• Skip to content

Pre-Med Community

Helping pre-medical students get into medical school across the nation

  • About
    • FAQ
    • Leave us feedback!
    • Contact Us
  • Articles
    • Application Advice
    • Pre med 101
    • Pre med advice
    • Study tips
    • MCAT
    • Reviews
    • PMC news
  • Premed Resources
    • FAQ from Pre-meds
    • Medical School Database
    • MCAT Resources
      • MCAT Information and links
      • MCAT Preparation Resources
      • Psychology and Sociology Terms for the MCAT
    • Research Opportunities for Pre-meds
    • Volunteer Opportunities for Pre-meds
    • Postbaccalaureate Pre-med Progams
    • Videos for Pre-med students
    • Pre-Med poll archive!
  • Member’s area
    • Join the community!
    • Login/Customize profile
    • Free member downloads

Improve GPA

Jul 16 2019

How the top pre-meds start off the semester strong

One of the biggest mistakes many premeds make is not starting the semester off strong. The beginning of the semester represents one of the greatest opportunities to put yourself in line to secure that A in your class! Its very important to start off strong because that will the set the tone for your whole semester. Remember, it is always easier to maintain an A in a class once you already got it than it is to work your way up to one from a lower grade. So by getting off to the right foot from the very beginning you increase your chances of making an A greatly. Not only that but it is also way less stressful knowing you are in a good situation rather than worrying if you will make the grade you want or not. We are going to go over some of the best methods to make sure you start the semester off right!

 

Before we go any further, make sure to read my article “How the A student starts their next semester“. This gives advice more on how to prepare for your next semester, but some of the content overlaps. However in this article though I really want to emphasize the point of staying ahead and being one step ahead of your teachers. Yes, this method takes more effort than to not do it. But the real secret to making good grades is hard work. Work smart and work hard and you will definitely achieve your goals. So how do I stay ahead of the class?

 

The main ways to stay ahead of your class are by:

  • Pre-reading the powerpoint before class
  • Reading the chapter in your book before your teacher lectures on it
  • Watching youtube videos on the topic
  • Doing practice problems

 

The reason it is so important to do this is because the material is ALWAYS easier to understand the second or third time you see or hear it. You want to already have been exposed to the material your teacher will go over in class before they do. Especially if it is hard material. By having already read the powerpoints, the book chapter, watching videos, and doing practice problems you will be way ahead of everyone else in your class. And then when finally your teacher lectures on the topic, they will only help to clarify anything that confused you. By having already pre-read and prepared for lecture, you will also have a list of questions you can ask your teacher. While the other students are hearing this for the first time and trying to just even understand whats going on, you will be solidifying what you know or clarifying on things that confused you.

 

This is especially important during the beginning of the semester because you will be introduced usually to a bunch of brand new content. In the beginning of a semester, usually the easiest tests and quizzes are given out. So you want to take advantage of that and grab those easy A’s early on! Getting off to the right start early on will set a good pace for your whole semester. The momentum of how you do in the beginning is often carried throughout the entire semester, so you want to get this right! So make sure you read ahead and are prepared for your next lecture! This will definitely help you achieve the grades you want!

 


For more pre-med tips and advice, subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on Facebook, twitter, and pinterest!

Download a comprehensive medical school rankings report and get the free ebook, The Pre-Med’s Beginner Guide, right now! Download here! Don’t miss out!

pmcbg ebook small

 

Get your Free Pre-Med ebook! Download now!

(You definitely want this!)

Written by Wil · Categorized: Improve GPA, pre med advice · Tagged: good grades, GPA, improve grades, pre med program, pre-med, premed, study tips

Apr 12 2019

Studying advice: The rule of four passes

The Rule of four passes

 

As you all might know I have a lot of articles about studying advice. That’s because I believe there is a science to effective studying and anyone can improve their grades if they learn how to be an effective studier. I am constantly evaluating my methods of studying and realizing what works well and what doesn’t. It is important that we learn to be efficient with our studying methods and utilize methods that have been shown to work. You need to constantly be refining your study methods and making it more efficient for you. During my first year of medical school, I have realized yet another component to this “science of effective studying”.  Something I call the rule of four passes.

