SN2'd first day

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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
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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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I have like a 3.2. If I don't do exceptionally well on the MCAT, I will NOT get into medical school. Just the way the game plays.
I'm the opposite with pressure, though...I not only perform better under pressure, but I am way way happier when under pressure.
I'm mostly weirded out, because I am usually a really, really good standardized test taker. I have never taken a standardized test (SATs, APs, etc) or series thereof where I haven't gotten the highest possible score, without trying or studying. So it's utterly confounding to me that I'm doing 'well' after putting in effort for once in my life.
SAME. During semester I sometimes don't eat because I'm sprinting from one internship to another while trying to email someone and keeping up with 20 units of material and I'm so happy like this. When I have down time that is more than a day or two, I go stir crazy and eventually become a pile of sentient mush that doesnt want to do anything. I'm going to be one of those people who never want to retire.

My preworkout is whey, creatine, and caffeine. Post is just alot of whey and a heavy protein dinner, and casein before I go to sleep.
 
That's not at me is it? Cuz I'm not taking any courses, I just have 2 jobs going on :/
Nah, just at someone who joined a little earlier who was planning on doing kaplan and sn2. Ughh the procrastination is strong in this one today. Ive taken notes on two pages of my final orgo chapter in the last 3 hours.
 
Nah, just at someone who joined a little earlier who was planning on doing kaplan and sn2. Ughh the procrastination is strong in this one today. Ive taken notes on two pages of my final orgo chapter in the last 3 hours.
I tanked some VR passages in the morning and then headed in for my 12hr shift in the ED.
Yesterday ALL I had to do was review a few passages, EK physics, and then my second 1/3's...did a great morning run and thought "I'll take an hour or so for lunch/to watch my friend's Ultimate game". Then ESPN3 didn't work so I tried to placate myself with second-rate vegging and...well, I was never happy with it so I kept vegging, and long story short I spent 12hrs doing nothing useful and went to bed without doing my second 1/3's. :bang:

So now I'm just gonna add those to the morning schedule and try to move forward in SN2ed without getting bogged down by yesterday's procrastination. Because the best thing to do when I'm already failing to hit my daily goals is to INCREASE them, right?
 
Just out of curiosity, do you guys work better studying with complete silence or listening to some soft music in the background?
Any recommendation? 😛
 
Just out of curiosity, do you guys work better studying with complete silence or listening to some soft music in the background?
Any recommendation? 😛
depends, either silence or hyperaggressive fast paced electronic or rock instrumentals. Soft music unfocuses me. I need something loud and strong enough to silence the million other thoughts bumping around in my head (How should I improve my homebrew DnD character....I wonder if Ill have time to meet that girl from tinder this week....are avocados technically a fruit....I wonder what purple smells like.....) I'm pretty sure I have ADHD and magically just do really well in school.

oh for recommendations Daft punks tron album is great, 65daysofstatic, pg.lost, Any of Pendulums stuff that lacks lyrics, generic electronic stuff on spotify,
 
Just out of curiosity, do you guys work better studying with complete silence or listening to some soft music in the background?
Any recommendation? 😛
Something with a strong beat and no vocals for studying.
No music for passages, as there won't be any on the exam!
 
depends, either silence or hyperaggressive fast paced electronic or rock instrumentals. Soft music unfocuses me. I need something loud and strong enough to silence the million other thoughts bumping around in my head (How should I improve my homebrew DnD character....I wonder if Ill have time to meet that girl from tinder this week....are avocados technically a fruit....I wonder what purple smells like.....) I'm pretty sure I have ADHD and magically just do really well in school.

oh for recommendations Daft punks tron album is great, 65daysofstatic, pg.lost, Any of Pendulums stuff that lacks lyrics, generic electronic stuff on spotify,

Wow that's interesting hahaha. Most people i know go with silence or soft music (including myself)
I like to listen to some electric dance sometimes but then it makes me feel like dancing LOL so soft music for me (classical, instrumental)

Occasionally, i listen to eminmem - Til I Collapse to re-motivate myself B)
 
depends, either silence or hyperaggressive fast paced electronic or rock instrumentals. Soft music unfocuses me. I need something loud and strong enough to silence the million other thoughts bumping around in my head (How should I improve my homebrew DnD character....I wonder if Ill have time to meet that girl from tinder this week....are avocados technically a fruit....I wonder what purple smells like.....) I'm pretty sure I have ADHD and magically just do really well in school.

oh for recommendations Daft punks tron album is great, 65daysofstatic, pg.lost, Any of Pendulums stuff that lacks lyrics, generic electronic stuff on spotify,
I know someone who uses tinder just to get guys' numbers and then proceeds to send them crazy texts. They then go up on Twitter for the public amusement; tread carefully my friend

Also, tinder question for you: have you ever met someone on tinder and the gone out with them and been like "I'm confused should I pay or do we split the bill"
 
Wow that's interesting hahaha. Most people i know go with silence or soft music (including myself)
I like to listen to some electric dance sometimes but then it makes me feel like dancing LOL so soft music for me (classical, instrumental)

Occasionally, i listen to eminmem - Til I Collapse to re-motivate myself B)
Really? I've always heard a split between intense with beats and soft/classical.
I like to combine them - electric remixes of classical (think Lindsay Stirling) or irish folk tunes or the like.
 
