Official Harvard Extension 2012 Thread

[shulk]

In regards to Physics, here is the email I sent out to my lab and discussion sections:

First thing I recommend you do is sit down with the problem sets that will be tested on this exam (psets 5 - 9). Put a nice clean piece of paper next to you. Work through every problem on the problem sets. When you hit a stumbling block (whether it be a forgotten formula or a botched concept) make note of it on your soon to be crib sheet. Do not simply chalk up a mistake as an "oh I'll get it next time". Analyze where you went wrong. Let is stew for a bit. This method of studying will really help to ensure that you don't forget "easy" concepts come exam day.

By the time you're done with the psets you should have a nice crib sheet in the making. Now is the time to start working on the old examinations. Although I recommend doing all of them if time is an issue I'd recommend starting with the most current exams and then working your way backwards. TAKE THESE EXAMS UNDER REALISTIC CONDITIONS. That means no music, no notes (except your crib sheet) and timed. Do everything in your power to simulate exam day. This will help to prevent the test day jitters and will also give you an indication as to how your time management is looking.

Once you've finished the practice exams, start hammering out textbook problems that cover your problem areas. By this point you should have a good idea as to where you need extra practice.

My general test taking tips:

-As you read through the multiple choice questions write down formulas that apply to the question. For example: let's say the question mentions a ball being shot from a spring to a certain height. I would instantly write down 1/2kx^2 = mgh. Getting formulas onto paper is often to trick to solving these multiple choice questions. Each of them is testing a specific formula/rule/law. Once you realize what you're being asked to invoke they often become a rather trivial plug and chug.

-Plug in numbers (when applicable) and take questions to the extreme. If you're told that M1 is greater than M2 and R1 is greater than R2 plug in 1000000 for M1 and 2 for M2 and 50000 for R1 and 4 for R2. This will hopefully help to elucidate a convincing answer. Please though, for the love of physics, do not plug in 1. There's just too great of a chance for things to get ugly.

-If the answer/strategy for a MC question doesn't come to you within 20-30 seconds, MOVE ON. You'd be surprised how often there are hints for earlier questions hidden later on in the test.

-Show work for EVERY problem. This means both MC and short answer. If you show work, the graders can help you by assigning partial credit. If you just circle an answer you're setting yourself up for disappointment. This is where writing down formulas as you read the question comes into play.

-You will very rarely be given a red herring number. If you're given a value in a question there's a good chance you're going to have to use it in some way. Now, don't take this to heart and assume that every number will be used for every question; use it as guidance. The roof problem in section yesterday was a great example of this: we were given the area for a very specific reason. If you saw area and remembered that pressure was a force x area you would be well on your way to solving the problem.

-Please, please, please know the two types of collisions and what laws/rules hold true in each
Inelastic: conservation of momentum holds true
Elastic: conservation of energy holds true
Ballistic Pendulum: conservation of momentum holds true for the instant before and after the collision. Conservation of energy holds true for the swing. You can work this problem two ways: either from the swing height to solve for bullet speed, or from bullet speed to solve for swing height. Remember, you're going to need to use both laws to solve the question. If you are still hazy on this review your lab and your notes from section. Prof R. loves asking this question - make sure you understand it.

That's all I've got for now. As always, feel free to email me questions. From now until test day I'm going to plan on replying to your questions to both my lab and discussion sections (obviously taking care to remove any personally identifiable information) as many people often stumble on the same concepts.

johnnyscans, thanks for this write up. Great advice for preparing for this midterm.

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[MedWonk]

My guess: he'll be your professor. My advice: start studying at least a week prior to the exam. He truly does test everything, and the exams are very difficult. The curve is also pretty tough.



Nothing received on my end. I'll let you guys/gals know if I hear anything.

In other news. . . how about that Orgo pset! What a party.

Hello fellow sufferers - has anyone who applied for sponsorship gotten the "personal inventory" sent to them yet? It's supposed to go out this month, according to the email I got back in May.

Dr. Fixsen just sent out the Personal Inventory by email.

 

[oldcrumb]

Dr. Fixsen just sent out the Personal Inventory by email.

