SN2'd first day

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TexasSurgeon

TexasSurgeon

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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.
 
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mehc012 said:
OK, so the list is @Aerus @juice31 @ramires @TBRBiosadist @TexasSurgeon and someone who pm'd me elsewhere.
If you wanted 'em and you're not tagged, let me know.
PS -at TexasSurgeon - I cleaned it up a bit in the past few days now that people wanna see it! :laugh:
Click to expand...
hahaha nice nice!! your cards are extremely thorough, although i haven't really reviewed a lot since i've been adding into my main deck
 
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mehc012 said:
OK, so the list is @Aerus @juice31 @ramires @TBRBiosadist @TexasSurgeon and someone who pm'd me elsewhere.
If you wanted 'em and you're not tagged, let me know.
PS -at TexasSurgeon - I cleaned it up a bit in the past few days now that people wanna see it! :laugh:
Click to expand...

ME! I'd like to see them too please.

I wish I knew how nice anki is. It's so quick and easy to use and I can sync it with my phone! I wish I looked into it earlier, I never have used notecards for studying so I didn't really give much interest to anki, but I can really see how they can be beneficial.
 
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SwedishMD2B said:
Was sneezing a lot yesterday. Today, I HAVE A SORE THROAT. NOOOOO!!!!! HELP!
Click to expand...


🙁 You should take some more time to rest.

Your white blood cells will thank you..
tumblr_inline_n7zstaYFfP1r79k32.gif
 
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mehc012 said:
OK, so the list is @Aerus @juice31 @ramires @TBRBiosadist @TexasSurgeon and someone who pm'd me elsewhere.
If you wanted 'em and you're not tagged, let me know.
PS -at TexasSurgeon - I cleaned it up a bit in the past few days now that people wanna see it! :laugh:
Click to expand...

Me too! I think I may be the random person who PM'ed you but just in case, I'll say it here! Thanks a million!

On a separate note:
Does anyone else feel bad for their bf/gf because of their new love affair with MCAT? Not only is all my spare time consumed by this monstrosity of a test, my bf has also had to help me through several crying fits and mental breakdowns. I've only been studying for 2 weeks... :'(
 
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DreamofDerm said:
Me too! I think I may be the random person who PM'ed you but just in case, I'll say it here! Thanks a million!

On a separate note:
Does anyone else feel bad for their bf/gf because of their new love affair with MCAT? Not only is all my spare time consumed by this monstrosity of a test, my bf has also had to help me through several crying fits and mental breakdowns. I've only been studying for 2 weeks... :'(
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I commend you for having time for this exam/life in general AND a significant other because I never could :bow:
 
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orangetea said:
I commend you for having time for this exam/life in general AND a significant other because I never could :bow:
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Lol! Thanks, but I never said I was doing any of those things well! I really wish I could get 6 or more hours of sleep on a regular basis... Also while I'm wishing for things, I'd love a 40+ on my MCAT, ktnx. 😉
 
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DreamofDerm said:
Lol! Thanks, but I never said I was doing any of those things well! I really wish I could get 6 or more hours of sleep on a regular basis... Also while I'm wishing for things, I'd love a 40+ on my MCAT, ktnx. 😉
Click to expand...

Just prioritize. Doing well on this exam is important and can have lots implications. If I could go back in time I would have dropped lots of other things in life to focus on this exam. I also never valued getting sleep, then I realized how important it is for memory and retention. I would rather not finish a chapter than to cram and take an exam without getting proper sleep. Benefits of being a little older I guess; you live and learn.

I'm by no means saying get rid of your significant other, but, you can make things that you have to do an event, like grocery shopping, walking the dog, etc.
 
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TBRBiosadist said:
August 15th. I wake up in cold sweats at this point. Literally, I think this might be the kindest, most helpful message board I have ever been a part of. You guys rock.
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Hey! You're ahead! That's awesome. I have never been ahead, always trying to catch up.
 
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actually just right on time right now. The last "week is about 9 days and then there is the first day of hat trick....then practice tests AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
 
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TBRBiosadist said:
actually just right on time right now. The last "week is about 9 days and then there is the first day of hat trick....then practice tests AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
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Oh I didn't do hat trick. And I felt like the tests were so stretched out I did a lot of catching up because I didn't need two days to review the exam and do last 1/3.

