Needing advice for post analysis/ keeping "records" of wrong answers

[Dielswithit]

Hey everyone,

I'm currently 54 days out to my MCAT date on January 10th and I'm in need of some advice. First some background: I've already completed over 3 months of studying over the summer doing content review. I have a strong background in my sciences and consistently score 10's/11's in both physical and biological sciences for Kaplan and AAMC tests. However, I don't want to feel too over confident and want to tackle any weak areas that I still have. So my questions are:

How should I do a thorough post analysis of my tests/practice passages? Do you keep a written record of wrong questions or misunderstood concepts and refer back to it as you study? -Currently after I take my tests, I review the incorrect answers and read the explanation or try to follow my logic again to find the correct answer. Then I use another resource (MCATreview.org, EK books, BR books, etc) and get a fundamental understanding of why the question is correct.

How do I make the post analysis "stick"? In other words, how do you prove to yourself that you've mastered a concept?-Yes, I know: practice, practice, practice! But would it help to dedicate a day to doing practice problems that strengthen one weak concept? Would it help to focus more on content review for that area? How would you break down your time for reviewing a concept vs practicing it? (If you can give an example as to how you break down time for your review vs practice, I would appreciate it).

Finally, I've considering using Spinach Dip's 2 month schedule to continue practicing. If anybody has any thoughts on this (time commitments, success with the program, etc) please let me know.

If you've taken the time to read all this, then you're awesome. Thanks and stay cool

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[TheRhymenocerous]

I'm no MCAT expert (taking it in January too) but in my limited experience, it's most helpful to focus on why I got things wrong, rather than the specific subject of the question. The chances that any one topic will show up on your real exam are slim, but if you can find patterns (i.e. not reading the question properly, overthinking things, etc.) it'll help you get better at tackling any kind of question you come across. So for everything I get wrong, I try to categorize it as a different kind of mistake (carelessness, misreading, overthinking, just plain not knowing the content, and so on). I find it especially helpful in verbal, but I think it's helpful for the science sections too. I also keeping a running list of weak areas to focus on, but I've been trying to think more big picture about test-taking skills, versus specific knowledge at this point. I'm sure different techniques work for different people, but I think this has been helping me!

 

[Dielswithit]

Verbal is a beast on its own haha; I've heard getting familiar with the logic of AAMC verbal passages is the best way to tackle those questions. That's in addition to knowing the question types and applying the main idea as best as possible to each question. But I'll give your strategy a go, I know that this test is more than just knowing the content sometimes. One of my friends that took the MCAT put it best, he said it's more like 10% content, 90% knowing how to take the test haha.

 

[Dielswithit]

Anyone else have any thoughts?

 

[GodComplex]

I didn't keep track at all during my first 3 weeks of studying. Then, I began making flash cards for all the questions I got wrong (excluding VR) and for problems that I got right but wasn't very sure about. If I missed two questions that were basically the same concept, then I would still only make one card for the two of them.

Then, I reviewed my cards a couple times a week. The stack grew and I organized them into separate piles based on how well I knew them. There are computer programs for this, but many of my cards required drawing and I feel like I learn more from physically having the cards. Towards the end of my studying plan, I went back and read/did a few extra passages on any topics I felt really weak on.


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