I was very pleased with the scores that I got and can say that a large part of it was due to Bootcamp.
PAT: 25
QR: 24
RC: 30
Biology: 26
GC: 27
OC: 27
TS: 27
AA: 27
I want to begin by saying that the experience you will have with Bootcamp depends on how much time and concentration you are willing to put into the preparation. I began Dr. Ari's 2.5 month schedule right after I got out of my spring semester, but I condensed it into 2 months and took the exam on June 30th. I was able to somewhat condense the plan and effectively study because I did not work during this time. I know that I am lucky to have done so because not everyone can take 2 months off to prepare for an exam. However, I did this because I was willing to sacrifice 2 months of work and pay for a better chance at getting a spot as a first-year applicant. Plenty of other people have worked and studied for this exam at the same time, so I'm not saying that you have to quit your job. This is just what I did and I think it helped me a lot!
As far as studying goes I would spend around 4 to 6 hours a day covering new content or reviewing older content that I was not as comfortable with. I would do this for 5 or 6 days of the week and would use one day of the week to hang out with family and friends if anything ever came up! I was pretty disciplined about doing this until my last week where I began to feel some burnout. But, this just told me that there was not much else I could do to prepare for the exam so I took the last week a little lighter than the previous ones.
PRIORITIZE THE PRACTICE TESTS!!! They are harder than the real exam so do not let them discourage you either! At the very beginning I would get frustrated about how much content there seemed to be, but it helps and you get better with time! Make sure to review the answers that you missed thoroughly as well!
PAT: 25
The PAT section was the only section that challenged me on the real exam. Bootcamp does a good job with pointing out strategies, but the best prep is practice! I found angle ranking to be the most challenging on Bootcamp. My strategy was to identify the smallest and largest pairs of angles and jet my eyes back and forth between the pairs to figure out the order. I would not waste time on this part if you second guess yourself because it can be a time-vacuum😅 The real test was much more manageable though! The Keyhole section is what surprised me most on the real exam. It felt like an even mix of easy and complex shapes, but eliminating answer choices helped a lot.
QR: 24
To be honest, I expected to do worse on this section so I was happy with what I got. The practice tests made this section easier because it helped me figure out what I needed to know and practice. Personally, it was probability, comparison, and compound interest questions that I had to work most on.
RC: 30
So, I made a post earlier this summer asking if the RC ever got easier/better and IT DOES!! The first 5 RC practice tests were brutal, not going to lie. This section is all about finding what strategy works best for you. Once I began the full-length practice tests I found out that I did best by using this process...
(1) Read half of the article while highlighting key details
(2) Answer the questions that you can KNOW you have the details to
(3) Read the last half of the article
(4) Answer the remaining questions
It is time consuming, but I was most comfortable with this strategy. The questions on the real exam are so much easier than those on Bootcamp and the articles seemed to be easier to read. Once I recognized this, I began to read the whole article quickly, then answer the questions. This helped me to not have to switch through questions back and forth and lose time. My best advice is find what is comfortable for you.
Biology: 26
BREADTH OVER DEPTH!! Look most into the areas that you are least comfortable with. Again, the practice tests helped me so much in identifying these weaknesses. I also loved using Quizlet to get a general understanding of the finer details, so if you do well with flashcards then make sure to look into Bootcamp's Quizlet sets!! The Quizlet sets were so easy to access and covered the material that I felt like I needed to know most.
GC: 27
I am not a chemistry guy so getting a 27 here and on OC was a surprise. For GC, I emphasized knowing how to do ICE tables and memorizing the soluble/insoluble compounds and strong acids. There are formulas that you will need to know, but as I took the practice tests it became easy to recognize which formula I needed for a question. I knew that these would be the areas I needed to work on most, so I made some Quizlet sets to refresh myself.
OC: 27
To prepare here I did most of the question banks twice. Once to begin and another time to review. On the practice tests I would watch the explanation video to EVERY question because I wanted to make sure that I understood each mechanism. Doing the questions in this area helped me out so much!
