misfitdonuts
New Member
- Joined
- May 8, 2025
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Been lurking at breakdowns for a while. They have been so helpful for my own study plan. So I decided to add my 2 cents. (Sorry for the long post)
Background: Older Non-trad student economics major. Took all my science classes slowly post-grad while working full time. Finally quit my job and decided to switch careers the beginning of this year
I used the booster schedule (didn’t follow it exactly day to day, but each box was eventually checked on the schedule (except I slacked on PAT)
BIO
Watched all the videos. Did all the bio bites. Used Anki in the beginning for memorization but stopped after I went through all the cards at least once. I learned better answering questions and then learning from the mistakes. I read bootcamps’ high yield bio notes towards the end and cheat sheet were like 80-90% as effective to memorize the big picture at the end. I skipped diversity of life, only watched the videos, no question bank and only used the cheat sheets, which was a gamble I was willing to take.
CHEM
Same as bio, I watched all the videos and did all the questions. After you memorize all the formulas and actually know the concepts this was my easiest section to learn imo. Dimensional analysis was super helpful for me especially when choosing the right answer choice on the math problems.
I reread all the chapters at the end to refresh a week or two before test
OCHEM
By far the hardest for me to learn from scratch as a non-trad. Watched all the videos 2 times, Read each chapters notes. Did all the questions. This takes time to actually memorize all the reactions and reagents which was daunting at first but you will realize it isn’t that bad after you get a grasp of it. I didn’t learn any of the mechanisms except the basic SN1.SN2,E2,E1.
Tip: get a dry erase board and constantly quiz yourself on the reactions from memory by using the reaction cheat sheet and cover up the products
PAT
Angle ranking is either you got it or you don’t idk else how to study other than learning the knife and laptop methods and using the generator. Cube Counting was easy if you take your time and do the T-table and count each (it gets easier and faster with practice). Hole punching came naturally I could do it without making the 4x4 template but started using it once I realized I have no margin for error. Pattern folding was hard at first but something clicked in the last 2 weeks where I was able to see the patterns (eliminate, eliminate, eliminate is your best friend). Keyholes were my 2nd hardest to learn; this took time and usually what I spent the majority of time on the test on. Lastly, I was so terrible at TFE that it was almost comical how bad I was. It was better for me to select C on those 15 questions and hopefully get max 5 correct than spend valuable time. I knew my strengths and weaknesses and I cut my losses early in the learning process and decided to focus on the other parts and try get good scoring on questions 31-90. I slacked when studying for this section overall; I didn’t like it personally and knew PAT would be my lowest score.
RC and QR
I barely spent time on this other than reviewing practice tests. For RC,I prefer vanilla method if you are a fast reader but used search and destroy sometimes; experiment with the practice tests to see which works for you. QR was a strength of mine so I only reviewed the practice tests, once you see similar questions over and over you will understand how to do it (work rate, combinations, permutations, dice).
My practice scores are below. I started with booster 1-10 and then used a friends bootcamp (purchased a 15-day extension from their soon to be expiring account and took a test everyday for 10 days the last 2 weeks). I also redid every SNS section for both booster and bootcamp to try to get as near perfect score on retakes. After your first attempt go through every question (even the ones you got right). On the redos wait a couple days so you aren’t just memorizing the correct answer even though sometimes that’s what happened, I still marked the question and read the answer description/watched the videos (those are so helpful). The marking feature is crucial here for flagging weaknesses. Mastering the concepts behind the practice test questions was the best way to solidify what I learned in the weeks prior.
Tip: Make sure you are taking these in full under timed conditions like you would the real test. At first I was only doing each section at time and taking breaks in between but you want to build your stamina. I was getting tired towards the end of RC and making sloppy mistakes in QR when I first started doing full length tests.
Another random tip: Bootcamp has an AI chatbot feature at the bottom of the page when reviewing practice tests which was surprisingly helpful when trying to refresh concepts and not having to go back and search the chapters. It answered a variety of questions unlike boosters feature. Very helpful when wanting simple answers to conceptual questions just make sure it doesn’t hallucinate (ask it to triple check when prompting).
DAY OF TEST:
Suggest you show up 30 minutes early; I didn’t and I had a very long line. Bring ear plugs, water and a snack. I suggest you caffeinate at least an hour before so you don’t have to use the restroom doing the test. Use the 30 min break to look over QR formulas if you need to and if you can go outside and get some fresh air and walk around for some blood flow before RC. (Set your own timer for the break I got let back in with 5 seconds left lol)
BIO
I was surprised it was not complicated in depth questions other than 2-3. Saw a few word for word from the practice tests and the others you should have seen/learned the concepts that are on the booster videos/chapters. Way easier than booster and bootcamp questions; they were not as specific imo. (could have just been my version of the test) Boosters bio tests were better for this section
CHEM
Questions were worded differently but overall a little easier than both bootcamp and booster. Make sure you know VSPER and periodic trends. Surprisingly much less math than the practice tests. (could have just been my version of the test).