Practice tests are fun. You'll do great! I hate paying the $35 for each exam though. My bank if going to put a fraud alert on my account.
 
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SwedishMD2B said:
Oh I didn't do hat trick. And I felt like the tests were so stretched out I did a lot of catching up because I didn't need two days to review the exam and do last 1/3.

Practice tests are fun. You'll do great! I hate paying the $35 for each exam though. My bank if going to put a fraud alert on my account.
Click to expand...

So what did you do on your hat trick days?? I was just thinking of picking topics and randomly reviewing them idk.. I am not much a test writer =/

and I thought if you buy them in a bundle they're cheaper?
 
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orangetea said:
So what did you do on your hat trick days?? I was just thinking of picking topics and randomly reviewing them idk.. I am not much a test writer =/

and I thought if you buy them in a bundle they're cheaper?
Click to expand...

There are no hat trick days. You are supposed to do it 30 min a day.

There are no bundles. I didn't see any bundles, if you see one PLEASE let me know lol
 
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Hey guys! Wow, this ended up being more people than I anticipated! I tried to PM everyone, but SDN caps at 5 people. Here is my MCAT review deck - it's only up through the TBR Ch4s at this point, sorry, but I will continue adding and can tag it so that I can export only new cards in the future if anyone finds themselves wanting more.

So...here is the deck:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/7if6wgaif98rkoa/mehc012 SN2edCh4s.apkg

For a quick Anki overview, here is a thread I started, and then woefully allowed to go dormant...still has some good info in it, and if anyone sends me a specific question, I might feel motivated enough to add an entry to that thread!
Anki Central

Now, I like to type in answers, as I feel that it really makes it obvious whether I knew the answer or not, so most of my cards will have some sort of typing component. Therefore, a lot of my cards will have a typing hint displayed just above the typing prompt - italicized cues as to the capitalization or format of the answer. Here's an overview of my commonly used typing hints:

lc means that it is in lower case
Uc means that the first word is Upper case, and
'ABB' means an abbreviation such as LH or FSH.
'alpha' means alphabetical order.
lclist, means a comma-separated list with no caps.
2words, 3words, etc should be self-explanatory. 2and means 2 words with an 'and' in between. Same with 2or
# means a number
,,,and means a list with 3 commas and an 'and' at the end.
'y' means nothing...it's just the default and likely means I made that card before I started making Typing clues.

I often abbreviate the typing and only do the first word if there are multiple.
If I use an acronym for that list, it will be on the card when you review it, and typing will be in the order of the acronym.

Oh, and if you use mobile, be sure to go into settings and turn off typing responses because it's super annoying there.

I named my deck something specific so that it doesn't get mixed in with yours.


MAKE SURE YOU EDIT THESE TO YOUR LIKING!
During your first pass through the deck, stop EVERY time you hit a card you dislike, or which just doesn't 'click' for you, and edit it until it does...change the words, the phrasing, the typing hint, take typing out, whatever. Do not keep a card in your deck which feels 'off' to you. For this reason, I recommend that your first pass through new cards be done on the computer, as editing is far easier. Alternatively, you could suspend/mark any off-kilter cards and then make time later to revise them.

Good luck and good studying!
-mehc012

@Aerus, @TexasSurgeon, @ramires, @DreamofDerm, @poop420, @SwedishMD2B, @orangetea, @juice31, @TBRBiosadist, @mcatstuff19, @csx, @K1NG

PS, @jessiylo , here is the spreadsheet template:
 

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Anybody else super confused with all the math in acid/base gen chem chapter 4? Holy smokes, there is no way to remember all that.
 
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Jesus christ the circulatory section of TBR has kicked my ass TWICE now. F--- I thought that it was going to be one of the easier ones but nope, turns out to be my weakest.
 
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@orangetea I was also thinking of doing that instead of the ah
juice31 said:
Anybody else super confused with all the math in acid/base gen chem chapter 4? Holy smokes, there is no way to remember all that.
Click to expand...

I was pretty overwhelmed with it at first and (as usual) scored terribly on the passages, but chapter 5 incorporates some of chapter 4 so it helped me understand it much better the following week.
 
