and a half hours a night. I'm not complaining but I think my ex was right that I have a need to be busy all the time. Who knows.

Any other new topics you guys want to discuss?

Sleepless but not in Seattle,

-LIS

 

[TheMightyBoosh]

Man I wish I could get away with that little sleep. If I sleep less than 7 hours I have trouble functioning during the day, and inevitably end up taking a nap.

You're a true workaholic. I have the desire to be one, but its always countered by my drive to sleep

 

[NickNaylor]

Yea, I think what needed to be said about the topic was said. New topic: I'm still awake on the east coast. Crazy? maybe. Hardcore? maybe. Trouble sleeping? probably. A little bit of everything I think. I work 2 jobs and sleep 4 and a half hours a night. I'm not complaining but I think my ex was right that I have a need to be busy all the time. Who knows.

Any other new topics you guys want to discuss?

Sleepless but not in Seattle,

-LIS

Hope you got some sleep.

 

[LostInStudy]

To be fair I spend the good part of Sundays sleeping.

-LIS

 

[sdsweetie]

thanks

 

[LostInStudy]

There's really no guarantee for a 30. With that said, if you put forth the effort to do all that material and learn from your mistakes and actively review and practice the material then I think you will get over a 30 and do very well. The more you practice and seeking out and fixing your weaknesses the better you will score. There's some discussion above on how to best utilize the material so read over that and if you have any other questions then let me know.

-LIS

 

[sdsweetie]

There's really no guarantee for a 30. With that said, if you put forth the effort to do all that material and learn from your mistakes and actively review and practice the material then I think you will get over a 30 and do very well. The more you practice and seeking out and fixing your weaknesses the better you will score. There's some discussion above on how to best utilize the material so read over that and if you have any other questions then let me know.

-LIS

Thanks so much for your prompt response! I had a few more questions. Does ExamKrackers Biology cover all the Bio content you need for the MCAT? Also what did you think of the Kaplan online resources in general? Did you think the Kaplan subject tests, topical tests and Q-bank were good and if so, how would you rank the Kaplan practice material compared to BR, TPR, EK, etc?

Thanks a lot!

 

[InfinitiPSI]

LIS,

Where did you purchase the TPR, and TBR books you used? I am having trouble finding the same ones' you found.

Thanks.

 

[Don Draper]

Lost,

Were you able to devote full time to the MCAT? Obviously when you studied all day you did, but I mean before that. Did you have classes going on or work?

Just curious.

 

[LostInStudy]

Thanks so much for your prompt response! I had a few more questions. Does ExamKrackers Biology cover all the Bio content you need for the MCAT? Also what did you think of the Kaplan online resources in general? Did you think the Kaplan subject tests, topical tests and Q-bank were good and if so, how would you rank the Kaplan practice material compared to BR, TPR, EK, etc?

Thanks a lot!

Yes and no. Technically EK bio has everything you need but doesn't go into any depth, so if you didn't learn the material that well the first time then I would suggest going with another content resource along with EK bio, maybe see how much you like kaplan. I thought that the kaplan material was overall good content review practice because that's what I used it for. It wasn't really that great at simulating the test but it was still good for reviewing the concepts. I would rank it even with TPR for all sections but bio. Bio was a bit below the quality of TPR Science Workbook passages. My overall rankings of TBR, TPR, and EK are on the first page so check that out and compare that with what I just said.

LIS,

Where did you purchase the TPR, and TBR books you used? I am having trouble finding the same ones' you found.

Thanks.

Mostly ebay and sdn. I got the TPR set like a year and a half before I started studying and found an old 2006 set for like $40 and that seemed too good to pass up so I bought them. As worst I thought I would just waste $40, but it ended up being a great investment. For TBR, I got the PS books and EK PS books from a user on sdn who had bought them for a retake before his score was released and once it was released he was pleased and just wanted to unload them. I got them for like $65 bucks which is a bargain for those books in new condition (considering they were worth probably more than twice that). It's easier to stay motivated to look for bargains when you're poor. TBR O.Chem and TBR Bio I just bought off of their site www.berkeleyreview.com. You really have to start early and I did accidentally without realizing it at the time. You have to hound ebay and sdn for sale ads to find the books at decent deals. You could pay regular price and get EK 1001 from amazon and TBR from their website mentioned above. The TPR is the only hard set to get your hands on. Check ebay and sdn for sale forums but generally I wouldn't pay more than $200 for them. Some people have seen their popularity on sdn and try to profit from it by charging like $300-$400 which is just ridiculous. I would never pay nor are they worth more than $250 max for the newest year and condition. The whole TBR set costs like $250 and that's the most I would pay for any prep books because TBR is top quality for the sciences. That's probably more than what you wanted but I hope that helps.