OCHEM
Hardest of SNS for me. I only had 2-3 reactions the rest were conceptual and fundamentals based. I can’t remember exactly the questions but I would say on par difficulty with booster and bootcamp in my opinion idk. IR, CMNR, HMNR values and ranking acids and bases were high yield. Bootcamp had better practice tests for this section imo.
PAT
angle ranking was the same difficulty as practice tests. Hole punching and cube counting were much easier (try to get near perfect on these 2 sections). Pattern folding was a little easier with a few difficult ones but nothing surprising. Keyholes were easier than practice tests but I sucked at this so I took the rest of time on this. Lastly, I selected C for all TFE lol. (Reasoning stated above)
RC
I had two 16 paragraph articles which were not as dense and one 9 paragraph article which very dense. Genuinely felt like I got all of them correct. I did the vanilla method with some search and destroy (I always double check to make sure I found more or less word for word the answer in the paragraph). Bootcamp was better at preparing than booster. Booster’s answer to the practice test questions were always word for word in the text, while bootcamp had variations in the wording so you have to understand what you are reading which was similar to DAT. Timing is key here, continually check the timer. Skip the question if taking too long you will be surprised how often when searching for other answers you will find the previous questions answer
QR
Questions on the test are a mix of bootcamp and booster questions but easier calculations imo. The statement sufficiency questions were the hardest for me had like 4-5 of those. Didn’t have any logarithms. Know the conversions. Timing is key here. If it’s a harder question immediately skip and then come back
LAST AND MOST IMPORTANTLY MANAGE YOUR TIME. make sure you get your timing right when taking practice. For RC, QR and PAT I literally finished at the buzzer (except for SNS, I had 10 minutes to review even with spilling my water bottle all over my desk halfway through lol) but I was not rushed so make sure you get your timing right especially those last few practice tests.
Tip when studying : check the box to simulate prometric 2 sec delay you will be surprised how much those lags add up and how it hinders you when navigating back and forth. Marking questions is key on the test so you can navigate back much easier if you want to review at the end
I know this was long but I wanted to share whatever advice you may take from this that helps. I read so many breakdowns when I started my studying which helped and during when I needed encouragement for light at the end of tunnel. Make sure you give full effort to studying so you can take it once and be done with it lol.
From my experience, booster did a good job over preparing me in regard to learning the material for the test.
Bootcamp tests for ochem and RC were better and booster bio and QR tests were better imo.
(I took the test 07/12 and received my scores 10 days later)
I truly believe I got super lucky with an easy version of test because most, if not all, of you probably have a higher GPA than me. I somehow got a 98 percentile AA and 97 percentile SNS score when my GPA is probably in bottom 5% for applicants.
Good luck you got this.
Background: Older Non-trad student economics major. Took all my science classes slowly post-grad while working full time. Finally quit my job and decided to switch careers the beginning of this year
I used the booster schedule (didn’t follow it exactly day to day, but each box was eventually checked on the schedule (except I slacked on PAT)
BIO
Watched all the videos. Did all the bio bites. Used Anki in the beginning for memorization but stopped after I went through all the cards at least once. I learned better answering questions and then learning from the mistakes. I read bootcamps’ high yield bio notes towards the end and cheat sheet were like 80-90% as effective to memorize the big picture at the end. I skipped diversity of life, only watched the videos, no question bank and only used the cheat sheets, which was a gamble I was willing to take.
CHEM
Same as bio, I watched all the videos and did all the questions. After you memorize all the formulas and actually know the concepts this was my easiest section to learn imo. Dimensional analysis was super helpful for me especially when choosing the right answer choice on the math problems.
I reread all the chapters at the end to refresh a week or two before test
OCHEM
By far the hardest for me to learn from scratch as a non-trad. Watched all the videos 2 times, Read each chapters notes. Did all the questions. This takes time to actually memorize all the reactions and reagents which was daunting at first but you will realize it isn’t that bad after you get a grasp of it. I didn’t learn any of the mechanisms except the basic SN1.SN2,E2,E1.
Tip: get a dry erase board and constantly quiz yourself on the reactions from memory by using the reaction cheat sheet and cover up the products
PAT
Angle ranking is either you got it or you don’t idk else how to study other than learning the knife and laptop methods and using the generator. Cube Counting was easy if you take your time and do the T-table and count each (it gets easier and faster with practice). Hole punching came naturally I could do it without making the 4x4 template but started using it once I realized I have no margin for error. Pattern folding was hard at first but something clicked in the last 2 weeks where I was able to see the patterns (eliminate, eliminate, eliminate is your best friend). Keyholes were my 2nd hardest to learn; this took time and usually what I spent the majority of time on the test on. Lastly, I was so terrible at TFE that it was almost comical how bad I was. It was better for me to select C on those 15 questions and hopefully get max 5 correct than spend valuable time. I knew my strengths and weaknesses and I cut my losses early in the learning process and decided to focus on the other parts and try get good scoring on questions 31-90. I slacked when studying for this section overall; I didn’t like it personally and knew PAT would be my lowest score.
