SN2'd first day

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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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QueenJames said:
Thanks Swedish. In your opinion, should I do the R ones then? or is it fine just doing the regular length AAMC ones?
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You should do the regular length ones to get accustomed to the format and the computer setup - and to get a better score prediction.
If you wanna go through the R exams and pull out extra passages, I guess you can, but between all of the other AAMC sources, TBR, TPRH, etc...at some point, enough is enough!
 
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Has studying recently gotten overwhelming for anyone else? I'm taking a break from studying for a few days. My scores this week compared to the last few weeks have kinda plummeted so I think now is a good time for me to take advantage of a few buffer days.

Heading to AC for the weekend tomorrow. Peace out mcat books!

Until monday...
 
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MrTaco92 said:
Has studying recently gotten overwhelming for anyone else? I'm taking a break from studying for a few days. My scores this week compared to the last few weeks have kinda plummeted so I think now is a good time for me to take advantage of a few buffer days.

Heading to AC for the weekend tomorrow. Peace out mcat books!

Until monday...
Click to expand...

I went home this past weekend and took a few days where I was like half-assing reading chapters and not doing much, and I hit my 2nd 1/3s today - I actually scored above 90% in both Ochem and Genchem on my 2nd 1/3s. Which I have never done before. So either it was an easy chapter, or I'm getting it, or a break is NEEDED!

Enjoy your weekend 🙂
 
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TexasSurgeon said:
There can be only one @pbrocks15

Have you completed Princeton & AAMCs? Because that sounds like you'll have 15 exams and it should be enough. If you want more, then go buy TBR exams
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I haven't completed them but I have only 4 Princeton exams left and I wanna save the AAMC exams for the last two weeks or so.

I'm just trying to plan ahead in my free time so when the time comes to take an exam I already have it.
 
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Hey about to be a corporate shill but..... the new Nos Active Energy drinks, kinda look like gatorade but have 200+mg caffiene per bottle, they are kinda great. 4hrs of energy, no crash, 10 calories, cheap, and tasty. Also, they dont make me have to use the bathroom more like coffee, which is great for the actual exam.
 
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TBRBiosadist said:
Hey about to be a corporate shill but..... the new Nos Active Energy drinks, kinda look like gatorade but have 200+mg caffiene per bottle, they are kinda great. 4hrs of energy, no crash, 10 calories, cheap, and tasty. Also, they dont make me have to use the bathroom more like coffee, which is great for the actual exam.
Click to expand...

How do you like em compared to Red Bull or Monster? Used to use Red Bull a lot to study but stopped that after a while.
 
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neekzg said:
How do you like em compared to Red Bull or Monster? Used to use Red Bull a lot to study but stopped that after a while.
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A thousand times better, no crash so they are perfect for long term studying. Also taste better. They are not carbonated either. More caffeine than either of those too at a cheaper price. Their only 99 cents.

I used to use caffeine pills but they were a bit harsh on my system and I stopped using them about a year ago.
 
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TBRBiosadist said:
A thousand times better, no crash so they are perfect for long term studying. Also taste better. They are not carbonated either. More caffeine than either of those too at a cheaper price. Their only 99 cents.

I used to use caffeine pills but they were a bit harsh on my system and I stopped using them about a year ago.
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Harsh how?
I use caffeine pills exclusively and have never noticed anything other than, you know, the whole 'more alert' thing. Just curious to see what you ran into, since I end up discussing caffeine pills a lot 😀
 
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Im prone to panic attacks and all the caffiene at once doesnt help it. Why I prefer stretching it out using drinks instead of a concentrated hit to the system
 
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Honestly, when I didnt have panic attacks because of them (it only happens rarely) they were like crack to me. I would fine any excuse to take some because I just loved the feeling of energy and focus.
 
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Hey, guys.

Bit worried here- just did my first round of Bio TBR passages and...pretty much failed them all (i.e., <50%). Is that fairly normal, or should I be scrambling to supplement my EK with another source, since I'm a bit removed from my physiology and basic bio classes?

Seriously. You want me to wax poetic about the carbon/nitrogen cycle and tell you all about humanity's impact on both? A-ok. Want me to tell you about amino acids aside from "Uh, they make proteins and stuff?' N0-ok. Fail.

*facedesk into eternity*
 
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TBRBiosadist said:
Honestly, when I didnt have panic attacks because of them (it only happens rarely) they were like crack to me. I would fine any excuse to take some because I just loved the feeling of energy and focus.
Click to expand...