Lost,

Were you able to devote full time to the MCAT? Obviously when you studied all day you did, but I mean before that. Did you have classes going on or work?

Just curious.

The last 2-3 months I was putting in a good 15 hours a day and didn't work then. The first 3-4 months though I worked, volunteered, and other random junk. Usually I studied about 4-6 hours per day (that's an average, some days I did like 10-12 (weekends) and other 2-3). I did as much as I could in a day whether that was reading a chapter in content or just doing practice passages that day. It's hard but definitely doable, you just have to manage your time well and not lolligag around. You have to be active in it and have your days planned and know what you have to get done. You'll get behind but you can't let that discourage you and have to keep working hard. I didn't have school, I graduated last year and decided to take a year off to improve my app.

Hope this helps you guys,

-LIS

 

[Excelsius]

...

The last 2-3 months I was putting in a good 15 hours a day and didn't work then. The first 3-4 months though I worked, volunteered, and other random junk. Usually I studied about 4-6 hours per day (that's an average, some days I did like 10-12 (weekends) and other 2-3). I did as much as I could in a day whether that was reading a chapter in content or just doing practice passages that day. It's hard but definitely doable, you just have to manage your time well and not lolligag around. You have to be active in it and have your days planned and know what you have to get done. You'll get behind but you can't let that discourage you and have to keep working hard. I didn't have school, I graduated last year and decided to take a year off to improve my app.

Hope this helps you guys,

-LIS

You probably know this, but that is inordinate amount of time. ~2 months about 5 hrs/ and ~2 months 15hrs/day. I wonder if anyone will be able to beat that. Would you say that your classroom information was helpful or fresh in your mind or did you have to study everything from scratch anyway? Once you study the material, it's always a repeat afterwards, but since you used several in-depth books, it's almost as if you relearned everything.

 

[LostInStudy]

Yea, as a VERY conservative estimate I put it at (~1600 hours total) but I don't mention that a lot since that freaks people out. Well, Chemistry was a review because I always been awesome in O. Chem and G. Chem. Biology just varies so much from school to school that I just decided to learn and master it all from the ground up even though I had strong physiology and Neurobiology foundation. My genetics teacher sucked and was fired after the year she taught our class and I never actually felt comfortable with it. Physics I learned well but our professor had the weirdest tests in the world, he was an intelligent man but he didn't cater much to premeds as far as physics prep was concerned.

On another note, looks like NBA finals time will be taking a chunk out of my SDN time. I usually have 2 hours of SDN a day and I think on NBA finals days I'm just going to spend that watching the game, so for tonight I'm done.

-LIS

 

[TheMightyBoosh]

On another note, looks like NBA finals time will be taking a chunk out of my SDN time. I usually have 2 hours of SDN a day and I think on NBA finals days I'm just going to spend that watching the game, so for tonight I'm done.

Same here. Go Lakers.

 

[rjns11]

Same here. Go Lakers.

Keep that garbage off the forum.

 

[TheMightyBoosh]

Keep that garbage off the forum.

Haha. Revenge feels good. I haven't forgotten you guys kicking our butts in 06' and 07'.

At least you're not a Celtics fan. Don't get me started with them people.

 

[momofj]

Great thread...thank you for all your time!!!!

 

[TheMightyBoosh]

One of the things that I'd like to prepare for is the "verbal-like" nature of the latest Bio passages that quite a few people have mentioned. I know you've recommended TPR Bio science workbook passages, but is there any other quality of your preparation that you think helped you handle that aspect of the test? Did you feel surprised at all with the set of passages you got in BS as far as passage density/ambiguity? Or do you think the sheer amount of passages/FL's you do trains your brain to know what to look for quickly?

 

[Don Draper]

One of the things that I'd like to prepare for is the "verbal-like" nature of the latest Bio passages that quite a few people have mentioned. I know you've recommended TPR Bio science workbook passages, but is there any other quality of your preparation that you think helped you handle that aspect of the test? Did you feel surprised at all with the set of passages you got in BS as far as passage density/ambiguity? Or do you think the sheer amount of passages/FL's you do trains your brain to know what to look for quickly?

