encouragement

[slwnstdy]

I have been a lurker of the MCAT discussion board for about 8-9 months now. Finally, my time to post. I have seen a couple of these posts recently so I apologize for the redundancy.

I am in the last push for the end of March MCAT.

I am studying on my own. Following SN2d's schedule more or less.
I started at the end of November.

I want to preface I am doing a lot of things besides the MCAT (against everyone's suggestion)--however I am managing to dedicate around 30 hours a week to studying (including FLs).

AAMC #3 -- 25 PS8/VR11/BS6
Hit the biology very hard between these two. Watched countless Khan videos and practice problems.
AAMC #4---25 PS6/VR10/BS9
Still focused on Bio and some stoichiometry issues.
AAMC #5--27 PS7/VR11/BS9

Its obvious I need to focus on physical sciences.

I guess the reason for my post is two fold:

1) Because I am not taking a class and I am not talking with others about the test I am afraid I am psyching myself out. I know I am showing improvement I just don't know if it is enough? Am I trending?

2) Should I stray from SN2s schedule and just focus on my weak spots? going through the last 1/3rd for each chapter is very time consuming.

Many thanks in advance for any suggestions/thoughts/insight/encouragement.

Positive thoughts to all of you who are also studying right now!

Last note: I am shooting for a 30.

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[valkener]

It sounds like you are pretty stoked altogether and are doing "it" right. I think you probably know best what to focus on for the rest of the time (1 month). Sn2ed's schedule is very good, so I would probably try to finish it up but by now you are almost there and should be the best judge of how to use your time.

The only thing I would absolutely recommend you to do is take all FL's. And as you already pointed out, PS is too low. 28 is not quite there yet but close. If you're shooting for a 30 then that's a realistic goal. Another thing that would be important for you is to do a lot of reviewing since you've been studying for 9 months.

Also, try to be confident, it usually has an impact on your performance! I think you should be good - good luck !

 

[slwnstdy]

Thanks for your insight and encouragement. I really appreciate it.

With this whole process (especially since I am not in a class), it has been really hard to gauge what is "normal" progression or if I need to hit the panic button.

Thanks for your time!

 

[GoodNoise]

Hey man,

I took the test 1/27/12. I can commiserate with you on multiple levels. I'm going to write a really long post about my 4 month experience following SN2ed's plan once I find out my score, regardless of what it is. In my last month of studying I felt a little burned out and got very similar scores for my first 3 AAMC practice tests. My quick advice:

1. Stay positive and confident. You CAN do this.

2. If your'e burned out and you find yourself thinking "Okay, I only have 2 more hours of BR today and then I can move on and do something else (i.e.- go out to lunch, frisbee golf, watch tv, etc.) " STOP EVERYTHING. If this is your mindset, you need to change your study style or take a long hiatus immediately. This is my recommendation, tried and true, and I found it extremely beneficial to my mindset. I was in this negative frame of mind for 2 days before I said to myself "Okay, SN2ed's plan is becoming a chore and will not benefit me anymore as long as I'm thinking like this."

I immediately took 3 FULL days off and then took my next scheduled AAMC according to SN2ed's schedule. I improved 3 points right away. After that I did, in fact, confirm that I was simply burning out. So I literally decided to look at my trends over the course of those 4 completed AAMC practice tests and decided that I would focus solely on my weaknesses at that point. I decided to stick to the exact timing of the days for my last AAMC practice tests (according to SN2ed), but I also decided to forgo the rest of the schedule as I found it was no longer working for me. I decided to do practice problems on topics I knew I was weak in (based on my discovered trends through the first 4 AAMC tests).

3. CHILL. Study and use Khan Academy for review. This is huge, especially if you're a visual learner like I am. Take notes as you watch. For me, this was extremely beneficial. Obviously, if you've been following the SN2ed schedule you know that you should be on your 3rd set of practice problems...and thus your third time around seeing this material. Listen to me when I say this: as long as you followed SN2ed's plan up until this point... YOU ALREADY KNOW THIS STUFF. You don't need these last third practice sets ESPECIALLY if they're not benefitting you.

This is what worked for me. Like I said, I'm planning on writing a really long post in about week. But in the meantime, my friend, feel free to PM me, there was a little bit more to what I did in the last month that included making easy spreadsheets and doing focusing activities to help clear my mind, motivate me, and make me confident and prepared for this test. I'm happy to help because, like I said, I know what worked for me and I REALLY relate to your post. I'm not posting it all here now because I don't want to jump the gun and repeat all the things I'm going to say in a week. That said, I'm happy to help you out with more details on what I did and what I found worked for me in the meantime. Good luck and stay positive and confident no matter what!

 

[fas376]

Hey man,

I took the test 1/27/12. I can commiserate with you on multiple levels. I'm going to write a really long post about my 4 month experience following SN2ed's plan once I find out my score, regardless of what it is. In my last month of studying I felt a little burned out and got very similar scores for my first 3 AAMC practice tests. My quick advice:

1. Stay positive and confident. This is huge. You CAN do this.
2. If your'e burned out and you find yourself thinking "holy crap, I only have 2 more hours of BR today and then I can move on with my life and do something else" STOP. This is purely my recommendation and I found it extremely beneficial to my mindset. I did this for 2 days before I was like okay, SN2ed's plan is becoming a chore and will not benefit me anymore as long as I'm thinking like this. I took 3 FULL days off and took my next planned AAMC. I improved 3 points immediately. After that I confirmed I was burning out so I literally decided to look at my trends over the course of those 4 tests and I decided that I would focus solely on weaknesses at that point. I decided to stick to the exact timing of the last AAMC practice tests, but to forgo the rest of the schedule as I found it was no longer working for me. I decided to do practice problems on topics I was weak in (based on my discovered trends through the first 4 AAMC tests).
3. CHILL. study and use kahn academy for review. Take notes as you watch. For me, this was extremely beneficial. Obviously, if you've been following the SN2ed schedule you know that you should be on your 3rd set of practice problems...and thus your third time around seeing this material. Listen to me when I say this: YOU KNOW IT. You don't need these last third practice sets ESPECIALLY if they're not benefitting you.

