The Official October 25th, 2014 MCAT Thread

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Violagirl

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Hey all! Just thought I'd get a thread out there for those of us taking the MCAT on October 25th! Feel free to post how you plan to study, any study tips/tricks you might have or other resources you found helpful that might benefit others. I originally planned on taking the MCAT on July 12th but ended up having to reschedule with the hassle of job hunting. Now that I have a new job lined up, I ended up rescheduling to take it in October instead in getting back on track with studying. Best of luck to everyone taking it!

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Generally people on this forum have been saying that the TBR Biology level is over and beyond the MCAT, and that the TPRH style is a little more representative because they have more experiment based passages. However, I still think that it's beneficial for you to over-prepare rather than under-prepare, so I've been doing the TBR passages and supplementing with TPRH. Keep in mind that although you may get a lot of the BR questions wrong, it's the post game that matters! TBR goes much more in detail for biology than any of the other books. It's a little too detail-oriented in my opinion.



Sounds perfect! That's pretty much my plan too because I was done with content review a week or so ago and now I'm going back and doing passages. Try to use different sources if you have access to them, simply because there is no one best test-prep company :)

I feel my content in Bio may be lacking a bit because EK just goes over the important concepts but nothing too detailed. In the past, people have said EK Bio is sufficient for content but I don't know about now. I do plan to do TPR SW passages but I feel doing TBR first and taking thorough notes on content I don't know so well from EK would give me extra content knowledge. I was just wondering if others were having the same issue of getting a lot wrong on TBR Bio passages like me. :bored:
 
I feel my content in Bio may be lacking a bit because EK just goes over the important concepts but nothing too detailed. In the past, people have said EK Bio is sufficient for content but I don't know about now. I do plan to do TPR SW passages but I feel doing TBR first and taking thorough notes on content I don't know so well from EK would give me extra content knowledge. I was just wondering if others were having the same issue of getting a lot wrong on TBR Bio passages like me. :bored:
Skip 'Metabolic Components', 'Metabolic Pathways'. Just do the passages, maybe a light read is sufficient. Don't spend much time on those. Read(no notes) 'Genetic Info', 'Expression of Genetic Info' very well, multiple times. Way too much info but definitely worth reading. Don't pay much attention to scores on any TBR material, imo. They are excellent practice resource. My scores varied from 40 ~ 65% in bio. After you do TBR bio, everything else feels kinda sorta familiar territory, a little on easier side. TPR SW is also an excellent practice material for Bio. Definitely do those. Most of my TBR bio notes actually come from the passages and ans explanations not content material per say. I didn't like EK bio from the get go. Way too concise. But folks with higher end bio courses in their armor prefer its concise nature. I prefer more details and explanations.....
 
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@texan2414 What did you use for content review? Any tips on improving BS? I feel TBR has a lot of extra info that EK doesn't go into so I've been just taking thorough notes after each practice. I completed TPR SW discretes for Bio but haven't done the passages yet. I plan to but I feel I should get started on TBR first since I heard TBR really pounds the info into your head.
I was in Princeton course last year so I used the TPR bio course book for content review. I supplemented it with my physiology/cell bio courses for stuff I was confused in - The most spectacular part about TPR workbook are the experimental passages, and TBR bio also does a good job of replicating that. I just looked at one chapter in particular - the Metabolism chapter is a bit too rough and beyond the immediate scope of MCAT and perhaps the enzyme kinetics is also at a very advanced level. But TBR bio is doing a good job of setting up experiments and asking questions on theory, application, and experimental setups. This is how my MCAT was last year.
 
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Ok.... I'm checking in. I'm through 8 chapters of everything with TBR doing a modified SN2 schedule.

My thoughts on TBR bio is its long, but also rewarding. If you have the time which I guess most people in this thread don't at this point..... I would definitely just make the investment of your time and go for it.

Even if you are a bio beast you can read quickly taking minimal notes, to me I see it the opposite way from most on these boards. If you are so great at bio, it seems like a waste of time to read something as concise as EK. You learn nothing you didnt already know, you are just refreshing, at least with BR you get a chance to learn something new or maybe fix a misconception you previously had, while also refreshing the material.

Needless to say not a fan of EK bio feels too easy after doing TBR and scores reflect that as well.

I feel like the good thing about using BR for every topic (besides) verbal is that everything begins to intertwine and you can make connections between them.Obviously this is more apparent for O-chem, but there are plenty of times I have thought to myself "that would be a good one for the hat trick" .... The last few chapters of BIO have been soooo much better because my overall knowledge about all the topics has increased.
 
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Chad videos are phenomenal. Probably the best investment I ever made for MCAT. I never knew that watching videos can be so rewarding, esp., in terms of conceptualization. U can read stuff from the books but it sticks in memory so much better when its visual i.e., someone talking about it using examples.......
 
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Guys I honestly feel screwed. I am never going to finish content review...

I said before that I was about 60% done with TPR, but I started over with Kaplan and now I'm 1/3 done with that. But now I feel like I'm not using my SWB enough. Do I have enough time to finish all of this in a month?
 
Chad videos are phenomenal. Probably the best investment I ever made for MCAT. I never knew that watching videos can be so rewarding, esp., in terms of conceptualization. U can read stuff from the books but it sticks in memory so much better when its visual i.e., someone talking about it using examples.......

I've been hearing really good stuff about Chad's videos and have considered doing the 1 month subscription thing. Does he go over all the important topics that you'll need like if you're done with content review and instead of rereading, watching the videos reinforce that knowledge?
 
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Guys I honestly feel screwed. I am never going to finish content review...

