SN2'd first day

[TexasSurgeon]

EDIT: This was supposed to be a thread about the first day of SN2. However as with all intelligent life, things evolve. This thread has now become a support page for people following the SN2 plan. You can think of it as Alcoholics Anonymous for people studying to take the MCAT using the SN2 plan.

EDIT July 1, 2014:
If you are interested in @mehc012's Anki Deck, DO NOT SEND A PM. Here is the link: https://www.dropbox.com/s/7if6wgaif98rkoa/mehc012 SN2edCh4s.apkg
**A NOTE: @mehc012 and several others (myself included) want to tell you guys that studying from another person's deck will probably not be as beneficial to you as creating your own cards. Yes you can take advantage of @mehc012's generosity, but you won't get the same advantage. Study the material. Create cards as you go along. You will find it more helpful to your studying. **

EDIT July 22, 2014:
The following is @TBRBiosadist's official MCAT Verbal Reasoning Strategy:
@TBRBiosadist's strategy that got [him] from a 7 average to scoring 13-15 average..

Spend the bulk of your time reading. Up to 3 minutes per passage.

• Read the first and last paragraph thoroughly to begin with. Understand what the authors main point will be because 90% of questions require nothing more than a general idea.
• After this, read the entire passage slowly enough where you dont feel like you need to reread sentences for understanding.

Next is just answer questions, there is a few tricks here that work about 90% of the time

• Unless the passage is asking you about a specific detail, dont look back. READ EVERY ANSWER THOROUGLY AND THEN Answer what makes sense from the general point of the passage. Its very easy to prove a wrong answer to be somewhat correct if you dig hard enough, dont. Answer what your gut says and move onto the next question, dont contemplate to much. With that being said...
• Answer like you were dropped on the head as a child. Alot of times if Im arguing between two answers, there is the answer that is 100% correct, and one that is 90% correct. Be an idoit and choose the one that seems like it is correct. However.....
• "Always" is a word to avoid. If an answer uses this word, or definites like it, it is something to avoid. I would say 80% of the time the wishy washy answer is more correct then the highly affirmative one. This leads to my final point....
• 100% of the time you are not actually looking for the "right" answer in verbal, this isnt PS or BS where 1+1 almost always equals 2 (unless we are talking about the different sedimentation values for Ribosomes). In verbal you are looking for the answer that isnt wrong. Often times an answer will seem very "right" but one aspect of it is clearly wrong, as compared to an answer that isnt wrong, but doesnt seem as right as that answer, these are meant to fool you. Choose the answer that isnt wrong.

I understand that I few of these tips may be at odds with each other. Ultimately you must adjust slightly for each passage, but it comes down to one thing. Read thoroughly. Read every sentence in the passage. Read every question. Read every answer. Then the correct answer will be fairly obvious. This may seem like it takes longer, but it takes much less time than skimming, and then trying to find the correct information later.

Or to summarize in one sentence

Understand what the hell the author is arguing

EDIT July 26, 2014:
@DoctorInASaree uploaded a guide to Verbal Reasoning. If you're interested, it's worth a look. Here is the link: https://www.dropbox.com/s/2byivymmqwlvjms/MCAT VR Primer DRSAREE.pdf

EDIT 2, July 26, 2014: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/sn2d-first-day.1074344/page-52#post-15510851
________________________________________________
Just finished the first day of SN2...man is it long and exhausting.

The first day is BR physics chapter (translational motion) + 1/3 of the passages. I felt like I wasn't able to apply the stuff I read into the stuff I was tested on.

Has anyone felt this way when following the schedule? It just seems like the contents of the chapter didn't really stick in my head when I took the practice passages. Will this improve over time?

EDIT 3, March 4, 2015:

For verbal, if you are feeling lost and confused, I highly highly recommend you to look into the MCAT Strategy Course by @Jack Westin. I've been working with him, and nothing comes close to his course and teaching. It's a strategy course, so it will cover everything, not just the VR/CARS section.

---

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[mike36]

Damnit! All the Texas spots are full for January. Now I gotta decide if I wanna take it in another state, or if that's gonna be too much trouble. Meh.

 

[Janus_Kinase]

Damnit! All the Texas spots are full for January. Now I gotta decide if I wanna take it in another state, or if that's gonna be too much trouble. Meh.

check this out

https://www.aamc.org/students/download/398586/data/mcatexampolicy.pdf

 

[deleted388502]

check this out

https://www.aamc.org/students/download/398586/data/mcatexampolicy.pdf

THANK YOU for sharing this!!

 

[poop420]

I know she absolutely hate this , But i want to give a big shout out to @mehc012 for hitting that big number .. I remember I made a bet you didnt agree with that if i got a 35+ you would have to make us see your face you turned that down immediately , But you really did great congrats!

 

[lazyindy]

@poop420 I haven't seen you on here in forever (or it seems like it) how is prep going?! and are you still writing the nov 7th one?

