SN2'd first day

[TexasSurgeon]

---

Members do not 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.

 

[Dreamstoo]

I would have gotten a 45 if I didnt almost **** my pants during vr. I was on the toilet for 5 minutes lol.

And no . They wanted to make it their background for encouragement

Lesson learned: no more grease food just kidding.

 

[TBRBiosadist]

Douu mae fun of mah cundishin. I needs me some deep fried blubber or imma starve

 

[orangetea]

Well said.

 

[Rhino1000]

What do the wise men and ladies of the circle think one ought to do immediately post-practice test? If you take a practice test on a given day, should you take the rest of the day off or what do you think? Is it worth it/wise to review the test the same day?

Also, @TBRBiosadist , @DoctorInASaree as people who are scoring higher than I and by a fair margin (I scored 37 today [AAMC4:13,11,13], which I was thrilled with) - did you both use flashcards for your content review? Most of the questions I missed today were from lack of knowledge (sans VR); I'm considering either rereading my notebooks (which were fairly detailed, but probably with some gaps due to lack of paying attention to things I ought to have written down, but fairly thorough nonetheless) or reading through the EK science books (all of them, likely, except most of physics); if you have experience with them, do you think that the EK science books cover everything you need to know to score 40+?

Responses appreciated 😀

 

[pbrocks15]

Well said.

I LOVE C.S. LEWIS!!!!!!!!

 

[pbrocks15]

What do the wise men and ladies of the circle think one ought to do immediately post-practice test? If you take a practice test on a given day, should you take the rest of the day off or what do you think? Is it worth it/wise to review the test the same day?

Also, @TBRBiosadist , @DoctorInASaree as people who are scoring higher than I and by a fair margin (I scored 37 today [AAMC4:13,11,13], which I was thrilled with) - did you both use flashcards for your content review? Most of the questions I missed today were from lack of knowledge (sans VR); I'm considering either rereading my notebooks (which were fairly detailed, but probably with some gaps due to lack of paying attention to things I ought to have written down, but fairly thorough nonetheless) or reading through the EK science books (all of them, likely, except most of physics); if you have experience with them, do you think that the EK science books cover everything you need to know to score 40+?

Responses appreciated 😀

I must say, that 37 should not go unnoticed...Good work 🙂

 

[poop420]

What do the wise men and ladies of the circle think one ought to do immediately post-practice test? If you take a practice test on a given day, should you take the rest of the day off or what do you think? Is it worth it/wise to review the test the same day?

Also, @TBRBiosadist , @DoctorInASaree as people who are scoring higher than I and by a fair margin (I scored 37 today [AAMC4:13,11,13], which I was thrilled with) - did you both use flashcards for your content review? Most of the questions I missed today were from lack of knowledge (sans VR); I'm considering either rereading my notebooks (which were fairly detailed, but probably with some gaps due to lack of paying attention to things I ought to have written down, but fairly thorough nonetheless) or reading through the EK science books (all of them, likely, except most of physics); if you have experience with them, do you think that the EK science books cover everything you need to know to score 40+?

Responses appreciated 😀

Good job and my opinion is if your scoring that high the type of book you use to do content review doesn't make much of a difference. Just keep doing what you doing and share all of your secrets with us so we can do just as good as you ha ha

 

[namesthegame21]

Mhm! That sounds prudent. Content review for another month or so...then TPR tests..and finally AAMC!



Well, TBR passages demand mastery of detailed content, and in that vein they are not representative of the passages one will find in AAMC (one can intuit a great deal of the questions using VR tactics). TBR's Verbal passages are far from being representative of what one comes to expect from AAMC FL tests. Perhaps @TexasSurgeon may be able to provide you with another perspective on TBR's FL tests; as I believe he has ordered the set.

GS - Others have told me that they do not believe that their FL's are representative of the MCAT or AAMC FL tests. I do not have any first hand experiences with respect to GS. However, I am quite fond of my purse and its contents, and I am not willing to part with them without good reason. 😀

TPR - My MCAT content review comprises of TBR and TPR materials. In addition to that, I found the TPRSH workbook to be of tremendous value to my ongoing studies. With that said, I have taken one of their FL practice tests and scored a 43 which is eerily similar to my AAMC #3 score of 44. Incidentally, those are the two reasons as to why I believe TPR to be more representative of AAMC FL tests as compared to its competitors.