I said before that I was about 60% done with TPR, but I started over with Kaplan and now I'm 1/3 done with that. But now I feel like I'm not using my SWB enough. Do I have enough time to finish all of this in a month?

@ciestar Are you doing content review with 2 prep materials? I would just stick mainly with 1 prep (TPR is suppose to be good for content review) and supplement with other test prep books on your weaker topics. You still have 2 months so don't panic..I was feeling the same way this week because I started doing TBR passages and there are about 488 passages total. My plan is to finish TBR passages and supplement my weaker topics with the SWB. I highly doubt I'll finish TBR and SWB so I think it's important to practice smart. I don't feel like I have my content down 100%..maybe 70% now (I don't even have the ochem rxns memorized) but doing the practice passages help..it's like reviewing via flashcards but you do practice problems. Also, getting through the discrete in SWB should be a breeze, there aren't that many for Bio, Chem, and Ochem...Physics has like 3x more so do 1 out of 3 for every discrete if you're short on time, if not..get through the discrete. I don't think they're that hard and not as time consuming as passage based practice.
 
Guys I honestly feel screwed. I am never going to finish content review... I said before that I was about 60% done with TPR, but I started over with Kaplan and now I'm 1/3 done with that. But now I feel like I'm not using my SWB enough. Do I have enough time to finish all of this in a month?
My suggestion is take an FL (not AAMC but a prep company, say GS), see where you stand. Most people develop a keen sense of picking the right ans even if content is lacking and I think that it is imp to start developing that skill. U can watch Chad videos for stuff that you may have never covered. He gives a distilled, conceptual input on a topic which otherwise u may have to gleam from 2 or 3 different sources. And they are just 30 mins or so on a topic.....

I've been hearing really good stuff about Chad's videos and have considered doing the 1 month subscription thing. Does he go over all the important topics that you'll need like if you're done with content review and instead of rereading, watching the videos reinforce that knowledge?
I am doing the 1 month $50 subscription for all videos and plan to watch OChem and Bio and selected topics in PS like electrochem and thermo. For ex., his video on Intermolecular forces nailed down each of them one by one (Hydrogen bonding, dipole-dipole, van der walls, ion-dipole, dipole induced dipole). (Most resources will give you the usual 3 and skip some or jumble up a few). And then he added Ionic forces, network solids on to that concept. Also the properties that depend on these IM forces like BP, MP, Surface Tension, Viscosity, Vapor pressure etc., I thought that was cool. It feels like watching TBR in motion. He emphasizes some of the very same things mentioned in TBR, so it is indeed a good revision / re-emphasis of concepts. Plus, I have also noticed (at least in my case) that some concepts are easier to handle using his short cuts as opposed to the ones I may have conjured in my head when going over the topic. Esp., impressed with this C(charge)A(atom)R(resonance)DI(dipole induced)O(orbital) short cut for acids and bases.....and the exceptions to that rule......
 
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I just finished watching all of Chad's bio videos today (I knew zilch about bio beforehand) and I definitely feel like the audio/visual approach helped me retain the material, although the real test will come when I begin practice passages. I actually plan on solely using Chad's videos for content review, and my approach is pretty simple. For each of the four sections, there is a PDF that outlines all of the lectures in that section, in order. I print that out and take thorough notes as I watch the videos, pausing and rewinding numerous times. At the end of each day of lecture, I have a concise study guide that I can use as a refresher/reference down the road.
 
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Thanks guys. I'll probably start doing what what you're doing @izchief360 I'm already doing the practice and I feel I have a decent grasp of the material but I seem to be having trouble retaining every single thing. I was going to go over my content review notes for the 3rd time so the rest of the info will stick but I'll take the visual approach this time. :shifty:
 
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I initially began my review efforts by starting to read the BR Bio books, but quickly realized they were way too dense, especially for someone with a weaker bio background. From there, I read a couple of chapters of TPR but found that it didn't do it for me either (lack of visuals). I knew that the EK books are big on visuals, so I started reading EK Bio and at around the same time Chad released all of his 2014 Bio videos. I watched one and dropped everything else with respect to content review. I do plan on picking up the TBR books again for practice.
 
@ciestar Are you doing content review with 2 prep materials? I would just stick mainly with 1 prep (TPR is suppose to be good for content review) and supplement with other test prep books on your weaker topics. You still have 2 months so don't panic..I was feeling the same way this week because I started doing TBR passages and there are about 488 passages total. My plan is to finish TBR passages and supplement my weaker topics with the SWB. I highly doubt I'll finish TBR and SWB so I think it's important to practice smart. I don't feel like I have my content down 100%..maybe 70% now (I don't even have the ochem rxns memorized) but doing the practice passages help..it's like reviewing via flashcards but you do practice problems. Also, getting through the discrete in SWB should be a breeze, there aren't that many for Bio, Chem, and Ochem...Physics has like 3x more so do 1 out of 3 for every discrete if you're short on time, if not..get through the discrete. I don't think they're that hard and not as time consuming as passage based practice.

My suggestion is take an FL (not AAMC but a prep company, say GS), see where you stand. Most people develop a keen sense of picking the right ans even if content is lacking and I think that it is imp to start developing that skill. U can watch Chad videos for stuff that you may have never covered. He gives a distilled, conceptual input on a topic which otherwise u may have to gleam from 2 or 3 different sources. And they are just 30 mins or so on a topic.....