 

[poop420]

Ha HA its funny you ask this , I have been having alot of financial problems and strss about getting kicked out of school , I might drop Nov 7 and schedule for Jan despite everyone telling me no .. Im not sure ... I been spending more time studying than on this

 

[namesthegame21]

Hey everyone, looks like school is catching up with most of you since its been a lot quieter on this thread. I'm still signed up for Oct. 25, I feel poop on the pressure to postpone, but I think the risk is too high just in case I suffer a fluke on test day. Anxiety is catching up with me, and I've been sleeping a lot less this month. Anyway was wondering if any of you had some good tips to manage anxiety as the test is nearing and also during the exam?

 

[deleted388502]

Hey everyone, looks like school is catching up with most of you since its been a lot quieter on this thread. I'm still signed up for Oct. 25, I feel poop on the pressure to postpone, but I think the risk is too high just in case I suffer a fluke on test day. Anxiety is catching up with me, and I've been sleeping a lot less this month. Anyway was wondering if any of you had some good tips to manage anxiety as the test is nearing and also during the exam?

I feel you girl.

The issue is that all test dates are now full for the old exam. I unfortunately discovered this Friday night. Was hanging out with a friend and was like "I should push to November 7th to solidify my sciences even more!" and went on AAMC to look at dates - zilch. Looked at January for retake options. Zilch. So that was super reassuring. But it pushed me into high-gear more. I think @mehc012 said this on here once - it's not until you're in like crunch time mode that you're fully pushed to your limit to do this exam. Many friends who have taken other professional exams have also told me that the last few weeks before their exam has "gotten them" their score as well. I keep dreaming of how well I'm going to sleep the night after my test, lol.

But really, take care of yourself. You're not going to study well if you're anxious. It's just a test! Life will go on if you score badly (which you won't.) The 2015 test is something you will adjust to if you do end up having to take it. Life will go on after you leave the testing center on October 25th. You will reach your goal of becoming a physician. All you can do if your best, that's what I keep telling myself at least. I just really can't wait for my life to be back. I have so many fun things planned and honestly all the test dates being full was like, a relief. Just think of how good it's going to feel when it's going to be over, and think of the real thing like AAMC 12. I'm going to sleep the entire day before the exam and I'm lucky that I have a friend taking the exam at the same place and time as me, so it'll be nice to have a friend in the same room to have a friendly face.

The biggest thing for me though is remembering that it really is just a test. Not your self worth. We as pre-meds are by nature hyper-competitive ass***** (or maybe that's just me???). Regardless, it's impossible for hard work to not pay off. So work hard, and just have a little faith.

ALSO: for anyone reading this now/in the future struggling to get their PS/BS scores up, get EK 1001 for ochem/gen chem/physics and do it like it's your LIFE. I did all of the genchem, 3/4 of physics, 1/2 of ochem and PS is SIGNIFICANTLY easier now. EK has a way of drilling concepts like no other and when you first start it's easy to be like "Oh! I know all this!" but in reality, if you really master EK, I don't think there's anything AAMC can throw at you you don't know. There's only so many ways you can have a concept thrown at you and EK makes sure you see EVERYTHING. <3 EK

 

[poop420]

due to lack of finances I got kicked out of school this has been a major hit to my confidence and my mental well being .. Fu*k this ****... I am glad for you guys and wish you the best God seem to have a different plan for me ...

 

[namesthegame21]

I feel you girl.

The issue is that all test dates are now full for the old exam. I unfortunately discovered this Friday night. Was hanging out with a friend and was like "I should push to November 7th to solidify my sciences even more!" and went on AAMC to look at dates - zilch. Looked at January for retake options. Zilch. So that was super reassuring. But it pushed me into high-gear more. I think @mehc012 said this on here once - it's not until you're in like crunch time mode that you're fully pushed to your limit to do this exam. Many friends who have taken other professional exams have also told me that the last few weeks before their exam has "gotten them" their score as well. I keep dreaming of how well I'm going to sleep the night after my test, lol.

But really, take care of yourself. You're not going to study well if you're anxious. It's just a test! Life will go on if you score badly (which you won't.) The 2015 test is something you will adjust to if you do end up having to take it. Life will go on after you leave the testing center on October 25th. You will reach your goal of becoming a physician. All you can do if your best, that's what I keep telling myself at least. I just really can't wait for my life to be back. I have so many fun things planned and honestly all the test dates being full was like, a relief. Just think of how good it's going to feel when it's going to be over, and think of the real thing like AAMC 12. I'm going to sleep the entire day before the exam and I'm lucky that I have a friend taking the exam at the same place and time as me, so it'll be nice to have a friend in the same room to have a friendly face.

The biggest thing for me though is remembering that it really is just a test. Not your self worth. We as pre-meds are by nature hyper-competitive ass***** (or maybe that's just me???). Regardless, it's impossible for hard work to not pay off. So work hard, and just have a little faith.

ALSO: for anyone reading this now/in the future struggling to get their PS/BS scores up, get EK 1001 for ochem/gen chem/physics and do it like it's your LIFE. I did all of the genchem, 3/4 of physics, 1/2 of ochem and PS is SIGNIFICANTLY easier now. EK has a way of drilling concepts like no other and when you first start it's easy to be like "Oh! I know all this!" but in reality, if you really master EK, I don't think there's anything AAMC can throw at you you don't know. There's only so many ways you can have a concept thrown at you and EK makes sure you see EVERYTHING. <3 EK

You're right, most test dates are full in January. Its crazy how many people are scrambling to get this test in before the change.

