- Joined
- May 16, 2007
- Messages
- 46
- Reaction score
- 1
You guys - I really would appreciate your opinions.
I'm not ecstatic and a bit bummed...my school currently does not have an advisory board so I wasn't sure where I stood with these scores...and would appreciate a reality check from you all...
Here goes:
PAT 25
QR 19
RC 19
BIO 21
GC 20
OC 21
TS 21
AA 20
I don't think I'm going to retake it, but I guess I'm worried that it may not be that competitive this cycle. I've seen so many people do around 23 that I'm not sure where I stand...
In terms of my experience...here goes:
Bio - I think the best thing is to make sure you know the concepts behind all of the relevant topics. By relevant...when you're taking practice exams, you'll run into themes that reoccur again and again (embryology/photosyn/cell respir/endo/etc...)
However...the details are important too. But that doesn't mean know the concepts and move on...make sure to know the details too. Ok - this isn't helping...basically...I think the best thing to do is to take as many tests as you possibly can and when you get those questions wrong...takes notes on it and learn that entire topic. Don't just rely on Achiever and Topscore...Kaplan helps...so does AP test books like cliff's ap tests/REA's tests etc...even your old bio exams...Destroyer will be a huge help as well. Do not just memorize exams and their answers...talk yourself through them.
Gchem and Orgo - I don't think you guys should worry. It was a mixture of concepts and calculations for me (none required actually grinding out numbers...just set ups). I'm a bit disappointed with GC as I studied for it...but I guess I deserved OC since I studied for one week before test. (Bio was the one that took the most time for me). Like everyone else...make sure to know Destroyer for this. In addition however...AP Chem by Princeton helped too. Their two exams (esp conceptual questions) will add on to more practice.
QR - gosh I made a huge mistake...I skipped some questions (instead of guessing and moving on) thinking I could go back...and ran out of time...HUGE mistake...make sure to guess and mark! I don't know how to tell you to prep for this section but to know how to solve word problems...Kaplan word prob sets will help...Destroyer will give you a good basic foundation too. TS and Achiever will help as well, but I must say they will give you a false sense of feeling confident. Their questions sorta had a theme and didnt have much variety its just another good source of practice materials.
RC ok this one I planned on the 10 minute reading/10minute answering but that may not work out so well once you take it Im a poor reader and definitely a slow reader the questions do include inference/opinions/tone Qs and the nitty gritty go find in the passage Qs. The first passage took me about 22 minutes to complete and the 2nd passage took around 24 so I knew I couldnt read the 3rd passage. I looked at the title and read the first and last paragraph and tried to make the best guesses. I wouldnt recommend the go directly into the Qs and find the answers method, as understanding the tone of the passage helps you in answering the broader questions
PAT I think for me what worked was just taking a practice test each night for two weeks before exam. During the test I started panicking because I was on hold punching with 20 minutes to go but the cube counting was a breeze and the paper folding was simple too. Angles people said it was bad so what I did was lean back and try to figure out smallest/biggest and look at the choices then youd know youre on the right track or reverse look at your choices so you know whats maybe 2nd and 3rd smallest and pick the largest to get your answer I dont know the lean back thing really helped me a lot. For hold punching what I did was quickly draw a square on my board and divide into 4. Then I using the symmetry concept, drew circles where it shouldve punched through.
Hope this helps and ask me anything.
I'm not ecstatic and a bit bummed...my school currently does not have an advisory board so I wasn't sure where I stood with these scores...and would appreciate a reality check from you all...
Here goes:
PAT 25
QR 19
RC 19
BIO 21
GC 20
OC 21
TS 21
AA 20
I don't think I'm going to retake it, but I guess I'm worried that it may not be that competitive this cycle. I've seen so many people do around 23 that I'm not sure where I stand...
In terms of my experience...here goes:
Bio - I think the best thing is to make sure you know the concepts behind all of the relevant topics. By relevant...when you're taking practice exams, you'll run into themes that reoccur again and again (embryology/photosyn/cell respir/endo/etc...)
However...the details are important too. But that doesn't mean know the concepts and move on...make sure to know the details too. Ok - this isn't helping...basically...I think the best thing to do is to take as many tests as you possibly can and when you get those questions wrong...takes notes on it and learn that entire topic. Don't just rely on Achiever and Topscore...Kaplan helps...so does AP test books like cliff's ap tests/REA's tests etc...even your old bio exams...Destroyer will be a huge help as well. Do not just memorize exams and their answers...talk yourself through them.
Gchem and Orgo - I don't think you guys should worry. It was a mixture of concepts and calculations for me (none required actually grinding out numbers...just set ups). I'm a bit disappointed with GC as I studied for it...but I guess I deserved OC since I studied for one week before test. (Bio was the one that took the most time for me). Like everyone else...make sure to know Destroyer for this. In addition however...AP Chem by Princeton helped too. Their two exams (esp conceptual questions) will add on to more practice.
QR - gosh I made a huge mistake...I skipped some questions (instead of guessing and moving on) thinking I could go back...and ran out of time...HUGE mistake...make sure to guess and mark! I don't know how to tell you to prep for this section but to know how to solve word problems...Kaplan word prob sets will help...Destroyer will give you a good basic foundation too. TS and Achiever will help as well, but I must say they will give you a false sense of feeling confident. Their questions sorta had a theme and didnt have much variety its just another good source of practice materials.
RC ok this one I planned on the 10 minute reading/10minute answering but that may not work out so well once you take it Im a poor reader and definitely a slow reader the questions do include inference/opinions/tone Qs and the nitty gritty go find in the passage Qs. The first passage took me about 22 minutes to complete and the 2nd passage took around 24 so I knew I couldnt read the 3rd passage. I looked at the title and read the first and last paragraph and tried to make the best guesses. I wouldnt recommend the go directly into the Qs and find the answers method, as understanding the tone of the passage helps you in answering the broader questions
PAT I think for me what worked was just taking a practice test each night for two weeks before exam. During the test I started panicking because I was on hold punching with 20 minutes to go but the cube counting was a breeze and the paper folding was simple too. Angles people said it was bad so what I did was lean back and try to figure out smallest/biggest and look at the choices then youd know youre on the right track or reverse look at your choices so you know whats maybe 2nd and 3rd smallest and pick the largest to get your answer I dont know the lean back thing really helped me a lot. For hold punching what I did was quickly draw a square on my board and divide into 4. Then I using the symmetry concept, drew circles where it shouldve punched through.
Hope this helps and ask me anything.