Don't even get me started on Kaplan.



I watched thirty seconds of that video clip, and I am petrified. I don't know how I will be able to sleep tonight. I don't feel safe, and I think that I'm going to be abducted by aliens. 👽 Don't worry - I'll have those aliens MCAT ready in two months time. 😀

Thanks for explaining Sari, it helps in the process of deciding on non-AAMC FLs

 

[pbrocks15]

Good job and my opinion is if your scoring that high the type of book you use to do content review doesn't make much of a difference. Just keep doing what you doing and share all of your secrets with us so we can do just as good as you ha ha

🙂

 

[Mantis__TobogganMD]

Hey everybody,

When you did your reviews of the previous day, what strategies do you use to internalize the mistakes you made on the questions (either in the passages or the EK 1001)? The same goes for Verbal as well?

 

[Rhino1000]

I must say, that 37 should not go unnoticed...Good work 🙂

Good job and my opinion is if your scoring that high the type of book you use to do content review doesn't make much of a difference. Just keep doing what you doing and share all of your secrets with us so we can do just as good as you ha ha

Haha thanks guys!😀 Uhhh "poop," but don't you think I ought to do a weeks' worth of light content review if it seems to me a large chunk of the questions I'm getting wrong are due to lack of knowledge of the content itself? I wonder if it would be smarter for me to go through every single BR book question that I was unsure of (marked with stars) or got wrong, instead of reading through the EK books, or my notebooks, or even if reviewing tests will suffice for such purposes. If the council had to put in their say, what would they vote?

 

[poop420]

Haha thanks guys!😀 Uhhh "poop," but don't you think I ought to do a weeks' worth of light content review if it seems to me a large chunk of the questions I'm getting wrong are due to lack of knowledge of the content itself? I wonder if it would be smarter for me to go through every single BR book question that I was unsure of (marked with stars) or got wrong, instead of reading through the EK books, or my notebooks, or even if reviewing tests will suffice for such purposes. If the council had to put in their say, what would they vote?

Yes I agree that if you see you have gaps in content you should review, but the difference in TBR,TPR and EK books are little to none existent when you start hitting 35+.. You seem to have a mastery of the basics so passages might be what you need to do to nail down your weak points, but honestly right now post game is your best friend!At this stage of the game quality in studying not quantity you should be focusing on.Ihavent taking a FL yet or finished with content review so I may not be the best to comment . Just my 2 cents

 

[TBRBiosadist]

I cannot stress enough the importance of postgame. I used no outside study sources. I did no extra passages. I did verbal max twice a week. I have done hat trick twice.
BUT I WOULD POST GAME UNTIL MY EYES BLED AND MY HANDS BLISTERED

 

[sharkbyte]

@TBRBiosadist Did you notice any jumps in difficulty with AAMC 9, for any sections?

 

[TBRBiosadist]

No, all the tests feel about the same difficulty. They definitely are different on their focus and of course each test has different subjects pop up but all the practice tests have felt about the same difficulty....because surprise surprise they are old mcats.

 

[Dreamstoo]

No, all the tests feel about the same difficulty. They definitely are different on their focus and of course each test has different subjects pop up but all the practice tests have felt about the same difficulty....because surprise surprise they are old mcats.

This is a really spot on post. Nice one TBR, I totally agree with this from what I have been hearing about tests. Some are easy and some are out in left field with more lenient curves usually.

 

[TBRBiosadist]

But here is the big secret......the real Mcat isnt harder than the practice tests. People tend to score within 2 points of their aamc average because the real mcat is supposed to be of the same difficulty as the practice tests. The stress of test day is what makes it worse

 

[TBRBiosadist]

Definitely the vibe I'm getting right now...



Haha

I have never been more aroused

 

[TBRBiosadist]

I have once again, true to form, Stayed up far to late playing an f-ing game when I should have been getting a jump on some studying

 

[DoctorInASaree]

What do the wise men and ladies of the circle think one ought to do immediately post-practice test? If you take a practice test on a given day, should you take the rest of the day off or what do you think? Is it worth it/wise to review the test the same day?