So what is the rule of four passes? Essentially it takes at least four complete passes through your lecture material/powerpoint from start to finish to be able to retain it for the exam. This means that just looking at a lecture or powerpoint once or twice is usually not enough to learn the material well enough for an exam. This depends a lot also on the density of the material. This is especially true when you are in medical school and you have lecture powerpoints that are 130 slides of dense material. You won’t be able to retain the information by just going through it once or twice. It will take at least four passes through it to really retain it. Also I have found an effective way to do these four passes to get the most out of it. So lets talk about what you should do starting with your first pass through the material to the last one.

 

First pass:

So by the first pass I mean the first time you are sitting down and going through your lecture material/powerpoint. So essentially the main goal of your first pass is to simply get used to the material and get acquainted with it. It is not about focusing on the details or writing notes. Simply read your lecture material with the focus of just trying to understand what’s going on. Think of it like getting your bearings. You want to understand the big picture and what the lecture is all about. If there are things you don’t understand, look them up and research them. Other than that its just simply about getting used to the material.

 

Second pass:

The objective of the second pass is two things: Understanding the material more deeply and taking notes on your lecture material. So as you are going through your powerpoint/lecture material for the second time you want to be going slower and aiming for understanding the material more deeply. As you are going through the material you will now be taking notes, underlining and highlighting the important information.

Here are some examples of how I take notes on my slides:

Notice how I am trying to identify the things that are most important. These notes will help me during my third pass to focus on the highest yield information.

 

Third pass:

The objective of the third pass is to really memorize all of the important facts and information from the lecture you will need for your exam. Now that you have gone through the material twice and become well acquainted with it, you want to really focus on understanding it fully and memorizing what matters. This pass is about understanding the nitty-gritty details. Your notes and highlights from the second pass should be helpful here as it will identify what is important to focus on. Make sure you take it slower this time and really focus on understanding your material and memorizing all key information.

 

Fourth pass:

Essentially the fourth pass is a self-review of the all of the lecture information. Now that you have gone through the material three times you should understand the material very well and have memorized all the key information. Start at the beginning of the lecture material again and go through each slide and quiz yourself as you go through it. You want to quiz yourself on everything you can in the lecture. Make sure you understand all the things you could be tested on. Quizzing yourself as you go through the material will allow you to assess how well you know the material and if there is anything you need to work on.

 

Thats the four passes! You don’t have to do all four passes all at once. You want to take breaks between each pass through the material. This gives you time to absorb the information and let your brain to take it in. Its fine to even do the passes across multiple days if you want, I would personally recommend that. You can do more than four passes obviously if you want as four is the minimum I believe it takes you to be ready for your exam. If you are to do more passes through the material I would recommend focusing on quizzing yourself on the information and identifying areas to focus on. The rule of four passes really lets you know that you can’t cram for an exam and expect to do well. Doing well on exams and getting high grades has alot to do with multiple repetitions of going through information, similiar to the concept of spaced repetition I talk about in this article. I hope that you all are excited to add another tool to your study toolkit! This is a great concept to understand which will help you do better on all your exams!

 

Tell us what you think by leaving a comment down below! For more pre-med tips and advice, make sure to subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on Facebook, twitter, youtube, and pinterest!
Get Pre-Med Advice and Tips
I agree to have my personal information transfered to MailChimp ( more information )
Join hundreds of others who are receiving our newsletter and get special deals, discounts, and tips on how to improve your chances of getting into medical school.
Your email address is safe with us, we will not share it with anyone else.

Written by Wil · Categorized: Improve GPA, Study tips · Tagged: advice, Biochemistry, biology, chemistry, college, GPA, MCAT, med school, Medical school, organic chemistry, physics, pre-med, premed, science, study tips, tutorial, undergrad, university

Sep 14 2017

You need to be doing this for EVERY test

premed, pre med, pre-med, medical school, med school, science, chemistry, biology, physics, organic chemistry, Biochemistry, MCAT, GPA, tips , advice, tutorial, doctor, physician, surgeon, college, undergrad, university

Hello Pre-Meds! I got a simple technique that I began using in my Junior year of college that has helped me tremendously with preparing for exams. I am very happy to share this with you all because it is so simple and easy to implement. Use this technique with my other advice and I am sure your test grades and GPA will soon skyrocket!

