Studying for MCAT? Mental Stigma

[Clarus]

I took the old MCAT two years ago and the new MCAT last year and didn't do so well on either of them. I didn't really buckle down as I should have those two years to study for the exam but I want to make a third and final attempt to really kill the MCAT, but I'm mentally scared of the exam now and all that it entails. Back then I tried to avoid studying and I sort of have the same attitude but to a lesser degree now that I'm a little older. Any suggestions to remedy this mental stigma?

Anyone have tips or a study plan for the MCAT? I've been hearing that the Berkeley books are good but nothing in specific. I tried doing the Princeton MCAT review course online but that seemed way to structured for me to hit on my weaknesses.

I really want to score well on my MCAT because it might be my last shot of getting into a US based medical school and I don't want to throw that opportunity away. On a side note, my cGPA & sGPA aren't astounding either and below average, which makes this MCAT more and more important and stressful to me.

Any comments and suggestions are appreciated! Thank you!

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[Clarus]

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[QuestionsAnswers]

I can identify with your experience a bit, although I only took the MCAT one time, I studied for it on weekends for about 8 months so as the test got closer it was like everything was building to this one day and that was stressful.
Honestly, I think there isn't really a way around just pushing through the mental barrier ultimately. A lot of the time things aren't as bad as we imagine them to be. If you can start studying and begin having successes in your practice testing, I bet it will help somewhat with your fear/avoidance of the test as you come to associate it with something more positive.
I personally studied using the Examkrackers 9th edition, which I thought was decent, although I have seen people get good result with the Kaplan set. The EK book has a decent amount of practice questions/exams. The most important thing in addition to prep company materials (actually much more important) are the official sample test, scored test, section banks, guide, etc. Make sure you are scoring where you want to be on the scored FL and sample (study other sources first to improve) and then you will likely be ready to take the test.

 

[Wolfpack93]

Theres a ton of study schedules on this website, pick one of them and stick to it. Take a bunch of practice tests to reduce your anxiety when it comes to the real deal. Try not to get overwhelmed by the large amount of material there is and just stick to one study schedule. But seriously don't slack off on the practice problems and practice tests. Berkley review is regarded highly because they have approximately 100 passage based questions per each chapter. Especially focus on passages on subjects that you fell weak on.

 

[magicdock]

I best advice I got for MCAT mentality hands down was "pretend you're a professor at Harvard reading a students paper" when doing passages. Good luck


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[KoalaT]

I took the MCAT once before and did sort of ehhhhh on it. Then I had to decide whether that was good enough or to take the new MCAT, which was daunting because I hadn't taken the material in so long and never took Psych/soc in college.

Then, I got a mentor at work who had done very well on his MCAT who taught me everything. And this time, I crushed it. It's all about knowing what to do. By being on this forum, you're 1 step in the right direction. Read this. Get yourself equipped with the best resources, best advice, and work your butt off. If you are shying away from studying when it's the MCAT, you're REALLY not going to like medical school. So decide that if this is truly what you want to do, DO IT.

The All in One guide to equip you with everything you need to know. TBR will change your world when it comes to the MCAT.
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/koalats-all-in-one-mcat-guide.1195923/

 

[sleepyhead22]

I had the same issue as you! After the first couple of weeks of studying, I got passed it. And I worked much harder than I did when I was studying for the old MCAT, so on actual test day it felt completely different than my first experience. I think what helped me was learning about a growth or fixed mindset. Basically, if you're in a fixed mindset, you might have been told "you're so smart!", but if you're in a growth mindset, you think "you're so hardworking! you really worked through that!" By realizing that I was in a fixed mindset, I saw that I wasn't tackling the things that I was weak at head on because I felt so overwhelmed/discouraged as soon as I started studying those topics. Once I switched to seeing that EVERYONE has to work through areas that they're weak in, I didn't feel ashamed anymore. I forced myself to watch videos/do practice problems/seek people that could help me in areas that i was lost. and it really helped!! You can totally do this, you've just got to see it as an opportunity to learn/apply that knowledge.