I'm right there with you, I can't wait for this to be over. I feel so much pressure to score high. I'm trying not to focus on numbers as much as doing my absolute best. I do have test anxiety but its much better now since freshman year.

Right on! That's great that you'll have a friend testing with you, really wish you the best avenlea you have had our backs all summer

And yes I totally second the EK suggestion! I only used it for PS and it really helped. Nova also really helped me w/phys since when I started that was my weakest section

 

[mehc012]

due to lack of finances I got kicked out of school this has been a major hit to my confidence and my mental well being .. Fu*k this ****... I am glad for you guys and wish you the best God seem to have a different plan for me ...

Take a deep breath and recollect. This is in no way a reflection on your abilities, so don't let it shake your confidence. You can still get where you're going, it just may take a little longer. That's OK.

 

[FireHot]

So.... I have started my SN2 schedule today. I am also supporting it with TPR/EK/Kaplan books for any trouble areas that may pop up.
I take the MCAT Jan.23rd and I am excited! I will keep you all updated.
Day 1 Mood: Optimistic

 

[namesthegame21]

So.... I have started my SN2 schedule today. I am also supporting it with TPR/EK/Kaplan books for any trouble areas that may pop up.
I take the MCAT Jan.23rd and I am excited! I will keep you all updated.
Day 1 Mood: Optimistic

 

[lazyindy]

due to lack of finances I got kicked out of school this has been a major hit to my confidence and my mental well being .. Fu*k this ****... I am glad for you guys and wish you the best God seem to have a different plan for me ...

Hey man listen, I know what you are going through right now and yes it does suck but you have to keep your head up. Sometimes life doesn't always go as we planned it to but if it did then it would be quite boring. Think of this as a new challenge in your path to medicine. Take a few days off, relax and really reflect upon what you're going to do next. It will get better from here on.. trust me

 

[MrTaco92]

Hey guys, its been a while since my last post in this thread. I just got my score back and got a 28. Pretty disappointing, but still scored within 2 points of my average (30). My practice test scores ranged from 28-32 and I feel like if I were to study some more and retake, I would score in the 30-32 range, maybe a 33 at best. Not sure if it's worth a retake for an increase by just a few points. With my gpa (~3.7) and mcat score, I'll have about a 45% chance of being accepted according to acceptance rates for ORM's in the past. With a 31 mcat I'd have about a 70% chance.

Should I just apply with the odds slightly against me and work on developing the rest of my application? Or is it worth another agonizing 3 months of studying to increase my score by a few points? I'm working and doing research now so it's gonna be a lot tougher to make time for studying. If anyone was curious I made a thread in the what are my chances section where you can see all my of my EC's.

 

[FireHot]

Hey everyone. I have a quick question about the SN2 schedule. We will only ever do 1/3 for all the EK 1001 books (except for BIO), is this right?

 

[mehc012]

Hey everyone. I have a quick question about the SN2 schedule. We will only ever do 1/3 for all the EK 1001 books (except for BIO), is this right?

Yes, unless you feel that you need more practice. You're doing so much stuff, it's absolutely fine to do just the 1/3. Besides, EK tends to cycle you through all topics, changing the setup only slightly with each question until they covered all angles. Chances are that if you get 1Q right, you have the approach down so that you'd get the adjacent ones as well.

Personally, I found EK1001 to be very useful. However, I did go back and do more when I missed a Q. Here was my approach:

1: Depending on my TBR score (set your own limit for this) for that chapter, I would go through and do every 1/3
2. While doing this, I would star any which took too long or seemed hard. I did not set a time limit, but instead just marked tricky ones to review later. Then again, timing was NOT an issue for me, so ymmv.
3. I'd do the Qs, stopping whenever I got tired of it to go check off (not review) my answers from before as a study break.
4. For every question which I did wrong or which I starred (see 2), I would read EK's answer explanation, and then do ALL the math from the most basic equations to 'prove' the approach to myself. Basically, review thoroughly.
5. I then went back and, for every wrong or starred answer, did the preceding and following questions. Aka if I missed #5, I would go back and do #4 and #6. These Qs are likely similar to #5, but tweaked, so they're not identical. I couldn't do them just from memory of #5, but if I had truly figured out the concept I missed for #5 the first time around, I should be able to apply it to #4 and #6.
6. Any which I missed on the second pass became Anki flashcards (along with the original missed Q. So, say I missed #4 in my second pass, I'd Ankify #4, 5, and 6). No MC answers, just question and free-recall answer, with my detailed explanation on the back as a refresher.



Obviously, this is my ideal...but I did make cuts if I were busy or felt it was unnecessary. Chem, for example, I was usually scoring in the mid 90s for TBR passages, so I typically skipped those EK1001s. If, during review, I recognized that a star was unnecessary, or that it was a simple math error and not a conceptual problem, I would give myself some slack. But this was the overall scheme that I was aiming for, and which I fully applied to my problem areas.