I can speak a little to this, as before I took any upper division science courses I had tried reading MCAT passages. The VR nature of bio just means you need to be science fluent, this happens with doing lots of passages, taking upper division classes, or reading research papers. Now that I've done those three things I can read a passage like I used to read a novel. BUT before I would read and it would be way over my head, reading slowly I would be confused.

It is just science literacy. After all that is said, I still try to understand the most convoluted passages, but then you get to the questions and most are asking if you know where transcription takes place (or simple ideas like that).

 

[sdsweetie]

I can speak a little to this, as before I took any upper division science courses I had tried reading MCAT passages. The VR nature of bio just means you need to be science fluent, this happens with doing lots of passages, taking upper division classes, or reading research papers. Now that I've done those three things I can read a passage like I used to read a novel. BUT before I would read and it would be way over my head, reading slowly I would be confused.

It is just science literacy. After all that is said, I still try to understand the most convoluted passages, but then you get to the questions and most are asking if you know where transcription takes place (or simple ideas like that).

So what would you recommend a non-science major who has only taken Bio I and Bio II do to prepare for the BS section of the MCAT? Would using TPR for Biology content review and doing lots of practice passages be sufficient?

Thanks

 

[sdsweetie]

Yea, as a VERY conservative estimate I put it at (~1600 hours total) but I don't mention that a lot since that freaks people out. Well, Chemistry was a review because I always been awesome in O. Chem and G. Chem. Biology just varies so much from school to school that I just decided to learn and master it all from the ground up even though I had strong physiology and Neurobiology foundation. My genetics teacher sucked and was fired after the year she taught our class and I never actually felt comfortable with it. Physics I learned well but our professor had the weirdest tests in the world, he was an intelligent man but he didn't cater much to premeds as far as physics prep was concerned.

On another note, looks like NBA finals time will be taking a chunk out of my SDN time. I usually have 2 hours of SDN a day and I think on NBA finals days I'm just going to spend that watching the game, so for tonight I'm done.

-LIS

What book did you use for Biology content review (particulary for molecular biology and genetics)?

Thanks a lot!

 

[LostInStudy]

Great thread...thank you for all your time!!!! I was wondering if you can help me on my plan. Like you I'll be taking longer than 2-3 months for prepping. I just can't leave my job...I'm home, have little kids (4), I do have some time where I'll be doing the 5 hr. block study (fri,sat,sun). I am planning on the Jan test, and have been doing the NOVA phys, I took the class many moons ago and is my most challenging, so I decided to do the book as one would take the class. I plan on starting review July/Aug, and if all works out I should do about 40-45 hrs/week, hopefully that's enough time to cover all the material and do well. I need a lot of work, took a fl and got 19. Anyway, I have all the EK, TPRH (older ed.), and a Kaplan book I picked up at B&N a few years back. I haven't formulated a written plan yet, but will be using a combo of different strategies found here. How do you think I should go about setting up each subject+practice q's +fl, in such a lenghthy time span (~5-6months) and hopefully not forget anything? Also going to be using some kind of spreadsheet to see results and areas of weakness.

Thanks again!!!!

On one of the last posts on the previous page I suggested how I would have spread out the material I used. Look at the very first post in the thread and the post on the previous page and that should give you a really good idea on what I think about a lot of things including setting up the subject, practice questions, and FLs. If you have any more questions after that then let me know.

One of the things that I'd like to prepare for is the "verbal-like" nature of the latest Bio passages that quite a few people have mentioned. I know you've recommended TPR Bio science workbook passages, but is there any other quality of your preparation that you think helped you handle that aspect of the test? Did you feel surprised at all with the set of passages you got in BS as far as passage density/ambiguity? Or do you think the sheer amount of passages/FL's you do trains your brain to know what to look for quickly?

Yea, I think Don is spot on here man. A lot of people say you don't need a lot of bio content for the bio section but that's just partially true. The people who say that know the content well and subconsciously decide what is important and what's not using their bio knowledge. It just comes down to knowing the concept well and applying them to different situations, that's why you get in as much practice as possible so you're able to see subjects your unfamiliar with and get used doing passages on them. I was slow at weird subjects too in the beginning but as I did more practice and built the intuition about what to use and what not to, I got faster and better on the passages.

What book did you use for Biology content review (particulary for molecular biology and genetics)?

Thanks a lot!

I used TPR Hyperlearning Biological Sciences review and EK bio for all of my biology content review.