I am doing the 1 month $50 subscription for all videos and plan to watch OChem and Bio and selected topics in PS like electrochem and thermo. For ex., his video on Intermolecular forces nailed down each of them one by one (Hydrogen bonding, dipole-dipole, van der walls, ion-dipole, dipole induced dipole). (Most resources will give you the usual 3 and skip some or jumble up a few). And then he added Ionic forces, network solids on to that concept. Also the properties that depend on these IM forces like BP, MP, Surface Tension, Viscosity, Vapor pressure etc., I thought that was cool. It feels like watching TBR in motion. He emphasizes some of the very same things mentioned in TBR, so it is indeed a good revision / re-emphasis of concepts. Plus, I have also noticed (at least in my case) that some concepts are easier to handle using his short cuts as opposed to the ones I may have conjured in my head when going over the topic. Esp., impressed with this C(charge)A(atom)R(resonance)DI(dipole induced)O(orbital) short cut for acids and bases.....and the exceptions to that rule......

The way he explains equilibrium and le chateliers principle is GODLY. I watched those vids then did equilibrium chapter in TBR and raped in the passages :naughty: Also the way he explains PH shortcuts for Acid/Base is nastyyy!! Basically everyone should watch all of chads gen chem videos at the least as they are RAWWW:cool:
 
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I initially began my review efforts by starting to read the BR Bio books, but quickly realized they were way too dense, especially for someone with a weaker bio background. From there, I read a couple of chapters of TPR but found that it didn't do it for me either (lack of visuals). I knew that the EK books are big on visuals, so I started reading EK Bio and at around the same time Chad released all of his 2014 Bio videos. I watched one and dropped everything else with respect to content review. I do plan on picking up the TBR books again for practice.

If you have TPRH WB just do bio passages from there…way more representative and experimental than TBR which is good. I love TBR for gen chem/physics though :)
 
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I'm getting quite frustrated..just took the AAMC 4 VR as practice and I got a 7. I've been getting 8-10 on TPR and EK 101 passages then a 7 on AAMC 4. *facepalm self*
 
I'm hoping to take Kaplan 1 soon. So we'll see where I actually am.

I've done a nice portion of the SWB discretes. I paid for that course, so I have access to the discretes in an online format so I don't have to take that book everywhere. It's better I have it all to practice but we'll see. I just wasn't getting anywhere using TPR, so I decided to attempt something else
 
So would you guys recommend if I'm not done with content review around September 25th, to just quit and do FLs until the exam?
 
So would you guys recommend if I'm not done with content review around September 25th, to just quit and do FLs until the exam?

You should really try to be done with content review by then! Why don't you think you will be done by then?
 
So would you guys recommend if I'm not done with content review around September 25th, to just quit and do FLs until the exam?
Make a list of things you absolutely have to get done (content vise) and get it done using chad videos by end of next week. And then sit for an FL(non AAMC) say Sep 1. You will realize that not even 5% of what you have done content vise is asked or asked in a straight forward fashion, and that content review is 'never a done deal'. Content review goes on esp., in a focused directed way when you start taking FL's. But the feedback from an FL is invaluable and overwhelming if you've never taken one before. What you need to focus, what you need to study again and again, why you got a question wrong, was the thinking not correct, could I have gotten this just from the passage or was some background info reqd.........and probably the most imp aspect i.e., timing....., that knowledge will orient you in the right direction.....and it is imp to know where you stand with your sciences (<10 or >10) now since there is still time for correction. A month before the exam is crunch time to hone those finer edges (timing for each section) and crap the hell out of verbal.....so you won't have time to adjust your sciences. That is just 2 cents imo..........I recommend taking an FL (non AAMC) every/other weekend from now on if possible.......
I'm getting quite frustrated. Just took the AAMC 4 VR as practice and I got a 7. I've been getting 8-10 on TPR and EK 101 passages then a 7 on AAMC 4. *facepalm self*
I had a 7 too on #4 and 8 on #5. Am loosing hair because of verbal......
 
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Make a list of things you absolutely have to get done (content vise) and get it done using chad videos by end of next week. And then sit for an FL(non AAMC) say Sep 1. You will realize that not even 5% of what you have done content vise is asked or asked in a straight forward fashion, and that content review is 'never a done deal'. Content review goes on esp., in a focused directed way when you start taking FL's. But the feedback from an FL is invaluable and overwhelming if you've never taken one before. What you need to focus, what you need to study again and again, why you got a question wrong, was the thinking not correct, could I have gotten this just from the passage or was some background info reqd.........and probably the most imp aspect i.e., timing....., that knowledge will orient you in the right direction.....and it is imp to know where you stand with your sciences (<10 or >10) now since there is still time for correction. A month before the exam is crunch time to hone those finer edges (timing for each section) and crap the hell out of verbal.....so you won't have time to adjust your sciences. That is just 2 cents imo..........I recommend taking an FL (non AAMC) every/other weekend from now on if possible.......
I had a 7 too on #4 and 8 on #5. Am loosing hair because of verbal......

@sps27 what 3rd party full lengths are you using? I have the old paper kaplans (1-11) R versions. From what I understand even the new computerized kaplan FL's are just these chopped down, same as old AAMC R's essentially. I also have 5 TBR FL's. But this is my strategy--I am likely to either use these kaplan FL's (1-6 after that I heard they get whacked), but I am tempted to buy Gold Standards FL's since they're so cheap and will be on the computer and actually be timed and accurate length to real thing. What do you think would be best? I want to utilize the kaplan and GS FL's over the TBR since I am doing all TBR for their passages and feel like I will benefit from the more calculation heavy PS sections of GS or kaplan as BR is way more conceptual (which is good) but I could use more practice with heavy calculation just in case we get screwed with a calc heavy PS on test day. Hoping for more conceptual.:)
 
