Re-writing

[ecobeco]

Okay, so I'm redoing my 27R that I got last August this August the 9th. Looking to start studying in the next few days following Sn2ed's schedule. Few questions:

 

1. Will taking notes on the chapters help? Only reason I ask is I didn't last but I feel that it wouldn't have helped much, given that the stuff I saw in say, BS, I had never read about. Just random mol bio passages.

 

2. How do I prepare for these mol bio passages? I thought I had done well in BS but evidently not.

 

I mostly read the books last year and studied for roughly 2 months. Will going through EK1001, especially for general chem and physics help solidify concepts? Thank you!

[Armageddon]

What material did you use when studying the first time around? I'd say change that when u study this time. Not much more I can say, this will be my first summer studying for the MCAT. Good luck!

[ecobeco]

Mostly TBR and TPR, along with EK101 for verbal... good luck!

[WtsupDoc?]

I took notes when I studied for all the sections (used Kaplan, got BS=12) but that's the way my brain works. I don't remember well by just reading, but if I draw diagrams and take notes it helps solidify the concepts for me. My advice would be to study using the same techniques that you find helpful during regular coursework.

 

The most helpful thing you can do is to practice writing the MCAT. Once you feel you have a good handle on concepts (about a month before the test date) start writing practice MCATs. Set up a quite room and write an entire test from beginning to end, just like test day. Do this a couple of times (1 per week, 4 weeks out from the date, for example) and then on other days, write individual sections with MCAT-like questions. MCAT-prep is as much about understanding the test as it is understanding the knowledge... maybe even more so.

[zeroNINE]

Chem and Physics are just about practice. Bio is more difficult because it'll ask you to interpret results (at least on mine) and not so much what they teach you in those prep books. A lot of what I read in the prep books did not show up on my MCAT.

 

My best advice is to not hype up the MCAT. I made that mistake thinking it would be the most difficult test ever and it was all or nothing. That was the only reason I didn't do as well as I could have. And the most overhyped section? VR. The least overhyped? Bio. I scored highest in bio and lowest in VR.

 

This is just my experience but I encourage you to study in a supportive environment. Take your time and do NOT worry about how others prepared and that it'll be the end of the world if you don't do well.

 

If you're planning to apply, be prepared to write it again soon after you get your scores. I wouldn't wait another summer to write it.

[pacemaker]

I am also re-writing this summer but my weakness has been VR.

 

Any tips on how to tackle the VR section? I went through the basics (questions types, answer choices to look out for etc) and took some notes. I used TPR and EK 101 for my prep. I keep getting questions wrong but going through the solutions, I notice that my mistakes are so specific to that particular passage and I am having trouble learning from those mistakes and applying it to the other passage to be able to see improvements.

[pacemaker]

In answer to the poster of this thread:

 

I took in depth notes for all sections. I used to do that for my undergraduate courses as well, so that's the way I learn best. I also like to draw out diagrams, make flow charts and summary tables. I make notes as I read and once I have completed the readings, I solely rely on my notes and rarely have to open the books again.