Thanks! Yeah, I just got it too. It's exciting to have this in the foreseeable future future, isn't it? Someday the problem sets will end and the doctoring will begin?!

 

[MedWonk]

Thanks! Yeah, I just got it too. It's exciting to have this in the foreseeable future future, isn't it? Someday the problem sets will end and the doctoring will begin?!

I suppose it's exciting. The problem sets might end, but there's still lots and lots of tests to take before the doctoring begins. I've been so engrossed in studying for biochem and the MCAT that I had actually forgotten about the Personal Inventory. On the plus side, I got all my LORs all lined up to be written, so there's that.

 

[smiley27]

Next application cycle is creeping up on us huh? Can't believe I'm almost done with my third semester at HES. All this mcat talk--med school seems so far away still.

 

[Randommemb]

i am by no means an expert on applying to medical school, but i have gone through mcat, inventory, sponsorship, and am in the middle of my application cycle. you'll find many people have advice for you, but i'd be happy to share my experiences and opinions if any of you want. just pm me.

 

[Magilacutty]

Anybody in Bio working on their lab report and willing to share data? In the write-up, it sounds like they want us to compare with other students to detect anomalies, and I didn't really have a chance to compare while in lab. Here's my data:

Strain 10 - all low (basal)
Strain 20 - high for media a,b,c, and low for media d.
Strain 30 - all clear/no activity
Strain 40 - a and b low, c high, and d low.

 

[drmsk]

Anybody in Bio working on their lab report and willing to share data? In the write-up, it sounds like they want us to compare with other students to detect anomalies, and I didn't really have a chance to compare while in lab. Here's my data:

Strain 10 - all low (basal)
Strain 20 - high for media a,b,c, and low for media d.
Strain 30 - all clear/no activity
Strain 40 - a and b low, c high, and d low.

I got the following:

Strain 10 - all clear
Strain 20 - all varying shades of yellow that I approximated as just "yellow" (in reality, A and C were more yellow than B and D)
Strain 30 - all clear except for C (faint yellow)
Strain 40 - A and D clear, B faint yellow, C yellow

The word "yellow" looks very strange to me now

 

[Magilacutty]

Thanks for sharing! Also, FYI - your results look more like another group's than mine do, which leads me to believe something went wrong in my data set.

I got the following:

Strain 10 - all clear
Strain 20 - all varying shades of yellow that I approximated as just "yellow" (in reality, A and C were more yellow than B and D)
Strain 30 - all clear except for C (faint yellow)
Strain 40 - A and D clear, B faint yellow, C yellow

The word "yellow" looks very strange to me now

 

[drmsk]

Thanks for sharing! Also, FYI - your results look more like another group's than mine do, which leads me to believe something went wrong in my data set.

Thanks for the input! Yeah, we compared our observations to a couple of other groups and got similar results. I actually now think that it might be significant that for strain 20, B and D were less yellow than A and C. My lab partner and I are thinking that this may be due to the fact that B-gal is acting on lactose in addition to ONPG in B and D, so that's why ONPG hydrolysis isn't as strong in those tubes. However, we didn't get a less yellow color in tube D, which had glucose, like we should have...

We are also struggling with how to answer question 7 in the lab report. If anyone has any input they'd like to share, that would be awesome.

 

[Magilacutty]

Thanks for the input! Yeah, we compared our observations to a couple of other groups and got similar results. I actually now think that it might be significant that for strain 20, B and D were less yellow than A and C. My lab partner and I are thinking that this may be due to the fact that B-gal is acting on lactose in addition to ONPG in B and D, so that's why ONPG hydrolysis isn't as strong in those tubes. However, we didn't get a less yellow color in tube D, which had glucose, like we should have...

We are also struggling with how to answer question 7 in the lab report. If anyone has any input they'd like to share, that would be awesome.

Also struggling with question 7. What I have so far is in media A (lactose absent), provided you have a functional lacZ, you could have basal transcription of β-gal, which is necessary for a preliminary conversion of lactose to allolactose. I'm hoping a TF/Casey will weigh in on the Bio discussion forum. There was a question asked about #7, but I'm not satisfied with the response.

