Time it takes you to read a chapter

[iPremed]

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from:

1. EK (bio specifically)

2. TBR (orgo/physics/chem)

Some chapters are incredibly long. TBR Orgo chapter 1 comes to mind (54 pages 😱)

Have you guys been skimming ---> doing the practice questions that correlate with the chapter ---> then going back to figure out why you got things wrong and concentrating on those sections?

Or are you guys reading throughly before attacking problems?

I have been reading throughly so far but it just takes sooo much time and I don't even feel like I retain as much as I would like...

 

[luckyt66]

Bump, bump, and bump again.

 

[MichaelRW]

from:

1. EK (bio specifically)

2. TBR (orgo/physics/chem)

Some chapters are incredibly long. TBR Orgo chapter 1 comes to mind (54 pages 😱)

Have you guys been skimming ---> doing the practice questions that correlate with the chapter ---> then going back to figure out why you got things wrong and concentrating on those sections?

Or are you guys reading throughly before attacking problems?

I have been reading throughly so far but it just takes sooo much time and I don't even feel like I retain as much as I would like...

I have heard that when reading textbooks, or MCAT review books in your case, it takes 3 times to really master what the book is telling you. Each pass through you are achieving some level higher than the previous. Maybe someone who knows what I am talking about can elaborate more on it.
However, the point is that iy may take you several passes through the material to get it. For me personally, I read a chapter and try my best to understand all of the concepts, which of course never happens. But then if I pick it up the next day and re-read everything again, the gaps get filled in and my understanding is A LOT better than it was the previous day. I rarely read through things three times since i seem to get it pretty solid after 2x, but considering the natural progression, I would assume reading it a third time would be even more beneficial.
I hope someone else can comment on the 3x reading thing; there is a recognizable progression and those who know it can tell you exactly what, supposedly, part of the learning process is occurring during each pass through the text. At any rate, good luck

 

[ThatDude]

I'm a believer in the 3x before you understand it concept. The way I learn best is through conditioning. That is why I went through the big crappy Kaplan book 6 months in advance to introduce the material. Then I did all of the EK books twice each. And finally I am doing TBR for every subject. (Only passages for TBR Bio). But by the time I read the Chapter in TBR everything becomes completely solidified, and then you do all the practice passages and it just gets engrained in your head. There are so many moments of "Oooooohhhhh, now I really get it" when studying my TBR stuff. But if I had just done TBR in teh beginning I do not think I would be seeing so much improvement so fast. Almost done with TBR, about 4-5 more days. Then I am going to do EK 1001 for every subject to just make everything second nature and look for weaknesses. Then after that there will be about 16 more practice FL's. And then going back to TBR and reviewing things I may have forgot. By conditioning I do not mean straight up memorization. I mean going through the books and trying to understand how every concept works, but doing so several times.

 

[NickNaylor]

I've been using the EK books. To go through the material, answer the questions, and then take the 30 minute exam takes me about 1.5-2 hours.

 

[luckyt66]

I've been using the EK books. To go through the material, answer the questions, and then take the 30 minute exam takes me about 1.5-2 hours.

So it takes you that much time to read 1 lecture, do the in-lecture problems, review those, then take the 30-min exam, and review those?!

 

[ilayawake]

1.5-2 hours?? wow.

EK Bio maybe takes me about 3 or so hours to do it all.

BR on the other hand takes me 5-6 to do all the reading and do all the questions/go over them!

 

[ThatDude]

If you are doing everything in an EK chapter in 1.5 hours then you are not studying properly in my opinion. There is significant marginal gains for studying at a slower, more methodical rate.

 

[MegaSpectacular]

If you are doing everything in an EK chapter in 1.5 hours then you are not studying properly in my opinion. There is significant marginal gains for studying at a slower, more methodical rate.

lol. Or you know it well.

I've taken genetics, biochemistry, physiology...

When I read those chapters in EK bio it takes me an hour or so (definitely not 90 min). If you take a year of biochem and compare that with the biochem necessary for the MCAT you will just laugh at how simple it is.

Everyone is different. If you're a physics major it will not take you HOURS to go over kinematics. Or if you tutor Ochem constantly reading ochem chapters is super quick.

It all depends.

 

[ThatDude]

lol. Or you know it well.

I've taken genetics, biochemistry, physiology...

When I read those chapters in EK bio it takes me an hour or so (definitely not 90 min). If you take a year of biochem and compare that with the biochem necessary for the MCAT you will just laugh at how simple it is.

Everyone is different. If you're a physics major it will not take you HOURS to go over kinematics. Or if you tutor Ochem constantly reading ochem chapters is super quick.

It all depends.

I am not referring to simply reading the EK chapter, I usually get through them in an hour or less too. But the dude earlier said that he reads the chapter, does the in class questions (reviews them), and does the THIRTY MINUTE exam and goes over it in 1.5 hours. LOL the test and problems alone will take like at least 45 mins just to do. Doesn't really make much sense to me. But to each their own.

 

[luckyt66]

I've been using the EK books. To go through the material, answer the questions, and then take the 30 minute exam takes me about 1.5-2 hours.

Well it takes me about double that much time. lol. how long does it take others to get this much done?? lets get some more input to have a better idea!

And I agree that some subjects will be faster to get through than others depending on peoples' strengths and classes taken, but if you spend that much time on every subject, I'm not sure if it's adequate, or you are just a genius!

Also, do you pre-read? take notes? (that would explain things more)

 

[erskine]

definitely, multiple passes through BR is necessary- there's just so much information. It's kind of funny how BR explains some concepts more thoroughly and effectively than my gchem and ochem textbooks. I would always take at least 1 day a week where i would do nothing but review previous chapters as well. i made 2 passes through content review- the first was the methodical, tediously reading everything pass, then the second was faster, less paying attention to details and more trying to remember all the disparate topics before i focused on practice passages and FLs.

i pre-read the kaplan premier book before starting my serious review with BR and EK bio, so i had somewhat re-familiarized myself with the content. But i still took a while with BR, especially ochem. I would say on average, i would spend 3-4 hours just reading each ochem chapter, then maybe another hour or two doing some practice passages and reviewing the answers (thank goodness there was only 8 chapters in my edition). Gchem and physics were better, with maybe ~2 hours for reading and another hour or two for the practice passages. EK Bio was around there as well because though the chapters are short, trying to memorize all those brown terms takes a while.

i didn't really take notes, maybe made some scribbles in the margins to help me remember stuff. To me, note-taking for a book is somewhat counter-productive. If it helps you remember the information, that's good, but there's just so much info that i wonder if the physical process actually helps the recall after a while, especially the grueling day in day out of mcat studying. I am a heavy underliner though, since that's more in emphasizing important areas and helps focus your studying. Just my two cents.