How to get 20+ in bio in 2 weeks...

[polarmolar]

For those that have that post-test experience, help the rest of us DATers out!!!

For those who have scored 20+ in bio, give us a breakdown:


1. Material(s)

2. Study schedule

3. Additional words of wisdom


(lets keep this thread an advice thread and not a criticism of each others opinions thread plzzz. Leave it to the reader to choose which method/advice/etc to take and what not to take )

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[joonkimdds]

if someone put a decent answer to this thread, i will follow it for next 2 weeks

 

[DrDentista]

I got a 20 so here is what I did>


1. Material(s)> Kaplan DAT book and my bio book side by side...with a notebook to take notes on anything I didn't understand or didn't know well enough

2. Study schedule> for the DAT in general I spent 6-7 weeks average about 7-8 hours a day on a timer (helps you manage your time better so if you get up to eat turn that timer off hah); but still went out once a week to have somewhat of a life...

3. Additional words of wisdom > Study what you don't know over and over and over and over...I kept forgetting the germ layers so I wrote it all out in my notebook in a nice chart ha. If I got one thing wrong about say the Calvin cycle I'd study that whole section again.

gluck!!!

 

[funktion]

1. Materials = books, textbooks, and flashcards.

2. Study schedule = all day, everyday.

3. Additional words of wisdom = dont stop studying

 

[Dentchica]

1. materials: kaplan dat blue book and the mcat princeton review book
2. schedule: i outlined the information after making sure i knew everything i wrote down. then i studied these outlines for probably 2 weeks. the day before, i reread the whole bio section in kaplan.
3. words of wisdomon't expect to be able to prepare enough, the bio questions are incredibly random

 

[polarmolar]

if someone put a decent answer to this thread, i will follow it for next 2 weeks

thats the idea!

 

[sang86]

go with destroyer, and kaplan online materials

thats enough to put you upto 20.

 

[ECUMuscle]

Hmmm...only two weeks, eh? With the knowledge that I have now, here is what I would do if I only had two weeks for bio. Below is a rough estimate to what I would do. This is taking into account you'll be studying >10hr/day with 7-8hrs of sleep, and little bit of exercise. Don't be around anything that will distract you. Give yourself a little break when you get tired or when you feel you've read the same sentence three times in a row. It's also crucial you stay on a clean diet to keep your mind sharp.

Day 1: Take as many mock DAT/MCAT/Princeton Review (BIO GRE)/Topscore/DAT Achiever bio tests you can find.
Days 2-6: Review your answers and strengthen your weak points by trying to understand what you missed and that topic completely (not just that question).
Days 7-10: Destroyer and compliment it with Campbell Bio book/wikipedia/cliffs
Day11: Repeat Day 1, however take different tests.
Day 12-13: Review answers and try to understand what you missed.
Day 14: In the morning, review any topics you may not understand and Destroyer, then stop at lunchtime. Go fishing, shopping, or whatever to ease your mind. Don't try to keep craming, because your brain has been in overload for 2 weeks, so you need to unwind a little. Trust me.

This isn't going to guarantee a 20+ score, but it sure will help you getting there.
Oh, and two more pieces of advice you need to follow. DO NOT get on SDN forums during these 2 weeks. It will create stress, and waist your time. And when you're taking the test, trust your instincts and go with your first choice (do not change your answer). I scored a 19, however, I changed 5 questions that I originally had correct (I'm still sick to my stomach because of it). That cost me 3 or 4 pts.

Good luck.

 

[polarmolar]

Day 1: Take as many mock DAT/MCAT/Princeton Review (BIO GRE)/Topscore/DAT Achiever bio tests you can find.
Days 2-6: Review your answers and strengthen your weak points by trying to understand what you missed and that topic completely (not just that question).
Days 7-10: Destroyer and compliment it with Campbell Bio book/wikipedia/cliffs
Day11: Repeat Day 1, however take different tests.
Day 12-13: Review answers and try to understand what you missed.
Day 14: In the morning, review any topics you may not understand and Destroyer, then stop at lunchtime. Go fishing, shopping, or whatever to ease your mind. Don't try to keep craming, because your brain has been in overload for 2 weeks, so you need to unwind a little. Trust me.

