BIO 28
GC 23
OC 29
PAT 27
QR 22
RC 20
I stumbled upon sdn towards the middle of may when my school ended. I studied about 2 months. I followed dentalworks' schedule (thank you so much for the schedule!) with KBB and Cliff's for the first four weeks, then I modified it according to my own weaknesses. If I were to do it again, I would have started with his Chad's videos one, because KBB wasn't too helpful.
GC/OC: Chad's/Destroyer: When I started on Destroyer, I realized that I definitely need some additional help on Gchem, so I went and bought Chad's videos. After watching them, I felt much more comfortable. Chad is amazing. For GC and OC, Chad's videos and Destroyer are more than enough. I went through Chad's videos once and Destroyer twice.
BIO: Thinkwell/Cliff's AP Bio: Maybe I got lucky on the biology section, because it wasn't as random as people said, but I'll share with you my experience, because this is the section I was most nervous about:
I started to notice that I don't know anything about biology when I started doing problems in Destroyer. I didn't do too hot in biology in my college classes. I never took any upper level biology courses, so I was freaking out. About 3 or 4 weeks before my test, I bought Thinkwell videos ($150!). but saw this a little too late: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=813240 and someone on here also mentioned that you could buy the videos if you have a smartphone and it is much much cheaper? If either of these methods work, I would recommend getting them, because 150 dollars is a lot of money, and since there's a LOT of videos, paying 150 to watch only about 1/4 of the videos made me feel a little unjustified.
that being said, although it is over priced, it is a great resource. If you have the online subscription, they also have accompanied quizzes and notes that you can use to review. I watched all the taxonomy and physiology videos, because I noticed most of the stuff I was getting wrong on practice questions were from those areas (I would recommend taking a couple free tests from DATqvualt; they have a little section on the top right that highlights what areas you are weak on). I also have a copy of MCAT bio osmosis from my friend who is studying MCATs, so I would listen to those before I fall asleep. hahaha. I don't know how much material I retained, because I fell asleep pretty quickly. Two weeks before the exam, I re-read Cliff's. This time, I actually understood it a lot better. I was able to pick up on facts that I missed. I only went through half of bio in Destroyer before I started watching Thinkwell videos and didn't have time to go back and finish it.
I remembered random facts by using Anki: http://ankisrs.net/
detailed breakdown on how to use it: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=697147
I started using Thinkwell videos after reading this VERY helpful breakdown: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=737004
there's a lot of good resources in there.
PAT: CrackDatPAt and Achiever. I averaged about 22 on Crackdat and 18 on Achiever. Crackdat is very similar to the real test, but practicing on Achiever is definitely a plus.
QR: Math Destroyer. I went through the first 7 tests without timing, then started timing myself. I also re-did some of the practice tests. I couldn't finish the tests for the longest time, but just kept on practicing, and I got a hang of it eventually.
RC: CrackDatReading/Achiever/Topscore I tried a lot of methods, but I ended up just reading it. The articles are not as dense as Topscore, but not as easy to read as CrackDat. maybe similar to passages in Achiever, but with easier questions after.
Believe in yourself and take a lot of practice tests, because timing for me is a huge tissue, even in the science sections! Thank you SDN! couldn't have done it without you guys. Also, don't get discouraged, because I was getting pretty discouraged myself on the days leading up to my test while reading breakdowns (it didn't help that I was taking Achiever as practice at the same time).
Best of luck! 😀
GC 23
OC 29
PAT 27
QR 22
RC 20
I stumbled upon sdn towards the middle of may when my school ended. I studied about 2 months. I followed dentalworks' schedule (thank you so much for the schedule!) with KBB and Cliff's for the first four weeks, then I modified it according to my own weaknesses. If I were to do it again, I would have started with his Chad's videos one, because KBB wasn't too helpful.
GC/OC: Chad's/Destroyer: When I started on Destroyer, I realized that I definitely need some additional help on Gchem, so I went and bought Chad's videos. After watching them, I felt much more comfortable. Chad is amazing. For GC and OC, Chad's videos and Destroyer are more than enough. I went through Chad's videos once and Destroyer twice.
BIO: Thinkwell/Cliff's AP Bio: Maybe I got lucky on the biology section, because it wasn't as random as people said, but I'll share with you my experience, because this is the section I was most nervous about:
I started to notice that I don't know anything about biology when I started doing problems in Destroyer. I didn't do too hot in biology in my college classes. I never took any upper level biology courses, so I was freaking out. About 3 or 4 weeks before my test, I bought Thinkwell videos ($150!). but saw this a little too late: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=813240 and someone on here also mentioned that you could buy the videos if you have a smartphone and it is much much cheaper? If either of these methods work, I would recommend getting them, because 150 dollars is a lot of money, and since there's a LOT of videos, paying 150 to watch only about 1/4 of the videos made me feel a little unjustified.
that being said, although it is over priced, it is a great resource. If you have the online subscription, they also have accompanied quizzes and notes that you can use to review. I watched all the taxonomy and physiology videos, because I noticed most of the stuff I was getting wrong on practice questions were from those areas (I would recommend taking a couple free tests from DATqvualt; they have a little section on the top right that highlights what areas you are weak on). I also have a copy of MCAT bio osmosis from my friend who is studying MCATs, so I would listen to those before I fall asleep. hahaha. I don't know how much material I retained, because I fell asleep pretty quickly. Two weeks before the exam, I re-read Cliff's. This time, I actually understood it a lot better. I was able to pick up on facts that I missed. I only went through half of bio in Destroyer before I started watching Thinkwell videos and didn't have time to go back and finish it.
I remembered random facts by using Anki: http://ankisrs.net/
detailed breakdown on how to use it: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=697147
I started using Thinkwell videos after reading this VERY helpful breakdown: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=737004
there's a lot of good resources in there.
PAT: CrackDatPAt and Achiever. I averaged about 22 on Crackdat and 18 on Achiever. Crackdat is very similar to the real test, but practicing on Achiever is definitely a plus.
QR: Math Destroyer. I went through the first 7 tests without timing, then started timing myself. I also re-did some of the practice tests. I couldn't finish the tests for the longest time, but just kept on practicing, and I got a hang of it eventually.
RC: CrackDatReading/Achiever/Topscore I tried a lot of methods, but I ended up just reading it. The articles are not as dense as Topscore, but not as easy to read as CrackDat. maybe similar to passages in Achiever, but with easier questions after.
Believe in yourself and take a lot of practice tests, because timing for me is a huge tissue, even in the science sections! Thank you SDN! couldn't have done it without you guys. Also, don't get discouraged, because I was getting pretty discouraged myself on the days leading up to my test while reading breakdowns (it didn't help that I was taking Achiever as practice at the same time).
Best of luck! 😀