As for study materials, I had an old set of TBR, new set of EK, supplemented with a couple Kaplan and TPR psych. They all have their pro's and con's. TBR is very detailed which helped me a lot to actually understand some topics rather than just memorize them. I do think their study schedule takes a bit longer, and I worked full time while studying so I used EK for most things because their schedule seemed more doable. Best thing you could do is to read a sample of each and see which one reads the best to you. Don't look at it like any of them are "better", it's what's best for you.

 

[NonTrad16]

As someone who took TPR online course, it's designed (like all programs) to cover all the material. It's on you to identify and address your weaknesses by studying those areas more.

Also, while I feel finding the program that "fits you" may be important, every program will require you to sit down and study for long periods of time, for many days, and it won't really be fun. Make sure to recognize that optimization of your process/method (which you should do) requires that you first start. That will also help settle some of the fear, because you'll be acting and making progress.

You already have your motivation -- this is your last attempt. Just don't let yourself slack off...

 

[wutwutwut]

maybe taking full length MCAT tests in test conditions in an unfamiliar place might help because then come test day the 7 hours won't seem as daunting if you have done it a bunch before. Also like people above have said the best thing you can do for the MCAT is do practice passages. my section scores were 100% correlated with which sections I did the most practice passages (CARS) not which sections I knew the material the best (Chem/phys)

 

[FMDoge2020]

For me, avoid studying turned out to be less related to my fear of the MCAT but rather just laziness trying to make excuses "oh i will never do that well... my gpa is not that good...etc."

You need to study to get the confidence. So get started and just do it! Do not think about the outcome yet! Please devote a good amount time, establish a fixed study behavior and slowly build up your understanding of the material and the test's format. Then take the real one!

Until then, don't think too much about bombing it again because you weren't prepared the first two times and perhaps didnt really show your true potential.

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[orangeblue]

Every day I was crying , and feeling bad for myself as I dragged myself to the library to sit down and study. I didn't have the best focus and went and got up , went to RR and other things many times.
Still, you never know what you study will show up. THe most important thing to know that WHAT YOU STUDY WILL SHOW UP!
Sometimes, having a more relaxed don't-care-about-results attitude can help you be less afraid/anxious and more interested in just doing it day to day.

 

[leelee12]

I don't know about "what you study will show up"...I have a very different experience...lol. Unless ofcourse you mean to study and know everything...

 

[Mcoles]

I don't know about "what you study will show up"...I have a very different experience...lol. Unless ofcourse you mean to study and know everything...

I share similar sentiments (unfortunately lol). I studied so much content and rehearsed it over and over again to make sure I didn't forget stuff and then on test day what appeared in front of me felt completely different that what I had studied.

 

[KoalaT]

I share similar sentiments (unfortunately lol). I studied so much content and rehearsed it over and over again to make sure I didn't forget stuff and then on test day what appeared in front of me felt completely different that what I had studied.

I did the same thing my first time around. I had 1000s of flashcards, Kaplan info out the whazoo, and rehearsed it until it was clockwork. Then I realized all of it was useless.

The second time, I used TBR. I suggest it so highly because it teaches you HOW things work and WHY. Not like TPR or Kaplan where they tell you WHAT. You will rarely get the same detail questions or factual knowledge questions on the MCAT. They purposely avoid this. Instead, you'll get passages that are sort of abstracts of the knowledge you're supposed to know. By knowing how and why things work rather than factual knowledge, you are much more equipped to think rationally about the passages.

It's sort of like when you get a verbal passage about a topic you already read about. It's much easier. Same goes for the sciences. You're not going to know everything in the passages but you still need to equip yourself with as much of the knowledge as possible to do your best.