RC and QR
I barely spent time on this other than reviewing practice tests. For RC,I prefer vanilla method if you are a fast reader but used search and destroy sometimes; experiment with the practice tests to see which works for you. QR was a strength of mine so I only reviewed the practice tests, once you see similar questions over and over you will understand how to do it (work rate, combinations, permutations, dice).
My practice scores are below. I started with booster 1-10 and then used a friends bootcamp (purchased a 15-day extension from their soon to be expiring account and took a test everyday for 10 days the last 2 weeks). I also redid every SNS section for both booster and bootcamp to try to get as near perfect score on retakes. After your first attempt go through every question (even the ones you got right). On the redos wait a couple days so you aren’t just memorizing the correct answer even though sometimes that’s what happened, I still marked the question and read the answer description/watched the videos (those are so helpful). The marking feature is crucial here for flagging weaknesses. Mastering the concepts behind the practice test questions was the best way to solidify what I learned in the weeks prior.
Tip: Make sure you are taking these in full under timed conditions like you would the real test. At first I was only doing each section at time and taking breaks in between but you want to build your stamina. I was getting tired towards the end of RC and making sloppy mistakes in QR when I first started doing full length tests.
Another random tip: Bootcamp has an AI chatbot feature at the bottom of the page when reviewing practice tests which was surprisingly helpful when trying to refresh concepts and not having to go back and search the chapters. It answered a variety of questions unlike boosters feature. Very helpful when wanting simple answers to conceptual questions just make sure it doesn’t hallucinate (ask it to triple check when prompting).
DAY OF TEST:
Suggest you show up 30 minutes early; I didn’t and I had a very long line. Bring ear plugs, water and a snack. I suggest you caffeinate at least an hour before so you don’t have to use the restroom doing the test. Use the 30 min break to look over QR formulas if you need to and if you can go outside and get some fresh air and walk around for some blood flow before RC. (Set your own timer for the break I got let back in with 5 seconds left lol)
BIO
I was surprised it was not complicated in depth questions other than 2-3. Saw a few word for word from the practice tests and the others you should have seen/learned the concepts that are on the booster videos/chapters. Way easier than booster and bootcamp questions; they were not as specific imo. (could have just been my version of the test) Boosters bio tests were better for this section
CHEM
Questions were worded differently but overall a little easier than both bootcamp and booster. Make sure you know VSPER and periodic trends. Surprisingly much less math than the practice tests. (could have just been my version of the test).
OCHEM
Hardest of SNS for me. I only had 2-3 reactions the rest were conceptual and fundamentals based. I can’t remember exactly the questions but I would say on par difficulty with booster and bootcamp in my opinion idk. IR, CMNR, HMNR values and ranking acids and bases were high yield. Bootcamp had better practice tests for this section imo.
PAT
angle ranking was the same difficulty as practice tests. Hole punching and cube counting were much easier (try to get near perfect on these 2 sections). Pattern folding was a little easier with a few difficult ones but nothing surprising. Keyholes were easier than practice tests but I sucked at this so I took the rest of time on this. Lastly, I selected C for all TFE lol. (Reasoning stated above)
RC
I had two 16 paragraph articles which were not as dense and one 9 paragraph article which very dense. Genuinely felt like I got all of them correct. I did the vanilla method with some search and destroy (I always double check to make sure I found more or less word for word the answer in the paragraph). Bootcamp was better at preparing than booster. Booster’s answer to the practice test questions were always word for word in the text, while bootcamp had variations in the wording so you have to understand what you are reading which was similar to DAT. Timing is key here, continually check the timer. Skip the question if taking too long you will be surprised how often when searching for other answers you will find the previous questions answer
QR
Questions on the test are a mix of bootcamp and booster questions but easier calculations imo. The statement sufficiency questions were the hardest for me had like 4-5 of those. Didn’t have any logarithms. Know the conversions. Timing is key here. If it’s a harder question immediately skip and then come back
LAST AND MOST IMPORTANTLY MANAGE YOUR TIME. make sure you get your timing right when taking practice. For RC, QR and PAT I literally finished at the buzzer (except for SNS, I had 10 minutes to review even with spilling my water bottle all over my desk halfway through lol) but I was not rushed so make sure you get your timing right especially those last few practice tests.
Tip when studying : check the box to simulate prometric 2 sec delay you will be surprised how much those lags add up and how it hinders you when navigating back and forth. Marking questions is key on the test so you can navigate back much easier if you want to review at the end
I know this was long but I wanted to share whatever advice you may take from this that helps. I read so many breakdowns when I started my studying which helped and during when I needed encouragement for light at the end of tunnel. Make sure you give full effort to studying so you can take it once and be done with it lol.
From my experience, booster did a good job over preparing me in regard to learning the material for the test.
Bootcamp tests for ochem and RC were better and booster bio and QR tests were better imo.
(I took the test 07/12 and received my scores 10 days later)
I truly believe I got super lucky with an easy version of test because most, if not all, of you probably have a higher GPA than me. I somehow got a 98 percentile AA and 97 percentile SNS score when my GPA is probably in bottom 5% for applicants.
Good luck you got this.