Wouldn't it be wiser to take the mock tests after studying?

 

[Jeckyll]

this is what i am doing..i started studying bio ~ 2 weeks ago. DAT on thurs!

WEEK 1 - LEARNING
1) Go through Kaplan BB - outline each chapter to get it into your head
-don't just read stuff! you gotta write it down or else you'll forget it in a second, even if youre too lazy to write stuff down. or, you can reread it like 5 times which is super stupid.

2) Suplement everything w/ textbook material and expand on each section

3) Go through Cliff's AP Bio and add even more to each section of your outlines

WEEK 2 - PRACTICE
1) Go through Destroyer
-ANYTHING you get wrong or is new - write it down, go over the background, etc..

2) Take the Cliff's AP Bio tests, and other bio tests- examcrackers, AP's, kaplan, topscore, achiever, etc etc

3) LEARN WHAT YOU GOT WRONG.

4) KEEP WRITING STUFF DOWN

WEEK 3 - punish the dat & get a 30.

Cramming is the way to go.

 

[murff05]

hmm well im cramming this weekend. i cant wait for my test monday

 

[ECUMuscle]

Wouldn't it be wiser to take the mock tests after studying?

If you only have 2 weeks, you need to quickly find your strengths and weaknesses, and strategize your studying based on those.

 

[polarmolar]

keep adding people...we must tame the bio randomness!

 

[tgm4008]

1. Material(s)- Kaplan DAT book and Cliff's AP bio.

2. Study schedule- I read the Kaplan bio section twice and then Cliff's twice, making flashcards for anything I was not very familiar with.

3. Additional words of wisdom- Hope that you don't get Frapped ​

 

[ksksks]

i havent taken DAT yet but i am very nervous...

study material: KAPLAN BLUE BOOK, BARRONS DAT, Schaum's Outlines, Campbell Biology textbook 6th edition....(dunno, i studied a month yet i still feel unconfident)...finished studying Gchem and QR today. Have some time for my WORST OC + RC

 

[dent2009]

get a new brain...

 

[whoispittsnogle]

i would just like to comment that this title is very catchy. i found myself fumbling for a credit card and grabbing my iphone to call the 1800 number like i need to get this in FIVE MINUTES before the free shipping offer expires

 

[Hugh Mannity]

being a bio major and being fresh out of some bio classes is the best preparation in my opinion. took cell bio and genetics this year which was extremely helpful.

 

[Doc Numbskull]

I got a 22 in bio and all I used was the Kaplan course (online and book) and my old Bio and Anatomy textbooks when I needed to look things up. I would study Bio 3 days a week (~8hrs per day) and spend the other 4 days studying the other sections. Keep in mind though that I didn't study Ochem at all during my prep since I had just finished Ochem with a teacher who came up with questions that were 1000x harder than anything I saw on practice tests or the real DAT. I thought the Bio section wasn't very hard on the real DAT.

Good luck!

 

[TheWiredNerv]

If you are a bio major and studied (not crammed) for your classes then you'll be surprised how much you may be able to recall during the test.

I'd do DAT Destroyer and Practice tests. Look up every single thing you don't know in any question (even if you got it right cause sometimes you take a random guess) on wikipedia, bio text or whatever bio studying material you have.

Good luck!

 

[sajjy]

If you are a bio major and studied (not crammed) for your classes then you'll be surprised how much you may be able to recall during the test.

I'd do DAT Destroyer and Practice tests. Look up every single thing you don't know in any question (even if you got it right cause sometimes you take a random guess) on wikipedia, bio text or whatever bio studying material you have.

Good luck!

Even if you are not a bio major but have studied properly any of the bio courses you have taken....you will be fine...

 

[polarmolar]

Even if you are not a bio major but have studied properly any of the bio courses you have taken....you will be fine...

And for us crammer's...?

 

[Versati1ity]

If you are a bio major and studied (not crammed) for your classes then you'll be surprised how much you may be able to recall during the test.