I know someone who uses tinder just to get guys' numbers and then proceeds to send them crazy texts. They then go up on Twitter for the public amusement; tread carefully my friend

Also, tinder question for you: have you ever met someone on tinder and the gone out with them and been like "I'm confused should I pay or do we split the bill"

all i have to say about tinder -
straightwhiteboystexting.tumblr.com
 
I know someone who uses tinder just to get guys' numbers and then proceeds to send them crazy texts. They then go up on Twitter for the public amusement; tread carefully my friend

Also, tinder question for you: have you ever met someone on tinder and the gone out with them and been like "I'm confused should I pay or do we split the bill"
I usually meet at coffee shops or just get a quick bite at a cafe so I always pay since its never much. But then again I use (actually "used" since I deleted it 2 weeks into sn2, to much of a distraction) tinder solely for hookups and not dates, since I tried the whole relationship+crazy premed lifestyle and it does not work out. I've joked that for right now, in order for something to work I would need to meet someone even crazier then myself.
 
all i have to say about tinder -
straightwhiteboystexting.tumblr.com
damn those dudes have no game whatsoever. Like really, unless your a living Adonis (and even then no guarantees) can be so stupid with lines. Yes tinder really is full of horny people who are game for casual stuff, even if they don't make it blatantly obvious, and no, you don't have to try hard, but those were just painful. I'm slightly ashamed of my gender.
 
damn those dudes have no game whatsoever. Like really, unless your a living Adonis (and even then no guarantees) can be so stupid with lines. Yes tinder really is full of horny people who are game for casual stuff, even if they don't make it blatantly obvious, but those were just painful.

you'd be surprised how often it happens
 
It is what it is. It's strange at first but you get used to it. It serves a purpose. Its definitely not for everyone, but it saves time and definitely allows better focus when you need it. And yes, I do have alot of funny stories. And hey, sex is great, we're biologically predisposed to think so.
 
Random question out of curiosity - are you guys living at home while studying for the MCAT? Or are you guys at school?

I've been at home and it's nice to be with my family and have home-cooked food and my own bed lol... but I feel bad having to say no sometimes to my friends for hanging out :/
 
Random question out of curiosity - are you guys living at home while studying for the MCAT? Or are you guys at school?

I've been at home and it's nice to be with my family and have home-cooked food and my own bed lol... but I feel bad having to say no sometimes to my friends for hanging out :/

Nope living in the library 😛
 
If used correctly Tinder can be a GREAT way to start a relationship(I have 2 friends that met their current boyfriends on there)
HOWEVER.

It takes a LOT of frogs to get to prince charming.

I think it's a great time waster for that horrid 30-32 ways of waiting for MCAT scores to come out 😉

also from what I hear during 3rd year of med school rings start flying left and right 😀
 
If used correctly Tinder can be a GREAT way to start a relationship(I have 2 friends that met their current boyfriends on there)
HOWEVER.

It takes a LOT of frogs to get to prince charming.

I think it's a great time waster for that horrid 30-32 ways of waiting for MCAT scores to come out 😉

also from what I hear during 3rd year of med school rings start flying left and right 😀

Rabbits you mean.
 
If used correctly Tinder can be a GREAT way to start a relationship(I have 2 friends that met their current boyfriends on there)
HOWEVER.

It takes a LOT of frogs to get to prince charming.

I think it's a great time waster for that horrid 30-32 ways of waiting for MCAT scores to come out 😉

also from what I hear during 3rd year of med school rings start flying left and right 😀
The divorce rates for doctors who marry each other is low. The rate for when doctors marry outside the profession is super high. Tells ya how much ya should worry about relationships right now. Also at least for me I know what traits im compatible with and ive only found them in premeds
 
Yeah F*CK relationships! Was with my S.O. for more than 2 years (being official... on top of 2 years spent just talking and being friends) and they said it "didn't feel like a relationship anymore" and they wanted to "feel how it was being single". WTF?

As a result... grades have SKYROCKETED, more than 70 pounds have been lost, and I am closer to my mother than ever before (IDK what that has to do with anything but I just love my momma 🙂 so wanted to throw that in there lol)

Never again. More determined than anything now to carry on with my future and shove it in their and their parents' faces.
 
