Reasonable study strategy? Thoughts/Critiques appreciated

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Instead of spending hours note taking, I want to experiment with a much more concise form of memory recall.

I would instead opt to read once and have each of the subsections e.g. 'Lipids' on a flash cards, and then have on the back other key terms (e.g. - 'phospholipid, triacylglyceride' ) on the back w/o definitions so I'm forced to do memory recall regularly and use a greater bulk of time answering questions and doing passages. Has anyone implemented a study strategy like this? I just want to make sure I'm being economical with time and not neglecting the wrong things. Thanks!

 

[BerkReviewTeach]

Instead of spending hours note taking, I want to experiment with a much more concise form of memory recall.

I would instead opt to read once and have each of the subsections e.g. 'Lipids' on a flash cards, and then have on the back other key terms (e.g. - 'phospholipid, triacylglyceride' ) on the back w/o definitions so I'm forced to do memory recall regularly and use a greater bulk of time answering questions and doing passages. Has anyone implemented a study strategy like this? I just want to make sure I'm being economical with time and not neglecting the wrong things. Thanks!

I think the best thing you could possibly do at this stage of your preparation is relax. This is the fifth thread you've started in the last seven days, all pretty much asking the same thing. Your test is seven to eight months away, so you have plenty of time to figure out what will work. Experiment with different ideas until the one that is most beneficial for you presents itself.

You'll get great ideas at SDN, but you're an individual and need to ultimately decide what works best for you. If you are asking the same question about flashcards and note-taking hoping to eventually get a specific response you want, then just do the flashcards and/or note-taking. Do your thing.

If you want my opinion, and I've been tutoring and teaching this for a while now, many gimmicks like flashcards can have a positive placebo effect, but to really get ready for the MCAT you have to do countless passages and then thoroughly review them. The people I see getting top scores do this. They build confidence that they can solve any question, no matter how weird the passage, by applying logic and fundamental information. The MCAT is not a measure of what you've memorized, but a measure of how well you take a test. It's hard to accept this at first, but in time it becomes obvious.

You need to make sure (1) the questions you got right were done quickly but not so fast that you're careless, (2) the questions you got wrong you could get right in the future because you know the fundamentals better, and (3) you used test-skills such as POE and unit analysis to find the best answer on most questions.

Become a better test taker and you'll see your MCAT score improve. Make flashcards, emphasize reading, and do mostly free-standing questions (but not passages), and you may improve a little, but there's a good chance you'll be disappointed in the results relative to how much time you invested.

 

[newmember1]

+1 to what was said above. He and his company know what they are talking about more than most of the established big name companies. I'm willing to bet they have the highest average MCAT scores around (though that may correlate with a smaller sample size and higher Cali IQ kids).

I just wanted to add that I started out that way 2 years ago. I read Kaplan front to back numerous times to no avail. My scores have gone up over the years, not from knowledge but from practicing passage after passage.

I too teach for a prep company and I emphasize practice over content to anyone who will listen. Personally, I've probably done every TBR chem, physics, and ochem passage 1-2 times along with their in chapter questions. I've also done every page of the PR workbook. Add to that all the AAMCs, and most online tests you can think of. It's a lot of work, but it really helps nail the concepts and understanding how stuff works better than memorizing stuff out of context.

I have to still admit that the 9/7 PS punched me in the face even though I scored a 10 on PS last year and was average above that this year. The real MCAT is substantially more difficult than practice exams and there are trap questions all over that damn thing. It's like a mine field really. My best adivce is to read, read, read. You will do so much reading and analysis on test day, that you really want to condition your brain ahead of time for this.

Lastly, some people just reason things out better than others. They also have the ability to reason much faster. Sadly, I'm not as fast as some of the others on this website. I've struggled with the MCAT for quite some time because of this. It also takes some people much longer to reach their goals than others, and I don't think this correlates directly with intelligence (for the MCAT is testing a whole bunch of things apart from knowledge capacity).

Also, take this test very seriously. I speak from experience when I say that even with a 4.0, anything below a 30 will result in a rejection at most MD schools, unless you have certain mitigating circumstances or get very lucky.

Good luck.

 

[tttgo]

To answer the title. No, not reasonable for me at least. I spent my first 2 months trying to make elaborate notes and answer explanations. After awhile I ditched that method. You can either listen to the advice given or learn the hard way🙂

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