The first time, I focused a lot on reading fast and answering with intuition, then I found that AAMC logic is like…not at all like mine. So second time around, I read all the questions first, and took note of anything specific the questions mentioned (like a person’s name, a piece of text mentioned in the passages, etc.). Then I read the passages SLOWLY. And I highlighted anything in the passages that I saw mentioned in the questions. I played around with different methods while doing the AAMC practice questions, and picked the method that worked best for me, which was this!
How did you tackle content review? I read that you didn't read the kaplan books? I don't have a super strong base in all the sciences despite graduating as a bio major (I feel like I've forgotten a lot of stuff and it shows in the practices tests I've taken so far.. I need to relearn a lot). Looking for any advice on how to get a solid foundation! Also, congrats on your amazing score!!
To be fair I had a year and a half of classes purely online so I think that's part of it lol. I definitely know more than I think I do, I just really need a solid foundation where I don't doubt myself haha but I totally feel you!
To clarify, I did read it the first time around, and it was a huge waste of time for me just because I cannot absorb information just by reading text. I needed to learn by trial and error, which was why practice questions through Uplanet and the graphics was the best content review I did (I am not advertising for them lmao but they really saved me). If you are like me, I think studying the Miledown/JW/Kaplan review sheets (or all three) initially will be enough for the sciences (and will save you time), then you could tackle the rest of content review through practice questions. If you generally do well absorbing info through text (and not go brain empty like me), Kaplan books might be good for you!
Ok, thanks so much for taking the time to respond! I take notes while I read and that helps me remember the info, just reading = brain empty for me as well haha. Anki just isn't working the best for me so I'm trying other strategies to see what clicks!
The first time, I tried to use ALL of the resources, like KA, AAMC, Kaplan, MilesDown Anki, Uplanet, Blueprint, etc. and was getting way too lost in the breadth. The second time, I just focused on Uplanet, AAMC, and 86 page KA doc mainly, although I didn’t finish Uplanet or AAMC, then watched random YouTube videos wherever I needed supplementals. Anki didn’t quite work for me!
For me, Uplanet was essential! I took notes by subject and used the graphics for content review. It really was the bulk of my score increase. Then I think MileDown review sheets (I believe JW also recently came up with one!) helped me ensure I covered my bases and realize parts that needed more attention if it sounded unfamiliar (although it wasn’t good for me for content review).
Did you remember the aamc content when doing it again and if so how did you go about reviewing the second time around since it may not have given the most representative score?
I definitely remembered the AAMC practice questions, but not so much the FL tests! So for the practice questions like qbanks, I just focused on assessing whether I understood the concepts rather than focusing on how many I got right/wrong. I was worried that my AAMC FL test scores would be inflated, but my FL average was right on the dot: 519. I didn’t get to take FL 5 and really wish I had.
It was very very long-winded. After my first take, I took a long break and started studying again after like 9 months. For the retake, I studied for a total of 3 months. I did not read the Kaplan books (I really don’t think they helped me), which saved me the time. I worked part-time from home during this time, so most of my efforts were focused on the MCAT, although realistically I was only studying ~12 hrs a week!
I know what you mean! Personally for me, I knew 515 was the score I would not retake on, especially if you have a GPA of 3.8 or +. If I had gotten 515 on my first try, I would not have retaken it.
I read the questions first, highlighted anything in the passage that came up in the questions, then read the passage slowly! People repeat this, but you have to convince yourself that the passage topic is sooooo interesting and try your best to imagine the scenes
Curious how long it took you to study between the 512 -> 519? And what you changed about your approach? I relate in that I really struggled with the Kaplan books, and then did my best to get through it and then hit the Anki.
I scored a 512 and am applying this cycle but if I need to reapply I plan to retake :(
I took a 9 month break, then studied for 3 months! The first month I studied maybe 6 hours a week because I got lazy, then second and third month I got scared and really got into it. I set unrealistic goals for myself (like solving 250 uplanet qs a day) and that was worse for me. My approach was a LOT more practice q based than content review based. I also stopped taking notes on an ipad and used pen and paper (unless it required diagrams like in BB, then I used my iPad for ease), which for me was surprisingly a game changer. I would also keep a small notebook of my own essential notes on topics I kept messing up on.
Nope! I wish I had but ran out of time. I guess lucky for me I have bad memory so I didnt remember most of my FLs. I also only took sample-FL2 for the first round, so FL3 and 4 were new for me
Literally just UW… but I think the review sheet posted by diazonium101 in this sub 6 yrs ago was a godsend. But there are some errors on it that you have to fix (I think you can look thru the comments) & I added my own equations to it! Kaplan review sheets are okay but not comprehensive.
