Help staying on track?

[Avery07]

Advertisement - Members don't see this ad

So I've got the DAT planned for about 2.5 months from now.

Since January, I've been making my way through Cliffs Bio and KBB Bio with a fine tooth comb, and basically writing an entire biology textbook in my own handwriting by combining these two and other sources. I've learned and retained an incredible amount of information from this.

Right now I have just a few chapters left-- all dealing with animal physiology, systems, and behavior. Basically I feel quite burnt out at this point from biology studying. I haven't started chemistry or organic chemistry yet. My plan was to try and knock chemistry out before the semester ends in early May and then take that last month to work on OChem while reviewing everything else.

I'm not sure that plan is going to work anymore due to mass burn out. I sit here, excited to study chemistry but wanting to vomit if anyone so much as utters the word biology.

What I'm wondering is if anyone has any tips or tricks to help stay on track or a good mechanism of integrating these different subjects together in a functional study regime.

My main problem right now is that I don't know where to start with general chemistry. I have KBB and online lectures but nothing that has a nice layout of what to cover. I guess KBB does this but I lack much faith in that book. I want to create another one of these "books" like I did in biology for both chem and ochem. It is literally like a 3in binder full of paper with every thing about any concept of biology-- all nice and divided into chapters and what not.

I don't even know where I'm going with this anymore. Help?

 

[sarora11]

I had the same problem as you did I did most of chemistry at once, but near the end I was so burnt out and uninterested that I had to take 3ish days off to recover. I then began doing a different subject everyday, staying away from chem for about a week then rotating it back in, and I was able to go everyday w/o much burn out. It keeps you focused and interested, and chem/ochem stay fresh in your head as some chapters build off previous ones. Its also not the best thing to study all bio first, because when your done with chem and ochem, do you think you'll still have all this bio you've done fresh in your head? Stop with the bio for awhile, rotate in the other two, and when your done with everything, I would quickly reread all the bio notes/pages youve written/read to freshen back up. Hope my advice helps good luck

 

[299678]

Technically you will forget 80% of information you got within 3 months. This is fact from scientific journal, so consider it when you make your study plan.

 

[Avery07]

Technically you will forget 80% of information you got within 3 months. This is fact from scientific journal, so consider it when you make your study plan.

I've actually retained nearly everything I've learned through biology. I tutor for our athletic department and also help teach biology for the university so this helps me to not loose the info.

There are different ways to learn and I'm assuming that 80% knowledge loss figure is from a superficial way of learning. When you go through all the research that I have done over the last few months and then transcribe that into a handwritten textbook, I think you're bound to remember a substantially more amount. I've spent about 4 hours a day, every day, since Christmas break working on this project. Sure, some information will be lost but through repetition of studying those specific concepts, you will eventually learn that information and store it in your mind.

 

[Avery07]

I had the same problem as you did I did most of chemistry at once, but near the end I was so burnt out and uninterested that I had to take 3ish days off to recover. I then began doing a different subject everyday, staying away from chem for about a week then rotating it back in, and I was able to go everyday w/o much burn out. It keeps you focused and interested, and chem/ochem stay fresh in your head as some chapters build off previous ones. Its also not the best thing to study all bio first, because when your done with chem and ochem, do you think you'll still have all this bio you've done fresh in your head? Stop with the bio for awhile, rotate in the other two, and when your done with everything, I would quickly reread all the bio notes/pages youve written/read to freshen back up. Hope my advice helps good luck

Sarora, that's what I was thinking about doing. My original plan was learn each one in depth and then hit everything hard for two weeks of review. I still want two weeks to review once I've went over everything but I need to get to that point first. --So yes, I do plan on reviewing bio again. I'm going to try and start mixing it up with chemistry this week so we'll see how it goes.

3 more months.. 🙁

 

[Lou42]

Hey man,

You inspired me when I first read your posts a few months back! Take a day or two off re group and hit the chemistry hard. I'm on a similar schedule as you, taking the exam first week of June.

 

[UndergradGuy7]

Watch chad's videos for chemistry, they are easy to learn with and go over most of the stuff. I would say I retain more info from them than reading KBB. After you watch them read the KBB and it should be easier/faster to read.

Then do some practice problems.

 

[flybry2000]

In the past six months, I've hit that point so many times! It just gets to the point where stuff starts leakin' out of your head. 😱 I can offer this, because I know from the course of my study. I did things in big chunks, such as Chem one month, o-chem the other, bio the next, math the next etc...One thing I learned is that I forgot alot of stuff, and had to re-review alot of stuff again, but that is the nature of repitition and determination. Once I got to practice items (i.e. Destroyer, Crack DAT, KBB sample tests) I started to realize that I spent a lot of time on the details, when maybe I didn't have to. But, I've always told myself if it's the difference between one point, then it's worth it.

So, yes it's good what your doing, because the devil is in the details as they say, but the best thing you can do for yourself is to switch it up. I'm a week and a half away from mine, and I felt like I forgot O-chem! But I spent the past few days going through my notes and the wrong answers I got from destroyer and that helped. Also, I reviewed my Bio notes, did a QR and PAT test. Plus when I came across a question I didn't know how to do the first time, it made a hell of a lot more sense the second time 3 months is plenty of to time sharpen up on everything if you do it wisely.🙂 So get to it!

Flybry2000

 

[dentalWorks]

What I think you should do...

once you finish biology, your next big tasks will be Orgo and general chem. If your looking at kaplan bb then there are about 12 chapters on each. So after biology is complete, set up 2-3 weeks to do this:
Monday: Do chapter 1 GC and chapter 1 orgo (KBB). Then review chapter 1 biology from your written notes (cliffs ap biology that is)
Tuesday: Do chapter 2 GC and chapter 2 orgo (KBB). Then review chapter 2 biology from your written notes (cliffs ap biology that is)
.
.
.do this patern until you finish up all your chapters in KBB GC and orgo
.this should take approx 2-3 weeks. If you feel a burn out coming,
.take an entire day or 2 off. Don't study, don't do anything, just go
.out and have fun
.
.

When you finish the above plan, get a copy of DAT destroyer and MATH destroyer. Set aside 10 days to do the following:
Day 1: Do first 20 problems in Orgo, first 20 in GC, and first 35 in biology, and finally do MATH destroyer test 1.
Day 2: Do the next 20 problems in orgo and GC, and the next 35 in biology, take MATH destroyer test 2
Keep doing this until you finish all of destroyer and math destroyer.



When your done with the destroyer books. You can buy topscore and just do the science problems, its up to you if you want to do them like an actual test (where you time yourself and everything) or just do them as practice problems.

When you finish with topscore (or whatever your going to use)... I would do the 10-day plan on both destroyers again.... Destroyer books are only good when you do them multiple times

Good luck

 

[Avery07]

I started to realize that I spent a lot of time on the details, when maybe I didn't have to. But, I've always told myself if it's the difference between one point, then it's worth it.

True words. I need to go write them on my wall.

Thanks for the replies everyone. I'm working through gen chem now and taking a break from the last few chapters of biology. It definitely feels nice to be in front of something new. I will start rotating those last chapters in over the next couple weeks.

Good luck to all of you studying right now.

 

[oae]

CHADS VIDEOS ARE AMAZING.

I HATED CHEMISTRY UNTIL I WATCHED THEM.

Luckily, I got them for free. But now you have to buy $20 monthly subscription to watch videos stream online. TRUST ME, it will be the best $20 you ever spent.

Chad gives you the bare essentials. AND he also throws in the most common TRICK concepts AND/OR exceptions to rules. As we all know DAT loves to test on trick concepts and exceptions to the rules.