Reading breakdowns helped me a lot when studying and so I knew I wanted to do the same after my exam to hopefully help someone.
Just for a little background, I consistently studied for around 3 months and I used mainly two resources; Booster and Chads prep (along with the booster anki decks).
Here is how I studied for each section:
Biology (23):
I was a biology major in undergrad and so I went into this section thinking it wouldn’t be that bad since I really loved my major and retained a lot of what I learned during college. I wasn’t necessarily wrong but I did underestimate the sheer amount of time getting through all the content would take. I used Feralis notes on booster and they were absolutely amazing but as many of you know, they are pretty long. I went through all of the chapters and took notes on each and kept repeating the process of just rereading. I think doing this was conducive to my learning but I realized that whenever I would move onto a different section of biology, I would forget bits and pieces of the previous chapter. What I did to combat this that really helped was using the high yield notes on booster for each chapter and reviewing those for previous chapters while learning new content. Doing this helped me not forget the main pieces of information from chapters I wasn’t directly studying at the moment. I didn’t implement this strategy until later on but it helped me a lot once I did. As I said, I used Feralis notes and I think it was absolutely worth reading because it gave me a very comprehensive understanding of all the content but I will say to monitor your time and make sure you aren’t unevenly spreading your study time with each of the sections.
I think what ultimately helped me secure the score I received was using the biology practice tests to my advantage in conjunction with studying bio. I went through all the exam questions (even the ones I got right) and made sure to read the explanations for each question and through doing that I was able to pick up what topics of bio were higher yield and focus my time in studying those along with my weak spots.
Ochem (24):
For ochem, there are reaction sheets on both bootcamp and booster and I think they’re both wonderful but I think what ultimately helped me get the score I got was making one myself. The booster sections are broken down by the types of reactions (like alkene rxns, aromatic, radical etc) and so I got printer paper for each section and from the ochem notes on booster, I copied them down myself, studied those, did the reaction banks and then the extra question banks (which are also split up by the reaction type) and for the ones I got wrong I directly wrote them on my own reaction sheet. Once I went through all the sections doing that, I did nothing but review my notes and it helped me retain the information. But I will say, this coincides with my own studying style. I write my notes and I memorize them while pacing back and forth in my room or explaining things to the 50 million plants in my home (which I love) . For the ochem topics outside of the reactions, such as the laboratory procedures and the IUPAC nomenclature, conformations etc, I learned those by memorizing the booster notes and doing all the ochem practice tests. If you’re having trouble visualizing things for ochem, I highly recommend using youtube to your advantage. Leah4Sci and Chads prep are literal icons, I love them. They explain the material really well. I used their videos for sections I struggled with the most and it helped strengthen my understanding.
Gen Chem (24):
I was so worried about this section because I didn’t have the strongest grasp on general chemistry in undergrad and so I put in a lot of work to make sure that I had a better understanding of it for this exam. Literally all you need for this section are the booster study notes because it has everything you need to know in a condensed format which is easy to digest. Make sure to know all the equations like the back of your hand and what the purpose of using them are! I studied for this section similarly to how I studied for ochem, which is straight up memorization. I think that definitely helped ofc but doing all the questions found on booster helped strengthen my knowledge of gen chem because I would actually be applying the formulas and stuff. This section is all about practicing! I would use all the questions to your advantage. For gen chem, I also used chad’s prep for sections I struggled with such as thermodynamics and it helped me a lot. I will say though, that his videos are more in depth than you need to know but I also think that’s also a great thing because it helps fill in the gaps of knowledge plus it’s better to be over-prepared.
PAT (20):
This section is all about practice which I didn’t unfortunately do as much as I would’ve liked. Ideally, I would've done at least 30 minutes of PAT a day but it got a little difficult while balancing content heavy sections such as biology. For this section, I think it’s really important to understand fundamentally how to solve each sort of question and THEN focus on the timing. If you start off learning how to do each of the questions with the time constraint, it will burn you out and I don’t think it’s the best way to study imo but also people learn differently so definitely find out what works best for you : ) Also please use the question banks to your advantage because they have explanation videos which can help you shape your way of thinking about questions. I primarily used the generators and I wished I used the question banks more
Reading Comprehension (22):
I think like the PAT, this section is also all about practice to find out the techniques that work the best for you. I personally did two rc practice tests on booster and got my strategy down and just worked on becoming more efficient using the strategy I used. I was worried about this section because it’s a time crunch but the questions ended up being way more direct on the exam which was great.
QR (22):
Practice! That’s really all I can say about this section. I went through all the videos, wrote down notes for each of them and did all the extra questions and then did some of the practice exams. I think the videos and extra questions are enough to do great on this section but getting extra practice with the practice QR subject tests is also a great way to build up your knowledge if you are still struggling with the math. Make sure to know all the equations!!
Test day advice:
Please make sure to use your break to your advantage. Eat some good food and use the restroom even if you feel like you don’t have to.
Ending advice:
Find what works for you! These strategies helped me with my own learning style but everyone learns differently which is why I loved reading breakdowns because I was able to implement different things to see if they worked for me. If something doesn’t work for you that worked for someone else, that is totally fine, stay true to yourself and what you know will help you succeed. And lastly, I just wanted to say to please be kind to yourself. It’s really easy to compare yourself to others but comparison is the thief of joy. You are uniquely you, just like your application. Your self worth isn’t tied to how you do on this exam. Please take care of yourself and reach out to your support circle if you ever need to. And if you don’t have that, my inbox is literally always open and I’m more than happy to give that support in any way that I can, even if it’s just to be a listening ear if you ever need to vent. This community is so supportive and is full of so many amazing, smart people. Do not underestimate yourself! Good luck to everyone currently studying : )
Just for a little background, I consistently studied for around 3 months and I used mainly two resources; Booster and Chads prep (along with the booster anki decks).
