Questions on studying the SN2ed way. 4 month schedule.

[ChodeNode]

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Hiyas,

I had some questions on using SN2ed's method for MCAT preparation. I'm 1 week into the 4-month schedule.

1) If I run out of time while doing a passage, do I still attempt to solve the problem as quickly as possible?
2) For verbal passages, is it still recommended to review the day after? It seems the whole idea of verbal is that you're trying to recall what you read and that will only degrade even more by the next day. Seems kinda hard to get inside my head on a passage I can't remember much about.
3) When reviewing passage answers, is it best to look at the books' rationale for their answers immediately or try to work out for myself why the answer is what they put and compare afterward? I'm trying to do the latter and feel like I'm spending too much time.
4) Does more time open up later to focus on my weaknesses? I'm just keeping up with the schedule's prescribed workload despite wasting very little time on anything else outside of work and 1-2 hours with family (I'm a non-trad). I need to drill down on some things, but just can't seem to find enough time unless I want to drop down to 4-5 hours of sleep. I currently spend about 5-7 hours daily on this.

Thanks for any help.

 

[optopia]

1) Yes, it's good to feel like you're still under a bit of time pressure, but if it takes longer just to understand what the question is asking, then take the time because a lot of TBR passages are more convoluted than actual MCAT passages, so it's to be expected that TBR takes a bit longer.

2) I prefer to review same day, after I've done all the VR passages for the day.

3) I went by the book's explanations first. Ideally yes I would have tried to figure it out myself every time but as you say, you don't have 14 hours a day for this.

4) There's plenty of fat in the schedule especially later on. EK Bio chapters 8,9 are really thin. There's also a whole month at the end devoted only to practice MCATs, and I didn't need nearly that much time, maybe only 2 weeks would have been enough.

 

[gig123]

1. Yes, still try to solve the problems as quickly as possible! After a while your speed will increase so you won't have to worry about this!

2. I would review the verbal the same day since it's fresh!

3. I gave myself 5 minutes to try to solve for the correct answer. Anything more, I would just read the explanation!

4. I would recommend using TPR for some chapters if you feel like TBR's content is slowing you down. You won't need to know every little detail that is in the chapters so sometimes a concise approach can save valuable time. I used a varied SN2 schedule and I found I had sufficient time to review chapters later that I was not confident about as long as I didn't get stuck on content review!

 

[ChodeNode]

Thanks for the responses.

4. I would recommend using TPR for some chapters if you feel like TBR's content is slowing you down. You won't need to know every little detail that is in the chapters so sometimes a concise approach can save valuable time. I used a varied SN2 schedule and I found I had sufficient time to review chapters later that I was not confident about as long as I didn't get stuck on content review!

Would you mind expanding a little bit on your last sentence? How did you vary the schedule? I'm hesitant to deviate from BR because it seems I've forgotten more than I thought I would.

 

[gig123]

Thanks for the responses.


Would you mind expanding a little bit on your last sentence? How did you vary the schedule? I'm hesitant to deviate from BR because it seems I've forgotten more than I thought I would.

By vary I mean using TPR and Chad's Videos to study chapters instead of BR (sometimes). I also did not do all of the BR practice passages, but instead did a few mixed in with TPRH Science Workbook passages. To be honest, I had the same mentality that I needed to stick with BR all the way to ensure a good score at the beginning part of my prep. But I slowly realized that studying extra content or more detailed content is not necessarily helpful...this really hit home when I started taking full lengths. You start to realize that content takes a backseat to critical thinking with the passage at hand!

 

[SN2ed]

1. As the other posters have said, try to solve it within the time constraint. It will be tough at first, but worth it in the end once you get your rhythm. Always remember to use techniques like process of elimination to help speed things up.

2. Whatever works best for you. If reviewing the same day works, do that.

3. I'd suggest trying to solve it on your own at first, but if you're spending too much time, then read the explanation. It is important to go back to the concepts that were tested later on to further your understanding.

4. More time opens up during the last month which is mainly practice passages. Keep in mind that you'll be focusing on your weaknesses indirectly whenever you take practice passages and thoroughly review everything afterwards.

About the whole TPR and Chad's videos vs BR only, again do what works best for you. TPR's content review is great, so I be wary of using it if that's what you prefer. The main reason TPR isn't a part of my schedule is that lack of practice passages. The Science Workbook is great, but I think there should be even more passages and less discretes.