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@orangetea I meant to say that I was also thinking about just reviewing material on hat trick days.
But then I scrolled down further and realized that there is only one hat trick day haha
 
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TBRBiosadist said:
How the hell do you study so much, after 6 hours I'm going stir crazy and my eyes hurt, and what do you do for all that time!?
Click to expand...

Today was a two-in-one day. I'm used to putting in ~10hour days from time spent in Engineering 😀 For example, today was Bio and Phys, so I did ALL of the TBR passages for Bio, and also completed all of the passages for the respective chapter in EK. Rinse and repeat for Physics (swap EK for TPR). Review takes up a lot of time as well, and my Anki review as well.

However, I skipped my Anki-review today (hides in a corner!) due to time constraints.
 
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😱 I wish I could be like that and not an excitable hamster that wants to get studying out of the way as soon as I can. What are your passage scores like? I imagine like that you probably rarely dip below 95%
 
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For instance. was planning on doing double day. Went to dentist. Took a nap. Worked out for a bit. Played terraria for 4.5 hours (while telling myself Ill get started soon every five minutes) powered through my days chapter and did the passages. And about to do verbal. I have been doing MCAT stuff for only two hours today and probably wont be doing more than another 3-4 hours. Teach me sensie
 
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TBRBiosadist said:
😱 I wish I could be like that and not an excitable hamster that wants to get studying out of the way as soon as I can. What are your passage scores like? I imagine like that you probably rarely dip below 95%
Click to expand...

As of the past two weeks I've rarely dipped below 92%; although there have been a few outliers (lack of sleep, family members causing a commotion, etc.). I have a tendency to ignore those (ignored from the stat above) - I just don't think they represent a fair assessment of my MCAT k/u and passage solving abilities.

I need to catch sleep! For those of you still studying...keep at it! 😀


TBRBiosadist said:
For instance. was planning on doing double day. Went to dentist. Took a nap. Worked out for a bit. Played terraria for 4.5 hours (while telling myself Ill get started soon every five minutes) powered through my days chapter and did the passages. And about to do verbal. I have been doing MCAT stuff for only two hours today and probably wont be doing more than another 3-4 hours. Teach me sensie
Click to expand...


I don't play video games...perhaps that has something to do with it?😉 So, you've put in two hours already and will put in another three or four? Six hours is totally respectable, and is most definitely NOT a sign of a terrible work ethic. :highfive:
 
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DoctorInASaree said:
As of the past two weeks I've rarely dipped below 92%; although there have been a few outliers (lack of sleep, family members causing a commotion, etc.). I have a tendency to ignore those (ignored from the stat above) - I just don't think they represent a fair assessment of my MCAT k/u and passage solving abilities.

I need to catch sleep! For those of you still studying...keep at it! 😀





I don't play video games...perhaps that has something to do with it?😉 So, you've put in two hours already and will put in another three or four? Six hours is totally respectable.
Click to expand...
Well now I feel insecure about my 89% average over the last 3 weeks. I need to start studying now. And never stop.
 
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Did AAMC 7 today. Not happy 🙁

14/8/12. I HATE VERBAL. HATE IT HATE IT HATE IT. Each passage I was like wait, what is the point here. Ugh. And the BS part had a lot of organic and I didn't think the organic was as easy as the other AAMCs. I'm going for a walk, need to vent.
 
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SwedishMD2B said:
Did AAMC 7 today. Not happy 🙁

14/8/12. I HATE VERBAL. HATE IT HATE IT HATE IT. Each passage I was like wait, what is the point here. Ugh. And the BS part had a lot of organic and I didn't think the organic was as easy as the other AAMCs. I'm going for a walk, need to vent.
Click to expand...
14+8+12=34 Bring up the verbal and you're golden
 
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TBRBiosadist said:
14+8+12=34 Bring up the verbal and you're golden
Click to expand...

Yea! My verbal is so inconsistent it scares me. Took a 3 mile jog with my dog and all the sprinklers on the street turned on, I ran half a mile through the sprinklers and the cars on the street were splashing the water on me, quite refreshing actually. Feel much better now, gotta tackle verbal tomorrow.
 
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