 

[FireHot]

Okay. Sounds like a plan. Thanks for the quick response.

 

[TXhopeful]

I've discovered that my confidence in studying thousands of notecards and reading content chapters mindlessly falls greatly short of a swift kick from the first 3 days of SN2. It's hard not to be discouraged when you make 50% (or less...much less) on some of the practice passages, but I still feel that his study methods are how you truly master a beast like the MCAT. January 10, 2015 is my test date. Here's to discipline and determination....

 

[TXhopeful]

ALSO: for anyone reading this now/in the future struggling to get their PS/BS scores up, get EK 1001 for ochem/gen chem/physics and do it like it's your LIFE. I did all of the genchem, 3/4 of physics, 1/2 of ochem and PS is SIGNIFICANTLY easier now. EK has a way of drilling concepts like no other and when you first start it's easy to be like "Oh! I know all this!" but in reality, if you really master EK, I don't think there's anything AAMC can throw at you you don't know. There's only so many ways you can have a concept thrown at you and EK makes sure you see EVERYTHING. <3 EK

I'll take this advice! The TBR is really killing me right now as far as PS/OChem go, and I was debating not getting the EK 1001 books that were in the SN2 schedule. Thank you for the encouragement!

 

[ayocaptain628]

I feel you girl.

The issue is that all test dates are now full for the old exam. I unfortunately discovered this Friday night. Was hanging out with a friend and was like "I should push to November 7th to solidify my sciences even more!" and went on AAMC to look at dates - zilch. Looked at January for retake options. Zilch. So that was super reassuring. But it pushed me into high-gear more. I think @mehc012 said this on here once - it's not until you're in like crunch time mode that you're fully pushed to your limit to do this exam. Many friends who have taken other professional exams have also told me that the last few weeks before their exam has "gotten them" their score as well. I keep dreaming of how well I'm going to sleep the night after my test, lol.

But really, take care of yourself. You're not going to study well if you're anxious. It's just a test! Life will go on if you score badly (which you won't.) The 2015 test is something you will adjust to if you do end up having to take it. Life will go on after you leave the testing center on October 25th. You will reach your goal of becoming a physician. All you can do if your best, that's what I keep telling myself at least. I just really can't wait for my life to be back. I have so many fun things planned and honestly all the test dates being full was like, a relief. Just think of how good it's going to feel when it's going to be over, and think of the real thing like AAMC 12. I'm going to sleep the entire day before the exam and I'm lucky that I have a friend taking the exam at the same place and time as me, so it'll be nice to have a friend in the same room to have a friendly face.

The biggest thing for me though is remembering that it really is just a test. Not your self worth. We as pre-meds are by nature hyper-competitive ass***** (or maybe that's just me???). Regardless, it's impossible for hard work to not pay off. So work hard, and just have a little faith.

ALSO: for anyone reading this now/in the future struggling to get their PS/BS scores up, get EK 1001 for ochem/gen chem/physics and do it like it's your LIFE. I did all of the genchem, 3/4 of physics, 1/2 of ochem and PS is SIGNIFICANTLY easier now. EK has a way of drilling concepts like no other and when you first start it's easy to be like "Oh! I know all this!" but in reality, if you really master EK, I don't think there's anything AAMC can throw at you you don't know. There's only so many ways you can have a concept thrown at you and EK makes sure you see EVERYTHING. <3 EK

avenlea, considering you did so many of the problems, you must have also have came across a lot of the errata in those books as well.
how did you compensate for the poor answer explanations in the EK 1001 that was still time efficient

 

[mehc012]

avenlea, considering you did so many of the problems, you must have also have came across a lot of the errata in those books as well.
how did you compensate for the poor answer explanations in the EK 1001 that was still time efficient

I didn't even read answer explanations for those that I got right. For ones you miss, you can just work it out in detail, Wiki it, look up the concept in TBR, etc. I use their crappy answer explanations to figure out which terms to Google!

 

[deleted388502]

avenlea, considering you did so many of the problems, you must have also have came across a lot of the errata in those books as well.
how did you compensate for the poor answer explanations in the EK 1001 that was still time efficient

Tbh I didn't find many errata but I may have just missed something. You have to realize you can't take EK to be like AAMC practice questions or something- if somethig seems crazy and ridiculous it probably is. Attempt to understand and then skip it, at least that's what I did. The questions that didn't make sense to me I used SDN to learn. That's where EK really helps though because in doing that you gain an in depth understanding of the concepts.

 

[HCHopeful]

Hey everybody! Man, I remember posting in here after the first day of Bio freaking out! Haha... these last couple of months have been crazy. Anyway, just looking for some advice. I had a January 23rd date, but rescheduled due to my practice scores being acceptable (to me, anyway). Here's a breakdown in order of them being taken:

AAMC 7: 28 (10/10/8)
AAMC 4: 34 (13/12/9)
AAMC 9: 29 (10/10/9)
AAMC 5: 30 (11/10/9)
AAMC 8: 32 (12/10/10)

The average comes out to be a 30.6. My goal is a 30, so realistically, I am sitting at about where I'd want to be. Obviously I'd love to be scoring higher going in, but oh well. I've only been through 1/2 a semester of Orgo and didn't study it at all, so I miss 8-10 questions from that every time in Bio. My question is: What should I do this last week to prime up for October 21st? Any information that should be memorized or any sources I can use to brush up? Also, should I do any passages this week (I have TPRH SW)?

