bj89 Posted May 4, 2009 Report Share Posted May 4, 2009 the way i study for a class is making notes and understanding everything... but seeing those thick TPR text books makes me wonder if this plan is feasible given that i'm writing late august has anyone tried this? if so how did it work out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorelan Posted May 4, 2009 Report Share Posted May 4, 2009 the way i study for a class is making notes and understanding everything... but seeing those thick TPR text books makes me wonder if this plan is feasible given that i'm writing late august has anyone tried this? if so how did it work out? Thats what I did as that is how I learn best. I have notes I make up for everything and that included the mcat Everyone's score is combination of a bunch of stuff - I did what you are suggesting, it worked for me as I got 35S. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bj89 Posted May 4, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 4, 2009 Thats what I did as that is how I learn best. I have notes I make up for everything and that included the mcat Everyone's score is combination of a bunch of stuff - I did what you are suggesting, it worked for me as I got 35S. excellent!! the only thing i'm worried about is time... were you able to finish it all and still have time to do some practice tests? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eng_dude786 Posted May 4, 2009 Report Share Posted May 4, 2009 i didn't make any notes and that's probably why i didn't do great...haha i should have made notes. I think one of the suggestions i gave myself if i ever re-wrote was to make notes like i did for regular class. you have to be careful though, you don't want to simply copy the 'information' on the textbooks onto your 'own' notes- you have to make efficient notes, especially given the fact that sometimes the prep companies go into somewhat excessive details in a few topics. making your own notes helps you get the idea stuck in your head. also watch your timing because you want to have time left for doing practice exams. the only real way to benefit from the practice tests is to have the background material already cemented in your head and just worry about the technique and test taking stamina etc. i hope i helped somewhat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astudentis Posted May 5, 2009 Report Share Posted May 5, 2009 highlighter was my friend Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvermen85 Posted May 5, 2009 Report Share Posted May 5, 2009 Do questions and go back to fundamentals if you can't do them. Rinse and repeat. Study for the test, not trying to completely understand everything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobynM Posted May 5, 2009 Report Share Posted May 5, 2009 If you know that you learn best if you make notes as you read you should totally try to do that. The last thing you want to do is mess with a system that it's taken you years to figure out. I also HAVE to write notes as I read or I don't retain anything at all. I went through all of the Kaplan books and took notes and then actually made flash card notes out of my other notes. It sounds crazy but that's the study strategy that I found works the best for me. So I stuck with it and used it to prep for the MCAT, and it worked pretty well for me. I started studying around June last year, took the MCAT in mid august and got 35S. Based on your timeline I would totally say that as long as you set yourself a schedule and try to stick with it you should be fine for time. Just keep an eye on how fast you're working and maybe adjust your note taking accordingly, if it looks like it's taking too long start making slightly less detailed notes. I also saved all the practice tests until the last few weeks before the exam so that I knew as much of the information as possible before I started testing myself. Good Luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ogrenci Posted May 5, 2009 Report Share Posted May 5, 2009 I made "flash cards" which were essentially notes on whatever I was studying. They would be difficult for the mere mortal read due to the microscopic size and general illegibility of the writing. It took me maybe 3-4 weeks to pull the orgo and bio notes together. I made an equation sheet for physics and hoped the magical memory fairies would save the day for inorganic chem. This took about 3-4 days but I clearly didn't put that much effort into physical sciences because I was in engineering. I ended up with a 36R so apparently it all worked out? Oh, also, I wasn't working at the time, but I may have done a fairly large amount of climbing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gatsmark01 Posted May 5, 2009 Report Share Posted May 5, 2009 That's Very Good... Keep it up... Cheers!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorelan Posted May 5, 2009 Report Share Posted May 5, 2009 excellent!! the only thing i'm worried about is time... were you able to finish it all and still have time to do some practice tests? yes - of course it took awhile but that is the drawback of doing the approach. You have to MAKE time to do the practice tests I think, those things are key. I think I condensed everything down to about 60 odd pages of hand written notes by the end. Something like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bj89 Posted May 5, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 5, 2009 thanks for all the responses... i think i'll go with that strategy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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