Hope this helps,

-LIS

 

[sdsweetie]

Thanks so much for your help LostInStudy! The TPR Science Workbook I have is from 2005. Should I purchase a newer edition or would I be fine using this? Also I am planning to just begin practicing now, would it be okay to do the passages in the TPR science workbook untimed?

Thanks!

 

[TheMightyBoosh]

Sounds reasonable. I do have upper div Bio classes under my belt... though I don't feel like I've retained much. I think the only research paper I've done was one on MDMA in my neurochemistry class. I'll take my chances with doing tons of practice passages.

 

[TheMightyBoosh]

It is just science literacy. After all that is said, I still try to understand the most convoluted passages, but then you get to the questions and most are asking if you know where transcription takes place (or simple ideas like that).

Yea, I've noticed that too... but I still feel like I should have a good idea of what's going on in each passage I go through even if the questions don't relate to it. Chances are it won't be that easy on test day.

 

[LostInStudy]

Thanks so much for your help LostInStudy! The TPR Science Workbook I have is from 2005. Should I purchase a newer edition or would I be fine using this? Also I am planning to just begin practicing now, would it be okay to do the passages in the TPR science workbook untimed?

Thanks!

I think mine was from 2006, so it shouldn't make a difference. I talk about timing in the first post, check that out for other useful info too.

Yea, I've noticed that too... but I still feel like I should have a good idea of what's going on in each passage I go through even if the questions don't relate to it. Chances are it won't be that easy on test day.

You should try to have a good understanding through the first read, but don't be scared or afraid if you don't. Don't spend too much time trying to understand the passage if you didn't the first time, just know where everything is so you can come back. There were occasions in my practice and on the real test where I wasn't even 60% sure what the passage was about but I used little clues and hints in the passage to make a somewhat educated guess. From that I answered the questions. If I came across a questions I didn't know or needed more information to answer then I would refer quickly to the passage and try to decipher that part.

Hope this helps,

-LIS

 

[carbear02]

hey LIS - thx for the info - just wondering - how did you study 15 hours a day? did you sleep at all? or just did nothing besides shower, sleep and study? i find doing 10-12 hrs a day pretty impressive, let alone 15.

 

[Don Draper]

Yea, I've noticed that too... but I still feel like I should have a good idea of what's going on in each passage I go through even if the questions don't relate to it. Chances are it won't be that easy on test day.

Again, LIS is the authority but I will chime in.

The whole point of the MCAT is to give you something totally weird and abstract followed by testing a simple concept. No matter how much stuff you practice, they still have stuff you've never read or heard of. They want you to be thinking, "What the hell is this..." while reading, but hidden in the tricky questions will be simple concepts.

How do you get good at this? I can say because I've gone from horrible to proficient.

Paths to science literacy:

• Reading higher level science textbooks (not BioI/BioII stuff)
• Taking higher level science courses
• Reading research papers
• Doing lots of MCAT bio passages

Do you have to do all of these? no. But if you have only one category, it better be extensive experience. This is the reason some can prep in minimal time and get 13+ in bio.

I had to read a bunch of research papers this last year and had all upper division science courses, now bio is my strongest area.

My history? 18 months ago, if someone said "for $10,000 tell me what a eukaryotic cell is", I would've tried to use wikipedia on my blackberry.

If you didn't or haven't taken the upper division science, all is not lost. I would just do all EKBio1001, TPR Science Wrkbk bio, and BR bio passages. Make up your lack of literacy with practice. Do the passage again if you miss more than 2-3 questions. Believe me, that is less work than taking 20-30 upper division science units.

Those who are good have experience.

The worst thing for people to think is, "I'm bad at bio, I'm not smart enough for this." Likely you haven't put in equivalent work to the people doing well.

 

[LostInStudy]

hey LIS - thx for the info - just wondering - how did you study 15 hours a day? did you sleep at all? or just did nothing besides shower, sleep and study? i find doing 10-12 hrs a day pretty impressive, let alone 15.

Look at #9 on the first post. I basically ate, breathed, and slept the MCAT for those months.

Hope this helps,

-LIS

 

[sdsweetie]

Hi LostInStudy,

You mentioned in the first post that you began your practice by doing untimed passages. Could you mention which practice passages you did untimed and which you did timed? For instance, did you do EK 1001 Bio and TPR passages untimed and BR timed, etc?

Thanks!

 

[LostInStudy]

The only things I did timed were verbal, Fls, Kaplan material, and TBR phase 3. The rest were loosely timed where I looked at the clock when I began and again when I finished. However the timed material was probably 33%-40% of the practice I did so I had plenty of timed practice.