 

[drmsk]

Also struggling with question 7. What I have so far is in media A (lactose absent), provided you have a functional lacZ, you could have basal transcription of β-gal, which is necessary for a preliminary conversion of lactose to allolactose. I'm hoping a TF/Casey will weigh in on the Bio discussion forum. There was a question asked about #7, but I'm not satisfied with the response.

I agree on the lack of satisfactory responses. After extensive question-asking with my TF and on the discussion board regarding question 7, I think I've resigned to the conclusion that there would be no difference in results, but only if you got results in line with what you expected in all tubes. If you did not, then I would assume that detecting transcription would be more accurate than detecting activity, so you would get different results (i.e. the results you should have gotten in the first place) in those tubes. I hope this makes sense!

 

[pre med 2014]

Is anyone familiar with the MS programs in the extension schools? I am particularly interested in the biotechnology/nanotech program, since its 40 credits it looks like it would take 3 semesters plus a summer to complete, is my approximation correct?

What are the med school acceptance rates for the MS students?

 

[MedWonk]

Is anyone familiar with the MS programs in the extension schools? I am particularly interested in the biotechnology/nanotech program, since its 40 credits it looks like it would take 3 semesters plus a summer to complete, is my approximation correct?

What are the med school acceptance rates for the MS students?

Why are you interested in that particular graduate program, and not the post-bacc program? And if you're interested in a graduate program that can better your odds of getting into med school, you should look into Special Masters Programs. Unless, of course, you're interested in potentially having a medical career that involves research in biotech/nanotech.

I imagine the odds of getting accepted after getting the MS in biotech would be similar to everyone else's. You would have to convince admissions committees that your MS in biotech somehow translates into passion for the field and practice of medicine. Unlike an SMP, the MS in biotech won't provide as much benefit to your application as you might think. The biggest benefit it'll provide is research experience, but there are easier ways to get that.

You haven't provided any info on your educational background or on any extracurricular activities, so it's impossible to gauge what would bolster your chances of getting in.

In general, you need to complete the prerequisites (2 semesters of Intro Bio, 2 semesters of General Chemistry, 2 semesters of Organic Chemistry, and 2 semesters of Physics), and you should have healthy amount of volunteering in a clinical setting, as well as shadowing physicians. You should aim to have a GPA of at least 3.5, and get at least a 30 on the MCAT. Some schools have additional course requirements, such as biochemistry, genetics, or one semester of Calculus or Stats. Although it may not explicitly stated in their requirements, schools that have a heavy emphasis on research will want you to have research experience. Research experience is always beneficial, but don't do it if you don't care for it. Other ECs that are beneficial include other non-clinical volunteering and any leadership or teaching experience. Any other ECs done over the long-term besides the above mentioned are icing on the cake.

There's a thread lurking around the forums started by DrMidlife that lays out the things that med schools look for in their applicants in more detail.

Best of luck to you.

https://services.aamc.org/postbac/

 

[pre med 2014]

Next application cycle is creeping up on us huh? Can't believe I'm almost done with my third semester at HES. All this mcat talk--med school seems so far away still.

Hi,

Since you are already in this could you tell me if this program could be for me? I am thinking about applying to post bacc to raise GPA. My gen chem, physics, ochem and bio grades are ok, however my cGPA went down due to poor performance in quantum, biochem and other upper level science courses. If I can't get into an MD program I will need to prove my abilities in upper level science courses through a post bac program.

 

[pre med 2014]

MedWonk,

Thanks, I am looking for a post bac program. I was confused since this is the post-bac forum, and this thread does not appear to be about an SMP/post-bac program.

 

[johnnyscans]

MedWonk,

Thanks, I am looking for a post bac program. I was confused since this is the post-bac forum, and this thread does not appear to be about an SMP/post-bac program.

Uhh. . .

 

[MedWonk]

MedWonk,

Thanks, I am looking for a post bac program. I was confused since this is the post-bac forum, and this thread does not appear to be about an SMP/post-bac program.

No, you are definitely in the right thread if you're interested in the post-bacc program at Harvard Extension School. There is no SMP at Harvard, however, so you probably won't get much love in this thread if you have any questions regarding SMPs, but there is a forum dedicated to SMPs if you have any questions.

