3rd time's the charm? Another MCAT sob story.

[cocacola4000]

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Here's my story. Nothing special, but I'd really appreciate some advice.

I scored a 23 on my first MCAT and a 26 on my second. YIKES.

I've been completely defeated, because I do great on all my practice tests! (By great I mean 31-32, which would be perfect for me.) I've never had bad test anxiety, but I guess nothing will give it to you like the MCAT. I don't FEEL that anxious on the day of, but this is the only thing I can come up with to explain my disappointing scores. I know the material and I fully prepare for the test, but I just can't DO IT.

I've been an emotional roller coaster. I go from feeling like this whole thing is pointless because I'm never going to be able to get the score I need, to being furious and determined to kick this test's a** and not let it control my life anymore, to being completely calm and relaxed and believing that as long as I don't freak out everything will click when I sit down at that computer.

Lately, I've been trying to just chill out. I've been doing a bit of studying here and there, but mainly trusting the knowledge that I have and thinking that if it was enough just a short time ago in practice tests, it will be enough now (as long as I don't totally PANIC.) My advisor says I'll be fine with a 28. It should be NO PRESSURE, because I've done it a million times before!

My 3rd test is January 30th, about 3 weeks (in study time) away. It's crunch time, and I just really don't know what to do. I can't help but feel that with ALL the intense studying I've done for this thing within the past year, I KNOW this material and just need to RELAX. I feel like I should trust my instincts and trust that the knowledge is there, and I just need to refresh and relax. Am I completely insane?

I hope I'm not, because I'm going with it. So I need to know how to make the most of the time I have left. By "make the most", I don't necessarily mean "spending a lot of time." Let's face it: I don't have a lot of time. Theoretically, I don't NEED a lot of time, because I already know this stuff.

I just need some freshening up. I need to browse my materials. Hone in on some central concepts. But I need some help! I need to get the big picture and figure out what to focus on for a few hours every day. I'd like to narrow everything down to:
1. science topics seen frequently on the MCAT
2. a handful of concepts that are central to understanding a lot of aspects of the sciences
3. how to get out of my head and just do the d*** thing

I'm completely out of money, so pushing the test back isn't an option, nor is buying many more study materials, but here's what I have:
-The Berkeley Review Physics, Chemistry, and OChem
-EK1001 questions for Physics, Chemistry, OChem, and Bio
-2 EK simulated MCATs (they're like twice as long as the real thing, so I can't imagine this would be very representative of my true score). I've already taken all the Kaplan and AAMC practice tests available to buy. (Unfortunately used those up on my first 2 tests.)
-A few verbal books, but I always do great in this section. I need to focus on "hot" content areas in the sciences.
-$150 of Christmas money (maybe to spend on one of those Kaplan "general MCAT review" books? I would think they would do a good job of hitting the most important topics in a short amount of time?)

I could really use a list of topics to focus on, or a place where I could find such a list (a book, website, etc.) Even though I have a good amount of materials, they are COMPLETELY overwhelming because I'm just blindly searching for something to study amongst the thousands of pages of information.

What I really need is a 3 week non-time-intensive MCAT refresher course for less than $150! Simple right???? 😀

Any advice would be GREATLY appreciated. I've been battling myself with this for months, and I finally decided to create an SDN account tonight and just put it all out there. Maybe someone has been through something similar, or just has some ideas that could help.

Thank you in advance!!!!!!

 

[echolalia16]

It seems you know what you need to do and you have the materials to do so. Where do you take your practice tests? Perhaps you should add a little variety to where you sit down and take them (bedroom, library, kaplan office, media center, etc) to get you more comfortable with an unfamiliar environment?

By the way, I did the same exact thing on my MCAT. Practice tests averaged around 30 and I believe I scored a 24 on the real deal. Take two is next May.

 

[J ROD]

I found that when I take standardized tests I get so anxious I dont breath as well and get tight and then dont think. So, I started focusing on breathing and it has helped me remain calm and focus. ie think!!

 

[drosefan]

To the person who just posted above me, are you going to Med School right after Pharm school??

I'm just curious to know what your reason is...

 

[J ROD]

To the person who just posted above me, are you going to Med School right after Pharm school??

I'm just curious to know what your reason is...

I wanted both knowledge sets and intended to do so from the start. Plus, I have several personal reasons...🙂

 

[Spiker]

If you are scoring 30-33 in practice test, there is room for improvement. You DO NOT know the material well enough. And you are NOT fully prepared for the test.

However, I didnt say that to be mean. Rather it is opportunity for you to improve. You CAN score constantly high (14-15 every time) for both BS and PS, so please work harder on that.

You have your 1001 book, do you know how to do all the problems in that book? Did you go back and do the problems you did wrong, and know why you did it wrong? Do you know the concept behind those problems?

If your answer is Yes to all of the question above I call BS. I scored 14+ on all 7 practice test and real test on PS and BS and I know for a fact that some of the problem can still trick me.

I suspect that your answer if NO, and there are actually alot that you dont know in those books.

So here is the good news you still have tons of room for improvement, and quiet a bit of time left! I know there may be test day anxiety but you can reduce how much that affect your score by studying more.

I use the following approach AFTER BASIC REVIEW


Problem Cycle
1. Do problem/Test
2. Review Wrong Answers
2a Review Concept, How do i get the right answer?
2b How did i get this wrong? (Simple mistake? Wrong Equation??..etc
2c I add it to the list of errors I make, make flashcard etc.
3 For the next few days while doing other problems I use the break to review the list of errors and the flashcards
4. After a while later I come and do the problems I got wrong...
5. Repeat.

Ideally you have several problems cycle going at same time...some set you are doing first time, some you are reviewing, some you are doing for second time....etc.

Good Luck