Thanks everybody! Happy studying.

 

[TXhopeful]

Hey everybody! Man, I remember posting in here after the first day of Bio freaking out! Haha... these last couple of months have been crazy. Anyway, just looking for some advice. I had a January 23rd date, but rescheduled due to my practice scores being acceptable (to me, anyway). Here's a breakdown in order of them being taken:

AAMC 7: 28 (10/10/8)
AAMC 4: 34 (13/12/9)
AAMC 9: 29 (10/10/9)
AAMC 5: 30 (11/10/9)
AAMC 8: 32 (12/10/10)

The average comes out to be a 30.6. My goal is a 30, so realistically, I am sitting at about where I'd want to be. Obviously I'd love to be scoring higher going in, but oh well. I've only been through 1/2 a semester of Orgo and didn't study it at all, so I miss 8-10 questions from that every time in Bio. My question is: What should I do this last week to prime up for October 21st? Any information that should be memorized or any sources I can use to brush up? Also, should I do any passages this week (I have TPRH SW)?

Thanks everybody! Happy studying.

Great job and best of luck to you for your upcoming MCAT! Encouraging to see such great scores after doing the SN2 schedule! How long did you study and where do you AAMC scores fall into that time period?

 

[HCHopeful]

Great job and best of luck to you for your upcoming MCAT! Encouraging to see such great scores after doing the SN2 schedule! How long did you study and where do you AAMC scores fall into that time period?

I started studying on July 21st, but I did it a bit differently than SN2ed's schedule. I decided to cut out the EK 1001 questions as well as Organic. I haven't taken an Organic course (just finished my first half semester actually), so I always planned on going in blind regarding that.

As far as when I started taking practice exams, my last day of content review (Physics, Gen Chem, and Bio) was on the 19th of September. I was still scheduled for January and decided to take a Kaplan to assess where I stood. I scored a 29 (12/9/8) and figured an AAMC would be a good idea to check where I was.

I decided to take AAMC #7: 28 (10/10/8) on 9/27 as my first just because it was in the middle in terms of new/old. I learned a lot from that test, and since then I've only seen improvements in % correct. It was definitely an odd shift from TBR to AAMC. I made a lot of silly mistakes, so I focused on fixing those. I took AAMC #4: 34 (13/12/9) on 10/1 and decided to reschedule following that!

Happy to say I just took the dreaded AAMC #10 this morning and scored a 31 (10/11/10). Still a bit surprised regarding that PS scale, as those questions were pretty difficult. Oh well!

Just a side note: I love the later AAMC Bio sections (as can be seen from my score progression). So much more passage oriented with a slight reliance on background info. Definitely suits me well.

AAMC Average: 30.7
9 & 10 Average: 30.0

Only AAMC #11 left! Then it's game face time!

 

[sharkbyte]

ALSO: for anyone reading this now/in the future struggling to get their PS/BS scores up, get EK 1001 for ochem/gen chem/physics and do it like it's your LIFE. I did all of the genchem, 3/4 of physics, 1/2 of ochem and PS is SIGNIFICANTLY easier now. EK has a way of drilling concepts like no other and when you first start it's easy to be like "Oh! I know all this!" but in reality, if you really master EK, I don't think there's anything AAMC can throw at you you don't know. There's only so many ways you can have a concept thrown at you and EK makes sure you see EVERYTHING. <3 EK

Yes, unless you feel that you need more practice. You're doing so much stuff, it's absolutely fine to do just the 1/3. Besides, EK tends to cycle you through all topics, changing the setup only slightly with each question until they covered all angles. Chances are that if you get 1Q right, you have the approach down so that you'd get the adjacent ones as well.

Personally, I found EK1001 to be very useful. However, I did go back and do more when I missed a Q. Here was my approach:

1: Depending on my TBR score (set your own limit for this) for that chapter, I would go through and do every 1/3
2. While doing this, I would star any which took too long or seemed hard. I did not set a time limit, but instead just marked tricky ones to review later. Then again, timing was NOT an issue for me, so ymmv.
3. I'd do the Qs, stopping whenever I got tired of it to go check off (not review) my answers from before as a study break.
4. For every question which I did wrong or which I starred (see 2), I would read EK's answer explanation, and then do ALL the math from the most basic equations to 'prove' the approach to myself. Basically, review thoroughly.
5. I then went back and, for every wrong or starred answer, did the preceding and following questions. Aka if I missed #5, I would go back and do #4 and #6. These Qs are likely similar to #5, but tweaked, so they're not identical. I couldn't do them just from memory of #5, but if I had truly figured out the concept I missed for #5 the first time around, I should be able to apply it to #4 and #6.
6. Any which I missed on the second pass became Anki flashcards (along with the original missed Q. So, say I missed #4 in my second pass, I'd Ankify #4, 5, and 6). No MC answers, just question and free-recall answer, with my detailed explanation on the back as a refresher.