If you're interested in the post-bacc, then you should first browse through the Health Careers Program website: http://www.extension.harvard.edu/degrees-certificates/health-careers

Any questions you may have regarding the program are best answered by Dr. Fixsen (the program director). Any answers we give you here are based on either anecdotal evidence or parroting what Dr. Fixsen has told us, so please don't crucify us if we get something wrong.

Bear in mind that you are able to complete courses without being admitted to the program, since all courses at the Extension School are open enrollment. You will not, however, be able to apply for federal financial aid without being admitted. The biggest benefit to being admitted is the chance to be sponsored. It basically means you get a committee letter in support of your application from the pre-health committee at the Extension School. Getting sponsorship entails doing well in your courses and getting at least a 30 on your MCAT, and turning in letters of recommendation and the personal inventory of several short essays in a timely manner. You can find more precise details on how to get sponsorship on the website.

The other route is to not enroll in HCP, take courses at the Extension School, and go through the pre-med comittee at your alma mater. I know several people that have chosen to take that path, though I will say that if you don't live near Boston, or if your alma mater is not in New England, then it's probably not a good idea from a financial standpoint.

 

[smiley27]

Hi,

Since you are already in this could you tell me if this program could be for me? I am thinking about applying to post bacc to raise GPA. My gen chem, physics, ochem and bio grades are ok, however my cGPA went down due to poor performance in quantum, biochem and other upper level science courses. If I can't get into an MD program I will need to prove my abilities in upper level science courses through a post bac program.

I believe the program is open to people wanting to take upper level courses but I'd say most of the people in the program are taking the prereqs for the first time or re-taking them. You should email the director of the program to see what he thinks and if still can get sponsorship.
If I were in your shoes, having already taken the prereqs, I would try to get a good mcat score and apply to SMPs (gtown, evms, cinc. rfu etc etc) and take upper level courses there. I would not come to HES to take upper level courses over doing an SMP.

 

[pre med 2014]

Ok this cleared up my confusion. I was under the impression a post-bac and SMP was essentially the same thing. I see that what I need to be looking at are SMPs

 

[smiley27]

I'm considering taking a third class on top of bio 2 and ochem 2. There aren't a lot of bio classes offered in the spring semester though. I would like to take an anatomy/phys class to complement bio 2 but I don't think it could work out. Cell bio and molecular bio (upper division) are offered in the spring. Has anyone taken these classes and what do you think of a third class on top of bio and ochem? Bio and ochem are challenging but I'm doing OK this semester.
Genetics is also offered in the spring. Cell bio, molec bio, genetics. Are these classes really challenging? I heard (word of mouth) that upper div classes aren't as challenging, relatively speaking, as the core prereqs. Any thoughts?

 

[johnnyscans]

I'm considering taking a third class on top of bio 2 and ochem 2. There aren't a lot of bio classes offered in the spring semester though. I would like to take an anatomy/phys class to complement bio 2 but I don't think it could work out. Cell bio and molecular bio (upper division) are offered in the spring. Has anyone taken these classes and what do you think of a third class on top of bio and ochem? Bio and ochem are challenging but I'm doing OK this semester.
Genetics is also offered in the spring. Cell bio, molec bio, genetics. Are these classes really challenging? I heard (word of mouth) that upper div classes aren't as challenging, relatively speaking, as the core prereqs. Any thoughts?

I took cell bio on top of phys2/chem2. It's not horribly challenging, but I'm very strong when it comes to cell/molecular bio. I think you'd be ok taking this along with your other two courses.

I took molecular over the summer with Dr. Viel. I work in a molecular bio lab so it was very straightforward to me. I can't attest to the workload/difficulty of the spring offering.

I've heard genetics can be absolutely brutal. I'd be careful dumping that on top of Orgo/Bio.

Hope this helps.

 

[smiley27]

I took cell bio on top of phys2/chem2. It's not horribly challenging, but I'm very strong when it comes to cell/molecular bio. I think you'd be ok taking this along with your other two courses.

I took molecular over the summer with Dr. Viel. I work in a molecular bio lab so it was very straightforward to me. I can't attest to the workload/difficulty of the spring offering.

I've heard genetics can be absolutely brutal. I'd be careful dumping that on top of Orgo/Bio.