@sps27 what 3rd party full lengths are you using? I have the old paper kaplans (1-11) R versions. From what I understand even the new computerized kaplan FL's are just these chopped down, same as old AAMC R's essentially. I also have 5 TBR FL's. But this is my strategy--I am likely to either use these kaplan FL's (1-6 after that I heard they get whacked), but I am tempted to buy Gold Standards FL's since they're so cheap and will be on the computer and actually be timed and accurate length to real thing. What do you think would be best? I want to utilize the kaplan and GS FL's over the TBR since I am doing all TBR for their passages and feel like I will benefit from the more calculation heavy PS sections of GS or kaplan as BR is way more conceptual (which is good) but I could use more practice with heavy calculation just in case we get screwed with a calc heavy PS on test day. Hoping for more conceptual.:)
I have old Kaplan tests (6, 7, 8, 9, 10) paper copies so I plan on using those. These are 77 questions for sciences and 60 for verbal. GS exams; I highly recommend. I've taken GS-1, 2, 3 so far. The sciences in GS exams are excellent practice. But the style of GS questions (passage length etc.,) is unlike AAMC which threw me off a bit while attempting AAMC 4 and 5. I don't have TBR so cannot comment about that. Other than that I will do freebies i.e., diagnostics out there (TPR, Kaplan). So that's about it. The Kaplan section tests (PS, BS) are also good practice as well.......
 
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You should really try to be done with content review by then! Why don't you think you will be done by then?

I've been working at content review since April but I'm really not putting enough into I guess. :(

Make a list of things you absolutely have to get done (content vise) and get it done using chad videos by end of next week. And then sit for an FL(non AAMC) say Sep 1. You will realize that not even 5% of what you have done content vise is asked or asked in a straight forward fashion, and that content review is 'never a done deal'. Content review goes on esp., in a focused directed way when you start taking FL's. But the feedback from an FL is invaluable and overwhelming if you've never taken one before. What you need to focus, what you need to study again and again, why you got a question wrong, was the thinking not correct, could I have gotten this just from the passage or was some background info reqd.........and probably the most imp aspect i.e., timing....., that knowledge will orient you in the right direction.....and it is imp to know where you stand with your sciences (<10 or >10) now since there is still time for correction. A month before the exam is crunch time to hone those finer edges (timing for each section) and crap the hell out of verbal.....so you won't have time to adjust your sciences. That is just 2 cents imo..........I recommend taking an FL (non AAMC) every/other weekend from now on if possible.......
I had a 7 too on #4 and 8 on #5. Am loosing hair because of verbal......

My issue is physics. I really don't know ANYTHING regarding physics and I don't think I'll be able to rush through it without tanking PS.
 
@sps27 what 3rd party full lengths are you using? I have the old paper kaplans (1-11) R versions. From what I understand even the new computerized kaplan FL's are just these chopped down, same as old AAMC R's essentially. I also have 5 TBR FL's. But this is my strategy--I am likely to either use these kaplan FL's (1-6 after that I heard they get whacked), but I am tempted to buy Gold Standards FL's since they're so cheap and will be on the computer and actually be timed and accurate length to real thing. What do you think would be best? I want to utilize the kaplan and GS FL's over the TBR since I am doing all TBR for their passages and feel like I will benefit from the more calculation heavy PS sections of GS or kaplan as BR is way more conceptual (which is good) but I could use more practice with heavy calculation just in case we get screwed with a calc heavy PS on test day. Hoping for more conceptual.:)
same situation as you man, Im so tempted to buy those goldies, but then Im afraid that I wont have time to go through them because I still have the princeton WB and kaplan section tests plus the kaplan old fls...
 
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I've been working at content review since April but I'm really not putting enough into I guess. :( My issue is physics. I really don't know ANYTHING regarding physics and I don't think I'll be able to rush through it without tanking PS.
Well then consider yourself lucky -- if Phy is the issue. Sciences are easiest to improve on compared to verbal. Go the TBR route for any of PS.......nobody does a better job in PS than TBR. Explanation may sometimes be scanty but you have Chad videos for that.....and although I am scared to recommend but I did all of EK1001 Phy and found it beneficial, but do EK only when you have exhausted all other resources......and lastly give yourself some credit!!!!!. You couldn't have reached this far without putting in the effort. If you are working full time you deserve more credit, for it is twice as hard if not more with work, bosses, timelines, projects, presentations, meetings and what not.......hanging off your shoulder.....and some people have families and kids thrown in that puddle........go figure....

same situation as you man, Im so tempted to buy those goldies, but then Im afraid that I wont have time to go through them because I still have the princeton WB and kaplan section tests plus the kaplan old fls...
WB, Kaplan section tests, SA's....they all go hand in hand (together) with FL's.......imo
 
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Well then consider yourself lucky -- if Phy is the issue. Sciences are easiest to improve on compared to verbal. Go the TBR route for any of PS.......nobody does a better job in PS than TBR. Explanation may sometimes be scanty but you have Chad videos for that.....and although I am scared to recommend but I did all of EK1001 Phy and found it beneficial, but do EK only when you have exhausted all other resources......and lastly give yourself some credit!!!!!. You couldn't have reached this far without putting in the effort. If you are working full time you deserve more credit, for it is twice as hard if not more with work, bosses, timelines, projects, presentations, meetings and what not.......hanging off your shoulder.....and some people have families and kids thrown in that puddle........go figure....

