acing this thing.

[kypreos]

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I have studied twice for this thing, once i pulled in the teens the second time I have voided. I have studied for this test on and off for a total of 6 months this whole year. I am slightly dislexic which makes it difficult and gives me problems reading the questions. I miss key points and when I review my practice tests, the errors I am encountering are not conceptual. I took the physical science section of one of the aamc's I have not taken since this past august and I knew the concepts COLD. I just took chem 1 and IV and physics II this past year and got a's in all of them and a B+ in physics II so I KNOW THE MATERIAL WHICH IS SLOWLY EATING ME AWAY AT THE INSIDES. I want to pull a 30 + DESPERATELY but i cant seem to slow down and i keep having troubles with reading the problems. are there any tips for reading the actual questions? I have read through the stickies on how to study for the MCAT and have gone through all of them but my problem is difficulty understanding what the question is asking me and working through all the tricks, I mean for gods sake I know that power=w/change in time. DAM!

also I am thinking of purchasing 1001 questions in biology from examkrackers and I am looking to purchase tests. I was wondering what company sells tests that are close to aamc's?

 

[Marcus Brody]

If reading is a major obstacle for the MCAT, why will the Step 1 be any different?

 

[kypreos]

^^^thank you for your post. was not needed.

 

[muhali3]

Your dyslexia seems to be the source of your problem in understanding the question. I think that you should ask this question in a forum for dyslexics and see how they cope with test-taking difficulties. I have no problem in understanding questions so it's hard for me to give any advice.

 

[SN2ed]

Although your problem may not be the individual concepts, it could be synthesizing 2-4 topics together. Try getting a hat and writing every single MCAT PS and BS topic onto a piece of paper. Then, when you're ready to practice PS, put all the PS topics into the hat. Draw three pieces of paper and connect the topics together. In addition to connecting them, come up with what a passage might look like and what kind of questions you might get. If you can't do this, go back and review each of the three sections. Rinse and repeat.

Also, if you have been diagnosed with dyslexia, you may qualify for a time extension on the MCAT.

Check here: http://www.aamc.org/students/mcat/accommodations/start.htm

 

[dundunham]

SN2ed, your hat trick idea really looks like a great thing to do in terms of tapping into the random thinking process, however, I might have some issues in figuring out the type of passage and questions. I was wondering if you can give an example on here on how to go about doing this? Do you use google to perhaps look for passage ideas synthesized by the 3 topics?

Also, are the passages on the mcat really that intertwined between topics?

appreciate the help

 

[unDRdog]

Although your problem may not be the individual concepts, it could be synthesizing 2-4 topics together. Try getting a hat and writing every single MCAT PS and BS topic onto a piece of paper. Then, when you're ready to practice PS, put all the PS topics into the hat. Draw three pieces of paper and connect the topics together. In addition to connecting them, come up with what a passage might look like and what kind of questions you might get. If you can't do this, go back and review each of the three sections. Rinse and repeat.

Also, if you have been diagnosed with dyslexia, you may qualify for a time extension on the MCAT.

Check here: http://www.aamc.org/students/mcat/accommodations/start.htm

SN2ed--thanks for the study guide/template you posted. Want to ask you if alternating subjects each day gave you a stronger "comprehensive" understating of the material. I am considering switching from 1 subject/30 days to this integrative approach you seem to have suggested. Maybe this answer might offer some insight for kyp also... thanks again

 

[kypreos]

Although your problem may not be the individual concepts, it could be synthesizing 2-4 topics together. Try getting a hat and writing every single MCAT PS and BS topic onto a piece of paper. Then, when you're ready to practice PS, put all the PS topics into the hat. Draw three pieces of paper and connect the topics together. In addition to connecting them, come up with what a passage might look like and what kind of questions you might get. If you can't do this, go back and review each of the three sections. Rinse and repeat.

Also, if you have been diagnosed with dyslexia, you may qualify for a time extension on the MCAT.

Check here: http://www.aamc.org/students/mcat/accommodations/start.htm

thats a great idea, i would also like to know more about it. Specifically in terms of connecting topics, for instance how could you connect topics such as thermochemistry and lets say hess's law, or even la chateliers principle. I can however see thermodynamics and thermochemistry. It is a great idea and i will definitly be doing that, specifically in my universitiy of texas hat fyi. As far as dyslexia and the mcat link, that is a last resort for me. I want to try harder first as I know i have not done the best I can. If I am still having problems in the next few weeks I will but i never want to look back and regret if I felt like I could have pulled the score without the assistance. I will however do it If I am absolutely not coming close to a good score and it is severly effecting the outcome. So far I have only taken practice exams timed. I will try one untimed and see if that makes a difference. A large problem of mine is figuering out what the question wants from me, I cannot tell you how many times I have reviewed practice problems and have told myself that I knew that but just was confused during the exam. Thank yiu very much for your post and all the help you have given me on the number of threads i have started here the past year.

