SN2'd first day

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
TexasSurgeon

TexasSurgeon

I don't pay state taxes
Verified Member
10+ Year Member
Joined
Jul 5, 2012
Messages
2,652
Reaction score
1,285
Members don't see this ad.
EDIT: This was supposed to be a thread about the first day of SN2. However as with all intelligent life, things evolve. This thread has now become a support page for people following the SN2 plan. You can think of it as Alcoholics Anonymous for people studying to take the MCAT using the SN2 plan.

EDIT July 1, 2014:
If you are interested in @mehc012's Anki Deck, DO NOT SEND A PM. Here is the link: https://www.dropbox.com/s/7if6wgaif98rkoa/mehc012 SN2edCh4s.apkg
**A NOTE: @mehc012 and several others (myself included) want to tell you guys that studying from another person's deck will probably not be as beneficial to you as creating your own cards. Yes you can take advantage of @mehc012's generosity, but you won't get the same advantage. Study the material. Create cards as you go along. You will find it more helpful to your studying. **

EDIT July 22, 2014:
The following is @TBRBiosadist's official MCAT Verbal Reasoning Strategy:
@TBRBiosadist's strategy that got [him] from a 7 average to scoring 13-15 average..

Spend the bulk of your time reading. Up to 3 minutes per passage.
  • Read the first and last paragraph thoroughly to begin with. Understand what the authors main point will be because 90% of questions require nothing more than a general idea.
  • After this, read the entire passage slowly enough where you dont feel like you need to reread sentences for understanding.
Next is just answer questions, there is a few tricks here that work about 90% of the time
  • Unless the passage is asking you about a specific detail, dont look back. READ EVERY ANSWER THOROUGLY AND THEN Answer what makes sense from the general point of the passage. Its very easy to prove a wrong answer to be somewhat correct if you dig hard enough, dont. Answer what your gut says and move onto the next question, dont contemplate to much. With that being said...
  • Answer like you were dropped on the head as a child. Alot of times if Im arguing between two answers, there is the answer that is 100% correct, and one that is 90% correct. Be an idoit and choose the one that seems like it is correct. However.....
  • "Always" is a word to avoid. If an answer uses this word, or definites like it, it is something to avoid. I would say 80% of the time the wishy washy answer is more correct then the highly affirmative one. This leads to my final point....
  • 100% of the time you are not actually looking for the "right" answer in verbal, this isnt PS or BS where 1+1 almost always equals 2 (unless we are talking about the different sedimentation values for Ribosomes). In verbal you are looking for the answer that isnt wrong. Often times an answer will seem very "right" but one aspect of it is clearly wrong, as compared to an answer that isnt wrong, but doesnt seem as right as that answer, these are meant to fool you. Choose the answer that isnt wrong.
I understand that I few of these tips may be at odds with each other. Ultimately you must adjust slightly for each passage, but it comes down to one thing. Read thoroughly. Read every sentence in the passage. Read every question. Read every answer. Then the correct answer will be fairly obvious. This may seem like it takes longer, but it takes much less time than skimming, and then trying to find the correct information later.

Or to summarize in one sentence

Understand what the hell the author is arguing

EDIT July 26, 2014:
@DoctorInASaree uploaded a guide to Verbal Reasoning. If you're interested, it's worth a look. Here is the link: https://www.dropbox.com/s/2byivymmqwlvjms/MCAT VR Primer DRSAREE.pdf

EDIT 2, July 26, 2014: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/sn2d-first-day.1074344/page-52#post-15510851
________________________________________________
Just finished the first day of SN2...man is it long and exhausting.

The first day is BR physics chapter (translational motion) + 1/3 of the passages. I felt like I wasn't able to apply the stuff I read into the stuff I was tested on.

Has anyone felt this way when following the schedule? It just seems like the contents of the chapter didn't really stick in my head when I took the practice passages. Will this improve over time?

EDIT 3, March 4, 2015:

For verbal, if you are feeling lost and confused, I highly highly recommend you to look into the MCAT Strategy Course by @Jack Westin. I've been working with him, and nothing comes close to his course and teaching. It's a strategy course, so it will cover everything, not just the VR/CARS section.
 