Hope this helps,

-LIS

 

[TheMightyBoosh]

LIS/Draper: Thanks again for the insightful points. I think I was a little unclear with what I said... I meant that I wanted to focus on using the passage whenever I can while doing practice. So if I go through the passage the first time and can answer all the questions without having a clue of what was going on in the passage, then in review I'd take the time to pick apart the passage and see if after going through it slowly I could notice little things here and there that could have helped me answer the questions had I not remembered the content. My feeling is that by doing this I can train my brain to get better at finding the "simple concepts" in the abstract information as Don said.

And yea Don, that is exactly what I am trying to accomplish... all of EK 1001, BR Bio, and TPR Bio. And basically I do each passage twice after I'm done with review. So far so good.

 

[LostInStudy]

LIS/Draper: Thanks again for the insightful points. I think I was a little unclear with what I said... I meant that I wanted to focus on using the passage whenever I can while doing practice. So if I go through the passage the first time and can answer all the questions without having a clue of what was going on in the passage, then in review I'd take the time to pick apart the passage and see if after going through it slowly I could notice little things here and there that could have helped me answer the questions had I not remembered the content. My feeling is that by doing this I can train my brain to get better at finding the "simple concepts" in the abstract information as Don said.

And yea Don, that is exactly what I am trying to accomplish... all of EK 1001, BR Bio, and TPR Bio. And basically I do each passage twice after I'm done with review. So far so good.

When are you taking?

Curious,

-LIS

 

[TheMightyBoosh]

September 11... last exam of the year.

 

[LostInStudy]

Wow, you're pretty far ahead of the game.

-LIS

 

[TheMightyBoosh]

Yea definitely wanted to make sure I got an early start. I don't think I will take nearly as many FL's as you did, but I also have a lot of extra BR class material (which is supposed to be really helpful) that I want to get through when I'm closer to the exam.

 

[LostInStudy]

Yea, I did it but I don't think I would recommend anyone else doing it because it wasn't the most efficient way and not all of the tests helped me as much as others. You should do great though, how many FLs are you thinking you're going to do? Hopefully over 12. That's just a minimum I like to throw around to make sure people master timing and test taking strategies. Obviously some will require lower (people who start off scoring 35+).

On another note, Lady gaga's alejandro has been stuck in my head for like a week now. Why? My name isn't even alejandro, although alejandro seems like such a cool name now.

-LIS

 

[TheMightyBoosh]

I should end up doing 14-15 FL's. Basically AAMC's and BR FL's. I wanna space it out so I take 2 exams a week with 2 days of review/phase III passages and one day of rest. I don't think it would be worth buying 10 GS FL's and only getting through 1 or 2.

I'm not sure if I've heard that song, but just the fact that you mentioned lady gaga got another one of her popular songs stuck in my head. She is ridiculously catchy... not sure why.

 

[LostInStudy]

That sounds pretty good. I was going to suggest that you throw out the rest day but now that I think about it, it will be a good buffer to make sure you don't get behind. Unless you're me, which is a bad thing because I was obsessed with staying on schedule even if that meant I had to stay up an extra 2-3 hours, then you're naturally going to fall behind. I never had buffers so I stayed up late instead which I definitely would not suggest. So basically, that sounds nice. If you know the material well I wouldn't worry about GS. You should be okay with your 15. Just mix the 3-6 AAMC with the TBR so you know what kind of reasoning is appropriate and what you should be working on.

-LIS

 

[LostInStudy]

LIS/Draper: Thanks again for the insightful points. I think I was a little unclear with what I said... I meant that I wanted to focus on using the passage whenever I can while doing practice. So if I go through the passage the first time and can answer all the questions without having a clue of what was going on in the passage, then in review I'd take the time to pick apart the passage and see if after going through it slowly I could notice little things here and there that could have helped me answer the questions had I not remembered the content. My feeling is that by doing this I can train my brain to get better at finding the "simple concepts" in the abstract information as Don said.

And yea Don, that is exactly what I am trying to accomplish... all of EK 1001, BR Bio, and TPR Bio. And basically I do each passage twice after I'm done with review. So far so good.

You're on the right track with this here. Check out #19 on the first post, especially the second part where I elaborate about working out problems and effective ways to review them. Even though a lot of it applies to FLs, I think you can use it for some practice passages too, even though doing it for all of them would probably take a long time. Maybe just use them for BR passages.