Also, @TBRBiosadist , @DoctorInASaree as people who are scoring higher than I and by a fair margin (I scored 37 today [AAMC4:13,11,13], which I was thrilled with) - did you both use flashcards for your content review? Most of the questions I missed today were from lack of knowledge (sans VR); I'm considering either rereading my notebooks (which were fairly detailed, but probably with some gaps due to lack of paying attention to things I ought to have written down, but fairly thorough nonetheless) or reading through the EK science books (all of them, likely, except most of physics); if you have experience with them, do you think that the EK science books cover everything you need to know to score 40+?

Responses appreciated 😀

First, let me begin by recognizing that there are people in this thread that live by Anki, and it is working well for them. However, I am not one of those people. With that being said; I will provide you with a rather cryptic answer:

When he was a child, Mr Feynman would go on walks in a forest with his father during the weekend, as other children in the community did as well. One day, one of the boys asked Feynman if he knew what the name of one of the local birds was. Feynman responded by saying that he hadn't the slightest idea (bird nomenclature was not in his area of expertise at the time). The boy told Feynman the name of the bird (a brown-headed thrush if I recall correctly), and that his father tells him nothing on his walks - perhaps Feynman ought to speak with the boy's father instead. Feynman regaled his father with this experience; to which his father responded by naming the bird in more than six different languages. He asked Feynman if he felt more knowledgeable after knowing the names of the bird in various languages...his father told him that he knows absolutely nothing whatsoever about the bird - only what humans classify the bird as. He proceeded to tell Feynman about the bird, what it is doing, its defining characteristics, etc.

So, all of you are Verbsies meisters, and I'll give you a moment to put your Verbsies caps on and discern the crux of the story...the point is: Feynman's father knew the difference between knowing the name of something and knowing something.

From my personal experience, I can say with confidence, that if you fail to remember key equations and facts you need more practice with the material. As one solves more passages (and reviews them - this cannot be stressed enough) one will become more comfortable with the subject matter (and therefore equations et cetera). You do not need to know every single minute detail presented in TBR's content review. What is much more important, with respect to the MCAT, is knowing how to apply that knowledge.

Incidentally, I mostly agree with C.S. Peirce's post.

If you can apply VR (verbsies) techniques to your science passages you will be much better off. Rote memorization is a road to disaster in scoring well on the MCAT; focus on understanding and applying concepts. Failing that, apply the Sherlock Holmes method of process of elimination: When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth! The MCAT is a reasoning test, and you must treat it as such.

In short, the main reason why I do not use Anki, is because after solving and reviewing passages I have invariably mastered the subject matter. You will make mistakes, and you will not retain every single precise detail. That is where post-FL analysis is invaluable, and I would recommend that you not only review the same day that you write the FL, but also the day after. This has served me well.
------------

As for Salty the Kracker is concerned, it depends on your familiarity with prerequisites. I would err on the side of caution and at minimum supplant certain topics with TPR. As has been stated on numerous occasions in this thread; TBR presents the most comprehensive and detailed content review.

 

[ayocaptain628]

First, let me begin by recognizing that there are people in this thread that live by Anki, and it is working well for them. However, I am not one of those people. With that being said; I will provide you with a rather cryptic answer:

When he was a child, Mr Feynman would go on walks in a forest with his father during the weekend, as other children in the community did as well. One day, one of the boys asked Feynman if he knew what the name of one of the local birds was. Feynman responded by saying that he hadn't the slightest idea (bird nomenclature was not in his area of expertise at the time). The boy told Feynman the name of the bird (a brown-headed thrush if I recall correctly), and that his father tells him nothing on his walks - perhaps Feynman ought to speak with the boy's father instead. Feynman regaled his father with this experience; to which his father responded by naming the bird in more than six different languages. He asked Feynman if he felt more knowledgeable after knowing the names of the bird in various languages...his father told him that he knows absolutely nothing whatsoever about the bird - only what humans classify the bird as. He proceeded to tell Feynman about the bird, what it is doing, its defining characteristics, etc.

