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MCAT in a month...need to boost B/B and C/P
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Are you receiving 123-125 ranges on non-AAMC exams, particularly Kaplan/TPR? If so, those scores are probably deflated (unless they're Next Step exams). If those are AAMC exam scores, then you're probably lacking in content knowledge/reasoning skills.
Try to find trends in concepts you consistently get wrong and spend a little more time on them.
For C/P, a strong understanding of biochemistry, carbonyl chemistry, and acid/base chemistry was important and high yield on my practice exams. Understand how amino acid side chains interact with one another and within the active site of an enzyme. What does a Lineweaver-Burk plot tell you? Can you understand enzyme kinetics if the information is in chart form as opposed to graph form? What might happen if you substitute an acidic side chain with a hydrophobic one?
With respect to physics, try doing simple practice problems first so you understand the formulas and how to apply them. Units are important and helped me on my exams when I couldn't recall a formula. Khan Academy has great videos for physics that helped the information stick. Practice problems are crucial for this portion. I personally liked using the TPR Science workbook for physics because they ask a ton of straight forward physics questions that can help hone down weaknesses. Weirdly enough, an old SAT book I found in my house worked well for physics. The energy (E = hv) equation showed up a lot for me.
For B/B, you will also need a strong understanding of biochemistry (amino acids, etc.) and how they tie into major biology concepts. I liked using Anki for this section to memorize information like hormones; otherwise, this section for me was very graph-interpretation heavy. If you have trouble understanding charts and graphs, try looking at the little experiments in the Campbell biology textbook most people use and explain them aloud or consider looking through scientific journal articles and interpreting those. Map out relationships by hand if the passage is too confusing and don't get bogged down by the seven thousand protein acronyms they use in the passages. Sometimes AAMC will show five figures but will only ask questions on two of them. Don't be intimidated by them and it's okay if you don't understand every single chart/graph/table at first glance.
Practice and review is key. Make sure to do the question packs and section banks (twice) prior to your exam date.
Try to find trends in concepts you consistently get wrong and spend a little more time on them.
For C/P, a strong understanding of biochemistry, carbonyl chemistry, and acid/base chemistry was important and high yield on my practice exams. Understand how amino acid side chains interact with one another and within the active site of an enzyme. What does a Lineweaver-Burk plot tell you? Can you understand enzyme kinetics if the information is in chart form as opposed to graph form? What might happen if you substitute an acidic side chain with a hydrophobic one?
With respect to physics, try doing simple practice problems first so you understand the formulas and how to apply them. Units are important and helped me on my exams when I couldn't recall a formula. Khan Academy has great videos for physics that helped the information stick. Practice problems are crucial for this portion. I personally liked using the TPR Science workbook for physics because they ask a ton of straight forward physics questions that can help hone down weaknesses. Weirdly enough, an old SAT book I found in my house worked well for physics. The energy (E = hv) equation showed up a lot for me.
For B/B, you will also need a strong understanding of biochemistry (amino acids, etc.) and how they tie into major biology concepts. I liked using Anki for this section to memorize information like hormones; otherwise, this section for me was very graph-interpretation heavy. If you have trouble understanding charts and graphs, try looking at the little experiments in the Campbell biology textbook most people use and explain them aloud or consider looking through scientific journal articles and interpreting those. Map out relationships by hand if the passage is too confusing and don't get bogged down by the seven thousand protein acronyms they use in the passages. Sometimes AAMC will show five figures but will only ask questions on two of them. Don't be intimidated by them and it's okay if you don't understand every single chart/graph/table at first glance.
Practice and review is key. Make sure to do the question packs and section banks (twice) prior to your exam date.
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