Keep forgetting the content

[harkkam]

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After a week or two I cant seem to remember the finer details of something I read. Like I cant remember details of about the oxidation numbers in organic chemistry for example. Or the ph equations.

I dont want to keep going back and re-reading material, how can I better remember things other than just content review.

I am using Berkeley Review and I feel like EK books kind of tell you what you need to know but dont show you how to use it.

Im not sure how many times I need to re-read a BR chapter, re-reading it once doesnt seem to be doing it for me

 

[StayingFocused]

you should use mnemonic devices and picture the things in your head.

Also, repetition is key.

you need to study with PURPOSE not through osmosis...

 

[harkkam]

hmm...

would flash cards help?

 

[erskine]

the way i studied, i went through all my review books, 1 chapter a day, alternating between all the subjects. And on the fifth day i would review all the previous chapters. I also made 3 total passes through content, with the first pass being the most meticulous and the others more to re-acquaint myself with the material. When dealing with huge quantities of material like on the MCAT, repetition is definitely the key.

i also agree with stayingfocused (what an appropriate username) that you need to study with purpose and energy. Try and get yourself excited about learning all these topics and you'll retain the information longer. Try and make connections between disparate topics, make paradigm shifts in your thinking, try to get as involved in studying as you can.

 

[mymembernames]

the way i studied, i went through all my review books, 1 chapter a day, alternating between all the subjects. And on the fifth day i would review all the previous chapters. I also made 3 total passes through content, with the first pass being the most meticulous and the others more to re-acquaint myself with the material. When dealing with huge quantities of material like on the MCAT, repetition is definitely the key.

i also agree with stayingfocused (what an appropriate username) that you need to study with purpose and energy. Try and get yourself excited about learning all these topics and you'll retain the information longer. Try and make connections between disparate topics, make paradigm shifts in your thinking, try to get as involved in studying as you can.

I have a question for you: looking back do you think it would have been more beneficial for you to have done more practice passages than going over the material 3x? Just wondering. I want to go back and reread all the chapters, but feel that I wont have enough time to do as many practice passages.

 

[rom73085]

After a week or two I cant seem to remember the finer details of something I read. Like I cant remember details of about the oxidation numbers in organic chemistry for example. Or the ph equations.

I dont want to keep going back and re-reading material, how can I better remember things other than just content review.

I am using Berkeley Review and I feel like EK books kind of tell you what you need to know but dont show you how to use it.

Im not sure how many times I need to re-read a BR chapter, re-reading it once doesnt seem to be doing it for me

To the OP, I feel the same way, but honestly what I'm finding is that once you start doing enough practice problems what you learned begins to come back, and the stuff that doesn't, you go back and relearn it and eventually you start filling all the gaps in to where there aren't any (at least thats the goal). After having gone through the BR books for Physics, Gen. Chem, EK Bio, and starting BR Orgo, and beginning my second pass at EK Bio, I sometimes get discouraged when I forget an important detail, but it's important to just keep pressing on. Biology is my weak section and I'm finding the way to keep details straight is to copy down key points onto index cards. Sure, it takes way longer than just reading it through, but even if I never look at the index cards again, simply writing it down and taking the time to really focus on the content helps with the material sticking.

 

[jthan]

I study the MCAT with the approach that this is review, so I feel the basics should be in my head already. After I have gone over each chapter and complete the given passages, I write down all of the forgotten details (important equations esp.) on a piece of paper, and review them before I sleep every night. I started studying for the MCAT for only a couple of weeks, and this is the approach I took. You should try it. 🙂

 

[SN2ed]

You should be pounding the concepts into your head through tons of practice passages. Actually applying what you've read helps it stick.

 

[erskine]

I have a question for you: looking back do you think it would have been more beneficial for you to have done more practice passages than going over the material 3x? Just wondering. I want to go back and reread all the chapters, but feel that I wont have enough time to do as many practice passages.

well, i still probably did ~10 passages a day when making my second and third reviewing content passes. I mean, they weren't extraordinarily detailed, more to remind myself of certain tricky parts for me (ie maybe a few days total for each pass).

I know its a common mentality to keep on pounding out those practice passages, but i feel, like with content review, everybody has different thresholds and where you face diminishing returns for your efforts. This is why some are able to score high using only EK, and others require a more intense approach with BR. I probably only finished less than 75% of the BR passages and doubt if i had finished all of them my score would've increased. Likewise, its also possible that my score would've been the same if i had just done 1 pass through content review. Who knows? But if you're pressed for time, you'll discover that like SN2ed said, you can retain material if you do passages where you have to apply them. I was fairly shaky with gchem and intro bio concepts, being several years removed from them and having gotten through those classes by cramming (thus not retaining really anything afterwards) so i knew i would require additional reinforcement with several passes through content.

 

[rayjay]

I too am finding myself in the same problem. ESPECIALLY with the PS section. Verbal...well there's nothing to remember and I'm in a medical science graduate program, so bio is pretty well drilled in there.

I'm only studying about 3hrs a day in the evening because I have to be at the lab in the day and my PI isn't thrilled about me taking lab time to study MCAT. Typical.

I'm starting to FREAK OUT!!! I write June 17. May is purely practice problems and AAMC tests.