A realistic journey:will I get into medicine and meet my dreams?

So basically you use 2 textbooks and a revision guide to form your notes. And in total, for photosynthesis, there are 15 pages in each book and 5 in the guide (so a total of 35 pages on photosynthesis), which you narrowed down to 2 sheets of A4. So is this what summarisation is? And do you think this method is the best of all- so you reckon condensing into like 20 flashcards is not good? Also, is your method quick- like how long does it take to make ti and go over it? And when you come back to it, do you just read off it, or you somehow actively recall it? I only use flashcards because it's great for active recall, but it takes a long time to write.

I think it’s just reducing the info to learn. My summary notes aren’t that summarised as I’m similar to you!
We get worksheets for every topic with exam qs at the back and tasks and questions from the PowerPoints which we have to finish and then I begin summarising :
1: notes from all the textbooks and ppts and sheets per lesson with keywords defined stores in my file
2: basically the same notes but also with a revision guide typed up on the computer in a small font which I store in my glasswork file - I make prompt sheets on these and then go through the qs and check against my notes
3: random homework summaries and flash cards for my teacher that I never use as I’m worried they’re not detailed enough! At the end of the topic.

I think if you’re good at summarising they’re fine but would likely say I’m somewhere between full on summaries and minutiae detail. I want solid knowledge too but feel exam qs are more important ?

What are prompt sheets? Is it a list of what you need to summarise?
Why do you type up the same notes (as your revision guide) onto the computer? Just so you have it online too, or is it for another reason?

What do you think of my method for Bio, do you think it's good, with regards to time and quality? :
- I make flashcards. So if we learn that in photosynthesis the electron gets excited in photosystem 2 due to the light energy from the Sun....I then write on my flashcard "What excites the electron in PSII", then I have the answer on the back. So essentially, for every piece of information, I write it as a question, as it's great for active recall. Therefore, I basically write out the whole textbook (If I make flashcards on every topic) as questions.
- I do exam qs. I tend to do it as we finish a chapter, e.g photosynthesis. I also do it along the way, but I always get the AO1 knowledge down, before attempting AO2 and AO3
- Blurting- I write whatever I know about a topic onto a piece of paper. I haven't done it in ages though, because we keep learning new things everyday and it gets hard to catch up on work.
- The normal resources eg youtube, google and etc.

However, when making flashcards, I basically write out the book. This takes up so much time and hence don't have time for other subjects (it normally takes me a solid 3 hrs to understand a concept, make flashcards).

That would take a long time to @ everyone who asks you. I guess they write your name on a 'document' so they can copy and past it each time?

It is a list of what I must remember to go through so basically cheating at flash cards as I just never write the backs out and cross reference with my notes
I wrote it out again basically so that it’s in one place and can fit with my class notes so I always have it as opposed to it being in my lever arch but also as I add synoptic links , check it from the specification references to ensure I have everything covered - it’s also my own notes as opposed to the book and I’m kind of worried it would take too long to read my own writing if I didn’t type it up.

For quality you basically cover exactly the same stuff I do just slightly differently as I don’t get along with flash cards - I tried but would also write everything out so personally found it too time consuming. I would say if you are doing well then keep with what you have but if you want to improve then maybe spend less time on the flash cards and experiment a bit with what works now so you can find what’s right before summer. Bio takes me so much time too - I genuinely spend about 15 hours a week on it which is ridiculous compared to my other subjects.

You want to apply to medicine too don’t you if I remember right from all those threads. Where did you apply in the end?

It is a list of what I must remember to go through so basically cheating at flash cards as I just never write the backs out and cross reference with my notes
I wrote it out again basically so that it’s in one place and can fit with my class notes so I always have it as opposed to it being in my lever arch but also as I add synoptic links , check it from the specification references to ensure I have everything covered - it’s also my own notes as opposed to the book and I’m kind of worried it would take too long to read my own writing if I didn’t type it up.

For quality you basically cover exactly the same stuff I do just slightly differently as I don’t get along with flash cards - I tried but would also write everything out so personally found it too time consuming. I would say if you are doing well then keep with what you have but if you want to improve then maybe spend less time on the flash cards and experiment a bit with what works now so you can find what’s right before summer. Bio takes me so much time too - I genuinely spend about 15 hours a week on it which is ridiculous compared to my other subjects.

You want to apply to medicine too don’t you if I remember right from all those threads. Where did you apply in the end?

Right so:
- A prompt sheet is one that you come back to again (when revisiting the chapter after a long time) which basically tells you what you must cover. So is it not basically like a specification? So what's the point of a prompt sheet? I'm not undermining your technique (I actually think its great)- I just want to know exactly how it works, so that if I do it, I know why Im doing it and whats it's use.
- So you then re-read all your notes, according to your prompt sheet, and try to memorise everything again.
- Then you re-write onto paper, and also onto the computer.
- Then you do questions.

So is this how it works, or am I missing something?