WB, Kaplan section tests, SA's....they all go hand in hand (together) with FL's.......imo

Surprisingly (at least to me) I'm not running into a massive amount of issues with Kaplan's topical tests thus far except with physics. I did reasonably well using the SWB overall though. I'm still freaking out though. The Kaplan reading is reasonably short. I do have TBR and TPR to supplement if needed. Definitely going to invest in Chad's soon though
 
Well then consider yourself lucky -- if Phy is the issue. Sciences are easiest to improve on compared to verbal. Go the TBR route for any of PS.......nobody does a better job in PS than TBR. Explanation may sometimes be scanty but you have Chad videos for that.....and although I am scared to recommend but I did all of EK1001 Phy and found it beneficial, but do EK only when you have exhausted all other resources......and lastly give yourself some credit!!!!!. You couldn't have reached this far without putting in the effort. If you are working full time you deserve more credit, for it is twice as hard if not more with work, bosses, timelines, projects, presentations, meetings and what not.......hanging off your shoulder.....and some people have families and kids thrown in that puddle........go figure....

WB, Kaplan section tests, SA's....they all go hand in hand (together) with FL's.......imo
so u say I should buy the Gold standards or just stick to the kaplan old fls?
 
Surprisingly (at least to me) I'm not running into a massive amount of issues with Kaplan's topical tests thus far except with physics. I did reasonably well using the SWB overall though. I'm still freaking out though. The Kaplan reading is reasonably short. I do have TBR and TPR to supplement if needed. Definitely going to invest in Chad's soon though
I know you are doing good, more than you give yourself credit for, so keep going.........and my suggestion is TBR is not a supplement, it is a "must do" for PS......

so u say I should buy the Gold standards or just stick to the kaplan old fls?
Buy 1 or 2 GS exams and try those......if you need a confidence booster do GS-1 PS. It is very simple imo. Don't skip old Kaplans. Use them as timed section tests rather than an FL, imo. They are markedly different in style than GS.......
 
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Late to the party but I saw so many posts here about Chad that I had to pipe in. Both my best friends are pre-dentistry and SWEAR by him because they used him for the DAT and killed it. granted, the DAT is not passage-based and is of different style, but I think the way he explains concepts is a really good way to lay down foundation. I pushed my exam for aug 21 to sept 6 now to this date, and if I could do it over, I would watch chad --> supplement with TBR --> then solidify with EK. Fastplay option is also amazing if you're rewatching for something (like I hate acids-bases and have watched those videos at least 4-5 times)

I also ignored chad's quizzes initially because I thought they were useless for the MCAT, cause they were essentially discretes. Couldn't be more wrong. DO THEM. They are so helpful in figuring out if you actually know what the hell is going on with that topic. I think chad is amazing. I didn't use him for bio because I TA for physiology and intro biology at my university and will be devoting time to self-learning from that this semester, but I've heard great things about his new videos for that. I think his videos for organic especially are fantastic. The CARDIO mnemonic changed my life.

Happy studying all!

PS - not endorsed by chad or anything, I just love him. I want to have a beer with him. The man is just amazing. I wish he could have taught all my pre-reqs. He makes everything make sense to such a basic level that I think makes MCAT concepts amazingly simplistic. TBR is overcomplicated for refreshing for someone fresh out of prereqs IMO
 
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Guys I honestly feel screwed. I am never going to finish content review...

I said before that I was about 60% done with TPR, but I started over with Kaplan and now I'm 1/3 done with that. But now I feel like I'm not using my SWB enough. Do I have enough time to finish all of this in a month?

BIGGEST ADVICE

As someone who rushed through content review because I was burnt the hell out and trying to keep up with SN2ed this summer, I highly recommend you take your time trying to make sure you understand content in contrast to just making sure you keep up with the schedule.

Unpopular opinion you may not want to hear: if this means pushing your date, so be it. Just make sure you feel you understand content, no matter what. Like you could explain what a capacitor was to a 4 year old. That type of understanding. I did chapters 5-8 of TBR general chemistry in 1 hour each near the end of my content review because I was so burned out/did not care and my AAMC scores reflected that. I was apparently also really good at guessing on the TBR genchem passages because I didn't realize I had significant content gaps that I found out later upon post-game and I'm paying for it now.

Just my two cents, but I think you have time. Two months out from the exam, just make sure you're using this time to solidify your knowledge rather than running through content to stay up to date on the schedule and cramming as much practice in as possible. You can also do more TPRHSW during the last month if you're using primarily TBR now, or if you feel TBR isn't helping you as much now and TPRHSW helps you more, swap out the TBR for TPRHSW. I personally am more of a fan of TPRHSW than TBR because I think TBR style helps you get acclimated to MCAT style at first, but after that the content level that's necessary is something TPRHSW is sufficient for.

#mytwocents. Good luck!
 
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BIGGEST ADVICE

As someone who rushed through content review because I was burnt the hell out and trying to keep up with SN2ed this summer, I highly recommend you take your time trying to make sure you understand content in contrast to just making sure you keep up with the schedule.

Unpopular opinion you may not want to hear: if this means pushing your date, so be it. Just make sure you feel you understand content, no matter what. Like you could explain what a capacitor was to a 4 year old. That type of understanding. I did chapters 5-8 of TBR general chemistry in 1 hour each near the end of my content review because I was so burned out/did not care and my AAMC scores reflected that. I was apparently also really good at guessing on the TBR genchem passages because I didn't realize I had significant content gaps that I found out later upon post-game and I'm paying for it now.

Just my two cents, but I think you have time. Two months out from the exam, just make sure you're using this time to solidify your knowledge rather than running through content to stay up to date on the schedule and cramming as much practice in as possible. You can also do more TPRHSW during the last month if you're using primarily TBR now, or if you feel TBR isn't helping you as much now and TPRHSW helps you more, swap out the TBR for TPRHSW. I personally am more of a fan of TPRHSW than TBR because I think TBR style helps you get acclimated to MCAT style at first, but after that the content level that's necessary is something TPRHSW is sufficient for.

#mytwocents. Good luck!