So, all of you are Verbsies meisters, and I'll give you a moment to put your Verbsies caps on and discern the crux of the story...the point is: Feynman's father knew the difference between knowing the name of something and knowing something.

From my personal experience, I can say with confidence, that if you fail to remember key equations and facts you need more practice with the material. As one solves more passages (and reviews them - this cannot be stressed enough) one will become more comfortable with the subject matter (and therefore equations et cetera). You do not need to know every single minute detail presented in TBR's content review. What is much more important, with respect to the MCAT, is knowing how to apply that knowledge.

Incidentally, I mostly agree with C.S. Peirce's post.

If you can apply VR (verbsies) techniques to your science passages you will be much better off. Rote memorization is a road to disaster in scoring well on the MCAT; focus on understanding and applying concepts. Failing that, apply the Sherlock Holmes method of process of elimination: When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth! The MCAT is a reasoning test, and you must treat it as such.

In short, the main reason why I do not use Anki, is because after solving and reviewing passages I have invariably mastered the subject matter. You will make mistakes, and you will not retain every single precise detail. That is where post-FL analysis is invaluable, and I would recommend that you not only review the same day that you write the FL, but also the day after. This has served me well.
------------

As for Salty the Kracker is concerned, it depends on your familiarity with prerequisites. I would err on the side of caution and at minimum supplant certain topics with TPR. As has been stated on numerous occasions in this thread; TBR presents the most comprehensive and detailed content review.

omg how fun
I love the Sherlock Holmes reference
Makes the whole experience sound more fun^o^

 

[Rhino1000]

First, let me begin by recognizing that there are people in this thread that live by Anki, and it is working well for them. However, I am not one of those people. With that being said; I will provide you with a rather cryptic answer:

When he was a child, Mr Feynman would go on walks in a forest with his father during the weekend, as other children in the community did as well. One day, one of the boys asked Feynman if he knew what the name of one of the local birds was. Feynman responded by saying that he hadn't the slightest idea (bird nomenclature was not in his area of expertise at the time). The boy told Feynman the name of the bird (a brown-headed thrush if I recall correctly), and that his father tells him nothing on his walks - perhaps Feynman ought to speak with the boy's father instead. Feynman regaled his father with this experience; to which his father responded by naming the bird in more than six different languages. He asked Feynman if he felt more knowledgeable after knowing the names of the bird in various languages...his father told him that he knows absolutely nothing whatsoever about the bird - only what humans classify the bird as. He proceeded to tell Feynman about the bird, what it is doing, its defining characteristics, etc.

So, all of you are Verbsies meisters, and I'll give you a moment to put your Verbsies caps on and discern the crux of the story...the point is: Feynman's father knew the difference between knowing the name of something and knowing something.

From my personal experience, I can say with confidence, that if you fail to remember key equations and facts you need more practice with the material. As one solves more passages (and reviews them - this cannot be stressed enough) one will become more comfortable with the subject matter (and therefore equations et cetera). You do not need to know every single minute detail presented in TBR's content review. What is much more important, with respect to the MCAT, is knowing how to apply that knowledge.

Incidentally, I mostly agree with C.S. Peirce's post.

If you can apply VR (verbsies) techniques to your science passages you will be much better off. Rote memorization is a road to disaster in scoring well on the MCAT; focus on understanding and applying concepts. Failing that, apply the Sherlock Holmes method of process of elimination: When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth! The MCAT is a reasoning test, and you must treat it as such.

In short, the main reason why I do not use Anki, is because after solving and reviewing passages I have invariably mastered the subject matter. You will make mistakes, and you will not retain every single precise detail. That is where post-FL analysis is invaluable, and I would recommend that you not only review the same day that you write the FL, but also the day after. This has served me well.
------------

As for Salty the Kracker is concerned, it depends on your familiarity with prerequisites. I would err on the side of caution and at minimum supplant certain topics with TPR. As has been stated on numerous occasions in this thread; TBR presents the most comprehensive and detailed content review.