 

[Doremonster]

Look man, I am a non traditional applicant in my late twenties. This will also be my last shot at a US school and I will consider consider a foreign school or another career if this doesn't pan out this appliciation cycle. The biggest thing is attitude. You have to change your mindset and have some grit. Everyday when I get ready to study I tell myself, this is a chance I get to prove to myself I have what it takes and I am smart enough. This MCAT will help me rectify my past mistakes and I need to take this exam not just for a score so I can get into medical school but to let myself know that I can do it. You can't think of your test day and the MCAT exam as this storm that is looming and looking to strike you down. The stigma is something that we create internally, and we attempt to justify it to ease our shortcomings if we fail to succeed. Don't create this safety net, there is only one option and that is to kill the exam.

Like others have said practice is so key, the first time I took the exam I was just focused on review. I did horrible on the exam. This time around, I practice after every review session and review lightly. When I review questions it is like relearning the material in a different way, I review right and wrong answers. I took a practice exam only 75% done with content review and I have scored better than I did when I took the actual exam last year. Yes, it's not a perfect example but just goes to show that practice so crucial.

 

[baratheonfire]

Look man, I am a non traditional applicant in my late twenties. This will also be my last shot at a US school and I will consider consider a foreign school or another career if this doesn't pan out this appliciation cycle. The biggest thing is attitude. You have to change your mindset and have some grit. Everyday when I get ready to study I tell myself, this is a chance I get to prove to myself I have what it takes and I am smart enough. This MCAT will help me rectify my past mistakes and I need to take this exam not just for a score so I can get into medical school but to let myself know that I can do it. You can't think of your test day and the MCAT exam as this storm that is looming and looking to strike you down. The stigma is something that we create internally, and we attempt to justify it to ease our shortcomings if we fail to succeed. Don't create this safety net, there is only one option and that is to kill the exam.

Like others have said practice is so key, the first time I took the exam I was just focused on review. I did horrible on the exam. This time around, I practice after every review session and review lightly. When I review questions it is like relearning the material in a different way, I review right and wrong answers. I took a practice exam only 75% done with content review and I have scored better than I did when I took the actual exam last year. Yes, it's not a perfect example but just goes to show that practice so crucial.

Do not consider foreign schools.
Apply DO or choose a different career.

 

[TXhopeful]

Non-trad here too. Graduated in 2012 with a 3.0, found out I wanted to pursue medicine, made A's some upper level post-bacc classes in the past 2 years, so I am by no means "fresh" on these basic chemistry/physics/cell bio subjects. My first time taking the MCAT (old test) was last January and I bombed it, made a 24.
The difference between my first time studying and this time was knowing how I study best and making sure to drill every weakness topic.
I do my best studying in a library, with earplugs, a few 10 minute breaks every few hours, and "quizzing" the material. EK 9th edition was a great resource and their 30-minute exams did exactly that. I used Khan Academy A LOT, but it still wasn't enough. Honestly, if I do have to study for this thing again (nonononono)I will use KA solely for a lot of reasons that I can elaborate upon if needed. If you personally study best at night and that's all you have time for, do that. If you can focus and listen to music, do that. Whatever YOU personally do that helps with focus and mental stamina, do that.
The first time I studied, I took a ton of notes and skimmed over topics that made me nervous. Bad idea. Drill redox/concentration cells, learn how to interpret graphs and convoluted passages, make sure to do a ton of CARS passages and for Pete's sake, make sure Biochem is a main focus for the majority of your sciences.
Best of luck!

 

[DoctorCakes]

I would not worry about which content books are better than another. They all have their different strengths. You took the mcat twice already and probably have read through these prep books front to back several times. If you noticed a pattern, memorization will not get you many points. I have a lot of friends who do great in school by memorizing physics and biochem slides and get A's in classes but completely bomb the MCAT due to lack of foundation and deeper thinking. BR is great if you really want to see what your foundation is lacking. They explain deeper if your undergrad didn't do job right. However, i think you are better off attacking as many practice problems as you can get your hands on. I also LOVE Khan. Even though they go into thorough detail on the sciences, I feel like I am actually saving time in the long run because once you understand a subject like entropy and gibbs, it is extremely difficult to forget it. Everyone learns differently and it really seems like content 'review' is just not cutting it for you. Think deeper. Good luck