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Yeah F*CK semester bcionships! Was with my S.O. for more than 2 years (being official... spent 2 years just talking and being friends) and they said it "didn't feel like a relationship anymore" and they wanted to "feel how it was being single". WTF?

As a result... grades have SKYROCKETED, more than 70 pounds have been lost, and I am closer to my mother than ever before (IDK what that has to do with anything but I just love my momma 🙂 so wanted to throw that in there lol)

Never again. More determined than anything now to carry on with my future and shove it in their and their parents' faces.
Im good friends with another premed whose grades tanked for a semester bc of his f'd up relationship. That was when I swore off them until at least medical school. The only way I would date is if the girl is busier than I am, which I dont see happening
 
Im good friends with another premed whose grades tanked for a semester bc of his f'd up relationship. That was when I swore off them until at least medical school. The only way I would date is if the girl is busier than I am, which I dont see happening

Yeah man. But like they say - you live and you learn right?

Unfortunately, some learn too late but whatever. If anything, I actually appreciate and love meeting new people more than ever. I'm more outgoing and down to meet different people and I think that everyone has their own story.

I'm interested in learning what others have been through to get to where they currently are in life and where they plan on going.

Moral of my rant: Dese hoes ain't loyal (NOTE: NOT SAYING EVERY MEMBER OF THE OPPOSITE SEX IS LIKE THIS) and also "Better choose the right one, or pick the kiddies up" lol Those always get me.
 
Im good friends with another premed whose grades tanked for a semester bc of his f'd up relationship. That was when I swore off them until at least medical school. The only way I would date is if the girl is busier than I am, which I dont see happening

I have never nor would place a relationship over my future and career. Would never let that f me up. They are fleeting, future and career isn't.

Good night y'all
 
That moment you look over the AAMC content outline and realize that you have covered most of it by day 52 of SN2ed

tumblr_inline_mudaz4Edy11qc9lhz.gif
 
@DoctorInASaree is some next level **** though. I think she must be some sort of extraterrestrial to focus and do as much as she does. Or massive amounts of Addy and rit, but I don't think so.

edit: Im not actually implying @DoctorInASaree is taking study drugs, more just that she is really freaking amazing.
 
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How are some of you guys freaking covering 2 SN2 days in one day? I'm mostly looking at you, @DoctorInASaree because I know you did it but I know there's a few other ppl as well
I take the day off. If I don't have work in the morning, it's completely doable!
Actually, as long as I only have 3hrs of work in the morning, I can crank out 2 after work. Sadly, there have been a lot of days where I work 10 or 12hrs, and then I get jack done at home. That's why I'm behind. If not for twofer days, I'd be totally effed.

As for the relationship thing...never done it, sounds like a giant PITA. It's just...never come up. I'm busy, so I don't hang out much, and if a dude hits on me before he even knows me, I assume he's not interested in getting to know me, just in hooking up. I don't enjoy hooking up (tried it, don't see why there's so much hype), so I tend to just stop talking to dudes that hit on me...don't wanna lead anyone on.
 
I take the day off. If I don't have work in the morning, it's completely doable!
Actually, as long as I only have 3hrs of work in the morning, I can crank out 2 after work. Sadly, there have been a lot of days where I work 10 or 12hrs, and then I get jack done at home. That's why I'm behind. If not for twofer days, I'd be totally effed.

As for the relationship thing...never done it, sounds like a giant PITA. It's just...never come up. I'm busy, so I don't hang out much, and if a dude hits on me before he even knows me, I assume he's not interested in getting to know me, just in hooking up. I don't enjoy hooking up (tried it, don't see why there's so much hype), so I tend to just stop talking to dudes that hit on me...don't wanna lead anyone on.

Really its just something to help me focus, like a pressure release valve that isnt quite satisfied by anything else.
 
Really its just something to help me focus, like a pressure release valve that isnt quite satisfied by anything else.
Oh, I totally get that...sadly, though, I've yet to find the satisfying part 🙁
It's not that I disapprove (quite the opposite, really), it just doesn't work for me. I can either be sad about that or move on and try to ignore the whole thing. I'll get back around to it someday when I have a few less distractions!
 
How are some of you guys freaking covering 2 SN2 days in one day? I'm mostly looking at you, @DoctorInASaree because I know you did it but I know there's a few other ppl as well

It's actually not that bad. It just depends. I can (could rather) do physics and gen chem in one day no problem. Physics has short chapters, short passages, I usually did physics chapter plus passages in 3 hours. Gen chem usually took 5 hours. Organic I could never do with another day those chapters were too long, usually took me 8 hours with a lot of screaming to finish. To be honest, if I could go back, I would use EK Organic instead. And biology it depends on the topics and the amount of passages if you are using EK Bio. If you are using TBR Bio then no way I could do biology with another day in one day.
 
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