Passages or Reread?

[NRAI2001]

What do u guys think is more helpful, doing a lot of passages or going over the material in the chapters (TBR and TPR books)over and over again?

I have friends who had varied opinions on both. I had a friend who just bearly skimmed the chapters and went straight to the passages (i dont think he is doing that well though) and another who said he reread each chapter of TPR like 5 times and did minimal amounts of passages, he said he only completed about 1/4 of the total passages (he did very well, especially on the sciences).

What are your strategies/opinions?

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[NRAI2001]

Bump

 

[OBGYN2010]

Bump

I think it really varies from person to person. I personally think that reading the text is more helpful because it helps me retain the info...but then again, some people like the passages for more practice or whatever, so I guess it depends on your learning style.

 

[virilep]

What do u guys think is more helpful, doing a lot of passages or going over the material in the chapters (TBR and TPR books)over and over again?

I have friends who had varied opinions on both. I had a friend who just bearly skimmed the chapters and went straight to the passages (i dont think he is doing that well though) and another who said he reread each chapter of TPR like 5 times and did minimal amounts of passages, he said he only completed about 1/4 of the total passages (he did very well, especially on the sciences).

What are your strategies/opinions?

oh man. definately doing practice passages over and over. what's the good of knowing the material and not knowing how to apply it? if u learn the application part, you're learning the material as well. I'm a HUGE advocate of doing practice passages. the EK 1001 and moreso the Kaplan test prep material is the BEST. hands down. I personally liked TPR books though. gluck. I feel like an MCAT veteran...yikes.

 

[adiddas125]

oh man. definately doing practice passages over and over. what's the good of knowing the material and not knowing how to apply it? if u learn the application part, you're learning the material as well. I'm a HUGE advocate of doing practice passages. the EK 1001 and moreso the Kaplan test prep material is the BEST. hands down. I personally liked TPR books though. gluck. I feel like an MCAT veteran...yikes.

I would have to agree with virilep. You should start doing a lot of practice problems. If you are in my boat and decided taking august, reviewing the material well again and doing a thorough job might be a better idea, but if you are taking the test in april now is the time to go ahead and do problems like crazy. You have to know how to apply your knowledge on a timed exam, and practice will give you valuable insight on your strengths and weaknesses.... Good luck!

 

[NRAI2001]

I would have to agree with virilep. You should start doing a lot of practice problems. If you are in my boat and decided taking august, reviewing the material well again and doing a thorough job might be a better idea, but if you are taking the test in april now is the time to go ahead and do problems like crazy. You have to know how to apply your knowledge on a timed exam, and practice will give you valuable insight on your strengths and weaknesses.... Good luck!

Im debating on whether or not i should take april or august exam. I have a 3.4 gpa, do u think that takign the august mcat will put u at a huge disadvantage?

 

[Jezzielin]

Im debating on whether or not i should take april or august exam. I have a 3.4 gpa, do u think that takign the august mcat will put u at a huge disadvantage?

Hey, I have a similar GPA 3.47 (going up lol) and I am taking it in April. I am only doing this because even though I don't feel prepared now, I feel I will be at the culmination of these next 5 weeks. I am now reviewing and then probably skimming over it all again till the exam. My practice exams have started (I missed my first one) but I have 4 more starting the 18th of March every Saturday till the exam. Besides reviewing, I will do these tests and flashcards till the test! Hopefuully that's good enough.

As for the August MCAT, that is a judgement call for you. There are many posts on SDN on this. Again taking it in August can be advantageous if you don't feel prepared for the April one. But if you do take it in August, be sure you are ready to ace it. If you do poorly, and want to retake you will have to wait until the 2007 MCAT, so it depends on how you personally feel about how ready you are. Also, by taking it in August you will be rolling admission to most schools (besides those top tiers which some don't have this: Standford I believe and others) Your application will not be one of the first for the school to see which might make your chances a little bit tighter. But hey, counteract that with aceing the MCAT

Good luck!