We all know that exams are an essential part of being a pre-med. They can make you or break you, and it is often something most pre-med students fear. It is absolutely critical to come into an exam feeling confident. You should already know you are going to make an A on the test before you even step inside. Don’t and I repeat DONT ever go into a test with the mindset that you will wing it and it will all work out. You must have prepared for every aspect of your test prior to sitting down and taking it. Preparation is everything! And there are certain ways you can make sure you are prepared enough for the exam. Thats where creating a good study list comes in handy. Having a good study list and knowing how to use it properly can literally change how you approach every exam from now on. I never take a test without first creating a study list and using it. In this article I am going to show you exactly how to create awesome study lists that will let you enter any exam with confidence!

 

What is a study list?

A study list is a specific list that you make to help you know what to focus on for an exam. A study list is useful because it both guides your studying to make it efficient and allows you to know when you are ready for your exam. After you have completed your study list you should be confident to go into any exam and ace it! It is an almost fool-proof method of acing your exams.

 

This is an example study list for a statistics test:

premed, pre med, pre-med, medical school, med school, science, chemistry, biology, physics, organic chemistry, Biochemistry, MCAT, GPA, tips , advice, tutorial, doctor, physician, surgeon, college, undergrad, university

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In this study list you can see exactly what you need to focus on for the test. The study list allows you to pinpoint what you need to focus on and then gives you an opportunity to mark it off when you understand it. Once you have mastered everything on your list you know you are fully ready to ace your exam. Preparation is key. And having an exact list of what to focus on will let you know when your preparation is complete. Check off everything on your list and then go into your exam confident!

MAKE SURE TO MASTER EVERY ITEM ON YOUR STUDY LIST BEFORE TAKING THE EXAM. How well you will do on your exam depends on two things: How thorough you make your study list and if you can master each item on it. Make a good study list and complete it before your exam and you will ace it. Period.

 

How to make a study list:

The first thing I do when making a study list is add the name of the class and the date of the test. This helps me stay oriented to when all my exams are and what subject I’m looking at. When you have multiple exams coming up this is very helpful for keeping track of what to study for.

You can use either a sticky note app, a text document, or hand-written study lists. I have used all three methods and each have their advantages. Just find a convenient method for you that allows you to see it on a regular basis. You want to be reminded as much as possible that you have an exam coming up and what you need to study for it. So make sure your study list is easy to find otherwise it defeats the purpose.

Make sure every item you add to your study list is very specific. You want to make your study list only the things you must know for the exam. The more specific the better. You want to include anything that might appear on the test. The point of the study list is to make sure you are prepared. Don’t leave any gaps in the list. You want to be prepared for anything that might appear. So make sure it is both comprehensive and specific. I will go into two examples of how I make study lists.

 

Example study list for Chemistry test and how to use it:

So lets imagine we have a Gen Chem exam coming up. The first thing we want to do is write when the test date is so we can keep track. Then we want to make a list of everything we know will be on the exam or might be on the exam. Make sure these are specific topics to learn. After you have done that you should have something that looks like this ..

premed, pre med, pre-med, medical school, med school, science, chemistry, biology, physics, organic chemistry, Biochemistry, MCAT, GPA, tips , advice, tutorial, doctor, physician, surgeon, college, undergrad, university

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Notice that all of the topics added to the list are specific and are reasonable to master.

 

 

After you have made your list start by going through each topic one by one. Focus on mastering that topic or until you feel certain you will do well on the exam for those questions. Once you have done that for a topic you can mark it off by either striking through it or deleting it off your list. Lets say that you just finished reading your textbook and did some practice problems on oxidation states, balancing redox reactions, and stoichiometry. Once you feel like you got these topics mastered or at least feel you got the hang of them, check them off your list. Your list should look like this now..