Obviously, this is my ideal...but I did make cuts if I were busy or felt it was unnecessary. Chem, for example, I was usually scoring in the mid 90s for TBR passages, so I typically skipped those EK1001s. If, during review, I recognized that a star was unnecessary, or that it was a simple math error and not a conceptual problem, I would give myself some slack. But this was the overall scheme that I was aiming for, and which I fully applied to my problem areas.

After reading this I'm glad I haven't thrown out my EK 1001 books. I think I'm going to go through as many questions as possible for my retake. I saw so many negative reviews on them and I felt skeptical the entire time, thinking "How can a book of 1001 practice questions for a particular subject be bad?" and I'm glad that you guys have had success with them.

Just wondering - has anyone used EK 1001 Bio? I know that SN2ed ruled it out but I feel like doing them could really help for those pesky discretes that are really, really specific. I feel like that was my issue on my 8/21 BS section because I got tripped up on 4-5 discretes. Would anyone recommend it?

 

[deleted388502]

After reading this I'm glad I haven't thrown out my EK 1001 books. I think I'm going to go through as many questions as possible for my retake. I saw so many negative reviews on them and I felt skeptical the entire time, thinking "How can a book of 1001 practice questions for a particular subject be bad?" and I'm glad that you guys have had success with them.

Just wondering - has anyone used EK 1001 Bio? I know that SN2ed ruled it out but I feel like doing them could really help for those pesky discretes that are really, really specific. I feel like that was my issue on my 8/21 BS section because I got tripped up on 4-5 discretes. Would anyone recommend it?

I bought EK bio but it's untouched because it's actually not like the other EKs, it's passage based. Check out the TPRH discretes. Me and my friend have also been just mapping out entire systems start to finish on giant whiteboards and that helps sooo much. I might try EK 1001 if I have time though so I'll report back

 

[sharkbyte]

I bought EK bio but it's untouched because it's actually not like the other EKs, it's passage based. Check out the TPRH discretes. Me and my friend have also been just mapping out entire systems start to finish on giant whiteboards and that helps sooo much. I might try EK 1001 if I have time though so I'll report back

Great, thanks! I actually think I'll do the mapping for bio, it sounds like a great idea.

 

[vanillabear55]

hello all!

Doing the Sn2ed method pretty much exactly, on Day 4. Felt sick today so I didn't get a chance to do all the passages- speaking of am I going crazy or does the first day of bio for Sn2ed have a crazy amount of passages compared to the rest?

 

[mehc012]

hello all!

Doing the Sn2ed method pretty much exactly, on Day 4. Felt sick today so I didn't get a chance to do all the passages- speaking of am I going crazy or does the first day of bio for Sn2ed have a crazy amount of passages compared to the rest?

Yeah, Bio has a lot of passages.
I'd say it's more important to keep plugging away than to be meticulous Re: doing all passages and all 1/3s exactly.

 

[shnarf9892]

Agreed, bio does have a LOT more passages to work through. However, the chapters are quite a bit shorter. At least, they are in my opinion. I'm a bio major, so it's all still pretty fresh.

 

[mehc012]

Agreed, bio does have a LOT more passages to work through. However, the chapters are quite a bit shorter. At least, they are in my opinion. I'm a bio major, so it's all still pretty fresh.

That is true for Physiology, not so much for the Biomol book (I'm assuming you're talking TBR?) With that one, you kind of have to learn what to ignore.

 

[shnarf9892]

I'm using the EK Bio book for review and the TBR for passages.

 

[mehc012]

I'm using the EK Bio book for review and the TBR for passages.

Ah...I didn't bother with that. Too much skipping around, it seemed like more work than just using TBR straight up!

 

[shnarf9892]

EK is pretty much straight up review for me. My BS score is definitely my highest, because I majored in it. Ochem is the most likely culprit for stealing my BS points, so I'm nailing that until I know it like the back of my hand.

Love the profile picture, by the way. Firefly has always been one of my favorite shows.

 

[mehc012]

EK is pretty much straight up review for me. My BS score is definitely my highest, because I majored in it. Ochem is the most likely culprit for stealing my BS points, so I'm nailing that until I know it like the back of my hand.

Love the profile picture, by the way. Firefly has always been one of my favorite shows.

Oh yeah, it's all review, at least it should be. I wanted to go through the books as a refresher, to see the angles the questions would come from, and to see what level of knowledge AAMC wanted us to know. Plus, I was making the Anki deck and incompleteness bothered me. For that end, I found it easier to use TBR...plus, the fact that EK was 100% review was a negative to me...made it boring and made me nervous that I was leaving rando details out.

 

[deleted388502]

Great, thanks! I actually think I'll do the mapping for bio, it sounds like a great idea.

started ek 1001 bio today. Already recommend it, it's in the style of other EKs, just passage based. I don't really know why EK gets so much hate on here, but I haven't taken the real thing either, so take what I'm saying with a grain of salt. I think it's great for learning concepts which I'm definitely weak on. I'm probably going to spend the next week or so going through EK 1001 to work on bio concepts I'm weak on, doing Kaplan PS section tests, AAMC VR self assessments, and then do my remaining FLs.