Here is how I studied for each section:
Biology (23):
I was a biology major in undergrad and so I went into this section thinking it wouldn’t be that bad since I really loved my major and retained a lot of what I learned during college. I wasn’t necessarily wrong but I did underestimate the sheer amount of time getting through all the content would take. I used Feralis notes on booster and they were absolutely amazing but as many of you know, they are pretty long. I went through all of the chapters and took notes on each and kept repeating the process of just rereading. I think doing this was conducive to my learning but I realized that whenever I would move onto a different section of biology, I would forget bits and pieces of the previous chapter. What I did to combat this that really helped was using the high yield notes on booster for each chapter and reviewing those for previous chapters while learning new content. Doing this helped me not forget the main pieces of information from chapters I wasn’t directly studying at the moment. I didn’t implement this strategy until later on but it helped me a lot once I did. As I said, I used Feralis notes and I think it was absolutely worth reading because it gave me a very comprehensive understanding of all the content but I will say to monitor your time and make sure you aren’t unevenly spreading your study time with each of the sections.
I think what ultimately helped me secure the score I received was using the biology practice tests to my advantage in conjunction with studying bio. I went through all the exam questions (even the ones I got right) and made sure to read the explanations for each question and through doing that I was able to pick up what topics of bio were higher yield and focus my time in studying those along with my weak spots.
Ochem (24):
For ochem, there are reaction sheets on both bootcamp and booster and I think they’re both wonderful but I think what ultimately helped me get the score I got was making one myself. The booster sections are broken down by the types of reactions (like alkene rxns, aromatic, radical etc) and so I got printer paper for each section and from the ochem notes on booster, I copied them down myself, studied those, did the reaction banks and then the extra question banks (which are also split up by the reaction type) and for the ones I got wrong I directly wrote them on my own reaction sheet. Once I went through all the sections doing that, I did nothing but review my notes and it helped me retain the information. But I will say, this coincides with my own studying style. I write my notes and I memorize them while pacing back and forth in my room or explaining things to the 50 million plants in my home (which I love) . For the ochem topics outside of the reactions, such as the laboratory procedures and the IUPAC nomenclature, conformations etc, I learned those by memorizing the booster notes and doing all the ochem practice tests. If you’re having trouble visualizing things for ochem, I highly recommend using youtube to your advantage. Leah4Sci and Chads prep are literal icons, I love them. They explain the material really well. I used their videos for sections I struggled with the most and it helped strengthen my understanding.
Gen Chem (24):
I was so worried about this section because I didn’t have the strongest grasp on general chemistry in undergrad and so I put in a lot of work to make sure that I had a better understanding of it for this exam. Literally all you need for this section are the booster study notes because it has everything you need to know in a condensed format which is easy to digest. Make sure to know all the equations like the back of your hand and what the purpose of using them are! I studied for this section similarly to how I studied for ochem, which is straight up memorization. I think that definitely helped ofc but doing all the questions found on booster helped strengthen my knowledge of gen chem because I would actually be applying the formulas and stuff. This section is all about practicing! I would use all the questions to your advantage. For gen chem, I also used chad’s prep for sections I struggled with such as thermodynamics and it helped me a lot. I will say though, that his videos are more in depth than you need to know but I also think that’s also a great thing because it helps fill in the gaps of knowledge plus it’s better to be over-prepared.
PAT (20):
This section is all about practice which I didn’t unfortunately do as much as I would’ve liked. Ideally, I would've done at least 30 minutes of PAT a day but it got a little difficult while balancing content heavy sections such as biology. For this section, I think it’s really important to understand fundamentally how to solve each sort of question and THEN focus on the timing. If you start off learning how to do each of the questions with the time constraint, it will burn you out and I don’t think it’s the best way to study imo but also people learn differently so definitely find out what works best for you : ) Also please use the question banks to your advantage because they have explanation videos which can help you shape your way of thinking about questions. I primarily used the generators and I wished I used the question banks more
Reading Comprehension (22):
I think like the PAT, this section is also all about practice to find out the techniques that work the best for you. I personally did two rc practice tests on booster and got my strategy down and just worked on becoming more efficient using the strategy I used. I was worried about this section because it’s a time crunch but the questions ended up being way more direct on the exam which was great.
QR (22):
Practice! That’s really all I can say about this section. I went through all the videos, wrote down notes for each of them and did all the extra questions and then did some of the practice exams. I think the videos and extra questions are enough to do great on this section but getting extra practice with the practice QR subject tests is also a great way to build up your knowledge if you are still struggling with the math. Make sure to know all the equations!!
Test day advice:
Please make sure to use your break to your advantage. Eat some good food and use the restroom even if you feel like you don’t have to.
Ending advice:
Find what works for you! These strategies helped me with my own learning style but everyone learns differently which is why I loved reading breakdowns because I was able to implement different things to see if they worked for me. If something doesn’t work for you that worked for someone else, that is totally fine, stay true to yourself and what you know will help you succeed. And lastly, I just wanted to say to please be kind to yourself. It’s really easy to compare yourself to others but comparison is the thief of joy. You are uniquely you, just like your application. Your self worth isn’t tied to how you do on this exam. Please take care of yourself and reach out to your support circle if you ever need to. And if you don’t have that, my inbox is literally always open and I’m more than happy to give that support in any way that I can, even if it’s just to be a listening ear if you ever need to vent. This community is so supportive and is full of so many amazing, smart people. Do not underestimate yourself! Good luck to everyone currently studying : )