Using Kaplan right now, actually.
I've already postponed twice. I can't do that again..
 
Make a list of things you absolutely have to get done (content vise) and get it done using chad videos by end of next week. And then sit for an FL(non AAMC) say Sep 1. You will realize that not even 5% of what you have done content vise is asked or asked in a straight forward fashion, and that content review is 'never a done deal'. Content review goes on esp., in a focused directed way when you start taking FL's. But the feedback from an FL is invaluable and overwhelming if you've never taken one before. What you need to focus, what you need to study again and again, why you got a question wrong, was the thinking not correct, could I have gotten this just from the passage or was some background info reqd.........and probably the most imp aspect i.e., timing....., that knowledge will orient you in the right direction.....and it is imp to know where you stand with your sciences (<10 or >10) now since there is still time for correction. A month before the exam is crunch time to hone those finer edges (timing for each section) and crap the hell out of verbal.....so you won't have time to adjust your sciences. That is just 2 cents imo..........I recommend taking an FL (non AAMC) every/other weekend from now on if possible.......
I had a 7 too on #4 and 8 on #5. Am loosing hair because of verbal......

Have you improved your VR since then? I went over the explanations and half the ones I got wrong were due to not having enough time. The first 20 questions, I only got 3 wrong then afterwards, I realized I didn't have that much time so I had little time to reference back..especially for those evolution/natural selection/science passages. I went up 1 pt since AAMC 3 even though I've been doing much better on TPR and Ek 101. :arghh:
 
Regarding Chad's videos..I noticed he has it divided by days. Do you guys stick to some sort of schedule when watching those videos? Like do Bio day 1 one day then Ochem day 1 the next or split up Day 1 into 2 days or watch Bio and Ochem videos the same day? Just wondering what would be the most helpful way. I did the content review with EK already and have been doing TBR passages (writing notes based on the explanations too) but I need to strengthen my content so will probably start using the videos.
 
Have you improved your VR since then? I went over the explanations and half the ones I got wrong were due to not having enough time. The first 20 questions, I only got 3 wrong then afterwards, I realized I didn't have that much time so I had little time to reference back..especially for those evolution/natural selection/science passages. I went up 1 pt since AAMC 3 even though I've been doing much better on TPR and Ek 101. :arghh:
+1 from AAMC #4 to #5. I am weak in that section. My bad. Never cultivated an interest to read sophisticated material. Part of my problem is exhaustion and nerves. If I am relaxed I read and understand better. But in order to keep up time I skim and re-read and become nervous. So I am trying to remember to take long breaths between passages and keep some distance between the computer screen and myself. I am practicing with old Kaplan VR tests - paper copies. I tend to focus better with paper copies as compared to computer screen.....dunno why....I would love to take MCAT in a paper format. And for Chad.....I just pick randomly based on interest, weak areas, time available......focusing on OChem currently.
@avenlea.......Thank for the chad quiz tip. I will have to try those sometime........
 
Regarding Chad's videos..I noticed he has it divided by days. Do you guys stick to some sort of schedule when watching those videos? Like do Bio day 1 one day then Ochem day 1 the next or split up Day 1 into 2 days or watch Bio and Ochem videos the same day? Just wondering what would be the most helpful way. I did the content review with EK already and have been doing TBR passages (writing notes based on the explanations too) but I need to strengthen my content so will probably start using the videos.

Chad's videos are a great resource and I have used them my entire prep.....and when I still am struggling with a concept I will watch wikipremeds videos or maybe even look on youtube. Another great thing about coursesaver is the MCAT forums.... I have posted several questions that chad has responded to directly and cleared up my confusion, so def. use that as a resource as well.

As far as schedule wise since you have already went through the content once with EK it's kinda difficult to answer your question directly... I feel like if I were in your shoes I would watch chads vid over said weak area.... Then read the TBR chapter taking very minimal notes.... And might even just read specific sections vs the entire chapter. As far as how much per day or which topics, I would just make a list from each major topic ie phys, gen chem, etc that I sucked at and devote part of my day to doing content review and the other part to doing practice passages immediately afterwards.... Then review the next day and hammer out another
section. Being organized and efficient is a big part of doing well on this test IMO. I feel like following the SN2 setup where you do content then questions and review the next day has been really helpful..... You might even break up your little schedule to allow for two phases as well per SN2 so that you are coming back and doing it again after a few days have past..

Last thing I will say and Chad even says himself.... Is watching the videos is a very small part of the process. To get the full benefit of his material you absolutely have do practice soon afterwards. Chad breaks things down in a very simple easy to digest way..... But the problems especially in TBR take things to another level of comprehension. So if you combine a good foundation with the videos and then use TBR to explore the concepts even further, I think this is were the payoff comes in. Sorry so long!
 
Regarding Chad's videos..I noticed he has it divided by days. Do you guys stick to some sort of schedule when watching those videos? Like do Bio day 1 one day then Ochem day 1 the next or split up Day 1 into 2 days or watch Bio and Ochem videos the same day? Just wondering what would be the most helpful way. I did the content review with EK already and have been doing TBR passages (writing notes based on the explanations too) but I need to strengthen my content so will probably start using the videos.

I only do one "day" and 1 subject per day but I am only using Chad for gen chem and physics. For you, it might be helpful to totally just skip around and do topics that are tricky for you. The "days" are split into multiple topic videos, so this should be easy to do.
 
hows everyone been doing? Working my way thru ch.8 in TBR physics (electrostatics and magnetism) today. Guys only 2 more month till test day! Kind of crazy. Feel this will fly by…which is why I am always paranoid to stay on my study game and not fall behind. lol

PS if anyone else is using TBR and wants to shoot the **** about certain topics that bothered them (or bothered me lol) let me know…I am thru ch 7 of gen chem and ch 8 of physics after today. Still need to start organic…errrr but I am fresh out of organic so hoping to go thru that fast and at least only 8 chapters of o chem in TBR as opposed to the 10 in physics and gen chem.
 
