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Thank you members of SDN for all the help when I needed it, I would not have gotten these scores without the forums. Period.
06/07/09 D-day
Bio-24
GC-22
OC-24
RC-19-Piano
QR-19
AA-22
TS-23
PAT-22
Topscore 1 (1 month prior, had only studied GC and PAT)
Bio-16
GC-19
OC-18
RC-19
QR-18
AA-18
PAT-22
Topscore 2 (1 week prior)
Bio-22
GC-21
OC-21
RC-19
QR-19
AA-20
PAT-22
Topscore 3 (2 days prior)
Bio-19 (ouch)
GC-25
OC-30
RC-21
QR-23 (math destroyer)
AA-24
PAT-22
Bio-Kaplan, Barrons AP Bio, Cliff's AP Bio. I read all three and took notes on the things I thought I'd forget. Went over those notes (16 pages of bulleted text) every other day. Each book has it's strong points, I liked reading the same things different ways just to really cement it in. I went through destroyer, but didn't find it very relevant. If you've got days and days of extra time, do it. Otherwise, read AP cliff's for a second time instead.
This section was the least similar to topscore. Just the nature of the questions and the way they go about asking them...for many the answer is very obvious. I came across a few where I was like...does not compute...but I was able to narrow them down usually to 2 choices. I guess my overall opinion is that bio was easier on the real thing, but very different. I finally understand what everyone else was talking about!
GC-Kaplan, ACS, Destroyer. I felt that kaplan was the best resource for this section. I honestly feel that Kaplan has everything you need here EXCEPT for practice. ACS was great for polishing up calculation problems and Destroyer's conceptual problems and solutions were very helpful, however the calculations in destroyer were totally unnecessary. If I could do it again, I would have focused 80% of my energy on concepts because I think that's where I may have lost points.
Very straightforward. 50/50 calculations with answers in algebraic form to avoid calculation. I thought I got every question right, but I guess there are some tricks in there (probably conceptual questions so watch out!) Easier than topscore and somewhat similar as well.
OC-Destroyer, Kaplan. First thing I did for this section was I made a flashcard out of every reaction on the destroyer roadmaps which are absolutely golden. Then I worked my way through the problems and re-did those I felt uncomfortable with. I used Kaplan to fill in destroyer's holes (carbs, IR, NMR). I felt the most confident in this section and I felt like I got every question right, but alas.
This section was about as easy as Topscore, maybe a tad easier. Some questions had a little more twist to them (stereo, NMR) so just think like a test writer.
PAT-CDP. Enough said. Started out with a 18 and ended up getting around 23-25 for the rest.
Keyholes-Easier
TFE-Easier
Angles-Easier
Holes-I actually thought these were harder as there were some folds I'd never seen before.
Cubes-Way easier
Folding-Hardest section. I spent quite a bit of time here. Some odd shapes I hadn't come across previously.
RC-I just did topscore here. I got piano'd and I was shaking my head..noooo. But then I was like hmm, this is a good read actually (I play the piano although I'm not totally familiar with what's inside of them). The only problem is the fact that many of the questions were inference /shrug. I felt like piano was my easiest passage, but also probably the one I missed the most points in if that makes sense.
Technique-I write down keywords for the first 4 problems and then start reading the passage while mapping it out with keywords as well. I don't look at more questions until those 4 are answered even if one is at the end. Once I have a map of the passage, finding the rest of the answers is easy anyway. I had 7 minutes leftover at the end. Overall, difficulty was similar to destroyer.
QR-Math Destroyer. This book is really great for practice problems. I think it was slightly harder than the real thing, but SPOT ON for similarity of questions. I had a few VERY similar questions on my test. I didn't get halfway through this book because frankly it is painful for me to do math for more than 15 minutes, but if I had more time, I would have finished it.
This section was a little bit tougher than Topscore, with a bit more word problems. My advice would be to practice with Math destroyer, and get timing down with topscore. This is the one section that I feel I could have gained some ground on with a little more diligence.
I studied for 3 months, the first month was very light with Kaplan and ACS, as was the second. The last 1.5 months were super intense. When I wasn't studying, I was here, and when I wasn't here, I was pacing in my room deciding what to study. Painful, but worth it.
oGPA-3.1
sGPA-3.12
Thanks again everyone, good luck on your tests/apps.