If I want super focus I just take 1.5 adderall pills rather than my usual 1 pill dose 😛
 
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hubristicphantasm said:
Hey, guys.

Bit worried here- just did my first round of Bio TBR passages and...pretty much failed them all (i.e., <50%). Is that fairly normal, or should I be scrambling to supplement my EK with another source, since I'm a bit removed from my physiology and basic bio classes?

Seriously. You want me to wax poetic about the carbon/nitrogen cycle and tell you all about humanity's impact on both? A-ok. Want me to tell you about amino acids aside from "Uh, they make proteins and stuff?' N0-ok. Fail.

*facedesk into eternity*
Click to expand...

First two chapters passages from TBR are pretty much a disaster. Around 50% is where I was. Plus you have to figure out TBR's style. I'd say its fairly normal, more or less.
 
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TBRBiosadist said:
Im prone to panic attacks and all the caffiene at once doesnt help it. Why I prefer stretching it out using drinks instead of a concentrated hit to the system
Click to expand...
TBRBiosadist said:
Honestly, when I didnt have panic attacks because of them (it only happens rarely) they were like crack to me. I would fine any excuse to take some because I just loved the feeling of energy and focus.
Click to expand...
SwedishMD2B said:
OMG caffeine pills make me too jittery and screws up my stomach and makes me feel all funny
Click to expand...
Huh, interesting. I've never actually felt the onset of caffeine pills. I used to feel 5hr energy's 'hit', but that was the niacin flush, not the 200mg of caffeine.
But then, I don't like sipping drinks. I may as well take shots (or pills) because if you give me a glass with liquid in it, I am gonna hold it in my hand for 30min, then go "oh crap I forgot to drink this", plug my nose, and down the whole thing. I find drinking any liquid fairly unpleasant unless I'm actively exercising. So to me, a pill vs a drink is no different in terms of onset/dosing, but far different in terms of cost/unpleasantness of intake.

I suppose I also just can't see 200mg (or 100mg, I often take only ½ a pill) as a concentrated hit considering that plenty of people drink a large coffee (far more caffeine) in short periods of time. Their caffeine level would reach a far higher peak than mine with only 200mg.
 
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Hey guys do you have a favorite caffeine pill and it so how much dosage is one?? How often do you take one a day and when do you take it, a hour before studying
in the morning or evenings ? Im from the Caribbean so im more comfortable with natural herbs so im new to this .... LOL peer pressure !
 
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SwedishMD2B said:
First two chapters passages from TBR are pretty much a disaster. Around 50% is where I was. Plus you have to figure out TBR's style. I'd say its fairly normal, more or less.
Click to expand...
My first time with tbr ch1 and 2 was about 60%. My final thirds on both were above 90, (95 and 93) I didnt use any extra material
 
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poop420 said:
Hey guys do you have a favorite caffeine pill and it so how much dosage is one?? How often do you take one a day and when do you take it, a hour before studying
in the morning or evenings ? Im from the Caribbean so im more comfortable with natural herbs so im new to this .... LOL peer pressure !
Click to expand...
i just get whats cheap. usually about 200mg. Take it 2o minutes before you want the kick. not at night unless you plan on not sleeping terribly well.

I wouldnt reccomend more than one at a time and after two your already at the healthy "limit" for the day of caffiene which is under 400mg. I tend to try to stay under 800mg, or even 500mg if I can, but if I NEED it, ive gone as far as 2g. The LD-50 of caffiene for average person is 10g.
 
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poop420 said:
Hey guys do you have a favorite caffeine pill and it so how much dosage is one?? How often do you take one a day and when do you take it, a hour before studying
in the morning or evenings ? Im from the Caribbean so im more comfortable with natural herbs so im new to this .... LOL peer pressure !
Click to expand...
They're all fairly analogous...most will have 200mg caffeine in them, which is less than a small Starbucks drip. I take 1 pill if I'm going to be awake and alert for the next 12hrs or so, and ½ a pill if, say, I'm just getting home from work and want a boost for 6hrs or so of studying afterwards. I take them 15-30min before I start my shift (at the hospital) or just vaguely at the beginning of my studying (at home).

I like the CVS 'caplet' (maybe tablet? I dunno, the oval ones) ones, because they are small, easy to split in ½, and they're not all powdery on the outside, which to me makes pills messy and taste grosser for no reason. They're not coated or anything, just well-made.
It's something like 60 for $5 or so, good deal.