I was also curious if you by any chance had the link for all of the topics covered on the MCAT.

 

[DendWrite]

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showpost.php?p=7724018&postcount=5 <---list of all the topics covered on the MCAT, according to AAMC

On the dyslexia note: my brother-in-law has dyslexia and my Mom teaches elementary school students who have it. I just wanted to say that I think it's very admirable that you are putting in the extra work to take the exam, but I also wanted to say that the MCAT should not be something that keeps you out of med school. Obviously from your grades, you know the material. If you feel that your dyslexia is significant enough of a problem from limiting you from performing well on the MCAT, there's no shame in getting extended time to take the test.

Finally, I'd argue that there is almost no correlation between dyslexia and the ability to succeed as a physician. The most important factor is making connections and learning material which, again from your coursework seems clear that you are more than capable of doing. Harvey Cushing had dyslexia, and I don't think that anyone would question his prowess.

Good luck with studying...you seem to be very motivated, and I'm sure you'll do great.

 

[BasalGanglia]

theoretically having extra time because you have dyslexia would be great but I've researched into it and its nearly impossible to get it. The MCAT makes it basically impossible to get additional time or resources if you have a disability. For example, if you have A.D.D. you have to provide 2 letters from teachers you've had in elementary school (apparently they think A.D.D. is ONLY diagnosed when you are a child), a letter from your doctor, diagnostic testing, etc. What happens if your parents couldn't afford insurance when you were younger and you were never diagnosed with dyslexia or A.D.D. or other mental disabilities? Well you are S.O.L. You can try to research into it but don't be surprised if you don't receive any help. Sorry for the disappointment but I wanted you to know the truth.

 

[kypreos]

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showpost.php?p=7724018&postcount=5 <---list of all the topics covered on the MCAT, according to AAMC

On the dyslexia note: my brother-in-law has dyslexia and my Mom teaches elementary school students who have it. I just wanted to say that I think it's very admirable that you are putting in the extra work to take the exam, but I also wanted to say that the MCAT should not be something that keeps you out of med school. Obviously from your grades, you know the material. If you feel that your dyslexia is significant enough of a problem from limiting you from performing well on the MCAT, there's no shame in getting extended time to take the test.

Finally, I'd argue that there is almost no correlation between dyslexia and the ability to succeed as a physician. The most important factor is making connections and learning material which, again from your coursework seems clear that you are more than capable of doing. Harvey Cushing had dyslexia, and I don't think that anyone would question his prowess.

Good luck with studying...you seem to be very motivated, and I'm sure you'll do great.

thank you for your kind and extremely motivating post. I know there is no correlation between it and I'm motivated to study harder then most because of it. thank you for listing the topics!

theoretically having extra time because you have dyslexia would be great but I've researched into it and its nearly impossible to get it. The MCAT makes it basically impossible to get additional time or resources if you have a disability. For example, if you have A.D.D. you have to provide 2 letters from teachers you've had in elementary school (apparently they think A.D.D. is ONLY diagnosed when you are a child), a letter from your doctor, diagnostic testing, etc. What happens if your parents couldn't afford insurance when you were younger and you were never diagnosed with dyslexia or A.D.D. or other mental disabilities? Well you are S.O.L. You can try to research into it but don't be surprised if you don't receive any help. Sorry for the disappointment but I wanted you to know the truth.

this is what I feared for the longest time. I was a child raised in a greek household. We only spoke greek and my family did not vieiw education as necessary as my parents were educated but did not build thier success from it(father went to college but was self employed.) so when I was gettin bad grades they were upset, could not understand why and would just yell at me instead of trying to understand why in the first place. I was never that child who could ask for help on his homework etc. I will look into but I always had that feeling of its going to be extremely difficult to prove.

 

[SN2ed]

unDRdog: Yes, rotate subjects. Right now I don't have enough time to write out the long explanation.


OP: Well, I can't help you with every single possible link because there are so many. Linking thermochemistry and Hess' law is very easy because Hess' law falls under thermochemistry. There are tons of ways to connect those to because they're in the same category. Most of the questions are fairly straight forward. For instance you may get something like, "Which of the follow is NOT true for (insert science theory)," or "What if the change in (blank)." Unfortunately, if your confusion is related to dyslexia, I can't help you there.