 

[mehc012]

started ek 1001 bio today. Already recommend it, it's in the style of other EKs, just passage based. I don't really know why EK gets so much hate on here, but I haven't taken the real thing either, so take what I'm saying with a grain of salt. I think it's great for learning concepts which I'm definitely weak on. I'm probably going to spend the next week or so going through EK 1001 to work on bio concepts I'm weak on, doing Kaplan PS section tests, AAMC VR self assessments, and then do my remaining FLs.

I didn't find the Bio ones so useful, as they were missing the different perspective/contribution that the other 1001s made to my study techniques. They weren't bad, but they didn't add anything beyond the TBR and TPRH I was already using, and were a bit easier, whereas the other 1001s were uniquely helpful. So, no hate here, but no love either!

 

[mike36]

Just started Day #1 last Saturday. Feeling discouraged because I'm already behind and it's only going to get worse. I don't think it's possible to stay on track for a nontraditional person with a full time job like myself. I guess I'll just keep plugging away and do the best I can. Taking the test Jan 8th. Blah.

 

[shnarf9892]

Just started Day #1 last Saturday. Feeling discouraged because I'm already behind and it's only going to get worse. I don't think it's possible to stay on track for a nontraditional person with a full time job like myself. I guess I'll just keep plugging away and do the best I can. Taking the test Jan 8th. Blah.

I'm also testing on the 8th. It is possible to do really well even with a full time job. Just talk to @mehc012 .

Don't get discouraged! Watch motivational videos or something, but don't get down on yourself. Just keep going.

To quote Avatar, "Don't let the cave-in get you doooooowwwwn...[Sokka]...Don't let the falling rocks turn your smiiiiiiiiile intoafrown."

 

[mike36]

I'm also testing on the 8th. It is possible to do really well even with a full time job. Just talk to @mehc012 .

Don't get discouraged! Watch motivational videos or something, but don't get down on yourself. Just keep going.

To quote Avatar, "Don't let the cave-in get you doooooowwwwn...[Sokka]...Don't let the falling rocks turn your smiiiiiiiiile intoafrown."

That was a funny episode, hehe!

 

[mehc012]

Just started Day #1 last Saturday. Feeling discouraged because I'm already behind and it's only going to get worse. I don't think it's possible to stay on track for a nontraditional person with a full time job like myself. I guess I'll just keep plugging away and do the best I can. Taking the test Jan 8th. Blah.

I'm also testing on the 8th. It is possible to do really well even with a full time job. Just talk to @mehc012 .

Don't get discouraged! Watch motivational videos or something, but don't get down on yourself. Just keep going.

To quote Avatar, "Don't let the cave-in get you doooooowwwwn...[Sokka]...Don't let the falling rocks turn your smiiiiiiiiile intoafrown."

You guys used slightly different phrasings, and here the difference totally matters! Yes, it is absolutely possible to do well while working more than full time...but I absolutely did not stay on track! For that, you'd need @TBRBiosadist, if he's still around...worked, stayed on track, and did well!

From my end, I'd give this advice: don't get caught up in completing the schedule to the letter just for the schedule's sake. In the end, the whole point of SN2ed is to prepare you for the test. Many people lose sight of that. Make the schedule fit your needs...figure out which parts are helping you the most and prioritize those. Add things (in my case the SAs) and take others away (in my case, 2nd and final thirds). Be flexible, and always be assessing your own progress. Always move forward, don't get stuck on one thing for so long that you build up a giant, paralyzing list of guilt. I didn't even view it as a schedule...just broke it down into 81 individual tasks and out a giant To Do list on the wall by my bed!

 

[mike36]

You guys used slightly different phrasings, and here the difference totally matters! Yes, it is absolutely possible to do well while working more than full time...but I absolutely did not stay on track! For that, you'd need @TBRBiosadist, if he's still around...worked, stayed on track, and did well!

From my end, I'd give this advice: don't get caught up in completing the schedule to the letter just for the schedule's sake. In the end, the whole point of SN2ed is to prepare you for the test. Many people lose sight of that. Make the schedule fit your needs...figure out which parts are helping you the most and prioritize those. Add things (in my case the SAs) and take others away (in my case, 2nd and final thirds). Be flexible, and always be assessing your own progress. Always move forward, don't get stuck on one thing for so long that you build up a giant, paralyzing list of guilt. I didn't even view it as a schedule...just broke it down into 81 individual tasks and out a giant To Do list on the wall by my bed!

Yeah, I'm starting to realize that I won't be able to stick to the schedule 100%. I get really OCD with stuff like this, so it stresses me out that I'm not exactly where the schedule says I should be. I need to just get over that though and make sure I get through all of the content review and enough practice passages before test day.

I am sure everything will be ok in the end. I think my main obstacle will be mastering physics since I haven't had it in 15 years. The other stuff should be fine because I've had biology and chemistry courses every semester during my 9 years of college. And even when I took physics, I was never that great with motion and projectile problems.