 

 

premed, pre med, pre-med, medical school, med school, science, chemistry, biology, physics, organic chemistry, Biochemistry, MCAT, GPA, tips , advice, tutorial, doctor, physician, surgeon, college, undergrad, university

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just keep on mastering each topic on your study list until you have checked them all off your list.

 

premed, pre med, pre-med, medical school, med school, science, chemistry, biology, physics, organic chemistry, Biochemistry, MCAT, GPA, tips , advice, tutorial, doctor, physician, surgeon, college, undergrad, university

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After checking all the topics off your list you are going to be well prepared to handle your exam! It is really that simple. Make a list of all the topics you need to master. Go through your list one by one until you have checked them all off. Once they are all checked off you know that you are prepared and should feel confident! Here is another example for a biology exam.

 

Example study list for Biology test:

premed, pre med, pre-med, medical school, med school, science, chemistry, biology, physics, organic chemistry, Biochemistry, MCAT, GPA, tips , advice, tutorial, doctor, physician, surgeon, college, undergrad, university

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once again, start by putting the course name and the test date. Make a list of all the topics you need to learn. And master each one of them.

 

premed, pre med, pre-med, medical school, med school, science, chemistry, biology, physics, organic chemistry, Biochemistry, MCAT, GPA, tips , advice, tutorial, doctor, physician, surgeon, college, undergrad, university

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Until all of the topics are mastered. You get the point by now.

 

premed, pre med, pre-med, medical school, med school, science, chemistry, biology, physics, organic chemistry, Biochemistry, MCAT, GPA, tips , advice, tutorial, doctor, physician, surgeon, college, undergrad, university

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After mastering each topic you are fully ready to ace your exam!

 

 

Summarizing points:

  • A study list allows you to organize your studying to make it more efficient and provides a way to know when you are ready for your exam
  • Make a study list that covers every topic on your exam
  • Master each topic on your study list one by one, checking them off the list
  • Once  you have mastered each topic on your study list you are ready to take the exam!

 

The best way to guarantee that you will ace your exams is by going into the test confident. I cannot emphasize this enough. You should always go into your exam knowing how well you will do. If you don’t go in knowing you will make an A, then you didn’t study enough. A study list is a great way to keep track of your tests and how well prepared you are for them. Always go into an exam already knowing you will make an A. Master every topic on your study list and you are going to do well!

 

 

Tell us what you think by leaving a comment down below! For more pre-med tips and advice, make sure to subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on Facebook, twitter, and pinterest!
Get Pre-Med Advice and Tips
I agree to have my personal information transfered to MailChimp ( more information )
Join hundreds of others who are receiving our newsletter and get special deals, discounts, and tips on how to improve your chances of getting into medical school.
Your email address is safe with us, we will not share it with anyone else.
Did you find this article helpful? Let us know!
[yop_poll id=”12″ tr_id=”studylist”]

Written by Wil · Categorized: Improve GPA, Study tips · Tagged: GPA, improve grades, pre-med, premed, study tips

Apr 08 2016

Use study pages to help you ace your exams!

How to use study pages to help you ace your exams

 

So you have got a big test coming up and there is a lot being covered, you are feeling uneasy and anxiety is kicking in. With so much to focus on you don’t know what to do. Well don’t worry I got a tip that could help! And don’t worry I will be posting an example to go with it. Get ready to add another studying tool to your pre med tool belt!

So this is a technique that you can use for any test. I have found that it works best for science and math type classes or when there are a lot of key concepts that must be known. This technique is best for boiling down what really matters. Anyway on to the tip now!

What you do is to make a single page that summarizes everything you absolutely must know. This could include all relevant equations, terms, concepts, strategies for problems, etc. I will be going over tips on how to make this really useful and convenient.
You can and should use both the front and back of the page when making it. The reason for only using one page is that it forces you to focus on only what matters. Its a great way for you to figure out whats most important and deserves higher priority. This also makes for a great study aid for your final, helping you quickly review material from previous tests. So here’s some tips on how to make it good.

 

Tips on how to make it:

– Dedicate different parts of the page for different things. (One section for important formulas, another for key terms, another for concepts, etc.)
– Don’t just list a bunch of terms. Have variety in what you include.
– Don’t waste the page on things you already know. (Focus on things that you have a hard time remembering or are really important.)