Hope this helps.

Awesome, thanks. Will see if I can fit cell bio into my schedule

 

[MedWonk]

I took cell bio on top of phys2/chem2. It's not horribly challenging, but I'm very strong when it comes to cell/molecular bio. I think you'd be ok taking this along with your other two courses.

I took molecular over the summer with Dr. Viel. I work in a molecular bio lab so it was very straightforward to me. I can't attest to the workload/difficulty of the spring offering.

I've heard genetics can be absolutely brutal. I'd be careful dumping that on top of Orgo/Bio.

Hope this helps.

Having taken both, what exactly is difference between biochem and molecular bio? The names make me think they're basically same thing.

 

[johnnyscans]

Having taken both, what exactly is difference between biochem and molecular bio? The names make me think they're basically same thing.

Molecular bio - you focus on DNA/RNA/proteins. Pretty much you do an in-depth study of the central dogma.

Biochemistry - a study of the biochemical processes that allow us to survive e.g. cellular respiration, glycolysis.

 

[SpagoBMS]

@smiley i'm thinking of taking developmental biology, it sounds really interesting. i emailed the prof and she said as long as you covered genetics and cell biology in bio 1 then you should be fine. it's once a week 2 hours right before bio, i don't think there's a lab either.

has anyone taken this course before, thoughts?

 

[smiley27]

@smiley i'm thinking of taking developmental biology, it sounds really interesting. i emailed the prof and she said as long as you covered genetics and cell biology in bio 1 then you should be fine. it's once a week 2 hours right before bio, i don't think there's a lab either.

has anyone taken this course before, thoughts?

The course sounds interesting. I was thinking about the courses I previously mentioned because they should be high-yield for the mcat. If they offered biochem in the spring I would be all over that.

 

[smiley27]

Here we go again, final ochem midterm on thurs. I usually go through three phases in my test prep. 1) i don't remember anything! (Start practice problems). 2) light at the end of the tunnel, but not there yet (start to fine-tune little details) 3) bulletproof (let's get it on!)
I'm stuck in phase 2 and I feel like it's gonna be the hardest, relatively speaking, because of the extra 15 mins.
Damn you wed night bio lab!

 

[Sciengee]

Here we go again, final ochem midterm on thurs. I usually go through three phases in my test prep. 1) i don't remember anything! (Start practice problems). 2) light at the end of the tunnel, but not there yet (start to fine-tune little details) 3) bulletproof (let's get it on!)
I'm stuck in phase 2 and I feel like it's gonna be the hardest, relatively speaking, because of the extra 15 mins.
Damn you wed night bio lab!

I have yet to experience what being in phase 3 feels like in this course.

 

[Magilacutty]

Here we go again, final ochem midterm on thurs. I usually go through three phases in my test prep. 1) i don't remember anything! (Start practice problems). 2) light at the end of the tunnel, but not there yet (start to fine-tune little details) 3) bulletproof (let's get it on!)
I'm stuck in phase 2 and I feel like it's gonna be the hardest, relatively speaking, because of the extra 15 mins.
Damn you wed night bio lab!

At least the bio lab this week is short.

 

[MedWonk]

Here we go again, final ochem midterm on thurs. I usually go through three phases in my test prep. 1) i don't remember anything! (Start practice problems). 2) light at the end of the tunnel, but not there yet (start to fine-tune little details) 3) bulletproof (let's get it on!)
I'm stuck in phase 2 and I feel like it's gonna be the hardest, relatively speaking, because of the extra 15 mins.
Damn you wed night bio lab!

It'll probably be just as hard as it was last year, but you get an extra 15 minutes which will be key. Last year, half the class didn't finish that exam (myself included) and it turned out to be a bloodbath.

 

[oldcrumb]

I have yet to experience what being in phase 3 feels like in this course.

Yep

 

[smiley27]

How was the ochem test? Not too bad huh?

 

[PlumbLine]

how was the ochem test? Not too bad huh?

boom!!!!

 

[johnnyscans]

How was the ochem test? Not too bad huh?

I don't think it was bad, but I can see multiple places where people could have screwed up.

