Motivation issues /Burnout towards the end of studying

[blahblahpremeds]

So, my exam is at the end of August. I've been studying since May 19. After my third practice test two days ago, I haven't done much except quickly (and thus, inefficiently) review my mistakes. I seem to have lost motivation to study and am experiencing serious burnout. Anyone else? Any advice would be great.

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[Cotterpin]

It's hard to know what advice to give since I don't know what your schedule has been like so far. I mostly have questions for you at this point. Like, How do you feel about your practice test results? Do you think you're done with content review? Have you been studying every day since May 19th?

 

[EverStriving]

Your brain is like your muscles - it needs to have time to rest and recover from all the hard work you've been doing. In addition to daily rest (e.g. study breaks, good sleep), your brain also periodically needs longer vacations to fully recover. If you neglect to give your brain the daily rest and vacations it needs, it will eventually force you to let it rest, through burnout.

So, take a week off from studying. Do all the fun things you've wanted to do but haven't had time to do. Then come back to the MCAT. I think you'll find yourself not only refreshed, but also performing better!

 

[blahblahpremeds]

@Cotterpin I've been studying 8-9 hours everyday except for a few break days (7 to be precise). My practice tests have been going okay. I've been scoring consistent 500s on TPR and slightly higher on Kaplan. I'm done with content review and now need to brush up on mistakes.

Thanks @EverStriving. I don't think I can afford a whole week off at this point, but I think tomorrow's going to be my day off. I think the hardest part is not checking SDN on break days.

 

[Dreamstoo]

@Cotterpin I've been studying 8-9 hours everyday except for a few break days (7 to be precise). My practice tests have been going okay. I've been scoring consistent 500s on TPR and slightly higher on Kaplan. I'm done with content review and now need to brush up on mistakes.

Thanks @EverStriving. I don't think I can afford a whole week off at this point, but I think tomorrow's going to be my day off. I think the hardest part is not checking SDN on break days.

I've been seeing that you said you take a FL every 3 days or something? That's why you're burnt out IMO. I don't know how people are even able to do more than 2 FLs a week on a consistent basis. Just reviewing a FL properly takes me 2 days.

 

[Cotterpin]

@Cotterpin I've been studying 8-9 hours everyday except for a few break days (7 to be precise). My practice tests have been going okay. I've been scoring consistent 500s on TPR and slightly higher on Kaplan. I'm done with content review and now need to brush up on mistakes.

Thanks @EverStriving. I don't think I can afford a whole week off at this point, but I think tomorrow's going to be my day off. I think the hardest part is not checking SDN on break days.

I don't know about TPR, but if you're consistently scoring above 500 on Kaplan tests, you can probably afford to take your foot up off the gas a bit. Most people who were scoring in the 500 - 510 range on Kaplan full lengths scored at least around 510 on the real thing (and in a lot of cases, they scored much higher.) So I think you're going to be just fine. Not freaking out in the moment is a big factor, so you want to feel relaxed and confident on the day. And you should 100% listen to @EverStriving, who completely crushed the actual test.

I've been seeing that you said you take a FL every 3 days or something? That's why you're burnt out IMO. I don't know how people are even able to do more than 2 FLs a week on a consistent basis. Just reviewing a FL properly takes me 2 days.

Everybody is different. I took a practice test every other day for about two weeks before my test, then took like 3 days off right before. I thought it was good training for the pressure of the actual thing. When I actually sat for the exam, I never felt tired even for a minute and it felt mostly just like executing another practice exam. But I haven't gotten my score yet, so maybe that will turn out to have been a terrible, horrible idea.

 

[blahblahpremeds]

So, I've decided to take the next two days completely off. I will pick up studying again on Sunday. Good luck all! And thanks for the tips.

 

[Cotterpin]

Good luck!