Last edited:
Sort by date Sort by votes
juice31 said:
This may be sad, but I finally aced my first passage which was in Organic.
Click to expand...
Why would that be sad? Congrats!! (PS, it took me 4 tries to successfully type 'Congrats'. Now THAT is sad!)
orangetea said:
You say that BUT.
My first time taking the MCAT during my first break I took a THREE MINUTE bathroom break because I had just chugged a redbull before going to the test center and I come back and the MEANEST proctor goes:
" you're late.. where were you"
Me: umm bathroom.. but my time on the screen says I still have 5 minutes left"

The evilest person who ever lived: "well I am going to have to note that down.. that you left and came back and you were late"
Me: OKAY.
lol I called AAMC and they laughed.

Moral of the story: yes consider adult diapers.

😀
Click to expand...
:laugh:🤣:roflcopter:
Now I am again grateful for my bladder of steel (or perhaps infinitely deformable rubber?)
TexasSurgeon said:
wait wats new strategy
Click to expand...
I'm assuming the one he went through in response to my post earlier in the thread:
TBRBiosadist said:
I finally found a verbal strategy where I'm at least somewhat consistent and tend to do slightly better. Read the passage slowly, taking 2-3 minutes. Read through every answer on each question. Answer them once without looking at the passage (unless they reference a specific name or word, and in that case only look back to see where it was in the passage). Answer the question as soon as you finish reading the answers, don't ponder over it. Keep going. I can't tell you the number of times I get the wrong answer because I either didn't read all the answers, or convince myself my gut is wrong. This takes just as long as flying through the passage and looking back many times, but is less stressful and will lead to better understanding of the main concepts of the passage. I did 6 verbal like this. The most I missed on one was 2 questions. And half of them I didn't miss anything.

Edit: At the end of each paragraph, takes 2 seconds to think, what was this paragraph about, what was the main point. This is honestly going to be my main approach now as it feels more "right" and less of a throw of the dice the other methods were for me.
Click to expand...
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Alright, friends, I am calling it quits for the evening. I didn't quite hit today's goal - I only got through 1.5Ch, but I was not expecting the orgo chapters to suddenly become so...dense. Better luck tomorrow; at least I figured out my strategy for them. I am exhausted...time to continue my scheme of introducing my roommate to Grey's Anatomy from the beginning (hey, if I don't watch TV, I won't have any socks to wear next week!) and then pass out.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
does anyone have suggestions as how to finsh up all the second 1/3's in a quick time? when i do them it takes me about 3 hours to do all of them but to review takes almost twice that or longer!
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Hey guys, just wanted to ask about your experiences with timing on the TBR Biology passages. SN2 reccomends finishing theses in 6-7 minutes, but I find myself spending more around 8.5 on them, which I know is too slow. Some of the passages have so much information in them. I spend anywhere between 1.5-2.5 minutes just reading the information. Are any of you struggling with the time on these?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
ianj253 said:
Hey guys, just wanted to ask about your experiences with timing on the TBR Biology passages. SN2 reccomends finishing theses in 6-7 minutes, but I find myself spending more around 8.5 on them, which I know is too slow. Some of the passages have so much information in them. I spend anywhere between 1.5-2.5 minutes just reading the information. Are any of you struggling with the time on these?
Click to expand...
Honestly, most of the passage info seems a bit...superfluous. I usually just skim them to see what the topic is and if there is any new info, then reference the figures and tables (which are usually cited right in the question).
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Yeah, I agree. However, I feel its superfluos because the material is so fresh in our minds from just reviewing the associated content. I'm worried all of the material won't be that fresh during the test, and I will have to spend that amount of time reading. From what I have learned from recent test takers is the BS section is almost like the verbal section, so reading carefully is going to be important.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
TexasSurgeon said:
does anyone have suggestions as how to finsh up all the second 1/3's in a quick time? when i do them it takes me about 3 hours to do all of them but to review takes almost twice that or longer!
Click to expand...
For second review you can focus more on just the ones you got wrong if you review every problem of your primary 1/3. Basically if it is not complex don't bother doing a full review. They still take effing forever.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
TBRBiosadist said:
For second review you can focus more on just the ones you got wrong if you review every problem of your primary 1/3. Basically if it is not complex don't bother doing a full review. They still take effing forever.
Click to expand...