Okay with that in mind lets take a look at an example!

 

Here’s an example:

For a Physics II test on circuits and magnetism. (Excuse the bad handwriting! Insert joke about having doctor handwriting )

 

pre med gpa mcat

Notice how the page is separated into different sections. Try and organize your study pages like this.
pre med gpa mcat

 

So notice how my study page has a lot of variety in it. I tried my best to ensure that I covered all of the most important things on the exam but also what I had a hard time remembering. Making these study pages also has the added benefit of showing you what you need to work on and helping you understand those things. And remember the best way to study for something is to digest it in as many different ways as possible (Hearing it, seeing it, writing it down, watching a video on it, etc.). The more ways you interact with the material helps you remember it better! So I hope you make use of study pages when you study for your next exam!

I have a ton more I want to share with you! I am going to lay out exactly how I have been able to maintain a high GPA in a tough pre-med program. Make sure to subscribe to our newsletter to get free access to all our exclusive premedical advice! Don’t forget to comment below and let me and all the other pre-meds know what you think.

More helpful premed resources:
Get our free ebook , “The Pre-Med Beginner’s Guide”, which summarizes everything that every premed must know!
Bonus:
Also get free access to our comprehensive lists of medical school rankings! Click here to download
Good luck on your journey to medical school! Premed Community is here to make that a reality!

Written by Wil · Categorized: Improve GPA, Study tips · Tagged: advice, GPA, improve grades, pre med program, pre-med, premed, study tips

Feb 12 2016

The proper way to take notes during a class!

How to take notes the right way!

 

premed, pre med, pre-med, medical school, med school, science, chemistry, biology, physics, organic chemistry, Biochemistry, MCAT, GPA, tips , advice, tutorial, doctor, physician, surgeon, college, undergrad, university

 

Taking good notes is a necessary skill that all pre-meds should have mastered in order to make those A’s. The way you take notes can make a big difference in the way you study, retain knowledge, and in making better grades. There are a ton of different note taking methods out there. But I’m going to go over what actually works for me and has made a big difference in my ability to succeed in my classes. I learned the hard way and over time there is definitely a better way to take notes that is more optimal. By avoiding common mistakes and utilizing the techniques and strategies I will list here, I know you will improve your grades and GPA. Let’s jump into it!
There are two types of classes to worry about: Conceptual based, and Calculation based. I use different note-taking strategies for each.

 


Conceptual based class:

So first let’s start with Conceptual based classes. These would include classes such as English, Biology, Genetics. Classes which are primarily about learning and remembering facts and concepts. Where there are not too many calculations involved in it. Most of these classes rely on the use of powerpoints in teaching the material.

When I first attended college I made the mistake that most students make, I tried to copy down everything the teacher was writing.  If there is anything I can teach you in this article it is this. If your teacher is teaching from a powerpoint that will be posted online, DONT spend your class time copying whats on the powerpoint. It’s already online! That’s a waste of your time and energy. I repeat don’t copy down whats on the powerpoint into your notes if it will be posted online!

The reason for that is because it’s already online, you don’t need to copy it! Instead its much better to spend your time listening to the professor go over it. Often the professor helps explain the powerpoint and clarify things you might have been confused on. If you are trying to keep up with copying the powerpoint you will never hear the hidden nuggets of information the professor is sharing with you! It also helps in our ability to learn to process information in as many ways as possible. You want to see the material visually (expressed in graphs, numbers, powerpoint, etc.), hear it audibly, write it down yourself, etc. The more ways you see information the more connections you make with it and ultimately the better you are at understanding it. Once you understand something you will always be able to remember it.  Don’t try to force yourself to memorize things, try to understand why! Check out my article on the power of why and how it will revolutionize the way you take science classes and make straight A’s in them. (It really is that powerful, check it out!)