PAT: 25
QR: 24
RC: 30
Biology: 26
GC: 27
OC: 27
TS: 27
AA: 27
I want to begin by saying that the experience you will have with Bootcamp depends on how much time and concentration you are willing to put into the preparation. I began Dr. Ari's 2.5 month schedule right after I got out of my spring semester, but I condensed it into 2 months and took the exam on June 30th. I was able to somewhat condense the plan and effectively study because I did not work during this time. I know that I am lucky to have done so because not everyone can take 2 months off to prepare for an exam. However, I did this because I was willing to sacrifice 2 months of work and pay for a better chance at getting a spot as a first-year applicant. Plenty of other people have worked and studied for this exam at the same time, so I'm not saying that you have to quit your job. This is just what I did and I think it helped me a lot!
As far as studying goes I would spend around 4 to 6 hours a day covering new content or reviewing older content that I was not as comfortable with. I would do this for 5 or 6 days of the week and would use one day of the week to hang out with family and friends if anything ever came up! I was pretty disciplined about doing this until my last week where I began to feel some burnout. But, this just told me that there was not much else I could do to prepare for the exam so I took the last week a little lighter than the previous ones.
PRIORITIZE THE PRACTICE TESTS!!! They are harder than the real exam so do not let them discourage you either! At the very beginning I would get frustrated about how much content there seemed to be, but it helps and you get better with time! Make sure to review the answers that you missed thoroughly as well!
PAT: 25
The PAT section was the only section that challenged me on the real exam. Bootcamp does a good job with pointing out strategies, but the best prep is practice! I found angle ranking to be the most challenging on Bootcamp. My strategy was to identify the smallest and largest pairs of angles and jet my eyes back and forth between the pairs to figure out the order. I would not waste time on this part if you second guess yourself because it can be a time-vacuum😅 The real test was much more manageable though! The Keyhole section is what surprised me most on the real exam. It felt like an even mix of easy and complex shapes, but eliminating answer choices helped a lot.
QR: 24
To be honest, I expected to do worse on this section so I was happy with what I got. The practice tests made this section easier because it helped me figure out what I needed to know and practice. Personally, it was probability, comparison, and compound interest questions that I had to work most on.
RC: 30
So, I made a post earlier this summer asking if the RC ever got easier/better and IT DOES!! The first 5 RC practice tests were brutal, not going to lie. This section is all about finding what strategy works best for you. Once I began the full-length practice tests I found out that I did best by using this process...
(1) Read half of the article while highlighting key details
(2) Answer the questions that you can KNOW you have the details to
(3) Read the last half of the article
(4) Answer the remaining questions
It is time consuming, but I was most comfortable with this strategy. The questions on the real exam are so much easier than those on Bootcamp and the articles seemed to be easier to read. Once I recognized this, I began to read the whole article quickly, then answer the questions. This helped me to not have to switch through questions back and forth and lose time. My best advice is find what is comfortable for you.
Biology: 26
BREADTH OVER DEPTH!! Look most into the areas that you are least comfortable with. Again, the practice tests helped me so much in identifying these weaknesses. I also loved using Quizlet to get a general understanding of the finer details, so if you do well with flashcards then make sure to look into Bootcamp's Quizlet sets!! The Quizlet sets were so easy to access and covered the material that I felt like I needed to know most.
GC: 27
I am not a chemistry guy so getting a 27 here and on OC was a surprise. For GC, I emphasized knowing how to do ICE tables and memorizing the soluble/insoluble compounds and strong acids. There are formulas that you will need to know, but as I took the practice tests it became easy to recognize which formula I needed for a question. I knew that these would be the areas I needed to work on most, so I made some Quizlet sets to refresh myself.
OC: 27
To prepare here I did most of the question banks twice. Once to begin and another time to review. On the practice tests I would watch the explanation video to EVERY question because I wanted to make sure that I understood each mechanism. Doing the questions in this area helped me out so much!