Thought this might be helpful to some......
 

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Wanted to bump this thread and also ask you guys about memorization. A bunch of it is involved right now and lots more to come in med school. So what's your method that works? Some people recite things verbally again and again. I like to write things down. Am not much of a reciter. But I also forget quite a bit. A week goes by and if I haven't touched it, it is gone and I have to get back to it again. I did notice that tabular form seems to work better for me, i.e., to remember things in a table fashion with rows and columns. I give an ex., in the file. But everything cannot be converted to a tabular form. Like for ex., the Ectoderm, Mesoderm, Endoderm stuff I will always forget. Less visited formulas is a nightmare too, like Beer's law etc., Anyways just wanted to ask what methods people resort to......:)

Edit. I uploaded the table in a file, so the formatting is better.....
 

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Wanted to bump this thread and also ask you guys about memorization. A bunch of it is involved right now and lots more to come in med school. So what's your method that works? Some people recite things verbally again and again. I like to write things down. Am not much of a reciter. But I also forget quite a bit. A week goes by and if I haven't touched it, it is gone and I have to get back to it again. I did notice that tabular form seems to work better for me, i.e., to remember things in a table fashion with rows and columns. I give an ex., in the file. But everything cannot be converted to a tabular form. Like for ex., the Ectoderm, Mesoderm, Endoderm stuff I will always forget. Less visited formulas is a nightmare too, like Beer's law etc., Anyways just wanted to ask what methods people resort to......:)

Edit. I uploaded the table in a file, so the formatting is better.....

That's great. I have a hard time recalling the minor details..I have most of the big picture down like the equations and what it's used for. The in-between stuff is usually what gets me. The way I study is by writing things down. Mnemonics also help but I don't really know many good ones..if anyone else knows good mnemonics, feel free to share..don't forget "Kings play chess on fine grain sand!"
 
That's great. I have a hard time recalling the minor details..I have most of the big picture down like the equations and what it's used for. The in-between stuff is usually what gets me. The way I study is by writing things down. Mnemonics also help but I don't really know many good ones..if anyone else knows good mnemonics, feel free to share..don't forget "Kings play chess on fine grain sand!"
Do you write down Orgo eqns too, like the mechanisms involved and electron movement, resonance structures, condensations (kinetic v/s thermodynamic) rxns.......stuff like that.....
 
Do you write down Orgo eqns too, like the mechanisms involved and electron movement, resonance structures, condensations (kinetic v/s thermodynamic) rxns.......stuff like that.....

I have a notebook where I write down 1 reaction per page and on the top I write like "alkane --> alkene" just to know why this reaction takes place. I find it easier to do that in a notebook than scrambling through my notes. Also, there are a lot of reactions and I find that if you know the basics (know your electron donating and withdrawing groups), you should be able to figure things out based on what is given in the passages. I feel I don't know my ochem very well and it's my weakest out of all the subjects but I do much better on it than I do on bio so I think it's mainly because if you have the basics basics down you can figure it out from the info in the passage. That's just my take.
 
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I have a notebook where I write down 1 reaction per page and on the top I write like "alkane --> alkene" just to know why this reaction takes place. I find it easier to do that in a notebook than scrambling through my notes. Also, there are a lot of reactions and I find that if you know the basics (know your electron donating and withdrawing groups), you should be able to figure things out based on what is given in the passages. I feel I don't know my ochem very well and it's my weakest out of all the subjects but I do much better on it than I do on bio so I think it's mainly because if you have the basics basics down you can figure it out from the info in the passage. That's just my take.
Gotcha! Good for you that your Ochem basics are good. It is a hit or a miss for me. That's why I am going through Chad's to get a better grasp/understanding on OChem......
 
Gotcha! Good for you that your Ochem basics are good. It is a hit or a miss for me. That's why I am going through Chad's to get a better grasp/understanding on OChem......

I started listening to Chad's Bio and Physics and it makes so much more sense. I'm going to listen to his Chem and Ochem tonight. Hopefully that will strengthen my sciences.
 
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I just tested on August 27th, but I plan on booking this date just in case. Hopefully, I won't have to though. ;p I'll be applying this cycle also.
 
Thought this might be helpful to some......
This is perfect, lol. I had a very similar key when I did problems with very similar categories, haha. I found it really helped put things into perspective.
 
I just tested on August 27th, but I plan on booking this date just in case. Hopefully, I won't have to though. ;p I'll be applying this cycle also.

Any recommendations for the rest of us testing in Oct? I think most of us are doing TBR and TPRSW with AAMC FLs. Btw your name and picture made me chuckle..best one yet!
 