Yeah I do the same thing. I put a little dot beside the ones I 100% knew without a doubt and don't bother reviewing those.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
TBRBiosadist said:
For second review you can focus more on just the ones you got wrong if you review every problem of your primary 1/3. Basically if it is not complex don't bother doing a full review. They still take effing forever.
Click to expand...
SwedishMD2B said:
Yeah I do the same thing. I put a little dot beside the ones I 100% knew without a doubt and don't bother reviewing those.
Click to expand...
Theres always random facts that the BR book puts into even the ones I get correct and I feel compelled to put them into notes somewhere. But ok sounds good
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
TexasSurgeon said:
Theres always random facts that the BR book puts into even the ones I get correct and I feel compelled to put them into notes somewhere. But ok sounds good
Click to expand...
For ones I get wrong OR the ones I mark while doing them (either a star or a 'second guess' answer choice), I do a full review - attempt it, see what I put, see the answer, see if I know what I did wrong, then read their explanation, make an Anki if warranted, etc.
For the ones I get right, I read through the questions and make sure that each one triggers an 'oh, I should set it up this way' response in my brain. Then, after I read all of the questions, I go to the answers section in the back and skim through the explanations to catch those extra factoids you're talking about, or to see if they describe a method which differs from my own, and again, Anki if warranted. This is somehow much quicker than doing question-read explanation - next question - next explanation.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
I am so tired of the "stupid mistakes" I make on these PS passages.. It's like my brain is doing the correct series of steps but I circle the wrong answer.. check the solutions and see they did the SAME THING as me.. then go sit in a corner with my shame cap.

:bang::diebanana::beat::boom:
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
orangetea said:
I am so tired of the "stupid mistakes" I make on these PS passages.. It's like my brain is doing the correct series of steps but I circle the wrong answer.. check the solutions and see they did the SAME THING as me.. then go sit in a corner with my shame cap.

:bang::diebanana::beat::boom:
Click to expand...
I feel your pain. That often accounts for like, 50% of my missed questions and it's the most frustrating thing. HowEVER, I like to think of it this way:
While TBR passages are good, the main purpose of doing TBR is content review and becoming familiar with the types of problems we might see. So as long as you are hitting the right thought process, you are making progress, even if you put down a silly answer.
There is an entire month of AAMC FLs to get you used to the question styles, even more so than TBR is able to, after you have the content solid and can focus primarily on testing itself.

Measure your success by how well you are doing on the component you are actually working on right now.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
mehc012 said:
I feel your pain. That often accounts for like, 50% of my missed questions and it's the most frustrating thing. HowEVER, I like to think of it this way:
While TBR passages are good, the main purpose of doing TBR is content review and becoming familiar with the types of problems we might see. So as long as you are hitting the right thought process, you are making progress, even if you put down a silly answer.
There is an entire month of AAMC FLs to get you used to the question styles, even more so than TBR is able to, after you have the content solid and can focus primarily on testing itself.

Measure your success by how well you are doing on the component you are actually working on right now.
Click to expand...


Thanks! As sept 6th gets closer I just worrying a lot about my accuracy because this test is such a numbers game and I hate that I "think" correctly but my brain is just not doing it's part after that lol. But your support is very uplifting I feel a lot better 😀
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
orangetea said:
1. Make an equation sheet and religiously study it every day
2. Make note cards and take them with you everywhere including the shower(I laminated mine)
3. Do EK1001 problems and you will probably start dreaming about equations.. no joke my 5th day all I could think about was free falling bodies and their equations

images


good luck i never liked physics but once you do enough passages the formulas come naturally 🙂
Click to expand...
Is there a list of all the equations we need for the MCAT for all sections?😵
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
ayocaptain628 said:
Is there a list of all the equations we need for the MCAT for all sections?😵
Click to expand...

If you have the TBR books they have "remember these" equations but most books do (TPR, Kaplan). I mostly have those written(among other short cut ones I found) But finding one online or through a friend isn't much help. I feel like you learn a lot more by conceptually learning these equations as you write them down one by one. Oh and this is just for physics. Others have just memorized them through problems. For me it helps to see them all everyday on one sheet 🙂 Don't stress too much though because the tough ones are usually given. It's mostly like V=IR or 1/2 mv^2 stuff that emphasize certain concepts.


NOW if I can find a list of Ochem reactions I would be VERY happy. Most of the ones online are SUPER extensive. fml.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
ayocaptain628 said:
Is there a list of all the equations we need for the MCAT for all sections?😵
Click to expand...
TPRH and many online sources have pretty good, concise lists......but it's not really necessary with this schedule. I keep a list of equations, but have never looked at them because they get drilled in after doing so many problems. Also I like to make verbal connections which help me remember. Like... have problems remembering remembering the periods for pendulums and springs? well I can always remember a springs period because of Mr. Mackey (south park). mmm'kayy=m and k so T=2pi(m/k)^1/2 and this gives me the period of a pendulum because the constant is on the bottom so T=2pi(L/g)^1/2
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
D
orangetea said:
If you have the TBR books they have "remember these" equations but most books do (TPR, Kaplan). I mostly have those written(among other short cut ones I found) But finding one online or through a friend isn't much help. I feel like you learn a lot more by conceptually learning these equations as you write them down one by one. Oh and this is just for physics. Others have just memorized them through problems. For me it helps to see them all everyday on one sheet 🙂 Don't stress too much though because the tough ones are usually given. It's mostly like V=IR or 1/2 mv^2 stuff that emphasize certain concepts.