When I saw that you were linking to C.S. Pierce's post, I had a feeling that that was the post that you were linking to! Of course I did read it, and in fact, I was the immediately following post on that thread, with specific reply to him. Like you, I enjoyed it thoroughly.

With that being said, I will follow through with this advice; I will engage with thorough post-game analysis the rest of this summer (until the 27th, following every passage set's or FL's completion). Do you have any opinions on going back to review problems earlier in my studies that I think I may not have reviewed to the extent that I should have? This paragraph also applies to @TBRBiosadist.

I have already gone through TBR, and created fairly detailed notes along the way. I think if I were to engage in rereading any books, TBR might be too great a time commitment, especially 22 days out from the big day; I would estimate it would take me at least 16 days to read through them along with the TPR biology book. As per your last paragraph, I don't know if you are recommending that I read through EK, but TPR for certain topics, or if you truly would recommend reading through all of TBR. I'm sure it's possible you didn't read my mind when you created your post, and somehow were able to extricate from the logic, format, and word choice of my sentences the very inner parts of my mind which withheld the information that my test is in a mere 22 days. But if you, knowing all of this, would recommend that I reread all of the books or whatever in these next days, with the knowledge that I believe I am missing maybe 50% of my non-VR questions due to content gaps, then a confirmation would be amazing.

Thank you for the excellent reply!

 

[sillyjoe]

Hey everyone,

I just took my AAMC 9 and am pretty bummed. I was averaging about a 36.4 on my exam AAMC's with a range of 34-39 with the 39 being most recent on AAMC 8. My timing was SOOO off especially on verbal which I found insanely hard. I missed a bunch of questions on the last passage because of it. As a result I got a 33 on AAMC 9.

Since my perception is all relative to my scores this is a huge decrease in my score and makes me very worried that a similar occurrence can happen when I take my actual AAMC in 1.5 weeks!

Any advice would be much appreciated since I am pretty bummed right now. How can I assure that a mistake like this with timing won't happen? I seriously ****ed up verbal. On a better note, I got a 12 and 13 on PS and BS respectively.

 

[Sed8&Intub8]

Hey everyone,

I just took my AAMC 9 and am pretty bummed. I was averaging about a 36.4 on my exam AAMC's with a range of 34-39 with the 39 being most recent on AAMC 8. My timing was SOOO off especially on verbal which I found insanely hard. I missed a bunch of questions on the last passage because of it. As a result I got a 33 on AAMC 9.

Since my perception is all relative to my scores this is a huge decrease in my score and makes me very worried that a similar occurrence can happen when I take my actual AAMC in 1.5 weeks!

Any advice would be much appreciated since I am pretty bummed right now. How can I assure that a mistake like this with timing won't happen? I seriously ****** up verbal. On a better note, I got a 12 and 13 on PS and BS respectively.

I wouldn't worry much about it right now. It's just one exam, you could just be off today. Think about your mental state during VR. Were you feeling different? Did you do anything different today? You'll probably jump right back to where you were on the next exam, just figure out what went wrong.

 

[DoctorInASaree]

When I saw that you were linking to C.S. Pierce's post, I had a feeling that that was the post that you were linking to! Of course I did read it, and in fact, I was the immediately following post on that thread, with specific reply to him. Like you, I enjoyed it thoroughly.

With that being said, I will follow through with this advice; I will engage with thorough post-game analysis the rest of this summer (until the 27th, following every passage set's or FL's completion). Do you have any opinions on going back to review problems earlier in my studies that I think I may not have reviewed to the extent that I should have? This paragraph also applies to @TBRBiosadist.

I have already gone through TBR, and created fairly detailed notes along the way. I think if I were to engage in rereading any books, TBR might be too great a time commitment, especially 22 days out from the big day; I would estimate it would take me at least 16 days to read through them along with the TPR biology book. As per your last paragraph, I don't know if you are recommending that I read through EK, but TPR for certain topics, or if you truly would recommend reading through all of TBR. I'm sure it's possible you didn't read my mind when you created your post, and somehow were able to extricate from the logic, format, and word choice of my sentences the very inner parts of my mind which withheld the information that my test is in a mere 22 days. But if you, knowing all of this, would recommend that I reread all of the books or whatever in these next days, with the knowledge that I believe I am missing maybe 50% of my non-VR questions due to content gaps, then a confirmation would be amazing.

