Effective Biology Studying

[wizkidz]

OK so going through my DAT review so far and GC/OC/QR seem pretty straightforward with going through material and then quizzing myself with Chad/BC/eventually Destroyer.

Im a little confused regarding biology studying though. I am going through Cliffs and taking notes-but it feels like every other word I read is a vocab word and sounds important so its amounting to a lot of writing and doesnt feel as if its a lot of retention. Is this normal as people have gone through the material? Any ideas on how to make the biology review more effective? I was thinking of making my own flashcards (tend to learn better this way) but with taking down all the notes taking forever already dont really feel like its worth the time to write hundreds of flashcards over again? Or maybe it is? Should I ditch notes for flashcards? Find other premade flashcard sources? Thoughts?

Appreciate all the help yall!

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[krvstak]

I'm currently going through Cliff's AP Bio as well and feel the same exact way :/

 

[wizkidz]

I'm currently going through Cliff's AP Bio as well and feel the same exact way :/

Glad Im not the only one! Hopefully some of the wiser ones amongst us here can share their knowledge and expertise

 

[Bingwen]

I am almost done going through cliffs and I am at about 30 pages of notes.... I think this is a lot but as many on here have said this particular section is about breadth not depth. So I try to remember while reading to take as much of the larger picture/concepts and worry a little less about the small details. I, however, have not taken it and could be very mistaken as well though.

 

[ORamahiii]

Interested to hear what people have to say

 

[wizkidz]

bumping this because currently studying bio and struggling with this haha! Been reading through Feralis and seems to be a nicely condensed and note taken version of Cliffs. Previous test takers-how do we use these resources effectively?

 

[krvstak]

Currently studying bio as well. I'm reading thru cliffs (3rd edition - I have the 4th but I find it a bit more disorganized) and have russelldw and feralis in front of me on my laptop and condensing all three on paper.


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[tlovaj]

I rewrote Feralis' notes 2x. Then while doing bootcamp and DATqvault marked questions I gotten wrong and highlighted them. Followed up with re-reading them 3 -4x. It was not fun but it definitely helped me remember a lot of details.

 

[wizkidz]

I rewrote Feralis' notes 2x. Then while doing bootcamp and DATqvault marked questions I gotten wrong and highlighted them. Followed up with re-reading them 3 -4x. It was not fun but it definitely helped me remember a lot of details.

By rewrote do you mean literally wrote all 84 pages twice? :O Impressive!!!!!! Yea Im just not sure if I need to just keep going with the bio and figure out what I retained when I start doing BC, Destroyer, etc. or if I should try to drill down as much information now and just spread my biology learning to more days (each Cliffs chapter has so much information!)

 

[DMikes]

For bio focus on breadth over depth. Do not stress over minute details. Understand major processes and major ideas.

This being said, you all know how you learn best. i.e., kinesthetic learner, verbal, etc. Personally, I started making notecards but realized I wouldn't have time to go through them so I stopped. However, I'm sure writing them out still helped!
Towards the end of my studying time I went through notes one last time and opened a word doc and typed out, in my own words, ideas that I felt I may forget or was not as familiar with.

 

[8_man]

Granted I only got a 21 on the BIO section, I hope my advice helps.

As @DMikes said, breadth is greater than depth. I went through multiple biology resources and randomly made flashcards of topics I had trouble with. I guess you could call it the "spray and pray" method. Since I was only shooting for a 19+ in biology, I thought it worked out well.

 

[DAT Destroyer]

I get asked this question a lot so I will add my 2 cents here concerning our book the DAT Destroyer. Many students try to use the DAT Destroyer for timing, it was never intended to be used in that manner. It is for learning.

For the BIO know EVERYTHING , that includes the right answers along with all the detailed information included in the solutions. It's a tall order but if you are looking for a 20 plus score , following that path should get you there.

Another big mistake students make is waiting too late to get to the Destroyer, don't delay, it is not a book that can be completed in a few weeks.

We use our materials in our classroom setting and we do every single problem in the Destroyer with out students, that is how important we think it is.

Just my 2 cents

Nancy

 

[tlovaj]

By rewrote do you mean literally wrote all 84 pages twice? :O Impressive!!!!!! Yea Im just not sure if I need to just keep going with the bio and figure out what I retained when I start doing BC, Destroyer, etc. or if I should try to drill down as much information now and just spread my biology learning to more days (each Cliffs chapter has so much information!)

As many have stated it comes down to how you study best and what score you are aiming for. If you want that 22+ Feralis will get you there if you want somewhere in the 18-21 Cliff/Schaums will do that. For me what helped most was repitition and being able to evaluate where I was weak. Using qVault, bootcamp, and destroyer helped with that.

 

[wizkidz]

For bio focus on breadth over depth. Do not stress over minute details. Understand major processes and major ideas.

This being said, you all know how you learn best. i.e., kinesthetic learner, verbal, etc. Personally, I started making notecards but realized I wouldn't have time to go through them so I stopped. However, I'm sure writing them out still helped!
Towards the end of my studying time I went through notes one last time and opened a word doc and typed out, in my own words, ideas that I felt I may forget or was not as familiar with.

Did the typing work? I have the worst handwriting haha so I know even if i wrote my notes I probably would never refer back to them-they were mainly just to see if they could help me retain information.

 

[DMikes]

Did the typing work? I have the worst handwriting haha so I know even if i wrote my notes I probably would never refer back to them-they were mainly just to see if they could help me retain information.

Sure. I didn't really review it all that much but writing and or typing surely helps you retain information. Writing, I'm sure, moreso than typing.