im done im done im done 6/23/07

[eravin99]

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i have observed on sdn since early may when i began studying, so i figure it may help some people with my feelings on exam.

study materials used: kaplan class, destroyer, topscore, achiever, campbells, online stuff

duration: may till now. everyday basically in beginning for about 7-8 hours per day, last month only about 5 hours per day

bio 21
gen chem 24
orgo 22
perceptual 20
quant 17
total sci 22
AA 21


bio: if i could do bio, anyone can. it was my weakest subject going in and i still feel it was one of my strongest going into exam. ts and achiever are very helpful. i went into campbell text and it was only necessary for some things. def too much info than i needed to know. no behavioral or plants on my exam. most questions were not too conceptual. kaplan is very efficient to use as a backbone to studying for bio. there are prob 4-5 conceptual questions, but you prob won't be able to study exactly for these. had embryology, some physiology, basic cell make-up, two graphs.

chem: i have never gotten above 19 on my ts or achiever. worked hard for this part and usually still got so many wrong. destroyer is more than enough. not many calculations, so don't waste your time practicing. know units, periodic table trends, acid-base stuff, thermodynamics

orgo: usually my best subject. i don't know what i got wrong. basic rxns, nothing too crazy.

perceptual: not as bad as i thought it would be. i thought TFE and keyholes were the most difficult. angles weren't that bad - most like ts. folding not too bad. again, ts and achiever are good enough to use. hole punching easier than achiever.

quant: i was tired and math is my worst subject. i didn't study for it much because i kind of knew i would get around this score. some word problems, lot of algebra. some question, i just guessed. know trig and geometry well

rc: some questions on tone, but none that were really stumping. my biggest advice is read it first and then answer questions. i did the kaplan way and i had more than enough time left to go back.

only other advice is
1. don't go on sdn for bout two weeks before exam, i stayed off and it paid off because as good as this site is, it makes ppl nervous and may hurt right before exam more than help seeing others scores
2. kaplan class is a waste, but the material i feel was very good. it breaks down everything you have to know. it may leave out some details, but if the subject isn't in the kaplan book, you don't really need to know it.
3. relax... i am the most nervous person for exams, but it paid off to just calm down during it. btw, i was supposed to take my exam last week but they cancelled me because there was no power in the building. i left for vacation that same day and came back a week later to take it. it was prob for the best

any other questions, just ask :0)

 

[jlee1986]

hey great scores! i'm sure you're glad being done with the test...especially after it was cancelled and you had to take it after a one week vacation lol. i was just wondering what you had been getting on your achiever and topscore exams...i'm in the process of taking them right now and i can't seem to get above a 20 in a lot of the sections. i still have till august 16th (that's when my test is) to study, but i guess i'm just not confident about what i've learned thus far. again congrats on your scores! 🙂

 

[crhoody12]

when you say that the kaplan information is a good resource (other than the class), do you think that the online kaplan question bank for the 4 sections/subject tests are good sources of questions that may be representative of the exam?

 

[xdianaax]

Good job!! Good luck with the rest of your app.

 

[eravin99]

1. my scores on ts and achiever are on the forum somewhere if you can search under my username to see previous posts. i cant find it right now, but i did about 18 and 19 on achiever and 19 and 20 on ts. if you're scoring consistently around there, you should def be fine for real thing.


2. kaplan is so subjective because some ppl say its too easy, some say its accurate. its all a personal opinion. for me, i thought it was harder than some of the other practice exams i took. my strategy was in the beginning to study all week, review fri, test sat with kaplan. review sun. by the 3rd week i started doing other exams and other materials. kaplan is def a good starter, but unless you're doing stellar in all sections, studying usually requires some outside sources like ts and achiever.

hope that helps!

 

[Smile823]

Awesome Job! Ive been studying for a while and I'm taking my test next week. I was wondering if you remember any particularly time-consuming genetics problems on your Bio section (??).

GChem- My terrible fear. I know it's mostly conceptual, but was any of that tricky? If so I'll review it even more.

OChem- Dr. Romano seems to stress E2 reactions a lot, with different types of reagents. (bulky bases, etc). Should I be okay with the basics of E2 rxns?

Thanks so much for your input! 🙂

-Smile

 

[drteeth]

awesome scores!!! congrats!!

 

[eravin99]

i think one genetics question, but it was simple. something with hemophilia, color-blindness or blood groups. don't go too crazy with the math for genetics, it will be pretty straight foward.

gc just go through destroyer, it's prob the best shot to see what you know and need to work on.

orgo know the difference clearly between all the sn1, sn2, e1 and e2. know that E@ can go either anti=zaitsev or zaitsev depending on if base is bulky or not!!