retaking, any advice for bio?!

[dental diva]

Hi friends,

I took my dat in june and didn't do as well as i hoped (16 Bio 19 orgo 21 g chem, AA 18) and was wondering if anyone could tell me what to do to bring my bio score up. I went through cliff's AP last time without doing destroyer, anyone have any advice for what to do differently this time? i'm retaking in october!

thanks in advance!

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[ReaverOpS]

I would recommend going through Cliff Notes again as well as actually going through Destroyer. The Bio explanations in Destroyer are invaluable, as many have previously emphasized. I personally find it helpful to jot down notes in Bio and constantly review them. The thing about Bio is that you need to establish a breadth of knowledge before diving too much into the depth of each specific subject.

 

[cj7]

i took notes on EVERYTHING on the destroyer. Had a bunch of notes the 1st time, since I got most of the questions wrong. But even if you had a question right, read the explanation and understand why the other choices are wrong because there is always additional information to learn. I took a week off from the destroyer and used Topscore, Qvault, reviewed my notes in the meantime before starting the destroyer again.

Took notes again(even if repeated). I handwrote, and then typed up all my notes, rearranging things so similar topics appeared spatially together. I would review these notes every other day. Helped A LOT. You start to notice patterns and things that are consistent and piece things together.

 

[dental diva]

hmm okay, i have notes from last time from cliff's and KBB combined, i'm thinking of adding to those using destroyer and going through them like crazy. i'm studying while in school (yeah it's gonna be tough) so i don't think i'll have time to keep handwriting but i'll see what i can do. thanks guys!!

 

[predent325]

i had trouble with the Biology section at first because i forgot a lot of what i learned in the beginning from KBB and reading cliffs twice. The best thing is to read Cliffs again to see the tiny details that you missed and fill in your notes. Also, do the destroyer again. RE-READ your notes multiple times! it'll really stick and its hard to forget something that you read over and over again

 

[dental diva]

i had trouble with the Biology section at first because i forgot a lot of what i learned in the beginning from KBB and reading cliffs twice. The best thing is to read Cliffs again to see the tiny details that you missed and fill in your notes. Also, do the destroyer again. RE-READ your notes multiple times! it'll really stick and its hard to forget something that you read over and over again

yeah i now noticed didn't re-read my notes until the very end of my test, and i skipped destroyer bio completely last time (i'm so regretful now!) so that's definitely something i'm going to do many times. many many times haha thank you!

 

[gumdrop16]

yeah i now noticed didn't re-read my notes until the very end of my test, and i skipped destroyer bio completely last time (i'm so regretful now!) so that's definitely something i'm going to do many times. many many times haha thank you!

Memorize your bio101 textbook? Just sayin.............

 

[dental diva]

Memorize your bio101 textbook? Just sayin.............

well, yeah, besides the obvious...lol and i'm trying to be efficient since i'm taking on a full courseload currently.

 

[Glimmer1991]

If efficiency is your goal, I would memorize Cliffs AP and Barron's AP. I'd use KBB for the ear/eye/brain/hormone sections. Others swear by Destroyer, I know, but I really think it was overkill. However, unless something is application based (like GC), practice problems never really help me much. I'd rather spend time just reviewing the chapters in a bio book than doing problems in Destroyer. But, if the practice problems really help you hone in on your weaknesses, go for it! Although I went through Destroyer bio 2x, I am 100% confident that doing so didn't help my score. I made a 30, and I owe it to the three review books I listed at the beginning. Good luck!

 

[aqz]

If efficiency is your goal, I would memorize Cliffs AP and Barron's AP. I'd use KBB for the ear/eye/brain/hormone sections. Others swear by Destroyer, I know, but I really think it was overkill. However, unless something is application based (like GC), practice problems never really help me much. I'd rather spend time just reviewing the chapters in a bio book than doing problems in Destroyer. But, if the practice problems really help you hone in on your weaknesses, go for it! Although I went through Destroyer bio 2x, I am 100% confident that doing so didn't help my score. I made a 30, and I owe it to the three review books I listed at the beginning. Good luck!

Not to bash on the post above but I think it's safe to say that we can't all be Glimmers and make 30s on everything without -relying- on destroyer. It's also safe to say that you might not get the test Glimmer got and who knows, you could land 5 destroyer problems on your test.

I keep telling people there's no "overkill" in biology. You're retaking in october. You have more than enough time to review all the biology study materials on the market, even with school going on, so why not?

Go in with the attitude that you don't want anything near that 16 you got last time, and you'll be surprised with your final score.

 

[dental diva]

Not to bash on the post above but I think it's safe to say that we can't all be Glimmers and make 30s on everything without -relying- on destroyer. It's also safe to say that you might not get the test Glimmer got and who knows, you could land 5 destroyer problems on your test.

I keep telling people there's no "overkill" in biology. You're retaking in october. You have more than enough time to review all the biology study materials on the market, even with school going on, so why not?

Go in with the attitude that you don't want anything near that 16 you got last time, and you'll be surprised with your final score.

inspirational lol yeah i decided i'm going to do barron's and cliff's simultaneously, then go through destroyer and some of campbell's 9th edition for the things that i don't get. it's just hard to get back into study-mode again but i think once i officially sign up and pick a date, my motivation will come back

 

[Msmouth]

In addition to what others mentioned..I used datqvault for bio. I also watched youtube videos for understanding brain, liver and kidney function and lac operon. I watched some of chads bio videos and took his quizzes.

I made up some silly things to help me remember things like you'll never forget seeing a hippo on campus. Hippocampus-memory in brain
Cerebellum- balancing bar bells
Etc.