So when you come across a new topic taught by your teacher, how do you make resources after?
Is this correct on how you do it? :
- Go home and check both textbooks and the revision guide, and then basically summarise what those books say, along with your class notes, onto a document on the computer.
- Then you create a prompt sheet
- Then you summarise all those notes onto 2 pieces of A4 for example (when talking about Light-dependent reaction): "Photoionisation in PSII, due to light energy. Electrons> Electron transfer chain> PSI> NADP> reduced NADP. Energy lost, along ETC, used for AT for protons>thylakoid> through ATP synthase> chemiosmosis> ATP made. Photolysis of H2O replaces electrons in PSII.

But what I find worrying is that when you come back to see this summarised notes like I did above, how would you remember the minuet detail for example: redox reactions in ETC, what the photolysis of water produces, that protons react with NADP too and etc. How would you remember this detail?

But my question is

Prompt sheet is basically flash card prompts but things to do like : what are the adaptations of a leaf for photosynthesis, and describe the LDR and what is its purpose. so not the spec. although taken from my notes which I type up as I go along that are cross referenced against the spec to ensure I don’t miss anything . It’s purpose is to ensure that I don’t forget anything to write about when going through a topic which would make me think I’d forgotten something that if I’d been asked a question on I would have remembered so I have a fair chance at getting everything and to make the testing more representative

I don’t actually read my notes until after checking my knowledge by writing it all out where I compare what I’ve written to my notes and go over anything I’ve particularly forgotten i more depth and then recap that to ensure I’ve remembered it before leaving it and coming back next time to it

The computer thing I make as I go along and type the notes from class onto it which covers textbook notes as well so that it is together - this is the basis to make my prompt sheet from

- I do exam questions last yes but also have them as homework every lesson on the topic we are doing so that’s nice as I can pick a different one to do at home - I schedule about a third of my revision time on extra questions, a third on class qs and making my notes in various places and a third on testing my knowledge

So prompt sheets are questions that you tend to forget, and hence write it down to ensure you don't when you come back to it ?

So you basically type up all your notes, from classwork, textbooks and revision guides, onto the computer. This is smart. It allows you to write it up quicker, as you type faster than you write and it is also clear ! Then if you forget to write something, you write it on your prompt sheet. Then you review the whole thing by writing it out (summarisation) onto 2 pieces of A4 (number of pages will depend on content).

Therefore, when you come back to this topic, you first read your prompt sheet and try answer the qs. Then you re-read notes made on computer to see if you forgot anything. Then you re-write everything from knowledge again. Then you do qs.

Now how often do you come back to a topic. How do you manage to re-read past topics and to also keep up on current topics- I find this challenging (well maybe because my revision resources are inefficient with regards to time.

Yep I can already see your method is much more time efficient- it also has a clear structure. And out of curiousity, do the more capable people do this method- is this the method the A* students use? (not to prejudice at all, but you know what I'm trying to get at)

I've decided to follow your GYG blog as it's really interesting and you have some really good study techniques. I applied for vet med last year, missed the grades for my offer and so now I'm resitting and reapplying to vet school. I wish you all the best with your medicine applications.

Tysm- I wish you luck too - I think I remember you from last year I looked at your gyg

I go back to topics across a few weeks yr 1 content takes around 4 weeks as will year two although at the moment I can do year two in a week as we still have 6 topics left and I find they go together easier as opposed to the more discrete nature of year 1

I have no idea what other people do sorry. Last year I did this and was on a high a on first year content and have been getting a*s this year on all booklets and mini tests just not my actual test but that’s another story...

Now my problem is all my Yr 1 notes are as flashcards. I guess I will just have to read all of them, re-memorise, and then write it out from memory.

Sorry if I'm being a bit irritating (as I'm asking many qs) but I think I finally understood what you said. So I will repeat what I understand and please correct me if I'm wrong:
- Come home, get your school notes, 2 textbooks, and revision guide out. Then you use your computer to basically summarise all of the info of that topic, from across these different resources. *So when you are summarising, are you learning the content as you are doing it, or do you fully understand it first before summarising it?* So is it like "Ah, I didn't understand what my teacher said today, so I have to go home and re-learn it myself, and once I understood it, I can only summarise then". The reason I'm asking is because as I make flashcard qs, I am learning the content- I go with the flow- I learn and write at the same time.
- Then you make a prompt sheet, basically writing things that you need to remember to do when you come back to it.
- Then you re-summarise everything you wrote onto a piece of paper.

So where does practice qs fit in this? Is it after the re-summarisation on the whole paper?

I don’t mind the qs.
I seem to be one of those people that hasn’t yet found anything I don’t get regardless of what I then do in exams?
I do practice questions for homework each night and then just pick topics a couple of times a week in my revision plan.

Sorry I didn't understand? What do you mean?

Which bit. To summarise I do practice questions as I go along.

I don’t mind the qs.
I seem to be one of those people that hasn’t yet found anything I don’t get regardless of what I then do in exams?

I didn't understand what you meant.

And when you do qs every night, how long do you do it for (e.g. 30 mins.. 1 hour?? ) I am very bad with prioritisation of time and hence think I spend too little to too much on practice qs.