NOW if I can find a list of Ochem reactions I would be VERY happy. Most of the ones online are SUPER extensive. fml.
Click to expand...

Don't memorize reactants so much as understanding how everything works, what does reducing/oxidation agents look like, what would be protonated first, which carbon would be open to nucleophilic attack. Halfway through ochem II basically didnt need to study terrible much (except for a few odd reactions here and there) because everything clicked, I would be able to tell what the reaction should be just by looking at what I had. If you do this you'll be far better off then just spamming memorizing. Remember the MCAT is a conceptual test, not a memorization one.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
TBRBiosadist said:
TPRH and many online sources have pretty good, concise lists......but it's not really necessary with this schedule. I keep a list of equations, but have never looked at them because they get drilled in after doing so many problems. Also I like to make verbal connections which help me remember. Like... have problems remembering remembering the periods for pendulums and springs? well I can always remember a springs period because of Mr. Mackey (south park). mmm'kayy=m and k so T=2pi(m/k)^1/2 and this gives me the period of a pendulum because the constant is on the bottom so T=2pi(L/g)^1/2
Click to expand...
Harmonic motion: Springs: whack 'em and they wiggle
Springs: ω=k/m and they ω = g/L (I guess pendulums would be 'they')
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
TBRBiosadist said:
D


Don't memorize reactants so much as understanding how everything works, what does reducing/oxidation agents look like, what would be protonated first, which carbon would be open to nucleophilic attack. Halfway through ochem II basically didnt need to study terrible much (except for a few odd reactions here and there) because everything clicked, I would be able to tell what the reaction should be just by looking at what I had. If you do this you'll be far better off then just spamming memorizing. Remember the MCAT is a conceptual test, not a memorization one.
Click to expand...
Yeah, as an orgo major I can look at most of the reagents they give us and tell what the electrons would do...but I am still trying to memorize all of the equations because I feel sad that I recognize so few of them given my major.
Then again, I think that the way I ended up designing my cards is less memorization based and more 'here are 2 of the 3 components (reactant, reagent/conditions, product), what is the 3rd', which seems to be what's on the MCAT anyway, so it's more like my Anki Notes are practice problems, in a way.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
okay jk. Just did 3 TPR ochem passages and looks like if I apply the foundation skills I can pretty much figure it out. Except for I forget esterification is an addition/elimination and not a substitution reaction. WHY.
trr.gif
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
MrTaco92 said:
That feel when you've gotten through all of the first books for TBR (fast forward to 1:32):

Click to expand...

WIN!!
2 more chapters...
Damn, I spent today on Orgo 5...should have left that until after Phys and Bio so I could have been halfway done a day sooner!
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
On that note, my new motivation to study. "Oh you think the MCAT is difficult, imagine what the boards will be like. You want to get into a competitive specialty, well you have only one chance on an 8 hour test where you LITERALLY NEED TO KNOW EVERY TEXTBOOK COVER TO COVER." It is this point where the corresponding panic attack gives me the rush to start the day:soexcited:
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
What books are you guys using for verbal? I've got TBR, TPRH, and EK 101. I've been starting with TBR and I'm hoping to get to TPRH and EK closer to FLs and MCAT.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
SwedishMD2B said:
Oh it worked!

So O-Chem 2 needs some work.
Click to expand...
Hold the phone. Im seeing lotsa 100% in tbr bio! those are some good scores. Albeit you are obviously really awesome in somethings, others not so much. But that ch 8 bio 57%-->100% thats some impressive stuff
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

G
100 day mcat study plan questions!
Replies
2
Views
2K
theco_dont
T
I
First Post - Looking For Study Tips
Replies
1
Views
1K
JAH_
J
PONS
Is worth spending a day scouring over my Blueprint FL?
Replies
2
Views
2K
PONS
PONS
DestinyRoseAndrews
Lower score on actual MCAT than first FL diagnostic?
Replies
5
Views
4K
DestinyRoseAndrews
DestinyRoseAndrews
D
MCAT Two day accommodation Question
Replies
0
Views
2K
doc12bq
D
Top