This is what worked for me. Like I said, I'm planning on writing a really long post in a week. But in the meantime my friend, feel free to PM me, there was a lot more to what I did in the last month that included easy spreadsheets and focusing activities. I'm happy to help because like I said, I know what worked for me and I REALLY relate to your post, I just don't want to jump the gun and repeat all the things I'm going to say in a week. That said, i'm happy to help you out with more details on what I did and what I found worked for me in the meantime. Good luck and stay positive and confident no matter what!

i could not agree more. i give you props, man. i feel like everytime someone has a question on SDN, you get a million responses saying POSTPONE POSTPONE. i don't think i've ever met anyone who has been fully prepared for the MCAT - it's impossible. too much material. just be comfortable with it and make sure you've seen it all. my friends that got in the mid 30s told me they felt like **** before the test because there was so much material. it's never as bad as you think it is

PS - it's only a test. don't let it consume you

 

[GoodNoise]

i could not agree more. i give you props, man. i feel like everytime someone has a question on SDN, you get a million responses saying POSTPONE POSTPONE. i don't think i've ever met anyone who has been fully prepared for the MCAT - it's impossible. too much material. just be comfortable with it and make sure you've seen it all. my friends that got in the mid 30s told me they felt like **** before the test because there was so much material. it's never as bad as you think it is

PS - it's only a test. don't let it consume you

Thanks man, I want to echo the "it's only a test. don't let it consume you" part to the OP, this is a great way to sum up the best frame of mind that one can have during what would otherwise be the last, stressful, terrible, month of your studying

Times like this I wish SDN had a like or +1 haha

 

[slwnstdy]

Hey man,

I took the test 1/27/12. I can commiserate with you on multiple levels. I'm going to write a really long post about my 4 month experience following SN2ed's plan once I find out my score, regardless of what it is. In my last month of studying I felt a little burned out and got very similar scores for my first 3 AAMC practice tests. My quick advice:

1. Stay positive and confident. You CAN do this.

2. If your'e burned out and you find yourself thinking "Okay, I only have 2 more hours of BR today and then I can move on and do something else (i.e.- go out to lunch, frisbee golf, watch tv, etc.) " STOP EVERYTHING. If this is your mindset, you need to change your study style or take a long hiatus immediately. This is my recommendation, tried and true, and I found it extremely beneficial to my mindset. I was in this negative frame of mind for 2 days before I said to myself "Okay, SN2ed's plan is becoming a chore and will not benefit me anymore as long as I'm thinking like this."

I immediately took 3 FULL days off and then took my next scheduled AAMC according to SN2ed's schedule. I improved 3 points right away. After that I did, in fact, confirm that I was simply burning out. So I literally decided to look at my trends over the course of those 4 completed AAMC practice tests and decided that I would focus solely on my weaknesses at that point. I decided to stick to the exact timing of the days for my last AAMC practice tests (according to SN2ed), but I also decided to forgo the rest of the schedule as I found it was no longer working for me. I decided to do practice problems on topics I knew I was weak in (based on my discovered trends through the first 4 AAMC tests).

3. CHILL. Study and use Khan Academy for review. This is huge, especially if you're a visual learner like I am. Take notes as you watch. For me, this was extremely beneficial. Obviously, if you've been following the SN2ed schedule you know that you should be on your 3rd set of practice problems...and thus your third time around seeing this material. Listen to me when I say this: as long as you followed SN2ed's plan up until this point... YOU ALREADY KNOW THIS STUFF. You don't need these last third practice sets ESPECIALLY if they're not benefitting you.

This is what worked for me. Like I said, I'm planning on writing a really long post in about week. But in the meantime, my friend, feel free to PM me, there was a little bit more to what I did in the last month that included making easy spreadsheets and doing focusing activities to help clear my mind, motivate me, and make me confident and prepared for this test. I'm happy to help because, like I said, I know what worked for me and I REALLY relate to your post. I'm not posting it all here now because I don't want to jump the gun and repeat all the things I'm going to say in a week. That said, I'm happy to help you out with more details on what I did and what I found worked for me in the meantime. Good luck and stay positive and confident no matter what!

Thank you so much for the detailed response. Great post. This is really helpful and encouraging.

I will be shooting you a PM.

I am thinking that I am going to switch it up and focus on the content I am struggling with (i.e. physics--I had to teach myself some of it I am taking 2nd term physics now).

 

[slwnstdy]

i could not agree more. i give you props, man. i feel like everytime someone has a question on SDN, you get a million responses saying POSTPONE POSTPONE. i don't think i've ever met anyone who has been fully prepared for the MCAT - it's impossible. too much material. just be comfortable with it and make sure you've seen it all. my friends that got in the mid 30s told me they felt like **** before the test because there was so much material. it's never as bad as you think it is

PS - it's only a test. don't let it consume you

thanks! I concur-- I don't want to push the test back from my original date if I don't have to!!