So the most optimal way I found to take notes in conceptual classes is to focus on listening to what the professor is saying and actively trying to understand it and organize those concepts into your “big picture”. Have a sheet of notebook paper out to write down just the important things they are saying, anything you know you want to remember. If they write something on the board thats important, you can copy that down. But really your main focus is to just try to focus to what the professor is saying! There are so many resources online and your textbook that you can always reference that. Plus you should be creating summary notes for all of your classes once you are home anyway. Alternatively, there is a GREAT method for taking notes from powerpoints which allows you to do what I just mentioned. Check that out here! It’s super easy to do and will greatly improve your note taking for these kinds of classes. Highly recommend that you check that article out. (The best way to take notes from powerpoint slides). Okay so let’s summarize!

 

To summarize:

 

  • DON’T copy down the powerpoint that the teacher will post online.
  • Focus on listening to what the professor is saying. (Thats your most important task)
  • Have a piece of paper to take down notes on only the important things you feel you should. (Or use the powerpoint technique)
  • Remember to focus on understanding why rather than just memorizing facts

 

 

Calculation based:

So in calculation based classes, we are going to take almost the opposite approach for how we do our notes. I have found that it works best to take note of all the examples and problems that the teacher does. This is important for several reasons, a few being; Problems and examples are the best study tools for knowing how to do those type of problems! And also because typically the type of problems and examples you do in class will be very similar to whats on the test. So by having all the problems and examples that the teacher writes down you will know almost exactly what will be on the test and what to study.

Now with that being said, you can do a few things to optimize your time in the class room. Don’t just be trying to copy down notes as fast as you can and wait for the professor to start a new problem for you to copy. You are not a copy machine! What you want to do is try and understand exactly why your professor is doing what they are. For example, the professor is doing a physics problem. As the professor is writing the problem down and writing the solution, you want to understand why each step is happening. Let’s say he is writing down the sum of the forces in the y-direction and he puts a negative sign in front of mg (force of gravity). In your head you would ask yourself “Why did he put a negative sign in front of mg?”, and then say to yourself: “Oh its because in this situation we have made up the positive direction, and because the force of gravity is pointing down it’s negative” Or whatever the reason / logic for that step was. You want to be asking yourself and knowing why the professor is doing everything they are as they do it. Then after you know why they have done what they did, then copy down the problem to your notes. As you copy them to your notes, remind yourself why they did each step. And after it has been copied to your own notes, add in some annotations explaining important things that you found useful to know and helpful to you understanding how to solve the problem.

 

 

Okay I know thats a lot so here’s to summarize the main process, in order:

1. Just watch what the teacher is writing down and try to understand why he/she is doing each step.

2. Once you understand why they did what they did. You can begin copying it into your notes.

3. Add your own personal notes in, annotating the teachers notes.
Here are some pictures to show what annotations look like for your notes:

premed

premed

Doing these annotations will help you ALOT during studying! You will remember important tips and why its that way. This could help seriously save some time during studying.

And as always you should try and combine this note taking strategy with the use of summary notes. 

 

I hope these tips helped all you amazing premeds! I have learned over my time during undergrad what works and doesn’t. I have been utilizing exactly what I laid out here, and have literally been making straight A’s every semester since. How you take notes is definitely one important aspect to making good grades. And I have a ton more tips I want to share with you! I am going to lay out exactly how I have been doing it and give you all the knowledge, secrets, and tips I have learned that has helped me maintain a high GPA in a tough premed program. Make sure to subscribe to our newsletter to get free access to all our exclusive premedical advice!

 

Tell us what note taking techinques you use by leaving a comment down below!
And for more pre-med tips and advice, make sure to subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on Facebook, twitter, and pinterest!
Get Pre-Med Advice and Tips
I agree to have my personal information transfered to MailChimp ( more information )
Join hundreds of others who are receiving our newsletter and get special deals, discounts, and tips on how to improve your chances of getting into medical school.
Your email address is safe with us, we will not share it with anyone else.
Did you find this article helpful? Let us know!
[yop_poll id=”12″ tr_id=”notes”] 

Written by Wil · Categorized: Improve GPA, Study tips · Tagged: advice, good grades, GPA, improve grades, pre-med, premed, premed program, study tips

  • Page 1
  • Page 2
  • Page 3
  • Next Page »

Copyright © 2023 · Altitude Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in