I'd do DAT Destroyer and Practice tests. Look up every single thing you don't know in any question (even if you got it right cause sometimes you take a random guess) on wikipedia, bio text or whatever bio studying material you have.

Good luck!

I completely agree with you.

 

[Dmitry Malayev]

-DAT Destroyer
-Cliff's AP Bio
-Biology Textbook
-Anatomy & Physiology Textbook
-Biochemistry Textbook

That's everything i'm using for bio!

 

[polarmolar]

-DAT Destroyer
-Cliff's AP Bio
-Biology Textbook
-Anatomy & Physiology Textbook
-Biochemistry Textbook

That's everything i'm using for bio!

whaaaaaaaaaat...mine as well kidnap a bio professor!

 

[rose786]

...

 

[kangyc]

unless you've got all the time in the world to study, i wouldn't recommend making and studying off of flashcards because it's time-consuming and not effective for so much material in so little time. just an opinion

 

[polarmolar]

anyone else? bio begins for me in 3 days!

 

[Tina324]

polarmolar when's ur exam?

 

[Emporio206]

1) Read over kaplan bio material, notecards, etc.
2) Take bio tests w/ kaplan, topscore, achiever etc. Write down each question you missed on paper. Know what you missed by heart.
3) Start Destroyer 60 questions per day. Write down all questions you missed or you think that you needed to know better on paper.
4) Take more full bio practice tests.
5) Go over everything you have jotted down on paper, know each problem by heart. Read everything out loud to yourself, in front of mirror lol.
6) Take more Bio tests!

 

[polarmolar]

end of August Tina, what about you?

 

[Tina324]

august 18th man.... still have a few more schaums chapter left and destroyerrr!

 

[ryry]

practice everyday - no excuse.
whether it be from destroyer, kaplan, topscore, etc., you have to practice everyday by doing problems. just reading and memorizing will not improve your scores. you have to practice retrieving acquired information.

take notes
you miss a question, you write it down. and you read it. as you get toward your 2nd week, you should have few (or several) pages of notes with all the questions you've missed before. memorize them so you never miss them again.

do same set of problems more than once
not back to back, obviously. give it a day or two gap before you return to same set of biology problems. since you would have taken notes and have relearned the problems you've missed before, ideally, you should be getting every questions right. if you miss same question multiple times, you've found your weak area.

material of choice: destroyer, kaplan online, campbell bio (or any 1st yr bio TEXTbook) to look up unclear facts.

this method got me a 24 on bio. it actually works for all the sciences (23)

best of luck.

 

[acupofchai]

I got a 22 in bio, and this is what I did:

first of all, nothing is going to prepare you better than having a good base in biology. i def. recomend intro bios, organismal bio, genetics, cell bio, human phys

-read/write down your notes. get them into your head
-practice. practice. practice. The more problems you do, is much better than just bulk reading and taking notes. know your strengths and weaknesses and improve.

-full length dat's every day and keep adding to your bank of knowledge.
-NO flashcards (what a waste)

-confidence. Don't panic on testday and start skipping questions like mad. just breathe and don't second guess yourself. Stick with your gut, cuz theres a number of "judmental" questions that could go either way. don't overthink stuff.

-bio sections VERY simillar to topscore (minus the stupid taxonomy/phylogeny crap). The extent of "randomness" is very simillar's to topscore's

 

[Wonder1024]

I used Schaums and Destroyer. I read Schaums pretty much cover to cover (quite boring at times). I made notes when I came across an unfamiliar concept/term or process. Then I went through Destroyer questions and explanations, adding to my notes as I went along, when I got questions wrong. I spent the last week before my test going over my notes.

 

[HoangDDS]

i didn't read all the other posts but, here's my 2 cents.

DONT LIE TO YOURSELF. Know what you know cold. Know what you dont know. Understand as much of what you don't know. Explain it to someone else or just post a thread on this forum on the stuff ur unclear or what you dont know. I found by doing this, I understood it alot better. Plus it helps when other ppl input too, so you can see it from a different angle. And it feels good when someone else finds your thread useful.

good luck