Thank you for the excellent reply!

Elementary, my dear Rhino! I'm no psychic, but I deduced that you had t < 30 days because someone with more than one month left before their MCAT would have enough time to go over TBR and commit themselves to a comprehensive content review twice over. Furthermore, the majority of posters remaining in this thread are writing in August - balance of probabilities.

Here's the happy part: you don't need to commit yourself to an exhaustive content review at this point. You scored a 37, 13 and 13 in PS and BS. It seems to me that you are making errors on the margin; which I believe can be corrected for with meticulous post-FL analysis.

Think about this way: If you were scoring say 8s or thereabouts then your situation would be analogous to a boat with so many holes that the boat will be submerged in a matter of minutes. Such a predicament is also correctable, but only through an exhaustive review of BS&PS content. However, you are scoring 13s, which indicates that you don't have many inconsistencies in your knowledge base (or holes in your boat). You are making mistakes on the margin which is easily correctable given your time frame.

That sounds easy but how would you correct those "mistakes on the margin"? First of all, you need to acquire a pink pen..no I'm kidding! Every single question that is answered incorrectly must be marked with an X, and every question that you struggled with (the only way this will work is if you are entirely honest with yourself) must be marked with an ~ (or whichever character you'd prefer - that's just what I use). So, the X part is fairly obvious, but what do I mean about the tilde (~)? If I "outsmarted" the passage using my Sherlock Holmesian technique of PoE I consider that to be a ~. Why? I'm not answering based off of content knowledge; rather through intuition. Now, this is not necessarily a bad thing, but if since you are claiming a lack of content knowledge then you want to first attempt to answer the question based off of what you know rather than what you think you know about the topic.

For example - what's better?
(1) I assume my husband wants pizza for supper.
OR (2) My husband told me he wants pizza for supper.

If we accept the two premises that (a) I'm married (b) my husband has an affinity for pizza then surely it is reasonable for me to intuit answer (1). However, I think everyone would agree that (2) is the answer that is undoubtedly correct.

As for the rest of the tilde (~) questions - that should be fairly obvious. You felt you picked the right one (got lucky), or you simply were unsure of yourself. What I mean is: if you answer correctly based off of ignorance - that's just not good enough!

Alright - so, now we've highlighted incorrect answers and uncertain answers with a ~. How does one go about not making those mistakes ever again? It's difficult to answer such a question in an abstract form. One must examine the underlying thinking that was present at the time of the exam - i.e.: what made you choose B instead of C? Why did you think that B was the correct answer? OKAY. Now you know why you were wrong, and you have pinpointed the error in your thought process(es). Now comes the hard part - how could you have answered the question correctly? I can only provide an abstract answer (unless provided with a question/answer); you already know this. Why? You just have just corrected your erroneous reasoning leaving the correct reasoning that will now lead you to the right answer! Victory!!!!

Next? Sleep. Wake up and do it all over again - total review this time: even of the correct answers.


I apologize profusely, but I have to go! I will update this post / post again this evening with a more detailed response.

 

[sillyjoe]

I wouldn't worry much about it right now. It's just one exam, you could just be off today. Think about your mental state during VR. Were you feeling different? Did you do anything different today? You'll probably jump right back to where you were on the next exam, just figure out what went wrong.

It was the verbal. My breakdown was 12/8/13. The verbal destroyed me. It wasn't only conceptually, but just the timing was so off and I have no idea why.

 

[Sed8&Intub8]

It was the verbal. My breakdown was 12/8/13. The verbal destroyed me. It wasn't only conceptually, but just the timing was so off and I have no idea why.

Have you been consistent on verbal on the other tests?

Did you spend too much time on a single passage? Were you not able to complete the passages? What kind of timing were you at for each passage?

 

[sillyjoe]

Have you been consistent on verbal on the other tests?

Did you spend too much time on a single passage? Were you not able to complete the passages? What kind of timing were you at for each passage?