Any recommendations for the rest of us testing in Oct? I think most of us are doing TBR and TPRSW with AAMC FLs. Btw your name and picture made me chuckle..best one yet!
Haha, oh God... I'll probably say too much. I think the most important aspect of this exam is to be confident in your ability to reason and not over analyze things. Sometimes some of the answers are really as straightforward as looking at a table and understanding what it's telling you. I think people freak out when they see information presented this way, but for instance, if you see a positive coorelation with some characteristic and a disease, then it's highly likely that the disease is due to that characteristic. It's sorta common sense. There were a few answers I second guessed myself and I regret changing last minute because I was initially right. Sometimes the questions really are just that easy. Maybe they were a little generous with the biology section, but I didn't think it was all too bad. My orgo knowledge was largely self-taught (as in I read a textbook chapter by chapter). We had two organic passages on my exam and one of them was more biochem related. MCAT organic seems really straightforward and none of you should neglect it entirely. It's a really easy way to boost your score. Some of the questions are just gimmies. HOWEVER, I would not stress over it. The level of detail TBR goes in is way over the top and I personally think Chad's videos, EK, or even TPRH Organic is more than enough to do well on those passages. As for the biology content, it just seemed so weird to me because it didn't really seem like I was using anything I knew. There was barely any physiology and I agree with others that there is an increasing trend in genetics. But I definitely don't think it's necessary to take a class in genetics to do well. Most of the questions can be reasoned out by passage info. I'm not the best critical thinker but I was able to reason through some of them fairly easily - which kinda worries me a bit, lol. But anyways, again, know what's presented on AAMC outline, but don't strive for perfection because ultimately, most of what you did study unfortunately won't be tested. Verbal was hell. I was seated by the door so I had a very hard time focusing - not because of the noise (the headphones blocked it), but because I'd get so distracted by people walking by to the door. The first 3 passages I did were okay, but there rest were extremely convoluted to the point where I was entirely lost while reading. It was like they were throwing random bits of info at you with every paragraph and I had a very difficult time formulating a summary and main idea. I guessed on most of the questions, which worries me even more. Do not neglect verbal. I think critical reading is just part of it, but building up the stamina to read several passages back to back without feeling fatigue is just as important. For the physical sciences, I can't really say much but do realize they really can flip things around on ya. Without exposing the contests of the exam, they presented this one concept that we are all familiar with, except it was on another planet with a slight change and so you had to be able to reason out the answers using that new information. It seems scary, but again, it's all about being able to reason things out.

Sorry if this didn't help much, but basically what I'm trying to say is don't stress out over the content so much. I think if you all hit practice passages as much as possible (even if you don't know what the hell is going on), you could atleast do really well on the exam because you're practicing your ability to reason (what most questions are about these days). I agree there is a lot of material, so maybe this might help alleviate some concerns for those of you who feel it's necessary to know every bit of information. And once again, DO NOT NEGLECT VERBAL.
 
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Haha, oh God... I'll probably say too much. I think the most important aspect of this exam is to be confident in your ability to reason and not over analyze things. Sometimes some of the answers are really as straightforward as looking at a table and understanding what it's telling you. I think people freak out when they see information presented this way, but for instance, if you see a positive coorelation with some characteristic and a disease, then it's highly likely that the disease is due to that characteristic. It's sorta common sense. There were a few answers I second guessed myself and I regret changing last minute because I was initially right. Sometimes the questions really are just that easy. Maybe they were a little generous with the biology section, but I didn't think it was all too bad. My orgo knowledge was largely self-taught (as in I read a textbook chapter by chapter). We had two organic passages on my exam and one of them was more biochem related. MCAT organic seems really straightforward and none of you should neglect it entirely. It's a really easy way to boost your score. Some of the questions are just gimmies. HOWEVER, I would not stress over it. The level of detail TBR goes in is way over the top and I personally think Chad's videos, EK, or even TPRH Organic is more than enough to do well on those passages. As for the biology content, it just seemed so weird to me because it didn't really seem like I was using anything I knew. There was barely any physiology and I agree with others that there is an increasing trend in genetics. But I definitely don't think it's necessary to take a class in genetics to do well. Most of the questions can be reasoned out by passage info. I'm not the best critical thinker but I was able to reason through some of them fairly easily - which kinda worries me a bit, lol. But anyways, again, know what's presented on AAMC outline, but don't strive for perfection because ultimately, most of what you did study unfortunately won't be tested. Verbal was hell. I was seated by the door so I had a very hard time focusing - not because of the noise (the headphones blocked it), but because I'd get so distracted by people walking by to the door. The first 3 passages I did were okay, but there rest were extremely convoluted to the point where I was entirely lost while reading. It was like they were throwing random bits of info at you with every paragraph and I had a very difficult time formulating a summary and main idea. I guessed on most of the questions, which worries me even more. Do not neglect verbal. I think critical reading is just part of it, but building up the stamina to read several passages back to back without feeling fatigue is just as important. For the physical sciences, I can't really say much but do realize they really can flip things around on ya. Without exposing the contests of the exam, they presented this one concept that we are all familiar with, except it was on another planet with a slight change and so you had to be able to reason out the answers using that new information. It seems scary, but again, it's all about being able to reason things out.

Sorry if this didn't help much, but basically what I'm trying to say is don't stress out over the content so much. I think if you all hit practice passages as much as possible (even if you don't know what the hell is going on), you could atleast do really well on the exam because you're practicing your ability to reason (what most questions are about these days). I agree there is a lot of material, so maybe this might help alleviate some concerns for those of you who feel it's necessary to know every bit of information. And once again, DO NOT NEGLECT VERBAL.

Thanks for all the great pointers! I saw TBR books and skipped over content review with them so I mainly did my content review using EK and now reviewing with Chad's videos and practicing with TBR and TPRSW. Can you elaborate on how much practice you did like did you finish all the passages in the prep books? Did you feel that EK 101 Verbal, TBR, or TPR verbal were good practice for verbal? I find those to not be as convoluted so it's reasonable for me to finish the passages on time but when passages get so convoluted, I have trouble finishing on time..especially for ones that go into a lot of detail and it almost seems you have to remember what each paragraph states since they might talk about one thing in one paragraph then 4 paragraphs later, they tell you well it's not exactly that. Sorry to bombard you with so many questions..it'll be my first time taking the test so I want to feel somewhat ready with the stuff I'm prepping with.
 
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