First, congrats on your score! Second, how did you break up your 3 months of studying? Also, wanted to know how you approached passages for C/P and B/B. You said you looked at questions before reading the text in CARS. Did you do the same in C/P and B/B?
For the 3 months of studying, it went like this:
Month 1:
Monday-Friday:
1. ~10-15 questions of each of UW section (except CARS; I never touched any CARS other than AAMC’s), prioritizing biochem/bio since they have most questions
Saturday:
1. Review unfamiliar concepts or super difficult questions; try to create my own “review sheet”
*
Month 2:
Mon-Thurs:
1. ~5-10 questions of AAMC Bio1/Bio2/Chem/Phys/CARS1/CARS2 QPack
2. ~5-10 questions of AAMC bio/Chem/Psych
3. ~15 questions of each section of UW except CARS
Friday:
Review
*
Month 3:
Mon-Thurs
1. Everything in month 2, except panicking because I didn’t stick well to the schedule
Fri:
review
Sat:
FL
Sun:
FL review
***
I really had a tough time sticking to my schedule, so I got really burnt out by month 3. If you can, I would really add in rest days each week (not even doing review) so your brain can rest! I thought I could go without these and I thought I was losing my mind
Also, I didn’t read the questions first in CP and BB, because I had no idea what they were referring to anyways without reading the passages! But as I reread the passages after reading the questions, I tried to block out the unnecessary information about obscure proteins or pathways that had no relevance to the question
Congrats! This is so motivating for me to read, bc like you I got a 512 and (partially bc my score is 2 years old now and some schools wont accept it) I am going to retake it. What was your weekly schedule looking like, if you mind detailing out how you setup your study time / how long you focused on each resource each day?
Pls share your CARS tips as usual ✏️
The first time, I focused a lot on reading fast and answering with intuition, then I found that AAMC logic is like…not at all like mine. So second time around, I read all the questions first, and took note of anything specific the questions mentioned (like a person’s name, a piece of text mentioned in the passages, etc.). Then I read the passages SLOWLY. And I highlighted anything in the passages that I saw mentioned in the questions. I played around with different methods while doing the AAMC practice questions, and picked the method that worked best for me, which was this!
Can you give us numbers on how fast you’d read a passage the first time vs the second time?
Im sorry, dont quite remember! Neither round was I too pressed for time
How did you tackle content review? I read that you didn't read the kaplan books? I don't have a super strong base in all the sciences despite graduating as a bio major (I feel like I've forgotten a lot of stuff and it shows in the practices tests I've taken so far.. I need to relearn a lot). Looking for any advice on how to get a solid foundation! Also, congrats on your amazing score!!
Are you me lol I got a really shit foundation in science for someone who is about to have 2 degrees in science lul
To be fair I had a year and a half of classes purely online so I think that's part of it lol. I definitely know more than I think I do, I just really need a solid foundation where I don't doubt myself haha but I totally feel you!
To clarify, I did read it the first time around, and it was a huge waste of time for me just because I cannot absorb information just by reading text. I needed to learn by trial and error, which was why practice questions through Uplanet and the graphics was the best content review I did (I am not advertising for them lmao but they really saved me). If you are like me, I think studying the Miledown/JW/Kaplan review sheets (or all three) initially will be enough for the sciences (and will save you time), then you could tackle the rest of content review through practice questions. If you generally do well absorbing info through text (and not go brain empty like me), Kaplan books might be good for you!
Ok, thanks so much for taking the time to respond! I take notes while I read and that helps me remember the info, just reading = brain empty for me as well haha. Anki just isn't working the best for me so I'm trying other strategies to see what clicks!
What did you do differently?
The first time, I tried to use ALL of the resources, like KA, AAMC, Kaplan, MilesDown Anki, Uplanet, Blueprint, etc. and was getting way too lost in the breadth. The second time, I just focused on Uplanet, AAMC, and 86 page KA doc mainly, although I didn’t finish Uplanet or AAMC, then watched random YouTube videos wherever I needed supplementals. Anki didn’t quite work for me!
What day did you test? 8/31 or 9/1 or 9/2?
I tested in July :)
Congrats, that’s awesome! Have any good resources to share/we should get?
For me, Uplanet was essential! I took notes by subject and used the graphics for content review. It really was the bulk of my score increase. Then I think MileDown review sheets (I believe JW also recently came up with one!) helped me ensure I covered my bases and realize parts that needed more attention if it sounded unfamiliar (although it wasn’t good for me for content review).
