How to remember all this stuff? Help Please!

[Ray Of Light]

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So I've read over the Kaplan book twice and I still dont remember most of the stuff I've read... especially the Bio, GChem and OChem. I want to move on to other books but I think I need to master Kaplan before I start with new stuff. I just cant seem to remember all this stuff. Theres way too much info to memorize. How do you guys do it? Help please.

 

[umza]

Good luck with dental school then, hahaha!!

You've got to find out your learning style, visual, auditory, kinetic, literal, and
then structure what you learn in a style that works for you....
Speak things aloud, write them out, draw flow charts, read about stuff, teach something to someone, watch videos about the topic, until you figure out how to compartmentalize your info for rapid recall, you will be afloat in a sea of info.. 😀

 

[Sbosu]

I think the best way to study is to look at the material on a smaller scale, like building a house one brick at a time, dont focus on the big picture so much (becuase there is a lot of material to know) just lay one brick at a time. I think you may be looking at the big picture too much and rushing through the book and not really reading it and comprehending the material completely. Once you start mastering the smaller concepts they will come together eventually.

 

[Ron Jeremy]

The most efficient method to "memorize" all the info for the DAT depends on the topic AND your practice scores.

You stated that you "read" the Kaplan Blue book twice and you're still having a hard time retaining the info. I also had to read certain portions of the book several times over and over, but other sections I only read a few times. I based how much time I spent on each section based on the results of my practice tests. I.E. if I missed several questions cell bio, I would keep reading the cell bio portion over, and made sure I understood why I missed the questions.

What were lowest scores of your practice tests, and what specific portions did you do the worst in? For example, if you keep missing questions related to DNA duplication, transcription mechanisms vs. translation mechanisms, then your problem isn't memorization, it is that you don't understand molecular cell bio.

A forming a solid understanding of the key concepts that you keep getting wrong on practice tests will drastically boost your ability to keep information straight.

 

[BodybldgDoc]

So I've read over the Kaplan book twice and I still dont remember most of the stuff I've read... especially the Bio, GChem and OChem. I want to move on to other books but I think I need to master Kaplan before I start with new stuff. I just cant seem to remember all this stuff. Theres way too much info to memorize. How do you guys do it? Help please.

dude if you are having trouble merely memorizing the kaplan book, you are going to have a hard time staying in dental school. Active learning would be the best way to prepare for the test for example writing stuff out or reading aloud, making flashcards. Keep memorizing until you can write it all out with your eyes closed if asked about a particular question. you need to regurgitate material like its second nature.Smarter people can have a once read through and that would be more than sufficient however in your case, If you dont get it the first time then read it for a second, third, fourth or however many times it takes you to make the info stick. Now get out there and make it happen.

 

[delsol7]

#1 Flash cards.

But before you try to memorize, try to understand the concept of it. Memorizing won't last long......

 

[chumpe]

DO PROBLEMS!!! I ALSO HAD HARD TIME JUST TRYING TO MEMORIZE SO I JUST STARTED DOING PROBLEMS. When I got questions wrong, I would go back and review the section. Also problems help you retain small details that is KEY to DAT. Where find problems? I used destroyer, Kaplan subject tests (if you do search on SDN, you can find link to where to download them😉). Practice tests. Then move onto Top Score and Achiever and see where you stand. Rereview on questions you got wrong. Hope this helps.

 

[poc91nc]

So I've read over the Kaplan book twice and I still dont remember most of the stuff I've read... especially the Bio, GChem and OChem. I want to move on to other books but I think I need to master Kaplan before I start with new stuff. I just cant seem to remember all this stuff. Theres way too much info to memorize. How do you guys do it? Help please.

Large bodies of information serve as a reference source. If you want to memorize things...or retain important information, do problems. Lot's of them...once you do enough problems, you will be able to classify them and this makes it easier to mentally map things. You begin to see generic patterns and all that stuff.

So, I think you should stop worrying about kaplan, and start cracking on problems. While you're doing them, keep a textbook handy, and a stack of note cards. This is much more efficient than trying to memorize a book.

Good luck

 

[shamrock2006]

Do some problems..review flash cards...understand concepts..these are all important. But in my opinion, the most important thing to know is that you wont know everything. If that was the case..we'd all have gotten 30's across the board. Dont stress

 

[TheWiredNerv]

Flashcards never worked for me except for ochem reactions. I found that I always remembered something I took extra time to research either online or in a text book. Usually in achiever/topscore/destroyer there are problems that have terms you never seen before or don't really quite grasp completely. For these look everything up and it should engrain more easily in your brain.

 

[Ray Of Light]

Thank you guys for all your suggestions...you guys rock.

 

[s0chon02]

Like others mentioned, do practice problems. I recommend DAT destroyer, but it's your choice since it's bit pricey. Try not to concentrate on memorizing every little detail from the blue book, once you do practice problems and re-enforce the concepts, you'll starat to see the big picture.

Good luck!