Tips to retain info? [MCAT Rescheduled]

[SiakTiDoc]

So after taking another practice test and talking it over with my friends. I've decided to drop my upcoming MCAT and am currently just trying to pick up the pieces and move on.

I'm planning on taking my MCAT January.
-So I was wondering what's the best way to retain the information while still studying for other classes and volunteering/extra curricular activities?
-What else should I be doing to prep? Since I've basically covered content review, should I just focus on practice problems/practice tests?

I currently have a study partner, which really helps not only stay concentrated, but also for moral support.

Any other advice/tips would be great
Thank you!

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[DrHart]

Anki... every day.
Do a passage, for the questions you miss figure out why you missed it. Make a flashcard for it.
Best way for long term retention if you ask me

 

[Bumblenest]

Yep make a set of flashcards or powerpoint slides, and continuously go through them over and over.

Also I had a list of brute memorization things that I would just spontaneously rewrite whenever I had a few minutes of time with a sheet of paper and pen. These include, but are not limited to:

• glycolysis/krebs
• all amino acids (structures, names, abbreviations, categories)
• chem and physics formulas that I was rusty on
• psych theories (lots of brute memorization here)

Do yourself a favor and just memorize glycolysis/krebs and the amino acids. You will thank yourself later, they are free points on the MCAT...

 

[Domepiece]

Part of this answer depends on your reason for postponing it. Poor practice test scores? Heavy schedule? What is your reasoning?

Second for Anki in terms of memorization of facts. I looked at the program probably 5 times over the course of my academic career and then closed the tab and forgot about it because it looked intimidating to learn. Just download that ish and dive in sink or swim style. I picked this baby up 2 weeks out from the MCAT and it drilled the P/S terms crazy well in just that short time, can't imagine how great it would be over the long term.

Write out the amino acid every day for 30 days with the full name, 3 letter/1 letter abbreviations, and the structure. Grade yourself harshly. By about the 15th day you will have those all memorized as well and by the end they will stick in the mind pretty well. Do it once a week after that and they won't go anywhere - this is likely the highest 'yield' material for the exam.

Practice problems are the best path if you feel you are done with content review. Grade yourself harshly and review those concepts that emerge as being less understood than others for you.

 

[SiakTiDoc]

@Domepiece, All of the following plus advice from friends. So I'm trying to work out a schedule that will be manageable with my current semester, and maybe other upcoming events.

I've never heard of Anki cards, is it a free program? I'll look into this.
Thanks everyone for the advice!

 

[χmaverickχ]

Looks like err'body agrees

Time to do the Anki Panky

http://ankisrs.net

 

[SiakTiDoc]

What exactly makes Anki different from other Flashcards?

My friend gave me his old Kaplan Flashcards and was planning on just using those daily, it would also save some time in making them as well?

 

[Domepiece]

What exactly makes Anki different from other Flashcards?

My friend gave me his old Kaplan Flashcards and was planning on just using those daily, it would also save some time in making them as well?

Making your own flashcards is half the process of learning. and you've got a good chunk of time on your hands. Anki functions on a memory system termed spaced repetition, which essentially asks you to remember cards further and further out from the last time you reviewed it to see how well you are actually retaining the information. You rank how well you remembered the card (hard, meaning you would see it again sooner; good, meaning you'll see it the next degree out; and easy, meaning you will see it in longer intervals).

Anki is also electronic which makes making cards faster and simpler while also providing you more options besides the standard 'word' on side one and 'definition' on side two. It is a cross-platform program so it can be utilized on your phone/tablet/computer making it mobile as well. I chose to only use it on the computer however and that worked just fine.

It's intimidating at first, but really isn't that complicated. Recommend utilizing cloze cards, which won't make any sense to you right now, but you'll see what I mean once you start working with the program. Also, recommend utilizing Anki to insert a flash card on topics you miss on review problems. Easy way to address those concepts which you aren't nailing.

 

[RockMcat520]

Review your notes every two weeks!! I feel like the MCAT is getting harder. I always get scared of january exams because they will be brand new exams. The AAMC has 3 months. I would say do a FL every week once and review in between. Make a schedule and stick to it