 

[smiley27]

I spoke too soon about the ochem test- ended up scoring 5-10 points lower than my expectation.

Does anyone know anything about BIOS E-175, optical imaging in modern biomedical research, taught by Prof. Ding? There is a 3 week J term class I'm thinking of taking. I heard from one person that's it's difficult, and another said it wasn't bad. Trying to get some other opinions. I enjoyed studying optics in phys e1b and I think I have the prereqs covered for the class.

 

[johnnyscans]

I spoke too soon about the ochem test- ended up scoring 5-10 points lower than my expectation.

Does anyone know anything about BIOS E-175, optical imaging in modern biomedical research, taught by Prof. Ding? There is a 3 week J term class I'm thinking of taking. I heard from one person that's it's difficult, and another said it wasn't bad. Trying to get some other opinions. I enjoyed studying optics in phys e1b and I think I have the prereqs covered for the class.

I think if you have interest in research it could be interesting. January classes are notoriously intense though; be ready to work.

 

[PlumbLine]

Just a heads up to anyone that might have missed it - registration is open for Spring semester.

 

[Sciengee]

Just a heads up to anyone that might have missed it - registration is open for Spring semester.

I know that there is no way out of taking orgo next semester again, I just can't bring myself to register for it.. just yet.. haha. Hopefully it doesn't fill up within the first day.

 

[SpagoBMS]

Looks like we have Anderson for BIO this springs, interesting that Casey is listed as the head TF.

If the syllabus is correct, we're keeping the same book (whew).

There's also a heart dissection and rat dissection lab.

 

[johnnyscans]

I know that there is no way out of taking orgo next semester again, I just can't bring myself to register for it.. just yet.. haha. Hopefully it doesn't fill up within the first day.

I just pulled the trigger. Not going to lie, it feels good.

 

[smiley27]

So... I guess those of us taking ochem and bio 2 are getting two new professors next semester.. Two females to two males.
Last semester of prereqs.. Man!!

 

[johnnyscans]

So... I guess those of us taking ochem and bio 2 are getting two new professors next semester.. Two females to two males.
Last semester of prereqs.. Man!!

I've heard nothing but praise about Logan, so I'm excited.

 

[j3N12]

Has anyone successfully taken bio/orgo/physics at once? I want to apply this summer and am currently in bio/orgo. I took physics I in undergrad and just need to take physics 2. Would anyone suggest doing them all at once rather than waiting until the summer to take physics?

 

[johnnyscans]

Has anyone successfully taken bio/orgo/physics at once? I want to apply this summer and am currently in bio/orgo. I took physics I in undergrad and just need to take physics 2. Would anyone suggest doing them all at once rather than waiting until the summer to take physics?

Anderson's bio + Logan's orgo + Wolf's physics could be brutal.

 

[MedWonk]

Has anyone successfully taken bio/orgo/physics at once? I want to apply this summer and am currently in bio/orgo. I took physics I in undergrad and just need to take physics 2. Would anyone suggest doing them all at once rather than waiting until the summer to take physics?

It's feasible to do all 3 if you're willing to forgo doing much of anything other than study. You won't have much time for ECs or a job if you've got one, though there are a few who do pull it off. From personal experience, I don't recommend taking physics in the summer. The pace of the summer course is unforgiving. Bear in mind that you're going to have learn everything in 6 weeks as opposed to 24 weeks. You have lecture everyday, and each day you cover one week's worth of material. You'll also have problem sets due every day. Lab is only one day a week for three hours. You basically get the weekend to review five lectures' worth of material for the exam. We also didn't really get much time to study for each final.

 

[Magilacutty]

Trying to plan out how to study for Bio and Chem finals. For those who took Chem E-1a, how tough was the final? I'm wondering is it more curveball-prone and does it force you to apply what you know more so than the midterms? This class is kind of like a roller-coaster for me and hard to predict because I felt the first and third midterms were very easy while the second midterm was considerably more difficult. Thanks!

 

[drmsk]

Trying to plan out how to study for Bio and Chem finals. For those who took Chem E-1a, how tough was the final? I'm wondering is it more curveball-prone and does it force you to apply what you know more so than the midterms? This class is kind of like a roller-coaster for me and hard to predict because I felt the first and third midterms were very easy while the second midterm was considerably more difficult. Thanks!

