Making Anki flash cards is taking me too long. Is this normal and worth it?

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kamara

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Please help. Do you take longer making flashcards? Am I going to reap the benefit later?

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It depends really. Which section are you doing the flash cards for, when are you planning to take the test, and how many do you do a day.
 
It depends really. Which section are you doing the flash cards for, when are you planning to take the test, and how many do you do a day.
Currently I plan on making cards for all the sections. I will be taking the exam next summer. However, I have other commitments as well like school etc.
 
It really varies from person to another. I've read some threads made by individuals who used Anki and were able to get 515+, but there are others who never even bothered (two of my friends got 515, and 516 w/o doing any type of flashcards). Are you someone who uses flashcards during school?
Generally, I am told to do more practice questions which makes sense. The MCAT is a timed test designed to test your problem-solving ability than memorizing definitions.
I would suggest that you try and limit the amount of flashcards you do to specific subjects that require pure memorization. For example, don't waste time doing cards for equations (physics or chemistry) because doing practice questions should be sufficient to help you memorize them.
For me, psychology/sociology is the only section I am using flashcards for, because I don't have any background knowledge of these topics (I didn't take any psy or soc classes). Basically, my flashcards are about types of theories, and some definitions that I never came across.
 
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Depends how much time you have until your test date. I ANKI'd all my psych/soc terms, orgo, & gen chem concepts and that took AGES (an entire semester)... but I was also in school during that time. I'm glad I did though, because I can basically go over psych/soc terms very very quickly, multiple times. If anything, I 100% recommend it for psych/soc since that section is memorization heavy.

It also took me about two days over winter break to review ALL of the major gen chem/orgo concepts and become refreshed.

I test in Jan, so here's to hoping that it worked out.
 
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Depends how much time you have until your test date. I ANKI'd all my psych/soc terms, orgo, & gen chem concepts and that took AGES (an entire semester)... but I was also in school during that time. I'm glad I did though, because I can basically go over psych/soc terms very very quickly, multiple times. If anything, I 100% recommend it for psych/soc since that section is memorization heavy.

It also took me about two days over winter break to review ALL of the major gen chem/orgo concepts and become refreshed.

I test in Jan, so here's to hoping that it worked out.
What about for Biology and Biochemistry?
 
I've only been making cards for psych/soc + random facts that I encounter that I should know. I don't make cards for concepts that I already know well because it's a waste of time.
 
I feel your pain.

I don't usually do flashcards, so maybe I'm doing it wrong, but it definitely helps typing out information in your own words about a concept or whatever. I do a Chapter separately from doing flashcards so I can get exposed to the material twice as much. My flashcard making takes about half the time I go over a Chapter.
 
@ac62994 sorry, what do you mean you do a chapter separately from making a note card? Does that mean you take notes, and then make note cards?
 
It really varies from person to another. I've read some threads made by individuals who used Anki and were able to get 515+, but there are others who never even bothered (two of my friends got 515, and 516 w/o doing any type of flashcards). Are you someone who uses flashcards during school?
Generally, I am told to do more practice questions which makes sense. The MCAT is a timed test designed to test your problem-solving ability than memorizing definitions.
I would suggest that you try and limit the amount of flashcards you do to specific subjects that require pure memorization. For example, don't waste time doing cards for equations (physics or chemistry) because doing practice questions should be sufficient to help you memorize them.
For me, psychology/sociology is the only section I am using flashcards for, because I don't have any background knowledge of these topics (I didn't take any psy or soc classes). Basically, my flashcards are about types of theories, and some definitions that I never came across.
How about Biology and Biochemistry, how do you study for it?
 
For me, I've always liked Biology and it's derivatives (Anatomy, Biochemistry, Physiology, Pathology), I never really struggled with it (hence my interest in the medical field ;)). Therefore, I did not need to use flash cards or notes (except for one specific topic). I would understand if you use opt to use them since there are many things you are required to know.
The specific topic that I did not mention is Amino Acids. It is one of the most important things to remember for the MCAT.
If I were to make flash cards, I would start with amino acids (one letter and three letter abbreviations, structures, rough pKa estimates), hormones of the digestive system, types of cells of the immune system, organs and hormones of endocrine system, neurotransmitters, and so on.
The list is long and certainly not everything I mentioned requires flashcards, this is why you want to limit it to things you are very weak/unfamiliar with.
Once again, I would like to emphasize the importance of practice. I'm not sure what prep books you are using for biology section but currently, I am doing TBR, khan academy, AAMC for biology. I like TBR because they are full of experiments and long dense passages. On the other hand, KA has short passages that I generally do if my time is limited or if I am tired and don't have the energy to go through a full passage, and the AAMC are important for obvious reasons.
 
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For me, I've always liked Biology and it's derivatives (Anatomy, Biochemistry, Physiology, Pathology), I never really struggled with it (hence my interest in the medical field ;)). Therefore, I did not need to use flash cards or notes (except for one specific topic). I would understand if you use opt to use them since there are many things you are required to know.
The specific topic that I did not mention is Amino Acids. It is one of the most important things to remember for the MCAT.
If I were to make flash cards, I would start with amino acids (one letter and three letter abbreviations, structures, rough pKa estimates), hormones of the digestive system, types of cells of the immune system, organs and hormones of endocrine system, neurotransmitters, and so on.
The list is long and certainly not everything I mentioned requires flashcards, this is why you want to limit it to things you are very weak/unfamiliar with.
Once again, I would like to emphasize the importance of practice. I'm not sure what prep books you are using for biology section but currently, I am doing TBR, khan academy, AAMC for biology. I like TBR because they are full of experiments and long dense passages. On the other hand, KA has short passages that I generally do if my time is limited or if I am tired and don't have the energy to go through a full passage, and the AAMC are important for obvious reasons.
I am using TBR
 
@ac62994 sorry, what do you mean you do a chapter separately from making a note card? Does that mean you take notes, and then make note cards?

Yes, I found it too distracting and too long for one sitting to read Chapter and type cards.

I read the Chapter thoroughly (highlighting/notes within the book) without getting distracted from making a card, then after I process the information and find a good span of time I do my cards (usually after a break). It helps, because within a chapter there are some referencing to different sections and knowing those connections helps me know how to organize my cards and such. And, of course, acts as another go of reviewing.
 
What about for Biology and Biochemistry?

I would've ANKI'd those sections too but ended up not having time (there's just WAY too many terms, facts, general knowledge). With the amount of time I would spend ANKI'ing bio/biochem, it would almost be a futile effort. I just ended up reading bio chapters a few times over and found understanding the content more important than memorizing small details.
 
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