Ferali's Notes

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supergenius310

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Hey guys,

Just want to suggest to everyone studying for the DAT to definitely use Ferali's Notes for the Biology portion. I'm currently on page 50 out of the 62 pages of notes. I can tell you that my biology knowledge has improved TREMENDOUSLY from using her notes after just reading Cliff's the first time through. Cliff's is essential, but Ferali's notes puts things from many different sources all together so that you don't miss anything. I did a practice DAT qVault when i was only on page 30 of her notes and got a 20 . . . I highly recommend it to everyone. You can download the notes by just searching Ferali's biology notes on google.

Also, I would suggest only reading 5-10 pages max per day, because you will not retain a lot if you just try to finish it in a few days.

Good luck to everyone on their exams!
 
I believe the key to bio is maximum exposure. I used Cliffs, Barron's, Campbell's and Feralis' notes. Each test is different. Some are completely contained in one book, some not. You can eliminate the risk by using multiple sources. For my test, only feralis' notes had every answer.
 
I believe the key to bio is maximum exposure. I used Cliffs, Barron's, Campbell's and Feralis' notes. Each test is different. Some are completely contained in one book, some not. You can eliminate the risk by using multiple sources. For my test, only feralis' notes had every answer.

i know many people claim to focus on the big picture, instead of memorizing every little detail for bio. what is your opinion on this? sometimes i drive myself crazy trying to memorize every little thing
 
i know many people claim to focus on the big picture, instead of memorizing every little detail for bio. what is your opinion on this? sometimes i drive myself crazy trying to memorize every little thing

Unfortunately, it's different for every test. I had questions that required BOTH intimate detail and broad conceptual knowledge in one question. That's why I hit bio from every front. When I got to it, it was plain easy because I had the detail and knew how it fit in on a wider scale. I say be sure to know the bigger picture and focus on detail as time allows.
 
I would focus on practicing problems and exposing myself to as many problems as possible. Then looking at feralis's notes. I keep forgetting things off his notes, so I am using it more as a reference for things I forgotten. I read through the whole thing once, read through AP cliff's and Barron's. I still forget things, best thing for me to do is make my own notes using ferarlis's notes after encountering questions that I am weak on.
 
For bio, I wrote down all of Alan's notes (?) word for word, then went through all the DAT destroyer biology problems twice, did all of the bio problems in datbootcamp and in any practice tests I could get my hands on.

Once you write down all of Alan's notes (definitely covers 95% of all bio material I'd say), it's just like recalling and solidifying old info you've already learned when going through the others. Helped me go from 17 to 22 on bio
 
For bio, I wrote down all of Alan's notes (?) word for word, then went through all the DAT destroyer biology problems twice, did all of the bio problems in datbootcamp and in any practice tests I could get my hands on.

Once you write down all of Alan's notes (definitely covers 95% of all bio material I'd say), it's just like recalling and solidifying old info you've already learned when going through the others. Helped me go from 17 to 22 on bio

Lol, I'm not sure if memorizing Alan's note is a productive thing to do at this point, but I think Ferali's notes are totally sufficient before practicing problems. 🙂
 
Yea like most people said, exposure to as many resources as possible is key. I did Cliffs, KBB, Feralis notes, Alan's notes, and I got a 19. VERY concept-based, make sure you don't just memorize, but actually understand. Also know certain techniques, like microarray. Random question I got dealt with that, and electrophoresis as well.
 
Go on google and type in "Ferali's Biology notes" and the first link will be for DATBootcamp, which has the downloadable file.
 
Glad you guys have been finding them helpful. Regarding Alan's notes, I think I incorporated literally everything from his notes into my own, but please let me know if you come across any topics that I didn't cover.

As far as how to use these notes - I would absolutely recommend you first read a source like Cliff's to gain an understanding of all the material, then use the notes to reinforce that material and keep it in your head. The notes are written in a very condensed way and that can make them pretty difficult to learn new concepts from. I pulled material from as many sources as possible to include all the details that one source missed but another covered.

To-do list for Version 2:
- Start adding new material from Destroyer and Qvault, because my notes don't cover anything from those sources yet
- Some rewrites to make it less condensed and easier to understand in certain areas
- Completely rewrite the taxonomy section. Also, at some point I link to another document of mine containing some taxonomy tables and I completely forgot to include that...
- Adding more links to images, because I've found that a single image can sometimes convey information more clearly than pages of notes
- If time allows, add new material from practice tests (will probably be pushed to Version 3)

I'm always open to feedback and suggestions, so let me know if you guys have any.
 
Glad you guys have been finding them helpful. Regarding Alan's notes, I think I incorporated literally everything from his notes into my own, but please let me know if you come across any topics that I didn't cover.

As far as how to use these notes - I would absolutely recommend you first read a source like Cliff's to gain an understanding of all the material, then use the notes to reinforce that material and keep it in your head. The notes are written in a very condensed way and that can make them pretty difficult to learn new concepts from. I pulled material from as many sources as possible to include all the details that one source missed but another covered.

To-do list for Version 2:
- Start adding new material from Destroyer and Qvault, because my notes don't cover anything from those sources yet
- Some rewrites to make it less condensed and easier to understand in certain areas
- Completely rewrite the taxonomy section. Also, at some point I link to another document of mine containing some taxonomy tables and I completely forgot to include that...
- Adding more links to images, because I've found that a single image can sometimes convey information more clearly than pages of notes
- If time allows, add new material from practice tests (will probably be pushed to Version 3)

I'm always open to feedback and suggestions, so let me know if you guys have any.

You're so awesome. Thank you for this compilation, you're a rock star.
 
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