I think I did spend too much time and thought I was on the last passage when I was on the second to last passage. I found the general verbal topics very challenging relative to the other sections. I have gotten a 10-13 on AAMC 4,5,7,8 and a 9 on AAMC3

 

[Sed8&Intub8]

I think I did spend too much time and thought I was on the last passage when I was on the second to last passage. I found the general verbal topics very challenging relative to the other sections. I have gotten a 10-13 on AAMC 4,5,7,8 and a 9 on AAMC3

So it's obvious this was just a one time case and I'm certain on the next exam it will jump back up. Don't worry about this one, don't let it fluster you. In the future, be more aware of your timing.

 

[sillyjoe]

So it's obvious this was just a one time case and I'm certain on the next exam it will jump back up. Don't worry about this one, don't let it fluster you. In the future, be more aware of your timing.

It's really hard because unlike with other sections there is much you can do to "adjust" with a poor performance. It just sucks.

 

[orangetea]

It's really hard because unlike with other sections there is much you can do to "adjust" with a poor performance. It just sucks.

 

[ayocaptain628]

o no a lot of ppl are writing in august??
will this thread die by sept then 🙁

 

[poop420]

Prob not, Im writing in November and we will have alot of 30 and 40 scorers to help guide us , because these guys arent just going to abandon us right ?? Might be less traffic though

 

[Dreamstoo]

granny has hops

 

[sillyjoe]

Where's the help?

 

[MelloTangelo]

So, I finished the second day! And I'm already feeling a bit disheartened. I felt like by the time I got to the passage problems, I had already forgotten a lot of the things they had taught in the chapter! To the point that I didn't know how to answer a majority of the questions. And I -definitely- couldn't time myself while doing these passages, for it took me a long time to understand what I needed to do. I managed to make a 60% on it (I'm sure I made a few lucky guesses, too), so that's not bad, but I dunno'. Am I just not retaining what I'm reading enough, or is this normal? Chemistry is so depressing!

 

[sillyjoe]

So, I finished the second day! And I'm already feeling a bit disheartened. I felt like by the time I got to the passage problems, I had already forgotten a lot of the things they had taught in the chapter! To the point that I didn't know how to answer a majority of the questions. And I -definitely- couldn't time myself while doing these passages, for it took me a long time to understand what I needed to do. I managed to make a 60% on it (I'm sure I made a few lucky guesses, too), so that's not bad, but I dunno'. Am I just not retaining what I'm reading enough, or is this normal? Chemistry is so depressing!

You are doing great! Do not stress about retention. Stress understanding. Everything builds on itself and you will find your knowledge base greatly increased as the weeks go by.

I cannot stress enough to do the re-read days. That solidifies all the material.

Keep it up! Go strong. Don't let it get you down at all. You are going to kill it.

 

[MelloTangelo]

You are doing great! Do not stress about retention. Stress understanding. Everything builds on itself and you will find your knowledge base greatly increased as the weeks go by.

I cannot stress enough to do the re-read days. That solidifies all the material.

Keep it up! Go strong. Don't let it get you down at all. You are going to kill it.

That's a relief! I figured it was the case, but sometimes it's just nice to hear it from someone else, haha. I'll keep it up, then, and hopefully it'll stick!

 

[orangetea]

Today I bought a whole bunch of grapes from the farmer's market and ate them as I watched this during my breaks

 

[orangetea]

brownie points to whoever can buy me one and send it over. (PM me for my address. thanks)

 

[sillyjoe]

Today I bought a whole bunch of grapes from the farmer's market and ate them as I watched this during my breaks

 

[ayocaptain628]

So, I finished the second day! And I'm already feeling a bit disheartened. I felt like by the time I got to the passage problems, I had already forgotten a lot of the things they had taught in the chapter! To the point that I didn't know how to answer a majority of the questions. And I -definitely- couldn't time myself while doing these passages, for it took me a long time to understand what I needed to do. I managed to make a 60% on it (I'm sure I made a few lucky guesses, too), so that's not bad, but I dunno'. Am I just not retaining what I'm reading enough, or is this normal? Chemistry is so depressing!

dw, its the 2* day. im thinking that as u do more chapters and passages, improvement is certain!

ill be rooting for u tangelo🙂 it feels great that we r both just starting sn2d!