06/07/09 D-day
Bio-24
GC-22
OC-24
RC-19-Piano
QR-19
AA-22
TS-23
PAT-22
Topscore 1 (1 month prior, had only studied GC and PAT)
Bio-16
GC-19
OC-18
RC-19
QR-18
AA-18
PAT-22
Topscore 2 (1 week prior)
Bio-22
GC-21
OC-21
RC-19
QR-19
AA-20
PAT-22
Topscore 3 (2 days prior)
Bio-19 (ouch)
GC-25
OC-30
RC-21
QR-23 (math destroyer)
AA-24
PAT-22
Bio-Kaplan, Barrons AP Bio, Cliff's AP Bio. I read all three and took notes on the things I thought I'd forget. Went over those notes (16 pages of bulleted text) every other day. Each book has it's strong points, I liked reading the same things different ways just to really cement it in. I went through destroyer, but didn't find it very relevant. If you've got days and days of extra time, do it. Otherwise, read AP cliff's for a second time instead.
This section was the least similar to topscore. Just the nature of the questions and the way they go about asking them...for many the answer is very obvious. I came across a few where I was like...does not compute...but I was able to narrow them down usually to 2 choices. I guess my overall opinion is that bio was easier on the real thing, but very different. I finally understand what everyone else was talking about!
GC-Kaplan, ACS, Destroyer. I felt that kaplan was the best resource for this section. I honestly feel that Kaplan has everything you need here EXCEPT for practice. ACS was great for polishing up calculation problems and Destroyer's conceptual problems and solutions were very helpful, however the calculations in destroyer were totally unnecessary. If I could do it again, I would have focused 80% of my energy on concepts because I think that's where I may have lost points.
Very straightforward. 50/50 calculations with answers in algebraic form to avoid calculation. I thought I got every question right, but I guess there are some tricks in there (probably conceptual questions so watch out!) Easier than topscore and somewhat similar as well.
OC-Destroyer, Kaplan. First thing I did for this section was I made a flashcard out of every reaction on the destroyer roadmaps which are absolutely golden. Then I worked my way through the problems and re-did those I felt uncomfortable with. I used Kaplan to fill in destroyer's holes (carbs, IR, NMR). I felt the most confident in this section and I felt like I got every question right, but alas.
This section was about as easy as Topscore, maybe a tad easier. Some questions had a little more twist to them (stereo, NMR) so just think like a test writer.
PAT-CDP. Enough said. Started out with a 18 and ended up getting around 23-25 for the rest.
Keyholes-Easier
TFE-Easier
Angles-Easier
Holes-I actually thought these were harder as there were some folds I'd never seen before.
Cubes-Way easier
Folding-Hardest section. I spent quite a bit of time here. Some odd shapes I hadn't come across previously.
RC-I just did topscore here. I got piano'd and I was shaking my head..noooo. But then I was like hmm, this is a good read actually (I play the piano although I'm not totally familiar with what's inside of them). The only problem is the fact that many of the questions were inference /shrug. I felt like piano was my easiest passage, but also probably the one I missed the most points in if that makes sense.
Technique-I write down keywords for the first 4 problems and then start reading the passage while mapping it out with keywords as well. I don't look at more questions until those 4 are answered even if one is at the end. Once I have a map of the passage, finding the rest of the answers is easy anyway. I had 7 minutes leftover at the end. Overall, difficulty was similar to destroyer.
QR-Math Destroyer. This book is really great for practice problems. I think it was slightly harder than the real thing, but SPOT ON for similarity of questions. I had a few VERY similar questions on my test. I didn't get halfway through this book because frankly it is painful for me to do math for more than 15 minutes, but if I had more time, I would have finished it.
This section was a little bit tougher than Topscore, with a bit more word problems. My advice would be to practice with Math destroyer, and get timing down with topscore. This is the one section that I feel I could have gained some ground on with a little more diligence.
I studied for 3 months, the first month was very light with Kaplan and ACS, as was the second. The last 1.5 months were super intense. When I wasn't studying, I was here, and when I wasn't here, I was pacing in my room deciding what to study. Painful, but worth it.
oGPA-3.1
sGPA-3.12
Thanks again everyone, good luck on your tests/apps.
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