I don't take them every day, or even every week, but if I plan it far enough ahead of time I find them quite useful. Always in my pocket, ready to go, easy.
 
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TBRBiosadist said:
i just get whats cheap. usually about 200mg. Take it 2o minutes before you want the kick. not at night unless you plan on not sleeping terribly well.

I wouldnt reccomend more than one at a time and after two your already at the healthy "limit" for the day of caffiene which is under 400mg. I tend to try to stay under 800mg, or even 500mg if I can, but if I NEED it, ive gone as far as 2g. The LD-50 of caffiene for average person is 10g.
Click to expand...
So one at a time thanks man!! An average how many do you take a day ?? One pill or 2. And do you take it as a way to stay focus as well and not to keep you up ??
 
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hubristicphantasm said:
Out of curiosity, how fresh was your bio knowledge while reading EK? As in, did you know more than the books straight-up told you?
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The only section that I was a little weak content wise was physio since i havent had a physio class....but I worried about this from the get go and over-studied so physio is one of my strongest areas now lol. I did poorly the first time because I was unprepared for the difficulty of TBR, but I had strong (and recent) pre req knowledge and oodles of research, so overall I was pretty damn fresh, the farthest I had to reach back was maybe a year and a half.
 
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mehc012 said:
They're all fairly analogous...most will have 200mg caffeine in them, which is less than a small Starbucks drip. I take 1 pill if I'm going to be awake and alert for the next 12hrs or so, and ½ a pill if, say, I'm just getting home from work and want a boost for 6hrs or so of studying afterwards. I take them 15-30min before I start my shift (at the hospital) or just vaguely at the beginning of my studying (at home).

I like the CVS 'caplet' (maybe tablet? I dunno, the oval ones) ones, because they are small, easy to split in ½, and they're not all powdery on the outside, which to me makes pills messy and taste grosser for no reason. They're not coated or anything, just well-made.
It's something like 60 for $5 or so, good deal.

I don't take them every day, or even every week, but if I plan it far enough ahead of time I find them quite useful. Always in my pocket, ready to go, easy.
Click to expand...

I always have a pack in my car. They do work at keeping me alert, so if I'm driving and I start to feel sleepy, I quickly take one.
 
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SwedishMD2B said:
I always have a pack in my car. They do work at keeping me alert, so if I'm driving and I start to feel sleepy, I quickly take one.
Click to expand...
I have a pack of those in my car for if I feel sleepy on the way to work, and a bed in the back for if I feel sleepy on the way home! :laugh:
 
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poop420 said:
So one at a time thanks man!! An average how many do you take a day ?? One pill or 2. And do you take it as a way to stay focus as well and not to keep you up ??
Click to expand...
I would take no more than one a day, and not every day. Like 4 times a week. I dont need caffeine to stay awake, I can be up for 48hrs (past experience) and as long as Im not sitting down doing nothing ill stay awake just fine, it just for focus, or an extra kick for a workout
 
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TBRBiosadist said:
The only section that I was a little weak content wise was physio since i havent had a physio class....but I worried about this from the get go and over-studied so physio is one of my strongest areas now lol. I did poorly the first time because I was unprepared for the difficulty of TBR, but I had strong (and recent) pre req knowledge and oodles of research, so overall I was pretty damn fresh, the farthest I had to reach back was maybe a year and a half.
Click to expand...
Mm, that makes sense, then. I think I need to start using sources outside EK- it's good for a refresher of the basics, but I'm worried about the content that it DOESN'T contain. My basic bio class is 4-5 years removed and physio/cell bio is at least 2-3. *cry*
 
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Hell I had another premed who I lift with try to get my on a EC stack (Ephedrine/caffeine) and he would make all his own supplements from bulk chemicals. I turned it down and he stopped doing it too when he realized the ephedrine made his dear little johnny not work terribly well.
 
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TBRBiosadist said:
I would take no more than one a day, and not every day. Like 4 times a week. I dont need caffeine to stay awake, I can be up for 48hrs (past experience) and as long as Im not sitting down doing nothing ill stay awake just fine, it just for focus, or an extra kick for a workout
Click to expand...
Exactly. I don't take caffeine to stay awake, or to drive. I take it so that I can be more productive when otherwise I would be miserable and slightly less productive.
I trained myself to pull up to 3 allnighters in 1 wk during highschool, back when I thought caffeine was bad for you. I've since researched it a lot more and decided that it's silly to pull a miserable allnighter when I can pull a more functional, cheerful, productive one. Likewise, every 2 weeks or so I will take one before a 12hr shift, not because I need it, but because I will be a better coworker and my charts will get done more quickly.