I thought that the Chem E1-a final was challenging in some of the same ways that the midterms were. (Obviously though, it was more difficult in the sense that it was cumulative, so it required us to remember a lot of concepts and details from throughout the semester.) Some questions were pretty straightforward, while others required us to apply what we already knew and take things one step further. Last year, we had a page of purely conceptual questions (T/F) that gave no partial credit, but required a lot of thought and sometimes calculations, and we also had a monster problem on the last page that required us to combine five or six concepts from throughout the semester into one gigantic puzzle (like a page 6 midterm exam problem on steroids).

One hint I would give is to take a look at the "Useful Information Sheet" right before you start the exam, because you never know which problems might require it. While taking practice Chem finals, I sometimes found myself thoroughly confused by a problem and not knowing how to approach it, until I realized there was a crucial piece of info on the Useful Information Sheet. So to save yourself some time, and give you some hints, I'd scan that page beforehand and familiarize myself with some of the items on there.

Personally, in studying for the Chem final, I found that I had completed the bulk of my preparation in studying for the midterms. So it basically came down to reviewing the concepts from earlier in the semester, and some "new" studying of the concepts after the third midterm. But keep in mind that Chem exams are designed to "test" you--they are harder than the problem sets and definitely take things to the next level, so make sure that you really understand the concepts, that you can identify which concepts are being tested in a particular problem, and that you can apply that knowledge (and know the formulas) to actually solve the problem. Also, if you had trouble with the second exam, I would retake it, and redo each problem until you can solve it perfectly. Hope this helps!

 

[Magilacutty]

I thought that the Chem E1-a final was challenging in some of the same ways that the midterms were. (Obviously though, it was more difficult in the sense that it was cumulative, so it required us to remember a lot of concepts and details from throughout the semester.) Some questions were pretty straightforward, while others required us to apply what we already knew and take things one step further. Last year, we had a page of purely conceptual questions (T/F) that gave no partial credit, but required a lot of thought and sometimes calculations, and we also had a monster problem on the last page that required us to combine five or six concepts from throughout the semester into one gigantic puzzle (like a page 6 midterm exam problem on steroids).

One hint I would give is to take a look at the "Useful Information Sheet" right before you start the exam, because you never know which problems might require it. While taking practice Chem finals, I sometimes found myself thoroughly confused by a problem and not knowing how to approach it, until I realized there was a crucial piece of info on the Useful Information Sheet. So to save yourself some time, and give you some hints, I'd scan that page beforehand and familiarize myself with some of the items on there.

Personally, in studying for the Chem final, I found that I had completed the bulk of my preparation in studying for the midterms. So it basically came down to reviewing the concepts from earlier in the semester, and some "new" studying of the concepts after the third midterm. But keep in mind that Chem exams are designed to "test" you--they are harder than the problem sets and definitely take things to the next level, so make sure that you really understand the concepts, that you can identify which concepts are being tested in a particular problem, and that you can apply that knowledge (and know the formulas) to actually solve the problem. Also, if you had trouble with the second exam, I would retake it, and redo each problem until you can solve it perfectly. Hope this helps!

Thanks! Great advice.

I'm hoping my preparation throughout the semester will save me some time studying. I'd prefer to devote more of my time to Bio because of the amount of new material, but definitely don't want to skimp on prep for this exam! Retaking exam 2 makes a lot of sense. In Friday's section, Justin also advised to relook at what we've struggled with, and focus more on that during preparation. While I think exam 2 was simply more difficult, the T/F questions gave me some trouble indicating I didn't fully understand the concepts, and on page 6, I made a stupid assumption, and didn't use all the given information.

 

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Take some time to review your past exams. For our first semester final I remember we had a problem on the last page where we were required to calculate the work done by a system. I remember that work didn't show up on any of the practice finals and when I saw the problem I had a split second of "what the heck?! this wasn't on the practice exams, not fair!!" Then I buckled down and was able to remember the equation. Don't expect the exam to be a walk in the park. No matter how prepared you are, there are gonna be those headscratcher problems. But those are the most fun. Good luck.