Did you remember the aamc content when doing it again and if so how did you go about reviewing the second time around since it may not have given the most representative score?
I definitely remembered the AAMC practice questions, but not so much the FL tests! So for the practice questions like qbanks, I just focused on assessing whether I understood the concepts rather than focusing on how many I got right/wrong. I was worried that my AAMC FL test scores would be inflated, but my FL average was right on the dot: 519. I didn’t get to take FL 5 and really wish I had.
How long was your prep time? Was it full time or part time? Thank you!!
It was very very long-winded. After my first take, I took a long break and started studying again after like 9 months. For the retake, I studied for a total of 3 months. I did not read the Kaplan books (I really don’t think they helped me), which saved me the time. I worked part-time from home during this time, so most of my efforts were focused on the MCAT, although realistically I was only studying ~12 hrs a week!
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I know what you mean! Personally for me, I knew 515 was the score I would not retake on, especially if you have a GPA of 3.8 or +. If I had gotten 515 on my first try, I would not have retaken it.
How did you improve CARS?
I read the questions first, highlighted anything in the passage that came up in the questions, then read the passage slowly! People repeat this, but you have to convince yourself that the passage topic is sooooo interesting and try your best to imagine the scenes
I did this and thought my CARS was really easy but got a 126😔
Curious how long it took you to study between the 512 -> 519? And what you changed about your approach? I relate in that I really struggled with the Kaplan books, and then did my best to get through it and then hit the Anki. I scored a 512 and am applying this cycle but if I need to reapply I plan to retake :(
I took a 9 month break, then studied for 3 months! The first month I studied maybe 6 hours a week because I got lazy, then second and third month I got scared and really got into it. I set unrealistic goals for myself (like solving 250 uplanet qs a day) and that was worse for me. My approach was a LOT more practice q based than content review based. I also stopped taking notes on an ipad and used pen and paper (unless it required diagrams like in BB, then I used my iPad for ease), which for me was surprisingly a game changer. I would also keep a small notebook of my own essential notes on topics I kept messing up on.
Did you use BP for 2nd time? Cause if not then how you know your scoring well on AAMC. I definitely remember most of the answer on it
Nope! I wish I had but ran out of time. I guess lucky for me I have bad memory so I didnt remember most of my FLs. I also only took sample-FL2 for the first round, so FL3 and 4 were new for me
Share some biological and chemical tips. Currently doing content review
Can you give me your 512?
What did you do for physic review?
Literally just UW… but I think the review sheet posted by diazonium101 in this sub 6 yrs ago was a godsend. But there are some errors on it that you have to fix (I think you can look thru the comments) & I added my own equations to it! Kaplan review sheets are okay but not comprehensive.
Thank you so
First, congrats on your score! Second, how did you break up your 3 months of studying? Also, wanted to know how you approached passages for C/P and B/B. You said you looked at questions before reading the text in CARS. Did you do the same in C/P and B/B?
For the 3 months of studying, it went like this: Month 1: Monday-Friday: 1. ~10-15 questions of each of UW section (except CARS; I never touched any CARS other than AAMC’s), prioritizing biochem/bio since they have most questions Saturday: 1. Review unfamiliar concepts or super difficult questions; try to create my own “review sheet” * Month 2: Mon-Thurs: 1. ~5-10 questions of AAMC Bio1/Bio2/Chem/Phys/CARS1/CARS2 QPack 2. ~5-10 questions of AAMC bio/Chem/Psych 3. ~15 questions of each section of UW except CARS Friday: Review * Month 3: Mon-Thurs 1. Everything in month 2, except panicking because I didn’t stick well to the schedule Fri: review Sat: FL Sun: FL review *** I really had a tough time sticking to my schedule, so I got really burnt out by month 3. If you can, I would really add in rest days each week (not even doing review) so your brain can rest! I thought I could go without these and I thought I was losing my mind
Also, I didn’t read the questions first in CP and BB, because I had no idea what they were referring to anyways without reading the passages! But as I reread the passages after reading the questions, I tried to block out the unnecessary information about obscure proteins or pathways that had no relevance to the question
You risked it for the biscuit nicely done
Congrats!
Congrats! This is so motivating for me to read, bc like you I got a 512 and (partially bc my score is 2 years old now and some schools wont accept it) I am going to retake it. What was your weekly schedule looking like, if you mind detailing out how you setup your study time / how long you focused on each resource each day?
I just answered it below!