Now, I actually take caffeine so I can sleep more. If I take 100mg of caffeine after work, I can get 2 BR chapters done in the next 5-6hrs and sleep a full 8 that night. If I don't, I'll work more slowly, stay up late, and sleep 4-6hrs (probably with less done). A little extra focus goes a long way!
 
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Lol I bet its easy to tell from the outside who wants to go ortho by the number of times we bring up lifting
 
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hubristicphantasm said:
Mm, that makes sense, then. I think I need to start using sources outside EK- it's good for a refresher of the basics, but I'm worried about the content that it DOESN'T contain. My basic bio class is 4-5 years removed and physio/cell bio is at least 2-3. *cry*
Click to expand...

Don't complain, I took my prereqs mainly in 2004-2005, some in 2006 😛
 
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TBRBiosadist said:
I would take no more than one a day, and not every day. Like 4 times a week. I dont need caffeine to stay awake, I can be up for 48hrs (past experience) and as long as Im not sitting down doing nothing ill stay awake just fine, it just for focus, or an extra kick for a workout
Click to expand...

I tried caffeine pills before working out, I didn't actually notice much of a difference. I always thought it would make my 1RM a little better, but no bueno.
 
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SwedishMD2B said:
I tried caffeine pills before working out, I didn't actually notice much of a difference.
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I thought it was mainly an adenosine antagonist? Not sure why you'd see a physical effect there.
As for the mental one, exercise has always woken me up more than caffeine, so for me it'd be like turning the thermostat up by 1 degree and then wrapping myself in an electric blanket - the first change is going to be kind of an unnoticeable waste once the second kicks in!
 
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So, I'm a bit late on the 'studying after work' thing today, BUT I feel productive because I used my breaks (and sample run time) today to review 710 Anki cards.
Yeah, that's right...710.
I was 3d behind on my MCAT deck and like 3wks behind on my Review (aka every class I've taken in the past 2yrs) deck.

WHAT UP, SONNNNNNN?!?!
 
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I liked TBR's Physio stuff. The Biomol is a bit much, now that I'm into it, but the Physio wasn't overly dense imo. If that's your weak area, may as well do TBR.
 
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Has anybody tried the new Protein cheerios??? Saw the commercial and thought they'd be the shiizzzz
 
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QueenJames said:
Has anybody tried the new Protein cheerios??? Saw the commercial and thought they'd be the shiizzzz
Click to expand...
Nah, I get my morning protein from eggs and bacon!

Remember, now's the time to load up on all the fats before researchers change their tune again!
 
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SwedishMD2B said:
No, I used EK for content and did TBR Bio passages.
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Okay. That's reassuring, thank you.
TBRBiosadist said:
Remember
Mcat: not a content test
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Aha..ha... Yeah. That's been something to get used to. I think it's going to be hard to train myself out of neurotically trying to know everything and instead focus on the passages and how to attack them intelligently.
mehc012 said:
I liked TBR's Physio stuff. The Biomol is a bit much, now that I'm into it, but the Physio wasn't overly dense imo. If that's your weak area, may as well do TBR.
Click to expand...
I really don't want to do TBR biomol, but I think I might have to for extra review. It's been...well...a long, long while since the metabolism and cell structure stuff. Not as worried about physio- I took that around 2 years ago and liked it then.

Anyway, thanks everyone. I'm kinda a stress monster so I tend to focus on little things and work myself up into a fine frenzy. It's finding that balance, I think. I can't ignore the content for passages and practice problems, but I can't focus exclusively on content either. Agh....
 
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hubristicphantasm said:
Okay. That's reassuring, thank you.

Aha..ha... Yeah. That's been something to get used to. I think it's going to be hard to train myself out of neurotically trying to know everything and instead focus on the passages and how to attack them intelligently.

I really don't want to do TBR biomol, but I think I might have to for extra review. It's been...well...a long, long while since the metabolism and cell structure stuff. Not as worried about physio- I took that around 2 years ago and liked it then.

Anyway, thanks everyone. I'm kinda a stress monster so I tend to focus on little things and work myself up into a fine frenzy. It's finding that balance, I think. I can't ignore the content for passages and practice problems, but I can't focus exclusively on content either. Agh....
Click to expand...
I'm doing it because it seems like less work than correlating EK to TBR (and yes, I have seen the thread with the correlation, and no, that doesn't help) but also because I am a bit AR.
Ah, well.
 
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