Tips for studying

[quackquack]

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I'm just wondering how to do it. I just got the Kaplan MCAT review books and skimmed through it and there's a lot of materials. In university, I found myself to be a slow studier because I tend to do a thorough job and going through whatever. I'm planning to take it at the end of september. However I'm also working for half a day each day too (for an optometrist, so giving up work is not an option either).

1) SO HOW DO YOU DO IT? I feel like i might forget everything by the end of september for the stuff I start studying now. I know everyone studies differently, but how do you guys made sure that by the time you take the test, the things are still fresh on your mind?

2) And I think i'll have difficulty with physics, should I start on that first? Or start on bio because people tend to say that it covers a lot? (I'm a bio major, but not sure if that would help a lot since i already graduated last year).

THANKS ! 🙂

 

[quackquack]

bump... advise anyone?

 

[kiwi5frog]

bump... advise anyone?

jesus! bumping a thread that was created only today? patience young jedi!

One word: Discipline. Make no excuses, take it seriously, and study like your life counted on it. 🙂 I find that many of my OAT Kaplan classmates, despite paying $1400, never did the required reading and instead of completing their assignments, talked about spending the weekend drinking/visiting friends/etc (which is perfectly fine if you are following a good schedule, but these guys really weren't). But yeah, be serious about it. study every day.

as for what section to start on, it really doesn't matter. You have to go through them all eventually. if one topic is starting to fatigue you, then switch. Most of what we learn is embedded in the process of recall. This means it's not enough for you to just read the material. as you said, this will likely lead to you "forgetting" everything by september. what you need to do is practice finding the information that is already stored in your brain. Study study study, then recall recall recall. after a couple hundred multiple choice problems (and review all your answers of course) you'll better pathways in your head to pull out the facts you need on test day.

Good luck

 

[kiwi5frog]

oh, and please use the search function on this forum. this topic has been covered already by many other people who offered a lot of different and helpful advice. It would be good to tap into that resource instead of asking everyone to repeat what they already posted. 😎

 

[quackquack]

oh, and please use the search function on this forum. this topic has been covered already by many other people who offered a lot of different and helpful advice. It would be good to tap into that resource instead of asking everyone to repeat what they already posted. 😎

Sorry x__x yeah I tried searching already. Was specifically wondering how to memorize/learn things in a way that I"ll still remember them for the september... I often study in the mornings, head off the work, and come back at night, so my brain is already really tired, not that it's new for anybody, but I'm used to school where I focused on studying entirely, haha.

 

[nc2tarheels]

you HAVE to be disciplined. I'm in the process of studying and I study around 4 times a week (about 5 hours at a time).

Start bio early. It's a very broad subject, so the more you can put into this, the better. The other sections aren't as broad, so it's "easier" to study for these sections, since many curveballs won't be thrown your way. I've been studying the Bio section for about a month now and have yet to start on the Chem sections. I did take the OAT once, and realized that I put TOO MUCH time into the chem sections because my Bio suffered (even though I'm a Bio major).

 

[quackquack]

you HAVE to be disciplined. I'm in the process of studying and I study around 4 times a week (about 5 hours at a time).

Start bio early. It's a very broad subject, so the more you can put into this, the better. The other sections aren't as broad, so it's "easier" to study for these sections, since many curveballs won't be thrown your way. I've been studying the Bio section for about a month now and have yet to start on the Chem sections. I did take the OAT once, and realized that I put TOO MUCH time into the chem sections because my Bio suffered (even though I'm a Bio major).

May I ask you what about the bio section that you found harder, or it is because you didn't put as much time in it as you did for other sections? I think that tends to happen to us bio majors. I'm in the same boat; I keep thinking my bio is good because that's all I've been studying for past 4 years, so I keep putting more effort towards chem. Thanks for the tip though!

 

[nc2tarheels]

To be honest, I think one can "cram" for the other sections (Chem/Orgo/Etc). However, for Bio, I think there's NO WAY that you can cram. That's why I started studying it ahead of time. When I took the test previously, I studied BIO alot, but this time, I'm studying it, to an almost ridiculous amount. It's so braod that almost ANYTHING can be asked. Whereas, Chemistry, you know that you will get a question on "balancing equations". Bio, you can't be positive that a question involving the Chambers of the heart will be on there.