Hope that helps to get this thread back on the MCAT discussion track,

-LIS

 

[TheMightyBoosh]

Yea this song is much more normal than anything else I've heard from her. I feel like she tries to emulate Madonna a lot.

Btw, I'm easily gonna use "baby, you're hot like Mexico" as a sleezy pick up line very soon. Not confident at all that it will work, but it'll definitely amuse me.

I'll let you know how it goes.

 

[apc]

LIS,
I'm planning on doing the AAMC/BR FL tests.
Since you've gone through Kaplan 1-6 and GS (1-10 I think you said), which set do you suggest for extra FL practice?
I know you ranked Kaplan higher, but since GS has more exams, do you think a combination of both would be good? (6 Kaplan and 4 GS or all 10 GS and no Kaplan). I can get access to Kaplan from a friend, and have no issue paying for GS.
Thanks

 

[TheMightyBoosh]

That sounds pretty good. I was going to suggest that you throw out the rest day but now that I think about it, it will be a good buffer to make sure you don't get behind. Unless you're me, which is a bad thing because I was obsessed with staying on schedule even if that meant I had to stay up an extra 2-3 hours, then you're naturally going to fall behind. I never had buffers so I stayed up late instead which I definitely would not suggest.

Yea I definitely want to keep a break day for each week while studying. This is my favorite aspect of S2Ned's schedule. For me, it's important to schedule something fun and exciting at least once a week. That way I can keep things in perspective and look forward to the end of the week.

At the same time though, I probably will end up using them as buffer days because like you, I don't like falling behind on schedule. So far I've been staying up pretty late to get all my work done for the day. I'm pretty sure I'll get the hang of it eventually and get my work done on time.

 

[LostInStudy]

LIS,
I'm planning on doing the AAMC/BR FL tests.
Since you've gone through Kaplan 1-6 and GS (1-10 I think you said), which set do you suggest for extra FL practice?
I know you ranked Kaplan higher, but since GS has more exams, do you think a combination of both would be good? (6 Kaplan and 4 GS or all 10 GS and no Kaplan). I can get access to Kaplan from a friend, and have no issue paying for GS.
Thanks

Stick with Kaplan. The 1-6 are good practice and you should have around 21 which is a good number with AAMC, TBR, and Kaplan. Basically, stick to Kaplan FL.

Yea I definitely want to keep a break day for each week while studying. This is my favorite aspect of S2Ned's schedule. For me, it's important to schedule something fun and exciting at least once a week. That way I can keep things in perspective and look forward to the end of the week.

At the same time though, I probably will end up using them as buffer days because like you, I don't like falling behind on schedule. So far I've been staying up pretty late to get all my work done for the day. I'm pretty sure I'll get the hang of it eventually and get my work done on time.

, good luck with that buddy, I told myself that every single day I slept late (which was basically every single night) and never got the hang of it. I wasn't consistently staying on schedule until I hit FLs. I would much rather do FLs every single day rather than Content review and practice. Gosh, that was so much work and so tiring and SO easy to get behind. FL days were just spending 3-4 hours taking the test and rest of the day and next day reviewing. That was much more relaxing than freaking doing content.

Let me know how the pick up line goes, I never thought of using that as a pick up line but I guess it wouldn't be bad if you use it in the next few months before that song explodes.

-LIS

 

[Don Draper]

I should end up doing 14-15 FL's. Basically AAMC's and BR FL's. I wanna space it out so I take 2 exams a week with 2 days of review/phase III passages and one day of rest.

I have the same thing scheduled over 15 days. 15 FLs (AAMC/BR) and all BR phase III. Should be pretty fun.

 

[TheMightyBoosh]

I have the same thing scheduled over 15 days. 15 FLs (AAMC/BR) and all BR phase III. Should be pretty fun.

Epic, to the say the least.

 

[TheMightyBoosh]

Let me know how the pick up line goes, I never thought of using that as a pick up line but I guess it wouldn't be bad if you use it in the next few months before that song explodes.

-LIS

I'm pretty sure it will be a bad line no matter when I use it haha. I enjoy throwing cheesy pick up lines at girls once in a while just to see how they'll take it.

I'll try anything as long as it won't get a drink thrown at my face

 

[sdsweetie]

Hey LostInStudy,

What did you think of the EK 30 min exams at the end of each lecture? Did you find them useful to do?

Thanks!

 

[LostInStudy]

Those are the one thing I didn't do.

-LIS