 

[poop420]

dw, its the 2* day. im thinking that as u do more chapters and passages, improvement is certain!

ill be rooting for u tangelo🙂 it feels great that we r both just starting sn2d!

Good luck guys it honestly gets easier .. After a while you will start making connections and question things .. Just dont read for the sake of finishing the chapter try and break apart what is trying to be said .. Good luck and always remember the first 2 weeks are the hardest .. After you are a month in you will love this schedule so much . Even on your break days you will be thinking about your sweet TBR book .. @TBRBiosadist and i agree that it gives us a touch of Stockholm syndrome.. And if you need motivation go on the July 2nd thread and see how much people did well after going through this stressful schedule

 

[Lokkja]

I thought the stress would subside a little after writing my first AAMC and scoring a 30, but it's still there! Can't get much sleep at night and I'm starting to feel like I'm losing the energy. It's weird - after preparing for this long I feel like I want to be a doctor more than I ever have before in my life - originally I was just doing this to see if it was something I was capable of, but now it's something I feel like I NEED to do. Hopefully this bio focused review I'm doing will help me get an 11+ on the next AAMC... if I can get my mind to stay focused. Three weeks left. Yikes.

 

[sillyjoe]

I thought the stress would subside a little after writing my first AAMC and scoring a 30, but it's still there! Can't get much sleep at night and I'm starting to feel like I'm losing the energy. It's weird - after preparing for this long I feel like I want to be a doctor more than I ever have before in my life - originally I was just doing this to see if it was something I was capable of, but now it's something I feel like I NEED to do. Hopefully this bio focused review I'm doing will help me get an 11+ on the next AAMC... if I can get my mind to stay focused. Three weeks left. Yikes.

Just wait until you start getting bummed that the study schedule is ending. That's when you know your real f***ed in the head. I have 10 days left and I was getting sad that it's almost over. It feels like getting out of jail and I'm this dude from shawshank.

 

[sillyjoe]

Sorry for the size of that picture.

 

[deleted388502]

I'm seriously considering just taking the 2015 MCAT and sitting in bed to watch scrubs the rest of the summer.

Then I remember that biochem is on that thing.

😕

 

[Lokkja]

Just wait until you start getting bummed that the study schedule is ending. That's when you know your real f***ed in the head. I have 10 days left and I was getting sad that it's almost over. It feels like getting out of jail and I'm this dude from shawshank.

Hahaha. I'm not sure I'll share your sentiment, but I'd be willing to welcome any change in my own thoughts from the neurotic cycle I'm going through now.

 

[TBRBiosadist]

Sorry for the size of that picture.

Im hoping for the both of us that the august 15th exam is an easier one.

As to the thread dying, I might disappear for awhile if I have a freakout on test day and score 10 pts below my aamc average, which is something that keeps me up at nigh thinking about.

 

[MelloTangelo]

dw, its the 2* day. im thinking that as u do more chapters and passages, improvement is certain!

ill be rooting for u tangelo🙂 it feels great that we r both just starting sn2d!

Yeah, I'm probably just freaking out for no reason! I'm just worried it'll end up like my first time trying to study for this test (that sure didn't go too well), hehe. But it's awesome that we're starting at the same time, yeah! I'll be rooting for you too! <3

Good luck guys it honestly gets easier .. After a while you will start making connections and question things .. Just dont read for the sake of finishing the chapter try and break apart what is trying to be said .. Good luck and always remember the first 2 weeks are the hardest .. After you are a month in you will love this schedule so much . Even on your break days you will be thinking about your sweet TBR book .. @TBRBiosadist and i agree that it gives us a touch of Stockholm syndrome.. And if you need motivation go on the July 2nd thread and see how much people did well after going through this stressful schedule

You're right. I feel like I was already looking at the time too much while reading. I might try to start taking some notes on top of doing the examples so I have something to look over later. I'm hoping I end up in love with this book, too, though! I'd rather love doin' this than...not. But I think I'll go take a look at those scores! Thanks a ton, and good luck yourself...!