 

[vanillabear55]

Yeah, I'm starting to realize that I won't be able to stick to the schedule 100%. I get really OCD with stuff like this, so it stresses me out that I'm not exactly where the schedule says I should be. I need to just get over that though and make sure I get through all of the content review and enough practice passages before test day.

I am sure everything will be ok in the end. I think my main obstacle will be mastering physics since I haven't had it in 15 years. The other stuff should be fine because I've had biology and chemistry courses every semester during my 9 years of college. And even when I took physics, I was never that great with motion and projectile problems.

YES. x1000. I had to take 3 days off because I've been sick and I'm just hating everything right now haha, I know this is going to mean less vacation days for thanksgiving and christmas so I'm kind of bummed.

 

[mehc012]

YES. x1000. I had to take 3 days off because I've been sick and I'm just hating everything right now haha, I know this is going to mean less vacation days for thanksgiving and christmas so I'm kind of bummed.

Just bang out a few double days...I find that doing all reading and note-taking for both in one evening, then light review and the passages the next morning when you're fresh is a good way. Then you can take a break (go to work) and do your usual schedule that night.

 

[mike36]

I just did the first chapter of biology in the EK book and the practice problems in TBR. Not sure that is gonna work for me. There were several questions in TBR that I couldn't answer simply because I didn't read the material from that book. I think the EK chapters are going to be too superficial and basic to be able to answer TBR practice questions.

And for this first day of biology, the questions seemed to me more applicable to a biochemistry class, not biology. I didn't go into that much detail about the urea cycle and enzyme kinetics in my biology courses. That was straight from my biochem courses. I'm not even sure that we need to know that kind of stuff for the mcat.

Anyone else have similar issues with the biology schedule? Is TBR overkill? And if so, are the passages even worth going through? I'm interested to see what other people are doing for biology review.

 

[mehc012]

I just did the first chapter of biology in the EK book and the practice problems in TBR. Not sure that is gonna work for me. There were several questions in TBR that I couldn't answer simply because I didn't read the material from that book. I think the EK chapters are going to be too superficial and basic to be able to answer TBR practice questions.

And for this first day of biology, the questions seemed to me more applicable to a biochemistry class, not biology. I didn't go into that much detail about the urea cycle and enzyme kinetics in my biology courses. That was straight from my biochem courses. I'm not even sure that we need to know that kind of stuff for the mcat.

Anyone else have similar issues with the biology schedule? Is TBR overkill? And if so, are the passages even worth going through? I'm interested to see what other people are doing for biology review.

I have always thought that the whole concept of reading EK and then doing passages which are known to have more detail is just insanity designed to sap your confidence.
I just did TBR straight, and then used my judgement to figure out which details were superfluous.

 

[JMMTB]

I just did the first chapter of biology in the EK book and the practice problems in TBR. Not sure that is gonna work for me. There were several questions in TBR that I couldn't answer simply because I didn't read the material from that book. I think the EK chapters are going to be too superficial and basic to be able to answer TBR practice questions.

And for this first day of biology, the questions seemed to me more applicable to a biochemistry class, not biology. I didn't go into that much detail about the urea cycle and enzyme kinetics in my biology courses. That was straight from my biochem courses. I'm not even sure that we need to know that kind of stuff for the mcat.

Anyone else have similar issues with the biology schedule? Is TBR overkill? And if so, are the passages even worth going through? I'm interested to see what other people are doing for biology review.

I felt that the TBR questions were either really good to help me think critically and apply knowledge that is relevant for the MCAT. There were also questions that were way too specific, that reading EK or TBR would not give you the information needed to know the answer. And lastly there were questions that dealt with the right level of MCAT knowledge, but were presented in a confusing way, that no matter how well you know the material you can't seem to find the right answer listed.

So overall I'd say I liked TBR Bio for the difficulty of the passages, but never saw it as a gauge of my understanding. I recently did the diagnostic tests in the back of the Bio books and thought those were actually really good. They didn't have random detail questions like the practice passages, and # correct matched closely to what I've been getting of the AAMC BS.

I've also heard a lot of people say that TPRH-SW is really good. If you're just starting the schedule then it might not be a bad idea to get that.

 

[TXhopeful]

I felt that the TBR questions were either really good to help me think critically and apply knowledge that is relevant for the MCAT. There were also questions that were way too specific, that reading EK or TBR would not give you the information needed to know the answer. And lastly there were questions that dealt with the right level of MCAT knowledge, but were presented in a confusing way, that no matter how well you know the material you can't seem to find the right answer listed.

So overall I'd say I liked TBR Bio for the difficulty of the passages, but never saw it as a gauge of my understanding.

This is great encouragement. The turbo solutions and MCAT shortcuts they offer are amazing and it takes some practice to fully utilize them. The difficulty of questions are over my head right now (1.5 weeks into the schedule), but I feel like from reading thousands of posts on here that BR is more difficult than the AAMC full lengths or the actual MCAT itself. Guess it's better practice to have BR's difficult questions when the real thing comes around?